Empire of Storms - Throne of Glass Series #5

I am worn out.  I am literally worn out.  Reading the Empire of Storms exhausted me because it was so packed full of action that I had to mentally prepare myself each time I picked up the book to read.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Throne of Glass series.  Aelin Galathynius is my hero.  She meets her foes head on and for the most part, uses her intuition and wit to figure out her most difficult problems.  But, this poor girl can't catch a break.  There are so many people who would like to kill her, and others who just want to take advantage of her power that Aelin never knows who is safe, and who is her enemy.  Thankfully, she has a small group of trusted friends and advisors who love her enough to die for her.  They also believe in her cause enough to die for it as well.

But what is the history of the fracturing of Erilea, and what does that all have to do with Aelin who was born 1,000 years after the world starting going mad?

If you haven't read book 1 of the series, then you really need to start at the beginning.  Be sure to read the novellas as well.  One needs to know all of the background before one can get an understanding of who Aelin is, and why she is so important to the future - a future that is full of peace.  

I think you will like her as much as I do.

The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter

Cassie nearly drowned once - her family was busy arguing, and no one saw Cassie jump into the deep end of the pool.  She knew she couldn't swim, but in her child's mind, she thought she would take the attention away from the argument.  Even before that, Cassie has been trying to keep her head above water.  When she was sixteen, her mother, brother, and father tied her with ropes and forcibly took her to a mental institution.  Cassie's life had never been easy, but now with her entire family against her, she must struggle to find herself and her worth.  

Cassie continues her education while at the mental institution, and when she is eighteen, her mother decides that she is ready to attend college, her alma mater.  In a series of events, Cassie nearly drowns again, nearly dies from an illness, and is forced to come face to face with long buried issues she has hidden within herself.  

This book is geared toward young adults, but every person who has a dysfunctional family (most of us) would benefit from Cassie's story of learning to love herself and realizing that our parents are not perfect humans, and never will be.  You will cry with her and cheer for her.  This was a great read, and I will definitely read more from this author.  

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Mia Dennett is an art teacher in a small impoverished school in Chicago.  She dates irregularly, and has never had a serious boyfriend.  One night, Mia is waiting for her on again/off again friend when she catches the eye of another man in the bar.  The two start a conversation and before Mia knows it, she is drunk.  She makes the decision to leave the bar with the stranger and follows him to his apartment.  This decision will haunt her forever.

Colin Thatcher needs money.  He works two jobs, but he can never get caught up.  He has found ways to supplement his income, and these ways aren't always legal.  The latest job: Find the daughter of a prominent judge, grab her, and bring her to a man who is heavily involved in crime.

Colin has been following Mia for weeks.  He knows her schedule, her friends, and her habits.  He will grab her, deliver her to his boss, and be $5,000.00 richer.  Once Mia is in his bosses' hands, she is no longer his problem.  He follows her to the bar, then makes his move.

Mia has no idea what is about to happen to her, and Colin realizes that his bosses' men will do whatever they want to her while they are waiting for the ransom money.  So....he makes a change in plans.

Gabe Hoffman is the detective assigned to Mia' kidnapping case.  He knows his career rests on getting Judge Dennett's daughter back alive and well.  The trail is fairly cold, but then he gets a lead...

If there is one thing I don't like about a book, it is figuring out the ending before I finish the book.  I like to be surprised and shocked -if you will.  This book did deliver.  I was shocked at the ending.  The characters are well developed, and Kubica kept me guessing.

I would absolutely recommend this book!  Enjoy the twists and turns!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Do I love Harry Potter?  Absolutely!  Do I love the entire premise of the series?  Definitely!  Did I love Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?  I didn't LOVE it, but I didn't hate it either.

I have read the Harry Potter series at least four times.  (And yes, it is nearly time to start again.)  I love Harry Potter, and I particularly loved the vivid descriptions that abounded in the books.  That being said, I liked the plot, story line and new characters in the Cursed Child.  I understand Harry's parenting woes, and since I have raised two children, I totally get that our we misunderstand our children, and they misunderstand us.

If I were watching this as a play, or reading this with a group of students,  this play would be amazing, and I do hope to see it very soon,  but here I am stuck in my Potter World, and I missed the old ways.

If you are a Potter fan like me, I would recommend that you read the play, but I would also recommend that you see the play as soon as you possibly can.  That, I think, will bring back some of the magic.

"Expelliarmus!

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I remember when I was a sophomore in college, the FBI came to my school to look for recruits.  I was so, so tempted to drop everything, my studies, my boyfriend, my life, and follow the FBI where it led.  It seemed like such a great adventure, and it didn't help that the girl who lived adjacent from me DID decide to make the decision to leave school and join the recruit class.  I have lost track of Lorna and never learned whether she made a good decision or not.  I made the right decision and stayed in school, but that "what if" is always lurking in the back of my brain.

This book caught my interest because of that "what if."  Cassie is a teenager with a gift.  She has a knack for noticing details and reading people's emotions by their dress, and their body language.  When the FBI wants Cassie to join their team, she knows that her family will be very upset, but this might be the opportunity she needs to help her find her mother's killer.

Does Cassie fit in?  Might her gift possibly help her catch a serial killer that has been terrorizing the country?  Is there even a possibility that Cassie's training will help her find her mother's killer.

