Look for me on the new social media app (iPhone/iPad/iPod) for people who love to read, share and talk about books!
I’m under BethsBookBlog (which is also my Twitter handle).
It’s a great alternative to a longer review and also gives me a chance to post while I’m reading a quick snapshot of a book I’m loving!
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A few weeks back I had the opportunity to read and review FORGETTING TABITHA by Julie Dewey. This was a rather gritty look at life for an orphan in NYC who goes on one of the “orphan trains” to a new life if rural New York in the 1860’s.
Here’s the overview:
Forgetting Tabitha by Julie Dewey
Publication Date: December 29, 2015
Holland Press
Raised on a farm, Tabitha Salt, the daughter of Irish immigrants, leads a bucolic and sheltered existence. When tragedy strikes the family, Tabitha and her mother are forced to move to the notorious Five Points District in New York City, known for its brothels, gangs, gambling halls, corrupt politicians and thieves.
As they struggle to survive in their new living conditions, tragedy strikes again. Young Tabitha resorts to life alone on the streets of New York, dreaming of a happier future.
The Sisters of Charity are taking orphans off the streets with promises of a new life. Children are to forget their pasts, their religious beliefs, families and names. They offer Tabitha a choice: stay in Five Points or board the orphan train and go West in search of a new life.
The harrowing journey and the decision to leave everything behind launches Tabitha on a path from which she can never return.
About the Author
Julie Dewey is a novelist who resides with her family in Central New York. Her daughter is a singer/songwriter, and her son is a boxer. Her husband is an all-around hard working, fantastic guy with gorgeous blue eyes that had her falling for him the moment they met.
In addition to researching and writing she is an avid reader. She is also passionate about jewelry design and gemstones. She loves anything creative, whether it be knitting, stamping, scrapping, decoupaging, working with metal, or decorating.
Visit her at http://www.juliedewey.com to get your reading guide for this book and to read an excerpt from One Thousand Porches, her second novel. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
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Okay — so here’s my take on things. The overview covers the beginning of the book and this was my favorite part of the story. I wanted little Tabitha to find a better life. I was horrified by the squalid conditions in which they had to live (which was very accurate for the time). I also have read a lot about the Orphan Trains, and felt that her experience on them (crying children, people wanting to adopt either little babies or older boys to work on their farms, etc.) was fairly typical.
SPOILER ALERT — SPOILERS AHEAD!
Where I struggled with the story was at the midway point once Tabitha (now called Mary) was settled into her new life. New characters were introduced and sometimes these characters took over the narrative. There were several points of view portrayed, which was made less confusing by the fact that the chapter titles were the character’s names. However, and this is just for me as a reader, while I would call the first part of the book “gritty”, there were several scenes in the second half of the book that were violent and also portrayed sexual violence (which is not my bailiwick). These included a 13 year old prostitute being brutally raped. I found those scenes disturbing (especially since I wasn’t expecting it, I was still thinking “orphan trains! chance at a new and better life!”); but to be fair, if you read me regularly, you know that I am a “cozy mystery” type of person rather than a “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” type, so this just isn’t my thing.
I did like the ending and I really liked the plucky and resilient character of Tabitha/Mary. I thought it was interesting how much she changed, and yet how much she stayed the same throughout the book.
If you’d like to read and see more about the orphan trains in real life, check out the wonderful PBS special about them. More info here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/orphan/
Thank you for my review e-copy!
I heard about this mystery through Blogging for Books, and it sounded good, so I sent for it via Net Galley. It just published in March through Crown Publishing.
Here’s the description:
It’s 3:00am. Do you know where your husband is?
Meet Will Rhodes: travel writer, recently married, barely solvent, his idealism rapidly giving way to disillusionment and the worry that he’s living the wrong life. Then one night, on assignment for the award-winning Travelers magazine in the wine region of Argentina, a beautiful woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Soon Will’s bad choices—and dark secrets—take him across Europe, from a chateau in Bordeaux to a midnight raid on a Paris mansion, from a dive bar in Dublin to a mega-yacht in the Mediterranean and an isolated cabin perched on the rugged cliffs of Iceland. As he’s drawn further into a tangled web of international intrigue, it becomes clear that nothing about Will Rhodes was ever ordinary, that the network of deception ensnaring him is part of an immense and deadly conspiracy with terrifying global implications—and that the people closest to him may pose the greatest threat of all.
It’s 3:00am. Your husband has just become a spy.
