A Bell for Adano

A Bell for Adano by John Hersey 288 pages

 

Written in 1944, A Bell for Adano was originally considered a contemporary novel, but now that the years have passed, it is classified as historical fiction. I read somewhere that this novel, winner of the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, was taught in schools, much like we think of 1984, Catcher in the Rye, Fahrenheit 451 today. I couldn’t find a reason why this gem was pulled from the curriculum, but, in my opinion, it should be added back.

 

In a nutshell, A Bell for Adano tells the story of an Italian-American officer in Sicily during World War II who wins the respect and admiration of the people of the town of Adano by helping them find a replacement for the town bell that the Fascists had melted down for rifle barrels. Set in 1943, the Allies have occupied the fictional coastal town of Adano, based on the real city of Licata, which was the landing site for the Allied invasion of Sicily.

The main protagonist is Major Victor Joppolo, whom the locals refer to as Mister Major. Upon arrival, he asks the people what they need most. The citizens agree that they only want their 700-year-old bell, which had been seized by the fascists then melted down for bullets, returned.

However, food is running low; the fishermen have not been out in months because they refuse to pay extra taxes and fees to the fascists. As Mister Major and his men try to get food into the village, he struggles to understand the wild array of people he encounters that sometimes feel like caricatures of the Italian personality.

At times hilarious, at times bittersweet and at times heartbreaking, I can understand why it won the Pulitzer. It feels like it is a 21^st century-written novel, meaning it doesn’t feel dated. Well, except it takes place in 1943. Therefore, A Bell for Adano receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichel 288 pages

 

Food! Fashion! Art! It’s all there in this magical realism tale set in 1980s Paris. But before we get there, we must start in New York City.

 

Stella lives an extremely structured life. She is a copy editor at a small publishing house. She believes she loves her job, and she is good at it. It’s a lonely life; Stella is estranged from her mother, the only family she has. She never knew who her father was. Her mother claimed she didn’t know, but reading between the lines, I believe that is why she sent her to Paris. To find him.

 

When her mother dies, Stella is surprised, nay shocked, that her mother left her anything, especially a letter address to “My Daughter.” Inside Stella finds a one-way ticket along with a note that merely says, “Go to Paris!” She is reluctant but her boss talks her into it. With lots of vacation time, Stella packs a small bag and heads to the City of Lights.

 

Stella’s well-oiled lifestyle follows her. But when she stumbles upon a vintage store, her deepest inner self begins to emerge. She tries on a vintage Dior gown that fits like it was made for her. The old woman who is the shopkeeper takes her into paying the $6,000 for it with the caveat that she can return if the dress doesn’t change her. The shopkeeper gives her a list of things she must do.

 

First, she eats oysters at Les Deux Magots. There she meets Jules, an older man with a passion for art who knows anyone and everyone in Paris. He knows great food, exceptional wine, the writers, the painters. Slowly, she sheds herself of all the things that have held her back. She quickly realizes that she enjoys this new life and never wants to go back to the old Stella.

 

Stella visits Shakespeare & Company Bookstore. The bookstore has much more to offer than books. Could Stella have found a new home, a new sense of belonging when she becomes one of the “tumbleweeds,” one who drifts in and out of the bookstore.

 

Then there is the small mystery surrounding her father and the Manet painting that her mother had hanging in her home.

 

For me, every page was a masterpiece of experience! Therefore, The Paris Novel receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Princess of Las Vegas

The Princess of Las Vegas by Chris Bohjalian 400 pages

 

There is nothing more exciting than getting my hands on the latest Chris Bohjalian novel.  I love to sink down into my favorite chair and enter another compelling and entertaining world that this master storyteller creates. In this outing, “The Princess is fake, but the murders are real.”

 

The main character, Crissy Dowling, is a sensation on the Las Vegas stage. In a town full of impersonators, Crissy stands out as a Princess Diana look-alike, which draws British royals fans from, all over the world. However, it’s not “The Strip,” but the seedy portion of the strip where the casinos are down on their luck, looking rundown and out of date. But the tickets to shows are cheaper, so that’s some consolation.

 

By day, Crissy lounges in her private cabana, enjoys an Adderall and Valium cocktail, eats until her heart’s content, then purges so as not to gain weight.

 

Crissy’s life is the same, day after day. That is until Betsy, her estranged sister who could be her twin, blows into town with a newly adopted daughter and a rich boyfriend. Betsy has barely made her presence known when then bodies start to pile up.

