Review: The Bones of Paris

The Bones of Paris

By Laurie R King

Bantam September 2013

432 pages

Won from Olduvai Reads

Harris Stuyvesant is hired to track down a missing girl in 1932 Paris. Philippa Crosby is a beautiful American woman who spent her days among artists and actors. As Stuyvesant investigates her disappearance, he discovers the dark side of the art world - the macabre theatre of The Grand Guignol and artists who create their pieces from bones. Which of them knows what happened to Pip? 

Historical characters play large and small roles in this novel. We meet Man Ray, Cole Porter, Sylvia Beach, and Ernest Hemingway on the street corner and sitting nearby in the bar. King does a wonderful job of placing these characters into the fabric of the story without stopping the plot to say, "Oh look! Here is a famous writer/artist/socialite. Wasn't Paris fantastic?" 

The Bones of Paris is very dark. At its surface, this is a story of women who disappear without a trace and men who murder without remorse. But more than that, it's about the line between entertainment and perversion when it comes to both sex and violence. The book is pervasively and consistently dark and heavy. The first World War is over and people are living with that pain and grief. They look for ways to deal with the horrors that they have experienced, but they don't know how to process what they have seen and done. This would be a great book to read in the fall when you are craving a dark story for Halloween It has lots of mystery, violence, and even a few visits to the catacombs. 

This is the second book in a series. I haven't read the first book and I didn't feel confused by the characters or the events. That being said, I felt some distance from the characters. Stuyvesant feels like that typical cop character - he is a loner and he looks for solace from a good drink or a night with a woman. But I missed that feeling of fear and hope for the characters you really adore. Perhaps readers who have also read Touchstone will relate better to these characters, but it's worth your time for a truly atmospheric story. 

It's Monday and I'm back!

Hello, my reading friends. I hope you had a very merry Christmas! We have had a nice few days here - we had our church service on Christmas Eve, dinner at our house on Christmas day, dinner on Friday night with extended family who were visiting from out of town, and a Christmas celebration with my husband's side of the family. We are a tired bunch and the kids are appropriately spoiled.

I have been on a crazy reading spree these past few days. I set a goal to read 110 books this year and I'm only one book away now. Hooray!


Read This Week:

Rise and Shine
By Anna Quindlen


The Last Camellia
By Sarah Jio


When God Was a Rabbit
By Sarah Winman


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Merry Christmas!


Still Reading:

Pinkerton's Great Detective
By Beau Riffenburgh


Up Next:

Hild
By Nicola Griffith


The Arabian Nights


What are you reading during this last week of 2013?

Merry Christmas!

We are thankful for each one of you who visits us here at Literary Lindsey and chats with us about books.

May your Christmas be full of delicious food, new books, laughter and love.



Merry Christmas from us to you!

It's Monday and Christmastime is here!

People, I have clearly not thought this thing out. I have five books to read before the end of the year. Obviously this would be the time that I would embark upon reading several books that have more than 400 pages. Le sigh.

I'm off to do Christmas type things with my handsome hubby and those two cutie kids of mine. I shall return after Christmas at some point to be determined. I will definitely be back in January with a bunch of reviews and my favorite books of the year. Enjoy some eggnog and cookies and I hope you find a large stack of books under your tree!


Read this Past Week:

The Bones of Paris
By Laurie R. King


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Reviews of Palisades Park, God Is Able, and Bumped


Reading Now:

Pinkerton's Great Detective
By Beau Riffenburgh


Rise and Shine
By Anna Quindlen


Up Next:

Hild
By Nicola Griffith


What are you reading this week?

