Hooked On Bookz

Title:  There There Author:  Tommy Orange My verdict:   5 stars Highly recommended! In a nutshell:   12 Urban Indians. 1 big event. 1 robbery gone wrong. Set in Oakland, California, the story revolves around the 12 individuals and how they and their families have been treated by America throughout the years; how it affects and have affected them. These 12 characters are to meet at an upcoming big event - the Big Oakland Powwow. That one event, meant to bring Indians of all walks of life together, ironically shattered their lives and those around them. Was it a good read? Yes. I'd describe it in 3 words: Real, raw, powerful.  The story starts off with a prologue, (which is one of my favorite parts, the interlude is the other) telling us  about the Indian Head that was used as a test pattern on TV in the 1970s to all American TVs everywhere after all the shows ran out . There are some parts which are very graphic. So, be prepar...

HAPPY 21st, MALALA! You're only 21, yet your achievements and accolades can fill a whole phone book! Thank you so much for all that you do especially education for women and young children. What you did and are still doing is an inspiration for us all. Thank you for your bravery, your courage, your intelligence and your will to pursue your beliefs and dreams. Thank you for showing us that " One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world. " You let your actions speak louder than words.  The books in the picture: Most of us would or might have already own a copy of 'I Am Malala'. So, I'm just going to briefly summarize the book behind it, "Malala's Magic Pencil". It is Malala's first picture book and is targeted towards young readers. It is basically a much simpler version of her life in Pakistan and what inspired her to do what she does today and to be who she is today.  It is about how she wished for...

Ok. I’m back! Again :P (Sorry been caught up with motherhood..) Title: An American Marriage  Author: Tayari Jones My verdict: 4 stars Highly recommended! Synopsis (From the book cover): Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of both the American Dream and the New South. HE is a young business executive and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are suddenly ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined when, while visiting Roy’s parents in their small Louisiana town, Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years in prison for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself lost, taking comfort in ANdre, her childhood friend and Roy’s best man at their wedding. When after 5 years, Roy’s conviction is overturned and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together, Celestial is faced a soul-wrenching deci...

My verdict: 3.5 Glennon blogs on   momastery.com   and her brutally honest accounts of her life brought her popularity, then of course, a book deal. Glennon doesn't give two hoots about what others think. She isn't afraid to tell the world she was an alcoholic, a drug addict and a bulimic. And when she finally got rid of all those toxins in her life and embraced her new-found self, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. At one point in her life she even got an abortion. Then she decided to adopt but her adoption plan fell through due to her background. So she adopted a highway instead (Yup!). She also wrote of friends, family and strangers who came to her aid when she needed it and/or supported her decisions, impetuous or not. She's very fortunate to be surrounded by people who love her as she is. What makes her stories stand out, to me, is definitely her honesty, almost too honest to be true sometimes. And the fact that she bares her ugly, crazy,...

Title: Flight: A Novel  Author: Sherman Alexie ASIN: B00FEZ25IQ  My verdict: 5 stars Highly recommended! Ever wondered what's it like to really walk in the shoes of others? In this book, Zits (an angry, lonely, 15 year-old half Native American, half Irish orphan), did. Influenced by his new-found friend, whose name is, coincidentally, JusTice, Zits set out to rob a bank, with the intention to hurt and kill, to pay back for all the pain and disappointment the society put him through. This incident literally changed his life.  As soon as he pulled the trigger at the bank, he went on an unexpected time-traveling journey. He walked in the shoes of an FBI agent during the civil rights movement, a mute Indian boy during the Battle of Little Bighorn, an Indian tracker, an airplane pilot.  This journey, while baffled him at times, also allowed him to find himself; to see  and experience the love and kindness, hate and anger, and the choices mad...

Title: The Phantom Tollbooth Author/Illustrator: Norton Juster/Jules Feiffer ISBN: 978-0-375-86903-7 In a nutshell The Phantom Tollbooth is about a boy who was bored with life. 'When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going.' Everything, to 10-year-old Milo was dull and 'a waste of time' as he 'can't see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips, or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February,' until one day he noticed something peculiar in his room - an enormous package, the biggest he had ever seen, and on it a bright-blue envelope that said "FOR MILO, WHO HAS PLENTY OF TIME." It was a purple turnpike tollbooth - the start to Milo's amusing, eye-opening, life-changing adventures. With a destination he picked from the map he was given and the electric automobile from hi...

Title/Author:    The Complete Persepolis/Marjane Satrapi Publisher:  Pantheon   Pages: 341 ISBN: 978-0-375-71483-2   My verdict: 4/5 In a nutshell Persepolis (Persia in Greek) is about the author's life growing up as a child in Iran in the 1970s. Her memoir started from the time when she was 10, living and surviving a troubling time in her country. The Islamic Revolution took place and all females were required to wear veils, a far cry from what she was used to, being educated at a French non-religious school, which was later divided into schools for boys and girls. Jewelry weren't allowed, women must be covered from head to toe, no Western music and so forth.  Being the only child of outspoken revolutionaries, strict rules like these don't sit well with Marjane. Her rebellious and outspoken nature always put her in danger. She was then sent to live in Austria, hoping there, she could live freely. As it turned out, living there had its humps and bumps...