The Fireman's Wife

The Fireman's Wife: A Novel by Jack Riggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Cassie, a mountain girl from North Carolina married young. One summer trip to the beaches of South Carolina changed her college plans and her life when she fell in love and became pregnant. Now living in the low country marshes with her fireman husband, Peck and teenage daughter, Kelly - Cassie, always restless, longs to break free and head back to her mountains. The Fireman's Wife is told from the viewpoint of each of three main characters and the pain and confusion in their relationships come through the written word. Although I became angry with Cassie - I also felt sorry for her that she kept searching for more, regretting and thinking she had lost something years ago. Cassie finds out, at great cost and too late, what love truly is. A great reader's guide is included.



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Candy Bomber

Candy Bomber: The Story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot" by Michael O. Tunnell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Who doesn't want to read about a real life hero? Candy Bomber is the wonderful true story about the life of Lt. Gail Halvorsen, a young pilot in the U.S. Air Force and the candy drops he made over the city of Berlin. Although World War II was over Lt. Halvorsen had seen firsthand, from a visit to Berlin how the children were suffering, so he promised the children he would drop candy and chewing gum from his airplane. They would know it was him because he would wiggle the plane's wings. The first secret drop was only three small handkerchiefs of candy from Halvorsen and his buddies. Several more drops were made before the mission became known and named "Operation Little Vittles" and actual small parachutes were used instead of hankies. The Air Force ordered Lt. Halvorsen to continue with the drops and supported his efforts. It became so popular that candy companies began making donations. The book contains great photos of Lt. Halvorsen, the children in Berlin, copies of their letters, and a anniversary event of the candy drops.



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The Weird Sisters

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Such a trio of sisters - stalwart, bossy Rosalind(Rose), wild, willful Bianca(Bean), and spoiled, irresponsible Cordelia(Cordy) have shuffled back to their hometown for personal reasons - fear, theft, and pregnancy.

"We came home because we were failures. We wouldn't admit that, of course, not at first, not to ourselves, and certainly not to anyone else. We said we came home because our mother was ill, because we needed a break, a momentary pause before setting off for the Next Big Thing. But the truth was, we had failed and rather than let anyone else know, we crafted careful excuses and alibis and wrapped them around ourselves like a cloak to keep out the cold truth."

They move back in with their college professor father, who loves to quote all things Shakespearean and stay-at-home mom. The sisters grew up connecting with each other and their parents by speaking the Bard's words.

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth is it to have a thankless child"

The characters are deep and the relationships complicated. The sisters describe themselves as dysfunctional, but what is normal and what is not? The sisters learn to reconnect and move beyond their old fears and personas.


A delightful, enjoyable book - worth rereading, and written in first person plural style. Please read!



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Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Books about the Holocaust draw me and I had read some wonderful reviews on the young adult novel, Between Shades of Gray. I agree that it was so well written that I know my review will fall short of capturing the haunting loveliness of the indomitable human spirit and compassion that can be shown even in the most ugliest of times. Although this book is fictional, true accounts of refugees have went into the writing of it. For most parts I have read books about the capture and genocide of the Jewish people, but this books goes at it from a different angle - the possession and slavery of the people of the Baltic States.



Lina is a fifteen year old girl living comfortably in Lithuania with her family - mother, father, and younger brother and is on the verge of entering a prestigious art school. Soviet soldiers appear at their door one day and order Lina, her mother and brother to pack a bag and leave with them to board a rail-car, with others from their town. There Lina finds out that her father is on another train car and they are being taken to the Russian countryside to be used as free labor workers in the beet fields. Losing track of Lina's father, they continue on until they actually reach the Arctic Circle and disembark as winter approaches. The small caravan must throw anything they can find together to make a suitable shelter while the Soviets live in warm cabins and eat a wealth of stockpiled food. Lina watches in horror as her friends and family become starved, sick, fevered, and fall prey to death.



If you read one teen book or any book this year, make it this one.



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The Sweet By and By

The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Jade runs the Blue Umbrella, a kitschy little antique joint in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee. Jade is on the verge of happily marrying Max and both have agreed to keep the events in their past exactly that - in the past. But Jade's off-the-wall, hippie mother Beryl and sister, Willow, arrive for the wedding weeks early and soon shake up things from Jade's unconventional past. Inspirational and heartwarming in nature, learning forgiveness is at the core of this novel.

Written by Sara Evans, country western singer and Rachel Hauck, inspirational author.



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Head in the Clouds

Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Stubborn, funny, and spunky Adelaide Proctor, in her hurry to obtain a married life, quits her job and sets her hopes on the wrong man - a traveling salesman. When she finds out he is already married, Adelaide grabs a governess job and adventure on a sheep ranch in Texas. She soon falls in love with the tiny, blond girl named Bella, who refuses to speak and the British owner of the ranch, Bella's guardian, Gideon. However, Adelaide discovers that Bella's life is in danger and will do anything to protect her and Gideon, including chasing the bad guy on her beloved mare, Sheba. A sweet, funny novel, written so well to elicit tears and giggles - highly recommended!!

Karen Witemeyer has also written a Tailor-Made Bride...



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A Heart for Home

A Heart for Home by Lauraine Snelling

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The story opens with Dr. Astrid Bjorkland tending the Indians, dying from disease and starvation on a reservation in South Dakota, a place where she believes God has sent her. When she finally arrives back home in Blessing, North Dakota, Astrid comes to the conclusion that she can not marry the man who has been courting her - for he can not understand that she is first and foremost a doctor and on top of it, he carries a deep bitterness towards the Indians. Meanwhile, the town of Blessing is growing and more hands are needed for building homes and the new hospital before winter sets in.

A fellow librarian suggested An Untamed Land, the first in the set of series, back in 2002 and I've enjoyed this entire series from the very beginning and I look forward to each new book that Snelling authors.

Red River of the North, Return to Red River, Daughters of Blessing, Home to Blessing.



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