August Book Review

I had a very successful month of reading.  I liked everything I read.  I loved a couple of them.  Check out what had me turning pages this month




Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins. I loved this book.  It is a good, fairly quick read.  Basically, a young lady returns to her hometown after a horrible accident and is faced with all the non-sense she endured growing up there.  I tell my kids all the time "High School never ends".  This story confirms that little bit of wisdom.  It is a really good story and reminder of how somethings in our childhood are what we made them out to be......but truth be told the reality might be completely different.  There is a lot of dry humor in it which, of course, I am drawn to.  The story is complex enough for interest yet the characters are easy to learn and remember so you don't have to concentrate a ton to read it.  I really enjoyed it!!!





A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams. OK, first this is a good story.  It is one of those stories that goes back and forth in time.  Because of the story line in the later years, it is clear something happened in the past that made me keep reading because I was floored as to how some of the characters got to where they were.....so I had to keep reading.  So let me just say, it is set in the 1930's.  So the girls are all careful of their reputations.....critical of girls who don't wear nylons....and on the outside very conservative and prudish.....until....they find themselves in the backseat of a car or an apartment alone with a boy or various other situations that took quite a turn from what I expected.  I will also say that Beatriz felt very compelled to explain in DETAIL some of these intimate scenes.  Just flip a page or 2 or 3 (truly there's a lot of detail) and go on with the story.  In essence two girls who grow up spending their childhood together summering in this beach town find themselves in a very different situation when they are adults.  Their friendship and everything they thought they knew about each other will be challenged.



The Sound of Gravel by Rugh Wariner.  Another great memoir.  And let me just sum this one up by saying wowser bedowser!!!  Ignore the cover.....or maybe it is just me but I am not drawn to books with real people on the cover.  For some reason I like to decide what the characters look like in my own head from how the book describes them.  But since this is someone's life story, I guess they get to look like themselves.  I gotta tell you, the more I read - the more I kept flipping back to this cover to look into the faces of these children.  Y'all this true story will sadden you, enrage you, baffle you, disgust you, and inspire you.  Honestly, if these kids survived their life you and I should not be complaining about ours.  Very well written.  Such a good story and quite an eye opener for me regarding the whole polygamy thing.  Before this, my only insight was Sister Wives on TLC......well read this one for a whole new perspective from a child growing up in a polygamist home.  I was hooked until the very last page.



Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge. There is a plane crash.  There are two survivors.  They are from two very different countries and cultures but they will need each other to survive.  This book had me holding my breath at times, shaking my head at times and realizing I would not survive very long in a situation like this.  It is a beautiful story that tugs at the heart.  There are a few words that require repentance and maybe a scene or two that do the same, but for the most part it is a pretty tame book.  PG-13 I would say.  The story is good and definitely kept me engaged.  I would recommend.


If you can only squeeze one of this in.....read The Sound of Gravel.....then call me and tell me what you thought of it.

See you back here on Friday.