8: Three Good Things

This past Monday, while on a trip to take our Student Council to their district meeting, we stopped at the mall, and I, of course, never left the bookstore.  While there, a lady asked if I were looking for anything specific.  When I replied that I was just looking, she picked up this book off the shelf and suggested I read Three Good Things.

Author Wendy Francis takes her readers into the lives of two sisters, a bakery, and challenged loves. Both missing their mother, sisters Ellen and Lanie, close and supportive of one another, share secrets...well, most of them.

While getting to know Ellen, the reader also learns about kringles, or, at least, I did.  This pastry sounds tasty...glad the recipe was included in the final pages of the novel.  This bakery, often a means of therapy for Ellen, provides the door through which several of the minor characters are introduced, as well as the man that just might hook Ellen's heart.

I enjoyed the storyline, quckly learning that character development is a strength of this writer, resulting in our visiting the lives of three of the main characters...both the sisters and Lanie's husband Rob, which was interesting rocking back and forth and seeing their marriage through the lenses of both spouses.   All of these characters I liked as I enjoyed getting to know them, happy when their lives began to reconcile as I had hoped.

Wendy Francis' next novel The Summer of Good Intentions releases this July.

Happy reading!

7: Angels Walking

Another winner by Karen Kingsbury!  The very interesting detail about his book?  The author herself has hosted an online Facebook book discussion on this book, which concluded just last evening.  How cool is that?

Angels Walking, the first of four in this new series, takes us to the world of baseball, broken relationships, and better futures as distances between God and these characters are shortened...all with a little help from two Heaven-sent angels.

Do you believe in angels?

I do.  Consider Hebrews 13:2 - "Don't forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."  Yes.

Tyler blows his shoulder in an almost perfect baseball game, which sends him on a journey where he will meet an Alzheimer patient, possibly rekindle a past romance, and face poor decisions on both his and his parents' faults.  Somewhere in all these plot lines, readers can make connections to something within their own lives.  I did.

Within Kingsbury's novels are absorbing stories, affirming God's presence in our lives.  They leave you feeling good, as renewal stirs within the soul of souls.

Please hurry and read this one...the next in the series Chasing Sunsets releases in April, whereupon the next online discussion will begin.

Happy reading!

6: The Selection

Kiera Cass, author of this series, takes the reader into the world of what it must be like on the The Bachelor (having never watched this show, I am stepping out on a limb a bit here, so, please, correct me if I a wrong). In this future dystopic world of castes, as it begins in The Selection, eligible girls may apply to become the Princess to Prince Maxom.

Main character America has no desire to enter the contest as she is in love with Aspen, who unfortunately is in a caste/class lower than herself, yet through the encouragement of both Aspen and her mother, she soon learns that her application was chosen; she is now one of the 34 girls who will compete for the attention of the Prince....and his attention she does receive.

With weekly televised segments highlighting the girls' week (similar to The Bachelor?),  the story line also highlights the varying states of the social classes as America begins to help enlighten Maxon on the true condition of his country.  Will he listen to her?  Yes. 

The story within the story maybe interests me more...America the country is no more, for once upon a time China demanded a check, and America was bankrupt.  This part of the story made me uncomfortable, for I have asked that question:  What will happen one day when China demands payment?  I do hope that America continues to promote her name in a positive way, that through her redemption and a change occurs, for that is my dream/prayer for our country now.

I read this novel for our student BHS Reads Book Club.  Inspired by Olaf and the bulletin board I created based on his character "So Many Series," I chose this series and two others and offered them as choices.  This one and Legend were chosen.  Another teacher friend wanted to read Legend, so I began The Selection (yes, I do love this cover more!).

Home on a snow day, I really wish I had book two The Elite, for the now America has made it to the Top Six, has become a spy for Maxom, and both have feelings for each other. Oh, my...

Happy reading!

P.S. Good news!  The Selection is available here for $1.99 on Kindle.

5: The County Fair

I checked this book out at the local library...so proud of myself!  I am probably addicted to books, so checking this out was good for multiple reasons!

