Sunday, March 28, 2010

Moloka'i

Moloka'i Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is our book club book for March.  It was very different from the other books we've read.  It takes place in and around Honolulu.  It is the story about a girl named Rachel who contracts Leprocy in the late 1800s.  At the age of seven, she is shipped off to the island of Moloka'i in order to quarantine her from the rest of her family.  She lives a life of seclusion away from her family and learns to live independently.  As lonely as it was, she learns to live a life full of meaningful relationships and trials.  The story kept my interest and felt so much compassion for the people who contracted this dreadful disease.

The interesting thing about this book as that it is based on historical information.  That many of these events actually happened.  Can you imagine shipping you off to an island if you contracted a disease that couldn't be cured?  Discovering facts like these, makes me feel like I live under a rock in my content little life.  What struggles people had to endure.  And how blessed are we to live freely??  Very.

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Wednesday Letters

The Wednesday Letters The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had seen this book pop up on Goodreads a couple of times, so I Bookmooched it.  It was a delightful book.  Yes, I said delightful.  For the third book in a row, I couldn't put it down.  There isn't a greater feeling when reading.  It was a light read, but full of so much character.  It is a book about love, forgiveness, loyalty, redemption, and life.

The book is about a couple who peacefully die in each other's arms.  Shortly after their death, they find letters from their father written to their mother.  Every Wednesday, since their wedding, he would right his wife a letter.  The letters reveal his love for his wife and his family, yet open the door to a hidden family secret.  I'll leave it at that.  I don't want to spoil it.

For me, the book shows us that yes you can have love, yes you can have moments along the way that a blissful, wonderful.  However, life is never going to be perfect.  Life is hard, life is worth living everyday.  Love your spouse.  Love them for them, they will love you back.  Marriage is made up of many trials, happiness, struggle, and most importantly, love.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

The Language of Secrets

The Language of Secrets The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book landed in my lap.  I was contacted by a Advertising Director of a publishing company.  She had seen was I was reading through GoodReads (my all-time favorite website) and thought I might like this new book.  She mailed it to me.  I read it.  It was great! 

Once I started the book, I had a hard time putting it down.  I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened.  The book is about a young boy who is caught up in a family of secrets and regret and throughout the process, becomes a lost child.  As an adult, he starts looking for answers as to what happened to him as a child, which he has no memory of.  The book if full of many unexpected twists and turns.  It is what keeps you reading.  I wanted to know more, more, more. 

I fell in love with so many of the characters in this book.  I found that as I read, I was trying to put myself in their situation.  What what I have done?  Made me look at the consequences of our decisions and how they not only effect me, but those I love.  Towards the end of the book, it gave me insight as to how parents really feel when their kids are grown and move away.  Do we ever really know what our parents experienced as young parents?  As children, do we really now our mother or father?  And as parents, we try to protect our children and make a good life for them.  Then perhaps you raise your children and be the everything in their life and then all of sudden, you are in the shadow of their own lives.  They've moved on and without you?  Does life really go by that fast that before you know it, it has passed you by?  Looking back, will I regret the wife that I was?  The mother I was?  The daughter I was?

I loved this book.  It is though provoking and intriguing to say the least.  Read it!

Monday, March 1, 2010

The Alchemist

The Alchemist The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is about a boy named Santiago who travels from his home in Spain to travel to Egypt to follow treasure.  On his journey, he meets a gypsy, a man who claims to be a kind, an Alchemist, and his future wife.  He endures many obstacles and questions his journey along the way.  It is a book about following our dreams and never settling for the easy path.  Trust God and trust in your strength.

The Help

The Help The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was our February book club book.  Oh, how I loved this book. It takes place in the time of Martin Luther King, Jr.  I have read about this period of time, but never from a black maid's perspective. 

The book takes place in the south at a time where white families were cared for by black maids.  Not only did they take care of cooking the meals and cleaning the house, they helped (and mostly) raise their employer's children as well.  It was a time when black people were required to use separate entrances, use a black bathroom, etc.  I was very moved by this book and gave me an entirely new view of how they must have felt living through this and how strong their faith was that things would eventually change.

Great book!!!!!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are looking for a good writer, this is the one!  The writing style of this book is what keeps you coming back.  The setting of the story takes place on an old farm, which makes you fall in love with this story.  Throughout the book, I could picture in my mind what the farm looked like and the sense of peace that existed there. 

The main character is either Edgar, a mute boy, or his dog, Almondine.  The author makes you fall in love with Almondine.  She is loving, faithful, compassionate, and Edgar's protector.  The book is not only about Edgars life, but about a series of events that take place that makes Edgar forced to make heavy decisions about the direction of his life and the safety of his family.

The book is intertwined with story after story.  Loved it!