Category Archives: Harper Books

Review: Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (April 23, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 9780062105622
  • Source: Publisher

Nineteen-year-old Maya Nidal has grown up in Berkley, living with her grandparents after being deserted by her mother and all but forgotten by her father. Her grandmother, Nidia, is a force to be reckoned with. A strongly independent woman, she rebuilt her life after immigrating to the United States from Chile in the early 1970s.  Her grandfather, Popo, is an African American astronomer and professor who brought a sense of calmness and peace to Maya’s tumultuous adolescent life.

When Popo dies of cancer, Maya’s life is upended. Nidia, a normally strong woman, is devastated, forgetting that Maya exists. To deal with the emotional turmoil after her grandfather’s loss, Maya loses control and goes off the deep end.  Her addictions to drugs, alcohol and petty crime lead her to Las Vegas where she becomes involved in a deadly underworld that involves run-ins with the police, FBI, and Interpol. Desperate to get her granddaughter on a better track of life and to avoid capture by the authorities, Nidia sends Maya to her homeland, a small remote island off the coast of Chile. Life has a slower pace here and Maya has the opportunity to reflect upon her own life, as well as the secret past of her grandmother, in an incredibly soul-enriching bout of self discovery.

On the island, Maya stays with Manuel Arias, an anthropologist in his seventies not used to sharing his space with anyone, much less a teen girl. Their relationship is rocky at first but eventually evolves into one of mutual respect and appreciation. It is this relationship that allows Maya to take the first steps on her path of growth and rediscovery, aided by a truly tight-knit Chilean community rich with a need to nurture those around them.

Told in Maya’s journal entries from alternating time periods, Maya’s Notebook captures Maya’s incredibly tumultuous youth and eventual regrowth. Maya’s retellings are incredibly dark and gritty, not shying away from the horrific and disturbing situations Maya seemed to find herself in. What I found particularly remarkable about this novel was how Allende portrayed Maya’s life in truly polar opposite settings, from the dark and crime-ridden Las Vegas to the beautiful small island of Chilcote where everyone works hard to create a respectful life.

Allende delves deep into the Chilean culture, one I am not especially familiar with. This portrayal left be fascinated, wanting to learn more. Readers get a glimpse of the nation’s devastating past which served as an influence to the current contemporary hardworking citizens.

While the style of Maya’s Notebook is far different than Allende’s other books, I do believe this title will garner the attention of a whole host of new fans. Destined to be talked about in book clubs around the country, this title is one to leave a resounding feeling of healing and recovery in the hearts of every reader. Recommended.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this title. Please be certain to check out the other stops along the way!

Tags: , , , ,

Review: Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

Posted on by — 4 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 382 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (April 2, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 006222543X
  • Source: Publisher

Kate is a single mother working long hours as a partner at a law firm. Her teen daughter, Amelia has a bright future ahead of her, a well-respected student at the local prep high school.  When Kate receives a phone call from Amelia’s school one day, she’s shocked to learn that Amelia has been suspended. Unable to get any details over the phone, she rushes through traffic to Amelia’s school. When she gets there over an hour later, she is too late. Upon arriving at the school, she sees rescue vehicles parked in front. Within minutes of her arrival she learns that Amelia is dead, allegedly killed after jumping off the roof of the school.

In the weeks that pass, Kate must get used to being alone again. Although she worked long hours, she always made time on the weekend to spend with Amelia. Just as she starts to get back to her usual routine, she receives a text from a blocked number: Amelia didn’t jump. This text is the first of many she receives from this number. Desperate to learn more she contacts the police who had, based on the medical examiner’s report, had written Amelia’s death off as a suicide. When new evidence is uncovered, Kate learns that Amelia’s death was in fact a homicide. With the aid of a Lieutenant from the local police, Kate begins going through Amelia’s email, Facebook posts and more trying to recreate the last days of her life. Riddled by guilt, Kate soon realizes there was a lot she didn’t know about her teen daughter. To make matters worse, secrets Kate kept about the identity of Amelia’s father have surfaced. Is it possible that she is partially to blame for the cruelty her daughter experienced in the last days of her life?

