Summer Book Review

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Hey y'all!

I did my Spring Book Review at the beginning of June, so I decided that it was time to round up the four books that I've been able to read since then and let you know what I thought of them!

The Amish Summer-Four Novellas

Shelley Shepard Gray, Amy Clipston, Kathleen Fuller, & Kelly Irvin

This book is a collection of four short stories based in Amish country (y'all already know about my interest in sociology and in the way different groups and cultures live).

The stories are all different, but they draw you in quickly and have incredible character development for a short story.

These would be perfect if you're trying to make time for reading, but can't tackle a big book or you want something to read on the plane or on a beach vacay. 

My favorite of the four would probably be Summer Storms, which is the second one. It has a great story of a girl named Arianna who is engaged, but her relationship almost falls apart because of demons her brother is dealing with.

Each story has a great wrap-up (kind of a "what happens after the story"), I highly recommend!

Big Little Lies

Liane Moriarty

This was a really hyped up book, I've heard so many people (bloggers and just in everyday life) that have raved over how great it is, so of course I wanted to check it out-so I added it to an Amazon order to round out for free shipping ;)

This story is based on three women who are all mothers of children who go to the same school; there is drama amongst the women and the students at the school, but there is also drama at home that hardly any of the women put together-but somehow they are intrinsically connected.

It has a surprising and shocking ending that will keep you guessing along the whole story-very interesting and worth the read & the hype!

Virgin Earth

Philippa Gregory

Y'all know I have a love affair with historical fiction and Philippa Gregory does it best.

She does so much research and her novels are so historically accurate, I feel like I'm learning and enjoying the best stories that history has to offer at the same time (win-win!)

Virgin Earth is about John Tradescant, who is the gardener to King Charles I.

This story follows his life as King Charles I seems as though his kingdom is going to be toppled, so John leaves England for America (for Virginia) and tries his hand there.

John has sort of a double-life, one in America where he marries a Native American woman and lives among the Powhatan for a while, and then his family back in England.

It's a story of being torn between two loyalties & one that I thoroughly enjoyed, because you can sense his confusion and never knowing that the choice he makes is going to be the right one.

Like I mentioned before, her stories are very historically accurate and this one is no different. If you enjoy European (or really, American) history then I would recommend this or any of Philippa Gregory's novels (she wrote The Other Boleyn Girl as well!) 

The Hidden Children

Howard Greenfeld

This book is actually geared toward a younger audience, but it is so well-written and it has a way of drawing you in that I finished it in one sitting because I was so enthralled.

Essentially, this book focuses on the "hidden children" of the Holocaust-much like Anne Frank.

It goes in-depth with surviving hidden children, telling their personal stories about how they were able to survive the world and the way they felt while the war was raging & how they were unsure that they would live, or if they would ever see their parents/families again.

Although this isn't a light read, if you're interested in history-once again, this is a very educational read! I love increasing my knowledge and I thought that this might be useful in my classroom in the future one day. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this little review, I know the books I read are a little different than the "basic bloggers" book reviews, but what can I say, I like to read a little bit of everything!

Right now, this is what I'm reading and I can't wait to see the movie that is based off of it!

Until next time. . .

xoxo,