The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

Fairies, trees, switching places, family, trust, secrets, longing to return........

Henry Day was tired of babysitting his sisters and ran into the woods after his mother insisted that he help more with them.   The changelings took him that very afternoon. 

The changelings steal children after watching their daily routines for about a year to see if the child is the right one for the change and if it is the life the fairy would want to live.   The "stolen" child who replaces the fairy has to adapt to new surroundings, learn new things, and become used to a new life without any familiar people or family.  The fairy duplicate usually makes out better since he knew everything about the stolen child and his family thus making acclamation to the new life in the human world a lot easier.

The changelings that lived in the forest were scavengers, thieves, and had mean dispositions....they ate bugs, berries, killed rabbits and squirrels, and stole things from the humans…they went directly into homes and businesses.  The descriptions of their antics, how they lived, and what they did “grabbed” you so much that it made you afraid to go into the back yard in case they were hiding there doing their nightly stealing of clothes off the line or food in the houses since they could slip through any cracks by making their bodies squeeze thin.  :)

The book goes back and forth describing the lives of the switched children...each telling his story...the one growing into adulthood and the other remaining a child.

A childhood stolen is what I would call what happened...I felt bad for the AniDay (Henry Day), the child who was taken by the changelings and went into the fairy world...he seemed to have a difficult time with the change…he wanted to go back, but couldn’t…he had to wait his turn.  It would be difficult to forget everything from your past, but eventually they do.

The book was interesting, definitely different, and also so mysterious that you couldn't stop reading, but you also kept looking over your shoulder....4/5.

I enjoyed it as the pages continued to turn…the ending was thoughtful and heartwarming.

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

I absolutely loved this book...couldn't put it down.

You will fall in love with the characters and share their joy, sadness, triumphs, and defeats...you will want to be right there with the ladies in the kitchen house preparing meals and being loved by them.

The book is during the time of plantation owners and slavery. On his boat trip back from Ireland, James Pyke brought Lavinia with him...she is a seven-year-old white child whose parents died on the boat during the return trip.

Lavinia is sent to work in the Kitchen House, and the black families learn to love her and she learns to love them as the only family she knows...her memory is gone when she arrives and remembers nothing about her parents and her childhood.

Lavinia works alongside the ladies in the Kitchen House and then learns to take care of the Mistress of house's new born baby...the Mistress begins to teach Lavinia how to read and write. Lavinia is the main character along with Belle, Mama Mae and Papa George and of course the harsh plantation owners

The book takes you through the loyalties the black families have for each other and their Master and his family. It also makes your heart ache at the truths of what really occurred on the plantations concerning the relationship between the slaves and the plantation owners.

A lot of tragedies throughout the story, a terrific account of occurrences, excellent depictions of the surroundings and people.

Through the author's wonderful descriptions, you feel you are right there......the novel is fabulously written.

If you loved THE HELP, you will love this book as well or you may like it even more.

ENJOY!!!! It is wonderful.

The Clouds Beneath the Sun by Mackenzie Ford

An archeologist excavation in Kenya filled with brilliant paleontologists is the setting of the book…the characters' work, cultural differences, and inter-personal relationships encompasses the main plot. In the first few pages the main character, Natalie Nelson, is on her way from Cambridge University to the camp, and she comes across a herd of elephants actually carrying out a mourning ritual...her first glimpse of the mesmerizing sights and sounds of Africa. The descriptions of the wildlife in Africa and the land itself was vividly and beautifully described by Mackenzie Ford.

When Natalie does arrive at the camp site, she is happy to see everyone has his/her own tent with private bath facilities. This is especially comforting the following evening since she didn't get a warm welcome at dinner as a result of her being the novice paleontologist and making a comment that was viewed as criticism of one of the veteran archeologists.

Just as things got better with that situation, and as the excavating continued, two veteran paleontologists, Richard and Russell, do something unthinkable, and a murder occurs. The sole witness happens to be Natalie. Natalie tries to relax and forget about the trial each night with a drink and a cigarette while listening to the African animals that circle the camp. The trial gets pretty complicated and worrisome for Natalie....a plea made to the Maasai chief concerning the trial is denied....the legal and cultural issues are of the utmost concern.


The book was a little slow, but does become a lot better in terms of "action" as you turn the pages to the final chapters....the focus of the archaeological dig, the murder trial, Natalie's turmoil dealing with it, the power of money, societal issues within Africa, relationship issues among a group of people working and living together, personal secrets, and family issues that included sibling rivalry, betrayal, and deceit keep your interest.

It wasn't a riveting novel, but it was intense at times, and it did bring you culturally into another very interesting society. The characters were well developed, and you could feel their pain, fear, triumphs, comradery, and all emotions that may have been felt from living in the middle of a beautiful, exotic African landscape. Being a passionate, knowledgeable paleontologist would have been even more helpful for enjoying the book.

My rating is a 4/5 because the "dig" was very interesting and the cultural aspect made you think how we are all the same, but also different. Even though the ending depicted the beautiful symbolism of the Maasai people, it will haunt you and make you realize what cunning, cruel, jealous, self-motivated creatures we humans can be.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Nigeria, London, Little Bee, Sarah, Lawrence, Andrew, and Batman....all different lives all connected through good and bad situations.

Friendships, suicide, family life, choices, oil, and government...put these all together, and you have a powerful story about how lives inter-twine and are touched no matter what the distance is between all parties.

The story is told by Little Bee, a sixteen-year-old Nigerian refugee and Sarah, a successful journalist....everything isn't given away at once, because the author lets both women "talk" to the reader about events.

The beginning pages are very clever and creative and you think it will be a funny book...it is intense.

You will be drawn into the story very easily, though, through excellent descriptions and situations. You will live and feel all the heartache, emotion, and fear of the circumstances for each character.

It is a powerful, thought-provoking novel.

The Scent of Rain and Lightening by Nancy Pickard

MAY BE SPOILERS

Rose, Kansas, the Linder Ranch, and the Linder family.....

..............Jody Linder was left an orphan at the age of three, and the man who had been accused of killing her parents 20 years ago was being released from jail on this hot, muggy, rainless day in Rose, Kansas. Her uncles arrived together at her home to tell her the news.

The story then moves from the present back to the events that led up to the murder of Laurie and Hugh-Jay Linder. The Linder family owned a huge cattle ranch, and every family member except Belle along with hired hands, which included Billy Crosby, worked for them. Hugh-Jay Linder woke up one morning to broken fences and a dead, pregnant cow....he KNEW it had been Billy Crosby. Hugh-Jay planned a scenario to get Billy at the ranch and have him arrested for the crime.

As a thunderstorm is raging outside the tavern where the Linder children are enjoying their evening, along comes Billy Crosby saying there was no evidence that he broke the fences and killed the cow, and he was free and clear....he was also very drunk, crude, and loud, and was thrown out by the tavern owner. When everyone woke up the next morning, Annabelle Linder was rounding up her children to get some pancakes at a local restaurant. She had to go to her son's house to waken him and his wife but found the doors all locked, and that was unusual. She then found her son dead in an upstairs bedroom.....her screaming roused the neighbor, and he came running over to find the grisly scene. Billy Crosby was of course the sole suspect because of his previous actions and drunkenness from the night before and a trial took place.

The trial of Billy Crosby got him forty plus twenty years in prison for the murder....meanwhile the Linder family and the town of Rose, Kansas had to try to carry on.

It was always difficult when Annabelle Linder ran into Valentine Crosby and Collin Crosby....Billy's wife and son. Valentine and Collin were ostracized in the town, and poor Collin had a rough time at school as well.

Along with mourning their son and his wife, the senior Linders had to raise Jody and help her cope with the tragedy. It was a difficult ordeal for everyone. When things finally started getting back to normal, Billy Crosby is released from jail and the fear, memories, and pain all surface again. What made the release worse was the talk that some folks believed Billy never did kill Jody's parents, and that he had been framed.