Reconstructing Amelia is a heartbreaking examination of teen life and the lengths that youth will go through to be accepted. Told with haunting insight on the mysterious life of teens. From hazing to sexuality, drugs, and first secret loves, McCreight reveals a truly chilling plot that, unfortunately, isn’t far from reality. Her characterization is above par, using alternating chapters and points of view the author builds truly dynamic characters. Kate is a hard-working single mother, trying to do best for her daughter. Amelia is a teen, struggling with her own sexuality and identity amidst a world governed by social media. In addition to this shift of point of view, flashbacks to the past and unique formatting really aid in the overall flow and pacing of the novel.

As the mother of a teen myself, I wasn’t necessarily shocked but chilled to read about the cruelty displayed by those in the “in crowd.” The role of social media in the lives of teens plays a key role, reminding me just how many ways youth can be bullied in current society. This novel is a good reminder about the importance of open communication and support between parent and child, no matter how busy or complex life may get. I was stunned to learn that this is McCreight’s debut novel because her writing displays talents that typically only come with years of experience.  This is a novel that will haunt me, but remind me to never take for granted the relationship we have with our son, no matter how challenging and difficult may get.  Highly recommended, specifically for young adults or parents with teen children.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this title. Please be certain to check out the other stops along the way; I guarantee this is a book that will generate a great deal of discussion!

Find out more about the author at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Review: The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (March 5, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0062184849
  • Source: Publisher

Ashaunt Point, Massachusetts has been a quiet, relaxing home to generations of the Porter family. When the Army arrives in 1942 using the Point as a look-out for enemy submarines, that quiet solace is abandoned. That summer, the lives of three of the Porter girls are forever altered. The two oldest, Helen and Dossie, run wild as teenagers do. Their youngest sister, Janie, is involved in an incident that puts an abrupt end to their summer. Finally, their nurse Bea, a woman in her mid-thirties, falls hopelessly in love. The family lays witness as they lose a family member to war just as they lose a site so lush with beauty and nature to the travesties of war.

The End of the Point follows the Porter family during the historic 1940s, from the transition of Ashaunt Point to a place of rest and luxury to a town tainted by war. Ashaunt served as a home for the Porters for decades and, as the world changes after the war, it too is permanently altered by the changing world. The novel continues to follow the Porter girls into the 1950s and 60s as they grow into woman and have children of their own. Helen’s oldest son, Charlie, is emotionally damaged after an LSD trip. This one incident sparks a series of horrid flashbacks and hallucinations. He seeks solace in Ashaunt Point, only to learn that it has been sold to developers. Time and change is never easy, but in the case of the Porters, it appears to be even more devastating.

Graver creates a remarkable world in The End of the Point. Her descriptions of the lush, Massachusetts shoreline are so vivid and realistic that readers will feel that they, too, are immersed in the beautiful scenery. The characters she creates are dynamic, coming alive right on the pages of this incredibly beautiful, yet also emotionally devastating, novel. Her world-building, the creation of time and space, is truly remarkable. She captures the essence of what is going on in the world, yet never detracting from what is going on with this singular family.

A key theme that runs throughout the novel is the characters inability to live up to the standards and expectations put upon them by their elders and society as a whole. It is this expectation that, in many cases, holds the Porter family back from their true potential.

Graver frequently changes point of views as decades pass, giving the reader a multi-layered view of the Porter family. Starting with Bea, moving on to Helen and then her son Charlie, this shift in point in view adds vast dimension to this already lush novel. I cannot put into words the beauty of the writing in this novel. At times, I forgot I was reading a book, instantly becoming immersed in the incredibly detailed and fluid prose. An in immensely deep novel about family and a sense of home, this is one book that will stick with me for some time. Graver isn’t simply a writer, but a true artist of the written word. Highly, highly recommended.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this book. Please be sure to check out the other tour stops along the way.

