50 Books in a Year: Book #56 Mare's War #59 Dark Water #60 The List #63 Let It Snow

So, the above four books are pretty amazing and I'm kind of sorry that I'll be speed reviewing them. I hope you'll  get the idea of how much I love them, although they are all quite different. I'll be putting up full reviews on Teen Text Talk and will link to those as I complete them...which, um, may be the 12th of Never....we'll see.

Dark Water 
(edited from a conversation on YA Reads for Adults...where you too can join and I love that this was our guest author selection and Laura McNeal was there to talk with us about her book)

I love the ending so much. It's so hopeful and romantic and uplifting that I was willing to accept that even her cousin's, who is truly much weaker than she, hatred couldn't deter her from the goal of finding Amiel. 

I suppose I just see the whole book as being uplifting. I see it as a struggle for a girl to find her own identity, who is forced to find it faster than most because of what happens, and in the end she knows exactly who she is, what she wants and how she's going to get it. Pearl is much more than just a girl of divorced parents, much more than a poor girl et cetera, and while Amiel helped her on this road in the end she did this alone and I can take comfort in that. To me she is more alone than lonely and alone isn't all that bad. I don't think she was lonely just a little bit lost and I could/can/will identify with that.  All the people are experiencing  something that so real that at times it's painful. 

 I totally remember those times in my life when I felt like I was changing, and the world around me was staying the same...I think that's one of the many steps towards maturity. I also lived in my head a lot, um, er, still do and could be that extroverted cheerleader, but was also the person who thought about everything too much. I had to learn to balance those two me's a little better and in the process I grew up and realized that it's OK to be quiet sometimes and sometimes it's OK to yell. I think that Pearl is that the beginning of that journey.

Finally, this discussion has reminded me of this poem:

Song by Adrienne Rich http://southerncrossreview.org/41/ric...

We're all just diamonds and wood after all. 

The List 

Although I was a black girl in a pretty much all white school, I mean I was the first African-American to graduate from Lebanon High School and that was 1994 (you can read more about that here). Aside from my early years of school, I wasn't really teased. And in high school I wasn't blacklisted or whatever it is teens do to other teens. I do remember being in a clique that would rival that one in Mean Girls and reading this book reminded me so much of those, what I thought were harmless, lists of pretty girls and boys. I never thought about what it meant to be on those lists or to write those lists or to even see those lists floating around.

Popularity contest are not cool.

I love how this book shows this, but doesn't really tie up any of the loose ends...the ending is neither happy nor sad. Everyone learns lessons and everyone suffers. How could you win when the list is so horrible and intrinsic to the very backbone of the school. Vivian really has shown us every example of the teenage boy and girl. I'm pretty sure every adult will see him or herself in the characters and be glad that time is over. I hope teenagers read this book (yes, I bought it for my classroom in hard-cover) and see themselves and use it as a tool to change.

Mare's War 

This book was first introduced to me during our Missouri Reading Initiative meetings. Our presenter Kae read a couple of really great descriptive passages from the book and then we used them as writing assignments. Those passages really made me want to read the book.

This book is quite lovely as it encompasses historical fiction, Mare is a African-American girl fighting in WWII, strong females, and it shows how African-Americans were discriminated against even in the face of war. The book is told alternately through flashbacks in Mare's voice and in the voice of Mare's youngest grand-daughter. It's important to appreciate your heritage and to not take for granted any member of your family.

Let It Snow

Super cute stories centered around a small town and the teenagers who get snowed in on Christmas and Christmas Eve. There are three stories that interweave the characters and each story is written by a prominent YA author.

The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson
I love this story. I enjoy a good meet cute. Stuart sounds just too perfect. I could go on, but I'd just feel like some sort of moron. Is it wrong that I want to collect little Christmas themed knick-knacks one day...with a train running through the whole town? I don't think so.

A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle by John Green
This story is kind of like Road Trip meets Pineapple Express meets Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. I loved. I rooted for the good guy. I wanted there to be cheerleaders. I wished I had a cool nickname like The Duke.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle
I'd been reading about how this one wasn't as good as the other two. At first I totally agreed the main character is a whiny, selfish girl who doesn't really deserve to have friends let alone a boyfriend. Despite my dislike of her I really thought she acted like many of the teen girls I see today and in the end she learns some really valuable lessons from her guardian angel and the only entirely tea-cup pig thing was adorable.

