Kisses from Katie by Katie J. Davis and Beth Clark

Summary:

What would cause an eighteen-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because the rest of them think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Ug...more What would cause an eighteen-year-old old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because the rest of them think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person but didn’t know any of the language? A passion to make a difference. Katie Davis left over Christmas break her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved, so broken by the people and the children of Uganda that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Her story is like Mother Teresa’s in that she has given up everything—at such a young age—to care for the less fortunate of this world. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, has gone on to adopt 14 children during her time in Uganda, and she completely trusts God for daily provision for her and her family, which includes children with special needs.
To further her reach into the needs of Ugandans, Katie established Amazima Ministries. The ministry matches orphaned children with sponors worldwide. Each sponsor's $300/year provides schooling, school supplies, three hot meals a day, minor medical care, and spiritual encouragement. Katie expected to have forty children in the program; she had signed up 150 by January 2008; today it sponsors over 400. Another aspect of the ministry is a feeding program created for the displaced Karamojong people—Uganda's poorest citizens. The program feeds lunch to over 1200 children Monday-Friday and sends them home with a plate for food; it also offers basic medical care, Bible study, and general health training.
Katie Davis, now 21, is more than fascinating, she's inspiring, as she has wholeheartedly answered the call to serve.
Summary taken from GoodReads.com
Length: 288 pages (Kindle copy)
Source: NetGalley ARC
Publication Date: October 4th 2011

I was first drawn to this book because I've had an obsession with Africa ever since I was a child and have always dreamed of going over there and helping so I was able to live vicariously through Katie for at least a little while.

This is the story of a remarkable young woman who is the same age as me who was brave enough to leave the comforts of her upper middle class life to volunteer her time, energy and heart to the people of Uganda.

Through all of her trials she uses her faith in God to get her through and eventually things while hard start to fall in to place and she falls in love with the kind, loving, beautiful souls of Uganda the place she now calls home as she adopts not one but 13 girls who now call her mommy. A feat that deserves tremendous applause.

I have a lot of respect for Katie. I commend her on having such a kind loving heart and giving herself to the people who really need her. She is living my dream. Her story was such an inspiration to me that it awakened a part of me that's been buried since I met Mr. Turning the Pages. Before him I used to want to teach English as a second language in Africa but slowly thoughts like that got shoved to the side as new dreams replaced the old but now I'm going to get my ESL certification so I can accomplish the old dream of working over seas. So really I have to thank Katie for reawakening that in me.

I thought the book was well written. The only part I didn't like was how the book was a little bit preachy because she mentioned God a little too much for my tastes and could have gotten her point across without being so repetitive but all in all I think she gives a unique perspective of Uganda from a fresh set of eyes and I wish her all the very best and hope she continues to have success. Maybe one day I'll meet her...perhaps I should even e-mail her and let her know how her book affected me.

I strongly advise checking this book out. It will make you think and hopefully change your perceptions of the world...and maybe even persuade you to do a little more to help those in need.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★

I Dare to Say: African Women Share Their Stories of Hope and Survival by Hilda Twongyeirwe

Click here to see the other books I'm reading for this challenge.

 

Summary:

A young woman at last finds love, only to discover, after the death of her baby and her man, that he was married, had eight children, and died of "slim," or AIDS.
A girl hides under a blanket in her dormitory while the Lord's Resistance Army, in search of child brides, pushes an armed child soldier through the window so they can take their pick of the terrified girls.
Not long after her ritual genital mutilation, a girl on her way home from school is beaten by four men, then delivered to an old man who will be her husband, a standard marriage practice.
In I Dare to Say, African women speak out in their own words, sharing poignant tales of womanhood, revealing how they cope and survive, and confiding their dreams and hopes for themselves and their children. They tell not only of atrocities and pain but also of motherhood, marriage, love, and courage, a testament to the bond among women from all cultures.
Dramatic, sometimes heartbreaking, often inspiring, I Dare to Say vividly brings to life how political instability, ethnic rivalries, and traditional religion shape the daily life-as well as the future-of rural African girls and women.
Hilda Twongyeirwe is an author, a poet, an editor, and the recipient of the Certificate of Recognition from the National Book Trust of Uganda for her book Fina the Dancer. She is the coordinator of FEMRITE and lives in Kampala, Uganda. FEMRITE, the Uganda Women Writers' Association was founded in 1995 to empower women through writing and sisterhood, giving them a voice in a male-dominated culture.

