I love reading memoirs, but this was a difficult read for me. I am always incredibly disturbed by all the abuse that goes on in our world: abuse of children, abuse of minorities, abuse of animals, abuse of the disabled, abuse of power. My heart breaks for those most vulnerable in our society when they have no one to protect them or stand up and fight for them. Enter Bryan Stevenson. This man has dedicated his career - and his life - to being the voice for those that have no voice due to a miscarriage of justice. This is a very powerful read - written by a man who puts his money where his mouth is. He walks the walk, despite the pain that it causes him.
I am always astounded, and deeply impressed, that people like Bryan - and all the other lawyers, interns, researchers and other staff who work at Equal Justice Initiative, choose to make a difference in this world over money. Many of the lawyers working at EQJ came from Ivy League law schools. These intelligent and dedicated lawyers could be making a lot of money being corporate lawyers, tax attorneys, criminal lawyers, financial advisors, but instead they sign on to EQJ to work very long frustrating hours for minimal pay. This practice runs on donations. The EQJ does not charge a fee to represent any of their clients. Their clients are men, women and children who are on death row, or children who have been sent to prison with no hope of parole.
Bryan is against capital punishment in general, and he fights to make it unlawful, especially the inhumane ways it's been implemented. He also fights for the release of innocent people, people in prison who are disabled or mentally ill, people who are poor and children. He has gone before the Supreme Court five times (as of the writing of this book) and has brought about significant change nationwide, but particularly in Alabama and other states in the deep south where prejudices run deep against African Americans and other people of color.
I am humbled by this man. Bryan states that he learned from Walter McMillian, the innocent man he worked tirelessly to get released from Death Row, that "...mercy is just when it is rooted in hopefulness and freely given. Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven't earned it, who haven't even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion."
Just Mercy.
Wendy's Rating: *****
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling continues to be one of my very favorite authors. She is an amazingly prolific writer whose character development is beyond comparison. I think I have said this before too, but the deeper she gets into her characters, the longer her novels are as well! Lethal White is quite long for a mystery novel at 647 pages (hardcover). I could easily have read another 600 pages about Cormoran and Robin though. Unfortunately, I have to wait until September 2020 for the next installment.
Lethal White Syndrome is an autosomal (non-sex chromosome) genetic disorder found mostly in the American Paint Horse. The foals appear normal at birth and they are white, or nearly all white, with blue eyes. But they have a nonfunctioning colon and will die within days of birth. Since it's a painful death, the foals are often humanely euthanized. So, what does this explanation, and title of the book, have to do with this story? Well, I have spent some time thinking about it, and I'm not entirely sure. Certainly horses are prevalent in the story since the man who hires Cormoran, Jasper Chiswell, has a wife who owns nine horses; a significant painting in the story is of a mare and her dead foal; the skeleton of a dead pony is discovered; a young child is presumably strangled by "the horse" and buried in the dell.
While I was pondering the meaning of the title, I also wondered about the quotes that prefaced each chapter of the entire book. They were all quotes attributed to "Henrik Ibsen, Rosmersholm". So, I googled it since it was not familiar to me. Rosmersholm is actually a play written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was published in 1886. It is described as "one of Ibsen's most complex, subtle, multilayered and ambiguous plays...." It's a story about an ex-parson, Rosmer, a man of high ethical standards, and his housekeeper, a "free spirit". They are haunted by Rosmer's wife who died of suicide, due to the housekeeper's "subtle influence". These two people "contaminate" each other and the play ends in a double suicide.
So....keeping all of this in mind, Jasper Chiswell, who hires Cormoran because he is being blackmailed, ends up dead by presumed suicide. Cormoran and Robin believe it's murder, but it takes time to figure out who had both motive and the ability to pull it off. In addition to the murder mystery, Robin & Matthew's marriage is falling apart (after only one year); a pregnant Charlotte enters Cormoran's life again; Cormoran is involved with an incredibly lovely (and patient) woman named Lorelei; and then finally there are the unmentioned feelings between Cormoran and Robin. Seriously good storytelling!
J.K. Rowling is incredibly creative and intelligent. She is also British, so I enjoy reading her British terms and slang that I have no idea what they mean. Ha! As long as she is writing novels, no matter what the genre, I will be reading them.
Wendy's Rating: *****
Lethal White Syndrome is an autosomal (non-sex chromosome) genetic disorder found mostly in the American Paint Horse. The foals appear normal at birth and they are white, or nearly all white, with blue eyes. But they have a nonfunctioning colon and will die within days of birth. Since it's a painful death, the foals are often humanely euthanized. So, what does this explanation, and title of the book, have to do with this story? Well, I have spent some time thinking about it, and I'm not entirely sure. Certainly horses are prevalent in the story since the man who hires Cormoran, Jasper Chiswell, has a wife who owns nine horses; a significant painting in the story is of a mare and her dead foal; the skeleton of a dead pony is discovered; a young child is presumably strangled by "the horse" and buried in the dell.
