Orphan Train -- Christina Baker Kline

Molly Ayer is a 17 year old Foster-care child who has been moved from home to home for nearly a decade after her father died. Learning quickly that she was basically a money-maker for most of her foster parents, Molly built a huge wall to keep everyone out -- and her feelings in. She took on the most off-putting persona she could imagine (Goth) and chose to live up to everyone's expectations of her, though they were all negative ones. She finally finds herself in Spruce Harbor, Maine; and though she tried to keep people at a distance, somehow she found a friend and boyfriend in Jack who believes in her despite her telling him he shouldn't.

And then Molly gets in trouble for trying to steal a copy of JANE EYRE from the library. It's either juvie or community service for Molly, and with Jack's help, Molly ends up choosing community service. That's how she meets Vivian Daly, a wealthy 90-something year old widow with secrets of her own.

Vivian Daily was once named Niamh. But that was before she was named Dorothy. And before she was an orphan who had lost everything in a fire. Her family had come to America from Ireland with hopes of a better life in the late 1920s. But a better life was not to be found, and soon it was much worse than anything she could ever have imagined. After the death of her family members, Niamh is taken by the Children's Aid Society and put on an orphan train to the Midwest where she would eventually be taken in by a family in Minnesota. And kicked out of their home. And taken to another family. And kicked out... Until she finally finds a place.

A story of love, loss, and reinvention, Vivian's resonates with Molly and the two of them change in unexpected ways as a result of their association.

***I really liked this book. There was some language I didn't appreciate and a few scenes that were shocking. But it was one I kept wanting to return to in my quiet moments -- a sure sign of a good book! Which is awesome, since I didn't vote to read this one for Book Club. I love the way the story ends (mostly... but it would be a spoiler to talk more about it...).

Jane Eyre -- Charlotte Bronte

Orphaned at a young age, Jane Eyre found herself the charge of an unloving aunt-in-law who despised her and eventually sent young Jane away to a school for orphans. Finding there a kind teacher and headmistress, Jane is able to blossom and eventually become a teacher at the school. But Jane is not content to stay put. Eventually she desires to expand her horizons, so she advertises her services in a newspaper and is soon hired on as a governess in a wealthy home. There she meets Edward Rochester, the owner of the home. Though at first he is off-putting in his sternness, he and Jane eventually fall in love and plan to be married.

But life has other plans. A long-held secret is revealed on Jane and Edward's wedding day, causing Jane to flee Thornfield Hall. She finds herself a pauper and happens to beg at the right home in a little town. There, the local parson and his sisters take her in and nurse her back to health. Given a chance to begin afresh, Jane proves her strength as a woman and eventually comes into her own.

***I think I simply don't like the style of writing of some of these 19th-century English novels... They are so wordy that I take forever to get into them. I am a lover of language, but these just seem superfluous. That said, once I got into the story, I was excited to continue reading. There were unanticipated twists that Bronte added to the story expertly. I found myself wondering what decisions Jane would make as the story drew to a close and was almost certain, for a while, I would be disgusted with her choice. I was pleasantly surprised at the end, though. All in all a good read. Just wish there was a little less (what I consider) unnecessary description.

Starvation Heights: a true story of murder and malice in the woods of the Pacific Northwest -- Gregg Olsen

Claire and Dora Williamson were wealthy spinster sisters in their 30s. They had traveled the world and knew all the comforts of their time. And yet, they were, in a sense, unhappy. Convinced they had medical issues that kept them from enjoying life to the fullest, the sisters were always in search of the next best cure. And so they were drawn to "Dr." Linda Burfield Hazzard, the woman who believed in the fasting cure. Linda Hazzard was a formidable woman -- a strong woman able to convince others to see things her way. She did so with the Williamson sisters, convincing them her fast cure would succeed where modern medicine had failed. She promised them a return to full health. And they believed her.

It was a decision both would come to regret, either in life or in death. The following months would find the sisters wasting away to mere skeletons as they "enjoyed" a diet of tomato "broth" and a regime of intense internal baths (a.k.a. enemas). It was only through the rescue of their childhood nurse that one of the sisters managed to survive.


***Read this book for book club. This book (which takes place in the county where I live) was very intriguing. I was engrossed in the book and amazed at how these sisters were hoodwinked by this "doctor". Maybe it's the foodie in me, but if someone told me I was to subsist on tomato broth for 40-some days, I'd laugh in their face and say goodbye! This book is definitely one of those examples of how truth is sometimes way more haunting (and twisted) than fiction!