Summary taken from GoodReads.com

Length: 319 pages

Source: NetGalley ARC

Publication Date: February 1st 2012

Let's get one thing straight. This book is not meant to be enjoyed. It is not meant to make the reader feel better. It is skillfully written but the subject matter is not by any means for the faint of heart. The book is written by Hilda Twongyeirwe who being a native of Uganda went out and about her homeland to interview women so they would have a voice and that their stories would be told.

I liked the way that the book was written because although the author interviewed the women their stories were told without being broken up into questions. Their words flowed freely. I'm glad that the author let them speak and she just recorded their stories as they told them

This book was an eye opener. It was completely and utterly heart wrenching. Honestly with each and ever different account from these special women my heart broke for them and broke with them. The horrors that these women faced and thousands of others face on a daily basis are unimaginable and unspeakable.

The women in this book lived through gang rape, spousal abuse, kidnapping, aids, FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)  and being displaced by war. The things that they bore witness to are the very things that those of us who live in the comfort of our nice big, clean homes in the western world believe that nightmares are made of. One woman told Hilda that when soldiers came to her village she saw one man grab a woman's baby and beat it to death with a mortar and pedestal. I wonder if the child's mother survived or if she died afterward at the hands of the friends of the man who took her baby from her. I hope in my heart that she lived.

That is just one of the accounts in this book but that one is the one that has stayed with me the most. It was the one who made me the angriest and scared and grateful. I was angry at what occurred, scared that it is still happening and selfishly grateful that I'm not there where all this happened.

Despite the subject matter the book resonates with hope. Something that you wouldn't really expect to find after all these women and girls have been through but it is still there. I think it remains there because that's all the people have. Hope for a better tomorrow keeps them going.

I'd like to thank the author for publishing this book and the women who told their stories. They are an inspiration to us all and a reminder that we may live in comfort and complain about the small things but there will always be someone else who has it worse off. In fact they may have it so bad where they live that the contents of this book become common place or even normal. That is the most frightening thing I think.

I  highly recommend this to everyone. It is a book that needs to be read and one that deserves attention. It may be an uncomfortable read but out of respect for the women who have suffered and continue to suffer I urge everyone to read it.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★

The Wild Book by Margarita Engle

 

Summary:

Fefa struggles with words. She has word blindness, or dyslexia, and the doctor says she will never read or write. Every time she tries, the letters jumble and spill off the page, leaping and hopping away like bullfrogs. How will she ever understand them?

But her mother has an idea. She gives Fefa a blank book filled with clean white pages. "Think of it as a garden," she says. Soon Fefa starts to sprinkle words across the pages of her wild book. She lets her words sprout like seedlings, shaky at first, then growing stronger and surer with each new day. And when her family is threatened, it is what Fefa has learned from her wild book that saves them.

In this vibrant novel in verse, award-winning poet Margarita Engle paints a glowing portrait of her grandmother as a young girl.

Summary taken from GoodReads.com

Length: 144 Pages (Hardcover)

Source: NetGalley ARC

Publication Date: March 20th 2012 by Harcourt Children's Books          

Today having a learning disabilty is more manageable in a lot of ways but in decades past there was a lot of misconceptions that people had when it came to them. Children who had them were often considered to be stupid and hopeless.

This is the story of author Margarita Engle's grandmother, Fefa. Fefa has dyslexia which was known as "word blindness" at the time she lived. The doctor who her mother had taken her to said that she would never read nor write. However Fefa's loving mother never gave up on her and encouraged her to write.

