A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya
I have read A Star Shines Through by Anna Desnitskaya a few times. The first time I felt it was a good story. It wasn’t WOW but not eh either. The second time I read it I felt that it had more punch. I think it really depends on the mood you and/or the reader is in for it to make the most impact. (All the times I have read were via an online reader copy, but it is now currently available). The author bases […]
The Bicycle: How an Act of Kindness Changed a Young Refugee’s Life by Patricia McCormick
I did not read the entire article I had about some new books coming, but it was highlighting summer and bicycles. The list was around half a dozen titles long, all picture books. I figured I could locate copies of most of them. And in fact, was able to find online reader copies for all of them. However, four of them stood out for me. These four were different but still had familiar elements that I found comforting. In The Bicycle: How an Act of […]
Last Flight by Kristen Mai Giang
From Publisher Description of Last Flight by Kristen Mai Giang: On April 24, 1975 the last flight out of Saigon, Vietnam carried over 400 people to the United States, six days before Saigon’s surrender to the North Vietnamese Army. I was a few months old in April, therefore, I obviously have no memory of this happening. However, when I learned that the war was still basically going and I was alive for it, it was an eye opener. I had always heard about the Vietnam […]
Hakim's Odyssey: Book 2: From Turkey to Greece by Fabien Toulme
CBR15Passport book set in and author from another country (from Syria, living in Turkey, trying to get to Greece and France)I was going to wait until I read volume three of Hakim’s Odyssey by French author Fabien Toulme (translation by Hannah Chute) before writing the review of Volume Two: From Turkey to Greece but was not sure when that would happen. And besides, Hakim’s Odyssey fills each book with enough so you do not have to know about three, you will just go to the […]
Hakim's Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey by Fabien Toulmé
Hakim’s Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey by Fabien Toulmé, and translated by Hannah Chute, is a straight forward and complicated read. This is not the usual refugee/displaced person story that we think we know. Usually, we are watching them on boats, trying to escape whatever the tragic events are in their homeland. This time, in the (as close as humanly possible) words of one refugee, the “before that” is told. From Syria to Turkey, Hakim’s story unfolds, and while no two stories are alike, […]
The Blue Scarf by Mohamed Danawi
I will start my review off with, there is absolutely nothing wrong with The Blue Scarf by Mohamed Danawi. Is it a bit saccharine-sweet? Sure. But that does not mean it cannot be good. It just means that a reader like me needs to be in the right frame of mind when reading it. And I was. Mostly. Okay, it was too cute for today. But ask me tomorrow. Or ask someone who likes emotion pulling tales and see what they think. Ask someone what […]
