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The Sand Dollar: A Story of Undying Love by Sebastian Cole is thought provoking. I will continue to think about this novel for many days to come. I never thought there were so many ways to think about romantic love.  What is love? What is  false love? Noah and Robin are the main characters. There is always something or someone who presents an obstacle to their fast growing attraction for one another.Finding out whether there love is true and can last a life time takes a long time. So often family members can present a problem for those who want to love one another forever. Noah is Jewish. Robin is not Jewish. This was not a problem for Noah or Robin. They just loved one another without a thought about the what ifs of loving someone who grew up with different traditions. However, Mariam, the mother, goes absolutely nuts when she learns that Robin is not Jewish. I was glad that Noah had the kind of love which remains steadfast through thick and thin. Robin was the one who taught him

In the beginning Denise and Derrick and there one daughter, Mackenzie do have the perfect life. Imperfections only are in their pasts, their childhoods. Neither Denise nor Derrick came from perfect home environments. It's easy to see what has gone wrong in Derrick's life. His parents are deeply involved with drug addiction and still fighting and clawing there way out of the horrible jungle of drug abuse. Still, it seems the drugs are winning in his parents' life. Whereas Denise's parents seem perfect. Perhaps their problems are more sinister than the problems of Derrick's family because everything seems perfect between Wilma and her husband. These past ghosts wind their way through the lives of Denise and Derrick and finally,  touch the life of their daughter, Mackenzie. The Perfect Marriage by Kimberla Roby Lawson is about occurring and reoccurring drug addiction between two married people. Denise and Derrick are leading the good life: fine h

Ellen is an unmarried schoolteacher. She moves from Galena, Wisconsin to Pepin, Wisconsin. In Pepin she will teach in a one room schoolroom. Little does she know how many controversial experiences will become a part of her daily life. Lyn cote in  The baby Bequest   writes an inspiring novel about life in the 1870's on the frontier. I especially liked learning about the life for the immigrants who came from the old country hoping to never return there. Kurt, Gunther and Johann are the main immigrants in the novel.Kurt is the father of one boy and an uncle to the other boy. Kurt carries a horrible secret from Germany to America. It is a deep hurt which leaves him filled with guilt and shame. It almost interferes with a love relationship. Those of us who have been called by ugly names will feel the emotional pain of Kurt every time some one calls him Dutch or just belittles him because he is a foreigner. Ellen's brother and sister don't miss a chance to let him know

"....Sitting across the circle from Ellen. Her son helped at the Ojibwa reservation in far northern Wisconsin and they were knitting items to donate to his mission work."

"She patted him and savored the last bite of the sweet yet tart apple brown betty with fresh whipped cream Ophelia had made."

Anne Graham Lotz peopleanne_graham_lotz/ " When we face an impossible situation. all self-reliance and self-confidence must melt away; we must be totally dependent on Him for the resources." (Her parents are world-famous evangelist Billy Graham and Ruth Graham).

Never knowing how important his life would become to other people Eugene Allen , the butler, in the nonfiction book written by Wil Haygood became a role model to people in the Twenty First Century. This book is now discussed along with a wonderful, powerful movie titled The Butler starring an all time cast: Forest Whittaker, Oprah Winfrey and other stars including the movie director or producer Lee Daniels . Like cookies and milk both seem to go together. It's as if Eugene Allen's life were so important there had to be a choice. If you couldn't see the movie, you could read his biography. If you couldn't read the biography, you could see the movie. This is how significant this man's life is to each person of any color skin or religion today. It's not just about Eugene Allen. The book is also about his wife, Helene. Without her, maybe there would not have been a man who served eight administrations for thirty-four years. Helene is wonderful too. In the biog