 

Tags: , ,

Review: Dark Tide by Elizabeth Haynes

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

  • Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (March 12, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0062197339
  • Source: Publisher
Genevieve is following her dream of leaving the hectic London life, buying a houseboat to fix up and live on for the next year. She invites old friends from London as well as more recent ones to a “boat-warming” party. Genevieve loves her new home, finding the waves beating against the hull of her boat quite soothing. However, the night of her boat-warming party, everything changes. Genevieve wakes to hear something hitting against the side of her boat. It’s quite typical for garbage to find itself lodged there, so she thought nothing of it.  Until she saw what was causing the noise: the body of a young woman.

Seeing the woman’s body takes her back to her life in London. She recognizes the woman as a close friend she had while living in London. Her past comes flying back at her; she can’t let her new friends know about her night-job as a dancer at The Barclay, a private member’s club. When she left London, she vowed never to return. When other mysterious things start happening, she has no choice but to call the man who saved her from that life…the man who told her never to call him.

Told in alternating time frames, flashing back between Genevieve’s previous life in London and her current life, Haynes expertly crafts a genuinely thrilling read. As she did with her previous novel Into the Darkest Corner, Haynes gets inside the head of the female lead character, producing a protagonist who is incredibly strong yet also full of flaws. This novel is truly a study in one woman’s reaction to the life she found herself immersed in. Was it all worth it? Teetering on the side of danger in order to obtain the life she’s dreamed of?

While Dark Tide wasn’t nearly as intense or chilling as Haynes previous novel it certainly still kept me up late at night. Genevieve’s character was one I quickly became invested in; she’s incredibly smart and talented, not putting up with anyone standing in the way of her dream. So, she lets her heart get in the way not once, but twice. Who hasn’t, right? My only complaint was that, for such a strong and committed young woman, at times it seemed that she relied far too much on the men in her life. I don’t necessarily think this was intended by the author but it’s something I found lessened the impact of the book a bit.

All in all, though, Dark Tide is an incredibly intense, addictive read. Haynes knows thrillers, and she excels at writing incredibly genuine female protagonists. I cannot wait for more! Highly recommended.

 

Tags: , , ,

Review: The Dark Hour by Robin Burcell

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

  • Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (November 27, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0062133470
  • Source: Publisher

FBI special agent Sydney Fitzpatrick, a skilled forensic artist,  has been asked to sketch the composite of an individual involved in a murder. Yet when the witness is murdered just minutes after the drawing is complete, Sydney realizes that drawing is far more important than she could have ever imagined. She is sent to Amsterdam to join Zachary Griffin, a covert government operative, the individual authorities believe is responsible for the murder. The composite she’s sketched looks remarkably like Griffin’s wife, a CIA operative thought to be dead. Occasionally partnered together on missions, Sydney’s willing to risk her life to absolve Griffin of the false accusations.

Meanwhile, a prominent U.S. Senator is assassinated just as he’s about to deliver a rather important speech. Authorities quickly arrest a suspect, a mentally ill individual who has gone off his medication. The evidence against him is quite incriminating so not too much investigation goes into his suicide, just a few days after his arrest.

These two cases at first glance appear to be unrelated, but Sydney soon learns that they are in fact connected. A deadly virus with the potential to kill millions is at threat for release and Sydney and Griffin must race to a Brazilian jungle to stop it.

The Dark Hour is a truly intense novel that, on the surface, has a lot going on. A endless list of characters, seemingly unconnected story lines that all come together in one incredibly shocking conclusion.

The author herself is an FBI-trained forensic artist who has worked in law enforcement for over two decades. Her experience shines through in her novels, readers becoming immersed in a guaranteed thrill-ride of a read. What makes this novel even more tremendous is the story lines are completely plausible, adding another level of fear and suspense the reading experience.

I discovered Burcell’s Sydney Fitzpatrick series a few years ago and was thrilled to learn that she was releasing not one, but two, novels in quick succession. Stay tuned for my review of the next book in the series, The Black List, due out in late December. While The Dark Hour is the third book in this series, readers can easily pick up at any time in the series without missing out on too much. Thank you to Kaye Publicity for “reuniting” me with one of my favorite series!