The Atlantis Code -- Charles Brokaw

Thomas Lourds is a linguistics professor who finds himself in Alexandria as a guest on a British TV show. Lured there by the hopes that he might find something intriguing in Alexandria, instead he unwittingly finds himself embroiled in the hunt for the lost city of Atlantis and the secrets held there. He and several others find themselves traipsing across Europe and Africa following a trail of instruments engraved with a language not even he has seen before. But they are matching wits with a ruthless cardinal who seeks the power hidden in Atlantis. A man who will stop at nothing, even murder, to fulfill his egotistical dreams.

***I had a really hard time getting into this book. It eventually picked up, but never really was "can't put it down" good. And I don't agree with some of the review on the cover... There were a lot of things I found to be fake about this book, and I felt that the author included a lot of superfluous details (like the food they ate -- and I'm a foodie, so that's saying something that I thought it was rather pointless to include). This was another of those books I put on my to-read list when I worked in a library and came across it during work. Years later, I finally crossed it off my list. And it's definitely one I'd have stopped reading if I was smart enough to stop reading books that don't grab my interest... ;).

The Hiding Place -- Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie ten Boom grew up in a house full of love with her three siblings, her parents, and several aunts. Bible-reading was a central part of daily life for the ten Boom family; as was love and kindness. Yelling in anger was not a part of their household. Service to others less fortunate, though they themselves were not wealthy and several members of the family even suffered from serious health issues, was a way of life for the family. And so it was that many Jews found refuge through the help of this family during World War II when Germany occupied Holland.

Corrie ten Boom, her father Casper, and her sister Betsie -- all three of them still living in Corrie's childhood home -- soon found themselves central to an underground effort to help Jews to safety. Over the course of many months, they helped to save many lives and witnessed miracles they were sure came from the Lord. But eventually, they were found out and all were arrested. What followed were horrors most can only imagine. Yet with faith and hope Corrie continued onward, learning the lessons she felt God would have her learn and helping the people she felt He would have her help. Through it all, she learned about love and forgiveness, and then she taught what she'd learned: that when God commands us to forgive, He also sends with the commandment the forgiveness, which comes through Him.

**I'll admit it did take me a while to get into this book. A couple of chapters. But once I got into it, I loved reading it and wanted to read more. Amazing true story about turning our hearts over to the Savior and how He can heal us. It was amazing to me how Corrie spoke so highly of her sister and acknowledged her own downfalls when I can't help but admire Corrie for her strength and faith. I have a lot to learn about how to be better as a person!

The Help -- Kathryn Stockett

Life was not easy for black women in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. Life was predictable, though: a black girl would grow up to become a maid for a wealthy white family. She would raise white children, clean white homes, serve white women. Some were treated well. Most were not.

The rest of the nation was facing unrest about civil rights. Violence was spreading, and if you were a white person who sided with equality for all, you could expect serious repercussions. So when Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, a wealthy white girl who herself was raised by a black woman named Constantine, approaches her friend's maid Aibileen with an idea, it is at a great risk -- though Skeeter doesn't know just how great the risk is. Aibileen does, though. As does her friend Minny, who eventually joins Skeeter and Aibileen in telling the true story of black women working for white families in the South. They share their experiences -- both the bad and the good, the heart-breaking and the joyful. Eventually, they all realize the risk they are taking as they join efforts to share truth. But they also feel strongly that it is a truth which deserves to be told. And so they tell it, despite the consequences.


***I loved this book. I watched the movie first, so I knew what was coming for the most part. But I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is hard for me to imagine things as they were in the 1960s, but I have an appreciation for those who experienced those times; and I'm grateful the world has changed a lot since then. Because I know amazing women of all races and color, and I'm glad I've not been raised with the prejudices others had been.

Undoing I Do -- Anastasia Royal

Claire meets German Tobin and a whirlwind romance ensues. Within 4 weeks they are engaged, and she is head over heels in love. They share a passion for each other. But after 10 years and 2 children, their marriage ends. And Claire is left to pick up the pieces of her life. She is crushed at the loss. Destroyed by an event she didn't even want. And it takes all of her to survive every day and slog through a 4-year divorce before she can even begin to hope to heal and move forward.

***I may give this a little more than 2 stars, but not much. 2.5 tops. I added it to my to-read list several years ago when working at a library. I think the blurb inside resonated with me at that time in my life -- not so long divorced and still trying to move forward. But, though I could identify with SOME of what the protagonist describes, there were a lot of times I wanted to tell her to get over it and be a mom to her kids. Do I understand first-hand the pain of the death of a marriage? Absolutely. It is one of the greatest pains I've ever known -- and probably will ever know. But some of this character's behavior just seemed completely ridiculous to me in the wake of her divorce. Granted, it's fiction. But having read the author's little bio at the end, it makes me wonder if some of it wasn't based on her own life. In which case... Well, I wasn't impressed. It's another one of those "well, I finally got that one off my list" books.