September Book Reviews

It's that time again. Time for book reviews. I'd love to hear what you've been reading. I'm always looking for a good book to read. Here's what I've been reading in the last month.




Rena's Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz by Rena Kornreich Gelissen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This true story pulled me right in. Except for high school history class, I knew next to nothing about the Holocaust. It was hard to read emotionally. To think that people were treated as if they weren't even human beings. How people could treat another person so cruelly and think that it was somehow ok is beyond me. It's amazing that Rena lived through it. In the middle of the book there were some pictures of Rena and her sister soon after they were freed. Their eyes were haunting. I can't even fathom going through what they did. It helps to put my own life in perspective. How grateful I am to live such a blessed life. After reading this, it has made my own challenges and difficulties miniscule.



A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very enjoyable read. It was very interesting to read about city life in the early 1900's. It's about a girl growing up in Brooklyn and about making the best of things and over coming hardships. This would be a great book club book, as there is a lot to think about as you read the book.



Band of Sisters by Annette Lyon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is definitely a quick easy read. It's about a group of women whose husbands are deployed to Afghanistan. They get together each week, become friends and help each other out through their different difficulties.

At a certain point in the book, I became very annoyed with two of the characters. Without giving to much away, they each had life changing things happening to them and they didn't tell their husbands FOREVER. One of their reasons was that they were too far away to help, so they didn't want to bother them. That makes sense when it's something trivial that is upsetting, but I would be super ticked if I was left in the dark about something major. At the very least they could offer support and advice.

Another thing it made me think about was the tendency of women to want to do it all and not ask for help when they need it. Most women I know would help right away if they knew they were needed, so why do we always think we need to struggle through challenges on our own?



The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Great love story! It makes you think about the real meaning of love, more than just the romance of it.
It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:
“True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion.” Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand a Little Taller

The last sentence bugged me. What that sentence implied seemed unrealistic. I don't know how to say any more than that without spoiling it.




The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not much to say about this one. I liked it well enough to finish it. It was a little slow at times. I didn't see much "magic" until the end. Mostly it was just "ordinary".