just off the bookshelf
>> Thursday, April 14, 2011 –
book review
i've really been enjoying reading lately.
like even more than usual.
maybe it's because i've been reading really good books.
I finished the third and final book in the "sarah prine" series.
The Star Garden
by Nancy E. Turner
A stagecoach accident puts in Sarah's path three strangers who will change her life.
Caught between her heart's desires and her responsibilities, Sarah is at a crossroads. Then, when Sarah’s son Charlie unexpectedly returns from town with a new bride, her relationship with an old neighbor turns into an all-out range war. Pursued by a man she barely knows, Sarah wants more than to be a replacement for his dead wife. It is only through a chance encounter that she discovers his true feelings, and only then can she believe that a selfless love has at last reached out to her .
Caught between her heart's desires and her responsibilities, Sarah is at a crossroads. Then, when Sarah’s son Charlie unexpectedly returns from town with a new bride, her relationship with an old neighbor turns into an all-out range war. Pursued by a man she barely knows, Sarah wants more than to be a replacement for his dead wife. It is only through a chance encounter that she discovers his true feelings, and only then can she believe that a selfless love has at last reached out to her .
this book gets 4.5 gold stars from me.
i enjoyed it as much as the first book, These is my Words and i'm a bit sad that my time with sarah prine and her family is over. these books will remain at the top of my list of recommendations and i'll always be grateful i didn't live back in those days!
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
another 4.5 star book!
Sarah's Key is a heartbreaking story that i just couldn't put down. even though the book is fiction... i learned so much from it. it will make you cry, but i'll definitely be recommending it to friends and family.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
next on my reading list:
and
both of these books have been recommended by a lot of you.
i love when you share with me what you've been reading!!
You are so right about Sarah's Key. I think you and I have the same reading list. I am currently reading Atlas Shrugged but both of the other books are in my TBR pile. :)
"Unbroken" is on my To Read list as well. I have heard how good it fromn many sources...I think it will make a great beach/pool book for the summer!
If you haven't already read Suzanne Collin's "The Hunger Games" 3 book series you should. It is technically Young Adult and many libraries classify it as Sci-Fi...but ANYONE could get into these books! They're a quick read and definitely page-turners!
I, too, read Sarah's Key. It was heartwrenching, but I couldn't put it down.
Oh, I've been looking for an awesome book to read! I'm gonna check these out...Sarah's Key looks fascinating!
My all-time favorite...Devil in the White City...;)
Thank you for the Sarah Prine recommendations! I got all three books from my library to loan to my mother, a 95-year-old voracious reader, and she LOVED them!
Thank you so much for sharing your book recommendations. I LOVED These Is My Words...I'll have to check out the other two.
I always enjoy checking out your "Just Off the Bookshelf" posts and take your recommendations very seriously :) I just finished reading "The Shadow of the Wind" and it is another really good read that I recommend to anybody who loves book... I won't say anymore ;)
I had forgotten about it because I read it long ago but I LOVED 1000 White Women!!!
I might have to read Sarah's Key, I typically don't like sad books but I'm always up for a great read!
I just finished Water for Elephants and Heaven is For Real and loved, loved them both!
Oh no! I *hated* "One Thousand White Women" with a passion, as did everyone else in my book club. Not that I expect you to change your mind about reading it based on that. If anything, when people say that sort of thing to me I only get more curious to read it for myself and see what I think. Let us know what you think of it when you're done.
I'm an elementary school Library Media Specialist, and I love your book rating system. Sounds just like me.
I was sent here by a friend who gave me a "One of my favorite Peeps" Easter gift and told me where she found the graphic. So cute!
Woohoo! Ideas for my summer reading list! Thanks!
Love your rating system. Quite spot on. (Except since most of my books come from the library, I can't turn around and donate them to a thrift store!)
I loved 1000 White Women! Plus, my mom grew up in the area that it covers and it was so fun to know where they were talking about. It reminded me of Wicked - an imagined retelling of what could have happened but from the other point of view.
I love your taste in reading! I also have "One Thousand White Women" on my reading list. I just finished "Same Kind of Different As Me". It is a must read! I loved it! It moved up to one of my most favorite books. Love your blog. Keep up the good work!
Kathryn Stockett's "Help" was an awesome book!
Of those, I've only read Sarah's Key...it broke my heart! But gave me much perspective on the suffering of war.
I haven't read the others but thanks for the reviews!
oooh i just added them all to my goodreads "to read" list!! Thanks!
I've read These is My Words, but I heard that the 2nd one was just really depressing. I'm going to read it, but I've been putting it off. I put Sarah's Key on my To Read list. I don't think I've heard of it. I'm in such a reading slump right now. I just can't find the time. I'm supposed to be reading Devil in the White City for book club, but I'm only a few pages in.
Oh, and I know everyone and their dog has already read it, but if you haven't read The Help, you MUST! It has one very brief why-did-they-put-that-in-there scene and mild language, but in spite of that, you won't be able to put it down!
I agree, The Help, is awesome! Also, try reading Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer. It's really good and clean~ imagine that! :)
I wrote all these books down on my "To Read" list. I will have to download them to my reader soon. I just got done reading "The Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins. They are so good. Its a really awesome series.
Thank you for all the great suggestions! I just went and put them all on hold at the Library! Can't wait to get my hands on them!
After your recommendation of "These Is My Words" I hurry and purchased all three books on Amazon and, like you, was so sad when I finished "The Star Garden." I didn't want my journey w/Sarah and her family to be over!!!!
I'm excited to read Sarah's Key!
Oh I love recommendations too! Thanks for sharing yours. :)
Unbroken - AWEmazing!
Just finished Unbroken and it was really good. The other one I wish I could have that week back. blah!!
Loved Sarah's Key and The Help is wonderful as well. I would be interested to hear what you think of it if you read it. Growing up and living in the South, it had a familiar feel but to someone who is not from here, the story and life of the characters might seem unusual. Anyway, a great summer read! And they are making it a movie!
I am also a huge fan of "Sarah's Key." Just returned from Paris last Friday and went near the spot where they held those poor people. There is a plague in the Eiffel Tower Metro Station to remember the event and the victims. The book is such a page-turner that I couldn't hardly put it down! Next on my list: "These is My Words...."
Thanks for the book recommendations! I always appreciate them and laugh because half I have either read or have marked "to read" so I am always excited for the others that you are introducing me to!
I
n the last month I read Mrs. Mike (from a recommendation on another blog) and absolutely LOVED IT! Apparently it has been around a long time, but I had never heard of it.
I also read Half Broke Horses, which is by the same author as The Glass Castle (which was great) and I loved it. Her grandma was one amazing lady
A Girl Named Zippy was book club this month and it made me literally laugh-out-loud. It also made me wish I grew up in Mooreland, Indiana. Is that weird? Probably.
Happy Reading!
We just read The Devil in the White City for bookclub--we actually just had our meeting last night! I thought it was the best book we've read in the past year. It's all about the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and America's first serial killer, who lived right down the street from the fair! It is nonfiction, but the author made it a real page-turner. I seriously couldn't put it down! Almost every page made me say, "How did I not know this already?!"
I just finished Unbroken and it was an incredible read!! It made me want to go out and do something amazing:)
I just finished Unbroken, and loved it. Hard to read sometimes and I would put it down, but minutes later, I would pick it up and read some more. Unbelievable. I would love to meet Louis.