We just finished reading this 2022 Lincoln nominee in BNHS TLC.  It definitely kept us on our toes and our discussions were lively.  We were back and forth the entire time on the main character's guilt or innocence.  This was my 2nd time reading the novel, so my perspective was a bit different than the other members.  Even at the end, I viewed things differently.   I really enjoyed the book and it made me look at things through different lenses which is something I like as it helps me grow as a person.  Let me know what you think. 

 Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it? She wouldn’t say.

Mary survived six years in baby jail before being dumped in a group home. The house isn’t really “home”—no place where you fear for your life can be considered a home. Home is Ted, who she meets on assignment at a nursing home.

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past. And her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But who really knows the real Mary?   ~Goodreads

This is an older (2008) YA Fantasy (book 1) novel with a strong female lead but equally strong male counterparts.  I really enjoyed it.  It was a bit different from some of the more recent fantasies.  I would definitely pick up book 2 in this series and that says a lot for me.  It has to be good for me to keep going in a series.  

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.   ~Goodreads

My reading for pleasure has been a bit dry lately.  I generally enjoy reading fiction, but this book is nonfiction.  I took 2 college courses this summer which had a ton of reading. This book is actually one of them that I had to read for class.  (Shhh...I'm not done with it yet and yes, the class is over!)  I did get an A though:)  We actually had the author come to our class and talk to us about this book.  It was pretty awesome.  I don't remember learning too much about Charles Lindbergh in school.  I knew he was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and his son was kidnapped.  In my opinion he was an okay guy who improved our abilities to fly.  After reading part of the book, my opinion has changed drastically.  Looking for a different read that may or may not make you  feel uncomfortable, take a look at this book.  

Build a wall. America First. Foreign invaders. While these phrases echo standard Trump rally talking points, they were first uttered by Charles Lindbergh. Fleming digs into her subject's complicated life to uncover his true character. Following the birth of aviation, the skies were dangerous and unruly. Anyone who wanted to fly could. Lindbergh heartily accepted the challenge: as a showman, an army pilot, an airmail pilot, and finally as the first man to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. His unprecedented feat turned him into an overnight sensation and also marked the beginning of his antipathy toward the press. Unfortunately, his fame brought tragedy when his first child was kidnapped and murdered. What followed was the original "trial of the century." Fleming's moment-by-moment narration of Lindbergh's flight and the loss of his child evokes excitement and grief. But there is more to his story. Lindbergh was the creator of an artificial heart, an early environmentalist, an advocate of eugenics, a Nazi sympathizer, and a leader of the America First Committee. He derided a free press and blamed American Jewish people for leading the country into war. He glorified fascism while claiming to be a patriot. This biography, told in short, easy-to-read chapters, at times reads like a suspense novel. Fleming successfully deconstructs the public persona of Lindbergh and highlights how some of the aviator's core values (nationalism, xenophobia) echo the country's current political and social unrest.    ~ School Library Journal

I read this one over Spring Break to escape the reality of life.  It worked, but I walked into a world of conflict and sadness.  The main character, Theodosia, was only six when her mother was murdered in front of her by an invading kingdom.  She then suffers the next 10 years as the Ash Princess.  I like the fantasy genre, but I felt as if I had read this plot before.  I think it's just me looking for something different.  I enjoyed the book and will probably continue the series because of course it's a series.  Will you like the book? As my favorite podcaster likes to say, "That's for you decide." (History Goes Bump)

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess--a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here. 

Oct. 2020

I finished reading this book about a week ago for one of my grad classes.  I'm still thinking about it.  I live a life of privilege.  I know this.  However, reading this book and seeing the pictures takes my breath away and makes me feel a shame for living such a life of luxury.  I had no idea how bad it is in Central America.  I didn't realize that they are thought to be beneath Mexicans on the food chain.  I didn't realize that mothers left children to come to American so that her babies can eat.  I didn't realize the horrors that immigrants face as they make the trek through Mexico to come to the US.  I didn't realize the damage that gangs and corrupt police have done.  I didn't realize.  At a time when empathy and kindness is so needed, this a wonderful book to pick up and place you in that mindset.  I went through so many emotions, anger, righteousness, wonder, sympathy, and guilt to name a few.   It's one that has remained in my heart and soul. 

This is from Goodreads:

In this astonishing true story, award-winning journalist Sonia Nazario recounts the unforgettable odyssey of a Honduran boy who braves unimaginable hardship and peril to reach his mother in the United States.

When Enrique is five years old, his mother, Lourdes, too poor to feed her children, leaves Honduras to work in the United States. The move allows her to send money back home to Enrique so he can eat better and go to school past the third grade. 

With gritty determination and a deep longing to be by his mother's side, Enrique travels through hostile, unknown worlds. Each step of the way through Mexico, he and other migrants, many of them children, are hunted like animals. Gangsters control the tops of the trains. Bandits rob and kill migrants up and down the tracks. Corrupt cops all along the route are out to fleece and deport them. To evade Mexican police and immigration authorities, they must jump onto and off the moving boxcars they call El Tren de la Muerte- The Train of Death. Enrique pushes forward using his wit, courage, and hope - and the kindness of strangers. It is an epic journey, one thousands of immigrant children make each year to find their mothers in the United States. 

I had to go into my Goodreads account because I couldn't remember when I read the series.  Yes, I'm a series girl.  It looks like it was over Winter Break into January.  

Seriously loved this series!  It's a good thing I had book 2 when I finished Scythe because I dove right into the second book.  I made sure to order the 3rd book before I finished book 2.   I liked that it was a different take on technology and the future.  The world has created perfection and immortatlity, but how do you keep the population in check?  Scythes.   As with all books and human nature in general, there are always those that crave for more and those that fight that urge for the good of humankind.