Courage

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I agree with other reviewers that this book is a departure from Kristin Hannah's usual style. This book is more serious in nature, and I do hope that Hannah will do more historical fiction in the future.

Everyone exhibits courage in different ways. For some, it might be radical courage, that can put you in harms way. For others, it may be a quieter, hidden kind of courage. Both can get you killed in Nazi Germany.

This book primarily focuses around two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle. Isabelle is a firebrand, and Vianne is more timid. Isabelle is eager to be somebody, to do something, to strike a blow against Hitler for France. Vianne is reluctant, she has a daughter to protect. Their differing personalities put them at odds with each other, but in the end, both sisters play courageous parts in protecting friends and strangers during the difficult occupation of France by the Nazis.

The Nightingale is based on the historical role brave women played during the War with Germany. Courageous women (and men) took serious risks to defeat the evil that was over-running their country. Courage is a commodity that is needed in our current world. I wonder what sort of courage I would exhibit if I was placed in a difficult circumstance, whether it be a war, or just speaking up for the right. Many cruel and terrible things happen in our world today, and it seems to me that I, and most others, are mostly silent. As I pray each day, courage is a virtue that I know I personally need more of.

Although The Nightingale is fiction, you will be drawn into the lives of Vianne and Isabelle. Their story will keep you captivated throughout.  



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A Must Read!

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I cannot recommend Leaving Time highly enough. This is the kind of book I always look for. The one that beckons you to ignore every other thing in your life but finding out what happens next! In fact, because I couldn't keep my eyes open past 11:30 pm, I indulged in my bad habit of reading the end so I wouldn't go to bed not knowing. Although this never ruins a book for me, in this case I would not recommend it.

Jenna's mother, Alice, disappeared from the elephant sanctuary where they lived when Jenna was a toddler. Jenna is desperate to find her. So desperate, she hires a psychic and an alcoholic detective to help her. Jenna searches for clues on the internet, and by reading her mother's research on elephants. As a result, you will also learn a lot of fascinating information, in particular as to how elephant's grieve.

As usual, Picoult weaves all this factual information into the story expertly. It becomes a seamless part of the life of Alice and Jenna. Picoult's prose is also lovely:

You have to understand--there is a romance to Africa. You can see a sunset and believe you have witnessed the hand of God. . . In Africa, there are iridescent blues on the wings of birds that you do not see anywhere else in nature.. .When you are in Africa, you feel primordial, rocked in the cradle of the world.

or

It was almost as if there was a tear in the fabric I was made of, and he was the only color thread that would match to stitch it back up.

I had read the prequel to this story, Larger Than Life, some time ago. This novella gives you a little more background information on Alice, but is not necessary to the story. It is however, what made me interested in reading Leaving Time.

Treat yourself to a reading weekend and pick this book up soon!


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Shame, Fear and Life Choices

To See the Moon Again by Jamie Langston Turner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My favorite Jamie Langston Turner book is Some Wildflower In My Heart, and that hasn't changed. However, I did enjoy this book.

The writing style of To See The Moon Again was very similar to Wildflower, and I enjoyed that. The main character, Julia, referenced books she had read, and music she enjoyed. That always makes me stop and record the title name, or music selection so I can investigate further. It's fun to me when a title is mentioned that you know and have read. It helps me connect with the character.

Turner is a good author. I like how she turns a phrase--for instance

Shame and fear--they made a debilitating pair

or

. . . guilt is an irresistible thing humans latch on to and carry around like precious cargo.

The story itself revolves around Julia, who has tightly buttoned up her emotions because of an incident in her past. She chooses to go through each day by putting herself in a box and protecting her heart and emotions from actually participating in the world. Along comes her niece, Carmen. Julia wants nothing to do with Carmen, but feels she cannot decently ignore her. (Carmen has her own issues, and these are woven skillfully throughout the tale.) Eventually Carmen chips away at that box, and Julia begins to see that she could choose to live and open up herself to the world.

The ending was not quite satisfying to me. Perhaps Julia and Carmen will show up again in a future story and we can get reacquainted with their lives and see how they progressed.


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A Poetic Memoir

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the lyrical way this book was written. The author made her life poetic! Woodson's life was not always easy, but it's clear she felt very loved.

In one area of the book, when neighbor children are playing with the Woodson swingset, Woodson and her siblings are complaining.Their grandmother says:

Let them play, for heaven's sake. . . Your hearts are bigger than that! But our hearts aren't bigger than that. Our hearts are tiny and mad. If our hearts were hands, they'd hit. If our hearts were feet, they'd surely kick somebody!"

Who can't relate to feelings like that!