55 Books in a Year: Book #50 The Night Circus

I started this book last Fall...yes, last Fall. And, if my status updates are any indication this book was gosh darned slow to start. Slow as H-E-C-K!

Reading Progress

09/09	page 280		73.0%	"I suppose you get to a point where this book moves fast enough."
09/09	page 181		47.0%	"'Second verse same as the first.' I feel like I should wear more black, white and red. I have students who will love this book."
09/08	page 121		31.0%	"if I may be quite honest I started this like, um, last fall and got to page 31 and then stopped...wow, it was so boring and then I put it on a reading challenge and must have it read by the end of the month...the beauty of the language keeps me going. not really sure why it can't be told in sequential order. books that go out of time without a reason make me want to punch puppies."

This book was probably at a "2" until about half way, and, then, frankly, by the end it was a delicious and solid "5"...hence, the "4". It's one of those books where you can tell the author loves the world that has been created and this is the first book that I've ever read where the world that has been created is so magical and beautiful (like made for a movie that I'm sure is going to be created soon) that it distracts from the plot and from the characters. I couldn't tell if I wanted the two main characters to get together in the end and I wasn't sorry when any characters died...I didn't get to know them that well, I loved the ending so much I forgot about the beginning. And, gah, any character development happened in relation to that darned circus. It takes about 100 pages to go anywhere and that's a lot of darned circus talk.  Although I just didn't love all that rising action in the beginning, I do love me some circus action. And, really, who doesn't love a circus?

Yeah, that darned circus with it's beautiful maze and wishing tree and bonfire and delicious cider. Uh, uh, that circus with its contortionist and fortune teller and wide-eyed red-headed, mystical twins. Of course, there's a love triangle, of sorts and an aged old magicians bet. I wish I could have seen more of that...the bet, the mysterious characters, the love story. Read this and you'll want to grab your black and white dress or tux, throw on your red scarf and find some wonderful place to skulk about at night hoping for your dreams to come true, just don't plan on finding any characters to fall in love with on your journey, well, that is until the circus is about ready to close.

55 Books in a Year: Book #35 Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

I may love this book. No really, I may be in deep, deep love with this book.

And, look at all the reasons why:

1] The Language

From the very first paragraph I could tell that this book was a wonderful labor of love

“Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic.” 

“He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands.” 

“There was very little about her face and figure that was in any way remarkable, but it was the sort of face which, when animated by conversation or laughter, is completely transformed. She had a lovely disposition, a quick mind and a fondness for the comical. She was always very ready to smile and, since a smile is the most becoming ornament that any lady can wear, she had been known upon occasion to outshine women who were acknowledged beauties in three countries.” 

and, my favorite

“Can a magician kill a man by magic?” Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. “I suppose a magician might,” he admitted, “but a gentleman never would.” 

2] The Plot

There's the first book of magic...it's been eaten by a drunk man who is later hanged for his crime. There's Mr. Norrell who is such an insecure nit-wit that he goes around buying up all the books of magic and there's his apprentice a dashing man whose only true greatness is that he is truly an amazing magician. There's a war with France, marriages, secrets and lust for power. At a great cost, there is a woman who has been brought back from the dead. Add to that a faerie who loves all things shiny and collects them to his castle. There's a prophecy that these men are bound to perform as they are responsible for bringing magic back to England. And, I love the footnotes as they talk about the world in which this book exist and enhance my pleasure.

3] The Themes

Friendship

Norrell and Strange have a binding relationship. They complete each other.

True Love

Strange's sacrifice for Arabella is truly the best part of the book.

Social Relationships

Stephen Black, Lady Pole, Arabella and the Mad King George are all marginalized characters who play big roles in the book. They are characters who could have changed the course of the novel had they not been marginalized.

The Roles of Men and Women

If only Strange had made attention to Arabella, if only Norrell would have thought of Lady Pole's feelings...if only, if only...

4] Jonathan Strange

Yes, he needs a whole section. At first, he seems like a little bit of a prissy no job loafer, but he becomes the heart of the book. He risk everything to make sure that his wife is safe. He is a gentleman who takes pride in what he can do. 

