Spoken from the Heart (Laura Bush)

Why I have this book: My MiL loaned it to me.

I love biographies/autobiographies, and I particularly loved the autobiography of Barbara Bush. I was interested to see how it would compare to this autobiography of her daughter-in-law, Laura Bush.

I enjoyed this book... It was interesting to read, and it's always fascinating to peek inside someone else's life. I learned some things I didn't know before and I was also reminded of events that occured during President Bush's administration. Some of it was hard to read, as she talked about the terrorism that hit our nation in 2001 and the scary uncertainties we faced as Americans in the following months/years.

I felt, in some ways, that this book was a rebuttal to the perceptions the media spewed forth during her husband's presidency. I can't say I blame her. I do wish I would have felt like I got to "know" her as much as I felt I got to "know" Barbara Bush from reading her autobio. This one didn't seem as personable, but I did enjoy it and I'm glad I read it.

It's not mine, so no decision to make about whether or not to keep it. If I did own it, I would probably keep it as a history reference if my kids wanted to know more about these years in American history.

Clean.

Wings of Refuge (Lynn Austin)

Why I have this book: It was recommended by my friend, L.

I really, really liked this book. I've enjoyed other books written by Lynn Austin, but I think this one is my favorite so far.

There are several stories told in this book... modern, ancient, and (relatively) recent history. Each story is one of struggle, faith, hate, forgiveness, and peace. The setting is Israel, the Holy Land... and I have to admit that I find the history of Israel to be fascinating. This book reminded me of the book series The Zion Chronicles by Brock and Bodie Thoene. It actually makes me want to read them again.

I would like to keep this one, but I think I will send it to my grandma. She liked the other books by Lynn Austin that I sent to her.

Perfectly Clean.

ETA: I ended up getting the Kindle version in 2017 when it was on sale. I just re-read it in February of 2019. I still liked it, although I think I got into it more deeply the first time I read it. It definitely has a strong message of redemption through the power of God.

Brooklyn Bridge (Karen Hesse)

Why I have this book: I checked it out of our elementary school library... because apparently I'm not working on reading the books I already have on my personal bookshelf. :)

I kind of liked this book, and kind of didn't. It was good... but... I don't know. It had a creepy side story... well, creepy to me. I get creeped out easily. It wasn't really that bad, but I didn't love it. The main story was fun and sort of interesting... but... ???

It was good enough, but it wasn't one that I would say, "Hey, you need to read this book!" If it was mine, I'd probably donate it to the library.

I think it was clean... it is written for the young adult/teenage/upper elementary age. I don't remember anything inappropriate.

The Quilt Trilogy: A Stitch in Time (Ann Rinaldi)

Why I have this book: I checked it out of our elementary school library.

I really liked this book... and thus was very disappointed when I discovered that it really IS a trilogy and I won't know what happens unless I find the other two books. (I thought the title was a play on words, since the story does involve a quilt that is split in three so that each of the three sisters can take a part with them.)

Anyway, our library doesn't have the other two, and they aren't in print anymore. I'm going to have to figure out what to do about it.

This Ann Rinaldi book is loosely based on real characters, but not to the extent of other books she has written.

Clean.