In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated from high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his last summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer—Vincent’s last taste of innocence and first taste of real life—dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one’s own destiny. Robert Dugoni has always been a superb storyteller, but this coming-of-age story was exceptional. The World […]
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Sunflower Sisters – Book Review
“… knowledge has no enemy but the ignorant.” ― Martha Hall Kelly, Sunflower Sisters Martha Hall Kelly’s million-copy bestseller Lilac Girls introduced readers to Caroline Ferriday, an American philanthropist who helped young girls released from Ravensbrück concentration camp. Now, in Sunflower Sisters, Kelly tells the story of her ancestor Georgeanna “Georgey” Woolsey, a Union nurse who joins the war effort with her sister, Eliza, and crosses paths with Jemma, a young enslaved girl who is sold off and conscripted into the army, and Ann-May Wilson, her cruel plantation mistress. Inspired by true accounts, the novel provides a vivid, detailed look at the Civil War experience, from the inhumane plantations, to a war-torn […]
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The Boys – Book Review
When I was a little girl, I loved watching the Andy Griffith Show. The loveable cast of characters delivered a weekly dose of homespun humor and insight to audiences for eight years. Andy always offered sage advice, Barney’s antics made me giggle, Aunt Bee’s home cooking and lovingkindness reminded me of my grandma, and Opie was just plain cute with his red hair and freckles. Then there was Gentle Ben about the Florida Everglades adventures of game warden, Tom Wedloe, his wife Ellen, their son Mark, and Mark’s tame bear, Ben. I can still hear Mark’s little voice calling out to his big buddy. In The Boys: A Memoir of […]
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Apples Never Fall – Book Review
The Delaneys are fixtures in their Australian community. The parents, Stan and Joy, are killers on the tennis court, and off it their chemistry is palpable. But after fifty years of marriage, they’ve finally sold their famed tennis academy and are ready to start what should be the golden years of their lives. If only they had grandchildren. One night, a stranger named Savannah knocks on Stan and Joy’s door, bleeding after a fight with her boyfriend. The Delaneys are more than happy to welcome them into their home, and she becomes a permanent guest. When Joy goes missing on Valentine’s Day and Savannah is nowhere to be found, the […]
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January 2022 Book Reviews
What a great month of reading! I gobbled up thrillers and suspense, historical fiction, a children’s book, and Christian fiction. I laughed, I cried, I was inspired, and I learned. Who could ask for more? Here are my reviews from my favorite to my least favorite. Whose Waves These Are By Amanda Dykes “He would never forget the impression of that voice on his heart. It was the voice of the man, who, king of the universe, stooped to wash his own disciples’ earth crusted feet. Who rubbed spit into dirt and used the mud to make a blind man see. Whose royal day of birth was enrobed in […]
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Harriet Tubman, American Abolitionist
Harriet Tubman’s accomplishments in the abolition of slavery, the Civil War, and the women’s suffrage movement changed the arc of American history. She was born Araminta “Minty” Ross to Harriet Green and Benjamin Ross sometime between 1820 and 1822 on a plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. When she was five years old, Tubman’s owners rented her out to neighbors as a nursemaid where she was whipped whenever the baby cried. Two years later, she was rented out to set muskrat traps and later as a field hand. Early signs of her resistance to slavery came at age twelve when she intervened to keep her master from throwing a heavy weight […]
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The Guide – Book Review
Guess what I know about fly-fishing? Zip. Nada. Diddly squat. But it didn’t matter because Peter Heller told me all about it. Have I been to a fancy resort for the uber-wealthy in the Colorado wilderness? Nope, but Peter Heller told me all about it. Kingfisher Lodge, boutique fishing at its finest, is nestled in a canyon along the most pristine river water on the planet, and locked behind a heavy gate. Sandwiched between barbed wire and a meadow with a sign that reads Don’t Get Shot! Kingfisher offers a respite from Covid for wealthy clients and for newly arrived fishing guide, Jack, a return to normalcy. Jack has lost […]
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The Man Who Died Twice – Book Review
It’s an intricately woven whodunit with delightful characters and witty dialogue, a laugh-out-loud, quirky gem I couldn’t put down. There were so many twists and turns that I was guessing until the very last pages. The friendships between the septuagenarian sleuths are poignant and added depth to the eccentric novels. Of course, I loved that the primary character was a woman of a certain age. Book #2 was even better than the first — great entertainment during trying times. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Synopsis: “More women are murdering people these days,” says Joyce. “If you ignore the context, it is a real sign of progress.” Richard Osman, The […]
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Clara Barton, philanthropist
Clarissa “Clara” Harlowe Barton, is one of the most honored women in American history. Her contributions in education, during the Civil War, and at The Red Cross made a difference in the lives of an untold number of people. Clara began teaching at age 18, founded a school for the children of mill workers, and established the first free school in Bordentown, New Jersey when she was 31. She resigned when she discovered that the school had hired a man at twice her salary. “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a […]
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Game On – Book Review
If you have never read a Stephanie Plum novel, you should! They are funny, upbeat, and irreverent and will keep you entertained from the very first sentence. Who is Stephanie Plum you ask? Well, she is a sassy bond enforcement agent for her sleazy cousin Vinnie’s bail bond business in Trenton, New Jersey. She is in one scape after or another, but is always rescued by her police detective boyfriend, Joe Morelli, or hunky fellow bondsman and security expert, Ranger. She gets help from a hooker named Lula, and her Grandma Mazur, who is always on top of the latest Burg gossip in this wildly successful series. Author Janet Evanovich’s […]
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