Two Great Fire Fighting Reads

Blood Sweat Tears and Prayers by Gary Ludwig

Genre: Biography
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a must read for anyone who is thinking about going into the service of an EMT/Paramedic or firefighter.  As I read this book I was reminded of one of my best friends and former co-workers at school.  Before becoming a tech person in our school district, he had retired from the Chicago Fire Department. My husband had been a firefighter way before we married.  When these two would get together they would start talking about "the good old days of fire fighting". I noticed a major difference in their stories. When it was just me with them I got a watered down version of the incident. When the two of them got together and I sat and listened they talked about things like waiting for the police to show up before they were allowed in because the site had to be secured.  They would talk in gruesome detail about the things they had seen and the smelled.  These were things they could never forget that changed them in some way.  If you talk to most fire fighters you get the basic details from them and nothing more.

Reading this book was like sitting down with my husband and Ron.  Chief Ludwig laid everything out bare. You heard the good, the bad, and the ugly.  You heard of the triumphs and the rewards of a profession that most people didn't think about until after 9/11.  I have never ever wanted to be a fire fighter. I have a terrible fear of fire that goes back to several incidents on our farm. One was growing up and trying to put out a grass fire that occurred when wind blew trash out and caught a field on fire. I remember using wet gunny sacks to beat back the flames until the fire department finally got out to our farm.  I remember the pain of trying to peel off nylon socks that had gotten so hot they had started to melt to my legs.  The second incident occurred while we were at church. My uncle actually interrupted the Wednesday service to tell us our farm was on fire.  An arsonist had set the barn on fire that caught several other buildings on fire.  I remember sitting on the roof of the house all night watching, afraid the fire would spread.  I remember the kind words of the firemen telling us it would be okay and that they would come back the next day to check for hot spots.

As Chief Ludwig demonstrated in his book, firefighting goes way beyond putting out a fire or rescuing someone.  It takes your complete mind, body and soul and leaves its on scars and imprints upon it.  If can be a very heart wrenching job and at the same time a very fulfilling job.  Read this book so that you can have a greater appreciation for those men and women who put their lives on the line daily.  I definitely recommend this book.

Heroes and Giants by Douglas B. Ashby

Genre: Adult, Biography
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This book gives us another look at the profession of a fire fighter.  We see once again the toll it takes on the physical, mental and spiritual well being of that person.  This book also gave us a look at the type of person best suited for this job as well as the type of person best suited to be their spouse.  The pressure and sights forced upon these men and women is tremendous.  They often withdraw into themselves.  A spouse needs to know that there will be times when they just want quite solitude to process what they have had to deal with that day.  There will be times when they need to just sit and cry or talk.  This is not a job for every one.  These people must be dedicated.

Their experiences also help shape the way that they deal with their family. They are often overly protective.  This is because sometimes the things they see are so terrible that they want to hug their family and thank God for what they have at home.  They have to learn how to balance their work and their home life and not let one intrude upon the other.  Once again I would recommend this to anyone who is considering going into this field. I would also recommend this to those who are just curious about what goes on in the life of a fire fighter.

FunGkins: The Battle For Halladon by C. Raymond Gray

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
With the evil Leprechauns (The Shangaar), hot on their trail, who would ever guess that the fate of the littlest people would fall on the shoulders of a 10-year-old human girl named Clara Gooday? Her unwavering belief in the Littlest People may be the very thing that saves The FunGkins and all of Halladon from a fate worse than death.

But first, she will have to deal with the evil Mr. Mustashio; he is one hundred and fifty years old but doesn't look a day over forty. Working for the evil leprechauns, he has moved into the funeral home next door, masquerading as an undertaker. But why have he and his sly talking dog Snodsty come to town? Clara is sure Mr. Mustashio is evil and is out to capture the FunGkins.

With her trusty magic telescope in hand; she can become invisible at will. Armed with her bag of tricks it's her plan to watch every move, the seven foot tall skinny man and his talking dog make.

Clara Gooday lives in Pirate's Cove a small town on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The town has strangers living there. With their bird-like features, they are even stranger looking. Some are good while others are pure evil. They all came to Pirate's Cove the day Clara was born. But for what reason are they there? Who is Clara really? What secret does she hold? What if she's part of the legend foretold?

Clara has many questions, but when she meets two FunGkins she and her Aunt Tilly are shrunken down to size, and whisked off to the magical world of Mushroom Valley. There all of her questions will be answered. Accompanied by her Aunt Tilly a school teacher.

Clara's journey will take you on a roller coaster ride of adventure. One where there are so many twists and turns that there are just too many to mention here. So if it's a thrilling adventure, you have been looking for buckle your seat belt and hold on tight, for this is a ride you can enjoy all day and all through the night. 

My Thoughts:
This is a very visual read. What do I mean by this? The descriptions of the fairies, leprechauns and other characters, along with the settings are so well described you can see them in you mind.  It is like reading and watching a movie at the same time. Because Clara has always believed in the little people she is the one that fate has decided must save them.  The plot moves at a quick pace so it will keep those reluctant readers turning pages.  I felt this was better suited for upper elementary to lower middle grades.

Becoming Monsters – Liss Thomas

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

After reading Finding Monsters I was so excited to receive the second book in the series. Unfortunately after reading it and making sure my students knew about it and it was on my shelf for them. I forgot to post a review.  I was cleaning out my files on my desktop and found a folder for it. I did what I always do. I checked to make sure I’d posted a review. Why? Because I have come across reviews I’d written a year before and forgot to post.  Life gets busy being a teacher, book reviewer and writer.  Often things go wrong.  Well unfortunately this was one of those things that went wrong. I found I’d not posted a review. So without further ado, here it is extremely late.

Becoming Monsters is the second book in the Guardians of Esurack series. If you haven’t read the first book you will definitely want to read it first. At the end of book one Emily is in the monster’s world. Why?  Read book one.  Anukhan has stolen Misty’s blue light. Now they must re-enter the human world and travel to Egypt to try and get it back.  I thought that the first book was full of emotion and mystery.  This book seemed to take it up several notches.  You realize that to stop Anukhan it could cost Misty her life. The fact that this author continued such a fantastic story line, and included something for all of those Egyptian myth lovers is a plus. Now Misty is facing an old enemy that is life threatening.  Will she ever get a break?