Even better than the first

Sue Monk Kidd has written another great book. This one is THE INVENTION OF WINGS (2014). In it, she tells a story of life in the south just prior to the Civil War. In particular, the focus is on a young young black girl given to a privileged white girl as a gift on the occasion of her eleventh birthday. The immediate problem is that the eleven-year-old believes slavery is wrong and wants to set the other girl free, but this is not allowed. Both girls get to tell their stories in alternating chapters as they grow into womanhood and beyond. Great book!

Doggone it!

I hate it when I dislike a book that I'm obligated to write a review of because I received it as a gift with that understanding. I did not enjoy reading GHETTOSIDE by Jill Leovy (2015). I found it terribly boring to read the same thing (or a slight variation) time after time.I recognize that the constant repetition was to emphasize that there had been murder after murder after murder, but the point was well made long before the author quit telling us.
Most of it was well-written, but there were a few sentences that had me going,"Huh???" The description of the trial was well done, and a lot of respect is due to the author for the amount of research that went into the story
Write for us again, Jill Leovy, only next time, spare us the unnecessary repetition. 

He always surprises me

I've been one of John Grisham's fans for a long time, and have read the majority of his books; my favorite being A TIME TO KILL (his first). I'm ordinarily so deeply involved in reading the book that I don't even try to anticipate where it might be going, therefore, I'm usually surprised by his twist in the plot. I recently read THE INNOCENT MAN, which was a true story, and I really didn't care for it. That was another surprise for me.Then someone gave me FORD COUNTY (2009). This is a collection of seven of his short stories, each of which is excellent and completely different from the others. The next-to-last story, FUNNY BOY, is a heartbreaker. I really believe John Grisham is one of the very best of our contemporary writers.

Destined to be among my all-time favorites.

I've just finished reading THE ADVENTURES OF DON VALIENTE AND THE APACHE CANYON KID for the second time. This book, co-authored by John Aragon and Mary W. Walters (2012) is a positive delight, especially to those of us who live in New Mexico.The story is a bit had to describe, but roughly, it's about a young woman with problems of her own who is taken under the wing of a skinny old man suffering from dementia who mistakes her gender and determines to teach her/him the Code of the Caballeros.
The book is a complete farce and had me laughing aloud. Think Blazing Saddles. 
My thanks to both authors. I adored it.

Yes, but....

When We Were Friends by Elizabeth Joy Arnold (2011) is one of those books I can't quite decide about. I enjoyed the book and would welcome the opportunity to read others by the same author. I guess that's the bottom line.
At the same time, I'll admit that none of the characters engaged me fully. The narrator, Lainey, had many traits that were admirable but still, she never quite got me around to really liking her. I came closer to honestly disliking Lainey's long-time friend Sydney. Sydney was a liar and a manipulator, and both characteristics were obvious from the first chapter. Actually, most of the plot was apparent very early on. Nonetheless, I liked it.

TRULY OUTSTANDING

DESCENT by Tim Johnston is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I'm a person who reads almost constantly. I was a little surprised about the way the author's style differs somewhat from most other writers, in that while there are several male characters in the book, and many of them are written about extensively, Tim Johnston is so good that he can begin a new chapter with the word "He" and it only takes a few sentences for the reader to know which "he" is being written about. The story itself is sad and dark and unfortunately, so true-to-life. Congratulations, Mr. Johnston. You've made this kind of tragedy so very, very real 

Talk About Disappointing!

I seldom write about books that I dislike and actually don't write about a lot of the ones I enjoy. It's primarily dependent on the amount of time available for concentrating on something other than my own writing. The following is about a lousy one that I thought had to be self-published, as I thought no publisher would print anything that bad.
The name of the book is Forevermore, written by Kristy Robinett and published this year by Llewellen Publications. In checking on the publisher, I find that they publish supernatural and other materials that are not considered mainstream. If there is a market for it, this company will publish it.

The book was written by a psychic medium who claims that Edgar Allen Poe has been one of her mentors throughout her lifetime. Mrs. Robinett makes many claims about other mentors, seeing dead people, ghosts, etc. and I don't dispute those claims. Maybe she really,truly does. I don't believe the Edgar Allen Poe connection, though.

What disgusts me about the book is that the lady can't write! Here's a quote from page 106: ""Poe loved animals and even had his own cat with his wife Virginia that he doted on, believed to be a tortoiseshell named Catterina."

'nuff said!