Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova, published in 2007 tells the story of Alice Howland, a fictional cognitive psychology professor at Harvard.

She has just turned fifty, and finds herself becoming increasingly disoriented and forgetful. A tragic diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's disease had me questioning my own mind as I read about her stuggles.

 After I finished listening to this book, I went back and reread several sections just to relive them again, and to make sense of some scenes that I found confusing. Because this story is told from Alice's point of view and she becomes a  more and more unreliable character, I found as a reader, I had to work harder to figure out what she was talking about. I thought this lent a sense of realism to the story, so much so that I went online and did a little research to make sure my own moments of  forgetfulness were normal.

Alice is at the age where she should be enjoying becoming a grandmother, taking a little more time off work to travel with her beloved husband, but instead her world is turned inside out and upside down. Reading this story has enlightened me about what people with this diagnosis may go through. I found her portrayal of Alice's husband, John, realistic as he struggles to balance his career and needs with Alice's needs. Genova is a wonderful writer, and I will definitely be checking out her other books.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address or you can drop them off at the McKay Dee Hospital NICU in Ogden, Utah, Attention: Angie, and we will see they get to the right place. 


Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Our Tree Named Steve by Alan Zweibel and illustrated by David Catrow

Everyone once in a while, I meet a children's picture book that I want to hug, so I hug it. Our Tree Named Steve written by Alan Zweibel and illustrated by David Catrow is one such book. Michelle told me about this book, and I bought it because David Catrow is one of my very most favorite illustrators. The pictures are as wonderful as the story.

Once upon a time, I had an old apricot tree that I loved probably more than I loved most people. I sat up in the leafy branches of that tree on many a hot summer's day, hiding out from the world and enjoying being at one with nature. When that tree was toppled in a late spring snow storm, I was crushed. I begged my step-father to set it back upright and somehow make it okay again. Of course there was nothing he could do to save my friend, but reading this book put me right back in the branches of my friend.

This story tells about a family who loves a big old tree in their yard. They love him so much that they name him Steve. We learn about how this tree sees the family through many fun times as the children grow up, and unfortunately, we see the family's sadness when a storm takes down Steve. I may have cried a little. This family chooses to use Steve in a new way.

The pictures are delightful as is always the case if David Catrow is illustrating the story. If you have a little nature lover in your life, they will love this book. Thanks for the recommendation, Michelle.

Michelle also sent over more books for the NICU. She found some wonderful books for the babies. I know the parents of those babies will enjoy reading these books to their little ones while they grow in the hospital.

 Yes, that is a copy of the Napping House. Love that book. 

The Cow That Went Oink is such a fun story. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We are in need of Spanish books at this time, especially board books. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines was first published in 1983. Reading this book brought to my mind the killing of Ted Fields and David Martin, two young black men who were walking with two of their white female friends after dark. Joseph Paul Franklin, a serial killer and white supremacist, was later convicted of this crime that happened in my home state of Utah.

Ernest J. Gaines tells a story that will make you squirm with uncomfortableness. He challenges our thoughts and beliefs. He puts down on paper, the deepest, darkest thoughts of people regarding race and prejudices. He doesn't paint people good or bad, but he allows the reader to determine what they believe. He has also joined my list of authors who don't disappoint me as a reader. I'll buy and read anything he writes.

My only complaint with this book was that I wish it was longer. I wanted more, more back story, more days, and more about the characters after the story ended.

This book gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of several people in a community - those who are white and those who are black.

The story begins with the part owner of a plantation sending a young black male to run get certain people. Candy Marshall, the white owner, confesses to the murder of a white male, Beau Boutan. Of course, no one believes her, and before the sheriff can get there, she has assembled a gathering of old men armed with the same caliber of gun that killed Boutan. All of them are willing to confess to Boutan's killing. All of them have reason to have killed him as he and his family did a lot of things to hurt them. Candy swears she killed Boutan because she is trying to protect the people who work her plantation, one of them even helped raise her. If a black person goes to jail for killing a white man, he will be executed.

Gaines builds tension well in the story that is told from many different points of view. Each chapter begins with the name of who is telling the story. Each narrator enriches and deepens the story. The truths in this story still holds true today. We are each a part of our own personal history and that of those who came before us. In order to understand one another, we much also understand the history of those around us. This book makes me want to be a kinder person and to do more to reach out to understand and help people.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We are in need of Spanish books at this time, especially board books. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield was published in 2006. I just finished this book, and it kept me guessing almost all the way through the story, something I love in a book and especially in a mystery.

In this story we meet Vida Winter, and prolific writer who is now nearing the end of her life and wants Margaret Lea, a young woman who lives above and works in her father's bookshop to write her biography. Vida has lied to all other biographers who have attempted to tell her story. Will she tell the truth to Margaret?

