The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain 9/10
This book was such a great read. I read it in about two days because it’s just that good. Chamberlain keeps you on your toes the entire time and no matter how much you think you know the twist, I promise you won’t ever figure it out. In this book Riley has spent her whole life believing her older sister Lisa committed suicide. Now, years and years later after the passing of her father she uncovers the truth which leads her on a hunt to uncover the clues of her childhood past.
In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park 10/10
A truly inspirational story about a young girl from North Korea living in poverty and brainwashed who escapes out of the only country she’s ever known into South Korea. This book is beautifully written and shows the unknown truths about what it’s like to grow up in North Korea under the Kim’s. I couldn’t put this book down. It was educational and heart wrenching.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 10/10
This is another one of those books that just truly left a mark on me in the best ways. It’s a World War 2 story and biography about Louis Zamperini who was also a former Olympic track star. The book goes into detail about his entire life and the hardships he faced during his time in the war. It’s heartbreaking, inspiring and devastating learning about all of the things this man overcame in his life. Hillenbrand is remarkable and she paints an incredible story of the veteran down to every last detail. I don’t normally gravitate toward these type of books but wow am I ever glad that I did. This was another recommendation from my grandpa who lent me the book and I can see why he loved it as well.
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister 5/10
This book was just okay. It was a little underwhelming for me as I thought It would be better. It’s a quick and easy ready, however, too much dialogue in my opinion and some questions I had were left unanswered. In this book a young girl lives on an island with her father who keeps bottles of scents recovering new and old memories. Through out the book you learn about the bottles and what exactly they mean and how the sense of scent can uncover harsh and good memories at the same time. I thought this book would be more of a fantasy type book but instead like I said it was kind of underwhelming and I thought it could have been a lot better.
Once a Midwife: A Hope River Novel by Patricia Harman 4/10
Patience Hester is a midwife in West Virginia during the start of World War 2. Times are tough on the Homefront during the war and it only gets worse when her husband is against the war and refuses to join. In a town full of patriots Patience and her family suffer due to her husbands beliefs. I gave this book such a low rating because although it had potential to be a really good book there wasn’t really much of a plot or an ending. Another downfall of this book Is there were sooo many characters to keep up with it felt overwhelming. It was interesting, however, to experience how life was in the U.S during the start of World War 2. I’ve been reading many books about the war, but they were all taken place in Europe or Asia so it was interesting to see a point of view in my own country during that time.
A Child Called “it”: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer 8/10
Those of you who are reading this post, it’s most likely because you enjoy reading and therefore I’m sure almost all of you have read this book in the past. I’ve been hearing about it forever and finally got a chance to read it. This book is written by Dave Pelzer who suffered through one of the worst child abuse cases in history. It’s devastating, disturbing and inspiring all at the same time. It made my heart hurt to read all of the things this young boy went through and I can see now why it’s talked about by so many. The only reason it’s an 8/10 is because I wish it was longer and went into more detail as to why the things happened to this young boy. Although it may be that Pelzer doesn’t know or doesn’t want to share, which is understandable. Overall it was a quick and good read.