I am a Strangeite all the way and appreciate that magic is the first of his many professions that he did well, for a long period of time and honestly. I love that he says that a magician could use magic to kill a person, but a gentleman would never do so. I also like that Strange has a fondness for Norrell, even though he knows how Norrell is towards him and others. I think that it is this aspect of his personality that helps him to understand King George and his madness. Strange is truly a compassionate person who understands and strives to understand those around him...to not only better his magic and himself, but so that others can be better of, as well.

I do not like how Strange treats women, especially Arabella. When he's so progressive in his action and thoughts concerning magic (doesn't mind if women learn magic etc.), he still treats his wife like property, listens to her only when it suits him and most of the time after the fact his not listening has gotten him into trouble, and believes his wife's greatest pleasure is to be entertained. Gah, Strange, gah!

He is such a complex character.

5] The Otherworld characters

The Gentleman with the Thistledown hair (we all know that we can't know a faerie's real name) maybe #1 on my list of characters I love to hate and not because he's annoying, but because he is sincere and misguided. He really wants Stephen Black to be a king and he thinks that Lady Pole and Arabella are better off with him. He is the best faerie.

Vinculus is also pretty awesome and his BIG role in this book is so subtle it is just pure genius.

6] The Setting

Regency England...I didn't even know I loved this time period in England...I do love that Mad King George.

If I could possibly find a flaw with this book it would have to be with the fact that in reading about this book I saw that it was being compared to the writings of Dickens and Austen...it's neither really as it is something beautiful and marvelous and all its own. I hear there's supposed to be a sequel...how delicious!

50 Books in a Year: Book #36 The Lost Symbol

     I enjoy a good thriller.    
     I like when a book makes me read so fast that I get paper cuts flipping through the pages or, in the case of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, I read so fast I get little tini seizures from flicking through the pages on my Nook.
     I love Dan Brown.
     I love Robert Langdon.
     I'm pretty sure that I won't have anything bad to say about Mr. Brown as long as he continues to write books involving the brilliant Dr. Langdon and clues that aren't hard for me to cipher, but always surprising when I do, as long as there are tormented characters like Mal'akh, as long as there's slight sexual tension, but not enough to be distracting, as long as he writes about pretty places I've been or want to go.
     I love that Dan Brown's stories are always just a step ahead of what my head can guess.
     I do have to say though, if you have a fear of drowning or suffocating (like I do) or a fear of large sea creatures (like I do) might I suggest not reading this book (especially the last few chapters) late at night, on a trip to the Smithsonian, in a cabin in Colorado with just your kiddo beside you, or while taking a bath. I mean unless you want to be freaked out of your ever loving mind, which sometimes isn't a bad thing.

Easily

5 Stars

50 Books in a Year: Book #31 The Help

I don't really know how to talk about what I feel about this book. I didn't like this book, the thing is I also didn't dislike the book. Hmmm...maybe I'll just break it down into parts:

Things I like about The Help:
1. The story
Oh...I bet if we talked to any person who was "The Help" in the 60s, they would have such wonderful stories to tell and I believe they would be just as rich and diverse as the stories in this book. What a great, refreshing idea for a book!
2. Mae Mobley and Skeeter
Because we get to see Mae Mobley grow into a little girl, I grew to like her. I like that, although she is crying at the end of the book, she's going to be OK and we know it because of the moment she shares with Aibileen..."You is kind. You is smart. You is important." And, Skeeter, well, Skeeter is just so real that you have to love her. I find it interesting that she really isn't a strong person (she really is a woman of her culture) in the sense that we aren't going to see her at a rally, and she would marry out of duty over love, but she does see things through and she is passionate about people. I would love to meet either of these characters.
3. The setting (place and time period)
I love learning about American History, especially when it is about or enhances my knowledge of African-American culture. I also find it most interesting to read about the Civil Rights Movement, what a passionate part of America's culture.