Review: Bumped

Bumped

By Megan McCafferty

Balzer and Bray April 2011

323 pages

From the library

Melody and Harmony are identical twins, but they have never met. As infants, they were given away to two very different adoptive families - Melody is placed with parents who do everything in their power to ensure their daughter succeeds and Harmony becomes a member of a devout religious order known as Goodside. When Harmony discovers that she has a twin sister, she leaves the only home she has ever known to find the sister she desperately wants to know. The girls live in a future where women over 18 are barren and teen girls became famous for their ability to "preg for profit" and give children to the most wealthy and famous individuals. Melody is on her way to become one of the most famous surrogates, but Harmony believes that having a child for money is a sin. Their clashing beliefs and choices will change their lives forever.

I had a very hard time relating to either Melody or Harmony. It seems satirical, but it felt as if Ms. McCafferty took the most extreme versions of obnoxious teen and obnoxious religious zealot and tried to make characters out of them. It drives the reader a little crazy, especially when nothing happens in the first few pages except for a ridiculous trip to the mall where teenager girls are, of course, obsessed with boys, shopping, and social media.

However, after a slow start, the writing does carry these caricatures through a pretty interesting story. The concept of teens having babies in order to sell them and secure their future seems simultaneously horrifying and not that far from our current reality. Teens have lots of sex and then broker a deal with adoptive parents so the teens can go to college or buy their first apartment. Beautiful and intelligent teens are represented by talent agents who will find the perfect partner to make the most appealing infant. Popular music encourages teens to "bump" and stores sell prosthetic baby bumps. McCafferty succeeds at creating a very fascinating (and terrifying) world and carrying her readers through it with aplomb.

But I still missed something with the characters. I get the satire of it all, but it makes the girls hard to connect with and I didn't understand how they came to make their decisions. Through the events of this book and their new relationship, both Melody and Harmony come to rethink their beliefs about family, love, sex, and "pregging." I missed the moment that made them change beliefs that they had held for their whole lives.

Bumped is an interesting concept well-executed by a talented writer. But the danger with satire is that we lose empathy for and connection with the characters. I wanted more from Melody and Harmony and I'm not convinced that I will be picking up the sequel. 

Review: God Is Able

God Is Able

By Priscilla Shirer

B & H Books October 2013

157 pages

Received for Review from Publicist

Everyone has a thing - that one thing that you think cannot be changed or fixed. There's a fear or a broken relationship or a problem that is so big that it seems insurmountable. In her book God Is Able, Priscilla Shirer reminds us that nothing is impossible with God, not even that one thing you think cannot be fixed. She takes just two verses - Ephesians 3:20 and 21 and revolutionizes the way you see God's power and the possibilities of your relationship with Him.

There are an awful lot of inspirational books that help you to closely study portions of the Bible. In my experience, some of them are good. Some of them are pretty bad. It's a very difficult thing to balance deep analysis of Scripture and a conversational tone. I've read some books where the authors go so far out of their way to be friendly and accessible that their points get lost completely. I've read other books where the subject becomes very dry and boring because the personality of the author is completely missing from the pages. I am happy to report that this is not a problem in God Is Able. Ms. Shirer manages to strike a perfect balance. Reading her book means that you are learning, but it feels like learning from a close friend or beloved teacher instead of a boring lecturer. 

At first glance, it seems like 150 pages is a few pages too many for an author to indicate that God is capable of doing anything. But this book is the perfect length. The first chapter deals with only one word: now. The first thing we must realize as we gaze at our problems is that God can solve it in this moment - not down the road, not when some smaller problems have been dealt with, but right now. Then Shirer brings the reader's attention to one of our greatest follies as Christians. We believe that God can do miracles, but we are just not sure we are the people God will give them to. She points out that God loves us enough to give us big miracles and that He knows more than we do. He will give us not just what we think we need, but the things we never imagined we could have.

Ms. Shirer is a wonderful writer. She writes like the charming Southern lady that she is, peppering her points with "I'm telling ya" and "come on." Her Biblical study is right on point without giving away any of her delightful and friendly personality. God Is Able is a book for the new Christian who isn't sure of God's capabilities, the woman who can't seem to find joy in the minutiae of life, or the man who believes in a heavenly Father but doesn't believe that God will solve his problem.



