Meadowbrook Lane ReadsALot

As Kristen explained in her post of The Book Thief: “ A 5 star will be reserved for those very few books that completely blew me away after finishing them.”, this is one of those 5 star books for me. From the first sentence of this book, the action begins. It’s the story of a mother and son’s journey from Acapulco, Mexico to  the United States. Part of my interest in this book is the timing of the topic with current events. I appreciated the perspective and emotion this book provided. 

About a year ago I read Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours about the adoption scandals that took place in Memphis in 1939. That book was so moving. She did not disappoint in this historical fiction novel. I enjoyed the pace of the book and the story being told from freed-slave, Hattie, Louisiana 1875 and school teacher, Benny,  Louisiana 1987. The history and way the stories came together was pretty impressive. As a teacher myself, I loved some of Benny’s thoughts relating to her students and unique classroom rules. This was a 4 out of 5 stars for me. 

You think you know who you are married to, right? In this story, a wife and daughter team up to figure out who their husband/father really is. This read kept me very engaged with unexpected twists and turns. I especially liked how the ‘clues’ were provided with flashbacks in time. 4 out of 5 stars for me. (I’m following Kristen’s lead and reserving 5 stars for those truly outstanding, favorite books!)