Mail Giddy

Here's what I got this week:

A Long Drive Home by Will Allison

won from Mary @ Book Hounds

Thank you Simon & Schuster and Mr. Allison

Already read the book, here's my Review

Borrowed from the library:

The Scorpio Races, The Kid, Private #1 Suspect

Leap into Books Giveaway WINNERS

Using the services of Random.org, the winners of my Leap into Books Giveaway are:

Prize #1:  $20 Amazon/TBD is teressa oliver

Prize #2:  Book, "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen is Zee - A Voracious Reader

Congratulations ladies! Your prize is yours if you reply within 72hrs to the email I sent you or a new winner will be chosen.

A big thank you to those who entered and for the follow.  --Have a great day all!! :)

Stats:
Prize #1: 548 individuals entered, 1113 total with extra entries
Prize #2: 146 individuals entered, 308 total with extra entries

"Remy Broussard's Christmas"

by Kittie Howard, YR, Historical Fiction, 2011, Kindle Edition, rating=4
Source: purchased; Kindle for PC since I don't have a Kindle

When a classmate physically and mentally bullies Remy, the third-grader withdraws from friends and imagines the worst about his parents. Staring at the Christmas tree in the classroom enables the sharecropper's son to escape his poverty-stricken life and dream about opening a present on Christmas morning and having turkey for Christmas dinner, neither of which has ever occurred.
Friends blame the changes in Remy's behavior on Leonard's bullying and encourage Remy to talk to his parents, his teacher or his priest. Remy refuses, often with open hostility. As Christmas Day approaches, Remy's struggle to understand why he has so little and others have so much deepens. He concludes that Jesus is punishing him for hating Leonard and his bullying.
A bayou-laced, South Louisiana community comes together in 1952 to stop Leonard's bullying in a compassionate manner and open Remy's heart to the meaning of Christmas through love and forgiveness. (Amazon.com)

I am drawn to books that are set in the South. The characters are often down-to-earth and the stories are full of heart. This book definitely had those qualities.  The young characters stole my heart.  They embodied characteristics of coming out of innocence and into the early age of accountability.  What do I mean?  Well, these third-fourth graders are at an age where they know what is right and wrong so they're no longer innocent in that sense.  At this point they can be accountable for their actions yet too young to truly understand the consequences of their actions.  From Remy's story, we get a glimpse of the effects of making right or wrong choices.  Including the response of the adults.   I applaud the author's sensitivity and insights to the welfare of children.  Ms Howard took great care to present a plausible situation and then a solution to the problem of bullying that is applicable today as it was in 1952. 

This novella is a treasure.  I felt in the moment of the read that I was back in 1952 with Remy and his friends in that lovely classroom.  Feeling the despair caused by poverty, hopes for a better tomorrow, and ultimately the joy that the spirit of Christmas can bring.  It was a wonderful narrative that I truly enjoyed.  Thank you Kittie!

Side note:  I've been a follower of Kittie's blog for quite awhile and enjoy her wonderful free-standing stories and I think you will too so stop by and visit her some time ...oh, and purchase this book!  :)

"I blog stories gained through life's experiences, some good, some not so good, but thankful for both and my life's rich tapestry. I blog for the sheer joy of writing, the pleasure at hearing the keyboard's tap, tap, tap as it slices through the years, but well aware that the past is prologue. I primarily blog about growing up on a farm in South Louisiana, stories anchored in a family that first came to Louisiana in 1679. All of my stories are free-standing. You can jump in any time!"

Find Author:
Blog | Goodreads | Twitter

Find Book:
Book Trailer | Purchase

Fun Finds: Mini-Series Banners

I went to comment on Aleksandra's blog, Aleksandra's Corner, to comment on her abundant and beautiful display of her reading list and saw on her sidebar these mini-series banners by I'm Loving Books.  I thought they were absolutely beautiful!!  What a lovely find so I had to share it with you.  Oh, and she has an overall wonderful book blog to boot so I became her newest follower!  By the way, she has this meme called "Random Reads" that I think is fabulous so I'm going to join, so stay tune for that.

Okay, now here's some examples of the banners I put together from her site.  Aren't they gorgeous? :)

Series I Completed:

Series I Started and Yet to Complete:

Series I Want to Read:

"A Million Suns"

by Beth Revis, YA, 2012, 386p, rating=3.5
Source:  library

Godspeed was once fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It’s been three months. In that time, Amy has learned to hide who she is. Elder is trying to be the leader he’s always wanted to be. But as the ship gets more and more out of control, only one thing is certain: They have to get off the ship. (Goodreads)

An entertaining read.  I enjoyed it.  Ms Revis produced another page turner.  It picked up well from the first book and more fascinating twists developed.  This time the modified cursing didn't bother me as much as in the first book (in retrospect, I think I was a bit harsh then ..might have been my mood at the time?).  I'm actually looking forward to the third installment!!

What's up with Orion's wild goose chase of riddles though?  Makes more sense to leave one full message but oh well.  Oh, Amy was more whiny in this installment so I wasn't crazy about that.  Also, Elder seemed a bit off here too but by book's end ..he delivered!

An overall fascinating sci-fi thriller series.  I really liked the cliff hanger on this installment.  Good job Ms Revis!

Book Loot Giddy

I just want to quickly share pictures of my book loot. :)

~I won "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green from Savannah @ Books With Bite

~Author Jonathan Auxier was nearby last week so my kids and I went to his signing and bought his book

Mr. Auxier dabble in illustrations as well and drew this for my son

I was the highest bidder in my local library silent auction

(last week)

I was the hightest bidder in my local library silent auction

(this week)

Books Reviewed in Collage

Picture collage of books I reviewed in January and February of 2012

My favorites in this batch:

• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason F. Wright
• My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison
• Sherlock Holmes Investigates by Arthur Conan Doyle

Books read in this batch but have not been reviewed yet:

• A Million Suns by Beth Revis
• Remy Broussard's Christmas by Kittie Howard
• The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis

Here are the links to the reviews:

January:
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
Blind Side,The by Michael Lewis
Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason F. Wright
Heartless by Diana Palmer
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Sherlock Holmes Investigates by Arthur Conan Doyle
Small Steps by Louis Sachar
Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
Wizard of Oz, The by L. Frank Baum

February:
Catcher in the Rye, The by J.D. Salinger
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Gift, The by Richard Paul Evans
My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison
Rumpelstiltskin retold by Donna Diamond
Smartest Woman I Know, The by Ilene Beckerman
Too Clever by Julia E. Antoine
Total Memory Workout by Cynthia R. Green

Side note:  Few of the book cover images are different from the actual book images I read from.  For some reason the pictures I have would not transfer to Picasa so I had to find other images.