Now this isn't a biography of her grandmother it's more like a fairy tale type version of her life. I really liked the story and the way it was told and I generally hate books written in poetic verses. It's just one of my pet peeves so I was surprised that this author did a pretty good job utilizing that writing skill especially since this is a childrens book.

I think that the author told the story in a way that is appealing to young readers because it takes place in a different country, a different time and its about a young girl triumphing over her so called "learning disability". I highly recommend it to younger kids maybe 9 years old and up and I think that young girls would especially relate to Fefa's feelings of being an outsider.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★

Soldier's Game by James Killgore

Summary:

Ross is fed up with being on the losing side, as Bruntsfield Primary football team suffer another humiliating defeat. But after football practice each week he goes to visit his grandmother, and this week she has a special present for him. Pat digs out a pair of old football boots and strip which belonged to her father, who once played for Heart of Midlothian Football Club. Ross is amazed that his great-grandfather, Jack, had played for the famous Hearts. As he finds out more about Jack, an incredible story unfolds -- a tale of Edinburgh's young heroes and a battalion of footballers and fans who fought in the First World War at the Battle of the Somme. Based on the true story of the 16th Royal Scots, otherwise known as the 'Heart of Midlothian Battalion', this moving book brings a fascinating moment of Scottish history to life. Jim Killgore interweaves the present day life of an ordinary football-mad boy with a story of young men who were sent to war. He focuses on the friendships that develop as the lads play football and learn to become soldiers together, making this remarkable story enjoyable and accessible for young people.

Summary taken from GoodReads.com

Length: 160 pages

Source: NetGalley ARC

Publication Date: July 1st 2011

As you can tell I've been reading quite a few juvenile fiction books as of late but by no means am I going to be reviewing books for this age group and nothing else.  I will be reading and review other types of books soon.

Anyways on to the review!

I thought that the book was pretty good. Considering I don't know much about soccer "football" it wasn't hard to follow the story. I thought that the idea behind it was interesting. The story revolves around Ross the 12 year old soccer player who has two left feet and the story his Grandmother Pat tells him about his great grandfather Jack who was a star player of his favourite team before he went to fight in WWI.

The story switches from Ross's point of view and that of Jack as Pat tells the story of her father growing up from being a sickly child to one that would play for a major team. For Jack things appear to be going well until the war broke out and he and his team signed up to fight. He ends up seeing some action and gets injured and never plays soccer again. I actually liked Jack's part of the book was the best part because he became the main character which at first I thought was weird because I was wondering where Ross fit in. As Ross learns more about his great-grandfather he gains more confidence on the field.

I thought that the story was well written, the characters are easy to relate to and I think that the book shows that WWI wasn't fought by old men but that it was fought by young men like Jack. Jack had what he wanted in life. He had a nice family at home with his parents and siblings, he had a job and he was an up and coming star on his soccer team but he was able to give all that up to fight for his country and was willing to die trying. I wonder if many kids out there know how bad the wars really were.

I know here in history class we focused a lot on WWI and WWII in our history classes and we studied all the countries who participated but I know that elsewhere there isn't as much focus or that the focus is only on the country that people were born in. To me this is wrong. It was a WORLD war respect should be given to all those who fought.

