Thursday, July 16, 2009

Three New Reviews

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: Farrar,, Straus, and Grioux, 2005
Ages 12 and up

Lizzie Hall is fifteen and preparing to get her driver’s license and help her friend pick out a dress for the prom. All of these plans change in the blink of an eye. Suddenly Lizzie wakes up on a ship called the SS Nile. She and her roommate Thandi, dressed in white pajama’s leave the room to find food and explore. Unlike Thandi it takes Liz a while to realize that she, like everyone else on this ship is dead. When the ship finally stops she finds herself in a place called Elsewhere and on the dock is her Grandmother Betty.
Liz tries all kinds of things to find out who she is in this strange place. Just when she thinks she has it figured out and has found someone to love, her luck changes again.
This was an absolutely delightful read. You see the rebellious teenager unwilling to change at first and then you see the teenager who has decided to give her time in elsewhere her best. She finds talents she never knew she had and uses them to help others. This was a fun read. I found myself giggling out loud at times. This book definitely gets a 5 out of 5 for being easy, delightful and fun.









Giv: The Story of a Dog and America
Author: Boston Teran
High top Publishing, 2009

The book came to me with the quote, “The Forrest Gump of dog books”. This was so right on target. The author crafted the story so well that I had to go back to make sure the story was fiction. This is the story of Giv, a dog who travels all across the states. He survives a kidnapping, Hurricane Katrina, an abusive period only to be rescued by a Marine, who finds it was he that needed rescued. This Marine decides to find Giv’s owner, which takes him across the country. Once again Giv rescues someone and it is believed that Give is lost. When found his past meets up with his future. This was a wonderful book. Each owner has a story. It is usually one that starts out negative until Giv enters the picture. Lives are changed because of him. Anyone who has ever had a pet, or read stories of animals who have rescued others, often giving their own life for the human will want to read this book. Just like in Forrest Gump, every negative thing that happens to him turns into something positive. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 rating.



Ageing Well: A guide to Rejuvenation and Longevity
Author: Dr. George Cromack,
Outskirts Press, 2009

Just when you think you are doing everything you can to help you age gracefully, along comes another book to show you how to do it better. Unlike a lot of books, this book chose to treat the whole person. This book is basically an informational book. It gives you options to improve your lifestyle. I usually don’t put a lot of stock into these types of books because they want you to make such strict changes to your lifestyle that is not always compatible with those who live with you. I didn’t feel that way about this book. I have incorporated breathing exercises, strength training. A lot of the natural products; antioxidants, probiotics and enzymes suggested in the book, I had already added due to six surgeries over the last year and a half. They were products that my surgeons recommended to aid in the healing process. This book took a more homeopathic view of treating our bodies. They were common sense items that were probably the things our grandparents or great-grandparents used.

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