Daughters of the Dragon: forgotten and silenced for too long

Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews is a story about a part of history I have never heard. It is a heart wrenching story about one woman’s survival during a time when the world was in turmoil. The story opens with Anna, a Korean woman who was adopted by an American couple as a baby who is now trying to meet her birth mother. At the agency, Anna is told her mother has passed away. As she leaves the agency, heartbroken, she is approached by an elderly woman with a note and package. The note reads with an address and inside is a beautiful comb with a two-headed dragon. Against the advice of those around her, Anna decides to go to the address. There she meets, Hong Jae-kee, her birth grandmother and she wants to tell Anna the story of her family. There her grandmother begins to tell her story. She begins in September 1943 in North P’yonygan Province, North Korea where she lived on the family farm. Jae-kee and her older sister, Soo-hee, are ordered to work in a boot factory. Before they leave, their mother gives Soo-hee the dragon comb, in hopes that it will protect her. Along the way, Soo-hee gives the comb Jae-kee. The girls are shipped by truck with other girls to China where they arrive at a comfort station. There the girls are required to be “comfort women” to the Japanese soldiers as they come through the area. For two years, Jae-kee and the other girls are raped by the soldiers and treated for horrible sexually diseases as well as quick abortions. Soon rumor begins to fly that the Japanese are losing the war. Soon Jae-kee finds herself free but without a home and without family. As she makes her way home, she must live with the stigma of a comfort woman and finds herself on the edge of society. How does Jae-kee survive? What is the significance of the dragon comb?

In many ways, Daughters of the Dragon reminds me of The Joy Luck Club as both feature strong women who survive horrific conditions of war and societal rules which make them inferior. It was eye-opening to see the events portrayed in Korea as the world is at war and what the Korean War was like for those who lived there. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking story of one woman’s journey. Jae-kee’s story is an example of a hidden piece of history which shouldn’t be hidden anymore. The numbers vary as to how many young girls who forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army. The atrocities of war, the innocent lives shattered by the powerful. But the strength of these woman to make their voices heard and the crimes committed against them be brought to light. Daughters of the Dragon is an excellent book about an area of history that has been forgotten and silenced for too long. I highly recommend Daughters of the Dragon!

Daughters of the Dragon

is available on Amazon

in paperback $14.95

and Kindle $4.99

Gramma Darling: memories of grandma

Gramma Darling by Lissa Schroeder is a beautiful story of nostalgia about grandmas. As seen through the eyes of a child, the memories that are created with gramma are treasured. The book is also beautifully illustrated by Doron Ben-Ami which brings the images to life with stunning realism. The adventures at Gramma’s house. The discovery as children exploring the rooms, finding treasures Time in the garden with the flowers and vegetables. Children helping pulling weeds and pull the wrong plants, opps! Watching the birds and wildlife around her house. And most importantly Gramma’s cooking and baking!

Gramma Darling is filled with the author’s memories of her own gramma. Reading her memories, reminded me of my own memories of my grandma and the adventures I had at her house. At the end of the book, the author included Gramma Darling’s Chocolaty Cherry Cake, which I will definitely try! I recommend Gramma Darling for its nostalgic feel and memories of wonderful grandmas.

Gramma Darling

is available at Barnes and Noble

and Amazon

Small Great Things: a story about modern racism and prejudice

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult is dramatic and thought provoking story about racism and how we interact with each other as members of different races. The story is told from the perspectives of a dedicated labor and delivery nurse, a White Supremacist man, and a lawyer who tries to defend her client. The story opens with Ruth, who decided to become a labor and deliver nurse after watching her mother deliver her employer’s son after she went in to labor. She is raising her son, Edison, 17, after her husband was killed in Afghanistan. Ruth comes on her shift as just another day and she is assigned to a new mother, Brittany Bauer and her new son. As she goes about her job, checking the baby, talking with the parents, she doesn’t notice that the father, Turk, is getting really tense. Soon, he has had a enough and demands to talk with Ruth’s supervisor. Turk Bauer was Ruth removed from the care of his wife and son. Why? Ruth is black. Ruth is reassigned and never sees baby Bauer again. Until one fate day when she is left alone in the nursery with the baby while another nurse sees to an emergency. Ruth notices something is wrong with baby Bauer but she hesitates. She isn’t supposed to touch this baby. After a code is called and a team works on the baby, the baby is pronounced dead. Her decision wither or not help the baby will lead to the fight for her freedom and her life. Enter Kennedy, a lawyer with the public defender’s office, who decides to take Ruth’s case. Can Kennedy disprove that Ruth’s inaction or actions caused the death of the baby? Will Ruth ever get her life back and the job she loves?

I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult’s books since I was introduced to The Storyteller. All her books cover issues and events which have no clear cut solution or resolution. And Small Great Things is no different. I was offered a pre-release copy of this book, I jumped at the chance. I chose this story in particular because it is a black nurse up against the hatred of a white supremacist. As I read this story, I was reminded of the nurse who took care of me when I had my four year old daughter. Yes, she was black and she was the sweetest person in the world. She sat and talked with me as we waited. She encouraged me as I was in active labor and she brought my new miracle in my arms. My only regret is that I do not remember her name but her kindness to me is engraved in my memory. As I read, I burned with anger at the actions and words of the white supremacist. In true Jodi Picoult fashion, Small Great Things will challenge your own thoughts on prejudice and racism and may even make you face your own that you may not even know that you had. I highly, highly recommend Small Great Things.

