In-Between Days ~ Teva Harrison

Date Completed: 2/14/16 Rating: 8/10 Harrison's style was really effective for the subject matter. A graphic memoir, Harrison displays a comic on one side of a spread and talks out her feelings and thought processes on the other. Her essays cover every topic I could imagine asking someone who I knew had cancer. She explores …

When Dimple Met Rishi ~ Sandhya Menon

Date Completed: 2/10/2017 Rating:10/10 This book is pretty near perfect. When Dimple met Rishi is an adorable telling of a modern arranged marriage, and it touches on all the questions, pros, and cons that I can think of when I hear the term "arranged marriage." Dimple is 18, attending a summer program for app design …

Q & A with Michele Swiderski, author of A Joyful Life

Q&A with author Michèle Swiderski: What prompted you to write a book about your experience battling depression? My most recent healing experience from depression and generalized anxiety was unique. I felt I had stumbled onto a huge secret that I was compelled to share with the world. I had been through bouts of depression before …

Top 6 books that made me cry

I've been reading a lot of really good books lately. Some of these books have even been tear or sob worthy. Here's the short list of the best books that have made me cry: Moloka'i by Alan Brennert   Why: Moloka'i is one of the most devastating books I've read. About the exile of people …

Guest Review: The Diviners and Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

       Being a fan of Bray's earlier A Great and Terrible Beauty series, I was excited to pick up this book and get lost in her writing again. This book was "interesting". By that I mean the plot and story were mostly new and inventive, but some of the characters felt contrived, and …

In the Pond ~ Ha Jin

Date Completed: 2/8/2017 Rating: 6/10 The Pond is the Commune, and Shao Bin is in the pond. This story about communism and fascism, is designed to shed light on the injustices and corruption present in China (as they would be anywhere). Shao Bin is a young man with a wife and young daughter, working at …

What is the What ~ Dave Eggers

Date Completed: 2/6/2017 Rating: 9/10 What is the What is a true-life story about Valentino, a young Sudanese-American man, and follows the journey and experience of many of the Lost Boys. Valentino is a 30-something living in Atlanta, taking readers on a tour through what his life currently is. Meanwhile, he shares his story with …

Dragon Springs Road ~ Janie Chang

Date Completed: 2/3/2017 Rating: 10/10 Dragon Springs Road takes readers on a journey following Jialing's life. Called zazhong, a slang and pejorative term for a person of mixed Chinese and foreign heritage, Jialing is outcast from all her peers. At seven years of age, she is abandoned in the courtyard of an estate house she …

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress ~ Rhoda Janzen

Date Completed: 2/2/2017 Rating: 9/10 Rhoda Janzen really has a way with words. Her humor dripped off nearly every sentence in her book, and although she repeated her jokes every now and then, her humor was on point. My funny bone was struck with this memoir of going home. Janzen explores her adult life with …

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda ~ Becky Albertalli

Date Completed: 1/31/2016 Rating 9/10 This book does not have a great into, in my opinion. However, the book goes all uphill from there. Simon, a junior in High School, is obviously at a stressful point in his life. He's figuring out where he fits in with his friends and family, making sure he keeps …