Tags: , , , ,

Mx3 Review: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Posted on by — 4 Comments ↓

  • Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Balzer + Bray (September 18, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0062118781
  • Source: Publisher

Best friends Meg and Minnie have been invited to an exclusive house party on Henry Island. The two friends are looking forward to the weekend’s activities and the time spent together before Meg heads off to college in the fall. The group invited is small, only five boys and five girls. Meg and Minnie know some of the other members of the group, but many attend another school. While waiting for the host to arrive, the group sits back and enjoys their freedom. Alone on an island until the ferry picks them up the following Monday. A teenager’s dream, right?

All dreams quickly turn to nightmares when they discover a terrifying DVD with the message “Vengeance is mine.” The home loses power due to a storm, the remote location preventing a cell signal, and one by one members of the group are killed in the most unique manners possible.

Told from Meg’s point of view, readers will become immersed in the terrifying world McNeil has built. As people start dying, surviving members of the group start placing blame on one another and the intensity builds. Meg is the only individual who seems interested in figuring out who/why they have been targeted. The majority of the other members are initially reluctant to believe that a killer is among them but the rising death count soon persuades them.

One of the many things I loved about this book was the strong lead character McNeil created with Meg. At first glance, she appears pretty meek, almost a pushover. As time passes, however, she is the one person in the motley group of teens who seems to grow a backbone.  From early on, I was suspicious of most everyone in the group, not really feeling a connection with any of them, other than Meg. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked when the culprit was revealed. A truly addictive read, the intense pacing never waning. This novel is based on Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None; I think Christie herself would have been proud of this adaptation!

Ten is destined to become a movie; I’d be largely disappointed if it didn’t. Until then, it makes a perfect book to read this Halloween season. Highly recommended.

 

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

Review: The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Posted on by — 5 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Harper; Reprint edition (July 10, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0062206281
  • Source: Publisher

Set in Barcelona in 1957, The Prisoner of Heaven  shares the story of Daniel Sempere, his wife, Bea, and their new son. It is nearly Christmas and family friend Fermin Romero de Torres is about to be wed. One would think the mood would be jovial and celebratory but it is not. A strange man enters the Sempere family bookshop, purchasing one of the most valuable books in the shop.  He leaves the book for Fermin, inscribing the following note inside: “For Fermín Romero de Torres, who came back from among the dead and holds the key to the future.” His visit sparks a rehashing of memories and a feeling of dread for Fermin, taking him back to the 1940s and his questionable past in captivity that eventually led him to working at the store.

Unlike Zafon’s previous works, Fermin is no longer the sidekick that provides a bit of comic relief, instead he is one of the central characters to the plot. Worried that he cannot wed legally due to issues that took place in the past, Fermin reveals the secrets that have weighed heavily on his heart to young Daniel. Daniel vows to do what he can to provide Fermin, a man that has done so much for his family, illegal documents of identity that will allow him to wed.  The past that Fermin reveals to Daniel forces him to question a past he has grown to know as his own.

The Prisoner of Heaven  allows readers to reunite with characters they’ve grown to love and a setting that has changed dramatically since his last novel. The most endearing part of this novel was that it added new dimension and another glimpse of the character of David Martín, the focus of The Angel’s Game. While not nearly as long or in-depth as Zafon’s previous books, this novel made up with a shortness in length with the volumes of information it shared in the sparse 288 pages. It creates a bridge between his two previous works, filling in lost details and tying up loose ends. It so wonderfully crafted the story of these characters that I found myself wanting to go back and reread the two previous books, using the knowledge I gained in reading this one.

While the author does state that each book should be able to stand on its own, I do recommend reading them in the order they were published. A fourth book is promised, one I am certain will be worth the wait and will return readers to the long, flourishing and complex prose previously witnessed in his previous books.

Bottom line: this novel just affirms my opinion that Zafon’s books are brilliantly woven, finely crafted novels, modern classics that must be read and savored to be enjoyed. They are an experience that this reader isn’t soon to forget. Highly recommended.

Thank you TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this book. Please be sure to check out the other tour stops along the way.

Tags: , , , ,

Review: The Cottage at Glass Beach by Heather Barbieri

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (May 15, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0062107968
  • Source: Publisher

Nora Cunningham is married to the youngest attorney general in Massachusetts state history. On the surface she appears to have a perfect life with two daughters, Annie and Ella. This perfect life is shattered when news of her husband’s infidelity is spread like a virus by the local media. Humiliated, Nora escapes with her daughters to Burke’s Island, a small bit of land off the Maine coast.

