Second Chance Inn by Marlayne Giron

 

Genre: Adult, Amish Fiction

Source: I received an advance reading copy. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I usually read this author’s books in one to two days. However, I have been sick for almost a month. I had finished the first half of the book and got sick again. I am glad I was finally able to finish it. My husband said he knew how sick I was when I didn’t even feel like reading. I am sorry it took so long to finish this wonderful book.

Marlayne Giron is a very talented writer. In Second Chance Inn we meet Rachel Wilson and her daughter Karen. It is obvious from the start that they don’t get along and Rachel isn’t sure how to make it work. After her husband dies Rachel and her daughter move to Pennsylvania. She has bought a farmhouse belonging to an Amish widower. The idea is to turn it into a bed and breakfast so everyone who stays can have a full Amish experience. The only difference is there will be electricity and inside bathrooms.

Samuel Miller has sold the farm to Rachel after losing his family. He stays on to work with the animals and continue to be a part of his Amish community, even if he has had a falling out with God. We see the way God uses both adults to help the other heal. We see a teenager who lived in the world of social media and immediate gratification embrace the Amish lifestyle and turn from being an angry teen to very pleasant young lady. We see Karen’s attitude toward her mother completely change.  It is obvious that God is in the details here. Marlayne has obviously done a lot of research into the Amish lifestyle. Her characters are well developed and her setting puts you right in the middle of the story. I hope Marlayne continues to write in this genre. She is natural at it. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

Genre: Young Adult, Nonfiction
Source: I own a copy

This is a true story that took place in 2013.  It explores many issues and how they are handled. Sasha is an agender, autistic teen who likes wearing skirts.  Richard is a teen who decides to set Sasha’s skirt on fire while they are sleeping. It was meant to be a prank. Many things played a role in the sentence that Richard was given. The actual event was horrific no matter what gender.  However, when you look at all the facts several things come to mind. So let me start by saying that the incident, no matter what race or gender the victim and perpetrator were needed to be punished.  When reading the book I noticed a couple of things in particular.  The first thing I noticed was that Sasha was white and Richard was African American.  The second thing we notice is their gender identification and their financial status.  When you read a book and the victim’s family stands up for the person accused of the crime and it is ignored then you have to imagine something is wrong with the system. Richard is questions without a lawyer and makes statements that paint him as homophobic. Due to this and other circumstances he is tried as an adult. Yes I do believe what he did was wrong on so many levels. Do I believe he should have been tried as an adult?  No.  This crime changed both lives. By the press and everyone involved focusing on race and gender there was a lot of bias found in this case.  The author brings a human side to the story. By telling what happened to both teens and telling us both sides of the story we get a better picture of the humans these two are.  So often the news takes a story and puts their own slant on it to fit the politics of the time. I can’t have it on my shelves, but I can sure recommend students check it out from their local library.

Student Saturday: Allies by Alan Gratz

 

Genre:  Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

Student Reviewer:  Delaney B.

"Allies" by Alan Gratz is a story that follows multiple characters/narrators during the events of World War 2. The main narrator is Dee, a sixteen year old American soldier in the invasion of Normandy,France, code-named Operation Overlord.

Dee and many of the other narrators get confronted throughout their war efforts but work around it successfully with the help of their new allies and friends. All of the narrators contributed to the Allied success of WWII and most end up meeting each other throughout the book, which I thought was a cool feature. 

I'm not sure I would have survived in any of the narrators' shoes, because all of their situations seemed to have lots of pressure and intimidation along with it. I would recommend this book to people interested in WWII because it gives a lot of perspective of what it was like being involved in the war. Overall, I really liked the book and it exceeded my expectations because the details and characterization were so well thought out and was overall a nice read.