French Braid by Anne Tyler

French Braid by Anne Tyler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Kimberly Farr, this story and the characters meant nothing to me; I could not identify with them, warm up to any of them, and I wasn't enjoying any of the plot. This family left me feeling flat...I wish I could have enjoyed it more...

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A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This audiobook was awesomely narrated by Polly Stone! My heart ached for Christina and her brother, Al but they loved their home, family, and each other during a life that gave her happiness, physical pain with her arms and legs, and her friendship with Betsy and Andrew Wyeth. Andy was quirky, shy, quiet but driven to paint and paint he did---he literally takes over the upper rooms of Christina and Andy's home and prodigiously paints their farm, Christina and Andy in their normal routine. I loved this foursome, Andrew Wyeth and bubbly Betsy his friendly, outspoken, kind wife and Christina and Al who the reader sees grow up with a taciturn father and cold mother, assorted brothers, relatives, and the people of their shore town in Maine. With a view of history, a small farming community, and the life and personalities of Christina and her brother, Kline moved this reader with her words, characters, history of the times, and how the beauty of art rescues Christina and her world.

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Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nina Moreno, awesome debut author, sucked me into Rosa's world and family and I so enjoyed the ride (on land and sea!!!) as this brave firecracker Lantinx girl into making lists, getting others excited about projects, and trying to navigate the world of her grandmother, Mimi, who will not tell Rosa anything about her life and love in Cuba and her mom who just keeps leaving. Both Mimi and her mother are dealing with grief in their own way---they have lost their men to the sea and now Rosa is cursed as well, or is she? Oh did I love the world and beauty of the seaside town, Port Coral ---Rosa and her family and friends bring so much to this world (food, fun, music) , I want to live there too! Whether she is saving the town or herself, I rooted for Rosa!!! Thanks to my friends @summerathon for recommending this book as a perfect summer read!!! I can't wait for next year!

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Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this Stonewall Honor Award book for the 2019 HUB Reading Challenge. I listened to it and the audio narration was done by Chloe Cannon and she was superb! Ivy's story is one middle grade readers will want to read for all the contemporary issues it tackles in a really good story (LGBTQ, coming of age, friendship, family and loneliness) but readers will be gripped by the tornado and the havoc it rekes, both immediately and in the future. I enjoyed getting to know Ivy through her thoughts, words, and "stormy" pictures, major drama with her sister, Layla and feeling left out after the twins are born. The resiliency project,both Ivy and June were working on really showed these girls as they wanted the world to see them. Awesome book, I LOVED IT!

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Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Joy McCullough's beautiful, devastating historical fiction novel in verse shows the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, guided by her mother's stories of strong women in the Bible, used by her father, raped by her teacher, all the while producing artwork that her father signed. The reader feels the highs and lows of Artemisia's life in Renaissance Italy as she toils in a dinghy room, mixing paints, drawing sketches for painting, and not feeling any love by her father, brothers and caretaker. She wants love, acknowledgment, and must, in the end, only count on the famous women of the Bible, to keep her strong as she tries to take back her life. Gripping, sensual, and breathtaking, highly recommended!!!

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