Nora spent her early childhood on this island but hasn’t returned since her mother disappeared decades ago. Not much of her family remains, save for her aunt. When she arrives, she is greeted with warmth from the majority of the island’s citizens, but there are a few who hold her, and her mother, responsible for some of the island’s tragic past. Then there is Owen Kavanagh, a shipwrecked man whose body Nora finds on the shoreline. He’s quite mysterious, his memory lacking due to his injuries.

The Island seems to be the perfect place for Nora to reevaluate her life, including her marriage and her mother’s disappearance, and plan a new course for her life…

This is where this book went wrong for me. At times I felt there was too much detail, too much information and then there were others I wanted more details. I wanted to enjoy this book, truly, given my fondness of the author’s previous book, The Lace Makers of Glenmara. Unfortunately, it fell short for me. I felt there was too much happening, too many details, that didn’t really come together for me at the end. Nearly halfway through the book I was tempted to stop, yet something inside me urged me to go on. Unfortunately, my hopes of the book really coming together, really moving me, didn’t happen.

It’s not that I didn’t connect with Nora, I really did. Perhaps without her character I would have stopped reading midway through the book. It’s just that so much was left hanging, so many things not tied together. The hints of Irish mysticism that were thrown in perhaps would have brought everything together if they were developed more. It’s hard to gauge with a book like this: would more information help in developing the storyline more or would it simply be unneeded, extra text?

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t encourage others to read this book. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, matched with the author’s beautifully detailed prose.  Perhaps you’ll pick up on something I missed, something I overlooked. It really is unfortunate that this book fell short for me.

Tags: , ,

Review: Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Posted on by — 6 Comments ↓

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Harper (June 5, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0062197258
  • Source: Publisher

Catherine Bailey is a young, attractive, single woman. When she sees Lee, a bouncer at a local club, she’s instantly attracted. He’s breathtakingly gorgeous and when they begin dating, her friends are envious Catherine’s luck at love. Each become just as smitten with Lee as Catherine has, the perfect man in every sense of the word.

However, there is a dark and secretive side to Lee. Uncertain as to what he does for a living during the day, Catherine is even more alarmed when Lee shows up at her apartment, wounds covering his face. He remains secretive, suggesting that he is doing it for her own protection. Their relationship grows, Catherine eventually giving Lee a key to her apartment. They rarely see each other during the week due to Lee’s work schedule, but Catherine repeatedly comes home to see that things in her apartment have been rearranged. Lee eventually admits to entering her apartment in Catherine’s absence. She is wary at first, but his undying affection and unfaltering commitment to her eventually convinces her his actions are harmless. Yet Lee grows possessive of Catherine, demanding that she wear certain clothing, angered when he sees her receiving attention from the opposite sex. Speaking of sex, what started out as passionate lovemaking has begun to frighten Catherine. When she speaks of her concerns to her friends they insist she is blowing things out of proportion. She has the perfect guy; relationships go through peaks and valleys and perhaps it’s just the natural progression of their relationship.

When Lee begins to abuse her, physically and sexually, Catherine attempts an escape. This action forever changes her life.

Fast forward four years later. Lee is in prison for nearly killing Catherine. Catherine now lives alone, post traumatic stress disorder and an obsessive need to check her locks have taken over her life. She meets Stuart, her upstairs neighbor, an attractive and kind man. She feels safe in his presence. He encourages Catherine to seek counseling for her disorders and she agrees, finally seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel. Her life seems to be improving for the better…until she receives a phone call stating Lee’s sentence has ended and he will be released shortly.

Suddenly, Catherine begins to see Lee everywhere she goes. Additionally, she sees her former best friend out of the corner of her eye, a friend that testified against her in Lee’s trial. She comes home to her apartment to find things moved around, Lee’s trademark behavior. But rather than succumbing to the terror she once experienced, she uses the confidence and strength she’s built up in the recent months to stand up against the man who nearly killed her.