Woodson struggled to learn to read, but knew she was a storyteller from a young age. She knew she wanted to be a writer. I think that must be true for all writer's, they just know. In the Chapter: Composition notebook, Woodson shares her memory of her first notebook. Even though she could not write as yet, she says:

Nothing in the world is like this--
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters.

It seems odd to say this memoir was a beautiful story, when much of it showcased a challenging life, but that's what it was to me.



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Appreciate the Freedom of Being An American Female

The Pearl that Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Who knows exactly why a story captures our imagination? It's so elusive, and so different for each one of us.

When I picked up The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, I did not know I would become so wrapped up in the story of Rahima and Shekiba. When I was forced to put the book down, I kept wondering what was going to happen next and how the story would end.

In many ways, this is a hard story, a story of poverty, and hopelessness.  A story of powerlessness for women. But, it is also a story of empowerment, or, if not empowerment, a light at the end of a tunnel.

Rahima lives with her mother, father, and sisters. They live in a small village, in poverty. Their father is addicted to opium, and their mother is defeated by life. The mother is inconsequential because she did not give birth to any boys. The girls are inconsequential, because, well, they're girls. They cannot rely on their father and they do not have the freedom to even go to market to buy things because of their femaleness.

With the encouragement of their outspoken aunt, Rahima begins to live as a bacha posh - a boy. Now she is Rahim.

Entertwined with the story of Rahim/Rahima is the story of her grandmother, Shekiba. Shekiba also lived part of her life as a male.

Life as males, equaled a freedom of sorts. Life as a female, a life of oppression. Marriage brings abuse and domination. Learning brings a sort of freedom. Where will Rahima and Shekira end up?

As females in America we have so many freedoms we take for granted. We have the freedom to dress as we choose, shop for food freely, learn! We are blessed.

I plan to read The Underground Girls of Kabul, the real lives of girls who live as boys in Afghanistan, and see how it compares with this novel.

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Great Young Adult Read For All Ages

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really excellent book that I highly recommend. It was very real, and I loved the author's note at the end:

"This is meant to be a historical note, and it pains me to admit that Code Name Verity is fiction--that Julie Beaufort-Stuart and Maddie Brodatt are not actually real people, but merely products of my adventure-obsessed brain."

This book is not just about these two women and their friendship, but also about the role women played in the war. It's not just about the role women played in the war, but about doing the hard, but right thing (something that is sadly lacking in our society today). It is also a story about mixed identities and loyalty. It's about Cruelty and Courage, and yes, I mean to capitalize those words.

I read Code Name Verity twice, and it is reluctantly on it's way to the library now.

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Family: Do We Know the Real Story?

Three Daughters by Consuelo Saah Baehr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting book, covering three generations of mothers and daughters. It covers as well, an expanse of history highlighting the changes and choices that women have encountered over the years.

This book surprised me in the experiences that each of the women faced. In my limited experiences with women from the Arab Palestinian culture I pictured the women as being more submissive, more restricted . . . more, cautious I guess. This is not the case with the three women in this story. Miriam, Nadia and Nijmeh each have their own story to tell.

Miriam is strong, traditional, smart, and enticed by the opportunities that wars (yes, multiple) bring to her as a woman in her country. Although her marriage is arranged, she and her husband form a marriage partnership that works for them. Even so, Miriam falls in love with another man and begins a relationship that could put her in real danger. She knows, however, that she can never, or will never, leave her husband. Eventually, she will come to realize that she deeply loves him.

Nadia, Miriam's daughter, is rebellious. Conventional marriages and the conventional life are not for her. She resists the arranged marriage her parents desire for her, and would rather be out riding horses than living out the traditional role a woman plays in her tribe. Nadia falls in love with an older man, but is tricked into a marriage with a person from her tribe and culture. She soon realizes that Samir loves her, and she loves him too. The only thing lacking in their relationship is children. Nijmeh,their daughter, ends up being their only child.

Nijmeh's story was my favorite. She is innocent and naive, but at the same time tough and smart. In preparation for her role as next in line when the Sheikh, her father dies, she learns to live on her own in the desert. Her father wants her to learn to love the land and traditions of her family. Nijmeh also falls in love, but her father disapproves and intervenes. Through a controlled circumstance, Nijmeh ends up marrying a doctor whose family is from her tribe, and then moves to America. Once Nijmeh is in America,we begin to see the real Nijmeh emerge.

The story of each of the daughters is different than the story that their families know. I enjoyed how the author allowed us to see what other characters in the book were thinking. Some of the descriptive paragraphs were a little long for me, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

Love shines through in the end, because family is, after all, more about heart than blood. The ending, which highlights this thought, was perfect!  



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