To the ladies and gents of the FTC: I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Review: Palisades Park

Palisades Park

By Alan Brennert

St. Martin's Press April 2013

416 pages

From the library

Toni Stopka grows up in the shadow of Palisades Park. Her parents own a french fry stand, Toni learns to swim in the park pool, and their friends work at the boardwalk stands and rides. As they live through the turbulence of the mid 1900s, each member of the Stopka family dreams of finding success. Father Eddie thinks of opening a restaurant, mother Adele dreams of the thrill of applause, Toni wants to become a high diver, and her brother Jack pursues becoming an artist. Ambition and conflict drive the family apart, but can their beloved Palisades Park bring them back together?

Alan Brennert cuts through a wide swath of history with his novel Palisades Park. It opens with Eddie as a child in the early 1900s and follows the Stopka family for the next 70 years. The Great Depression threatens to cripple the Stopkas and the park and Eddie and Jack feel the call to serve their country during WWII and the Korean War, respectively. Adele and Toni face a rapidly changing world for women as the wars redefine their roles in the family and the workplace. 

While Toni is the main character of this novel, the focus is really Palisades Park itself. It almost becomes a character as we see it grow and change through the years. We learn about so many of the people who gave it life - the performers, the people who ran the food and game booths, and the owners. It becomes a home for the characters, just as it did for many people in real life. 

At times, though, it feels like the characters and their stories are serving the history that Brennert want to cover instead of the other way around. The author decides to utilize the civil rights movement as a plot point and, while it is certainly an important part of US history, it feels jarring to suddenly discover that members of the Stopka family have such passion for the cause when it has never been mentioned before. I would have rather spent some more time with Jack and Adele, the two members of the family who get the smallest number of pages. I would especially have liked to see some of Adele's journey as she strikes out on her own hoping to find success in show business after many years of being a committed wife and mother. 

Palisades Park is both a sweeping epic of American history and a microscopic look at one family and the park where so many people made memories. The Stopka family begins to feel like your family - you can't help but cheer as they go off on their own to achieve their dreams, but it doesn't feel quite right until they are all back together. This is a perfect book to read during a cold winter so you can dream about a perfect summer at the boardwalk. 

It's Monday and December is in full crazy mode!

Hi there, my fellow book lovers. How are things in your corner of the universe?

I managed to read three books this week, which hasn't happened in a while. I think some of it had to do with the snow we have been getting - there is nothing like curling up with a cup of coffee and a book! We did manage to make a lovely snowman though and give Miss Becca Grace her first experience with snow.

How are you doing getting ready for Christmas? I'm...well, nowhere near done. I should probably go work on that right now (slinks off)....


Read This Week:

Palisades Park
By Alan Brennert


God Is Able
By Priscilla Shirer


Bumped 
By Megan McCafferty


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Wednesdays with David: Battle at Teth 
Reviews of Novel Ideas, This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and The Christmas Town


Reading Now:

The Bones of Paris
By Laurie R. King


Up Next:

Pinkerton's Great Detective
By Beau Riffenburgh


What are you reading this week?

Review: Christmas Town

The Christmas Town

By Elyse Douglas

Broadback October 2013

246 pages

Sent for review

Megan Jennings and Jackie Young end up sharing the very last rental car when a snowstorm forces their plane to land in Montpelier. As they drive through the terrible weather, they pass over a covered bridge and are sent back in time to 1943. The women meet Jeff and Danny, two handsome soldiers about to head off to war. As Christmas approaches, can the girls return to their own time? Do they want to go home if it means leaving behind the men they love? 

When reading The Christmas Town, it is obvious that the authors (the husband and wife team that comprise Elyse Douglas) spent a great deal of time researching the World War II era. Specific products are placed throughout the story as we learn which foods were available during war time and which things were sold in stores during the 1940s.

