Dear Mr. Knightley

by Katherine Reay
Rated PG

A captivating tale, told in letter form, of a seemingly tough but oh-so-vulnerable young woman who is trying to find her place in the world after growing up in the foster care system. Completely unsure of her own opinions, she has always hidden behind dialogue crafted by her favorite authoresses, namely Austen and Bronte, when she can't think of anything original to say, which is nearly always.

Our heroine, Sam, receives an incredible offer of support to get her through college from an anonymous benefactor, who requests only that she write to him occasionally to update him on her progress. This book is the collection of her letters to this benefactor, whom she addresses as Mr. Knightly. She opens herself up to him on paper as she never would in person, and her story unfolds as one of perseverance, grit and compassion.

If you love Jane Austen, you'll be captivated by the little inside jokes Sam creates as she uses Austen's dialogue as her own. And if you don't love Jane Austen, give this book a try anyway. It's got a good heart.

Rated PG, it's a clean book with some darkness as different characters grapple with past tragedies.

stir

by Jessica Fechtor
Rated PG

I had a craving for memoir, and I picked stir up by happenstance. By which I mean, it happened to catch my eye from a display at the library, so I checked it out. And ended up loving it so much I will probably buy it as well.

Fechtor weaves the story of an unlikely brain aneurysm that struck in her 20s with her love of cooking, and even more, of feeding those she loves. She writes gently, as though stirring something that mustn't be handled too much, as in, when entering her apartment after ages in the hospital, she writes, "I felt shy but welcome, as though I'd shown up late somewhere important to find that someone had saved me a seat." In this way she leads the reader through years where her memories of and experiences with food finally awaken in her the truth that she is still "she", still Jessica Fechtor. Deliciously, every chapter culminates with recipes for the foods most important to her.

I admit I'm not an accomplished cook, only a good enough cook. This is why Fechtor has so endeared herself to me by taking her time with the recipes she writes. She's in no hurry to lead you along to the finished product. Ingredients, methods, even sometimes utensils or receptacles are explained and even adored. For example, where most people would write "saute the onion", Fechtor writes, "...add the onion, and saute until it softens, goes translucent, and browns a little around the edges." When it comes time for you, the cook, to saute the onion in this recipe, there will be no doubt when you've done it right, will there?

And certainly, the book is sparkling clean. Not a drop of bad language or anything else to besmirch this beautiful memoir.

Get a glimpse of this author's writing style and recipes on her food blog at http://sweetamandine.com.

The Alchemist

By Paulo Coelho
Rated: PG

Santiago was just a shepherd boy - but not just a shepherd boy. He was a boy who had already left his family to become a shepherd in order to follow his dream of traveling. For several weeks, while resting in a field with his sheep, he had a recurring dream in which he was led to a place where he would find a hidden treasure. In confusion he went to a woman who could interpret dreams. What she told him and guidance provided by a mysterious king led him on a journey to find his personal legend; a trip that takes him over the sea, into foreign lands, through desert sands and through a war.

A story with a strong philosophical bent, I found there were many interesting coincidences and links between characters that a reader may not fully realize until reading through it second time. The book is spotlessly clean and would be an interesting read for teenagers, adults and seems to cry out for a book club.

Fever

by Mary Beth Keane
Rated PG-13

This well-researched novel chronicles the life of the unfortunately nicknames "Typhoid Mary", a woman who appears to be in perfect health, but is accused of being an asymptomatic carrier of the deadly Typhoid virus.

As medical science plows through uncharted waters in the early 1900s, Mary finds herself in her own uncharted waters - forced to live for years in quarantine on a little island, surrounded by a bunch of tuberculosis patients and nurses wanting to get samples from her every other day.

Mary's decisions as she struggles to come to terms with the abrupt changes in her life, and her undulating relationship with Alfred, her live-in boyfriend of many years, are spellbinding. I kept thinking, "I can't believe this could really happen to someone!"

I really wanted to rate this book PG because it is pretty mild, but there are a couple of paragraphs that allude to physical intimacy, and I promised no sexuality in my PG ratings, so there you go :)  Also, there are a handful of swear words: about 10 occurrences, mostly one certain word used to describe the ever present filth in the streets of the tenements.

This would be a great book club read.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

By Muriel Barbery
Rated: PG-13

What is a humble concierge at No. 7, Rue de Grenelle, Paris (a very exclusive address, you know) to do when she knows she doesn't fit the preconceived image of a concierge? Why, pretend, of course. Pretend to be slow, stupid, addicted to bad television, and unable to comprehend even a shallow thought, much less a deep one. Renee lives for her solitary passions: philosophy, great literature, any book that expands her knowledge, great art and great music. But she indulges these passions oh so carefully, so no one suspects she is anything more than the surface image she presents. Paloma, the hyper-intelligent 12-year-old daughter of a wealthy tenant, hides behind a wall of silence. No one knows of her troubles, her dreams, her plans, or the extent of her perspicacity. Lonely and alone, these two hide themselves from the world around them, not realizing how life could change with a little openness and camaraderie. But sometimes, thankfully, there are people who see us even when we're hiding and such was Monsieur Ozu. What a difference one person can make. And how perspectives can shift when we know there is one person who truly sees and understands beauty.

