No comments about The Journey Home: A Father's Gift to His Son.

1 comments about War and Innocence : A Young Girl's Life in Occupied Norway.

1. A nicely written autobiography of a young girl during the invasion and occupation of Norway by the Nazi's. Drama, horror of war, human interest, naval battle action. Relevant facts of the occupation (which could not have been known by the author at the time of occupation) are thrown in for context.
   Great for home if interested in subject area/time.
   Would recommend for middle school/high school libraries, especially if curriculum has 'man's inhumanity' or 'youth and WWII' type requirements.

1 comments about We Were Not Orphans.

1. I read this book in one day and enjoyed the author's ability to give just enough information. I feel I now know these people as though they were friends. My heart goes out to all with many prayers. Thank you God and thank you Geraldine for sharing this story with us.

No comments about Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.

3 comments about The Sunflower Sinner.

1. Cynthia Dennis' incredibly poignant, witty and descriptive writing took me on an emotional journey. This vivid, bittersweet memoir captivated me. I look forward to reading future works from this talented author.



2. A blurb on the back of the book suggests that the reviewer " couldn't lay the book down". I had the same experience, finishing just half in one siting and for lack of time reluctanly putting off to the next day reading the balance. Here is a dysfuntional family on the order of the one filling the pages of The Glass Castle. The telling of this story reflects truth and honesty and results in tale that would do justice to a novel of outright improbable ficton There is real author's talent showing in this first novel by Dennis.



3. Sunflower Sinner wraps us into a rising political career from the outside- the man himself - Paul Lackie-- and from the inside, all the required family support mechanisms --loyalty, appearance, self-sacrifice. Even without the elements of murder, bribery and disgrace, it's hard to believe that any ambition can exist without creating dysfunction in any group of people supposed to be based primarily on love.
   
   The confusion and loyalty have a profound effect on his oldest daughter, Cynthia. Dennis excellently depicts a child's intense feeling and wishful thinking about the events to lift her father into the governorship. As this 2008 campaign escalates, the Sunflower Sinner will make you think more deeply about the families that must bend to the candidate's ambition.

No comments about Branch Water Children.

1 comments about Maria Zacharczuk-Gruenwald: The true story of a young non-Jewish girl's dreams shattered by the Nazi regime.

1. This book is exciting and heartwarming that describes the story of a young girls experience in a horrible time of our history. The sacrifies and she had to endure without knowing if she was going to live or die and to sustain harsh treatment on a daily basis, suffering from medical complications and lack of food. This book is a true testiment of what war is and the many lives that our destroyed because of hatered and discrimination. A great book for the young and old.

5 comments about My Father's War.

1. For the sons and daughters of WW II combat veterans this book is a must read. The author vividly details the pain and suffering many combat veterans' lived with through out their lives, and the effects on their families. In her writing you can see how the sufferings of some of these veterans' struggle with until death; witch was their only relief.
   Ms Collins and I have a few things in common. Both are Grandfathers were close friends. They both were businessmen on Main St in the center of Branford CT, and had sons over seas in the Marine Corps. They spent many hours comforting each other that their sons would survive the way and return home safely to Branford. In fact my family celebrated VJ day at the Collin's home in Pine Orchard.



2. I picked up this book because I was interested in reading someone else's experience. My father was a Korean war vet and his experiences early in his life certainly changed who he was as a father. Julia Collin's book is inciteful and true to life and anyone who has a parent who has served in combat whether their parent talks about their experiences or not will find it enlightening. Experiencing war is an ugly thing and we all must remember that now and in the future when our veteran's return home to piece their lives together.



3. At first, I could only read this book in bits at bedtime, but by the time I hit chapter four, I could no longer put it down and finished it in the middle of the night. I wept long and hard. Sadness and overwhelming joy. Ms. Collins - no, Julia - thank you for having the courage to share your story with us and for telling it so even-handedly. I felt like my grandfather, a storyteller whose quiet voice used to gather amazingly large crowds, was telling a tale of that Great Generation, of the tribulations faced not just a war but at home. And I feel sorry for anyone who has not heard this tale of yours and had the chance to share its epiphanies. Thank you again.



4. I read this book over a period of three days while nursing my baby; I could not put it down. it rings so true, I could even imagine Jerry's voice singing those old big band tunes and improvising those bedtime stories for "the girls" as he tried to keep his nocturnal memories at bay. He sounds like a true Irishman, that heartbreaking combination of humor and melancholy. For personal reasons too complex to describe, I am very grateful for this book and for its courageous author, who revealed as much of herself as of her haunted father. I will read it many times.



5. Collins' moving memoir of her battle-scarred father offers readers a window into the lives of vets after the fighting is over, and the battles that emerged on the homefront. It's as much a story of the author's father, Jeremiah Collins--Yale student-turned soldier-turned salesman, as it is the writer's own. With painstaking honesty and powerful imagery, Collins paints a portrait of small town America in the grips of post-World War II boosterism. Some of the pictures aren't pretty, but Collins, a gifted writer, manages to move the reader through those passages and take them to a place of solace and closure.

No comments about Before Modern Conveniences: One Finnish Farm Family 1917-1927.

2 comments about Come Home, Love Dad.

1. Not all families are disfunctional. In fact, Shelly Reuben proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. What a wonderful portrait of a loving father as told through her eyes and through his own letters. Reuben paints a picture in words that creates images of a real father. One who lives in a houseful of love, surrounded by his five children, tolerant and loving wife, friends and crazy relatives. One readily sees why Reuben has selected words as her vocation. Her father created, plagerized, quoted and paraphrased the thought provoking guidence and evocative sentiments with which he communicated to his offspring. Written on stationary, or on the back of landlord-tenant court documents, these jewels of creative writing tell of a romantic soul. He is clearly adored, not for his incredible inventions or tenacity regarding real estate investments, but for his character, strength, concern and consideration. Those of us who can relate have surely had fathers of similar noble quality. Those who cannot fathom the beautiful relationships between father and child have missed an incredible experience. Reach back into childhood, read this and enjoy the experience.



2. If you want to read something that makes you feel good about life, read Shelly Reuben's book, Come Home Love Dad. With so many books flooding the market about serial killers and political espionage it's a pleasure to read something about an actual person that really touches you. Miss Reuben expertly uses narration as well as actual letters written by her father to gradually reveal his personality to the reader. I came to know a man who was an inventor, a landlord, and a salesman, but first and foremost - a father.