 

First, it’s the two co-owners of the Buckingham Palace Casino where Crissy pretends to be a long-dead princess. Then things start to twist and turn. The mob (What’s a Las Vegas tale without the mob?) is trying to bring cryptocurrency to Vegas, but it is not without its price tags. Sometimes I felt as if I was in a James Bond novel.

 

A lot of the action takes place around cryptocurrency that I admit I don’t understand. Therefore, The Princess of Las Vegas receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Now comes the hard part, waiting until March 2025 when Bohjalian’s next novel is due to be released. It sounds more my cup of tea: historical fiction set during the American Civil War.

 

 

 

Now is Not the Time to Panic

Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson 256 pages

 

It’s been a few weeks since I finished this novel, yet the story has stuck with him. It’s one of the books that I really wasn’t into, yet I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know how it ended.

 

The book opens in 2016. Frances Eleanor Budge---author, wife, mother, daughter---is contacted by a journalist named Mazzy. Mazzy knows that Frances is from Coalfield, Tennessee, and is doing a story on the 20^th anniversary of the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Does Frances, then known, as Frankie, recall the incident?

 

In the Summer of 1996, sixteen-year-old Frankie is dreading the long, sizzling summer in Coalfield. She is a loner, has no friends, there is nothing to do and is a budding writer. Plus her older, triplet brothers have their hearts set on irritating her.

 

Frankie bumps into Zeke, another sixteen-year-old, who is staying with his grandmother for the summer. He knows no one, and there is nothing to do. Zeke is an artist, but from the author’s descriptions, his art is rather Avant Garde. Together, they decided to create art. Zeke on image, Frankie on words. They like what they make.

 

In the garage at Frankie’s house there is an antique copier that, amazingly, still works. They print off several copies and hang them around town. As the townspeople begin to see them, popping up everywhere, they begin to wonder who is behind the poster since it is unsigned. Soon the town is obsessed with the poster. Especially since they keep popping up everywhere. Rumors circulate, people are killed, parents keep their kids indoors.

 

As the summer winds down, Frankie and Zeke go their separate ways, the furor over the poster subsides, but its impact on the town and beyond lingers on.

 

This was an okay story. It’s an interesting plot on the power of art. I wasn’t all that impressed with either Frankie or Zeke. For me it was a slow read, but I was interested to see how the author would plot the story and end it. Since Now is Not the Time to Panic was “okay,” it receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Year of What If

 

The Year of What If  by Phaedra Patrick 

327 pp

Carla Carter is just weeks away from marrying Tom Taylor.  Her matchmaking agency says they are statistically perfect for each other, at least more perfect than her first husband Aaron.  If it weren’t for the pesky jinx on her family that no one could be happy in a marriage.  During Carla’s bachelorette party, one of the activities involves having your fortune told by “Mystic Myrtle”.  It seems that Myrtle knows that during Carla’s gap year traveling through Europe she broke her arm falling from a horse and says “you met a man of great importance during this time”.  After Tom gets the opportunity to go to the US for a board game convention and present his idea for a new one there, Carla is left at loose ends.  When a woman answers Tom’s phone, that is the last straw. She decides to go on a trip to some of the places she went during that gap year and see if there is anyone or anything there that could be the “man of great importance”.  

Readers who enjoy romance will like this title.  I have read several of Phaedra Patrick’s books through the years and always find them to be entertaining and satisfying.  I give this book four out of five stars and thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance.

Cahokia Jazz

 

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford 464 pages

 

I love this novel so much that I am going to claim that it will be one of the must-reads of 2024!

 

What Amazon says:  Francis Spufford’s Cahokia Jazz inhabits a different version of America, now through the lens of a subtly altered 1920s—a fully imagined world full of fog, cigarette smoke, dubious motives, danger, dark deeds. And in the main character of Joe Barrow, we have a hero of truly epic proportions, a troubled soul to fall in love with as you are swept along by a propulsive and brilliantly twisty plot.

On a snowy night at the end of winter, Barrow and his partner find a body on the roof of a skyscraper. Down below, streetcar bells ring, factory whistles blow, Americans drink in speakeasies and dance to the tempo of modern times. But this is Cahokia, the ancient indigenous city beside the Mississippi living on as a teeming industrial metropolis, filled with people of every race and creed. Among them, peace holds. Just about. But that corpse on the roof will spark a week of drama in which this altered world will spill its secrets and be brought, against a soundtrack of jazz clarinets and wailing streetcars, either to destruction or rebirth.