Things I dislike about The Help:
1. The inconsistent and sometimes down-right offensive dialect
I don't like how the African-American dialect is stereotypical and really does phase in and out at inappropriate intervals. It is not consistent and detracts from the reading of the book. Frankly, just a few bits here and there would have been appropriate and we would have gotten the idea. This is not Uncle Tom's Cabin and doesn't need to be written as such, not to mention that this dialect would have been prevalent in not just the African-American community and it didn't seem to be that the dialect that is "The South" could be seen as strongly in any of the White (there I said it!) characters and that was irksome and made me feel a little bit angry while reading.
2. Each character is stereotypical and unoriginal in action and description...OK, so that seems a bit harsh, let me explain...
All the white people, even Skeeter acted how I assume and have seen people in The South act in the 60s in movies or shows or books. And, all the Black people are what I feel stereotypical Black people are, you know when you read about them and don't know them, even Minny. Everything just seemed too black and white and perfect, where's the gray? Where's more of Hilly being that perfect mother, so I'm conflicted about why I hate her? All of these characters stay in the homes in which the author has created them...and, because of that I don't really learn anything I didn't already know about The South in the 60s, even the death of Medgar Evers was sterilized and perfectly trimmed. Let's just say I didn't feel uncomfortable about anything the characters were doing, and, well, I should have!
3. The setting (place and time period)
So much could have been done and was not. I understand that the author stated that she dislikes people writing about her beloved Mississippi unless they are from there. I don't like reading about such a sensitive period in American History without feeling some of the burn and the burden. I don't like that most of the people I talk to who have read this book mention all the anecdotal stories (the pie, the toilets, the drunken wife), when there is so much more that wasn't flushed out enough for people to talk about (the child abuse, the treatment of women, Jim Crow). This book is Civil Rights-lite for those people who want to talk about it as some sort of background to tea and cake...that rubs me the wrong way.

What it amounts to is...I can think of several books and movies (Corrina, Corrina for one) that are in the same genre and do a better job of rendering characters and setting better than this one. But, the darned story is so good that I can't wait to watch the movie, as I'm sure, with such great actors, most of the things I find wrong with the book will be fixed and ring a little truer.

3 Stars

50 Books in a Year: Book #28 Ragtime

          So, I've been meaning to read Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow for about two years now. From the moment that I realized that Ragtime the Musical was based on a book, a book, that from what I understand is out of time and hard to follow. It's suppose to follow the lives of three families (a white upper middle-class family, a Jewish immigrant family and a poor black family) as they struggle with the progressive era.
          I've also read that this is the first book that is the first of its kind in the sense that Doctorow is putting his characters inside the first 20 years of the 20th century and, includes factional information within the lives of his characters. Most of his fictional characters don't have names and are called by their family station there's Mother, Father, Tateh and so forth depending on which family.
          It is a little dry so far, but I've already met Harry Houdini and a murderer, I'm looking forward to getting to the meat of the action, of course, knowing that there is no meat (or, that it's all meaty and worth my attention?) and that these characters go in and out of time in the Progressive Era teaching me what it was like to be an American so I can appreciate this concept as a Post-Modern American, way past the Progressive Era, and not waste any of the precious time I have.
          I miss the music.

50 Books in a Year: Book #26 The Heart of the Spring

          One of the coolest things about having a blog is getting to talk with authors about their books.
          Last week, my friend, Kate, and I received a rather cryptic email from a lady that we both know from church way back named Laura Valenti, she wanted to have lunch with us to talk to us about something that she hoped would benefit us (yes, it was that cryptic). Kate and I decided that we would go to the lunch together just incase she wanted us to sell Amway (no offense to those of you out there who sell or buy Amway). We met her for lunch at the Three French Hens and their Chicks, a not new, but new location, delightful restaurant and whatnot store of various and sundry things. I'd like to take a moment to talk about the food I had at this restaurant  only because I love food, especially flavorful combinations. I had the chicken salad which was good because they made it how I like it with nuts and grapes and celery on a croissant and then I had the half Maple Pear Salad...butter lettuce and some other dark lettuce with feta cheese, pears, pecans, Craisins and a maple syrup vinigrette (seriously amazing), to drink iced Jasmine tea, and for dessert coconut cream pie and a bite of Laura's burnt sugar pie. Sigh. If you are from the area and have not been to this restaurant, go now and while you are there check out the antique store, Apple Days and the wonderful booth of do-dads for kiddos including hair bows, my weakness.
          While we ate our lovely meals, Laura didn't waste time telling us about what she wanted. She'd been to a Writer's Workshop and wanted us to preview her latest book The Heart of the Spring to see if and how we could use it in our classes. And, while we were having a lovely conversation about family and teaching and summer, she gave us each a free copy of the book.

From the back cover:

Eighteen year old Becky Darling is thrilled with her first job at the Brice Inn in 1924, especially when she learns that Bennett Spring may become Missouri's first state park. It sounds like real progress until she discovers her beloved father is working hard against the idea. Life during that Prohibition summer is further complicated by her older brother's involvement in illegal moonshine, the impending birth of a new brother or sister and the surprise arrival of a state senator and his handsome aide. Becky can't help but wonder if life at Bennett Spring will ever be carefree again?

