All This Talk of Love by Christopher Castellini

I received this as an advance copy from LibraryThing.com. This is a continuation of the story Castellini told in “A Kiss From Maddalena”.  I think you could read this book without having read the prior one; however you will appreciate this book more if you have read it.

Fifty years ago, Antonio went to Italy to find a wife and brought Maddalena back with him.  They have never been back to their small town of St. Ceclia and now their daughter is planning a trip for the whole family to visit the homeland. However; Maddalena refuses to go.

Beneath the surface this is a beautiful book about family loyalty, what we ‘owe’ each other and what we do FOR each other.  Charming, tender story. 

4 stars (some sex and language)

Being Santa Claus: What I Learned About the True Meaning of Christmas

Sal Lizard began to resemble Santa Claus in his twenties, but did not start to play him until his thirties. Sal continued to make appearances as Santa for many years in such varied places as hospitals, private homes, appearances for a radio station and the ubiquitous Santa at the mall.

One of the most poignant stories for me was about Timmy, who was in the burn unit at a hospital and asked Santa a imploring question.

He quickly learned that children have a unique and often more meaningful view of Christmas than adults.  His stories are charming, touching, and funny.  This is a delightful book that would make a great aloud reading for families with older children (you don’t want create suspicions in the youngsters).

I received this book as an Advanced Reading Copy from LibraryThing.com

4 Stars (Rated PG-13 for ‘Santa Secrets’)

Juliet in August by Dianne Warren

I received this book as an Advanced Reading Copy from LibraryThing.com.  It is an interesting peak into the lives of people living in Juliet, Saskatchewan.  The cast of characters includes: a young man left to farm by himself after the death of his adoptive parents; the bank manager whose wife is nagging him about his pregnant teenage daughter’s wedding to the town ne’er-do-well; a family with several children struggling to make ends meet; and a man left living with his brother’s widow and the drive-in theater they run together.

We are entertained with wonderful details of these people’s lives. I really enjoyed the book; however I am only giving three stars because the beginning was very hard to follow as it skips stories too fast.  By the middle of the book, once you are well acquainted with the characters, it becomes much more interesting.

3 (3.5 stars) Rated PG

The Innocents by Francesca Segal

I received this as an Advanced Reading copy from LibraryThing.com.  It is a retelling of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Age of Innocence" reset in a modern-day North London Jewish neighborhood. Adam Newman is newly engaged to the beautiful, ideal, Rachel Gilbert when Rachel's wild younger cousin Ellie Schneider moves back to London from her wild, controversial life in New York City.  Adam finds himself drawn to Ellie in ways he cannot define.  He spends many hours dreaming of a life with Ellie, instead of Rachel.

While I must say that Adam did not seem to be quite the ‘insipid ass’ that Newland Archer was in “The Age of Innocence”, he still was not a character to whom I felt any affection and maybe that is the point.  “The Innocents” tells the story of a people with seemingly everything going for them, yet still they are not happy with what they have.  Ellie represents freedom from Adam’s traditional lifestyle. 

 

3 Stars (Rated PG)

Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy by Stephanie Neilson

Stephanie Neilson had a perfect life.  She was raised in a large, loving family.  She married her ideal man at a young age and promptly had four beautiful children.  Her life was exactly as she dreamed it would be.  She wrote and published pictures of her idyllic life on one of the original “Mormon Mommy Blogs” The Nienie Dialogues. 

One day in August 2008, she and her husband Christian were in a near fatal airplane crash (the one other man in the plane did die).  Christian was burned over 20% of his body and had a broken back.  Stephanie was burned over 80% of her body.  She was in a medically induced coma for 3 months. 

This book is her story.  It is one of devout faith, devastating injuries, great hope and true love.  She details her memories of the accident and how she escaped the airplane with help from the other side of the veil.  She tells of waking up in the hospital with, initially, no memory of what happened and her horror of coming to grips with what happened to her and what that meant to her and her precious children (who were being cared for by her sisters). She explains the excruciating details of what her body had to go through to heal. She shares with the reader her underlying, undoubting, unshakeable faith in her Father in Heaven and how He helped her through this terrifying time.

There were passages that made me weep, but overall she taught me about extraordinary courage and faith.

5 Stars (Rated PG for disturbing description of the accident and injuries)

Loose Diamonds by Amy Ephron

I received this book as an Advanced Reading Copy from www.librarything.com .  I love getting free books!  Amy Ephron is a screenwriter and the sister of Nora Ephron of “Sleepless in Seattle” and many other wonderful chick flicks. This book is a selection of essays which one can imagine that Amy wrote throughout her life and finally had a chance to publish.  Some are more interesting than others.  Some funny…some sad…some downright creepy.

The ‘downright creepy’ one was “My Afternoon with Squeaky Fromme”, yes THAT Squeaky Fromme.  When Amy was nineteen and didn’t know enough to be too scared to do it, she went to the Ranch where the Manson Family lived and interviewed Squeaky Fromme.  This was right after the murders of the “Helter Skelter” fame and most of the ‘family’ was currently on trial.  Squeaky had nothing to do with it, so she wasn’t behind bars.  Amy speaks of the eerie feeling of the ranch and the oddness of the few people that were there.

Some of the pieces had to do with growing up in Hollywood and the odd circumstances there.  Her mother’s obsession with everything on the table had to be in a dish of it’s own, including mustard and ketchup. And then when she had her first child she was in the hospital next to Elizabeth Taylor daughter-in-law.  The entrance of the famous movie star with her small dog and assistant at her side caused quite a stir.

Several of her chapters discuss her marriages and children.  Her first husband and his girlfriend who rams Amy’s car with her Land Rover in the car pool lane at her children’s school.  She tells of trying to get all the family (first and second husband and all their children) together for a vacation.

Overall it was an interesting read.  I enjoyed reading of a life so completely different from mine.  I didn’t agree with all she had to say…but that’s ok.

3 stars (Rated PG-13 for themes and brief language.)

The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen

When John and Ricky Ryrie‘s third child lives only fifty-seven hours they are thrown into a tailspin of grief.  They along with their other children 14year-old Paul and 10 year-old Biscuit strive to continue along normally, almost ignoring the birth and death of Simon.  When Biscuit’s truancy from school and odd antics become an issue, they must all deal with the feelings that have been hidden deep inside.  They realize that they can no longer mourn alone, but must come together to heal.

Ms. Cohen does a great job of wrapping the emotions and difficulties of grief with lyrical prose and an engaging story.  At the end of the book there is an essay she wrote on grief that ends with this question, “Isn’t it a funny and a fine thing to realize that: being whole nearly always requires not just the tending of ourselves, but the tending of our bonds with others?”

I received this book as an uncorrected proof. The final version of this book may vary.

4 Stars (Rated R - Brief explict sex and language)