Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.

He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.

Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.


This was a completely different take on WWII than I'd ever read or heard before. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and to be honest I'm dying to know some things -- I also wonder which parts of the story are true, and which are woven around the imagination. I do feel the ending was a little rushed though, but overall it was a really good book.

I recommend this to anyone who is a Jerry Spinelli lover, or is looking for something to read about WWII. Or just go read it if you don't have anything better to read. You won't be sorry.

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

As Picture Perfect begins, it is daybreak in downtown L.A. A woman suffering from amnesia is taken in by an officer new to the L.A. police force, after he finds her wandering aimlessly near a graveyard. Days later, when her husband comes to claim her at the police station, no one is more stunned than Cassie Barrett to learn that not only is she a renowned anthropologist, but she is married to Hollywood's leading man, Alex Rivers.

As Alex helps Cassie become reaccustomed to her fairy-tale existence, fragments of memory return: the whirlwind romance on location in Africa, her major anthropological discovery, the trajectory of Alex's career. Yet as Cassie settles into her glamour-filled life, uneasiness nags at her. She senses there is something troubling and wild that would alter the picture of her perfect marriage. When she finds a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom, she is flooded with dark memories. Trying to piece together her past, she runs to the other person she trusts to keep her hidden-- Will Flying Horse, the policeman who had initially harbored her.
Out of loyalty he cannot fully understand, Will spirits Cassie away to stay with his parents on the reservation where he grew up-- and to which he never wanted to return-- for the duration of her pregancy. Safe in South Dakota, Cassie contemplates her future. She weighs the ominous pattern of her marriage against her compassion for her husband. Cassie knows of the fear and self-loathing Alex harbors-- and of his hard-won transformation to the skilled actor he has become.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Alex's life is falling apart. Nominated for Best Actor for his most recent film, he can no longer conceal from the press the fact that his wife is gone. Lies beget lies, and soon his career is rocked by scandal.
When Cassie agrees to return to Hollywood with her son, it is with a conditional promise from Alex. But it is a promise he cannot keep. In order to free them both, Cassie holds a press conference and tells the world the secret about Alex it never knew-- and never would have believed.
Moving from the sweltering African grasslands to the desolate plains of the reservation to the claustrophobic glitz of Hollywood, Jodi Picoult's story is one rich in detail, breadth, and emotion.

I definitely recommend this book, just because it's so interesting. You can't help but love Alex Rivers, yet hate him at the same time. You want nothing more but for their relationship to work out. It accurately portrays the complexities of human relationships. It's very thought-provoking, and makes me wonder about some things. It's definitely a psychological book.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

Morrie Schwartz was the kind of man who always had something insightful and true to say about life. Even as he lay dying from muscular dystrophy.

Mitch Albom captures the story of his college professor's death so beautifully, and in a way that everyone can't help but connect with. Everyone has something to learn from this book, and from Morrie's life. The lessons he gives Mitch are incredibly valuable and something we all need to learn at some point.

Do you believe in reincarnation? I ask.

"Perhaps."

What would you come back as?

"If I had my choice, a gazelle."

A gazelle?

"Yes. So graceful. So fast."

A gazelle?

Morrie smiles at me. "You think that's strange?"

I study his shrunken frame, the loose clothes, the socks-wrapped feet that rest stiffly on foam rubber cushions, unable to move, like a prisoner in leg irons. I picture a gazelle racing across the desert.

No, I say. I don't think that's strange at all.

Even though I'm still young and in the prime of my life, I learned a lot from this spunky old man and his gifted writer of a student. I suggest that everyone read this book at least once in their lifetime, and let me know what you think of it.

What does it teach you?

What do you learn?

What things do you realize you need to value more? Less?

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Quote

I love this quote! It definitely captures one of the awes and joys of reading.

“That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.”
-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Out of the Ordinary

This is a piece of writing I've been working on. This is just a small excerpt from the intro. I was wondering if you would all give me your feedback? Just give me your honest opinion of what you think of it. And if pressed, I may post more.