While I was pondering the meaning of the title, I also wondered about the quotes that prefaced each chapter of the entire book. They were all quotes attributed to "Henrik Ibsen, Rosmersholm". So, I googled it since it was not familiar to me. Rosmersholm is actually a play written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was published in 1886. It is described as "one of Ibsen's most complex, subtle, multilayered and ambiguous plays...." It's a story about an ex-parson, Rosmer, a man of high ethical standards, and his housekeeper, a "free spirit". They are haunted by Rosmer's wife who died of suicide, due to the housekeeper's "subtle influence". These two people "contaminate" each other and the play ends in a double suicide.
So....keeping all of this in mind, Jasper Chiswell, who hires Cormoran because he is being blackmailed, ends up dead by presumed suicide. Cormoran and Robin believe it's murder, but it takes time to figure out who had both motive and the ability to pull it off. In addition to the murder mystery, Robin & Matthew's marriage is falling apart (after only one year); a pregnant Charlotte enters Cormoran's life again; Cormoran is involved with an incredibly lovely (and patient) woman named Lorelei; and then finally there are the unmentioned feelings between Cormoran and Robin. Seriously good storytelling!
J.K. Rowling is incredibly creative and intelligent. She is also British, so I enjoy reading her British terms and slang that I have no idea what they mean. Ha! As long as she is writing novels, no matter what the genre, I will be reading them.
Wendy's Rating: *****
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Exile by Shannon Messenger
This is the second book of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. We still don't know who Sophie Foster's parents are/were, but we find out that she was "made" by the Black Swan group, which is why she has so many different abilities. She is asked to go to Exile with Alden (by Alden) because Alden receives a message suggesting that he should take Sophie when he goes to Exile to talk to Fintan, the Pyrokinetic, who is suspected of creating the Everblaze in the first book and attempting to destroy the human race. (In book one, Sophie was able to bottle the Everblaze, one of her many talents - therefore saving the human race). Alden goes into Fintan's mind to attempt to discover his secrets and who is behind the rebellion. Sophie is there to bring Alden "back" so his mind doesn't break in the process of breaking Fintan. Unfortunately, no one knows that Sophie herself has "malfunctioned", so not only can she not prevent Alden's mind from being broken, but she also enters Prentice's mind (who is also in Exile since his mind was broken by Alden previously) and although she discovers a "pocket" or "nook" of positive thoughts in his mind, she is not able to save him either.
Sophie spends a lot of this book in pain actually. She gets blinding headaches, especially around light and she has a difficult time sleeping. She seems afraid to go to Elwin with her concerns however, not that Elwin would have known she was "malfunctioning" anyway. They are all just trying to figure out "Sophie", one event at a time, including Sophie herself. She discovers more of her abilities, like teleporting though. And she discovers that she was "made" to be able to restore broken minds like Prentice's. She also finds an alicorn, named Silveny, an extremely rare glittery winged horse, which she is able to bring back to Havenfield in an attempt to protect and prepare her to enter the Sanctuary, where the only other alicorn (a male) lives. For some reason, Silveny and Sophie are able to transmit their words and feelings to each other internally.
In the first book, Sophie spends a lot of time with her best friend, Dex, while pining after Fitz. In this book, she is still pining after Fitz, and her best friend is still Dex, but she spends a lot of time with Fitz's best friend, Keefe, and Keefe is her main support after her adventure to Exile. I am not sure why that is. Keefe seems to have "a thing" for Sophie; along with Dex and Fitz. So I am not sure which direction Sophie's personal life is heading. She is only 13 years old though, so plenty of time (and books) to figure that out.
I am really enjoying this series. Although they are longer books (like Harry Potter), they read fast for adults. The writing style in engaging and the story is easy to follow.
Wendy's Rating: ****
Sophie spends a lot of this book in pain actually. She gets blinding headaches, especially around light and she has a difficult time sleeping. She seems afraid to go to Elwin with her concerns however, not that Elwin would have known she was "malfunctioning" anyway. They are all just trying to figure out "Sophie", one event at a time, including Sophie herself. She discovers more of her abilities, like teleporting though. And she discovers that she was "made" to be able to restore broken minds like Prentice's. She also finds an alicorn, named Silveny, an extremely rare glittery winged horse, which she is able to bring back to Havenfield in an attempt to protect and prepare her to enter the Sanctuary, where the only other alicorn (a male) lives. For some reason, Silveny and Sophie are able to transmit their words and feelings to each other internally.
In the first book, Sophie spends a lot of time with her best friend, Dex, while pining after Fitz. In this book, she is still pining after Fitz, and her best friend is still Dex, but she spends a lot of time with Fitz's best friend, Keefe, and Keefe is her main support after her adventure to Exile. I am not sure why that is. Keefe seems to have "a thing" for Sophie; along with Dex and Fitz. So I am not sure which direction Sophie's personal life is heading. She is only 13 years old though, so plenty of time (and books) to figure that out.
I am really enjoying this series. Although they are longer books (like Harry Potter), they read fast for adults. The writing style in engaging and the story is easy to follow.