I look forward to reading this book because it is historical (Valenti did all of her own research by the way) and for young adults, young adults who, nowadays, don't care enough to know anything about the area in which they live.
          I asked her if I could talk about it on my blog and also if I could interview her later (which I hope to do later this week), right now I'm excited about reading a book detailing this area of Missouri and I am reading all about Becky and her family who 90 years ago lived just down the way in the land of trout and bass fishing.
          I am amazed at how many wonderfully talented writers there are in the state of Missouri and am looking forward to reading this book that Ellen Gray Massey said is about "fishing, moonshining, distrust of outsiders, beauty of nature, importance of family and a romance."

Oh, and if you want to know more about Laura Valenti before I post the interview, she has a website and started a blog in January all of which can be found at: www.betweenthestarandthecross.com

50 Books in a Year: Book #18 Loving Frank

          Before researching a little bit about this book, I can honestly say that I knew little about Frank Lloyd Wright other than that he was an architect who created liveable works of art sooooo beautiful and breath-taking that I remember even as a teenager wanting to live in one of his famous houses, mostly because I had this naive teenage fascination with all things Ayn Rand. (Note: some links contain spoilers)
          I was surprised by what I found when I searched the title, Taliesin, Frank and Mamah. One reviewer, from The New York Times, sums it up best when she says, "And beyond its shock value, the outcome would have ramifications not only for two ruptured families but also for architects, feminists, criminologists and armchair moralists of every stripe."
          And, that's just it, everybody has something to say about the love affair, and yes, it was an affair, of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney that I'm not sure that we don't miss the point of the reason why we read about it. The point is simple, what does it mean to truly live and what does it mean to truly love someone? Not just like the look of someone, not just what the person says or does, but to find somebody that is so much like you that they become part of the foundation of you. And, what do you do when you find that person after you are married and have children? For some, that have better moral fortitude than I, the answer is simple stay in your marriage, suffer for the children, be altruistic and selfless. For some, such as I, the marriage you are trying desperately to leave would never have happened to begin with because it takes more than like and social conventions to make any marriage work. It seems that both Cheney and Wright (horrible fate aside, and some would say they both deserved it) realized what Edna and Nora did, and were able to do in real life what others could only do in fiction. They loved without conventional limitations, and, Ayn Rand would be proud, thought only of themselves.
          Many, it seems, feel that Frank Lloyd Wright didn't love Mamah Borthwick in this manner and they attribute his silence after Taliesin to cold indifference...I, however, like to be a hopeless romantic and think that when something is that painful the very idea of it breaks your heart and if you talked about it, even to a diary or God, you'd shatter into a million katrillion little pieces and couldn't do anything, not even breath.
         But, no matter how you look at it, I guess, deep down, Wright wasn't any different than most celebrities...not demi-god, only human, which is why I'm enjoying the book so much. Told through the eyes of Mamah, we learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright the person, not the architect.
         I have a long list of Frank Lloyd Wright reading ahead of me...The Women is on my Summer TBR, most definitely and his autobiography and a book about what happened at Taliesin. I'm glad I'm starting with this book, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan.

