Book Notes: October - December 2015

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Unlike everyone else I know, I have not read Hannah's most well known book, The Nightingale. This book felt very long, and I tend to abandon books that are slow to start. The "Winter Garden" is an area of the yard where Meredith's mother Anya would go out and sit even on the most frigid of days. Anya was stoic and despondent for all of Meredith's life to date (40 ish years). Meredith and her sister, Nina, didn't even know how old their mother was. Their father was their everything, but when he passes away, the women need to form a bond. On his deathbed, Meredith's father implores Nina to "hear the end of the story." Even though Anya hardly spoke, she would tell her daughters "fairy tales" of ancient Russian, Anya's home country. The end of the story brings Anya's life to light and suddenly it all makes sense.
Parts of the book are weakly developed, but Hannah successfully transports the readers to Leningrad during WWII, a time of starvation and desperation. Reading this book is sure to make any everyday grievance that we may utter all the more insignificant. I would like to read more about this time period but first I need a little levity! I can't stop thinking of boiling the wallpaper to make tea and breaking apart the furniture to burn to merely survive another night in the harsh Russian winter of 1941/1942.



View all my reviews

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was on my "to read" list for years, I'm so glad I finally got around to it! Wells retells childhood adventures and calamities which appear appalling and CPS worthy, yet Wells' tone remains loving towards her alcoholic father and aloof mother. Her story is a good reminder that we never know where a person comes from, or where they may be going. While Jeannette rose from her desperate childhood, her siblings did not fare as well. I'm interested in reading her other books, but this one will be hard to top!



View all my reviews

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a must-read! It's a fast and easy read, yet still thought-provoking. Even working in Early Intervention, I've hardly given craniofacial abnormalities a second thought. Palacio brought the unique population to light and made the condition human. When describing the main character, Auggie, I pictured the hunchback of Notre Dame. Auggie has been home-schooled his entire life, but it is decided that he should go middle school with other children. The book follows Auggie, through different first person accounts. Since finishing this book a few months ago, I've been on the look out for people that may have suffered harsh comments, looks, treatment due to their appearance. This book has certainly made me more sensitive to the fact that under our appearance is a soul that wants friends, love, smiles, courtesy and respect as much as anyone else.
This is a great book to share with children, maybe 3rd grade and up. There are bullies, but also examples of children that stick up for Auggie, defend and befriend him, it's beautiful through and through and I'm getting choked up just thinking about it again!



View all my reviews