This was almost a DNF for me. But it's been on my reading lists for a long time and despite how much this dragged with2.5 yellow stars but rounded up.
This was almost a DNF for me. But it's been on my reading lists for a long time and despite how much this dragged with endless navel-gazing by an investigator haunted by a horrific experience which killed his father when he was a teen I wanted to find out "who done it." The murdered man was a very unsavory character - a drug addict, and physically abusive to both people and animals. I will add a trigger warning here for animal abuse. All of his associates were equally unsavory, there are graphic descriptions of the remains of the victim, and a lot of bad language. With so many unlikeable characters, the reveal of the murderer was frankly sad. On the plus side, if you like character studies and psychology this might be a good book. Glacier National Park was beautifully described in its wildness and physical beauty. The grizzly bear too was a poignant and haunting character. I did like young Monty, and since he is featured in the next book, it's possible I might give the series another try.
Description: It was a clear night in Glacier National Park. Fourteen-year-old Ted Systead and his father were camping beneath the rugged peaks and starlit skies when something unimaginable happened: a grizzly bear attacked Ted’s father and dragged him to his death. Now, twenty years later, as Special Agent for the Department of the Interior, Ted gets called back to investigate a crime that mirrors the horror of that night. Except this time, the victim was tied to a tree before the mauling. Ted teams up with one of the park officers—a man named Monty, whose pleasant exterior masks an all-too-vivid knowledge of the hazardous terrain surrounding them. Residents of the area turn out to be suspicious of outsiders and less than forthcoming. Their intimate connection to the wild forces them to confront nature, and their fellow man, with equal measures of reverence and ruthlessness. As the case progresses with no clear answers, more than human life is at stake—including that of the majestic creature responsible for the attack. Ted’s search for the truth ends up leading him deeper into the wilderness than he ever imagined, on the trail of a killer, until he reaches a shocking and unexpected personal conclusion....more
4.5 blue stars I liked the story enough to be somewhere between a red or blue rating, but it has the same flaws as the first book: even though the firs4.5 blue stars I liked the story enough to be somewhere between a red or blue rating, but it has the same flaws as the first book: even though the first book was 16 years earlier, the author had advanced the science to the 50s so no change there. It was another variation on the same theme, with too many info dumps. This book was decidedly darker than the first book with prejudice, domestic violence, poverty, etc. and I'm sure all of that was true. The ending was uplifting, but improbable, and too many threads were left hanging, so I'm guessing there might be a third book down the road?
Description: In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world....more
This has a much more upbeat feel than her book "Caste." Yes, she talks about the prejudice, and the lynchings, and the injustice and heartbreak, but oThis has a much more upbeat feel than her book "Caste." Yes, she talks about the prejudice, and the lynchings, and the injustice and heartbreak, but over all, the focus is on how much things changed in the last 100 years. These people sought better lives, and for the most part, they found it. While we know that we still have work to do, sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how much things have changed. As MLK said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.� So this book left me feeling hopeful, rather than depressed like "Caste" did. I liked the stories of the three people she followed - it makes it much more personal - but at the same time she is presenting a microcosm that doesn't reflect the deep complexity of experience of being African American. This gets a blue rating from me, rather than purple, because it got very repetitious at times. And it was confusing how she presented parallel stories, rather than a more chronological approach, hopping back and forth in time. But over all, I liked it very much.
Description: From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves. With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties....more
My rating for this book keeps going up and down. I'd say it shows great promise as a debut novel. The writing is good, the ideas are good. I like thatMy rating for this book keeps going up and down. I'd say it shows great promise as a debut novel. The writing is good, the ideas are good. I like that it looks at the American dream from two extremes: the poor black immigrant family, and the wealthy white family. I found all of the characters hard to like, except maybe the children. I had sympathy for them, but I was really appalled at some of the choices they made. I "think" the author is saying at the end that family is the most important thing, and that wanting or having wealth is often not worth the sacrifices that are made to obtain that dream. I really wanted to rate this higher, but it just didn't have the hook that should have drawn me into the story and the plight of the characters. I wasn't convinced by the ending, and didn't really care what happened to them. On a different day I might rate this 4 red stars, but for now I will give the author room to grow.
