A One Nighter!

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I highly recommend One Came Home to the young adult and adult reader. I started and finished this book in one night. I could not stand to not know the ending! Granted I had to read through the end really fast, since I had to get up at 5:15 am(!) and go to work the next morning, but I did it. Since a book is just a friend to visit over and over again, it was no problem to go back and read through it at a leisurely pace a few days later.

I so admire authors and their imaginations. This author, Amy Timberlake, got her inspiration for this story from some actual events that occurred in 1871. She tells you more about these events in the afterward of the book (in a way that the younger reader can easily understand). So, from a smidgeon, really of history, she crafted a tale of growing up, of heartache, of mystery. I was so drawn in!

Our protagonist, Georgie, is 13. She's just buried her sister Agatha, she can't believe she's dead. How can this be so? In her denial, she decides to revisit the location they found her body. Her neighbor, and her sister's old boyfriend, Billy, goes with her. And thus the adventure begins.

In addition to writing a story you can get lost in, I really enjoyed some of the author's prose. Here are some snippets:

"But I was learning that knowing things does not mean you understand them."

"A thousand tiny hopes swarmed over me like a cloud of gnats."

"The sun burned behind the leaves like a white-hot coin."

and this really thought provoking statement:

"I hadn't appreciated before when I'd been there. But now before was where I wanted to be, before was where I wanted to live."

Don't take my word for it. Hop over to Amazon where you can read the first chapter, and see if you can resist reading the rest!

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Of Books and Bears

Brother Hugo and the Bear by Katy Beebe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not your typical children's book. According to the publisher, Eerdman, this book is appropriate for ages 5 to 9. At first blush, I didn't really see where it would be a book a 5 year old would love. However, since there is a bear to find in every illustration, I've changed my mind.

I do like that as you read this book to a child, they are going to learn a lot. Behind the story of the bear eating books, you learn about monks, about how books were made in historical times and about how friends help friends when they have a large task to do. The prose is also written in a humorous fashion, which gives charm to the tale.

I like the language in Brother Hugo. It's old fashioned, set in the historical time frame of the story itself. (I am always a sucker for "old-fashioned" language anyway. I think it's quaint, and I guess people were just way smarter than us way back when, since they seem to have a better command of the English language than we do today.)

An added plus for me is the Author's Note and Illustrator's Note at the end. The notes are clearly written for young readers and stays with the theme of the book.

I thank Goodreads and Eerdman's for my free copy. It's always great fun to be a Goodreads winner! I will be keeping this book to enjoy with my granddaughter in future years.



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