 

What I thought of it: This novel has it all! I was captivated by the opening scene that sets a harrowing stage of what is to come to the heartbreaking last scene. Part alternate history, part noir thriller, part mythology legends, with science, jazz, crime, mob scenes and the KKK all thrown in to make a highly readable novel.

 

Cahokia Jazz is a complicated, complex, easy to follow and fabulous novel. Therefore, it receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

If I Were You

 If I Were You by Lynn Austin 464 pages

Lynn Austin is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Granted, this is only the second
book of hers that I have read, but both stories have swept me away.

“If I Were You” is set in London between 1931 and 1946 and the USA in 1950. Growing up Eve
Dawson and Audrey Clarkson are best friends although they are from very different stations in
life. Audrey is part of the aristocracy. Eve is a scullery maid, and her mother serves of a lady’s
maid to Audrey’s mother.

The drift apart as they blossom into young women and begin to fulfill their destinies. They
reunite in London, eventually becoming roommates and ultimately ambulance drivers. Austin
excels with descriptions of the Blitz. Both young women suffer a devastating loss during one
night’s bombing.

Each falls in love with an American soldier. Audrey marries her beau who is then killed while
Eve’s beau returns stateside to his wife and child. Unfortunately, both women are pregnant. But
this only seals their need for each other. Both have sons.

Audry applies to go to the U.S. to be with her in-laws. Her mother is dead, her father is not who
she thinks he is, and Eve is the only friend/family Audrey has left. When her papers arrive, she
throws them in the trash and decides to return to her manot home in the English countryside.
Eve, struggling to raise a baby on her own, picks Audrey’s discarded papers out of the trash and
heads to America. Eve passes as her friend, only until Audrey, who has a change of heart, shows
up on her in-laws doorstep.

I found “If I Were You,” riveting and could not turn the pages fast enough. There were several
other gasp-worthy incidents that cemented this novel getting “If I Were You” getting 6 out of 5
stars in Julie’s world.

The Titanic Survivors Book Club

The Titanic Survivors Book Club by Timothy Schaffert 320 pages

 

Don’t be like me! If you want to read anything about the Titanic, this novel is going to be a major league disappointment.

 

The survivors are not Titanic survivors at all. They are people who were supposed to be on the doomed liner and at the last minute were not able to board. Okay, I can go along with this. Fascinating plot. The survivors, eleven in total, were mostly men, surprisingly. However, the novel focuses on three main characters:  Yorick (who was supposed to be the ship’s Second-Class Librarian), Zinnia (of Japanese descent and a candy-making heiress) and Haze (a photographer who takes shelter anywhere he can). The toymaker, designer of souvenir toys for the liner, brings these survivors together in Yorick’s Paris bookshop.

 

In a book that was supposed to be about books, only a small fraction is about books. The plot mostly centers around Yorick who is in love with Haze who is in love with Zinnia and Yorick who is in love with both men. It should be complicated, but Schaffert does a remarkable job in keeping the three separates while creating a convoluted tale.

 

I must admit that although my hopes were high for an intriguing story, I was bored. The three seem to only scheme how to get their hearts’ desires and constantly try to thwart the other two.

 

The Titanic Survivors Book Club receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

 If the Tide Turns by Rachel Rueckert 432 pages

When Kensington Books asked me to write a blurb for Rachel Rueckert’s debut novel, I jumped at the opportunity. Although I don’t read many romance novels, I do enjoy stories that take place
in or near the water. The feel of the salty breeze and the mist stinging your face---that sort of thing. Set during the waning days of the Golden Age of Pirates (1689-1718; who knew there was
such a thing?), If the Tide Turns is the “captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social
justice and freedom, and the emotionally satisfying tale of one strong-willed young woman determined to choose her own path.”

This is the blurb I wrote: “Two lovers, separated by their stations in life, fight their way back to each other’s arms. On land and on the sea, Sam and Maria overcome the hardships of the mid-1700s. Rueckert’s new novel is a tale of daring, courage, aching loneliness and two people willing to face any obstacles to be together.”

It’s 1715 in Eastham, Massachusetts. Maria Brown is the beautiful, hard-headed daughter of a wealthy family who has arranged a marriage for her. She doesn’t want any part of the much older
(shall we just say old?), also wealthy and abusive John Hallett.

