Review: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Bruno and his family lived in Berlin during World War II.  His father was an officer in the Army.  Bruno was a typical nine-year old – his life revolved around family, friends and school.   When he found Maria, his family’s maid, packing up his belongings one day, he discovered that his family was moving.   Bruno [...]

Wondrous Words Wednesday

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading.  Feel free to join in the fun.
All of this week’s words come from Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz.
1.  fecund – “The artist (and dope dealer) had cast aside his own familial trappings and invested his [...]

Review: Sima’s Undergarments for Women

By all appearances, Sima Goldner has it all -  a thriving business and a solid marriage, but she’s missing the one thing she wanted the most – a child.  When she didn’t conceive early in her marriage to Lev, Sima went to a fertility specialist and discovered that her fallopian tubes were blocked because of  [...]

Follow Me: Review, Blog Tour and Giveaway

When Sally Werner was 16, she had a baby boy by her cousin, Daniel.  Two days later, she left the baby on her parent’s kitchen table and ran.  This is a pattern Sally followed for years – she ran when someone from her old town recognized her, she ran when she found out she was [...]

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page.  Head over there if you want to join the fun or see what everyone else got last week.  I had a great week, but most of the books I received were wins or prizes.  Here’s what I found in my mailbox:
Monday

North of Montana by April [...]

I love my Book Buddy

I don’t know how it happened, but all of a sudden, I’m middle aged.  It’s really not that bad, but when I read for long periods of time now, my hands and arms get tired of supporting my book.  Book Buddy II to the rescue!  The Book Buddy II is a small pillow with 2 [...]

Review: Boneman’s Daughter

Ryan Evans was a Navy Intelligence Officer more married to his career than to his family.  On a tour of duty in Iraq, his convoy was ambushed and he was taken prisoner.  The brutalities he witnessed made him vow to be a better husband and father when he returned to his family.
Upon his return to [...]

Review: The Teashop Girls

When Annie, Zoe  and Genna were younger they declared themselves “The Teashop Girls” and vowed to be friends forever.  Now that they’re in the eighth grade, they seem to drifting apart.  Annie gets a job at her grandmother’s teashop, The Steeping Leaf and discovers it’s having financial difficulties and may have to close.  Annie is [...]

Sunshine Cleaning

When I heard that the creators of Little Miss Sunshine had made a new movie, I was really excited.  Sunshine Cleaning took forever to make it to our market, but it finally did.  Rose and Nora Lorkowski are sisters who’ve had a tough life.  Their mother committed suicide when they were young and their father [...]

Uncommon Goods

One of the blogs I read regularly is Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage! Chartroose usually makes me laugh and brightens my day.  Occassionally, Surfer Dude makes a guest appearance on her blog, describing a book in surfer lingo.  Usually, I have no idea what he’s talking about, but that’s okay, because he’s fun to [...]