I will be honest and say that at first I did not like this book. It was depressing and seemed to try just a bit too hard to be intellectual. But I had a high recommendation from a friend so I kept reading. To my surprise, I found that each time, I was picking up the book a bit more eagerly. Then I found myself nodding along with some of the insights from a character's inner monologue. And then I reached the turning of the tide, the point of no return that comes in a good book where no matter how late it is, you just have to finish it. I loved it. I have rated it PG-13 mostly because Paloma is obsessed with planning her own suicide and I felt that pushed the rating up higher than it otherwise would have had. There is the occasional use of a curse word as well.

The First Phone Call From Heaven

by Mitch Albom
Rated PG

The small town of Coldwater, Michigan is turned upside down when residents begin receiving phone calls from the dead. Suddenly, daughters are getting calls from mothers, mothers from sons, businessmen from partners...is it real, or some sort of complex hoax?

It would seem much of the world believes the phone calls are real, as strangers from all over begin flocking to Coldwater to get a glimpse of the "chosen ones" who receive the calls. Sully Harding, however, is one man who does not believe. A single father whose wife died tragically and recently, Sully is determined that his little son not be duped into thinking his Mama might pick up the phone and call him from heaven. There's enough hurt without that.

As Sully quietly investigates the calls, he finds things he never expected. And that's the premise at the heart of this whole book - what would it mean if the unexpected happened?

A fun, clean mystery, this book is rated PG for suspense and mild references to violence and suicide. This book is really completely clean - thank you Mitch Albom!

Great choice for book club.

The Rent Collector

by Camron Wright
Rated PG

I've been on the waiting list at the library to read this book, and when my turn came I zipped right through it in a couple of days :)

This novel is loosely based on a real family in Cambodia, who make their living, and their home, in the dump, scavenging for metal and glass that they can exchange for barely more than enough money to feed their family each day. They are one of many families surviving in this manner.

The ornery, unsympathetic rent collector is a woman loathed by all, until one young mother, Sang Ly, finds out by accident that this woman used to be an honored university professor, a fact she has kept secret for all her drunken years collecting rent at the dump. Sang Ly manages to convince the rent collector to teach her to read, hoping that it will lead to a better future for her and her son, and her journey changes everything - and everyone.

I really enjoyed this book. It was equal parts unsettling and gratifying.

Rated PG for some gang violence that goes on in the dump, including a child gang member who is beaten to death, so if you are reading this with your children, watch for that. There is also the rent collector's fondness for alcohol.

Until I Say Good-Bye

by Susan Spencer-Wendel
Rated PG

When 44-year-old Susan Spencer-Wendel was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, she knew it would be fatal, and perhaps quickly so. But she was determined to leave her family with a legacy of joy, rather than sorrow.

Until I Say Good-Bye chronicles Susan's (pretty successful) attempt to live joyfully alongside her disease, committed to counting what remained instead of all she had lost. And when your muscles begin to die one by one, you lose quite a bit. She actually typed this whole book on an iPhone with her thumb, the only digit she could still control.

Susan's optimism and ability to tell her story with humor and just the right amount of sentiment kept me glued to this book. Certainly a good choice for book club, since we all have plenty to think, and talk, about when confronting the tragedies of others and our own what-ifs.

Rated PG for a smattering of swear words.

A Girl Named Zippy

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.


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The Lifeboat

by Charlotte Rogan
Rating: PG-13

It is two years after the Titanic has sunk. War is quickly coming to Europe and newlyweds Grace and Henry quickly book first class passage on the Empress Alexandra, trying to get back home to New York. The only darkness on Grace's horizon is the thought of meeting Henry's family, a well-to-do banking family. Her darkness quickly expands as a mysterious explosion rocks the ship and Henry miraculously gets her into a lifeboat with 38 other people, including one crew member, leaving Henry behind. For the next several weeks, Grace and the others in the lifeboat discover what survival really means and just what they are willing to do to ensure it for themselves. When life is restricted to the very next moment, you never think what will happen when you actually manage to survive. What happens when a court of law holds you accountable for the atrocities that occurred in the terrible name of survival?

As with the others I've recently reviewed, this book was well-written. But this one was deeply disturbing to me. I guess it is the spectre of confronting what darkness could lie in each of us - in me - in similar circumstances. We like to believe that we would be noble and moral. That no circumstance could change our convictions about right and wrong. This book forces us to question - would we? Would we really?