Told in alternating time frames, shifting between past and present, Into the Darkest Corner is a terrifying look at an example of domestic violence. This is Haynes debut novel, and she holds nothing back. She doesn’t sugar coat the details of the abuse Catherine faced. A police-intelligence analyst herself, Haynes uses her knowledge to portray a truly chilling, yet completely plausible, stalking situation. The terror Catherine feels is so real it comes through in the author’s writing.  Additionally, Catherine’s OCD is treated with compassion and, in reading of her treatment, the reader in turn learns a great deal about a disorder that is often downplayed.

The shifting of past and present may be a bit confusing to some readers, although each new passage starts out with a clear indication of the date. I found the side-by-side story lines incredibly ingenious; in the past we watch the progression of the abuse while in the present we watch Catherine become a stronger woman. It is if “present” Catherine is feeding off of Catherine from the past. She quite literally goes into the darkest corner of her soul to gain the strength and confidence to battle her horrific past.

I am truly astounded that this is the author’s debut novel. The talent she portrays in her writing, to me, appears to come from an author with decades of experience.

Bottom line: Into the Darkest Corner is a debut novel that I give my highest recommendation to, a novel certain to make my list of favorites for the year.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to participate in this tour. Please be sure to check out the full schedule of stops in this tour.

Note: violence, graphic scenes of a sexual nature

Tags: , , , , ,

Review: This Life Is In Your Hands by Melissa Coleman

Posted on by — 8 Comments ↓

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (April 10, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 0061958336
  • Source: Publisher

In the late 1960s, Melissa Coleman’s parents, Eliot and Sue, gave up their life in regular society to move to a rural rugged coastland in Maine. They purchased 60 acres of land, planning to exist solely on the crops they grew. They were inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing, authors  of Living the Good Life, a couple well known as proponents of living off the land. Coleman’s parents literally lived off of what they established themselves, including a wood cabin they built from hand, devoid of the conveniences of plumbing, electricity, etc. It was here they raised Melissa and her two sisters.

Melissa was born within months of this move to the rural life. She wasn’t raised as many children were, instead of close friends she relied on farm animals around her to keep her company. It wasn’t too long before she was graced with a younger sister to keep her company in the open expanse of nature around her. For the sake of living off of nature, her parents swore off common practices, including prenatal care, childhood vaccinations, and the like.

This life her parents established for them was not an easy one. Her father worked endlessly to produce crops that, in turn, her mother diligently prepared for storage in their food cellar. Her father became obsessed with providing for his family. Unfortunately, the perfect simple life they craved for wasn’t the life they obtained. Soon the media learned of this family’s farming movement, and the idyllic life they craved to create began to crumble. When a horrific tragedy befalls the family, this facade of a happy life the family created began to fall apart. Instances of mental instability in Melissa’s mother became more prevalent, “checking out” when things got too rough. The patriarch of the family, the proponent behind this movement, begins to falter in his passion and his dedication to his family. By the fall of 1978, this life they created together, out of their own sweat and tears, is nonexistent.

This Life Is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres, and a Family’s Heartbreak is Melissa’s own account of life growing up in a homestead family. Oftentimes, I found myself forgetting that it was her own life she was reliving, for the emotion usually associated with this sort of retelling was absent. I saw this as a clear indication of the sort of family she grew up in, a family more focused on nurturing the land than the members of the family itself.

Knowing from the premise of the book of the sort of tragedy that would befall the family, I became frustrated when it wasn’t brought up until the last 1/3 of the book. That said, the story Coleman portrays is an incredibly inspirational, yet also devastating, book. I was rooting for the family, so set on providing a good life for their children. As I watched the structure, the backbone of the family start to crumble, I was devastated. I wanted the Coleman family to thrive, to prove all those who doubted them that they could seek everything they needed from the land around them.

In today’s society, when we rely so much on technology to exist, I believe it is important to look back at what life was like without these materialistic items.  Coleman’s memoir gives us a glimpse of this simpler life, a life not too far in the past. Highly recommended.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to review this book. Please be sure to check out the tour page for additional stops in this tour.

Tags: , , ,