I would recommend this to younger reader aged 12 and up and I think boys especially would like it.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★

Chronal Engine: A Prehistoric Time-Travel Adventure by Greg Leitich Smith & Blake Henry

Summary:
When Max, Kyle, and Emma are sent to live with their reclusive grandfather, they think he’s crazy, especially when he tells them about his time machine. But after Emma is kidnapped at the exact time that her grandfather predicted, Max and Kyle are forced to believe his eccentric stories—even the one about the Chronal Engine in the basement.
 Now, to save Emma, Max, Kyle, and their new friend Petra must pile into a VW Bug, and use the Chronal Engine to take the road trip of a lifetime—right back to the Cretaceous period. With dangers all around, the teens find themselves dodging car-crushing herbivores in addition to the terrifying T. rex. In this ancient environment, can three contemporary teens hunt down a kidnapper, forage for food, and survive long enough to return home?
Length: 192 pages
Source: Netgalley ARC
Publication Date: March 20th 2012
Summary taken from GoodReads.com

This was my first time reading a book by either of these two authors and I really liked it. Let me tell you that in my house watching the Discovery Channel, Nova, and the History Channel after school was not optional. This is both good and bad, you see now have a love of all things dinosaur and prehistoric as well sharks and nazis. It's true. By the time I was 8 I knew more about the past the any kid in my class...and though I got tired of my Dad forcing me to watch WWI and WWII shows I still have a great love for prehistoric animals and sharks. Seriously Shark Week for me is like NY Fashion Week for other girls I know. But, rather than be ashamed of this I chose to put it out there on the interwebs.

My name is Kimberly.
I am a nerd.

So of course I knew as soon as I read the description on NetGalley that I HAD to read this. I mean the kid in me would not forgive me if I were to have passed it by. I'm so glad I read this! I really wish it had been around when I was younger because I think I would have loved it.

The whole idea behind the story was awesome, I mean it had time travel AND dinosaurs. What more could I ask for?  I really think that the story is great for kids 10+. The characters were likable and I thought that it was somewhat like a kid's verison of the H.G. Wells classic book The Time Machine.
Out of all the characters I would have to say that I liked Max the most just because I know what it's like to be the youngest sibling and to be babied by my older brother and sister. I think that the authors added just the right amount of dinosaurs to the story as well as just the right amount of mystery and intrigue for younger readers.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a kid that loves dinosaurs and time travel and I really hope the authors write another book and will turn this into a series and will take them back in prehistory again.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★

Arctic Winds (Alpine Woods Shifters, #1) by Sondrae Bennett

Summary:
Nothing will stop a wolf once he’s found his mate…not even her own doubts.

After her skulk abandoned her four years ago, Samantha knew she would never truly be wanted. When she accidentally stumbles into a wolf town and is asked by their premier to stay, she believes it’s the novelty of an arctic fox motivating him. She knows she’ll be on her own again once he tires of her.

Jason finds himself pulled to Samantha from the moment she faints in his arms. His wolf is calling to him, telling him he’s found their mate and the heat he feels for Samantha is impossible to resist. But his little fox is loaded down with emotional baggage and doesn’t believe she’s worthy of love. Can he overcome her fears? Or will pack jealousies and the local faxes convince her she doesn’t belong with him before he has a chance?
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Now I'm all for the indie authors, and the authors who publish their books through little publishing companies. I support them. I love them. I encourage them to chase their dreams. But what ever possessed this author to write a book like this? Talk about mindless drivel!

The story has the damsel in distress (Samantha) and the alpha male (literally in this case, Jason). Who get into a relationship I believe 1 day after she arrives in town and he starts getting an attitude of  "oh she's my mate I can't let her think for herself!" . I HATE THAT! Well, sometimes I don't but as a person who has experienced  being in a controlling relationship I guess that aspects in romance novels is kind of touchy for me.

To me Samantha was a blonde airhead who was perfectly happy to do all Jason allowed her to do and let herself be treated as someone incapable of taking care of herself. I hate the fact that they hoped in bed and did the horizontal tango something like 3 days after meeting and then moving in with each other about 4 days after. It was so pathetic!

The whole story was rushed and felt like there wasn't much though put into the story. I didn't care for this writers writing and I doubt whether I would ever read her writing again, because in my honest opinion this read as though a middle schooler wrote it.

★

The Viking's Sacrifice by Julia Knight

Summary:

Viking raiders destroyed Wilda's home. She witnessed the murder of her mother and would have been killed herself if it weren't for the Viking boy Einar, who saved her from his ruthless brother. The blood and murder left Wilda cold and shorn of feeling.

