Review: Scattered Letters by Reshunniece Kline

Summary
At eight years old, Bellina Al Asma's idyllic life is turned upside down by an unspeakable tragedy. She is forced to leave Switzerland for New York and finds herself in the chaotic home of her self-destructive, alcoholic aunt. Struggling to survive in her new country and life, Bellina finds comfort and companionship in her African American neighbor, Ms. Hickens. Together, they discover a devastating secret written in a pile of scattered letters.

Review
This was one of those books that grab your heart. The journey of this young woman to overcome tragedy and loss to experience love and forgiveness really made this a beautiful story. I thought the author did a really good job capturing the voice of Bellina as she progressed not only in age but through her experiences. This was an engaging read that has a story that kept you interested and made you want to root for her to triumph.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Release Date: 1/4/2013
Pages: 304

Review: The Clock of Life by Nancy Klann-Moren

Summary
In the small town of Hadlee, Mississippi, during the 1980s, Jason Lee Rainey struggles to find his way amongst the old, steadfast Southern attitudes about race, while his friendship with a black boy, Samson Johnson, deepens. By way of stories from others, Jason Lee learns about his larger-than-life father, who was killed in Vietnam. He longs to become that sort of man, but doesn’t believe he has it in him
 
In The Clock Of Life he learns lessons from the past, and the realities of inequality. He flourishes with the bond of friendship; endures the pain of senseless death; finds the courage to stand up for what he believes is right; and comes to realize he is his father’s son.

This story explores how two unsettling chapters in American history, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, affect the fate of a family, a town, and two boyhood friends.

Review
When I think about books influenced from the South, names that come to mind are Harper Lee, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston to name a few. As we read their stories now, they take us back to a place in time that for some it reminisces good or bad but for others there is only a captured sentiment. After reading this book, I would gladly put it right alongside with them. From the very first page, you are taken back to a time that seems so distant yet it really wasn’t that long ago. 

Despite this being a work of fiction, you find yourself getting swooped up in the spirit of the story from its historical references that at times inspire you or frustrate you looking back. Whether people acknowledge or not, there is much of history that has been a crucial dynamic of its lasting influences such as Civil Rights and its influence in the South or Vietnam and how it has affected so many emotionally integrating back into mainstream life.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put the book down. This was a well written story that embodied a spirit and culture of the past that rarely now can be captured as so eloquently. The way she developed the characters and/or their relationships with each other seemed seamless. You felt like you knew them and were there experiencing the story with them. If your mind was an open canvas, her literal words painted the most beautiful story of life, friendship, and the inspiration of those who had the fortitude to open their heart bending the rules to the social norms.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: AnthonyAnn Books
Release Date: 11/12/12
Pages: 364

Review: Tragedy to Truth by Casey Cease

Summary
Overcome by years of anxiety and depression on a fruitless journey to find himself, Casey Cease could not imagine his life getting any darker. On July 5th, 1995, at the age of 17, fueled by desperate anger and alcohol, Casey caused a horrific car accident that resulted in the death of his friend. Guilty and hopeless, Casey lay in a mental hospital on suicide watch, sure that his life was over. He would soon learn that God had a plan to rescue and redeem him through Jesus Christ.

For over a decade, Casey has been travelling the country candidly sharing his testimony of God’s power to save others to a life of hope and peace, even when it seems they will be lost forever. With a pastor’s heart, he wrote Tragedy to Truth for the sole purpose of giving you the opportunity to marvel at the limitless love of God toward broken, sinful people. No matter how bad you think you are, you aren’t beyond the reach of Christ.

The first half of this book, Tragedy, is Casey’s testimony, from his birth to the present. He shares details of his life that few others will in an effort to display God’s grace in his life. The second half of this book, Truth, shares the hope that Casey has found in many areas of his life through this tragedy. Tragedy is a reality in this lifetime, but through God’s grace it can lead to the truth.

Review
Whether you believe in God, spirituality or absolutely nothing, I believe that people encounter crossroads in their life where they make decision that are determinants of their fate. Be it divine intervention or choosing the right path where the fork meets the road. We encounter those introspective questions of how to change, what did I do to deserve that or what or how can I be that will influence the hand dealt.

