One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
One Plus One is the story of a single mom of three – a mathematical wunderkind daughter, the son of her estranged husband and his ex, and a stinky, lovable dog – and her fight to give her children a better life. When her daughter is offered a spot at a prestigious school with a generous scholarship, she must find a way to afford the rest. A math competition is announced, and the top prize is enough money to pay the school fees. The only […]
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie & Associates
“Every man is entitled to be valued for his best moments.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson’s quote above sums up this book quite nicely. How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age is a lesson on effective relationship building, which can be applied to anyone in your life – personally or professionally. The authors write, “Which relationship is most strained in your life right now? What would it look like if you began focusing on that person’s best moments and sought to affirm […]
Just Like a Mama by Alice Faye Duncan
When I first read the title, I thought it said Just Like Mama. No “A.” And that for certain changes the meaning of the book. Just Like a Mama is a modern story about the things a “not mom” does to help the young child of the story. Mama Rose might not be the “actual” mother, but she loves the narrator (Carol Olivia Clementine), makes her do her chores, tells her to eat her vegetables and all the other things mamas do. Carol goes through […]
The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith
I say The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith is a five but is more of a 4.8 due to a little hiccup for me. Which is the fact that Brooke is the name of the child of the story and the author. This seems a bit heavy handed. However, regardless if this is based on a true story or not, maybe naming the child Robin, Willow, Rose (etc.) might have been less daunting. Of course, it also could be while Brooke is a […]
Little Mama by Halim Mahmouidi
I went at Little Mama with an idea in my head that it was going to be a teen mom dealing with her baby and things would be “Happily Ever After” at the end. And while there is a teen mom, who does all the “bad teen mom” things (from neglect to emotion and physical abuse) there is a lot more going on as well. And while it is not necessarily “Happily Ever After” there is a hopeful ending. Halim Mahmouidi gets inside things, but […]
Farah Rocks Fifth Grade t by Susan Muaddi Darraj
The first point I need to make is that there were a few “technical” difficulties with the story for me. It reads as if it was book two/three in a series. While researching to see if it was a series, I noticed that it looks like just Farah Rocks will not be out until at least August 2020. However, there is enough information in Farah Rocks Fifth Grade to be a stand-alone title and a “prequel” is not needed. Susan Muaddi Darraj created a book […]
