Student Saturday: The View From Saturday - E.L. Konigsburg c

Student Reviewer:  Jada
Publisher:  Atheneum Books

Pages:  176

Genre:  Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

The characters from the book The View From Saturday are Nadia, a girl with red hair, freckles that powder her nose, she’s plumped like a peach and is basically related to Ethan. The reason is their grandparents go married!  Mrs. Olinski is the teacher who does the Academic Bowl and she’s paraplegic-definition:  complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord.  Ethan is a very quiet, keep to himself type of boy.  He is practically related to Nadia because of their grandparents.  Julian is that boy who is different in a cool way.  Like his sense of style is different from others (short pants, knee-high socks, Reeboks).  Noah is the preppy-geeky smart guy!  He wears glasses and is apart of the Epiphany Academic bowl team and the souls going with Nadia, Ethan and Julian.  Nadia’s grandfather and dad, Ethan’s grandma, Nadia’s grandpa and Ethan’s grandma got married.

This book took place in Albany, New York.  The Souls never gave up.  They stuck with each other and were the Souls until the end, and surprising all that paid off for something amazing!  The Souls truly were excited.

My connection to this book would be, and this is just my perspective of the book, is when there is a group of people that get together and really not having that one thing that connects them besides being on a team tighter.  Not knowing each other at first is that one special thing that connects them all and in this case the Souls came to be  because of one thing.  They all want it so bad they stick together until they get that one thing accomplished or achieved or just keep the bond.

This was a pretty good book.  I would maybe read it again.  But, not more than twice.  This type of genre didn’t interest me as much, but there were parts that I enjoyed very much.  I’m a mystery book girl!  One thing I would recommend for this book is that you take your time with is and that you have to be mature. 

A Walk Across the Sun – Corban Addison

Publisher:  Sterling Publishing

Pages:  384

Source:  Received a galley copy from publisher

Genre:  Adult Thriller

From Goodreads:

Corban Addison leads readers on a chilling, eye-opening journey into Mumbai's seedy underworld--and the nightmare of two orphaned girls swept into the international sex trade. When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade. Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.

My Thoughts:

Those of us not familiar with the sex trade, me being one of those, usually think of it as happening “someplace else”.  The reality is that it happens all over the world, including right here in the United States.  Children are sold for drugs, prostitution, kidnapped right off of the street.  Before you go any further in this review you need to know that this is not a feel good topic.  It is repulsive and hard to read.

We start off the story with two innocent girls whose life is decimated due to a tsunami.  They try to get to their school where the sisters will take care of them.  Things go wrong and they find themselves where no young person should ever be, in the sex trade.  Thomas Clarke is a lawyer who has lost so much already.  He witnesses a kidnapping of a young girl in a park and this sets him on his mission to work against these traffickers.  

This story moves along smoothly carrying the reader from one heartbreak to another.  It is a very emotional book to read.  It lets you see inside the head and heart of these people who sell children for sex.  I think it was best said when one of the characters said to the young girl he had with him, “You are not here because I enjoy the sale of sex. You are here because men enjoy the purchase of it.” (page 329)

I thought about that remark.  If we could get rid of all of the people who were willing to pay for this service then we would not have the sex trade. 

As the author took us across India we get a look at the different caste systems and the way they treat people.  Both of these girls were middle class students who knew English.  This made them more valuable than many others.  The author doesn’t leave the reader in a depressive state.  He definitely wanted to give the reader hope that this situation can change in the future.  This is a must read book.  If nothing else you as a parent should read it to see what you need to protect your children from.

Corban Addison is able to give a voice to the victims of human trafficking.  Without that voice people like me know nothing of it.  We live in our safe little world.  After reading this book my world doesn’t feel so safe anymore and it isn’t as small as it once was.

Meet the Author:

Corban Addison holds a degree in law and engineering from the University of Virginia and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After completing a federal clerkship, Addison began his career specializing in corporate law and litigation. He has an abiding interest in international human rights, and is a supporter of numerous causes, including the abolition of modern slavery. He lives with his wife and two children in Virginia. A Walk Across the Sun is his first novel.

Watch the Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DzA-4-qtg8

Links:  CorbanAddison.com, facebook.com/CorbanAddison

Enjoy Every Sandwich: Living Each Day As If It Were Your Last - Lee Lipsenthal, M.D.

BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY - Read all the way down to enter to win one of two copies of this book from the publisher.

Publisher:  Crown Archetype
Pages:  224
Source: I received a copy for review from the publisher
Genre: Adult, Memoir

Dr. Lee Lipsenthal worked with Dr. Dean Ornish at the famed Preventive Medicine Research Institute. As medical director of the Institute, he helped thousands of patients to overcome their fear of pain and death and to embrace living life with joy every day. In his own life, happily married and the proud father of two remarkable children, Lee was similarly committed to living life fully and gratefully each day. The power of these beliefs was tested in July 2009, when Lee was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. As Lee and his wife, Kathy, navigated his illness and treatment over the past two years, Lee discovered that he did not fear death. Instead of fearing the future, he took the time to practice gratitude, connect with his loved ones, and make every attempt to live a full life with each breath. Enjoy Every Sandwich is Lee’s lasting gift to his family, his friends, his colleagues and to readers.

Lee died on Tuesday, September 20. It is now our honor to spread Lee's message with this special book.


Watch this powerful book trailer:




The topic of this book is a tough one to read about.  The big "C" word, whether it deals with breast cancer, lung cancer, or any other type of cancer is scary.  It is scary to the person who has just heard the diagnosis and it is scary to their friends and family.  It is not an unfamiliar word in my family.  As a matter of fact this book is on its way to my sister.  She was first diagnosed with cancer at the age of 19.  After surgery and radiation she was clear of cancer for 20 years.  Eight years ago she was diagnosed with lung cancer.  It is slowly moving throughout her body.  Her outlook is like Lee's.  Instead of focusing on death, she has chosen to focus on life and living it to her fullest.  She is enjoying time with he grand kids and daughter.  Like Lee she prays and meditates daily.  I enjoyed reading his philosophy although some aspects of it differ from mine.  He said, "many religions use meditation and some just call it prayer. Some say prayer is talking to God or the universe and meditation is listening  to the answer'. (page 50).  I  believe some people will feel threatened by his belief system.  He doesn't knock any ones religious beliefs.  He actually encourages people to pray and meditate.   As a Christian I can tell you that I feel out of balance if I don't start my day with prayer and meditation.  No matter what your religious beliefs Lee is right about several things.  First we should acknowledge that bad things happen to good people, just like good things happen to them.  Second, we should create a life that is full of love and laughter.  We should never put ourselves into a box of our own making.  When my father was alive my mom would come to him with a problem.  He would handle it.  She often told him that it drove her nuts that he didn't seem to worry or care about the situation.  His reply was always the same, "I care about it and I'll handle it, but worrying about it won't change it one bit.  So at this point in time I "choose" not to worry about it because worry won't add anything to my life, but it can take so much away.

I think the overall message of this book is to live life to the fullest no matter what the situation.

Links
Official Website:   http://www.enjoyeverysandwich.net
Product Page:        http://bit.ly/tPecOt


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