Member Profile
| Name : | Kate E. |
| Gender : | Female |
| Occupation : | World Language teacher |
My Reviews
Kris has a way of bringing you into the story with her as she describes her time as a Peace Corps Volunteer, our \\\"on-the-ground\\\" ambassadors around the world. You will fall in love with and admire Monique for many reasons.
Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan... They all seem to be melded together into a place "over there." Not really knowing much about the history of Iran, this story inspired me to look into Evin Prison and the complicated history of the area. People are the same all over the world...we require love, friendship and a sense of belonging.
The book jacket says that you'll never look at your own mother in the same way and that's true. Everyone blames themselves for her disappearance, then they blame each other, and, finally, they discover "hidden" information about her. Sometimes it's hard to remember that mothers were young and had dreams and hopes for themselves. Within each mother-child relationship, you'll find your own described in this story.
While the story of how the two pilots saved each other\\\\\\\'s life is interesting, it has a bit too much detail regarding the specifics of flying for this reader. It took a long time to get to December 20 and it took just as long to finish the war, get on with their life ves and find each other.
I chuckled, giggled and wept while discovering who Ove is and what love, compassion and a bit of kindness could do in this world of ours.
If you are looking for a book to relax you, then this may be the one. It's a slow-moving story and another opportunity to hang out with the characters from previous novels. But as a book for a club meeting, there was nothing to discuss.
I found myself laughing out loud, gasping at his misfortune and being transported to another place. I want to meet Mark Watney!
The story brings the plight of undocumented immigrants to the forefront via a mystery. Great characters in Officer Vega and Adele. They are not perfect people, but who among us are?
It's worthwhile to read again (even if you read it in high school)!
While the stories may be familiar, it's worthwhile to read the original book!
Spanning the centuries, cultures and continents, who would have imagined such a story! There were times when I could not wait until evening so I could read more about Chava and Ahmad. Such fantastic creatures with such human thoughts.
As a reader, remember that this is a collection of vignettes (perhaps written simply as ideas for other books that she never used.) Sone of the stories are comical, others heartbreaking. It's not a book that one should read in one sitting -all of the vignettes will jumble together.
There are many questions that could be discussed after reading this book: What is more important - friends or family? Are you a failure if you leave your hometown only to return? Is it possible to keep high school friendships forever? I suppose that these questions could be answered with one word, but there may be more to the answers than you think.
Discuss what you think the future could bring to the cast. The author has some pretty definite views on certain things (poverty, truth, love) that could provide some great discussions.
The Count became a good friend while reading the book and even afterward. We all should know someone like him -for real.
A difficult book to read, especially considering its theme of slavery, but so well done!
The human spirit is resilient, even in the worst of times or places. It's so easy to look the other way or ignore those who are not the same as you but this book refuses to let you off that easily.
Awful, awful, awful! I kept reading it because I thought it would get better. It didn't! When I read the last line, I threw the book across the room and tried to shake off the mental images from the story. It did NOT deserve an award for any reason.
If you can get past the vulgar first chapter, you'll find a writer who has a beautiful grasp of the English language. She seems to be a repeating record for a fair share of the book, but it takes her a while to find her voice, I think. Lots of material to discuss.
All of the EJI (Equal Justice Initiative) clients are fortunate to have such committed and understanding lawyers. Mr. Stevenson brings to light deplorable situations regarding poor counsel, prison conditions (human and physical plant), biased judges, prosecuting attorneys and sheriffs who seem more interested in "solving" a case (even with coerced testimony or falsified evidence), incarcerating children to life sentences without the possibility of parole, sentencing mentally challenged "criminals" to death, the list goes on! Who knew? Apparently, not many of us.
"A speedy and fair trial" is far from the norm for most poor and minority defendants.
While our judicial system may not be perfect, it is better than others around the world. It's so unfortunate that there needs to be an "Equal Justice Initiative" but I am glad that they exist. So are their clients who have been able to walk away from prison.
Computers. You can't live without them? What if they were all carrying a sleeping chip set to destroy?
With the recent wave of hackers compromising sensitive data, the premise for this story doesn't seem that far-fetched. It is a quick read with lots of twists. Just glad there are some computer geeks/geniuses who are the good guys. We need more of them in the real world (the good guys.)
"A beautiful dress holds a little bit of magic in it."
The glue that holds this story together is THE perfect little black dress, and Ms. Rosen is able to use that magic to her advantage. From sales clerks at Bloomingdales, to the theatre and film industries, private detective agency and visiting Muslim women from France, all of them have a connection to the same dress. A lovely and witty story. It was so easy to dispel reality in many cases and just go along for the ride!
It's a romance. Christie actually waited for Billie for 35 years? Kind of unbelievable especially when she had someone who would love her. A "happy" but unbelievable ending.
What an adventure! It's a story that should be told and re-told!
No person is an island. We humans need and desire friendships (not just acquaintances) to keep going. Be prepared to reconsider your current friendships and even extend your hand to new friendships (of whatever age.)
This is the story of a woman finding her power and her voice. She starts out unable to say what she thinks and by the end of the book, she’s able to live life on her terms and says what she thinks and feels. -From a Bookriot author interview
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