Small Great Things

will be available on

October 11, 2016

in hardback $28.99

and

Kindle/Nook $14.99

Still Marching On: a young woman's fight for social justice

Still Marching On by Lynda Stephenson is the story of a young college girl at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She must fight against the injustice of the Jim Crow laws and as well as social practices which could keep her from following her dreams.

Frankilee Baxter is a young white college student at Athena College where her roommate, Eleanor, is African American. Together, they join the Civil Rights Movement when racial tensions are very explosive. Frankilee is the type of girl who likes to shock people and study their reactions. She begins to conduct social experiments and writing about her experiences. She is able to sell a few of her stories to the New York Times. She joins sit-ins at a local department store who refused to serve African Americans. She joins Freedom Rides which leads to time in jail. While she fights for social change, she must deal with the everyday issues at home. Her mom is sick. Her dad is having trouble with the bank. Her aunt is trying to bully everyone to follow her plan for the grandfather’s ranch land. And she falls in love with Calvin Morris, a law student who seeks the social change she does. Will Frankilee succeed in her dreams of journalism? Will she be able to forge the social change she seeks to see in the world? Will her dream of marrying Calvin come true?

I enjoyed Still Marching On. It is an interesting book with a passionate retelling of the Civil Rights Movement from a participant who seems so unlikely. The details the author put into the events are graphic but very real. You shiver as you know that person suffered injustices and cruelties as they fought for civil rights. Frankilee is passionate, rash, impulsive and ready to take on the social injustices. The debates between Frankilee and those on the other side and the opinions expressed are dealt with realistically. I highly recommend Still Marching On.

Still Marching On

in paperback for $27.95

and on the Kindle or the Nook for $6.99

Gridley Girls: a coming of age story

Gridley Girls by Meredith First is a semi-autobiographical story of a young girl’s entrance into adulthood as she begins her freshman year of high school in the small town of Gridley, California. The drama, the bully, the romance and the finding yourself among the sea of people is the center of this coming of age story.

The story is told between the past (summer 1978 to the summer 1979) and the present (2008). The story opens with a prologue Meg as she discusses her friends. Friends since preschool, they grew up together, did everything together, until the beginning of high school when the social pressures threaten to split them apart. In 2008, Meg’s friend, Anne Marie is getting married and is experiencing pre-wedding jitters as Meg is experience a potential life changing decision which will take her family from everything they know. Anne Marie is searching fixated on the events year of their freshmen year. As the story switches between past and present, clues are given to what is triggering the nostalgic walk down memory lane.

Gridley Girls is a great story of nostalgia to the author’s hometown and her lifelong friends. It is heartwarming and may bring memories of your childhood coming of age time. The story is reminiscent of Now and Then, My Girl and other great stories about the time in your life when you leave childhood behind and face adulthood head on. Heavy topics of abortion, sex, sexual orientation, alcoholism and other topics all teenagers face are presented. These topics are discussed with realism and sincerity. I highly recommend Gridley Girls.

Gridley Girls

is available on Amazon

in paperback $17

and

on the Kindle $9.49

Somebody else's business: a story of assumptions leading to disaster

Somebody else’s business by Charlton James is a story of assumptions, wrong assumptions which tears apart so many lives as the assumption and rumor flows from person to person. John Willoughby is unexpectedly deployed to Afghanistan, leaving his fiancée, Tiffany Adams behind. After months of deployment, Tiffany receives a very loving letter from John which makes her day until she suddenly loses it. Cue, Kelly who finds the letter while walking her dog. She brings it home with every intention to return it to the address on the envelope. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she reads it. Cue her husband, Paul, who walks in on her in a very romance scene, reading a letter which he did not send her. It sends him on a spiral out of control. And the chain events begins as the letter begins to affect everyone who comes in contact with it and not for good. Will the truth come out? Will Tiffany receive her letter back?

Unfortunately, I could not finish Someone else’s business. The story started out great but eventually it spiraled out of control. I didn’t like the language that was used. I couldn’t follow the chain of events, how people were connected to the previous person who had the letter. Although I didn’t finish it and it wasn’t the book for me, I can see where it would appeal to other readers. I’m recommending Someone else’s business as a story of false assumptions which ruin lives as one does not stop and ask what is really going on.

Someone else’s business

is available on Amazon

in paperback for 32.95

or on the Kindle for $9.99

Great books for any family or school library

Today, I have two children’s books to discuss. First a story about courage and faith and another about friendship.

Stories of Courage and Faith by Isabella Augustus presented two biblical stories which demonstrate courage and faith in the face of danger and uncertainty. First, The Courageous Three is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the book of Daniel. These men stood up to King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, where they refused to worship the gold statue of the king. As punishment the men were thrown in to a furnace. And when the men came out, they did not have a single mark on them. As they were saved by God for their courage and faith. The second story is David, the Shepherd Boy. As David was the only Israelite brave enough to fight Goliath, the giant of the Philistines. He would defeat him with a single stone and a slingshot. This book is a great way to introduce children to Biblical heroes. I recommend it for any school or family library. 

The Bunny and the Mysterious Butterfly by Carmel Rivello, illustrated by Toby Mikle is a story of Bella, the bunny. She lived in Farmer Sam’s garden. She loved her life but she was lonely. Then a magnificent butterfly came to her. Flutter came to bring her love, joy and friendship. Soon Bella has many friendship among the birds, bees, ladybugs and fairies. I enjoyed this book about friendship and how friends can open our world to so many beautiful things, including more friendships. I recommend this book for any school or family library. 

Stories of Courage and Faith

Is available on Amazon

In paperback for $15.95

And on the Kindle for $9.99

And

The Bunny and the Mysterious Butterfly

Is available on Amazon

In paperback for $14.95

And on the Kindle for $6.99