However, I did have a couple of issues while reading this book. The first was that I never felt like the characters could be real people. Megan and Jackie appear to have completely flunked just about every grade from 6th through 12th, since neither of them had the slightest understanding of WWII. In fact, they had no idea when it started or ended or even which countries were involved. I also had several moments where one of the girls had a thought and I couldn't imagine any person actually thinking that thing in that specific moment.

The other problem with this story is that the authors seem to suffer from telling instead of showing. It feels clumsy when an author inserts a giant chunk of description of a character or a setting and really interrupts the story without making the descriptions particularly memorable. This would be a stronger book if we learned about the characters as we took in the story instead of occasionally reading half a page of description.

The Christmas Town might whet your desire for a Christmas themed story. It has plenty of snow and flirting and even features a sleigh ride. The characters feel unbelievable at times and the book is badly divided between description and story, but it would work as a light holiday romance. 

Review: This is the Story Of A Happy Marriage

This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage

By Ann Patchett

Harper November 2013

320 pages

From the library  

Ann Patchett is known as a novelist. Her books Bel Canto, Run, and State of Wonder are beloved by readers all over the world. But Patchett began her career as a magazine writer. She provided articles for publications like Seventeen and Atlantic Monthly on topics as diverse as traveling cross country in an RV to taking care of her elderly grandmother. While these selections may seem a random collection, they work together wonderfully and show readers a new side of Ms. Patchett's writing and her personal life. 

This collection was stunning. I am starting to believe that Patchett can write about anything. A part of her power as a writer comes from her gentle honesty. She is willing to write about some of the most painful and difficult periods of her time with kindness for herself and for the others in her life. While the subjects in the essays vary from her husband to an elderly nun to a dog, her compassion for each sheds light onto Ann Patchett as a person. 

While reading this book, I vacillated between wanting to hide away and read every single page and wanting to read each selection slowly, leaving time to really let Patchett's words sink in. There is a unique and wonderful feeling when you finish an article or short story and just feel satisfied as a reader. You feel as if there is no need to read another article or book because that one piece was just perfect. I felt this way at the end of each article and I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite because I enjoyed all of them.

One of my favorite passages is from her article about writing, but it is so relevant to everyday life. "Forgiveness. The ability to forgive oneself. Stop here for a few breaths and think about this because it is the key to making art, and very possibly the key to finding any semblance of happiness in life. Every time I have set out to translate the book (or story, or hopelessly long essay) that exists in such brilliant detail on the big screen of my limbic system onto a piece of paper (which, let's face it, was once a towering tree crowned with leaves and a home to birds), I grieve for my own lack of talent and intelligence. Every. Single. Time. Were I smarter, more gifted, I could pin down a closer facsimile of the wonders I see. I believe, more than anything, that this grief of constantly having to face down out own inadequacies is what keeps people from being writers. Forgiveness, therefore, is key. I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing. Again and again throughout the course of my life I will forgive myself."

This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage is one of my favorite books of the year. Non-fiction sometimes lives in the shadow of fiction, but Patchett writes as beautifully about the details of opening her bookstore or finding her beloved dog as she did about the lives and loves of the characters in her novels. By reading this book, I feel that I know Ann Patchett better, have new respect for her art, and found new inspiration for creating my own. This book is one you don't want to miss. 

Wednesdays with David: Battle At Teth

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Battle at Teth

Adapted by Kristen Mayer

Grosset and Dunlap 2008

32 pages

From the library 

The story: During the Clone Wars, Clone Captain Rex and Jedi Anakin Skywalker set off on a rescue mission to retrieve a baby Hutt from the droid army. They are greatly outnumbered and reinforcements are far away. Can they complete their mission?

Mama opines: To be honest, I have zero experience with The Clone Wars. I can talk to you all day about Star Wars or the Empire Strikes Back, but I have little interest in the newer stories. This story is directly adapted from the movie, so it will be familiar to any little ones who love the adventures of Anakin Skywalker as a young Jedi.

