"Kinda Like Grace" by Ginger Sprouse

Victor, the homeless man

     The subtitle of this memoir is: "A homeless man, a broken woman, and the decision that made them family". I guess that tells the whole story.

 I heard about this book from a friend who was watching "Today with Hoda and Jenna", when both the author and the homeless man were interviewed.  So I bought the book.

  The author, Ginger Sprouse, is known by many people around the world as the lady who invited a homeless man to live with her family.  She cringes when people call her an angel, so she proceeds to tell about how 'messed-up' she has been.
   I think the story could have been told without the details of her 'past', but she is trying to make a religious point, that anyone can be 'redeemed'.  There are many quotes form the Bible as the author takes you on her spiritual journey.
   Ginger discovered that Victor had mental health issues that could not be addressed by the police or the social services available in her town.  She attempted to work through the many issues that had led him to live on the street.
  I was more interested in Victor's story than the author's, but their stories do intertwine and the author certainly did a marvellous thing in attempting to help this homeless man.

"The Home for Unwanted Girls"

One Book One Community

It's time for One Book One Community again!

  This is the 18th book that has been chosen for the community to read.  The author will be visiting our region.  
  I have always loved the idea, and I wait anxiously for the title to be announced every spring.  But I still insist that the first book that was chosen was the best: "No Great Mischief".  I loved it and remember it well.
   This year's book is "The Home for Unwanted Girls" by Joanna Goodman.

   This novel is based on the life of the author's mother.  The first half of the book is extremely sad, because the protagonist, Maggie, at 15, was forced to give up her baby.  And the baby went to an orphanage which changed into a mental hospital.  The government of Quebec was giving more money for mental hospitals than orphanages.  

  When the change happened, the children were not schooled and were treated abusively. The hospital lied in order to make sure that parents could not find their children. At this point, I was ready to quit the novel.  It was too heart-breaking!  But I did persevere and the second half made it worthwhile.

  There are many important facts about the Quebec government in the 1950's and the split between the French and the English.

   The themes of family and forgiveness are strong.  It will make a good discussion for our library book club.

"The Black House" by Peter May

book club choice

blackhouse

      The setting for this novel interested me.  It is the Isle of Lewis, which is part of the Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland.  Since I have been to the Orkney Islands, also in Scotland, I felt that I had a good idea of the landscape of the Isle of Lewis and was ready for a novel in this location of the world.
   I read about the blackhouses that were built in Scotland and Ireland- the floor of flagstones or earth, and a central hearth for the fire.  Because there was no chimney for the smoke to escape, it escaped through the roof, slowly making the interior black.  
   The roof was thatched and often stripped each year because it made excellent fertilizer.  I was fascinated with the location and the beginning of the novel.
   However, it is a murder mystery- not really of interest to me, but I thought that I could read it for the book club.  I do love my book clubs!  I made it through the discovery of the dead body but the autopsy was detailed and completely freaked me out.  So I left it there and read another book- actually the "beach read" that I just blogged about.  Then I took a deep breathe and went back to the description of the autopsy.
   The main character, who had been sent from Glasgow to investigate this crime, had spent his youth on this island.  And so the story goes back and forth from stories of his youth, to the details related to the crime.
   The writing is fabulous and I was so taken in with the atmosphere on Lewis Island that I could feel the cold, the rain and the wind.  Isn't that a perfect setting for a murder mystery?

Peter May-author

Queen Bee" by Dorothea Benton Frank

Dorothea Benton Frank

   
   Dorothea Benton Frank has written 20 novels- all set in South Carolina, where she was born.
   I picked up her latest book for a quick, summer read.  And it suited perfectly!

    The title, Queen Bee", refers to the mother of two daughters in their twenties, Holly and Leslie. The mother is a hypochondriac, who is demanding and cranky. Holly and Leslie call her the "Queen Bee".
   Holly is the daughter who has put her life on hold to cater to her mother as well as look after the needs of two motherless neighbour boys- Tyler, 7 and Hunter, 5.  They are adorable and the interaction with Holly and the boys is lovely to read!  And, by the way, Holly thinks she is in love with their father.
   There is lots of information about bees in this book and Holly has a fascinating connection with them as she tends three hives.
  There are lots of twists and turns in the lives of the mother as well as the daughters.  
  The setting is also lovely - Sullivan Island, South Carolina- the food, the flowers, the iced tea.  Lots and lots of iced tea!
Fun, summer read.

"The Library of Lost and Found" by Phaedra Patrick

   This cover caught my attention on my last visit to the bookstore.  Isn't it delightful?  The title is in raised letters and the colours are lovely.
  Such an evocative photo on the cover.  The positioning of title and photo are fascinating.  I love it!  And had to buy it.
   When I got it home, I realized that I had already read one book by this author, Phaedra Patrick.  Our library book club had read "The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper".  Some of the group thought it was not realistic, but I loved the whimsical aspect of the story.  So many books have such serious, sad storylines, that the lightness, if not realistic, was entertaining.
  I also found the protagonist in this novel very entertaining.  And I always enjoy the theme of 'finding oneself'.  In this case, Martha Storm had given up her life to care for her parents and when they died, she had to rediscover who she was.  She realized that her father had always controlled her life and she really never had a chance in the first place to find her way in life.
   There are secrets revealed throughout the book.  It is a book of relationships lost and found and well as a library of lost and found.
  I enjoyed reading this book 'from cover to cover'.