Eight years later, the heathens return for Wilda. As a captive in the Viking village, she finds protection and silent comfort in the man who once gallantly saved her.
Einar has been cursed to silence by his brother. With the dark net of his brother's power cast over their village, silence is a small price to pay for his family's safety. But Einar is immediately drawn to Wilda, and the need to protect her from his brother awakens his Viking courage. Can Einar break his brother's curse in time to save the village and the woman he loves?69,000 words
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Oh how I love historical romance! A damaged hero and a lady captured to be his brothers wife. Sounds like the makings of a good story right? Unfortunately this one wasn't that great. In fact I'd call this one mediocre.

I could not no matter how hard I tried and I did try believe me connect to any of the characters in this story at all. To me the writing was bland and predictable. I found the story to be one of those stop and go tales where there was no seamless flow in the writing, The author, I'm assuming thought it would be a splendid idea to add some non english words into the story in an effort to connect the story to the setting but I feel like it didn't work at all and that they were placed haphazardly. I also thing that the author tended to ramble in the writing and repeat certain words so it was hard to focus on the story.

I do appreciate what the author was trying to achieve however this one fell very short of my expectations. I will despite finding this book to be "just okay" that I will try the author's other work in an effort to give her a fighting chance to allow me to like her.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★

The Mice of Bistrot des Sept Freres by Marie LeTourneau

Summary:
Every day, Chef Marcel and his sons recite the recipe for the famous cheese soup of the Bistrot des Sept Freres--the trendiest mouse cafe in all of Paris. But when a culinary judge is due to arrive and Chef Marcel has run out of his secret ingredient, it is Petite Michelle who saves the day. This adorable story and whimsical illustrations of Marie LeTourneau will delight children, while providing une petite lecon on the language and culture of France.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Now I don't often read children's picture books but this one caught my eye. What can I say I like mice! I thought that this was a very cute read and I can't get over the illustrations! The illustrator did a fantasic job in doing this book. The artwork is absolutely amazing, I loved the use of colours and I love how it was a little whimsy it reminded me of hw france looked in the Disney movie The Aristocats.

The main reason I don't read kiddie books is because I don't have kids (yet) and even though I'm only 21 my niece is already 15 and my nephew is 14 (my older sister is 15 years older than I am). So I don't really have a reason to read them anymore but in this case I'm very glad that I made the effort to read this one.

I thought the premise was quite good and vaguely similar to the movie Ratatouille (a very good movie). I enjoyed escaping back into the world of my childhood where the books were simple. I thought that the story went perfectly with the artwork and I think that this is a wonderful read for small children to read on their own, or along side their parents. I also appreciate that the author included french in the story.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan by Hildi Kang

Click here to see the other books I'm reading for this challenge.

 

Summary:

Chengli is an orphaned errand boy who lives in Chang’an China in 630 A.D. His mother has died from illness and his father is presumed dead after disappearing into the desert when Chengli was a baby.
Now thirteen, Chengli feels ready for independence. He is drawn to the desert, beckoned by the howling of strange winds and the hope of learning something about his father—who he was and how he died.
Chengli joins the caravan to travel down the merchant route known as the Silk Road, but it is a dangerous life, as his father knew. The desert is harsh, and there are many bandits, particularly drawn to Chengli’s caravan because a princess, her servants, and royal guards are traveling with them.
This story invites readers to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of this fabled desert route.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

So I took a trip to China for my around the world challenge and I managed to go back in time as well. Our maincharaqchter is a 13 year old boy named Chengli who was orphaned as a baby and raised by an elderly woman named "Old Cook". He spends his days delivering silk for the merchant he works for with his companion Little Limp until one day the urge to find information about his father leads him to quitting his job and joining up with a caravan that will travel 2,000 miles from where he'a grown up.