Maria has her heart set on a young, orphaned sailor, Sam Bellamy. They met as Sam had been laid-off (yes, laid-off from his previous ship when it docked and no longer needed his services) and searched for another ship. The two are drawn together. Sam to Maria for her beauty and her self-determination. Maria to Sam for his idealistic opinions. The two are smitten with each other. Sam wants to marry her, but her father forbids it, in fact banishing him from their home. Maria, characteristically, vows to wait for him, to wait until he can make his fortune and offer everything her father deems, she should have.

Eager for success, Sam becomes involved with a pirate ship. But Sam isn’t your ordinary run-of-the-mill pirate. He is only interested in taking other ships’ bounties, not lives nor ships. His reputation as a “nice” pirate precedes him. Maria leaves home, bent on following him from port to port. It’s a dangerous path she has chosen--- a woman traveling alone.

If the Tide Turns has all the aspects of a swashbuckling delightful read as Sam and Maria fight for their love. If the Tide Turns gets 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Wish Book Christmas

The Wish Book Christmas by Lynn Austin 304 pages

 

We may be a few days away from Easter 2024, but I stumbled upon a Christmas story that I love. As I was scrolling through my local library’s catalog looking for more Lynn Austin reads, I came across “The Wish Book Christmas.” Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday when the Sears Roebuck or Montgomery Ward Christmas would arrive, my brother and I would spend hours and hours wanting every pictured toy.

 

That is the premise of this Lynn Austin novel, but this one held an even bigger surprise for me! This is a sequel to Austin’s “If I Were You,” that I recently read and loved. I missed Audrey and Eve and wondered what happened to them.

 

It’s 1951, and Audrey and Even are still best friends. They have made a life for themselves in Connecticut after escaping World War II London with their sons. Both families are healthy and happy. Harry, Eve’s son, and Bobby are now five years old, and like me brother and I, were completely mesmerized by the color photos spreads that went on for pages and pages and pages that had arrived 20 days before Christmas. (I remember them arriving earlier though, I think).

 

This was fine, at first. When the boys start fighting about the toys, Audrey and Eve realize that they have not been teaching them that it is better to give than receive. Over the next 19 days, the two friends, nay sisters by this point, devise ways to teach their sons that Christmas isn’t about getting toys.

 

I can’t remember exactly how many “lessons” there were, but each was sweet. I highly recommend reading “The Wish Book Christmas” anytime of the year. It receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and his World

Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and his World by David Lehman 278 pages

I have been a fan of Ol’ Blue Eyes since I discovered music as a teenager. None of that rock ‘n roll for me! I’ve read many books on Mr. S.; I love to learn more about him. One of the first

things I check out in a book about Mr. S., is who is writing it and how does he/she know this stuff?

The author, David Lehman, had no connections to Mr. S’s. inner circle as far as I can tell. Yet, the book is about one of my idols, so how could I resist at least not flipping through it. All I can say is thank God for libraries and their interlibrary loan service. I didn’t want to take the risk of missing something because I didn’t want to spend twenty-five bucks on a bad book. Lehman is a big, huge fan of Sinatra’s, and I’m glad that come through.

I love the style of this book. It’s one-hundred short reflections on the man, the legend, and his music. He touches on every aspect of Mr. S’s life from beginning to end. The reflections are short, ranging from a half-page to four pages.

Like I said, there is nothing new in this volume, and it’s not very well written for a man who is “one of the most prominent voices in contemporary American poetry.” Therefore, Sinatra's Century: One

Hundred Notes on the Man and his World gets 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

November 2023-February 2024 Totals

 

November 2023-February 2024 Totals

During the months of February 2023 through March 2024 reviewers read 35 books with 5868 pages.  Shirley read the most with a total of 18 books read, but Julie read the most pages with 5095.  Congratulations to both of them for jobs well done!

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry 272 pages

 

It’s Saturday afternoon. I should be cleaning the house, but I want a break, so I turn on the television and about the only thing worth watching is “Friends.” First, I must say I am not in the series’ demographic. I was already middle-aged when it premiered. It’s an okay show, but after reading Perry’s story, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have a before I cracked the book’s cover.

 

Perry’s favorite movie was “Groundhog Day,” and it imitates an addict’s life to a tee. Trying to get the drugs/alcohol/sex/whatever puts a person on a never-ending loop. Addicts don’t think much pass the next hit. Also, it is the way this book is written. Perry has the same days over and over and over.

 

Unfortunately, due to his sudden death, most of us know Perry’s story. He successfully hid it, at least on television. But truthfully, I had no idea how bad it was. Heartbreaking to say the least.

Therefore, I don’t have the need to rehash his fears, anxieties, doubts and all the other negative emotions/thoughts here.

