A STOLEN LIFE by Jaycee Dugard

Jaycee Dugard suffered unspeakable horror for 18 years.  Kidnapped by a pedophile at age eleven and kept for 18 years, Dugard bore two children and came to depend upon her captor all while striving to maintain her “self” and remember her “real” family, especially her mother. 

Her memoir tells of her heroism and fortitude in the face of unrelenting adversity.  Often the voice of that eleven year old is heard; often the voice of a struggling 19 year old woman and mother is heard.  She, at times, voices a maturity earned through pain. She struggles to shield her children from the press even while acknowledging the impossibility of that task.  She struggles to heal herself and rejoin the “normal’ world.

It is impossible to read this memoir without suffering with Jaycee. It is also impossible to justify a critical review of this book.  5 of 5 stars

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

In an interesting twist on the pre-Civil War story of slavery, Grissom presents us with an Irish child orphaned on the ocean crossing and delivered into the life of an indentured servant. Because Lavinia is only 6 years old as the tale begins, she is handed over to the “house slaves” to raise by the master of the house.  Belle, who ultimately becomes Lavinia’s “mother/sister,” is the master’s illegitimate daughter and receives many privileges because of this relationship.  Promised her freedom by the master, Belle unhappily comes under the eye of the master’s son who is unduly influenced by the evil overseer. 

Grissom has written an engrossing tale of life of “house slave, “field slave” and bullied and frightened wife. The characters are clearly written, the scenes are believable, the secrets are many.  The plot will grab your interest from the first page and keep you reading to the final page.  Grissom has a clear vision of plantation life, family relationships, and the fear engendered by powerlessness.  The tempo of the story gains momentum as the characters reveal their lies, secrets, loves, hopes and fears as Lavinia grows from child to adult.

5 of 5 stars

THE CHOICE by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Much better written than many novels in the “Christian Lit” genre, THE CHOICE presents the life of an Amish community with an emphasis on the helpfulness and “family” feel of the members of the church as well as the all-encompassing structure of the faith.  Carrie is fully developed, as are Mattie, Abel, and Esther. Some of the other characters are presented so briefly, or in such a strictly confined way, that they seem one dimensional.  The plot is full of tension and is believable.  The life of the community is a fully developed character itself and is essential to the plot. 

The use of the “dutch” language is sometimes annoying. Often sentences and phrases are immediately translated in italic, but occasionally a word or phrase is not, leaving the non-Amish wondering at the exact meaning.  I would have liked to know more about Mattie and Emma’s life after the choices they make, but as this is a part of a series, those stories may be covered in another book.  My edition (e-book) did not have any notes revealing the content of other books in the series.

Book group will have a field of topics to discuss – arranged marriage, step-parenting, death of a spouse, faith as life encompassing, medical experiences with chronic disease, bullying, outsider vs insider in relatively closed communities, forgiveness, business fraud and many others.

4 of 5 stars

THE SISTERS WEISS by Naomi Ragen

THE SISTERS WEISS  by Naomi Ragen

Rose and Pearl grow up in an ultra-orthodox home in New York with a Rabbi father and ultra-observant mother. Theirs is a loving but strict family, requiring absolute obedience from the girls and their older siblings. When sheltered and naive Rose (the older of the two) becomes friendly with a new girl whose family is newly observant and extremely permissive, she sees a world beyond her closed society.  Sent away from home into an even more strict and confining school, Rose rebels and commits a sin her family considers unforgivable.  Pearl, who adores her older sister, is left behind to deal with a fractured family and her own perceived guilt. The remainder of the novel covers the career and family of Rose and the eventual re-involvement of Pearl’s conservative religious beliefs in her life.

I found the first three fourths of this novel very informative concerning the ultra-orthodox life style. The characters were fully developed and consistent.  The writing was clear and presented the various viewpoints with insight and sympathy.  The situations were transparently presented and led to the final plot conflict.  Unfortunately the final section of the novel seemed hurried, the characters lost their consistency of thought and action, and the ending was contrived and disappointing. 

There is much here that book groups will find worthy of discussion, despite the novel’s limitation.  The family situation, the effect of religious faith on family life, sibling relationships, guilt, forgiveness, redemption, choice of career, women’s choice’s, family dynamics, unplanned pregnancies, and education are all worthy topics.

3 of 5 stars

THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY by Wiley Cash

Two little girls who have just lost their mother to cancer are in foster care about to be sent to Alaska to live with Grandparents they have never seen. Enter their n’er-do-well father, a failed major league pitcher with a dark past and a sudden interest in his daughters.  Dad also suddenly has LOTS of money ,  a damaged baseball player and the FBI following him.  A former cop turned guardian ad litem is the girl’s only advocate when Dad kidnaps them and tries to disappear.

Cash shows us that he can write fragile, failed, caring, evil, greedy, selfless, kind, merciless and merciful characters with a tight plot. THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY will have you reading far into the night to find out what happens to Easter and Ruby, the money, and the dad. In Cash’s debut novel, A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME, he gave us an atmospheric Southern gothic novel.  DARK ROAD invests more in character in this thriller that at times seems like a friendly family drama – but be not deceived, this novel has true darkness as well as true mercy.  Well worth your time!

Killing Jesus by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

Much more a history lesson than an “execution” story, KILLING JESUS relates in great detail the backstory of Israel, Rome, politics in AD 34, Judaism and Christianity. Sprinkled with numerous footnotes and maps, O’Reilly and Dugard have written a detailed account of the events leading to the death of Jesus of Nazareth.  Sometimes gruesome, often too detailed, but nonetheless infinitely interesting, this book will be enlightening for any person of faith (Christian or not) or student of history. 

4 of 5 stars