The road is long and the days are harsh, Chengli has to battle exhaustion all the time. Plus the fact that he's got to deal with an annoying child princess, the threat of bandits, and the fact that the boy he thought of as his friend Fourth Brother is stealing and Chengli can't do anything to stop him.

Mile after mile the days begin to wear on him but after a brief stop in a town he becomes friends with the bratty princess and still manages to seek information about his dead father but he recieves very little information at all.

At another stop the Caravan is attacked by brigands and the princess is stolen. Chengli risks his own life in pursuit of her but becomes injured. As he slowly begins to heal and his story spreads the people that have taken care of him and he recieves information bit by bit about where the princess is. Soon he is well enough to pursue her and rescue her from her captors and with the help of his new found friends he finds her and frees her and in the process avoids death serval times to find a man who knew his father.

The princess goes on her way to meet the king she was supposed to be married and Chengli returns to his home town knowing that his life is forever changed and that he's made a life lng friend in this once bratty princess.

I liked the idea of the story more than I liked the writing itself. It was not written badly I just didn't feel that it flowed at times and I found it to progress fairly slowly despite being a tale of adventure the writing seemed stiff. I did like the characters though and I like how both the Princess and Chengli evolved ad grew up as their circumstances changed. Both in the end showed that they had an inner strength to them that was not evident before.

I feel that this book while I didn't like it as much as I wanted would be perfectly suited for 10-12 year olds, as it expose the readers to a time and culture they might not already be familiar with.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ 1/2

Beyond Bullets by Rafael Gerzak (photographer) with Dawn Hunter

Click here to see a list of the other books I'm reading for this challenge.

Summary:
Award-winning photographer Rafal Gerszak spent a year embedded with the American military in Afghanistan, where he used his camera to document everyday life in the war-torn country. While there, he developed a deep affection for the land and its people, and he later returned on his own. Despite the dangers around him, he continued taking photos, exposing the plight of that besieged country.

Framed by journal entries that relate his experiences on two levels—as a foreigner looking for a deeper connection to a country that has stirred him, and as a journalist looking for another side to the story—BEYOND BULLETS addresses the volatile situation in Afghanistan with sensitivity and profound insight. Through Gerszak’s lens, readers can see the shattered aftermath of military attacks and dismal hospitals and refugee camps, but they can also experience the vibrant activity of life in the markets, at home and on the Muslim day of rest.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Since I'm doing my Around The World Challenge I thought that this would be a great book to read as it takes place in Afghanistan. This is a photo journal of sorts based on what photographer Rafael Gerzak experienced during his 15 month deployment in Afghanistan and what happened after.

The first half of the book depicts some of the events that took place while he got deployed in Afghanistan with a unit for 15 months. He gives the readers a look into his life while he was there by including wonderful photographs and to aid him and he provided captions as well as little "journal entries" about different things that he bore witness to.

The second half of the book depicts the war in Afghanistan from the civilian point of view that he was able to experience after he finished his deployment and returned home to the U.S. for a period of time but he felt that he only captured half of the story when he was over there the first time. This part of the book I liked best.

There is one thing that is often forgotten is that depsite there being a war happening, there are innocents still trying to eek out a meager existence and I fully appreciated this. This book is perfect for older kids and even teens, there are also interesting little sidebars that give additional information about Afghanistan. All in all it wasn't a bad book but it wasn't great those I wish the authors the best of luck in their future endeavors.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★

January is NetGalley Month!

    

I hereby declare myself!

January is NetGalley month and since I've ordered my Kindle and it is supposed to be here tomorrow I have a whole bunch of NetGalley books to read so if you'd like to sign up take yourself on over to Red House Books to sign up.

Happy Reading!

Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri

Click here to see a list of the other books I'm reading for this challenge.

 

Summary:

Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins died as a result of the experiements or from the disease and hunger pervasive in the camp. In a narrative told with emotion and restraint, readers will learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil. The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.
Summary taken from Goodreads.com

I generally don't read things about the Holocaust in fact I think I've only read a dozen books about it in my entire life, it is not because I don't care and it is not because I'm not interested because I do and I am. I just get bogged down reading other things.
So last night I stayed up and read and finished this book in one sitting. This is the Memoir of Eva Mozes Kor that focuses on her life when she was used as a guinea pig for Dr. Josef Mengele along side her identical twin sister Miriam when they were just 10 years old.
The atrocities both her and her sister went through were horrific. They were ripped away from their parents and older sisters because they were twins and Dr. Josef Mengele the "Angel of Death" wanted to use them to experiment on hoping to find away to perfect a way to make the Aryan race by studying twins.
Eva, the dominant twin though being younger than her sister Miriam became the strong one while they suffered in the concentration camps. The two sisters used each other to push each other forward and stay alive. Even when Eva was injected with a needle that resulted in her getting sick her twin  Miriam went a week without eating her meager rations so that her sister Eva, would be able to eat because she was sick the nurses weren't feeding her, giving her water or medicine and were just waiting for the sickness to take her. Imagine being that 10 year old girl who only received a piece of bread two inches  big to eat every day giving it up in hopes that her sister would get better.
And get better she did.
When Eva was finally reunited with her sister she found her to be a shadow of her former self. While Eva was isolated in the hospital Miriam was put in solitary confinement and lost the will to live. Through sheer determination Eva found a way to keep her dear twin alive by stealing from the Nazis until her sister returned from that dark place she retreated to within herself.
Shortly after they were liberated from the concentration camp by the Soviets and after much hardship including losing each other for 24 hours they managed with help of one of the organizations at the time and a woman they knew before the war made it back to their old home, hopeful that their mother, father and two sisters would be at home, that they escaped the horrible concentration camps.
When they returned home, they were met with the dilapidated sight of their old house and a cousin who took them to their aunt who they lived with until they moved to Israel where the twins grew into young women.
Eva became a draftswoman and Miriam a Nurse. Then one day Eva met a man who she would later marry and move to America with. Though she hated the thought of leaving her sister she did and made a life for herself and had two children.
She went on to do great things including starting an organization with Miriam for the survivors of Josef Mengele's Twin experiments. Then in 1993 due to an injection she received after years of kidney problems Miriam passed away.
Despite everything she went through Eva was able to rise above the hate and was able to forgive the Nazi's who tortured her and so many others.
This was a heart wrenching account of the atrocities suffered in World War II from the eyes of a child and I feel privledged to have read this book. Eva and all the people who suffered during that time have my utmost respect.
This book is perfect for all audiences 12 years old and up. It is written in a way that is neither too simple nor too complex. It is my hope that in today's turbulent world that these things don't happen again.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★ ★ ★ ★

Honey Badger Don't Care by Randall

Summary:

Sweet Jesus--a riotous wildlife book for adults! The mononymous Randall, narrator of the You Tube sensation (15 MILLION views) "The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger," is the wild new voice of nature. In Honey Badger Don't Care(tm), Randall presents a dozen crazy, badass animals of the wild kingdom as only Randall could. Don't be stupid--buy this book!

Summary taken from Goodreads.com

Here it is. The first book read of 2012.
First off let me tell you that I had no idea what this book was about when I requested to read it from NetGalley but I wanted to give a shot. You know branch out a bit and read something fun and easy and since this book is only something like 64 pages long I thought it would be perfect to read something funny.
It wasn't funny. At least not to me I feel like this is just someone's effort to make money on being a youtube sensation by other means. I didn't find the writing funny and I absolutely ridiculous but once again I seem to be in the minority because other people who reviewed it seemed to love it.
I just couldn't find anything funny about this book it was way to ridiculous for me and I didn't like it at all. I don't hand out 1 star ratings lightly or that often but this is one of the rare occaisons in which I am forced to do so. This just wasn't for me.

*I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

★