Women's Bible Cafe Book Club's February selection, Katherine Valentine's (chosen for February because of her last name!) A County Fair was an enjoyable read, introducing me to characters from the previous novels in this series.  I enjoyed getting to know them, many reminding me of people I know, for I have lived in small towns similar to the one described, one where everyone knows everyone and the business of each, also. :)

I especially appreciated two quotes:

He took up the matter with the Lord, and as the Father is wont to do by way of the Holy Spirit, He sent the answer through a simple thought....this I have experienced.  Sometimes you just know you know...and you know why you know.  Love that confirmation.

The poor Lord, Father James thought.  He was always the fall guy for people's crumbled dreams.  Why did people insist on interpreting unanswered requests as God's show of indifference, when they were really His way of preventing us from settling for second best?  It had always been Father James' experience that when God closed a door it was because there was something infinitely better a little further down our spiritual path.  Few of God's children, however, had the patience or the faith to wait it out...now this excites me, for I, too, have had a few doors shut.  Something "infinitely" better is still ahead.  Yes, that excites me just a bit!

This novel has something for everyone...romance, mystery, loss, renewal.  A bonus for those who enjoying cooking, as the blue ribbon winner's recipes' are included at the end of the novel.  Sweet!

Happy reading!

4: Swimming

Nicola Keegan's Swimming was a different read.  Told in first person, this may have been the most detailed book I have ever read.  To the point that I felt tired.  Yes, this one felt a bit like work.

A first for me, the narrator is an infant in the first chapter.  Interesting.  Almost believable!

The narrator loves to swim, and the reader journeys with her from her first swim as a baby through her experiences at the Olympics.  We experience the loss of a sibling, a parent.  We experience puberty, her insecurities, her successes. In great detail.

I look forward to our discussion of this selection for our book club, to hearing the other ladies' comments.  I am a bit curious to know if this is the book she meant to choose (for there are other books by this title).  Maybe knowing who selected this one contributed to my concerns with the content, for I would never have thought she would have chosen this one due to content and language.

Happy reading!

3: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp

Alfred Kropp is a character my students will love, especially boys, especially those somewhat reluctant readers, especially an English teacher who love finding a series to recommend to her students.

I chose to read this book because I currently do have a group of very reluctant readers starting this very novel. Just wanting to inspire and encourage them, I began reading, hoping to have just enough read that I could engage them in a conversation revolving around characters.  Then, in less than a day, I read until I had completed the novel!  So good!

Only after I had finished did I make the connection...author Rick Yancy also wrote The Fifth Wave, a book we read for a book club last year, one we all enjoyed very much, wrote this series several years ago.  My regret?  That I didn't read this one years ago, so I could have been recommending this one to interested readers.

As I read, I just kept thinking...boys will this this action-filled, kick-booty, can't-keep-Alfred-down young adult read, for Alfred goes from a orphaned, ill-at-ease teenager to a pursuer of Excalibur, fighting alongside and against knights of the Round Table.  So many allusions, so many teachable moments.

Then, when I checked out the author's page, I learned there are three books in this series.  This excites me, for I just found a recommendation (or three) for some male, avid readers.  That is just very cool!

Happy reading!

2: Big Little Lies

Liane Moriarty, an author from Australia whose books I had not read until this one, takes the reader into lives of kindergarten parents where a little lie has huge consequences.

In Big Little Lies, Moriarty weaves a narrative of motherhood, mayhem, and murder, with characterization so captivating that the pages turn before you know it.  From plain Jane, to talkative Madeline, to beautiful Celeste, characters are introduced that become our friends as we experience their problems, loss, and abuse.

Author's voice...I would be so interested to know if the voice in this novel reflects the author's "real" voice.  If so?  She and I would definitely be friends!  Reading this novel had the feel of sitting and talking with a friend.  I enjoyed that.

I will read more by this author...soon! This was a selection for this month's faculty book club...wonder if I might convince them to choose another book by this author?!

Happy reading!