HOPE ROAD

 Author:  John Barlow

Hope Road , a mystery is reviewed by Nan, here at this link
Letters From a Hill Farm
This is Nan's very nice blog that covers a range of topics.  Today's is a book review with photographs from the area written about in Hope Road
By-the-way, the book is only $2.99 today at Amazon.  I haven't read it but Nan has convinced me to do so.  Click on the link above to buy it.

The Warmth of Other Suns

Author: Isabel Wilkerson
Published by Vintage Books 2011
Reviewed by Nellie


     Starting with the story of Ida Mae Brandon Gladney, The Warmth of Other Suns  takes us on a journey that began in 1915 when the first African Americans began to leave The South for cities in the North. As descendants of American slaves, African Americans found many reasons to leave their home for unknown places. They were usually treated poorly, underpaid, undereducated and otherwise mistreated by their whiter neighbors.
     Isabel Wilkerson lovingly tells the story of Ida Mae, Dr. Robert Joseph Pershing Foster and George Swanson Starling as they face hardships in The South and ultimately decide to move north into a world unknown.  Their stories cover the entire scope of The Great Migration from 1915 and continued to 1965 and include great and not-so-great milestones in the history of The United States of America, the "land of the free, home of the brave."
   This is a long book - more than 500 pages - but it is an easy read of a very hard subject.  I considered myself pretty knowledgable of  problems between African Americans and others in America, but what I knew was just the beginning.  in The Warmth of Other Suns, Wilkerson leaves out little but she does so with a warmth and care that makes you care about the characters both their good and less attractive characteristics. She covers a subject that could be depressing but isn't because she shows us the joy and strength of  our human spirit.
     I read this book as quickly as a work of fiction.  It flows freely between time periods but does so in a way that made me glad to travel.  
    I recommend it for people who are interested in learning a part of history seldom written about or people who just like a good story.  A Warmth of Other Suns has several of them.
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News from Dead Mule Swamp

Author:  Joan H. Young

News from Dead Mule Swamp is a just released book from Joan H. Young introducing Anastasia Raven as the central character.  The newly divorced Anastasia or Ana (rhymes with Ghana) has bought a fixer-upper home right next to the Dead Mule Swamp and not too far from Cherry Pit Junction. She seems to be enjoying her new-found freedom and taking out her frustrations against her ex by taking a sledge hammer to the walls and ceiling of the home which she has claimed as her own.
     Things are going just fine until she finds an old newspaper which soon disappears right before she discovers a local man dead in her swamp. The reader works alongside Ana as she learns her way around the community in which she has chosen to live as well as accompanying her while she figures out just what her old newspaper had to do with the recent death.
     At just over 37,500 words, News from Dead Mule Swamp qualifies as a very short novel but that is just the right amount to tell this story.  In this first of the Anastasia Raven mysteries we not only meet Ana, the "star" of the series but we are introduced to several of her neighbors, including the intelligent Cora who is a bit of a mystery, herself.
       Joan Young has been successful in fulfilling several of the things I look for in a book.  The story was entertaining, interesting and made me want to keep reading until I completed the story.  When I was finished, I wanted to read more about Anastasia Raven and her swamp.
     Good News!  I have just read that Ms Young is working on the first sequel, Paddy Plays in Dead Mule Swamp  to read more about it and about other works by Joan H. Young, you may click on this link, Joan Young's Blog.  The link below will take you to Amazon where you can buy the Kindle edition of News from Dead Mule Swamp for just 99 cents.  What a bargain!
     Once you have read it, yourself, write me a note in the comments to let me know how you liked it.
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All God's Creatures

Author:  Carolyn McSparren
Publisher:  Belle Books
Review written by Kimberly Ledsome


All God's Creatures chronicles the life of Maggie McClain, a female veterinarian whose mother wished for her a southern debutante life. She became a vet after rescuing a small puppy who was clinging to life.  The night she rescued this puppy changed her life forever.  From struggling through veterinarian school in the sixties and being one of only two female students, to marrying, opening her  own practice and dealing with the ups and downs of life in her practice, this book is so inspirational.  The stories about the animals are heartfelt as Maggie stuggles to be accepted by the famous horse breeders and the old toothless farmers.  The stories had me laughing and crying. After losing her husband she tries wholeheartedly to find herself and in the end finds out what she knew all along - who she really is.  A must read!