The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

The Heretic's Daughter

by Kathleen Kent

When I heard about this book, I was immediately intrigued. I hail from Danvers, Massachusetts which is the original Old Salem Village. I grew up in the area and my mother dragged me around to the Salem Witch Museums and all the shops with their precious polished stones and weird stories of witches and mayhem caused in the 1600's. Of course at the time I had no idea what any of it really meant. It was just the prejudice of the time. Prejudice makes its sickening way into all walks of life somehow, someway. People like to jump on bandwagons as long as the bandwagon directs attention elsewhere. It's better to point fingers than to be pointed at. Martha Carrier begged to differ who is the Mother of our heroine. Perhaps she is the actual heroine of the story though it's not told from her viewpoint. One brave soul in a village of scared townsfolk.

Okay but then I read the back of the book and saw the author lives in Texas. Come on. How can someone from Texas write a story about our heritage? Our ancestors, our history? Well as it turns out, Martha Carrier was actually her ancestor and though she doesn't have the benefit of living where it all took place, she did grow up hearing the stories passed down through generations. That made it okay to read this New England historical based novel by a Texan woman. And I'm glad I gave this small allowance to Kathleen Kent because it is a beautifully written fact based novel. The story is made up...the level of detail makes you feel like it's all truth though and was journaled by Martha Carrier's daughter. This book is allowed a full New Englander approval though because it brought forth those feelings I get whenever I hear the stories of the Witch hunt. Anger at the politicians of the time, anger at the churches, anger at those young girls who took life for granted and didn't see what their crimes were doing to families...even to this day their cries echo through the generations. We all know the guilt of the girls who pointed fingers at others to save themselves. We know the bravery of those that hung so as to not shame themselves or their families by stating they had signed their name in the devil's book. Those girls that did the inital finger pointing and writhing on the ground...those are the girls that have their names in that there devil's book to this day.

Usually I find quotes to mention during my summation but this whole book is worth quoting. We should all live firsthand through this story to know the horrors of prejudice, of rumors, of lies and gossip. It is very sad...for we all know the ending. But we should know their stories as well.

The man who died defending his wife's honor..."more weight." I cringe to think that my English ancestors came over here and acted like this...but we are human...if they didn't screw up that way, they would have screwed up in another way...right? So read the story...it's emotional, though provoking...anger provoking...a great story for a book club. Or a blog...anywhere that you can then download the emotions somewhere else. Thank you, Kathleen for a newer version of the old tales.

A definite read.

The Critical Librarian.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Shutter Island

by

Dennis Lehane

I'm confused. Sort of. I think I sort of get it though...maybe. Those were my thoughts as I shut the book. I still feel like I have the gist of what happened...but at the same time, there's this little screw turning in my brain amidst these thoughts that don't allow me to grasp the explanation of the ending...so yes, I will be googling it after I finish. I did not want to google it before writing my summation because I wanted to be in the boat (haha, Island...boat, ferry...whateva) with the current readers. I wanted to write as one who has only read the book, not as one who has researched and googled and asked about it. I just shut the book and wanted to write while it was still raw. One direction I do have is to reread the Prologue at the beginning. You will understand a little better. Well maybe not.

I don't think there were any quotes listed in the book that I care to list. It is a definite mind boggling read. Once you get to about the 60th page or thereabouts you are hooked. So bear with the beginning. At the end...you will wish for just one more chapter...but Dennis leaves us there...

Overall, for writing...suspense....storyline, this book receives a good solid 4 stars. I think it starts slowly which makes it hard to get into. I forced myself because I wanted to read before seeing the film. I wonder if the film will cause us to understand further...how well will it follow the storyline? I'm not sure. Mystic River (a book I have not read written by Dennis as well) was based on a true story so I'm not sure the film would have strayed much from the book. Perhaps now that I've been exposed to Dennis' mind, I will have to read some of his other novels.

Great job, Dennis. I loved the read, it was a great ride!

The Critical Librarian

Thoughts

I am all over the place in my book choices lately. Still waiting on nothing to finish Under the Dome...Procrastination makes a story last longer, doesn't it? I am halfway through The Secret Life of Bees but recently forgot to bring my book with me and picked up another and of course it's a John Grisham. I was instantly swept up into this story. It looks like it's going to be somewhat of a quick read for me as it really captivates me. John Grisham has a way of catching your attention quickly and then just keeping you going with his different avenues in his story telling.

I won't tell you the name of it but it is a John Grisham and I'll most likely be reviewing it by the end of the weekend. I am hoping to finish my bees book by then as well. You just can't rush a good thing though.

Another thought on reading...I really enjoy reading out loud and have been thinking of sharing my love for reading with someone. I am going to look into local Nursing Homes and perhaps find someone that doesn't have visitors regularly that can no longer read and share my love of books with him or her. It's a thought I wanted to share because this is something that anyone can do in his or her community and it really doesn't take much time or money. Even an hour or two a week would really bless someone's life.

The reason I thought of this? One of my cats and my dog really enjoy listening to me read...they settle right down with me in bed. Of course they are enjoying the sound of my voice but I can pretend they like the stories too, can't I? LOL.

I have also recently read a few pages of Chill Factor (I believe it's by Sandra Brown but not positive on that right at the moment) but it sounds really familiar so I may have read it before or perhaps have seen the movie...LOL. I will keep going till I'm sure either way though.

So that's the update on what's to come, eventually. Of course, it's always subject to change at any time.

Ta Ta For Now

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Club Dead
by Charlaine Harris













The next book in the Sookie Stackhouse saga. I'm not going to give thorough reviews any longer because they all seem to read the same way. Easy and enjoyable reads.





I liked this story alot, same as the others, but there was one element that bothered me a tiny bit. Sookie let Vampire Bill take advantage of her to a certain degree. There was a good explanation for it...that I know from reading the other books and the knowledge I have of vampire relationships (haha) but if you picked this one up first (which technically you do not have to read these in order as they don't seem to be numbered per se) you would think Sookie was an idiot and Vampire Bill was a typical jerk of a cheatin' man.

So yes, it's a good story and if you like the first few, keep reading...this actually added some more characters that were likeable, gave more depth to the Sookie/Eric relationship and gave "Bubba" a bigger role as his former self. LOL.

No Star rating on these anymore...only on the ones that are not part of the Sookie stories!

Happy Reading!

For One More Day By Mitch Albom

For One More Day

by Mitch Albom

Your life has fallen apart and you want to die. You get to that last step where you just can't see yourself going on anymore...what does the Universe, God, your loved ones who have crossed over, do when you are at this point? Does someone intervene? Or is it perhaps your own subconscious intervene?

This is a very spiritual book...very thought provoking and heartfelt. Not only does this book cause you to look at your life and how you currently live it...how you treat those around you but it also makes you think about the after life, heaven...what does happen when we are dying? What happens to those that have already passed? Do we bring those that have crossed over back with a simple thought?

"But ask yourself this: Have you ever lost someone you love and wanted one more conversation, one more chance to make up for time when you thought they would be here forever? If so, then you know you can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.

What if you got it back?"

For One More Day, quote.

"Because there was a ghost involved, you may call this a ghost story. But what family isn't a ghost story? Sharing tales of those we've lost is how we keep from really losing them."

Another quote.

This book touched me deeply. It was a real lesson in childhood, how much we don't appreciate our parents but how understanding our parents truly are no matter how we treat them. For we as children do not need to know everything...and our parents may allow us to resent them for things that aren't true, simply to protect us.

This is a highly recommended read for a quiet moment or two.

The Critical Librarian gives Mitch Albom's For One More Day five stars.

God Bless.