Very Short Book Reviews

SACRED HEARTS by Sarah Dunant
Historical Fiction is probably my favorite genre. Historical Fiction from the 13th to the 16th century is especially enjoyable. Historical Fiction about nuns in that era is right up my alley.
I loved this story about Serafina, who is placed in a convent against her will, in 1570 at age 16.
You learn so many details about the reasons that families put their daughters into convents and the day to day lives of these women who are dedicating a life to God.
Loved it!

THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett
I was fascinated and horrified by the lives of black women who cooked, cleaned and raised the children of white women, before the days of civil rights, and the way they were treated by the women they worked for.
I was able to easily get into the feel of the dialect of the women telling the story.
Loved it!

SING THEM HOME by Stephanie Kallos
This is the story of 3 siblings who are forever changed by the disappearance of their mother in a tornado when they were children. It's a very quirky story with very quirky characters. I finished it, but I'm still not sure I liked it.

AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE: ONE FAMILY'S STRUGGLE WITH AN AGONIZING MEDICAL MYSTERY by Hal Friedman and James Patterson
Friedman's son has Tourette's and OCD. The book is a brutally honest telling of their struggle to find the right treatment for him. When he appears to get worse, they aren't sure if it is the illness or a side effect of the medications. Despite the subject, it is not a difficult read and I learned from the story.

THE BOOK OF MYCHAL: THE SURPRISING LIFE AND HEROIC DEATH OF FATHER MYCHAL JUDGE by Michael Daly
Father Mychal Judge is one of my personal heroes. He was a priest who was not afraid to be close to the people that society has most often scorned...the homeless, addicted and ill. He held dying AIDS victims when even their family would not. Father Mychal was the New York City Fire Dept. Chaplain and died at the WTC on Sept. 11th.