Hey Folks, 3 New Book Reviews!

Kira is another lovely friend from the book club.  She's a momma of three cute girls, she's easy-going, and fun...and she agreed to write about her favorite books for us!  Yay! 
-Amy

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By Kira

Picking favorite books has always been hard for me!  I love so many books for so many different reasons.  And my tastes change from day to day.  So how do I pick books to recommend to you?  I started by doing some thinking (which for me is my only quiet time…in the shower)  While thinking I tried to go past the usual and think of books that really affected me so here is my list!  Hope you enjoy.


1. My first book has to be  
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer.

I was looking for a book at the library to listen to in the car when I would travel for work. The name struck me as odd so I picked it up and thought “why not”. This book was such a treat. The whole book is written through letters. There was no narration to connect it. At first I didn’t think it would work, but it totally did! I loved every minute of it and got all the information that I needed. The book is about the main character’s association with a literary society that started due to the German Occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. It’s funny, heartwarming, and you will eat up each page. My favorite parts of this book are the excerpts you can quote from it. My absolute favorite was: “Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.” That is what this book will do.






2. My next favorite book would have to be  
The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini.

The Kite Runner tells the story of a young boy and his closest friend Hassan, his father's young servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events; from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. When I picked up this book I knew I would get a great historical fiction book and learn about a region I didn’t know much about. But what I didn’t expect was the ending of this book. It was one of those stories that I will always remember and one that really made me think. The story tells of redemption and how a choice that we made that we regret and maybe hold unto and can be made whole. By the end I was crying and totally fallen in love with all the characters involved.  As much as I love this book there are two scenes you should be aware of. Towards the start of the book there is a scene where a young boy is raped by an older boy. And towards the end of the book there is a brief scene of violence during a fight.



3. And my last book would have to be  
The Space Between Us

by Thrity Umrigar

This novel is about a wealthy woman and her servant which offers a revealing look at class and gender roles in modern day Bombay. This book was lent to me by a friend so I picked it up and read it. I loved the contrast between these two women and what it shows about class. Even though it was set in India, everything about it had relevance to our way of life here in the United States. It shows you that no matter what our background is and what our social standings are, we still will experience heart ache and joy and we need to be able to recognize the worth of our lives apart from others. There was such a sweet lesson found within these pages. I finished the book knowing that I have so much worth in this big world.  (As a heads-up, there are a few brief scenes of sexuality between a married couple.) 
-Kira




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Thanks, Kira!

So here's my two cents: I read "The Guernsey Literary..." book and also LOVED it!  Seriously a fabulous book; the characters were interesting and so endearing, the historical setting was fascinating, and it has the sweetest little love story.  I'm pretty sure I squealed out loud several times.  (That's embarrassing.)  READ IT!  

I haven't read "The Kite Runner" but I did read "The Space Between Us".  The writing was gorgeous, but the story had a lot of sad family/marriage situations, so it was a hard one for me.  However, I did enjoy learning about the class system in India, as well as understanding the friendship between these two women.

Thanks again Kira!  

So, friends, time to bust out those hammocks for hours of summer reading! (If only, right? Well, at least maybe you can fit in an hour during naptime...)  

Happy reading! 
-Amy

Ps. Have you read any of these books?  If so, we'd love to hear what you thought!  So please chime in with your opinion.  Thanks! 

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