Blogging for Books Book Review: Lillies in the Moonlight

Lillies in Moonlight

by: Allison Pittman

         Taking place in the mid-1920’s, this novel is centered around a young woman named Lily Margolis. She wants to find love in some way, but the problem is that she looks for love in all the wrong places. She takes on the “flapper” role from American history and her thinking is to use her God-given beauty to get men to give her free things. She lies, cheats, steals, gets drunk, whatever it takes to get what she wants.

          One night she ends up on the lawn of a local wealthy family. She is discovered by the housekeeper and soon meets the rest of the family, the horribly-scarred Cullen Burnside, injured in the Great War, and his mother, Betty Ruth, who is falling further into dementia. Cullen and Betty Ruth’s lives are full of sadness, regret, and an understanding that life is not really worth living. Lilly’s lifestyle quickly shows them that life is fun and maybe even worthwhile. In return they show her that love can be real and the beauty of having a loving family.   

          Even though Lily is a flapper and seemingly trouble she has a hurt spirit that makes the reader care. I found Cullen to be a confusing character in the beginning; it took me a while to understand him. He didn’t approve of Lily at first and was very guarded to trust anyone. It is hard to really discover a character in a book when you have one so guarded and untrusting. For me this book was really hard to get into. I was not drawn towards the history of the time period and finding the characters hard to relate to had me putting this book down several times. For someone interested in the time period this might be a good read, although it may be just another story and not one so memorable.

**I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in exchange for my honest review. I would like to thank Allison Pittman and Waterbrook Multnomah for this opportunity**

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Book Review: The Help

The Help

Written By: Kathryn Stockett

                Wow. Very rare do I start a book review with that word, but this book deserves it. I loved The Help from beginning to the end. The Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. The three women who form its core, idealistic Skeeter, loving Aibileen, and sarcastic, sassy Minny, narrate their chapters each in a voice that no one else in Jackson, Mississippi, could duplicate.

                 There is real danger for these women as they begin to write these stories. But the determination seen in all three women makes them forge on in hopes the book will stay published anonymously and that the very women the book is about will not recognize the connection and stir up trouble for everyone.

                 My favorite part of the book was the connections and the relationships between the maids and the white children and the maids and some of the "kind" employers, including Cecilia Foot, who seems to be the outsider to everyone in the town. These relationsips showcase the strange history of the South. I enjoyed the history from the maids perspective. Its true, you never know the situation until you have walked in thier shoes, and although we can't go back and "walk" in Aibileen and Minny's shoes, through this book we catch a glimpse of what their world was like.

                 I can't recommend this book enough!  The story grabs you and doesn't let you go. The theme is the will of human beings to survive against all odds - because of the color of their skin. It is a heart-wrenching account and the pure cruelty of the white ladies who become dissatisfied with their maids and proceed to ruin their lives is portrayed vividly. The desperation of the maids' circumstances is truly touching. I have laughed and cried my way through this book and would re-read it again and again. I highly recommend this book.

Wilma Tenderfoot: The Case of the Frozen Hearts

Wilma Tenderfoot: The Case of the Frozen Hearts

Written by:  Emma Kennedy

                Wilma Tenderfoot is a 10-year-old orphan at the Cooper Island Lowside Institute for Woeful Children, which is an evil place run by Madam Scratch. Her life suddenly gets worse when she is sent to do work for Mrs. Waldock, until she discovers she lives next door to Theodore P. Goodman, the island's greatest detective.  When a jewel called the Katzin Stone is stolen, Wilma sets out to prove herself to the detective so he will make her his apprentice. The mystery gets even stranger when the owners of the stone end up with frozen hearts! In this Nancy Drew style mystery young readers will be on the edge of their seat trying to solve the case. Wilma’s detective deductions and suspect scouting, along with the antics of her trusty dog, Pickle, make this a funny, feisty and charming mystery.

Another great book for young readers. I picked this one up for my materials and services for children class I am currently taking for my masters degree. We are reviewing several new children's picture books and novels. This book is intended for grades 3-6, although I think any adult would like it as well. It is such a cute story and yes, I do plan to read the rest of the books in the Wilma Tenderfoot series :)

Back to the Books!

I know it's been a while! I took a 6 month break from blogging but now I am back! The good news is that during the 6 months I have read SEVERAL books :) So I'll be posting several new reviews in the next couple of days. I thought I would start with a wonderful children's book.

You Will Be My Friend     Written by:  Peter Brown

                In this sequel to Brown’s, Children Make Terrible Pets, Lucy is on the hunt for a friend, and is determined to find one NOW. The precocious bear quickly realizes that it is harder than it looks to find a friend and she quickly becomes discouraged and feels she will NEVER find one. The something amazing happens; a friend is discovered right under Lucy’s nose! The vivid simplistic pictures make this a wonderful illustrated story and the use of colored speech bubbles supports the narrative’s flow. Children and adults will find themselves laughing at Lucy’s antics and will be rooting for her to find a friend. A perfect read-aloud for young children, the book’s underlying message is very clear: always be yourself and new friends will appear when you least expect it. 

This is a new favorite children's book! It is so cute, I loved Brown's other book, Children Make Terrible Pets, so it was no surprise that I also loved this one.