The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this with my Albright College Zoom Book Club. Narrated by Dominic Hoffman, this historical fiction has everything; racism, social class distinctions, family, friendship, sorrow, humor, and hope. But it is the way McBride tells this story of Jews & Blacks living in the Chicken Hill area of Pottstown, PA in the 1920s. I went to Albright College in Reading so I loved reading landmarks, cities, & hospitals in this compulsively readable book. I could not stop listening! The characters Chona, Dodo, Nate & his wife, Bernice, and Monkey Pants were my favorites but all characters were authentic. I rooted for the many subplots & McBride did not disappoint! This is a stellar must read; I highly recommend it!

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Liar's Bench by Kim Michele Richardson

Liar's Bench by Kim Michele Richardson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this historical fiction debut and Muddy's fight for answers when her mother is found hanged and is then ruled suicide. Muddy can't believe it and searches for answers with her love interest friend, Bobby (who passes for white but is black and Indian) as they fight racism, bigotry, and secrets in small town and small minded Kentucky. What will happen to Muddy? A great mystery and thriller taking place in 1972 with flashes back to the history of Bobby's people.

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Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins

Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hannah has a cousin, Cal who comes to live with them and upsets her life with her parents, gymnastics, and school, because his sense of humor is not always appreciated. Once again Hopkins brings the reader a raw real book about the meaning of family and what it takes to become family. I especially liked Hannah's mom, Taryn, as she accepts Cal into the family after her sister's death and her evil husband's incarceration. Cal has many problems Hannah is unaware of because of his abusive, drug addicted and alcoholic father. But with Cal coming to live with Hannah's family fissures in her mom and dad's relationship becomes even more fractured. Their grandmother dislikes Cal and compares him to his father and this also aggravates Cal's behavior and responses. I could not stop turning the pages as Hannah's POV and Cal's POV, both real and haunting, reveal their staunch desire to keep their family together. I can't wait to read Hopkins next middle grade novel in verse, What About Will, when it comes out in September 2021.

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The Unbreakable Child by Kim Michele Richardson

The Unbreakable Child by Kim Michele Richardson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG, what a book; Kim and her sisters' go from a drug addicted mother to the St. Thomas / Saint Vincent Orphan Asylum in Kentucky where she endures a decade of beatings, torture, and spewed invective from nuns and priests. When her sister implores Kim to enter a lawsuit against this orphanage and those in power who abused 40 children. While I admired this courage from Kim, she also shortchanged herself by ignoring those who asked her to consider counseling. Maybe writing the books was her counseling but with her supportive husband and their enduring love I know Kim would find some solace. The way she shut down during the questioning by the lawyers during the deposition was enough evidence that she was not thinking correctly, counseling would have helped her---but Kim has decided to go this alone. A must read but tormenting, and life destroying for those 40 orphans, readers will be up ended with the evil that lived in those poor childrens' lives during the 1960s.

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Craving (Steel Brothers Saga, #1) by Helen Hardt

Craving by Helen Hardt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first Helen Hardt book, recommended by a friend (you know who you are) because she knows I like romances. Talon is a tortured adult because of what happened to him as a child. He is broken and has not been able to move on; his brothers (only know part of the story) and his sister, Marjorie, have lived with Talon's issues. It is when Jade, Marjorie's best friend, is jilted at the altar and Marj begs her to come live on their ranch that things get interesting. Talon is a puzzle, doesn't talk much, but when jade can't sleep her first night at the ranch and decides to visit the kitchen she finds Talon staring at a glass of water. What happens next is explosive and continues without any of the family knowing. Talon's all consuming kiss hooks both Jade and Talon. This begins the story of these two strangers finding solace in each other. There is also Talon's back story that is seen through flashbacks, tough to read and mysterious in many ways.

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Watermark (Broken Bell, Book 1) by Elise Schiller

