The Whisper in Wind: an inspiring romance in a small town

The Whisper in Wind by Rachael Bloome is the sixth book in the Poppy Creek series. Lucy Gardener is ready to settle down and start her dream career. When her brother, Jack, asks her to help document the town’s fall festivals for a promotional video for the Whispering Winds Inn, she looks forward to it. However, she was not prepared to share the task with Vick Johnson, the brooding former marine and her secret crush. Vick has one foot out the door. He always knew his time in Poppy Creek would be temporary and while he has plans to leave, the close-knit community is making it difficult to leave. Especially Lucy with her bright smile. With their obvious connection, will Lucy and Vick take a chance on a happily ever after? 

I truly love this series and I wish Poppy Creek was a real town I could visit and maybe even live. I loved the close knit community friendships. In an uplifting style, The Whisper in Wind is an inspiring romance story with the characters’ finding a purpose and a home. I could not put this book down as Lucy and Vick struggle with their sense of purpose and trying to find their place in the world. Their journeys as individuals and as a potential couple was sweet and heartwarming. I loved that they connected over the love of a book. There were sweet moments throughout the story and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. I highly recommend The Whisper in Wind and the previous books in the Poppy Creek series. 

The Whisper in Wind is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Orchard: a coming of age story during the final days of the USSR

The Orchard by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry is a coming of age story set in the final days of the USSR. Anya and her best friend, Milka, try to envision a free and hopeful future for themselves, like the one they are told happens in America. They spend their summers at Anya’s family dacha (country house) outside of Moscow and exploring the apple orchard there. When they are fifteen, the Soviet Empire is on the verge of collapse, they begin to spend time with two male classmates, Petya and Aleksey. Together, the four friends discuss history, politics and forbidden books, as well as share secrets and desires. As the world is changing, they soon find that their time together is drawing shorter and shorter. When the family’s apple orchard is threatened, Anya realizes that memories do not fade as they are the connection from our past. Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, The Orchard chronicles the lives of four Soviet teenagers as they struggle to survive. 

I was intrigued by the premise of teenagers during the last years of the Soviet Union. However, the story was very slow and I found myself drifting as I read. There was no beauty or poetry to the language used as the story did not flow. There was a lot of showing and not telling. All the characters are flawed; however, I found myself not caring about them or their growth, if they had any growth at all. There was a lot of focus on sex and the descriptions of their bodies. While I am not a prude, the vulgarity of the language used was shocking and a turn off. While inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, any parallels between the play and the book were lost on me as I have not read The Cherry Orchard. I may read The Cherry Orchard and return to The Orchard to reread to find more similarities, symbolism and meaning. However, right now, it was a book I found hard to read. 

The Orchard is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook

The Light After the War: a story in the war's aftermath

The Light After the War by Anita Abriel is the story of Vera Frankel, a Hungarian Jewish refugee living in Naples, Italy. It has been 11 months since the end of the war and believing her entire family was killed in the concentration camps, Vera fled with her best friend, Edith. As the two rebuild their lives in a new country, Vera finds a job at the American embassy in Naples and falls in love with her boss, Captain Anton Wight. A series of events will leave her heartbroken and wondering what to do next. Edith has an idea to get sponsored for citizenship in America and when that falls through, they end up in Caracas, Venezuela. There she meets the handsome Ricardo Albee, and everything seems to be back on track. With flashbacks of events which occurred during the war, Vera must learn to adapt and survive. Will Vera have the happy ending she’s been dreaming of? Will she ever find out what truly happened to her family?

This story was inspired by Ms. Abriel’s mother’s story of survival during WWII and from the opening page to the closing chapter, you are drawn into Vera’s story of survival which takes her across oceans. I enjoyed The Light After the War as it shows a part of history that many historical books do not feature: the migration of many refugees to other countries. Yes, some came to America, but many people do not realize that many refugees made their way to South America and beyond. I recommend The Light After the War. A story of friendship, love, survivor's guilt, loss and survival.

The Light After the War

is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Stand Beautiful: an inspirational story of self-acceptance and forgiveness

Stand Beautiful: A Story of Brokenness, Beauty and Embracing it All is the personal story of Chloe Howard, a young girl born with a physical deformity and endured many surgeries and physical therapies in order to be able to walk, skip and even stand. Just to be alive was a miracle, so her physical deformity was made her unique. Her parents told her that she was fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and she was beautiful. When she entered high school, she was physically attacked as students held her down, forcibly took off her shoe and sock and mocked her foot. She said that the 90 second attacked torn down 14 years of self-acceptance. It was a chance meeting with U2’s Bono that she was encouraged to find her voice and be the voice for the millions of students who are bullied every day. What does it mean to stand beautiful?

It took me a long time to be able to sit down and read this book but once I did, I was amazed at the wisdom and maturity in this 16-year-old. She has experienced so much in her young life that I applaud her courage and determination. After reading her book, I found her TED talk online and to listen to her story again, I was again astonished at the statistics she presents and heartbroken that so many kids and teenagers experience bullying at such rates. Even though, the book is marketed for youth readers, I highly recommend that adults read it too. It is a great tool to discuss bullying with our children.

Stand Beautiful: A Story of Brokenness, Beauty and Embracing it All

is available in paperback, eBook and Audiobook.

Strong Girls of the Ordinary People Change the World series: a great educational series

My daughter received the Strong Girls Set of the Ordinary People Change the World series by Brad Meltzer for Christmas. It contained four books each book featured an historical figure who had an impact on the world. First, I am Harriet Tubman is the story of a woman and her heroic acts to help fleeing slaves escape the South for freedom. Second, I am Jane Goodall is the story of how Ms. Goodall fell in love with chimpanzees and devoted her life to the study of these beautiful creatures. Third, I am Sacagawea is the story of a young woman who was the only female and only Native American on the Lewis and Clark’s expedition of the Pacific Ocean. Lastly, I am Amelia Earhart is the story of a aviation pioneer who became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic.

What I love about these books is they not only male historical figures fun and engaging but they encourage further reading into these people’s lives and contributions. Mr. Meltzer not only includes his own sources but suggests other books for further reading. Other titles in this series include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Lucille Ball and many others. I highly recommend this series for any family and classroom library.

Ordinary People Change the World

is available in multiple formats at major booksellers

Great new stories by Carole P. Roman: adventures and inspiration!

Today, I have two wonderful children’s books. Both books are told in beautiful prose and teach important lessons of dreams and adventures. Both books are written by Carol P. Roman, author of the If you were me and lived in… series as well as the Captain No Beard series. Both books are also beautifully illustrated by Mateya Arkova.

First, Rocket-Bye is an adventure of a rocket ship as it travels through the stars, the Milky Way, the constellations and past the planets. During the trip, the different plants are mentioned as well as their position in the solar system. The constellations are named with clues to the legends for which they are named.

Second, Can a Princess be a Firefighter? is a parent talking to his little girls about how she can be anything she wants to be. Any job she wants or even two as well as she does what she loves and enjoys. And no matter what job she does, she will always be a princess to her parent. So, yes, a princess can be a firefighter.

I loved both this books. The great adventure in Rocket-Bye and the wonderful lesson in Can a Princess be a Fighter? as well as the beautiful illustrations inspire children to dream and dream big. I highly recommend these books for any family or school library.