This story twines classic literature into the story, but that still didn't help me figure out the mystery even though the clues are there. There are many unlikable characters in this book, but they are mostly well developed, although I would have liked to know more about Charlie and Isabelle's motivations and why they were such a mental mess.

Blurb from Goodreads.com: "The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission. 

"As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire. 

"Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves."

I found this feeling of this story reminiscent of Du Maurier's Rebecca. The beginning was a bit slow, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

The Loving Spirit by Daphne DuMaurier

The Loving Spirit by Daphne DuMaurier was her first novel and was published in 1931. Even then, she was a good storyteller.

I struggled with this book and almost didn't finish it, but I ended up enjoying the story that follows Janet Coombe, and three more generations of her family. I didn't care for Janet Coombe's part of the story. She was a strong woman, which I like in a character, but she was messed up. Her section of the book is uncomfortable to read. She is obsessed with her son Joseph, and talks about him as if he is her lover instead of her son. She treats him like he can do no wrong, and he is a spoiled boy who isn't very nice a lot of the time. Janet's obsession with Joseph has a negative impact on one of her other sons who becomes quite jealous of Joseph, and his anger will be a part of the entire story.

I enjoyed Joseph's section of the book more, but still didn't feel compelled to keep turning pages. However, at this point, I was beginning to enjoying seeing how the actions of a previous generation affected the next generation.

He in turn favors one of his children, but luckily, this child has a mother who creates some distance between the two, and Christopher grows up to be a fine man. Because DuMaurier is telling the story, be sure to expect tragedy. She loves to tell a dark story, which may be one reason I like her storytelling so much.

The last section of the story, is about Christopher's daughter, Jennifer, and she is my favorite character of the story. She is strong, brave, and headstrong, although at one point, I wish DuMaurier had allowed her to rescue herself. She believes in revenge, but goes about it in a kind but strong way.

This book made me think a lot about people and how the actions of others change them, and how part of who we become depends on who our ancestors were. This is not DuMaurier's best work, but it is thought provoking, and if you enjoy her work as I do, you will want to add this book to your collection.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address or you can drop them off at the McKay Dee Hospital NICU Attention: Angie Moore in Ogden, Utah and we will see they get to the right place. 

Here are some recent donations to our NICU book project. Scholastic always has a $1 book each month, and Angie and I purchased thirty of these treasures. This allows us to get brand new books for the NICU at a good price and it allows your child's teacher to get free books for their classroom - win, win. 

 If you haven't checked out Mo Willems before, he is a wonderful author for beginning readers and younger children. He makes kids feel like reading is fun and possible. 

Brandy Peterson, a friend of the NICU, donated a big box of books to the NICU. The top pictures shows books that will go to the NICU babies. The bottom picture is books that are in good condition, but not pristine enough for the fragile babies. The nice part is that as a teacher, I have many teacher friends who are desperate for books to set up classroom libraries, so every book that is donated to our cause, finds the right place to help children on their lifelong reading journey. 

Thank you, Brandy. 

At the current time, our project is in need of Spanish books, especially Spanish board books. Children need to be proficient readers in their home language before they can become proficient in English, so we need Spanish or Spanish/English books for these sweet little ones whose first language is Spanish. We as always can use English storybooks. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was published in 2014, and it has been on my radar since then. I listened to the audio version and found it well narrated.

This book follows a blind French girl, Marie-Laure and a young German orphan, Werner, during the time before WWII, the period during the war, and concludes after the war. Doerr shows us how these two people have such different paths, yet their paths will connect.

Doerr writes characters well. I cared about his characters. I loved how he developed them and how the story went back and forth from each character and in time.

This story is complex. Doerr shows the mind set of the young Germans who were recruited to fight for Hitler's vision and how he made these young men and women feel that they were someone.

I loved Werner's zest for learning and could understand why he didn't stand up for his friend when he was being bullied.

I love the characters of Marie-Laure, her father, her great-uncle, and his housekeeper. The vivid descriptions made me feel like I was in the story watching it happen.

I loved this story up until almost the end, but I wanted a better ending. I thought the rape scene at the end of the book back at the orphanage was unneeded. Yes, those things happened, but that wasn't the focus of this story, and it seemed out of place. I also wanted more for Werner and wanted to see him deal with what he had done toward the war effort.

I am glad I read this book, and I found it worthwhile, informative, and well written, but I may need to invent the ending I wanted for it.

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. 

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

WeedFlower by Cynthia Kadohata

I've been continuing my quest to find "the" Japanese interment camp book. WeedFlower by Cynthia Kadohata is the one of the better ones I've read so far. Another one that I liked was Under the Blood-red Sun

The story begins shortly before the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the setting is California. Sumiko is a young American of Japanese descent who lives with her younger brother, her aunt, uncle, grandfather, and cousins on a flower farm that they run.