Thoughts from David: Battle At Teth was...well, the clone troopers were courageous. Their white belts were nice and white. I couldn't believe that there were so many spider droids, super battle droids, and battle droids! I couldn't really believe that there was so much battle fire that even Asajj Ventress was at that castle. Plus...I couldn't believe that there was a dark assistant here. Do you know what Anakin Skywalker, Clone Captain Rex, the other clone troopers, and Ahsoka Tano did? They used everything they had and boom! The battle droids, the super battle droids, and everything else of the bad guys were blown up!

Favorite part: When they destroyed the super battle droids at the top of the tower and the spider droids and battle droids at the bottom of the tower.

Happy Reading!

Review: Novel Ideas

Novel Ideas

By K.B. Dixon

Inkwater Press 2013

122 pages

Received from Author for Review

Author Stephen Styles has donated his personal papers to the University of Washington. Students studying library science compiled the papers into the book Novel Ideas. The slim volume holds his letters and emails to his friend and fellow writer Alan Dodd. Styles ponders the differences between writing fiction and nonfiction, updates Dodd on what is going on in his personal life, and muses about why one becomes a writer in the first place.

Novel Ideas would be a great read for someone who doesn't have many opportunities to sit and read for a long stretch. It is broken up into little snippets, so it would be easy to read a page or just a few paragraphs. The detriment of this, of course, is that it can sometimes feel like it lacks a real narrative structure. Characters are introduced and then forgotten just as quickly. Random thoughts are recorded and then left hanging. For example, "Have you ever wanted to drive a bulldozer? I have not. But, of course, now as I think about it...well..." And that's it. Bulldozers are given no more thought and there is no context in this book for discussing bulldozers in the first place. 

This book has a sort of dry humor to it and it certainly has some real insight into the life of an author. Finding inspiration and the will to continue writing are common problems and our protagonist observes them wryly and with hope that he will find a muse and eventually, success as a writer. This book is less a chance to get to know a character and follow a story than it is a look into the inner life of a writer. 

To the ladies and gents of the FTC: I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

It's Monday and I have a six year old!

So, I have somehow come into possession of a six year old boy. I'm not sure where my five year old boy went, but now I have this very tall boy who seems to need new pants every few days or so. We celebrated this week with pancakes and a present on his actual birthday, a family party on Saturday, and a few friends over for cupcakes on Sunday. Yes, the daddy and I are quiet tired but we hope that the birthday boy had fun.

Bookwise, we are moving at the usual pace of two books a week. I've almost met my Goodreads goal of 110 books. Are you close to meeting your yearly goal?


Read This Week:

This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage
By Ann Patchett


The Christmas Town
By Elyse Douglas


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
November Wrap-Up
Wednesdays with David: The Birthday Boy!
Review of The Facades 


Reading Now:

Palisades Park
By Alan Brennert

Up Next:

God Is Able
By Priscilla Shirer


What are you reading this week?

Review: The Facades

The Facades

By Eric Lundgren

Overlook September 2013

215 pages

From the library

Sven Norberg is stymied when his opera singer wife disappears without a trace. He wanders the streets of their Midwestern town looking for clues that will lead him to his wife. As he struggles to keep some sort of connection with his teenage son, he reaches out to Molly's voice teacher, a music critic who may be leaving him clues, and a policeman who has mysterious insight into the case. The Facades is a mystery and a perceptive look at the disconnect in families and communities.

This is a book that can be read on so many different levels. On the most basic, it is the story of Sven not knowing how, when, or why his relationships have fallen apart. His wife is just gone one day and he has no idea what happened to her or what has been going on in her life. It isn't until his wife vanishes that he seems to give any attention to his son Kyle. His effort are too little too late as he realizes that Molly was the only glue holding the family together. 

