As much as I love children’s and YA lit, I love finding a good adult novel to read. Mainly because they’re longer and it gives me more time to enjoy them :) But we all know how hard it can be to find a worthwhile adult novel. You know, one that doesn’t say the f-word over and over or have people ripping each other's clothes off (though I had to read plenty of YA novels like that for school). Here are some books I’ve read recently. Two adult books and one children’s book.
The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
If you haven’t heard of this book, where have you been? If you’ve heard of this book and haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? If you’ve read this book and didn’t like it, you’re weird. Hahahaha, just kidding – you’re entitled to your opinion. I, for one (along with a WHOLE LOT of other people), loved it.
It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi, at the beginning in 1962, when the civil rights movement has just begun to take off. Skeeter (a nickname that stuck) just finished college and wants to be a writer. An editor gives her some advice and tells her to write about something that “disturbs you”. Skeeter decides to write about the help: the black women of Jackson who care for the white children of the families they work for. With help from Aibileen and Minny and several other black women, Skeeter anonymously writes about their experiences and perspectives, putting them all in a lot of danger if they are discovered.
I didn’t want to put this book down. When it was over, I couldn’t think of what to read next because I couldn’t imagine anything that could top it. Luckily, I found something that I liked just as much. :)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
By Jamie Ford
It’s 1986 and Henry just lost his wife, Ethel, to cancer. As he tries to move on without her, he learns about items found in the basement of an old hotel in his hometown of Seattle that is being restored. A particular parasol takes him back in time to when he was growing up as an eleven-year-old during WWII. His father and mother, immigrants from China, dream of a better life for Henry by combining the opportunities in America with their Chinese traditions. They are quite oblivious to what Henry’s life is really like at school as a Chinese-American just after the Pearl Harbor attack. His father makes him wear a button that says “I am Chinese” on it so people do not mistake him as Japanese. His father hates Japan and its people for not only what they did at Pearl Harbor, but for what they did to China. So things get complicated when Henry befriends Keiko, a Japanese-American, at school.
The book is a series of flashbacks to 1942 and weaves together to explain Henry’s life story and why he is the way he is; something his son has had a hard time understanding. I cried at several points during this book. World War II is one of my favorite times in history to read about. People have done horrible, terrible, awful things to each other throughout history. But there are always stories of incredible people who sacrificed in order to help those in need. I always say: God can’t stop people from doing bad things, but He can inspire us to know how to help each other get through the horrible, terrible, awful things, no matter what they may be.
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette
By Jeanne Birdsall
This is the third book in the Penderwicks series. I’ve written about them before. I love the Penderwick sisters. This one picks up right where the second one leaves off. Skye, Jane, and Batty are off to Point Mouette in Maine to vacation with Aunt Claire while their father is gone (I won’t say where in case you haven’t read the second one :) ) and Rosalind is in New Jersey with a friend.
They are joined up by Jeffery and have many-a-wonderful adventures together. With Skye as the OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick), she’s really feeling the pressure and is terrified that Batty is going to blow up (literally). Jane isn’t much help as she falls in love for the first time, which should be tremendous help since she is trying to write a love story involving the infamous Sabrina Starr. Batty stays busy between moose-watching, golf ball collecting, and private piano lessons from Jeffery and Alec (a man who lives next door to the cottage the Penderwicks are staying in while on vacation).
This book did not disappoint. I was a little sad at first that Rosalind wasn’t really involved in the book, but Skye did a great job stepping up as OAP. Like the other books, it was pretty predictable as far as the storyline goes but the Penderwicks keep me laughing. The best word to describe these books is charming. The author has five books planned for the series, and I will be buying each of them when they come out. As one reviewer put it with the first book: the Penderwicks are exactly what we need in this mean-girl world.
On to the food:
Lentil Salad with Tomato and Dill
My roommate, Janae, made the most delicious lentil salad I’ve ever eaten. Here’s a link to the recipe. Janae doubled everything but the oil. She ran out of green onions so just added some white onion. It was divine. We ate it cold, but it would probably be good warm.
Caribbean Jerk Chicken