Description: Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses� summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future. However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers� façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice....more
This was used by our church as a Lenten discussion guide. We divided into small groups led by a "facilitator" - someone who had attended some kind of This was used by our church as a Lenten discussion guide. We divided into small groups led by a "facilitator" - someone who had attended some kind of training with the author. I really can't say much about the book. It's short, and only focuses on a few simple ideas. I wouldn't recommend this book on its own - I think it would have been pointless without the discussion of the group I was in. As an individual, I think I am pretty "aware" already, but one thing I did get from this was that we also need to look at things from the point of view of the organization or community, which are much more geared toward "normalized" individuals: white people, men, educated, heterosexual, etc. We are challenged as a group to think about how to be more welcoming to those who are different. I could appreciate the examples of left-handedness vs. the normalized right-handedness. ;-)
Description: As our twenty-first century world grows increasingly diverse, it is often the polarizing voices dictating to us how we should view our neighbors, our interactions at work, our families, and even our race and ethnicities. Instead of sensing that the world is recognizing and celebrating our differences, we often feel separated from one another. We have not learned to connect the understanding of how our unique individual experiences cause us to see and navigate the world differently. The authors identify the various identities that are placed upon us by ourselves or others (male, female, people with and without disabilities, different skin colors, etc.) and examine how these categorizations within the societal system impact our life experiences. Discussion questions throughout the book invite readers to recall past exchanges with others and to consider how the lens of societal experiences affected the interactions. These prompts could be utilized in varied settings such as family discussions, book groups, or staff meetings....more
I probably have read Sherlock Holmes before, but long enough ago that I really don't remember. Certainly I am familiar with the canon through movies. I probably have read Sherlock Holmes before, but long enough ago that I really don't remember. Certainly I am familiar with the canon through movies. This is the 3rd of 4 novels about Sherlock Holmes that Conan Doyle made famous in his short stories. As described below, this edition (Alma Classics - not the cover I have linked here) is aimed at younger readers and contains some added material, including "Legends of Wild Beasts in Britain." I would have liked a few pictures, perhaps some photos of Dartmoor. The style takes a little getting used to, but I do think it is quite accessible to younger readers. I was pleasantly surprised at the vivid descriptions of everything, especially the moor. Here is an example:
"Every minute that white woolly plain which covered one half of the moor was drifting closer and closer to the house. Already the first thin wisps of it were curling across the golden square of the lighted window. The farther wall of the orchard was already invisible, and the trees were standing out of a swirl of white vapour. As we watched it, the fog wreaths came crawling round both corners of the house and rolled slowly into one dense bank, on which the upper floor and the roof floated like a strange ship upon a shadowy sea."
Marvelously atmospheric. The first part of the story dragged a bit, but once we get into it, it unfolds a bit like peeling an onion, revealing the truth bit by bit. Of course, Sherlock Holmes makes it all seem so obvious in the end. Part of the charm is the relationship between Holmes and Watson. I just might have to read more of these.
Description: When the corpse of Sir Charles Baskerville is found on the grounds of his Dartmoor estate next to a mysterious animal footprint, thoughts turn to a fabled family curse: that of a hellhound set out to avenge a crime committed by one of Sir Charles's ancestors. As the only surviving heir of the Baskervilles is terrified for his safety, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are called in to investigate. The most famous novel in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes cycle, The Hound of the Baskervilles is a masterpiece of terror, suspense and mystery which has enthralled readers young and old since it was first published in 1902.
ABOUT THE SERIES: Alma Junior Classics series of illustrated classics includes some of the greatest books ever written for younger readers and new translations of unjustly neglected international works. Our aim is to give our list an international feel and offer young readers to opportunity to connect with other cultures and literatures � this applies not only to the titles we chose but also to the illustrators we commission � so that we can bring a bit of novelty into the canon of British children’s literature. All children’s classics contain extra material for young readers, including a profile of the author, a section on the book, a list of characters, a glossary and a test-yourself quiz....more
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