The Help

Very rarely do I choose to read "adult" fiction. But since everyone on the planet has something to say about The Help by Kathryn Stockett, I decided to give it a try.

I am so glad that I did. Thought it is technically classified as adult fiction, I'm positive that YA could read it and be equally enthralled. While reading it, I was repeatedly surprised that the things described happened - not ages ago in a far away place - but instead, only a decade before I was born.

Stockett draws us in by telling us a story using three different narrators, two black maids and one wealthy white lady, each with a perspective that will keep you turning pages to see what happens next. You like each character equally and you get quickly invested in their personalities...I was so invested that I stayed up reading until 2am in order to finish the book, something I haven't been compelled to do since college.

Stockett weaves together the story of life in the south, racial injustices, relationships with "the help", and the struggle to recognize that people are people and all are created equally. There are a lot of characters who choose NOT to see this, but these three ladies are committed to making that the truth. Through their telling, readers are introduced to friendship, love, heartbreak, and the struggle to do what is right. It is good food for thought. While it would be easy to demonize this way of life, Stockett also shows us kindness and goodness in the relationships presented.

This is an amazing read and I highly, highly recommend it!
It made me want to go back and read Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees!

Girl in the Arena

I took a self proclaimed snow day today, and I used it to finish up Lise Haines novel Girl in the Arena.

With a hook like:
Daughter
Celebrity
Neo-gladiator
...how could I walk away from it?
It's compelling. Haines kept me turning pages right up until the end.

Lyn is our main character. She has had seven gladiator fathers in her lifetime. When the seventh father is killed in battle, due to an odd circumstance, Lyn finds herself betrothed to her father's killer. Rough day.

Her mother has been a proud Glad wife and has always lived the Glad culture. She doesn't know anything else. With the death of her seventh husband, she is forbidden, by the code book, to marry another. She isn't able to handle that.

While Lyn is busy managing so many other things: the household, her mother, her brother with a disability, a seed begins to take root in her mind. She should fight her "fiance" for her freedom.

Interesting.
Fast-paced.
Page turning.

I will say the end was a little too pat, but don't let that detract from the book as a whole. I think Haines is on to something here...

Woods Runner

Gary Paulsen has long been a favorite of mine. His best work, in my opinion, is still his autobio My Life in Dog Years...some may disagree, but that is my truth.

This month he is speaking at the DMA's Arts and Letters Live Event, and I have tickets. The focus of his talk will be on his newest release, Woods Runner, so I decided to give it a read.

Set during the Revolutionary War, Paulsen weaves part story and part historical data into a fascinating plot. Our main character, Samuel, returns home from hunting to find his family has been taken captive by the Red Coats. Without much choice, he follows their trail across the country, hoping to find them still alive. Along the way, he encounters several characters and events that force him to think about the war and what revolution means. Between every chapter, Paulsen includes historical data about the Revolution and other wars, factual reading that is compelling but true. This formula keeps the pages turning!

While it's not one of my all time favorite books, I wasn't disappointed in Woods Runner. It is classic survivalist Paulsen literature.

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

Matt wakes up in a hospital in Iraq and can't remember the events that brought him there.
As a lightweight investigation ensues, Matt tries to put together the pieces of his memory that he does have...but nothing makes sense. As Matt approaches the truth, he has to decide what he's ultimately going to do with the truth that he learns.

McCormick leads us on a realistic journey about choices we make, consequences, and maybe even karma - all with the backdrop of war and destruction. Fascinating, intense, and full of questions, readers will need to be ready to think about what is important.