 

Instead, I’ll talk about some of the high (no pun intended) points. One, when he learned that God is real via the oceanic view from his home. Two, how he truly had gotten sober but couldn’t quite conquer all his demons. Three, his need to help others kick alcohol like he did. Four, how God helped him kick drugs/alcohol/cigarettes. (He craved cigarettes as much as, or more than, he craved opioids.) One day he couldn’t live without them, the next the cravings were gone---one bad habit at a time.

 

In the end, Perry sounded happy and hopeful, that he had truly turned his life around. I choose to believe that this is true, and his death was the unfortunate result of too many years of hard living. Everything caught up with him on the October night in 2023.

 

Therefore, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The Secret Life of Sunflowers

The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar 404 pages

 

I would say that most Americans from high school on up know who Vincent Van Gogh is: The creator of some of the world’s most beautiful paintings (Starry, Starry Night; Sunflowers to name a few) or the mad painter who cut off his ear and gave it to a prostitute as a sign of affection. There have been hundreds of books, movies, songs and tv shows that give readers/watchers an insight to this complicated man.

 

But this novel gives readers a new perspective, When Vincent dies in 1890 by suicide (gunshot to the chest), he leaves his paintings to his brother, Theo, and his wife, Johanna. After Theo dies in 1891, the paintings are left to Johanna. And Johanna is the subject of this powerful novel with the theme of inspiring women.

 

Even before Theo’s death from general paresis of insane in 1891, Johanna was trying to establish Vincent reputation in the art world. True she the money that his paintings would bring, but in the 1890s, women did not have many ways to earn a living, Plus she had her son to provide for.

 

Now then, this book takes on a dual narrative that is not quite interesting as Johanna’s story, yet Johanna becomes an inspiration to Emsley Wilson, who is the fictional granddaughter of Violet Valkyrie, a woman who was also a well-known artist. Emsley lives and works in LA as a Hollywood auctioneer. Violet had Johanna’s diary, which is the catalyst for the novel when Violet has her look into her blue box at the back of her closet and encourages Emsley to read it.

 

Bottom line: It is because of Johanna’s unrelenting ambition to make Vincent a household name that it is. Throw in some 2022 shenanigans from Emsley’s ex-boyfriend and best friend to take her business and an unexpected romance that create such a riveting. For me, the first four chapters were rather slow, but once I started Chapter 5, I couldn’t put it down. Therefore, The Secret Life of Sunflowers gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

The ABCs of Christmas

Shirley J.                Juvenile Literature          Something Christmas for every letter of the alphabet

A beautifully illustrated board book complete with raised sparkles throughout in which every letter of the alphabet shows a different Christmas concept, A is for Angel...E is for Elf...J is for Jesus..S is for Santa..W is for Wreath...  The book covers all aspects of Christmas, the religious side, the Santa side, traditional and pagan.   The illustrations are strikingly brilliant and listeners as well as kids through kindergarten will enjoy hearing the captions and looking at and discussing the pictures.   Parents, Grandparents, Teachers and Babysitters will enjoy sharing this book with children.  I recommend it for babies through kindergarten age.  

  

The Angel of Indian Lake

 The Angel of Indian Lake

Stephen Graham Jones

343 pp

The Angel of Indian Lake  by Stephen Graham Jones is the third entry into his trilogy starting with My Heart Is a Chainsaw.  In this series, Jade Daniels (real name Jennifer), is a horror movie fan with almost encyclopedic knowledge of the films in this genre.  As in the other books, the chapter titles are those of horror movies.  Jade uses the plots of movies she has seen to compare what is happening to her in real life to what happens to characters in these movies.  She also uses the behavior of the “final girl” to inform the way she reacts to situations, although she does not believe herself to be worthy of that title.

Jade is back after a stint in prison and is teaching history at the high school like her former teacher Mr. Holmes.  Instead of writing papers on the assigned topics, Jade always wrote about the horror movie.  She has given her class the assignment to do a report on the history of Proofrock and Indian Lake.  Unlike when she was a kid, the reports of today are high tech.  One of the reports even is filmed by drone.  During one of these reports, a missing Bronco is  shown with the bodies of two former Proofrock residents in it.  Then the drone shows teens from their school who have been brutally murdered.  Meanwhile, the local game warden sets a forest fire and the sheriff’s office must find him before things get worse.  The sheriff (Jade’s best friend’s husband) enlists Jade to watch over their daughter since he knows he will be busy.  Things get even busier for him when a parent waiting for their child in the pick up lane is beheaded.