This book really lived up to its title of a “Tragedy of Truth: A Story of Faith and Transformation.” Casey’s story was an honest and heart breaking one that embodied one’s journey from self-inflicted battles that had dire consequences to someone who experienced an internal spiritual inclination. It showed how not one person on this earth is perfect but anyone can change. His story gives people the hope who feels that the choices they had made in their past will prohibit a better future. Overall, I think his personal story was something that was interesting to read especially how spirituality changed his life. It gives you an insight to those who have experienced some sort of divine intervention that improved their life.

For those who are open to spirituality, I think especially if you have middle school to high school kids, this would be a great book that creates some conversation. As with the author’s own personal experience, many will face the same challenges of trying to fit in or be accepted and this would be a great opportunity to highlight what happens when you make certain choices or feel a certain way. What I think is interesting and would help is that the author put questions at the end of every chapter as a way of enabling that conversation.

For those of you who don’t believe in spirituality or a higher being, this book may put you in an uncomforted position because of the biblical references in the second portion of the book. It might even make you feel like at times you are being preached to but that wasn’t the intention. If you are open to reading about the experience of someone that could be anyone you know, take a chance from that perspective.  

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Lucid Books
Release Date: 2/18/13
Pages: 164

Review: The Girls Guide to Love and Supper Clubs by Dana Bate

Summary
Hannah Sugarman seems to have it all. She works for an influential think tank in Washington, D.C., lives in a swanky apartment with her high-achieving boyfriend, and is poised for an academic career just like her parents. The only problem is that Hannah doesn't want any of it. What she wants is much simpler; to cook.

When her relationship collapses, Hannah seizes the chance to do what she’s always loved and launches an underground supper club out of her new landlord’s town house. Though her delicious dishes become the talk of the town, her secret venture is highly problematic, given that it is not, technically speaking, legal. She also conveniently forgets to tell her landlord she has been using his place while he is out of town.

On top of that, Hannah faces various romantic prospects that leave her guessing and confused, parents who don’t support cooking as a career, and her own fears of taking a risk and charting her own path. A charming romantic comedy, The Girls’ Guide to Love and Supper Clubs is a story about finding yourself, fulfilling your dreams, and falling in love along the way.

Review
What a delicious piece of literary delight! If you want to read a thoroughly enjoyable book, I would strongly suggest adding this onto your reading book list. Ladies, tell your sister, your mother, and your friends about this yummy book, especially for those fabulous recipes in the back! This was one of the books that had the kind of story that just grabs you from the beginning and keeps you engaged until the very end. It is a quick and fun read that makes you want to keep flipping the pages because you just have to know what happens. 

It was a well written story that had vivid descriptions and the dynamics of the relationships of the characters gave that addicting soap opera feeling where you just couldn’t put that book down. She did such a great job with making the characters cohesively come alive from the pages. 
 
Here is a sneak peek at the characters:

Hannah: Loveable twenty something who is definitely the people pleaser. She has gone through life making decisions based upon the perception of other people with the fear of disappointing them especially her parents and her boyfriend Adam. As you will see when you read the book that seems to have an effect on her goals, aspirations and relationships

Adam: Hannah’s boyfriend who definitely doesn't get the award for boyfriend of the year seems a bit too invested in his best friend Millie. 

Millie: The uptight, think she knows it all best friend of Adam who happens to works with Hannah. 

Rachel: Best friend to Hannah who seems has commitment issues due to an unfortunate childhood experience, later finds happiness. She helps Hannah reach her dream.

Jacob: No comment because he is not worth talking about…you’ll see why

Blake: Landlord to Hannah when all went south between her and Adam. Secretly he has a crush on her but wait to see what happens…

Just enough to get you started. I loved it, I hope you do.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release Date: 2/5/2013
Pages: 400

Review: Killing Me Softly by Bianca Sloane

Summary

On a bitterly cold January evening, Tracy Ellis went for a jog along Chicago’s  snowy lakefront and disappeared. Her body was discovered days later, her beautiful face bashed in with a rock. Police determine her brutal death to be a mugging gone wrong and drop the matter into their cold case files.