Continuing my pics from last week are the pictures from the second half of our trip – to my home town of Napa. It was so lovely and warm and, as always, special and full of friends!
SS is hosted by Melinda at westmetromommyreads.com
See her site for details!
I purchased RACHEL’S FOLLY through Amazon for my kindle when it was a deal of the day back in December. I tend to like Booktrope works and the overview sounded compelling:
Rachel Richards’ perfect life is about to come undone.
Rachel’s best friend is about to be married, but her fiancé is a mysterious man with seemingly no friends or family. After a night of drinking goes awry, Rachel is forced to face a dark part of herself she didn’t know existed. What began as a horrible mistake turns into a gripping mystery as the shocking truth begins to unravel, and Rachel’s life hangs in the balance.
Told from three unique perspectives—a young mother with everything to lose, a loving brother with a weakness for wine, and a love struck, troubled teen—and set against the backdrop of Austin, Texas, Rachel’s Folly is a suspense thriller that explores profound loss, morality, and the lengths to which we will go to keep our darkest secrets hidden.
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I really can’t say too much without giving it away, but I enjoyed this thrilling and suspenseful book. You know when you have that moment where you do something really stupid and think, “Wow – I shouldn’t have done that”? Well, this poor woman’s life becomes just that.
I read it quickly — you can find it on Amazon or get it at a bookstore near you!
![KING_MurderofMaryR_800x800-6[11]](https://drbethnolan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/king_murderofmaryr_800x800-611.jpg?w=676)
Next Tuesday is PUB DAY for this wonderful mystery!
I did an early review of it here:
https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/review-the-murder-of-mary-russell-by-laurie-r-king/
Coming soon!!
I discovered this book on Net Galley and it sounded really interesting – a historical cozy mystery!
Here’s the Net Galley description:
This week we are on school break, so we decided to go to Tahoe and Napa to visit family and friends and to relax!
Here are some pictures from the first part of our trip in Tahoe. It was beautiful but snowy!
Next week: Napa, my hometown!
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at WestMetroMommyReads.com
See her site for details on participating!
I’m a fan of Ariel Lawhon’s writing, so I was thrilled to see that she had a new novel out – this one about the Hindenburg.
Here’s the description via Net Galley:
If you follow me regularly, you might remember that back in December I was part of a Historical Fiction Book Blast for THE EDGE OF LOST by Kristina McMorris. The book sounded so good I put it on my TBR list!
Here’s the overview:
On a cold night in October 1937, searchlights cut through the darkness around Alcatraz. A prison guard’s only daughter—one of the youngest civilians who lives on the island—has gone missing. Tending the warden’s greenhouse, convicted bank robber Tommy Capello waits anxiously. Only he knows the truth about the little girl’s whereabouts, and that both of their lives depend on the search’s outcome.
Almost two decades earlier and thousands of miles away, a young boy named Shanley Keagan ekes out a living as an aspiring vaudevillian in Dublin pubs. Talented and shrewd, Shan dreams of shedding his dingy existence and finding his real father in America. The chance finally comes to cross the Atlantic, but when tragedy strikes, Shan must summon all his ingenuity to forge a new life in a volatile and foreign world.
Skillfully weaving these two stories, Kristina McMorris delivers a compelling novel that moves from Ireland to New York to San Francisco Bay. As her finely crafted characters discover the true nature of loyalty, sacrifice, and betrayal, they are forced to confront the lies we tell—and believe—in order to survive.
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There’s a lot going on in this novel — from Ireland to coming to America to NYC to Alcatraz. Shan/Tommy goes from being a poor child immigrant with no family, to being part of an Italian clan, to trying to make a solid adult existence for himself, to ending up in Alcatraz. I enjoyed reading his journey along the way. Ms. McMorris’s writing kept me engaged and I felt connected to Shan, especially when things were not going his way! While I would have loved even more scenes/details about his life in Alcatraz (Alcatraz was my 5th grade field trip!), the book is already over 300 pages, so I am guessing that she needed to keep it trim.
With themes of forgiveness, self-fulfillment, and the undying bonds of family, THE EDGE OF LOST is a great read and one that lovers of historical fiction will enjoy.
The Audiobook is just under 11 hours and is read by Charlie Thurston. He did an amazing job because this book has Irish accents, New York accents, “gangster accents” (if you know what I mean), Italian accents, and voices that are male, female, and child. It must have been a task to do it and do it well!
I purchased mine from Audible.
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 