Student Saturday: Grayson - Lynne cox

Student Reviewer: Sarah

Grayson is a wonderful book about a baby gray whale who has lost his mother and a girl who finds him around a California harbor. The girl is adamant to help the calf. The girl is very strong, determined, courageous and a kind person. She develops a strong connection with the baby whale. She finds herself following the baby whale everywhere, even all the way out to an oil rid, while swimming freestyle the whole time! While following the baby whale for more than half of the day, the girl comes face to face with many marine animals. Some of the animals she encounters are feisty stingrays, graceful manta rays, playful dolphins and of course the majestic mother whale. I connect the most with the girl because she and I both are caring. She is also very reflective and I think that I too am reflective. She and I both just want to find the true meaning of life. The girl is definitely a risk-taker, however I do not think that I am. I think that this book is very inspirational, heart warming and wonderful I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who like non-fiction about animal relationships.

Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen: Authorities Say Girl Witness to Murder – Lauren Leigh

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Murder Mystery
Format:  Kindle edition
I received a copy of this book as a gift in exchange for my honest review.

 One thing that captured my eye from the beginning was the Headline type  title.  This read like something from the newspaper.  The book starts with a young couple in the hospital waiting for their new baby.  They decide to adopt the child even though they are told the child is born blind, will never walk or talk and may be mentally disabled.  They name her Baby because they believe she will always be that way.  From the very beginning it is evident that her mother, named Rivers,  loves Baby  no matter what.  She sees so much more potential than most people.  As we read we learn that Rivers husband is a highly respected deputy sheriff.  I believed he was apprehensive about adopting a child like this until I read about how highly he thought of his hunting dogs over Baby.  He reverses their role and brings them into the house and places this young child out in a dog pen to live.  I was appalled on so many levels. Every time Rivers brings baby into the house, Baby is taken back outside and put back in the pen. Her food is placed in a dog dish. When her mom tries to intervene she is beaten.

Now most of you who are reading this are thinking, why didn’t she just take the baby and leave if they were being abused? I know from watching a family member who was in an abusive relationship, that they are mentally beaten down until they fear if they do anything they and their children will be hurt or worse.  Mentally their mind goes into survival mode. Many women live this way for years until they finally get the courage to run. Many of them end up dead. In Rivers’ case, she ends up dead, baby ends up in an institution and the deputy ends up dead. Rivers doesn’t remember killing him.

This was a fantastic book.  The characters were so believable that was empathetic to their situation from the very beginning. I fell in love with Baby from the beginning.  I hated the Deputy almost from the beginning. It felt like he allowed the adoption just to give his wife something to do. I was so engrossed in the book that I read it during every spare minute I had, which wasn’t much, just to find out how things would work out.  If you want a book with that human touch to it, that will keep you on the edge of your seat reading, then this is the book for you.  I would definitely read more by this author.

Student Saturday: Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Student Reviewer: Kea

Ice was a good book. The main character is Cassie an 18 year old girl who lives with her father at a research station in the Arctic. She's a bit head strong and willing to fight for who she loves. She's been told her mother was taken beyond the ends of the earth by the trolls. Now much older Cassie takes that to mean her mother is dead. In the "fairytale" her mother promises that if the polar bear king hides her and her human husband (she was supposed to marry the polar bear king) she will have her daughter marry him. Now 18 years of age the kind gentle polar bear king has come to claim his bride. Cassie marries him in exchange for him freeing her mother ( who is indeed locked in the troll castle). However, when a tragedy occurs she must save her husband and the child she is carrying. Throughout her quest she journeys the Arctic and beyond, This book reminds me of a few other books such as The Wide Awake Princess, Unlocking the Spell and The Land of Stories, and The Wishing Spell. These books are all a bit of real life, fairytale blend. Just like Ice. I think that this book was good. I do think it was a little to stretched out, like the author was trying too hard to make it long. If you enjoyed the Redwall books (long, fantasies with animals) then you will likely enjoy Ice. On a scale from one to ten I would give it a seven