Kadohata showed the loneliness that Sumiko feels as she come to realize that she is the other. The scene with the birthday party was heartrending. Sumiko is a responsible girl who is willing to work hard and be be helpful. The feelings of being shunned by their community and country, of being scared nearly to death of the government and the authorities is well portrayed. Everything that was taken from Japanese Americans is well expressed. The change in the family dynamic is also well illustrated. They went from a multi-generational nuclear family, to one that was torn apart with members of the family ending up in different camps. She shows well what happens to the family dinner hour and the discipline of the children.

The interment camp that Sumiko's family is sent to is in Arizona on Mohave Indian Reservation and was called Poston. By reading this book, I learned about the relationship that the US Government forced onto the American Indians. They didn't want this camp on their land. I also learned that in Arizona, American Indians were not allowed to vote until 1948. I love books that teach me things I didn't know before.

Kadohota shows how the prisoners suffered from depression  "the ultimate boredom" and how important it is for our lives to have purpose and goals.

This book shows the danger of treating anyone as the other, and that if we will take the time to help  and get to know each other, no one needs to be the other.

I will admit to buying this book for the cover. It is gorgeous and the story is good.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

I will admit to buying this book because I found the title funny. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler was published in 2003 and the story still holds true in today's world.

Virginia, the main character is overweight and her best friend has moved to the Northwest. She has horrible self esteem even though her mother is a teen psychologist. Virginia can't help but compare herself to her perfect parents, and her two perfect older siblings.

She obeys the "fat girl code of conduct" with the boy she has a crush on, but she fails to give herself or him the credit they deserve. Things go from bad to worse for her when her father receives an upsetting phone call, and her world falls apart. Can she find the strength to put herself in her own orbit or will she remain the doormat for her family?

Her parents want to help her fight her weight problem, but they go about it the wrong way. I'm not sure what the right way is.

This book deals with older teen issues: discovering sexuality, make-out sessions, weight problems, date rape, teenage drinking, bullying, eating disorders, self-harm, teen rebellion, and body piercing. This book has the potential to be triggering for some but to also be a great dialogue starter.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit.

Cryptid Hunters: the series by Roland Smith

Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith is the first book of the Marty and Grace series. This four book series is complete, so you can start reading it without having to wait for more books to be published.

I read the first book a few years ago for Brown Bag and Book at our school and all the kids enjoyed it. They were so angry with the villain and felt attached to the main characters. Roland Smith is a good author for middle grade and middle school aged students. His stories have a lot of action, contain humor, and have good character development. He creates a lot of tension in the stories, which will keep you turning pages.

In the Marty and Grace series, the story begins with a thirteen-year-old set of twins finding out their parents' helicopter has crashed and they are missing. They go to live with their Uncle, Travis, who hunts cryptids (animals who are thought to not exist). He hunts them to try to preserve their lives. Unfortunately, another cryptid hunter tries to catch them to kill them.

Marty and Grace are both very smart and Marty is an excellent cook. In Cryptid Hunters, Travis is on the trail of a dinosaur, and Noah Blackwood - the villain of the story is close behind him. Travis wants to leave the twins behind, but they find a way to crash the party.

As you can see, the covers of these books are appealing.

In the second book, Tentacles, Travis is trying to be the first to catch a giant squid and bring it in alive. The trio set sail to find the squid. Blurb from the back: "But their huge freighter may be haunted, and someone on board seems determined to sabotage the mission. If Grace and Marty follow the clues, will they get to the bottom of all this fishy business or end up at the bottom of the sea?"

The third book is called Chupacabra and things in this story get pretty scary. Grace has been kidnapped by Noah Blackwood. Marty and his friend Luther are determined to rescue her, but Noah is conducting evil experiments in the basement of his animal "sanctuary". If he can't find a real cryptid, he is not opposed to using genetic experiments to create his own. In this installment we learn just how dangerous Noah really is.

The fourth book is Mutation, and the threads from the first three books find resolution in this one. The danger is greater than ever as Marty, Grace, and Travis are on the trail of Marty's parents in Brazil. When all technology is blocked in their area, they must use their ingenuity to rescue their friends and loved ones from Noah Blackwood''s evil ways. They will face creatures unknown in the real world, and real evil in Blackwood and his henchmen.

All of these books combine adventure, science, technology, and a bit of the fantastic to create a fast paced fun series for the reader. These books have a little larger type size and more white space which make them perfect as Hi/Lo books. Roland Smith is one of my go to authors when recommending books for the 10 to 18 age group.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit.