Missing May

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant is about a young girl, Summer, who is adopted by her aging Aunt May and Uncle Ob. Aunt May passes away, and Uncle Ob especially misses her. Together, Summer, Uncle Ob, and the peculiar neighbor boy named Cletus, learn to find strength from each other as they continue to live life all the while missing May.
It's a rill short book, but it's so sweet. I figure if Mom were to read it, she'd cry. That's why I posted it. Plus also, I read it for my Children's Lit class . . ..

Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting

This was a book I read for my children's lit class. Normally, I'm not a big fan of history non-fiction type books, but this book was very moving. The book begins by talking about the lead up to WWI and life in the trenches. Then it beautifully and poignantly gives the account of the Christmas Day Truce of 1914, wherein troops from both sides of the war caused a cease-fire for several hours and crossed enemy lines to celebrate Christmas Day together. I like the format of the book because there's lots of great photographs. There's actual quotes from soldiers, too, but they are seamlessly intertwined with the narrative.
Even if you don't like history or war, I would still recommend this book. It shows the human nature of us all, even in the midst of war. Personally, while I was reading it, I kept thinking, "Okay, so what happens next as a result of the truce?" Obviously, the war went on for a few more years, but I still think the Christmas Truce of 1914 was an important event in the war.

A Year Down Yonder

Mary Alice, 15, spends a year living with her eccentric grandma in a small country town. The adventures they have are absolutely hilarious as they cause town riots, find creative ways to make money, and otherwise either endear themselves or scare themselves away from everyone else in the town.
This is a feel-good book for sure, and it's real short, too!

Plus also, this book is a sequel to A Long Way From Chicago which is about Mary Alice and her brother Joey as they visit Grandma over consecutive summers. Also a good book.

The Help

This book is wonderful! It's about black maids and hired help during the 1960s. It outlines the story of three main characters-two maids, and a white college graduate - who work together to write their stories. It was such a good read, and I definitely gained a lot of appreciation for that time period and the unspoken racial social rules. I really liked what they included in their stories to "give it insurance" against the high society socialites. I give it 5 stars!!

I Sit All Amazed: The Extraordinary Power of a Mother's love

Written by Steve Mikita, this book talks about his life in a wheelchair because of a muscular disease. He reflects back on all his mother did for him during her life and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has sustained him in his trials and hardships.

A very good read! It's neat to see how this man has progressed beyond the slim prognosis of life expectancy and has done so many things with the necessary assistance from his mom and others & shows how determined one can be and how they can succeed when they work toward it.

Peace Like a River

This book, by Leif Enger, was recommended to me by a friend. It's about a family who is searching after their brother who has broken out of prison after being convicted of murder. Each character in the family has a special trait of some kind; the father, who in some ways is a miracle worker. The brother, Ruben, an asthmatic, who learns from experience how to make decisions even when there's no clear line between right and wrong. And the younger sister Swede, whose literary creativity weaves a web through the entire story. It's an interesting book; to me it's like a cross between a Western and an inspirational almost religious type book. There's alot of values such as family loyalty, honesty, and love which play a huge role in the book.
Admittedly, this was a slower-read for me, and the ending at first seemed a little unfulfilling. But after thinking about it more (and reading the suggested questions for discussion at the back of the book), I came to understand how the ending was rather fitting. But I think I would probably appreciate the whole book more reading it again after having read the ending.

Moon Over Manifest

Well, funny thing. I have NO IDEA why I got this book from the library! It is technically a juvenile fiction, and that's not a section I just randomly browse through. I thought that I had requested it from the library because someone had recommended it on this blog, but I can see that no one has. Reading the back and the first 20 pages, it did NOT seem like my cup of tea. But, thinking that someone here had recommended it, I persevered... and ended up falling in love.

So anyway... should you decide to check it out, don't get turned off by the idea of a medium. She's not all hoodoo the way it appears at first; she's just a vehicle to be able to tell a second storyline in the book. And I really enjoyed watching the two story lines weave together by the end of the book. Plus, it was fun getting glimpses of history since the book is set in 1918 and 1936.

Anyway, brief plot overview: Abeliene's father sends her to live in Manifest, the town where he grew up. She spends the summer learning about the town's history (through her friend Miss Sadie the medium, as well as through town newspapers and old letters), trying to learn more about what makes her father the way he is. She ends up learning about him and about herself. Wonderful and sweet story!