Review: These Things Hidden

These Things Hidden

by Heather Gudenkauf

Quote: "No, she never talks about it, I wish she would, though. At least with her doctor. Keeping things bottled up inside doesn't do anyone any good. I'll tell her you called, Allison. Take care of yourself, okay?" - Grandma pg.276

Started: April 17, 2012

Finished: April 19, 2012

hardcover, large print

481 pages

From the cover:

Allison Glenn tried to hide what happened that night...and failed. The consequence? A prison sentence. Now she's free. But secrets have a way of keeping you locked up.

  When teenager Allison Glenn is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls' golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult in her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces whispered rumors every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It's Brynn-shy, quiet Brynn-who carries the burden of what really happened that night.

 All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her.

 But then Allison is released to a halfway house, and is more determined than ever to speak with her estranged sister.

 Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. and if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.

My Review:

What a great book. Very well written. I enjoyed the chapters being divided by characters. it made a good mystery easier to follow.

This story reminds us that our decisions, actions and mistakes help shape who we are. What we become and what becomes of the others we affect. We react out of fear, confusion, pain. Allison is feeling all of these things when she and many around her make one decision after another. Did they realize who it would affect? Could she have chosen any other choice? Who is responsible for the decisions a teenager makes? What will they do for someone they love?

This book is a story for any audience with a heart. Anyone who can relate on any level of how naivete and immaturity play such a huge part in any teens life.

I'm so glad that I grab books based on the cover. This is definitely a book I will remember reading! 5 stars!

Review: Miss Spitfire

Miss Spitfire

by Sarah Miller

Quote: " I've tried everything I know. I can't win her love- she won't have any caressing from me. I can't win her confidence because she accepts everything I do for her as a matter of course. There's no coaxing or compromising with her. She will or she won't, and that's the end of it. Sympathy, affection, and fairness mean nothing to her."- Annie Sullivan pg. 95

Started: April 13, 2012

Finished: April 16, 2012

hardcover

208pages

From the cover:

Annie Sullivan was little more than a half-blind orphan with a fiery tongue when she arrived at Ivy Green in 1887. Desperate for work, she'd taken on a seemingly impossible job-teaching a child who was deaf, blind, and as ferocious as any wild animal. But Helen Keller needed more than a teacher. She needed someone daring enough to work a miracle. And if anyone was a match for Helen, it was the girl they used to call Miss Spitfire.

  For Annie, reaching Helen's mind meant losing teeth as raging fists flew. It meant standing up when everyone else had given up. It meant shedding tears at the frustrations and at the triumphs. By telling this inspiring story from Annie Sullivan's point of view, Sarah Miller's debut novel brings an amazing figure to sharp new life. Annie's past, her brazen determination, and her connection to the girl who would call her Teacher have never been clearer.

My Review:

I loved that this book focused on Annie more than Helen. It gave a lot of her history and childhood that I personally had never heard or learned about. For me it was a new look at a great life and story. Now knowing more about Annie's history, I can understand her determination and her "take no crap" attitude. She truly is a survivor of her own fate and hardships. We all have a past we either will learn and grow from or give up and live in self-pity. Annie shows us that whether it was for selfish reasons, as in her need to be accepted, loved and feeling accomplished or that she truly did want to teach and grow as such, things can be done. She not only became a teacher, but also a friend, companion and spokesperson. She, along with Helen set a new bar for human capabilities no matter your physical, mental, or social limitations.

Sarah Miller did an amazing job in teaching us about Annie(Miss Spitfire)!

Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller

Review: Girl, Interrupted

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Quote: "She's completely blotto. Of course, they're giving her something." ~ Georgina pg. 23

started: April 10, 2012

finished: April 12, 2012

paperback(school edition)

168 pages

From the cover:

In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put into a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele-Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles- as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary.

   Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

My Review:

 This is one that I wish, I had I known of it years ago, and had read the book  before seeing the movie. Honestly, the entire time I was reading it I kept seeing Wynonna, Angelina, Brittney, and Whoopi! With that said, it was still a good book. I can say that the movie is pretty much spot on the book. The only big difference is apparently, Valerie(Whoopi Golberg), the head nurse, was a tall, lean, blonde, twenty-something woman!

The book actually does give somewhat of an epilogue which was nice, but since it is non-fiction and Susanna doesn't have contact with any of the characters anymore, there isn't much detail into what happens next for them. 

  This is still a good read. It does make us question what makes a person sane or insane. By whose guidelines are we judged/labeled/diagnosed? If we are insane, do we ever truly "recover"? One of my biggest questions regarding medicating certain "insane" is if they aren't curable, what is the medicine for? Honestly, in SOME cases, I believe they are medicated more so that the caretakers can handle them easier, or not have to deal with them at all. I understand some may need it to protect themselves or others, but it is so heartbreaking seeing people doped up into a comatose state...for what? How sedated do they need to be before they are "safe"?  Which would be worse, believing that you see clowns and water running on the walls, or being strapped to a bed drooling uncontrollably?  Believing that you have 3, 4, more people in your head telling you what to do and not do or being wheeled around in a chair and spoon-fed because you are too doped up to stand or feed yourself?

What are your thoughts? Any opinions on the book/movie or subject?

Review: The Red Church

The Red Church

by Scott Nicholson

Quote: " We both know there's more to this church than just nails and chestnut and rippled glass."~ Archer pg. 113

Started: March 30, 2012

Finished: April 9, 2012

hardback

352 pages

From the cover:

The church was constructed in the 1800s under the guidance of Reverend Wendell McFall. His sermons declared the existence of God's Second Son- whose mission it is to undo all of Jesus' work on Earth. McFall had the church painted red to summon the First Son to defeat the Second. But when he sacrificed a child to support his rantings, his congregation hung him from the rafters of his own sanctuary....

  For twenty years, the red church stood empty. Crumbling to ruin, it has become a site for Halloween pranks and the setting for ghost stories- including one about the thing that lives in the bell tower, a creature being blamed for a brutal murder that occurred in the church's graveyard...

  Now, Archer McFall has purchased the church to house his Temple of the Two Sons- whose zealous worshipers will stop at nothing to see the Second Son return to his rightful glory...

My Review:

I'm not sure how to start this review or what to say first.

I guess for me, I want to say that I am a Christian and by no means believe in what this book is about. With that said, I am not naive either in believing that this can't, doesn't happen somewhere everyday. I mean, there are people obviously who believe differently than myself. This book is about a "cult" that believes God had two sons. One good(Jesus), the other evil(Archer). It shows how easily the human mind can be persuaded into believing almost anything. No matter how out there it may seem to someone else. What people will do and sacrifice for something they believe in. This book has a little religion, paranormal, crime and even romantic implications.

I won't say that I think this book is sacreligious. I see it as a learning bookand entertaining(isn't that why we read?). I'm not going to NOT read something because of what it may be labeled as.(Haven't I told you I will read anything?!?!?) And, after all it IS fiction, right?

Way to go Scott Nicholson !!!

I will be reading more of his books!

Also, this book is the first in the Sherriff Frank Littlefield series! Look it up!