On a broader note, The Facades examines the difference between our perception and the reality of the places where we live. The city of Trude was once recognized as a pinnacle of culture, but it is now on the decline. While opera still thrives, particularly with the talent of Molly Norberg, the library has shut down and most social interaction seems to take place around the local mall. The dissonance between the architectural masterpieces and abandoned buildings covered with graffiti parallels the lives of its inhabitants as they excel in their tiny fishbowls while wishing to break out into the larger world.  

The world of Trude is close to the one you live in, but the differences are telling. Things feel just a bit off, as if you are in a dream instead of reading a book. The quick clues and allusions are reminiscent of Paul Auster, but with a liberal dash of humor. (Keep an eye out for red herrings....) This slight book is quirky and unexpected  - in Trude, as in life, nothing is as simple as it appears. 

Wednesdays with David: The Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to the little boy who makes me smile and cracks me up each and every day.

Happy Birthday to the little boy who is so much a baby and so much a big boy.

Happy Birthday to the boy who loves the bravado of Star Wars and the Transformers, but will run over in a second if his sister cries.

Happy Birthday to my fearless American Ninja Warrior, my brave Jedi, and my curious bookworm.

I love you.

                                           

                                                   

November Wrap-Up

It's here! It's December! It's time to run around like a crazy person. Or not...I really hope not. The December calendar definitely looks packed, but that is what happens when your husband is a pastor, you work in church music, and your little boy has a December birthday. Ok, everyone stop for a moment and take a deep breath. We shall all get through December. I promise. 

Bookwise, November was an ok month. There were a few duds and then a few books I carried around with me, hoping to find a few spare seconds to read just one more page. 

Books reviewed in November: 10
Pages Read: 3,415
Fiction/Non-fiction: 9/1
Female authors/male authors: 6/4
My books/library books: 3/7
Lindsey's favorite books in November: The Returned 


Books Reviewed with David: 4 
David's favorite book in November: Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia 


What was the best book you read in the month of November?

Happy December from the cutest of little readers!

It's Monday and it's been a long week...

Hello everyone! I hope your Thanksgivinga and Hanukkahs were wonderful. We had a good time here celebrating Thanksgiving with some family and then rounding out the weekend with a visit to the other side of the family, some Christmas decorating, and celebrating with my parents as they renewed their vows after 30 years of marriage. We have also lost two teeth this week (David) and discovered a serious passion for cranberry sauce (Becca Grace).


Read This Week:

The Facades
By Eric Lundgren


Novel Ideas
By K.B. Dixon


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Wednesday with David: Weird But True! 
Reviews of Songs of Willow Frost and The Sweetest Hallelujah


Reading Now:

This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage
By Ann Patchett

Up Next:

The Christmas Town 
By Elyse Douglas

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Sweetest Hallelujah

The Sweetest Hallelujah

By Elaine Hussey

Harlequin MIRA July 2013

337 pages

From the library

Betty Jewel Hughes finds herself in a terrible situation. Her cancer is terminal, her mother is elderly, and her daughter's father is not around. Who can she count on to take care of her beautiful, free-spirited daughter Billie? Seemingly out of options, she takes out an ad in a local newspaper. The advertisement is answered by Cassie Malone, an outspoken white widow. Can Cassie's secret connection to Billie help her to save this terrified family? 

I had a tough time getting through this book. My first issue was suspension of belief. The book focuses on Betty Jewel, a sassy former jazz singer who is at her wit's end because she can't seem to find anyone to care for her daughter. That was my first moment where things didn't quite make sense. Betty Jewel is agonizing over this while she spends time with her two best friends, one of whom is a mother herself. I never understood why she considered them unacceptable guardians. Then Cassie waltzes into the picture. Cassie is stubborn and independent and not about to be stopped by the fact that she is white and the Hughes family is black. Against the advice of her family and friends, she plows right into a very dangerous situation, in spite of the racial violence that is breaking out all over. 

