by Haven Kimmel
Rated PG
If I tell you this book is simply a collection of the author's childhood memories, you'll never want to read it, so pretend I didn't say that. You do want to read it. Somehow Ms. Kimmel manages to conjure up her childhood in such a way that you feel you remember old Mrs. So-and-So who lived across the street, or the friend who was half bully, half BFF.
Although I've seen this book described as a memoir of a completely normal childhood, I disagree. There are definitely hints of darkness, such as a chapter called "Things My Father Lost Gambling", or descriptions of a mother who seems to never leave the couch, except to go to church. Still, they are just hints, and I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because the author writes as though she has retained all of her childhood innocence. You see each character through a child's eyes, which means that Dad, though a gambler and a chain smoker, is still a hero somehow.
Not to mention it's laugh out loud funny at times, which we all need!
This book is rated PG for a handful of language and hints of darker themes here and there.
books that are clean, clean books for book club,
