Book Review

Happy Wednesday and happy birthday to me!!!!

I just finished reading three books, all recommendations from the She Reads blog (http://www.shereads.org). I will start with my favorite of the three.

"Fireflies in December" by Jennifer Erin Valent

This was a quick read for me simply because I enjoyed it SO much. The book is written from a 13 year old girl's perspective. Her name is Jessilyn Lassiter. She is the only daughter of a farmer in a small time. The time is 1932 and the Klan is a strong influence in the town. Jessilyn's best friend is black and comes to live with Jessilyn's family. You can imagine what transpires. I couldn't put this book down as I wanted to know what happened. The characters in this book came to life for me and I found myself sitting on the Lassiter front porch. Interwoven is the message that not all people are bad, each of us is a light in this dark world and that the most important relationship one can have is with Jesus.

"White Picket Fences" by Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner also wrote Shape of Mercy which I really enjoyed so I was anxious to pick up this book. Again, a quick read but due to the fact that to me it was a "beach book". This book is about the "perfect" family and how there really is no such thing. Behind every facade is the true story. This book is about a teenage girl who ends up living with her aunt and uncle and their two kids. An aunt and uncle that she has met only once many years ago. Her dad is "missing", her life has been far from normal and she is thrown into this storybook family. However this storybook family has secrets. There were parts in this book that I really enjoyed but I knew how the book was going to end halfway through. I didn't know the specifics but I knew the outcome. An OK read but not nearly as good as Shape of Mercy in my opinion.

"Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon" by Debbie Fuller Thomas

My least favorite of the three. Again, I knew the outcome of this book by the end of chapter 1. It was one of those reads were everything is tied together at the end with a nice little bow. The story is about two girls who were accidentally switched at birth. One girl dies from a genetic disease which leads to the discovery of the switch and the ensuing custody battle for the other girl who by now is a teenager. Again, an OK read but not something that I would pick up over and over again.

So I have requested more books from the library and until something comes in for me to pick up, I will go back to my magazines. If you decide to read any of these or anything else that I recommend or review let me know your thoughts.

Blessings