Then there is the relationship between Cassie and Betty Jewel. Cassie discovers a secret that gives her a serious interest in Billie's future. Without giving away too much, I will just say that this discovery should drive a wedge between the two women. Instead, there are a few pages of strife and then the two women are bosom buddies.  In the space of a very short time, they go from women who had never spoken to each other to unofficial family. I never really believed their bond.

Ultimately, either this book or this reader suffers from The Help syndrome. It seemed as if Elaine Hussey decided to sit down and write a book about a white women who was able to save the day for a black family and a rare friendship that was forged across racial lines. At the very least, I think we have to be careful about how many times we can write and read this kind of story in light of the awful reality of our country's history. The connections never rang true for me and I found this book to be a difficult read. 

Wednesdays with David: Weird But True!

Weird But True! 300 Outrageous Facts

By the National Geographic Society

National Geographic 2010

199 pages

From our shelves 

The story: This book is a collection of cool and crazy facts, compiled by the National Geographic Society. The facts are written in different fonts and colors and accompanied by pictures. This book is perfect for any kid interested in nature, animals, or interesting tidbits! 

Mama opines: This series would be a great starting point for a mama or dad looking to inject some nonfiction into a little person's reading choices. The facts are really interesting and cover just about every topic you could imagine. This book could be a fun bedtime read or maybe just a conversation starter with your family. 

Thoughts from David: Well, here I am, reading my first Weird but True book. I can't believe it has so many facts! 

Favorite fact: Your body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels. 

Happy Reading! 

Review: Songs of Willow Frost

Songs of Willow Frost

By Jamie Ford

Ballantine Books September 2013

319 pages

From the library

William Eng has lived at Sacred Heart Orphanage in Seattle since he was seven years old. On the day the orphanage when celebrates birthdays, the boy are taken to see a movie. On the screen high above him, William sees a woman who looks just like his mother. With his friend Charlotte, William sets out to find his mother and find out the truth about why she left him behind.

A few years ago, there was a lot of buzz about a book called Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. While I heard good things about it, I didn't get a chance to read it myself. When Ford's new book came out, I read endless good reviews and then decided I should read it. It was a wonderful decision.

Songs of Willow Frost is one of those amazing stories that sucks you right in from the first page and never lets go. Mr. Ford bring history to life with ease. While there are many books about the discrimination faced by African Americans, there are fewer that tell of the hatred that Chinese people faced in this nation. Willow finds herself in an impossible situation - she is Chinese in a country that sees her as a second class citizen, she is without family in a culture that values connection, and she is a single mother at a time when that was shameful in any realm of society. While I think many of us know of the horrid conditions during the Great Depression, Ford shows us just how dangerous it was to be a woman or child when there was no one to fight for them.

The things that happen to Willow and to William will break your heart and then, just when you have recovered, they will break your heart all over again. Writing from a child's point of view can be challenging, but I think Ford really captures the pain and hope that William feels as he realizes he might have a family after all. Our perceptions of Willow change as we read this story. At the beginning, we can't help but despise her for leaving behind her son. As we learn what happened to her and the difficult choices she faced, our anger turns into sympathy.

Songs of Willow Frost is an engaging story presented by an excellent writer. The history is impeccably researched, the pacing is perfect, and the characters will quickly find a place in your heart. This book is historical fiction at its best.

It's Monday and I need to get reading!

I sort of ran out of books this week. It seems like I need to hunker down and read because I suddenly realized it was time to write the review for the book I was currently reading. I'm usually pretty good about being a few books ahead on my review schedule, but somewhere along the way I lost that advantage. Time to stop typing and get back to reading!


Read This Week:

The Sweetest Hallelujah
By Elaine Husey


Songs of Willow Frost
By Jamie Ford


Posts from this Past Week:
It's Monday
Wednesdays with David: Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia 
Reviews of The Maid's Version and The Returned


Reading Now:

The Facades
By Eric Lundgren


Up Next:


Novel Ideas
By K. B. Dixon


What are you reading this week?