Wendy's Rating: ****
Monday, April 6, 2020
The Rise of Magicks by Nora Roberts
This is Book 3 of the Chronicles of The One. Since I read Book 1 in 2018 and Book 2 in 2019, after I finished this book, I went back and read what I blogged about Books 1 and 2. The main characters from Book 1 that I missed in Book 2 returned for the final "chapter" of this trilogy, which I liked. Unfortunately, I had a difficult time remembering who they all were at first. That's what happens when you have to wait for each book to be published before reading. This third book doesn't disappoint. Yes, there are good people who die, but freedom isn't free.
Fallon Swift teams up with the New Hope founders (her mother Lana & friends), her father (Simon), brothers (Travis, Colin & Ethan), her mentor (Mallick) and the love of her life and his twin sister (Duncan & Tonia) to fight against all that's evil in the United States. Their goal is not just to destroy evil, but to rescue all the persecuted who are being held as prisoners. Many of the prisoners are raped, tortured and experimented on. Their goal is a more peaceful country where all humans and magical people can live in harmony. This is an admirable goal, which is ultimately achieved at great cost. One thing that I don't really understand (or don't remember) is why Fallon, Duncan and Tonia are so powerful together. I get the significance of the number "three" in magic, but what connects these three specifically?
As I mentioned in the earlier books, it surprised me again that Allegra & Petra don't really appear in the novel until the very end. They may be the "ultimate evil", but Fallon ends up only having one battle with each of them. She spends the rest of her time drawing up battle plans for taking New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, etc. back from the enemy, which includes the self-elected President.
So in the end, good wins over evil and love conquers all. There is nothing wrong with ending a trilogy like that! I very much enjoyed it.
Wendy's Rating: ****
Fallon Swift teams up with the New Hope founders (her mother Lana & friends), her father (Simon), brothers (Travis, Colin & Ethan), her mentor (Mallick) and the love of her life and his twin sister (Duncan & Tonia) to fight against all that's evil in the United States. Their goal is not just to destroy evil, but to rescue all the persecuted who are being held as prisoners. Many of the prisoners are raped, tortured and experimented on. Their goal is a more peaceful country where all humans and magical people can live in harmony. This is an admirable goal, which is ultimately achieved at great cost. One thing that I don't really understand (or don't remember) is why Fallon, Duncan and Tonia are so powerful together. I get the significance of the number "three" in magic, but what connects these three specifically?
As I mentioned in the earlier books, it surprised me again that Allegra & Petra don't really appear in the novel until the very end. They may be the "ultimate evil", but Fallon ends up only having one battle with each of them. She spends the rest of her time drawing up battle plans for taking New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, etc. back from the enemy, which includes the self-elected President.
So in the end, good wins over evil and love conquers all. There is nothing wrong with ending a trilogy like that! I very much enjoyed it.
Wendy's Rating: ****
Friday, April 3, 2020
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
This book is considered youth fiction, but I really enjoyed it myself. I love the idea of the Native American Circle Justice. It was a much more effective way for Cole to change his life than prison would have done. He probably would have come out of prison angrier and more violent than he already was.
Cole is a 15 year old who caused serious injury to a classmate, Peter, by beating him up and smashing his head repeatedly into the concrete sidewalk. Cole was pulled off his classmate by others. Cole had so much anger inside of him and the only way he dealt with his feelings was through physical aggression. Cole's father was beaten as a child, so he in turn beat his own son, Cole. Cole then took that lesson and beat up others whenever he felt angry.
Cole was given the choice of going to prison for his actions or participating in Circle Justice. Choosing Circle Justice would mean that Cole would be taken to a deserted island and dropped off to live by himself for one year. He would be given supplies and food, dropped off on a regular basis. Cole chose Circle Justice, thinking that he could escape his punishment once he was on the island.
What I love about this book is the multiple themes that are explored. Two significant ones are "Karma" (what you do to others, you do to yourself) and "Life is a Circle" (what goes around, comes around). These are important lessons for all pre-teens/teens. Who am I kidding. Adults too!
Wendy's Rating: *****
Cole is a 15 year old who caused serious injury to a classmate, Peter, by beating him up and smashing his head repeatedly into the concrete sidewalk. Cole was pulled off his classmate by others. Cole had so much anger inside of him and the only way he dealt with his feelings was through physical aggression. Cole's father was beaten as a child, so he in turn beat his own son, Cole. Cole then took that lesson and beat up others whenever he felt angry.
Cole was given the choice of going to prison for his actions or participating in Circle Justice. Choosing Circle Justice would mean that Cole would be taken to a deserted island and dropped off to live by himself for one year. He would be given supplies and food, dropped off on a regular basis. Cole chose Circle Justice, thinking that he could escape his punishment once he was on the island.
What I love about this book is the multiple themes that are explored. Two significant ones are "Karma" (what you do to others, you do to yourself) and "Life is a Circle" (what goes around, comes around). These are important lessons for all pre-teens/teens. Who am I kidding. Adults too!
Wendy's Rating: *****
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