Over a  year later, Tracy’s sister, Sondra, still can’t come to grips with what  happened. She throws herself into her work as a documentary filmmaker to try and  forget the cruelty of her sister’s death. However, a chance encounter with a man  from Tracy’s past rips the wound open and sends Sondra on a desperate search for  answers about the secrets from her sister’s life that may have led to her  death.

As Sondra struggles to uncover what happened to Tracy, she’s  launched into a tangled web of deceit and danger that put her on a collision  course with life and death…

Review

It’s been a really long time since I’ve read a thriller book that just completely wowed me as much as this one did. Considering that I am a huge suspense and thriller fan of many authors that have books that have just blown my mind, for a debut novel I think she did outstanding! This book was just fantastic and addicting. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started reading but the plot was just something I have never read before. It was definitely unique with the twists and turns. It really keeps you guessing. This was one of the stories that completely makes you want to read whereas not only you want answers but you need to know. I really couldn’t read the book fast enough. It was completely unpredictable which made this story just leap off the pages. 
 
It was well written and easy to follow. As you read, the story deciphered itself at just the right pace which gave its’ addicting appeal that made you just want to keep reading. The characters were interesting and as the story unraveled they became more interesting. It was just refreshing to read a thriller that’s build up concluded at the end that left you completely satisfied with no doubts, questions, or dissatisfaction. This is definitely one worth reading. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Pages: 290 pages
Publisher: Bianca Sloane (November 7, 2012)

Review: Ma, He Sold Me For A Few Cigarettes by Martha Long

Summary
When Martha Long's feckless mother hooks up with the Jackser ("that bandy aul bastard"), and starts having more babies, the abuse and poverty in the house grow more acute. Martha is regularly sent out to beg and more often steal, and her wiles (as a child of 7, 8) are often the only thing keeping food on the table. Jackser is a master of paranoid anger and outburst, keeping the children in an unheated tenement, unable to go to school, at the ready for his unpredictable rages. Then Martha is sent by Jackser to a man he knows in exchange for the price of a few cigarettes. She is nine. She is filthy, lice-ridden, outcast. Martha and Ma escape to England, but for an itinerant Irishwoman finding work in late 1950s England is a near impossibility.

Martha treasures the time alone with her mother, but amazingly Ma pines for Jackser and they eventually return to Dublin and the other children. And yet there are prized cartoon magazines, the occasional hidden penny to buy the children sweets, the glimpse of loving family life in other houses, and Martha's hope that she will soon be old enough to make her own way.

Virtually uneducated, Martha Long is natural-born storyteller. One can't help but cheer on this mischievous, quick-witted, and persistent little girl who has captured hearts across Europe.

Review
For a book that was not intended to be published, I’m glad that it was. It gives a voice to those who have none especially of a child. So many times their voices go unheard especially when there is no one they feel they can go to or will listen. This book written from the voice and perspective of a child was the most honest and heart breaking recollection of a life I have ever read. 

If you are a mother and read this book, I hope it inspires you to become a better one. Every child deserves a life from a mother who will care and nurture them. There are no words to describe the injustice of a life when a child gets robbed of being able to experience a childhood. Martha’s story recounts her early life to her beginning teens. Her life plagued by a mother who made poor decisions that resulted in their poverty, neglect, and abuse that had devastating effects on her life that made her experience things no one should ever have to endure. 

Don’t get discouraged by the length. Take your time if you have to but the depth of the story is worth it. It’s unlike any memoir book that you will probably read. The way she chronicled her life is well written from the perspective of details and how the story progresses. 

What truly inspired me from her story was her intuitive fortitude to survive based upon no positive guidance or education through the abuse and pain to get a chance to live a life that was so innocently taken. As you read the pages, the depths of her pain was great but her will to survive to become better just really amazed me.  Everyone has a story but there are some that need to be heard, this is one of them. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles