The Secret Garden

Freaking loved this!! I had grown up watching the Hallmark version of this on repeat with my best friend and I must say... it followed the book pretty faithfully (minus the ending where the three kids meet up 10 years later). This is the perfect book to read in the spring and it made me really want to get outside and start working on my garden. There were a couple dated references (Indians being referred to as black and sub-human) that weren't cool but... it was a product of its time. For those unfamiliar with the premises, it basically follows a ten year old girl who was raised in India who is orphaned when cholera kills both her British parents. She is sent to live with a distant uncle in England who she has never met. She is a spoiled girl, used to getting her way, but she befriends a local boy who is so good humored and into nature that she starts to turn into a good little girl. Before long there is another spoiled boy who comes into the mix. Will he change his ways too? Wonderful, great for kids and adults alike. It definitely holds up!

Same Kind of Different As Me

A quick inspiring read about two men with nothing in common, finding, they do in fact have things in common. Denver is an illiterate, black, homeless man who grew up as a modern day slave working for the man in Louisiana. Ron is a famed international art dealer with more money then he knows what to do with. When Ron's wife feels called by God to start helping others, Ron goes along for the ride. He begrudgingly starts handing out meals at a local mission. While there he encounters Denver, but Denver wants nothing to do with him. The streets have made him hard and he doesn't have time for rich people trying to make themselves feel better by helping the homeless. Slowly though, Ron's wife pushes the two of them together and they realize that they have more in common then they ever thought possible and start to genuinely appreciate each other's perspectives on life. A little hokey, but I'm probably just a jaded cynic.

A Separate Peace

Not exactly what I anticipated, but still a mildly enjoyable read. It reads beautifully but I couldn't care much for the plot. Gene has always been introverted and jealous of his best friend Phineas. At a boy's boarding school in New England they find themselves competing in every manner of sport and game; only Phineas doesn't realize how seriously Gene takes it all. For once in his lousy life, Gene wants to be better at something than Phineas, even if it's just grades. He doesn't want to steal the spotlight he just wants to be an equal. One day while fooling around, tragedy strikes. Will things ever be the same again? Set during World War II, this tale of friendship, loyalty, and competition has still remained a classic decades later. Not my cup of tea, but not bad either.

Charlotte's Web

I feel like I read this as a child, but I legit can't remember! I've certainly seen the movie and remember the general plot, so who knows. I may have read this in my youth, I may have not. Either way it was a delightful re-visit to a children's classic. This version was made even more enjoyable since it was narrated by the author and he did a wonderful job with the accents and pacing. It was truly a fun read. If you're one of like five people that has never read or seen Charlotte's Web, it's the tale of a pig who befriends a barn spider and in an effort to save him from the ax, she starts writing marvelous things about Wilbur in her web. It's a wonderful story of friendship, farms, and family. Still delightful half a century later, this will always be a family classic!

Quicksand Pond

Lisle, Janet Taylor. Quicksand Pond. 6 CDs. unabridged. Recorded Books. 2017. ISBN 9781501940347.

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle brings to life a story of summer friendships, small town preconceptions, and the choices that define us. Jessie Kettel's father is determined to make the most out of their summer vacation by uprooting his kids from the city and renting out a decrepit old cabin by a dingy old pond for a few weeks. Jessie is immediately entranced by the pond and finds an old raft on which to explore the secrets of the swampy land. It's there she discovers Terri and the two become inseparable, fixing the raft and learning about each other. The more Jessie gets to know Terri though, the more concerned she becomes. Terri is from a no good family and everyone knows that they're always in trouble. As things start to fall apart, Jessie starts distancing herself and begins questioning her own feelings and convictions. Although intended for a middle grade audience, the novel reads more mature and may lose younger readers. The story isn't very fast paced, but there is rich character development with Jessie and Terri. The narrator's youthful voice helps capture the innocence and excitement of the young girls. Not for everyone but will appeal to more mature middle school readers, not for content but for plot, dialogue, and character development. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN

Afterward

Teens will eat this up. Four years after he was kidnapped, Ethan is discovered living an hour away and returned home. Dylan, a twelve year old autistic boy had been missing for a mere weekend and the efforts to find him were so great that they were able to find him, along with Ethan in the same dingy apartment. Struggling to come to terms being normal and being a teenager, Ethan is in over his head. Told through alternating perspectives; Ethan the recently returned fifteen year old, and Caroline, the seventeen year old sister of the kidnapped autistic boy, the story starts small and grows as they struggle to make sense of what happened. A wonderful story of resilience, trust, and the power of friendship.

I received this book for free from Librarything in return for my honest, unbiased review.

The Thread That Binds

I don't know what I expected when I picked up this book, but I certainly DIDN'T expect to start falling in love with all the characters soo quickly. Five women with completely different backgrounds and problems find themselves inexplicably linked together. Sherice is a young mother who works two part time jobs, supports her husband, and somehow finds time to quilt when she's not worrying about her mother's descent into alzheimers. Slyvie is an expectant newly wed and newcomer to the United States. She and her active duty husband struggle to make ends meet and are trying to get the prenatal help they need to care for their unborn child. Joanne desperately wants to be a mom, but with no man in her life she convinces her gay best friend to get her knocked up. Payton is a seventeen year old pregnant runaway from Alabama who want to get her life back on track. And Gloria is married to an unloving cheater and the child she carries may not even be his. Together they tell each other their secrets, fix problems, and support each other as only new moms and friends can. An uplifting, laugh out loud, and thought provoking book. It contains something for everyone, not just moms or married women.

I received this book for free from iRead Book Tours in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.