A
Son Comes Home by Joseph Bentz
This story parallels the story of the prodigal son from the
Bible. It centers around a family who has an active church life.
It took news of his fathers illness to bring Chris LaRue home
to small town, Indiana for the summer. David had been the favorite
son, but he was now dead. Chris struggles to set aside his bitterness
and tries to renew the "messed up" relationships abandoned
two years earlier. His brother's presence is still felt by all
of the rest of the family and time has not healed the wounds.
New challenges occur, and Chris eventually attains a future free
from the past. Chick Jeanette
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It's
Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
I'm the last person to read a book about cycling, but I read
this book in a few hours. It was such an honest book about Lance's
struggle with testicular cancer and everything it had to endure
in a year. He went from being this healthy up-and-coming cycling
star to a cancer patient with the odds of recovery at 40% or worse.
If you want an inspirational message about life read this book.
Its high on my list! Chick Julie
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Lovely
Bones by Alice Sebold
I loved this book! My mother suggested it to me, and after six
months of baby-book reading, I welcomed the change. The narrator
is a young girl who died a vicious, disturbing death. She gives
us insight into her murderer and how her death separated her family
and then ultimately brought them back together to help them heal.
She also shares her coming-of-age stories despite having died
at the very beginning of the book! A must read! Chick Kristin
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Lucky
Man: A Memoir by Michael J. Fox by Linda Howard
While I have on occasion watched Family Ties re-runs,
I have never seen Spin City nor the Back to the Future series, so I probably don't qualify as a huge Michael J. Fox
fan. I was drawn to this book because of his revelation of Young
Onset Parkinsons. I was surprised to read that he faced challenges
(not related to his illness) and wasn't as straight-laced as he
appeared when portraying Alex P. Keaton. The book was revealing
on two counts in particular - what a wonderful marriage he has
and the lack of funding for Parkinson's Research compared to other
diseases which are much further from a cure than Parkinson's,
simply because of the lack of lobbying efforts. Fox was quite
candid throughout the book and I appreciate that in a celebrity. Chick Susie
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Mortal
Prey by John Sanford
Another of Sanford's book in his Prey series; I have read them
all. Initially, I was intrigued because the settings are Minneapolis
and St. Louis. Lucas Davenport is the main character and
his antagonist is Clara Rinker, the professional hit woman from
his earlier books. Rinker's targets are her former crime bosses
for whom she has worked. The book begins with Rinker almost getting
killed, and her decision that the people she worked for (all mob
connected) are behind it sets her off to eliminating them, none
of whom is too sympathetic. Davenport is one of the few people
to have seen Rinker and lived, and so the FBI brings him to St.
Louis to help catch her. All but a few chapters take place outside
of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. A quick, easy read with good
characterization and dialogue. Chick Susie
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We
Became Like a Hand: A Story of Five Sisters by Carol A. Ortlip
This is the fifth book by this author that I have read in the
past year. Each time I am at the library, I look for whatever
book of hers is in, because I love the way she writes. Really,
just try it. This on is the story of a young girl who seems wise
beyond her years. Her "growing pains" awaken her to
a greater understanding of her complicated world around her. It
is full of the anguish and joys of adolescence in, what seemed
to me, a much more innocent time. It is Elizabeth Berg's way of
presenting the story that so fascinates me. Her style of writing
is hard to explain -- try any one of this author's books and you'll
see! Chick Susie
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When
I Was A Young Man by Bob Kerry
This is the story of Bob Kerrey, former Governor and Senator
of Nebraska and his reflections and reactions to national and
world events of the 50's and 60's, especially his military experience
in Vietnam. The book received a lot of publicity due to the hype
surrounding Kerrey's revelations of killing some women and children
in Vietnam, but that is not the focus of the book. Most interesting
were his personal reactions to training for the war and his recovery
after being wounded. The book will have relevance to anyone who
lived through Vietnam and knew people who signed up for officer
training with the hopes of delaying being sent into battle. Chick
Susie |
