friendship

The Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes is a J Fiction story about twelve year old Lanesha who lives in New Orleans' Ninth Ward with Mama Ya-Ya. Eighty-two year old Mama Ya-Ya isn't a blood relative but she might as well be. She delivered Lanesha and has cared for her all of Lanesha's life. Lanesha's 17 year old Momma died giving birth to her.

Lanesha was born with a caul, a thin, filmy membrane covering her newborn head, and Mama Ya-Ya says Lanesha's kin are scared of her because she has "the sight". Lanesha sees ghosts, has "since she was an itty-bitty baby. Ghosts. Here, now. Always. They

My favorite Jane Green book is The Beach House. I love the main character, feisty widow Nan from Nantucket. I’m sure I like her because she’s sixty-five with a reputation for being eccentric. She cuts flowers from her neighbor’s yard when they’re away. Their pool is “so blue, so inviting, it was practically begging her to strip off and jump in, which of course she did…She dried off naturally, walking naked around the garden popping strawberries and peas into her mouth in their kitchen garden…” The Siasconset villagers think of Nan as the “crazy woman in the big old house on the bluff”.

This

The Pact, a Love Story by Jodi Picoult
Meet Chris and Emily, two kids who have known each other since birth, grown up next door to each other, and now have fallen in love. Everything is perfect for both families until Emily is discovered shot to death. Picoult masterfully unfolds her story as two families who were best friends for the last eighteen years are torn apart by murder, suicide, and unanswerable questions. The authors tackles teen fears and anxieties, the bonds of friendship and love and just what will destroy those bonds. Though one of Picoult’s earlier works (as evidenced by the

On the beaches near Lyme Regis, England, young Mary Anning and middle-class spinster Elizabeth Philpot stepped into the early 19th-century world of fossil hunting, a time when fossils challenged established views of God’s creation but excited the scientific community. Mary endlessly searched for these curiosities, not only because she had the “eye” (a remarkable ability to find them), but to sell them to keep her family out of the poorhouse. Elizabeth searched for fossils as a hobby and for the “seductive thrill of finding unexpected treasure”. During their pursuits, Mary and Elizabeth became

Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors, as I’ve read the majority of his books. Written in 1998, this book also was not a disappointment. It’s a travelogue following Bryson and his out of shape friend, Stephen Katz, as they attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. Learning about the history of the trail on their adventure, they returned from their hike changed men with new knowledge of the wilderness and friendship. Like Bryson’s other books, A Walk in the Woods is full of plenty of humorous observations, interspersed with more serious discussions of the trail’s history and people, the

Antonia meet Jazz. Jazz meet Antonia.

Antonia signed up for a peer counseling program at her middle school to lend an ear to students who need someone to talk to...not girls who wear black lipstick and holes in her clothes...on purpose. What was she getting into?

Antonia's life is already upside down. She plays the role of parent at home since her dad walked out three years prior. Antonia has to take care of her two little brothers and her mom who suffers from clinical depression. Taking care of household chores, grocery shopping and feeding her family leaves her exhausted and little time to

Four women met regularly at the Cedar Roe Library to share their stories and write this book; the result is an inspiring collection of thoughts on family, spirituality, happiness, struggles, and friendship. As women, we all have similar stories and feelings, but these authors had the ability and courage to share theirs, with introspection and candor. Their stories profoundly affect us, first in empathy, but then their distinct voices shine through, providing us with encouragement, comfort, and insight into balancing our lives. Their wise reflections move us, uplift us, and compel us to

This is the story of an unusual friendship that developed between poor, uneducated Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, a middle-class spinster in early 1800’s England, pre-Darwin. They shared a common passion, fossil hunting and through trials and tribulations maintained a friendship for several decades. Mary Anning’s discoveries of fossilized skeletons of the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus rocked the scientific and religious worlds. Remarkable Creatures is not an action packed book, but rather a study of the class system and an interesting portrayal of two women who strive to receive

In letters to each other written for a school assignment Christina and Elizabeth share their lives; the happy, the sad, the confusing and the hurtful. My initial reaction was that the letter-writing device was a bit over-used, but soon became absorbed in the story. Moriarty brilliantly uses letters from such entities as The Association of Teenagers and The Society of People Who are Definitely Going to Fail High School (and Most Probably Life as Well!) to convey insecurities that only Elizabeth can know.  Notes to and from her mom and postcards from her best friend gone missing fill in the

This book, Tana French's debut novel, is a mystery set in a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Most of the story takes place in the present, but there are important references to an event that happened in August 1984. That 1984 event happened to the book's main character, Adam "Rob" Ryan, who is now a detective partnered with Cassie Maddox. The complex relationship between Cassie and Rob is at the heart of the story; indeed, I think it IS the story. All the mysterious subplots about the crimes against children, opposition to a road that is proposed to come through and change their Dublin suburb