The Preacher's Daughter by Beverly Lewis

★★★ 1/2

"These days, my thoughts, even my convictions, seem to shift with the fickle hues of a Pennsylvania sky...a blending of what was true for me as the young preacher's daughter with what I now see and know.  Is there no way to blend my opposing desires?  Will I ever understand all of the shades of goodness, faith, and even someday, love?"

Annie Zook grew up in an Old Order Amish community in Pennsylvania and is the only daughter of a Preacher.  At twenty years old, Annie is reaching adulthood in the church and must decide if she will make the life-long devotion and be baptized into the Amish faith.  Her long-time beu, Ruby Esh has recently broken off their relationship because she could not make a commitment to the church.  Annie wants desperately to please her parents, but her secret love of art is holding her back.  Art is a forbidden activity by the Amish and Annie has bad to hid her talent since she was a young girl.  She has a hidden studio in her cousin Julia’s attic where she can create her masterpieces, but if she is found out, Annie will have to leave the church, her family, and the only live she’s ever know.

Louisa Stratford has been Annie’s pen pal since the girls were very young.  They have never meet, but have become over close over the years and share their thoughts, secrets, and love of art.  Louisa is an art teacher from a very well to do family.  Against her parent’s wishes, she has recently broken off her engagement to her fiancé Michael and is looking for an escape from her life.  She contacts Annie and asks if she can stay with her Amish family for a while.  Annie’s family agrees and Louisa is thrown into the “simple life” of the Amish that is very different from her own.  Dealing with decisions of her own, Louisa must also help Annie decide which path is right for her.

I have not read many Christian Fiction novels, but this book was generally enjoyable.  The dialogue seemed a little forced at times and the plot was somewhat lacking, but I would assume that this is true for most novels in this genre.  The author brought a unique environment to life in regards to the Amish community and I was interested to learn that her mother was from an Amish background.  The conflicts that Annie faced when deciding between her people and her love of art seemed very realistic and I enjoyed the contrast of her live with that of Louisa’s.

Until We Meet Again by Anne Schraff

★★

"Some things are too good to be true."

Darcy Willis is a sophomore at Bluford High.  As the school year draws to an end, she is looking forward to a great summer with her friends and her boyfriend Hakeem.  Then she finds out that Hakeem’s dad is sick and he is moving out of state with his family.  Darcy is also dealing with problems at home - adjusting to her father coming back into her life and the declining health of her grandmother.  To add more confusion, Darcy begins babysitting for an old family friend and the girl’s brother seems to be very interested in Darcy, but she isn’t sure what his intension are.  Darcy worry-free summer quickly turns into one that will force her to get use to the new changes in her life and make some tough decisions.

I thought that this book was engaging and very easy to get through. The characters were both relatable and realistic.  Darcy was dealing with a lot of common issues in the book that teenagers face such as her first boyfriend moving away, adjusting to new family dynamics, and her grandmother dying.  The book did a great job of providing young adults with a straightforward novel that could be read by a variety of ages and reading levels.  I also liked that the book did not have a perfect ending and instead focused on Darcy realistically dealing with her situation and learning from her experiences.  I wouldn’t normally read books similar to this because I felt it didn’t have enough substance, but I would recommend it for young teenagers who enjoy novels about realistic characters with a fast plotline.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

★★★ 1/2

"I will not let him see until none of us have any choices about what can be seen, what can be avoided, what is blind, and what will turn us to stone."

This novel tells the story of one family living in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi before Hurricane Katrina hit in August of 2005.  The story is told from the point of view of Esch, a fourteen-year-old African American living in rural poverty.  Since her mother died eight years ago, Esch’s father has left his four children to primary take care of themselves.  Esch spends much of her time hanging out with her three brothers Randall, Skeetah, and Junior. Throughout the story, Esch learns that she is pregnant and that Skeetah’s friend Manny is the father.

Each chapter of the book is a different day and includes ten days before the hurricane, the day of the hurricane, and the day after.  As the forecast begins to show evidence of a coming storm, the family begins to prepare by collecting food and making their house more secure.  No one thinks that the hurricane will cause much damage and Esch and her brothers are focused on their own problems.  Esch is primarily dealing with the knowledge of her pregnancy and accepting that Manny wants nothing to do with her or the baby.  Skeetah’s dog China has just given birth to a litter of puppies and he is busy taking care of them and training China for a dog fight.  As the oldest, Randall has taken on much of the parenting responsibly and trying to find the money to pay for basketball camp.  He also tries to keep Junior and other others out of trouble.  Their dad seems to be the only one worried about the hurricane even though he is largely absent in the day-to-day lives of his children.  As the hurricane quickly approaches, the family must work together to survive.

I generally enjoyed this novel and I liked the experience of reading a fictional account of Hurricane Katrina.  It reminded me a lot of historical fiction works that I have read except that it was set in a contemporary setting of a recent disaster.  The characters were very well developed and I liked the writing style.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

★★★★

"If you're a dreamer, come in,

If you're a dreamer, a wisher, a lier,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...

If you're a pretender come sit by my fire,

For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in!

Come in!"

Shel Silverstein's books were some of my favorite to read when I was younger and I'm so excited to get to read them to my daughter, Isabelle.  She's only two-months old so she doesn't really understand them, but she loves hearing the sounds and I enjoy remembering the wonderful poems.

We've also read:

A Giraffe and a Half (1964)

The Giving Tree (1964)

Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros (1964)

Don't Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies (1964)

The Missing Piece (1976)

A Light in the Attic (1891)

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O (1981)

Falling Up (1996)

Runny Babbit (2005, posthumously)

Every Thing on It (2011, posthumously)