

This was historical fiction done right! I really enjoyed it. The storytelling was beautiful and raw. Not an easy read but it wasn‘t an easy time. Truly beautiful and captivating story.
This was historical fiction done right! I really enjoyed it. The storytelling was beautiful and raw. Not an easy read but it wasn‘t an easy time. Truly beautiful and captivating story.
What a beautiful and charming book. It‘s Lowry‘s own take on a memoir, and though short, sweet, and to the point, it does a beautiful job of capturing the personality of one of the@best Children‘s fiction writers (IMO) of our century.
Cannot say enough good about this book. For anyone who has experienced doubts about the Christian faith and following Christ, this book is a must-read
I really did want to like this book more. I think it comes from a time when everything was slower. It‘s a very sweet book, but I agree with several other posters, it did move pretty slow. Found myself skipping over entire paragraphs the last few chapters just to finish. And we were doing it as a read aloud.
Incredible. Requires slow and thoughtful reading. It‘s been 20 years since I picked this up, and I‘m so glad I read it again.
I have a hard time with historical fiction. I was trying again bc I know so many love it. As a stand-alone book, this was great. But I don‘t understand using non fiction people in a fictional book. It‘s just hard for me. So overall it‘s a good read, but it‘s the genre I have a hard time with.
Absolutely loved it! Stunning stories, just warms your heart through and through.
I love Agatha Christie. They‘re fun, easy reads and intriguing. This one was a bit more predictable and “stock” than some of the others, but it did make for an enjoyable travel audio book
I saw that that this has pretty 50/50 mixed reviews, but I liked it. I didn‘t think the author was too over-reaching. It was a well done biography that simultaneously dispels some of the myths surrounding Cleopatra while also exposing how they came into being in the first place.
This was a different read for me, but so compelling. It talks about the state of our American nation, and it starts very negative and scary but it ends on such an encouraging, positive note.
I love this book. It‘s the kind of story that makes me want to go back to my English Lit days and write an in-depth paper about the character of Lily Bart. She‘s so complex, so conflicted, there is so much beauty-both inside and out- and yet so much darkness. It‘s a haunting story, and the writing is truly top-notch.
This was a sweet, diverting read. It‘s not particularly organized, but it‘s not really meant to be. Goes to show that everyone has ups and downs, and has to choose how we will handle them. I love reading about how devoted she was to her family.
Wow! This book was both impossible to put down and incredibly difficult to read. Masterful art of storytelling through the eyes of various family members. I love the depth and complexity of the human psyche it dives into. I very much enjoyed the artful way he portrayed the parallel roads of the family‘s journey along with what‘s happening in the scientific world. Great book!
I was surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I am a church planter with the movement Aimee started, and I have always heard bits and pieces about Sister Aimee and her life, but I‘ve always felt that she was somewhat misguided and fake. After reading this, I feel like she was so genuine and had such love for Jesus and people! She definitely had flaws and made mistakes, but there‘s no doubt she gave it her all!
This is a beautiful book about being rooted and deeply formed in Jesus. As the world and culture gets crazier and crazier, I find myself drawn more and more to Jesus and who He is, and the model He gives us to live by. I 10/10 would recommend this book!!
Skip the movie, but definitely read the book. Thankfully, I read the book first and just saw the movie as a follow up. I would skip it for sure. But the book is classic and artful Agatha Christie!
This was so fun! Probably haven‘t read it in 25ish years and just wanted something lighthearted and fun! Such clever writing. She builds such suspense and intrigue without adding disgusting language or characters. It‘s a true art form, and I love it every time.
I actually didn‘t finish. I can‘t tell you the last time this happened for me. But I tried this despite some of the negative reviews. For me, it wasn‘t the writing style (that was brilliant), or even the characters themselves
(Life isn‘t always super interesting & novel), it was the laissez-faire attitude and lewdness to some imo gross stuff. Left me feeling icky. Couldn‘t do it. 😣
I am so thankful we are getting more and more detailed stories of the supporting actors from past historical events. As a child, we only have time to learn the bare basics, but digging into books like this further reinforces the knowledge that it truly takes an army to accomplish something huge, an army of all shapes and sizes, genders, talents, etc. Loved this book!!!!
This was a little surprise! A friend recommended it to me after she read it to her family as a read-aloud, and it did not disappoint. It‘s such a different type of story, in a good way, and I loved how bite-sized the chapters are…good for a busy family to work in here and there. My kids definitely want the sequel.
I‘ve read quite a few books detailing the experience of black people in the US after Emancipation and reconstruction. This was another angle that was really good for me to hear. It made me realize how many people in Africa, even native Africans, were also to blame for the slave trade. Greed does horrible things!
What an incredibly sweet and precious book. Themes: you never know what‘s going on beneath the surface of someone‘s hard exterior, and the power of persistent love and acceptance can change everything.
I really loved his writing style and the way he wove such detailed and seemingly separate stories together. I love the multi-faceted and complex look of WWII and the different people who were pulled in and affected in such varied ways.
Such a beautiful story!!! I always love a good tale of uncovering lies from the past that unlocks something in the present. I think it‘s true so many times of our lives. Many of our deepest pains are based on past things and experiences, things which may or may not be true. Often we just leave things in the past alone instead of revisiting to uncover truth that might change everything!
Really didn‘t care for this book. I think it would make a wonderful expose in a paper but it‘s not thick enough for a book.
Such a great book! So many ppl have such a hard time navigating the lies of our modern age…they are every where. So how do we know what‘s true? Comer makes an argument that truth is absolute and must be rooted in something. Relative truth just results in more lies. If you‘re a Christian, this is a must-read. If not, give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised!