This book is on the Rosie list for 2016 - 2017.  No, I didn't join the FBI, but I can live vicariously through Cassie's experiences.  I invite you to do that too.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candice Fleming

I admit it!  When I taught the book Animal Farm to my students, I became quite interested in the Russian Revolution, the Romanov family, and of course, Rasputin. We also learned about Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky and their rise and fall from power.

There was also the mystery of Anastasia and if she survived the brutal assassination of her family.  Was she living in Europe?  In the United States?  Was the the sole survivor of a brutal attack?

This book traces the lives of the Romanov family from 1903 until their assassinations in 1918.  We are given the history of Nicholas and his relationship with his father.  We see how Nicholas and Alix (Alexandra) met and fell in love.  We also see the excesses of the privileged and wealthy, and the sheer poverty of the poor.

Nicholas never had the proper training to be the Tzar.  His father never took the time to teach him how to read military maps, or meet with leaders of other countries.  Because of this, Nicholas had no idea what his subjects were subjected to on a daily basis.  Mothers had no food for their children, people had less than an acre to farm and feed their families, and those who had jobs barely made enough to pay for the food that they ate.  This caused many people to become disillusioned with the Tzar because they felt he didn't understand their needs.

This opened the door for a revolution, a Marxist leader named Lenin who believed in equal for all (except those who had been landowners, and they were either imprisoned or shot), and lives no better than what they were before.

As I read this book, I thought about the people of Russia.  Since the fall of the Romanov family, there have been a series of heavy fisted leaders.  Lenin died of a stroke at the age of 52, and that left the door open for Stalin, who was said to be responsible for more deaths than Hitler.  Now they are led by Putin who has no care for human rights.  He is a seemingly cold man, and I wonder how the people of Russia really are faring.  Are their struggles still as great as they were in 1918?

What about us?  What kind of leader will we choose?  We need a leader who cares about human rights, who has experience working with world leaders, and understands diplomacy.  Think about it.  I certainly did as I read this book.

"The Promise"

While I usually review books that I have read, I am going to take a different path and write about a story I know well - my life.  This is but one chapter, and one experience that totally changed my life.

It was quite dark when I called for a Lyft.  The time was around 5:30 in the morning, and my flight back to Indiana was due to depart at 10:30.  I try to be at the airport two hours ahead of departure, and I knew the trip to LAX could possibly take an hour or more.  Nevertheless, the street was quiet, and Los Angeles still slept when I saw my driver approach.

I am always somewhat apprehensive when I travel alone in a Lyft or Uber, but my driver jumped out, grabbed my carry on, and opened the door for me.  As we headed to LAX, we started a casual conversation.  He was a recent immigrant from Armenia, and he was working two jobs to help make ends meet.  He had recently married a girl that was his friend, then he realized that what he felt for her was more than friendship.

He had been in this country for a year, and he had a lot of dreams and hopes for his future.  He asked me where I was from and he stated that he would love to see this part of the country at some point. I laughed and said that Indiana would welcome his visit.

By this time we had developed more of a rapport, and he told me that he had been a foreign exchange student in North Dakota.  He loved his experience in North Dakota, and but more importantly, he received a "taste" of democracy.  "Susan," he said, "I tasted democracy, and I can never look back.  I cannot return to my country because I am a target.  They would kill me."  I asked him who "they" was.  He told me that his country was not a democracy, and that the Armenian people were suppressed.

"Once I returned home from North Dakota, I became very outspoken.  The police were sent to silence me."  His father protected his life and made sure he was able to leave the country.  "But don't you worry about your father's safety?" I asked.  He said that his father was considered "old" and "unimportant."  "They think his voice counts for nothing.  It is the young they want to silence."  It is the young people like me who they kill to keep them quiet.  They don't want people to know about democracy."

Armenia is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, and Iran to the south. While Armenia is listed as a unitary multi-party democratic  nation state, he said there is much corruption, and the elections are fixed.  The people vote, but their votes are never counted.  The winners are who the government wants in control.

We talked more about his home country, Armenia, and his current job prospects.  We also talked about his fears of deportation - both for himself and his bride.  He knew that if he was sent back to his country, it would be a death sentence for both of them.

Los Angeles International Airport was in the distance, and the sun was coming up on the west coast.  Another day had begun, and my ride was soon to be over.  The driver and I were silent for a few minutes as we pulled up the the curb at the United terminal.  I knew we both had tears in our eyes.

As I prepared to leave my Lyft, my driver once again helped me with my luggage.  As I stopped to thank him, he gathered me into a hug and told me how much the time we had spent together had meant to him.

 What I had experienced was what Pastor Jill calls an "Encounter."  Both of our lives were changed by this chance meeting, and we both were once again reminded that we are brothers and sisters in this human race.

You see, before I left that Lyft, I made a promise to this young man.  I promised him that even though I was one in a sea of many, even though I was of a different culture, even though I had never experienced what he had lived through, I would do everything in my power to help him feel safe in this country. That was why we were both weeping.

I have thought of this Encounter many, many times since that day.  This young man will remain nameless for his protection.  All the while, thirty-two thousand feet in the air, I repeated this mantra.  I will never choose hate.  I will never support hate.  I will do what I can to support those who are oppressed.  I will chose love.  I will speak out.  I will not be silent.