There was no bad language that I can recall and no sexual references. There was a scene or two of sometimes brutal violence, although not bloody, and much death - sometimes by choice and sometimes by force. This is not light summer reading and only read it if you are prepared to feel internal upheaval. It certainly brings a lot of larger points and ideas for discussion which makes it good for a book club.

The Light Between Oceans

by M.L. Stedman
Rated PG-13

Living on a remote island with only her quiet, steady husband Tom and a lighthouse for company, young Isabel Sherbourne suffers through two miscarriages and a stillbirth on her own. When, two weeks after she's buried her stillborn baby, a boat floats up on shore carrying a dead man, a woman's sweater, and a tiny baby, Isabel believes she has received a gift from God. Against Tom's ardent pleas to report the incident and turn the baby over to the authorities, Isabel names the baby and keeps her for her own, certain the child is better off with them than in an orphanage.

Two years later, Tom and Isabel, with little toddler Lucy, have been granted shore leave, and arrive on the mainland to discover that they are not as isolated as they thought, that their choice has had consequences they were unwilling to imagine.

Steadman draws you so steadily into the emotions of each character than you are stunned to realize you don't know who to feel sorrier for. This novel can only end in tragedy, no matter the outcome. I couldn't put it down.

The book has one brief husband/wife sexual comment, and some scattered incidents of taking the Lord's name in vain, earning it a PG-13 rating.

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The Enchanted April

by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Rated PG

I'll file this 1922 novel under "Classics I'd Never Heard Of." Until I saw it mentioned as a reader favorite in a magazine article, that is. Of course, I'm always on the lookout for good books, so I picked it up at my local library right away and dug in.

The Enchanted April is aptly named, telling the story of 4 London women, near strangers to each other, who share a month's holiday at an Italian villa. Each with her own reason for desiring a few weeks of solitude and beauty, they find their attitudes and even their attributes changing as the spell of the place infects them.

A quaint little read in some ways, there were also moments where I cried in my mind, "Yes, that's just how it is!" Take as an example Lotty, a woman who entered the villa dissatisfied with nearly every aspect of her life, but as the serenity and beauty of her surroundings softens her heart and fills it with love instead of gloom, she finds it so much easier to overlook the shortcomings in others that used to plague her, to love without regard to being loved in return...in short, to be her better self. Whew! That was a long sentence, sorry about that. Hopefully, after reading this novel, you're so full of love that you'll disregard my literary shortcomings.

There are certain roundabout references in the book to the married bedroom, and one husband who makes a living writing biographies of royals and their mistresses, meriting the PG rating, but the references are general and vague, and I feel safe in saying this is a clean book.


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I Am David

by Anne Holm
Rated PG

A blog reader wrote to tell me that this is her all-time favorite book, and although it was written for 9-13 year olds, I will be posting this under our Favorites also.

David is about 12 years old when he is given the chance to escape from the concentration camp that he has lived in all his life, or at least for as long as he can remember.

With no known family and nothing but a parcel of bread and matches to sustain him, he sets out for freedom and a place where he can belong.

Imagine what the world would look like if you'd seen nothing but the dreary surroundings and deathly countenances of a concentration camp your whole life! I found myself newly discovering the truly important things in this world through the eyes of David, as he sees and feels everything for the first time.

The profound sacrifice of a friend will either propel David to live or die...I let you discover which it is for yourself.

This book is perfectly clean in language and inference. I rated it PG because the subject matter can be kind of intense - he is a boy all alone and living in constant fear of being caught by evil people. However, this book begins on the day David escapes the concentration camp, so you won't find any of the brutalities you'd expect from a book set during war-time. Great, clean book club choice - Chapter 8 will give you plenty to discuss!


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The Boy Who Dared

by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Rated PG-13

A friendly blog reader emailed me to recommend that I read this book. Thank you, we always love a good recommendation!

The Boy Who Dared is a short historical novel about Helmuth, a young Mormon boy growing up in Nazi Germany. As Hitler rises to power and Helmuth begins to witness more and more atrocities against his own neighbors, he must decide whether to protect himself by keeping silent, or to speak out against evil. With the help of an illegal shortwave radio, a typewriter, and three courageous friends, Helmuth chooses to take a stand. How long can he keep it up without getting caught? And can he really trust the boys he's confided in?

Because this book is based on a true story, there are no magical happy endings here. But there is a wonderful message of doing what's right even when it's hard, and of being cared for by God when men are working to destroy your body and spirit.

If your teens pick up this book, they will quickly get involved in the intense story and probably finish it in one day.

This book does not contain any bad language or sexuality. I rated it PG-13 because man's inhumanity to man (including beatings and interrogations) can be really hard for younger readers, so I do think this book is for ages 13 and up.

The theme of speaking out when the cost may be great and when everyone around you is silent makes this a good choice for book club.