Events lead to more trouble for the small town of Rose, Kansas, and the Linder family. The ending is a little predictable, but also a surprise. You will like the story. The ending is definitely a page turner. The love and the kindness the Linder family has for everyone draws you into the storyline. I am going to rate it a 4/5 because it was a little slow at times, but the mystery keeps you guessing.

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Julie saw Umberto at the back of the room as she was leaving the stage. She knew this wasn't going to be good news because he wasn't smiling like always. "Aunt Rose has died" were the words that tumbled out of his mouth. As sad as Julie was, she also knew there would be something even more distressing....she had to face her twin sister Janice. Janice was four minutes younger than Julie, but she always upstaged her no matter what, and there was always conflict when Janice arrived on the scene.

It was pouring down rain the day they buried Aunt Rose. As soon as she was buried and they were leaving the gravesite, Janice demanded to see the will right then. The attorney did have the will and showed it to both girls, but nothing had been left to Julie...everything was left to Janice.

Julie was devastated, but then Umberto said he had something that her mother had left for her....a key, a passport, and a letter. The letter wanted Julie to go to Italy, but Julie knew she couldn't go to Italy because she had been thrown out of the country when she was 18. Umberto had another means to get her to the country she was born in and to carry out her mother's wishes that Aunt Rose kept secret until she had passed away. Julie had no desire to go to Italy, but Umberto insisted...who couldn't resist a trip to Italy...mama mia :)

Julie Jacobs aka as Giulietta Tolomei was on the plane to Italy the next day and met Eva Maria, an Italian citizen. She informed Giulietta that she knew her family and that her family and Giulietta's family were rivals back in the Middle Ages. Eva Marie took her under her wing and insisted that her grandson show Giulietta the town of Siena and keep her safe.

The next day Giulietta went to the bank with her key. The bank manager had known Giulietta's father, and he took Giulietta to the safety deposit box with the matching key. What Giulietta found was her family and frightening and wonderful adventures. The key, the box her mother left her, and the story of Romeo and Juliet is the novel's main theme with lots of mystery and intrigue surrounding them.

Your interest won't wane especially if you look at Random House's website ( http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/featu...) that corresponds with the book in pictures from the scenes of the book. I loved it as the mysteries unraveled.

This book is outstanding...the storyline, the descriptions, the characters, and Italy.

I loved how the book went back and forth from the 1300's to present day using the story of Romeo and Juliet as the main plot and how the main characters unraveled family and life-long mysteries....you will love the present-day characters Julie and Janice Jacobs also known as Giulietta and Giannozza Talomei.

I couldn't put it down. I loved "being in Italy" again, and could just see the buildings and all the quaintness of the country and the city of Siena. The web page Random House set up for the book adds to your interest because the pictures go along with the pages of the book.

I can't see how it wouldn't be liked...it is a book you won't want to miss. It has something for everyone...history, romance, mystery, betrayal, life in the 1300's in Italy, ancestors, middle-age family feuds, suspense, and a great author. Ms. Fortier did a superb job with her novel.

It is absolutely wonderful right up to the last page. You will not want it to end. What an extraordinary novel. ENJOY!!

The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

"Twindar," bipolar, secrets, family life, manslaughter....

Birthdays and phones...two things Karena likes to forget about, but her birthday and the phone ringing off the hook with bad news both happen on the same day.

The news did help in other ways, though. Karena was learning about what stormchasers do, and she was closer to finding her twin brother who she hadn't seen for twenty years since he too is a stormchaser.

Karena is invited, or rather she invites herself, on a stormchasing tour in the role of newspaper woman, which she is. She meets people who knew her brother, but she didn't get good news about him. The book mainly talks about chasing storms and finding Karena's brother. It also flashes back to Charles and Karena's childhood describing what their life was like as twins and what the life was like with their "absent" parents. Love of course comes into the picture as well...brotherly and sisterly love as well as romantic love.

It wasn't bad, kept your interest....4/5.