50 Books in a Year: Book #11 The Apothecary's Daughter

          When I was in junior high I read my fair share of tawdry romance novels. I blush (out of embarrassment, as well as rememberance) just thinking about the list of titles: Windmills of the Gods, Bloodline, Fine Things, Now and Forever, to name a few, Silouette and Harlequin Romances (too many to name or remember) and old gems like Forever Amber. I'd read these books at school, a group of us girls taking turns with them stuffing them in our lockers underneath our Cosmo magazines so our moms wouldn't find out about either. We'd wait in the halls or find one another at lunch and whisper about the dirty passages. I learned some of my best vocab words from these books.
          I'd like to say that I've grown up, but really, I haven't. On Fridays Christopher Lee watches the tiny tot while I go hang out and last Friday my friends and I were at the local bookstore Lebanon Books (I hadn't been since they moved across town and wanted to see the new digs), it was raining and we had an hour to kill before our movie started. We fannied about the various aisles...New Releases, Cookbooks, Classics, and ended up at the Romance section. We had to have spent at least 20 minutes there, reading the silly covers and looking for the dirty sections, which we read aloud at barely a whisper and then laughed like 7th graders. It was...well, it was hilarious, especially now that so many romances novels are about vampires and werewolves as well as pirates, prison inmates and vikings.
          You see, I'm a firm believer that romance novels aren't meant to be bought, they're meant to be laughed at in bookstores or borrowed and stuffed in lockers only to come out during lunch or study hall in junior high. So, imagine my complete and utter disappointment when, for our annual Christmas book exchange at school, I received not only a romance, but a Christian one (no dirty scenes) at that.
          It's called The Silent Governess and, frankly, I have no idea what it is about because it's been on loan to so many sophomore girls since one of them spotted it on my desk in early January that I barely remember the cover. And, everytime one brings it back she gushes about how marvelous it is and another ask to borrow it. This whole entire phenomenon has me intrigued. My curiousity was piqued even more when my cousin mentioned another book by this author, called The Apothecary's Daughter, that she downloaded for free on her Kindle. I posted about it on FB and sure enough there were more people who liked The Silent Governess and The Apothecary's Daughter, some of them even claimed that knowing me, they thought I would like them too. The Silent Governess is still on loan, but I now have The Apothecary's Daughter on my Nook...a free download.
           And, well, it's pretty good so far--really. The main character is strong-willed and determined to do what she wants, the plot is not determined by the sex scenes in the midst of it, it's set in London and other parts of England, it's a little suspenseful as Lilly is pretending her father isn't sick so she can be an apothecary and her mother just disappeared one day. It isn't quiet the clear cut read I assumed it would be. Maybe, just maybe, Julie Klassen, I'll read The Silent Governess after all, that is as soon as I finish this one!

50 books in a Year: Book #7 Little Bee

          Last week during our Snow-cation I got a lot of nuthin' accomplished. Frankly, I needed the time to just read and talk and play with the tiny person while watching PBS Kids, it was refreshing. My friend Aimee (who does not have, but should create a blog--hint, oh, hint...) reads my blog and noticed that both my friend Michelle and I are doing the British book challenge and found just the book for us. She said, and I quote, "It's British, it's World, read it and tell me if we should teach it at the Senior level".

         I did not read it right away (you all know how long it takes me to read books that are recommended: see Demian), but told her I would have it done in time enough for her to order it, if it becomes the book they choose...although I didn't buy it, didn't download it and didn't know when I was going to get the time to...lalalala *whistles* and then my husband needed work boots and we had to make a trip to Springfield. He bought boots at Bass Pro and then we went to the used bookstore.

         Now, I want to talk a minute about my delicious obsession/love/amour for used bookstores. I love the smell of used bookstores, the feeling, the old carpeting and rugs and cats (the used bookstore in Mansfield has two) and the fact that the people who work at the store know where books are without looking in a computer and I love that even though you haven't visited a used bookstore in a while those people treat you like you came in yesterday. I especially love Hooked on Books, a bookstore I've been frequenting since I started college in 1994. I no longer had any book credit, but that didn't stop me from letting the tiny tot pick out two books (I put several children's books on the floor and let her choose the ones she wanted), Imogene's Antler's and Circus Counting, and I picked out two books for myself Dr. No and this book Little Bee.
          I started reading it almost immediately (having finished Forgive My Fins rather quickly) and am in love with the main character Little Bee and her story of perseverance and determination. I also like that it is a book set in London and surrounding areas and is about a history of the Nigerian people that I am only beginning to realize. Chris Cleave has also fully developed the psyche of a woman in the other main character (this is one of those books where one voice narrates a chapter and then the other voice narrates a chapter adding to the story) and her struggles in dealing with her family. I don't really want to give too much away, and, frankly, I'm still reading so I'm in the dark about a lot of what is going on...but I am enjoying the suspense and the character development and the language. Cleave really knows how to weave a sentence into telling us the most profound details. And, look at the cover...it's so beautiful that when I'm reading I have to hide the cover so Lila doesn't grab the book out of my hand as she is prone to do.
         I can tell this books is going to be one of those that stays with me forever. And, to think, I was apprehensive in reading this book because I thought it was going to be about another spelling bee or bee keeper!

Ps. Yesterday the blog received an award I posted about it last evening, but have added some recipents, I'm now up to 12!)