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A Long Walk to Water

by Linda Sue Park
                              Rated G

If the question you're asking is, "How do I get my kids to be thankful for what they have?", the answer is, "Have them read this book."

In A Long Walk to Water, Ms. Park weaves together the story of two children who are growing up in Sudan at two different times. One, Nya, spends eight hours each day doing nothing but collecting water for her family. The other, Salva, must run from his schoolhouse in the middle of the day to escape rebel fighting that has broken out. Separated from his family, and walking for months from one refugee camp to another, it seems like Salva's string of heartbreaks will never end. He is a Lost Boy, in every sense of the word, yet somehow finds an amazing strength of spirit that allows him to persevere.

Based on Salva's true story, this novel was written for children, and as such, it evokes the emotions of living in a war-torn country, without the horror that you find in books such as Left to Tell. There is sadness, but also hope.

Not only is this book clean in language and theme, but I also think it's important. I can almost guarantee that no matter what your circumstances are, your family has a much higher standard of living and convenience than the families in this book. It was a good reminder for me, and hopefully it will be for my kids, also.

BONUS! The book is also interesting and short :)


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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

By Betty Smith

Rated: PG-13

Growing up during the early 1900's in the slums of Brooklyn, Francie and her brother Neely know their share of hardship. Their charming drunk of a father gets only occasional gigs as a singing waiter so the family's survival relies on the small income brought home by their mother's cleaning jobs and whatever pennies the kids get for selling scrap. This is primarily a story about Francie: her joys and pains as she grows and learns about the world around her and as she searches for her dreams.

This is a beautiful, poignant story of growing up, family relationships, and the foundation of wisdom. I found I really grew attached to the characters, mostly because they seemed more than just characters. They are vividly written with such great depth that I felt I would recognize them if they walked by.

This is absolutely a must-read and would be ideal for a book club. There is mild cursing and reference to mature subject matter, although nothing explicit. However, due to these considerations, I gave this book a PG-13 rating. This book would most likely be appreciated by older teens and adults.

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A Novel Bookstore

by Laurence Cosse

Rated PG

A delightful twist on a murder mystery, A Novel Bookstore follows two characters who come up with the fanciful idea to open a bookstore that sells only "good" literature. As the public, the press, and especially the  authoring world take issue with what constitutes a worthy novel, strange things begin to happen, like a host of similar bookstores suddenly opening up on the same street.

People do get hurt or die in this novel, but the violence is extremely mild and the murder itself is really only alluded to. This was a really fun read and would be great for a book club.

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Wish You Well

by David Baldacci

Rated PG

12-yr-old Louisa Cardinal and her 7-yr-old brother are suddenly thrust from their life in 1940s New York City to the rustic mountains of Virginia by the force of a tragic accident. From a poor but happy existence with their mom and dad, they go to a truly poverty-stricken and hard scrabble life with their great-grandma, also named Louisa Cardinal.

As loss after loss threatens to overwhelm these two children, the characters and the reader are saved from despair by simple acts of kindness performed by neighbors, along with a miracle or two.

A fascinating look into a life scratched out at the top of a mountain, Wish You Well contains no sexuality or innuendo, a very tiny smattering of language, and is rated PG because of some violence in the form of fistfights. This is a very clean and enjoyable novel.

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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

by Jamie Ford

Rated PG

This novel could be described in many ways: as an exposition of the difficulties faced by Asian immigrants living out World War II  in the United States, an exploration of the dynamics of father-son relationships, or a "road not taken" tale, but I think it's best described as a love story.

Henry Lee lost his heart to Keiko when he was just a boy, but during the time of WWII, it was unthinkable for a boy of Chinese descent to love a Japanese girl, although both children were born and raised in America.

When Keiko and her family are shipped off to an internment camp, Henry believes he has lost her forever. Then one day, 40 years later, a parasol is found in the basement of an old hotel, a reminder of times past that forces Henry to examine feelings he buried deeply decades ago.

I love the integrity of the characters in this story, and it truly is a novel both bitter and sweet. One of my new favorites!

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The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

Rated PG

Okay, okay, I know...you've all probably read this one already, and I hate to be trendy, but here goes...

The Help is a novel that centers on three brave women, one white and two black, who work together to secretly document the lives of the black maids who work for white families in Mississippi.

The voice of the book switches back and forth between these three characters, which keeps the story interesting and fresh throughout, and allows the reader to feel like she's experiencing the risk they are all taking. If and when their book is published, will the people in their small town see their own lives within the assumed names that are used? If they do, the lives of the women who put the book together will not only change, but will likely be in danger.

Of course, to me, the other interesting story is the one behind the book. This is the author's first novel, it's been wildly successful, and is being made into a movie. And, her relationship with the black maid employed by her family when she was a child inspired the story. Now that's a story!

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