the Shack

The Shack by William P. Young


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
the Shack is a book that i had heard a lot about but hadn't had a chance to pick up. went to the beach with my folks last week and mom brought it along for us to read. finished reading it today and i think this is a book a lot of people need to read. the main character in the book, Mack, is a father of 4 children, one of whom is abducted on a camping trip before school starts. the police never find her but are led to believe that she was murdered based on evidence found in a shack in the woods. following the abduction, mack is a changed man with a constant Great Sadness hanging over him. four years later, Mack receives a letter in his mailbox that takes him on a journey back to the shack. here he faces a black woman, a middle-eastern carpenter, and a sparkly young woman in conversations and experiences where he learns a lot about what God is to him. the journey is an amazing one and this book can take misperceptions about God and turn them around.



i believe you can't take the book word for word as definite ways to imagine god, but i do believe the experiences told in the story are great explanations of how god works, at least how i've experienced him.



read this book, it's a great story and it's one you will learn so much from.


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we set a date! :)

we're getting married!

saturday, july 10th, 2010.

yipee!

the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a good but not great book. Written in letter form, it tells the story of Juliet, a writer from London just after World War II. She reeives a letter from a reader in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands (located in the English Channel) who is looking for books. The Channel Islands were occupied during the war and a relationship forms between Juliet and the people from Guernsey who continue to write to her. All of this occurs as Juliet ponders her next book topic through letters with her publisher, Sidney. When she finally decides that she wants to go to Guernsey to meet the people whom she is falling in love with, she's in the midst of a love battle with a man who wants to marry her. The story continues with Juliet finding out and researching about the people of Guernsey. A good book that has love, mystery, and tragedy all wrapped together. Easy to read, but not a knock your socks off book.


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first they killed my father

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
First They Killed My Father is an honest, harsh, but redeeming story of Loung Ung and her family in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge invasion in the 70s. Loung's story is heroic and gripping. This memoir is definitely worth reading.


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the glass castle

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Glass Castle is a memoir about Jeannette Walls' crazy, mixed-up, confusing, and disenfranchised family. It's a story about Jeannette's relationship with her father, Rex, who is a very intelligent man, but also an alcoholic full of unfulfilled promises. Jeannette's relationship with her dad is one that is hopeful and always believing until she grows up and realizes that his "Glass Castle" dream isn't going to happen.



Jeannette's story is almost unbelievable, but her storytelling ability is so strong and so captivating that I just couldn't put this book down.



I think everyone should read this book. It's an excellent memoir.


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sarah's key

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sarah's Key is a double-perspective WWII story about a much-neglected event within Paris in 1942. it's interesting that the vel d'hiv (the velodrome was an arena in Paris used for sporting events) is often overlooked when one speaks of the Holocaust. the main character, Sarah and her present-day counterpart, Julia Jarmond, are both telling the story from their perspectives in 1942 and 2005, respectively.



i enjoyed the relationship that Julia establishes with the history of Sarah and the apartment and the key, but at times it seems a big manic. i was happy to see that Betrand's father wasn't as crude and cocky as he seemed or as Betrand.



in the end, the book had some strong points and an alluring story that made you want to find out more.






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the Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Friday Night Knitting Club is definitely not a work of literary genius, but it provides you with such a warm, happiness that it's definitely worth the read. Dakota, James, and Georgia are such an important rekindled family...Anita is a woman I would want to spend time with, and Walker and Daughter is a shop where I'd want to visit, even if I didn't knit. The stories for other characters, like Darwin, K.C., and Lucie could be more developed...but the overall story was very engaging...very warm...very snuggly. I wish it would've ended differently, but I'm still very happy I read the book.


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