What We're Reading.

One of my resolutions this year was to read more. I set a goal for myself to read 52 books this year and I'm bound and determined to come close to it!

The year started off with a bang and then I slowed down a little, but I finished two books in January! I'm a little behind schedule, but I'm also in the middle of two more so hopefully I will pick it back up!

I started the month by reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Let me pause a moment to say OH MY WORD. This story completely captivated me and I couldn't put it down. Set in Tennessee in 1939, the story begins with a young family living on a "shanty boat." The mama is trying to deliver her newest baby with a midwife and has to be taken to the hospital when the delivery goes wrong. While she and her husband are gone, the police come and take the children away and put them in an orphanage. Thus begins their story of abuse, neglect, and trying to find their ways back to their family. Oldest sister, Rill, fights to keep them together and to help them escape. Fast forward to modern day and we follow Avery Stafford, the 20-something daughter of a South Carolina politician. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth but fights to be given respect in her career. Avery begins to uncover what she thinks must be an old family secret. Wingate weaves the two separate stories in such a beautiful way that I could not put this book down. After I finished, I immediately drove it to my mama's house and began researching everything I could find on this based-on-a-true-story-novel. It was amazing. I'll probably declare it my favorite book at the end of the year.

Next up was Elizabeth Smart's My Story. I had just graduated from high school when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped and I remember learning about her and knowing some of her story. The book was good - it's a memoir of her kidnapping and time spent in captivity - but it just wasn't great for me. It's very thorough in some aspects - she claims to remember what she did every day during the 9 months she was gone - but she glosses over other parts of the story that, for me, made it seem poorly written. She's a survivor, for sure - I can't imagine having gone through what she did and live a normal life later - but I found the movie to be much better.

As for the boys, Will and Eddie finished Will's first Goosebumps book and he LOVED it. They've started reading the first Hardy Boys book and Will has really enjoyed that as well. James continues to read anything that sits still. Today, he got in the car carrying Wonder by R.J. Palacio. We've also started Dr. DooLittle and The Invention of Hugo Cabret but haven't finished either one. I'll try to get a more thorough list from both of them for February. 

As always, share what you're reading!