Even though Jade has vowed not to get involved in figuring out any of the crimes, she just can’t help herself.  After she finds out more people in town have been killed she goes after the sheriff so she can tell him what is going on.  Once dropped off in that area, she does not have a lot of mobility since all of the boats have been tampered with.  Eventually, Letha (the sheriff’s wife and her best friend) comes to the rescue.  There’s even more after this, but I won’t spoil it.

To read this book effectively, you must have read the first two books.  There is too much that refers back to the first two “massacres” to comprehend the story otherwise.  I loved this book and am sorry to see the trilogy end.  I will be sure to recommend this to other horror lovers.  

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for giving me an advance reading copy.

P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever!

 Shirley J.                     Juvenile literature                                  The worst alphabet book ever!

P is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever by Raj Haldar     40 pages

This book is hilarious!  At least for adults.  The English language has words with silent first letters like xylophone, oppossum,  knot, aisle, pterodactyl and so many more.   It is a wonder any of us learn to spell much less pronounce words correctly but that is part of the joy and wonder about this wonderful language of ours - there are surprises to keep us on our toes.   The book is like that all the way through and is really fun I think.   I recommend this book from birth to 9 year olds, and to adults, but, I think adults will truly find the humor in it.  Kids may be like, huh?  Say what?   Adults will be like, True!  True!  So true!  Hilarious!  

Merry Christmas Mom & Dad

 Shirley J.               Juvenile Literature            A little critter tries to do a bunch of christmasy things

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad by Mercer Mayer   24 pages

A little critter ( it is a series of books about this little fellow and his adventures) of indistinguishable origin, he might be a squirrel, or an opossum, or a porcupine, the book doesn't say and you can't really tell from the illustrations so critter is fitting.  He is some kind of critter.  Anyhow, he is little and he really has great intentions of being a good helper, but, intentions only go so far and his patience, endurance and skill are all laking that stick-to-itiveness to follow through and complete the task he has at hand ie, wrapping presents (the tape is too sticky), untangling the Christmas tree lights forget it - is anyone good at that? baking cookies, nope none of his attempts see the completion but his heart is in the right place, right?   Kids will like it and it is geared for the birth to 5 year old set.  It might amuse up to 8 year olds, I think.  Beyond that probably not. 

On the Night You Were Born

 Shirley J.             Juvenile Literature          All the magical things happening when you were born

On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman   32 pages

Sweet book written in poetic loveliness describing all the magical things happening the night of every baby's birth.   Every horn and trumpet in heaven blew, all the geese in the air flew home, polar bears danced, the moon shone till morning because it was so happy and more.  The world and the heavens were delighted at everyone's birth.   Such a precious story/lyrical poem and all about You!  A great read and/or gift.  It is recommended for birth to 3 years of age but I think any one any age will get a kick  out of the idea of all the wonderful things that occurred because of how special your birth was to all being.  

The Gift of Family

 Shirley J.                Adult Fiction          A well-to-do couple can't have kids and adopt a family

The Gift of Family by Mary Monroe   208 pages

A very easy read.   A sweet story.   Eugene and Rosemary Johnson are doing well in their lives.  Rosemary runs a successful nail salon in Beverly Hills, California and Eugene is a successful lawyer with a lustrous list of celebrity clients.   They live a comfortable life, they love each other and enjoy partying with the A-list crowd.   The one thing they have been trying years for is a family with heart wrenching results.  Then Rosemary is told she needs an emergency hysterectomy and their hopes are crushed as now she will be unable to bear children.   They luck into finding the woman that worked for Eugene's parents, the woman who raised him and his brother , who was such an asset to Eugene's family. This woman, Ethyl Perkins has been struggling working 2 jobs for years doing her best to provide for her great-grandchildren who were left with her to raise them when their mother and grandmother died in the mean streets.  Ethyl is approaching 70 years old, the new owner of her building is making her move because his daughter wants Ethyl's apartment.  Ethyl has no extra money for first and last month's rent somewhere else not to mention the security deposit which she is sure the new owner doesn't plan to refund her due to the remarks he's made about her 2 grandsons tearing up the place.  They hadn't but Ethyl saw where this was going.  Meeting up with Eugene and Rosemary and being offered the job of taking care of Rosemary during her recovery from her surgery is a God send.  Little do any of them know, yet, just what a God send it will turn out to be.   Good story.  Very light reading.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves romance, children and happy endings.