Tough book to read. There‘s a lot I could say about this book, but one of my biggest takeaways is that we often think we don‘t have a voice when we see injustice, so we shrug our shoulders and think it will work out. How many lives were lost and years prolonged bc people shrugged their shoulders with the Sacklers and turned the other way. If we see something evil, it‘s always right to speak up!
Such an interesting book. Having read one of his bios before, I came across this one! So glad I picked it up. A whole side of immigration I really haven‘t been aware of. Great read!
This isn‘t a narrative-style biography, it‘s more of a factual, reporter‘s style, with lots of snippets throughout of new added characters and events. I did enjoy the in-depth look at science and how viruses and vaccines work. And it‘s fascinating to learn about how scientists both contribute and compete with one another. An amazing book, I just have a personal preference of narrative in-depth characterization in bios.
I did enjoy this book. It felt like more of an overview, and I tend to like things that go in depth. But as an overview, it was a wonderful book. Would be great to do with a book club or small group.
I only put so so because it was so hard to read. I need to read it again, more slowly next time. Some great thoughts and points that he makes though.
“We are so angry at each other right now. That anger is palpable. Where did it come from? It came from the destruction of a common vision. We used to see each other as brothers and sisters. Not the one percent versus the 99%… we weren't enemies. We were a community.” Read more to find out his solution.
Fantastic book! Reminds me of how fragile and unknown the human body and especially the brain still are, despite the myriad discoveries and breakthroughs. Amazing story I think everyone should read to help increase awareness of various mental diseases. Knowing that there are treatments being discovered could help someone in the future.
I cannot believe this book doesn‘t have more reviews. Peterson is the author of The Message Bible translation, and this is a beautiful memoir that gives more insight to the man behind it. It‘s beautiful!!!
Loved it loved it loved it! Was looking for a good read aloud, and I‘ve always had great experiences with Newberry books. Such a sweet story of friendship, discovery, and REDEMPTION! What a lesson in seeing the value in people-many times those so different than you.
my favorite part of the book is the epilogue— she profiles where each of the men were at the time of their death. 2 died in office following horrific wars, and the other two lived years beyond their presidencies and struggled with life post-presidency and finding their fit. I‘m reminded that we all struggle, we all succeed, we all fail, and even the greatest of leaders in the most turbulent of times is, at the end of the day, simply human.
I really enjoyed this book! For anyone who practices Christianity and follows Jesus and is a part of a church culture, it‘s a valuable read.
I wish I could give this book more than a thumbs-up pick rating. Wow! This collection of sermons from the late Dr. King contains so much poignant application for our current cultural struggles, though it was written some 50-odd years ago. He truly was a man who lived with a deep conviction, an integral honesty, and a center of love!
Life in America at this time was NO JOKE, even for “aristocratic” families like hers. Grief, death, lack, the need for courage, scandal, & so much followed her everywhere. Yet she remained devoted to her husband and family and devoted to God and her faith. And many times, following her grief which she was no stranger to, she worked tirelessly to see things she believed in materialized. Written to complete the picture of Hamilton family, it shines!
I used this picture because this was my facial expression for about 78.4% of this book. Whew. Not here to debate the accuracy or inaccuracy of her depiction of her family (did you know her mom recently published a book largely to refute Tara‘s claims?), although how can you argue with someone‘s own experience. Plus, this isn‘t about shaming her family as much as it‘s exposing her own struggle to break free from her mental prison, & it‘s powerful!
Read this with a group of friends and really enjoyed it. Gives a great perspective on how to focus on your kids creativity and help foster their God-given interests and gifts.
I did the reverse order on this and saw the movie first. I enjoyed it so much that I picked up the book the next day. It was a light, sweet, fun read. The book was slightly better than the movie of course, but both are wonderful!
This is a beautifully crafted call to action, yet not in the way I thought it might be. It‘s not at all a political book. It was hard to read at some parts. I had the choice to view some of it as preachy and write it off as such, or allow it to be painful and cause me to work through the pain in an attempt to understand. I think I chose the latter. But a book like this is only as good as a change in thought and action. I hope to do it justice.
Can I be thankful for a book? Finished this read-aloud as a family this week. Not sure how many times I have personally read The Hobbit, but it has to be one of the fiction GOAT! Such an incredible story and even more fun reading to my kids.
Really amazing and challenging book. I‘ve grown up in the American church my whole life. This challenges many common ways of reading scripture as a white, middle class evangelical. Many of us desperately need this type of thinking to challenge many preconceived notions of unknown biases when reading and applying scripture. A fantastic read for anyone who practices Christianity or wants to discover more!
I loved this book! Power is so open and raw on her own journey and struggles, first with her alcoholic father and the weight of his loss, then finding her place and voice in a world-wide struggle where despite the proliferation of noise, ppl rarely say anything new. It‘s a fascinating wind from her early days as a war correspondent to one of the most influential political positions in the world. Raw, real and incredibly enjoyable.
Great job by a first time author! Looking forward to more.
I‘m not sure there is a better fiction book for read-alouds with young girls. It‘s a masterful work of story-telling, especially because the characters and stories themselves are so down to earth and real. But they jump off the page in real life technicolor because of the way in which Montgomery writes!
I am not usually a fiction reader, but I picked this one up bc a fellow bibliophile highly recommended it. It was really good! A wonderful adventure and excellent character development. It‘s one I want to revisit in about a year to digest a bit more.
Don‘t even know where to start. This book was deeply moving. Wilkerson quotes former Pres Obama‘s words at inauguration: “we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the likes of tribe shall soon dissolve...as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself.” It‘s hard not to read those words & feel the sting of the ugliness of humanity that has revealed itself recently. But we can start w/ourselves.