Watermark by Elise Schiller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Told in alternating narratives by Angel’s sister and Angel’s best friend, this gritty urban fiction novel takes place in Philadelphia with oldest sister, Angel, ardent protector of her three younger sisters while juggling school, swim team practice, holding down a job at the laundromat all while their mother, Pic, is selfish, absent, abusive, drug addicted, alcoholic and married to Frank (who hates Angel, does not work, feeds Pic drugs and invective). What I loved about this book are the many supportive people in Angel’s life who step in and make a difference. When their mother is in rehab, their grandparents take them and provide a very stable environment. CJ is the coach of the swim team who sees Angel’s worth on the team while also grooming her to succeed in life; he is tough but fair and pushes Angel to swim her best time and time again, even when her life is falling apart. Angel is a teen; strong, flawed, but very likable; she speaks her mind (which pits her against her mother and Frank), is devoted to her sisters and friends. From Jeannine and Alex, their story/life of Angel, is riveting, shocking, and just so real. Jeannine has so much inner turmoil, she stops going to school, self medicates, rarely eats and leaves the house. Alex has the nice house, is best friends with Angel, and has a friendly mother where Angel feels comfortable enough to relax and even confide. The desperate search for Angel when she does not come home New Year’s Eve is heart wrenching. What happened to Angel and will she be found in time? A highly recommended ripped from the headlines read that teens and adults alike will not be able to put down. Even better, this is the first in a series, Broken Bell; I can’t wait for the second book. I love Elise Schiller’s writing, her characters, and portrayal of Philadelphia with beauty and authenticity. A must read! Due out in May, 2020.

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Monday's Not Cominig by Tiffany D. Jackson

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this book has traumatized me; Jackson's story of Claudia's "search" or "journey" for her best friend (they have the strongest sisterly bond) when she returns from her annual summer vacation visiting her grandmother is fraught with so much mental anguish for Claudia (and me) because no one worries about where Monday is except Claudia. It also does not help that there is so much evasiveness by adults (parents, school, agencies) with this ripped from the headlines story of the awful life children suffer (and hide the truth) from. As the reader goes from Chapters titled by month, or The Before, or The After, or One Year Before the Before (or Two Years Before the Before) poor Claudia finds that maybe her best friend held many secrets from her and she asks herself why? as she learns more and more about Monday and her life in the Ed Borough, the urban ghetto. Once again, I really did not like most of the adults in this story (the only one who was really concerned and acted upon it time and again was 7th grade English teacher, Ms Valente) even her mother and father were walls Claudia came up against time and time again in her search for Monday. I highly recommend this book, it will open many teens eyes to the harsh existence many of their classmates endures and will hopefully create empathy and awareness to deal with this all too real problem in our world.

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Roughneck by Jeff Lemire

Roughneck by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this awesome graphic novel as part of the 2018 HUB Challenge because it is an Alex Award winner. Jeff Lemire's discussion of indigenous people, fractured families, ice hockey, and violence in this harshly, real illustrated graphic novel really moved me. Derek and his sister's plight- a violent father and sweet mother taken from them too quickly is just one thread in this must read graphic novel that takes place in Pimatamon but also explores their lives- Derek's with ice hockey and the violence afterward and drug addicted, Mary with an abusive boyfriend. The secondary characters were so authentic and really fleshed out the plot. Highly recommended. If you like to read about ice hocky and it's grip- Bear Town by Fredrik Backman is good also.

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The Journey of Hannah Woods by Helene Forst

The Journey of Hannah Woods by Helene Forst
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was so happy to receive this book from the author; what a compelling, satisfying read. Hannah Woods is the kind of protagonist the reader will enjoy getting to know. When we meet first meet her, she is inwardly freaking out at her father’s funeral. As a fourteen year old, Hannah lets the reader know she is suffering from panic attacks, hears voices cruelly putting her down, and relies heavily on drugs. After the funeral, this Hannah will leave the only home she has ever known and go to live with grandparents she didn’t realize she had. It is in this “new” home with down-to- earth grandparents, and a very strong, knowledgeable network of doctors where Hannah begins her epic journey. We learn from Hannah that she did not have a loving father or mother (they were very neglectful), was constantly under the care of nannies, home-schooled by tutors, and had only one person she could count on as a child, the head housekeeper, Winnie. Nothing was normal in her life; Hannah grew up alone, afraid, and always anxious. What I really loved about Hannah as I read this book was her positive attitude. She may have been terrified, but she did not give up hope. On the cusp of adolescence, she must attend high school, participate in class, and meet friends while she withdraws from heavy duty drugs and lives a normal life. It is this Hannah who learns how to surf, play volleyball, ice skate, become active in a Save the Earth Club, and begin to heal, express herself (through poetry) and learn how to savor life and love. I enjoyed the authentic characters Forst provides in Hannah’s loving, working grandparents, high school friends Emma and Eli, and remarkable Drs. Weinstein and Hope. This book was a journey for the reader and Hannah, and one I am very happy I made. As Hannah explores her new life in Crystal Cove, the reader is learning what it is like to have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, fears, and anxieties. The reader roots for Hannah as she fights valiantly to control her life without drugs and learns to welcome the real Hannah Woods, “perfectly balanced” and “courageously dreaming.”

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