***

It was impossible to sleep with so much rain pouring down on the roof, and the thunder wasn't really helping either. But with each flash of lightning, Silas found it impossible to keep her eyes shut.
Letting out a disgruntled sigh, she forced herself to sit upright and pulled the sheets around her body. Her husband, Tyrell, was asleep in the bed next to her, sounding like an obnoxious bugler from summer camp with those monstrous snores. Usually Silas slept right through Tyrell's nightly charade but combined with the thunder storm it was just too much tonight. She envied the way he could sleep through anything, and wished she had the same gift.
Leaning her head back against the headboard, her eyes slid shut for a mere second -- but it was just long enough. A flash of lightning. Roaring thunder. And suddenly she was out in the rain, running through a field in her bare feet.
"Sienna, stop!" her mother called. "Come inside! I don't want you getting struck by lightning!"
Sienna giggled, running further as the rain poured down on her springy curls -- she was only four years old.
"But momma! I love the rain!" Another giggled escaping, she twirled around in the downpour, puddles unable to avoid her splashing step.
The woman she called her mother laughed lightly, a small smile slipping past her lips. She was enjoying the fun her daughter was having, momentarily forgetting any dangers.
She watched as Sienna threw her arms toward the sky, begging. More thunder. More rain. Lightning searching for a way to meet the ground, and finding a little girl in a wide open field just far away enough from her house that it was too lazy to travel that much further. Sienna gasped in shock as she was struck. The lightning barely shocked her, feeling a little weary from its search for a conducter. Oblivious to her mother's screams and the fact that she had come this close to harm, she clapped her hands and laughed up at the sky, wanting more. but she wouldn't get it, for her mother had swept her into her arms and was running toward the house screaming for her husband to call the doctor.
With another flash of lightning, the memory faded. Silas was shaking, her breathing off, her mind racing. What had just happened? That memory was hers, it was so real . . . but her name wasn't Sienna. That woman wasn't her mother. She had never been anywhere that it would rain or storm so crazily. And yet it all seemed so familiar. . .
"Tyrell." She shook her husband gently, her mind in a panic. What was happening? She didn't feel well at all, and felt like something was horribly wrong.
"Hm?" Tyrell grumbled, slowly coming to. "What is it?" he grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes.
"I feel sick --" She slumped over onto the bed, unconscious.


--Sadie

Maggie by Charles Martin

***SPOILERS***

DON'T READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ 'THE DEAD DON'T DANCE'

This book is the sequel to The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin. 

"When Maggie opened her eyes that New Year's Day some seventeen months ago, I felt like I could see again. The fog lifted off my soul, and for the first time since our son had died and she had gone to sleep-some four months, sixteen days, eighteen hours, and nineteen minutes earlier-I took a breath deep enough to fill both my lungs."


Life began again for Dylan Styles when his beloved wife Maggie awoke from a coma. A coma brought on by the intense two-day labor that resulted in heartbreaking loss. In this poignant love story that is redolent with Southern atmosphere, Dylan and Maggie must come to terms with their past before they can embrace their future.

http://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Awakening-Series-Charles-Martin/dp/1595540555/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330722195&sr=1-1


This book was definitely as good as the first one. It had a very satisfactory ending, and stayed just as realistic (for the most part) as the first one. It didn't ruin the series or the first book in my opinion, and felt like the perfect second half of their story. I don't think it could have finished in a better way.

So read it and let me know what you think!

--Sadie 

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin

A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he's lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever--or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

The Dead Don't Dance is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's spiritual journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope.

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dont-Dance-Awakening-Series/dp/B002MAQSN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330721799&sr=8-1

I really enjoyed reading this book.  The cover and the title sounded a little strange at first glance, but the book is nothing like it might appear (or sound). This is one of those times where judging a book by its cover is no bueno.

I loved how real the characters were, how there wasn't anything inappropriate (except maybe some mild swearing), the plot-line, and over-all reality of the book. I finished it in one day, and went and checked out the second one the moment I got back to school. It kept me flipping its pages, wanting to know what would happen, how the problem would be solved and IF it would be.

I definitely recommend this book to both guys and girls -- the main character is a man (and so is the author), and it's not too cheesy -- I wouldn't characterize it as a "chick-flick."

So go out there and read it! And let me know what you think.

"For you, a thousand times over." - The Kite Runner

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars