A Voice to Be Heard
by Dell Brand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Travel back to the 1800's to a time when society was ruled by men, and women were window dressing. A Voice to be Heard starts with a young girl, Florence who is well educated, which is not common for that era. Yet she is seduced and becomes pregnant by the Lord of the house's son, only to be held in high regard by the Lord, who takes care of her and her twin daughters for the rest of his life. Within days, grandfather is killed in a freak carriage accident and mother dies after and run-in with her seducer. The twins go to their grandfather's lawyer with a plan, he having heard all about the intelligence and education that grandfather and mother imparted on them. The lawyer is more than happy to help and sets plans into action, within a month the girls are on a boat to Australia. Despite all society conventions,the girls proceed on their own, and buy a house, build another, turn the first into a hotel, and thus an empire is created. Along the way, each twin runs into problems with men. Joey falls for a married man, has his child, but never tells him about it and lets Maddy raise her as her own. Maddy marries a thug who hides his true intentions from her until after their marriage. He drains their bank account and beats up Maddy, only to later try to rape Joey and get knocked over the head and killed. Happier times and sadder times follow, just as in life. Dell Brand does a wonderful job making you feel like you are really living in Melbourne in the 1840's.
A Voice to be Heard is an inspirational read to any woman, allowing them to realize that they can accomplish whatever they want, no matter what society says. It won't be easy, there will be hurdles and bad times, but good times too, you just have to stay focused. Dell Brand cover a long period of time, from the early 1800's when Florence is young, to the 1850's after the death of Thomas, the twins father. It's truly a family saga, although it does skip huge parts of time, which of course you would have to, to cover the length of time it does. I enjoyed Joey's drive to be held under no ones thumb, to be her own person and to build this empire for her family. Maddy is more the romantic of the two and craves marriage and children. Yet for all Joey's strength, one man can still bring her crumbling, her first and only love. She never stops loving him. Overall the family saga, historical nature of the story first drew me in, but the characters kept me there until the end. It had me wishing I could have been there, almost. I couldn't handle the fashion!
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A Lifetime to Die
by P. S. Meronek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Reader's Favorite
Our story begins in Czechoslovakia, where a young man, Aristotle Mercury is living with his mother after the death of his father. A Lifetime to Die follows Telly, as he tries to make his way as a young man, only to have to escape his home to American. Once in America, he builds his life and business beyond what anyone probably thought he was able to do. He experiences the joys and heartaches of life, and through it all is a deep desire to right a wrong done to his parents many years ago. This driving force it what propels him from just a carpenter to a businessman and developer. P.S. Meronek takes the all American dream of making it big, and translates it to this young refugee with superb skill. You will root for and cry with Telly from the beginning to the end of the book.
This saga follows one man through his life, and although he has a goal to right a wrong, he never seems to let it overtake him. He keeps a good balance on life. A Lifetime to Die starts in Czechoslovakia and travels to America, although truthfully it could have been from anywhere. It follows Telly, from teen to late 50's, almost a lifetime. P.S. Meronek does a wonderful job in this tale to reignite your belief in the American dream, and even more the ability of it to be achieved without selling your soul to the devil. It is a truly believable tell that you won't want to put down until you turn the last page.
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Steve Jobs - The Inspirational Life Story Of Steve Jobs, The Fruit Company That Changed Our World
by Gregory Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My 4th grader is an advanced reader and one of the tasks that she is required to do each term is to read a biography and write about it. I have spent much time in the recent weeks, and downloaded a number of e-books in this vein for her studies. I always read them first, and I loved this one. My child is so into computers, and she did a biography last term on a Nintendo designer, so this fits her tastes wonderfully, but it also has some great points that all students need to learn.
Everyone thinks of the success that Steve Jobs had in this later years, but that was not always the case. He was a sometimes troublesome prankster in school. That is something that might get overlooked, but can be of great benefit to a number of students who love computers and have a natural ability with them, but have trouble in other areas of school. If Mr. Jobs can do it, so can they. I found the recurring theme of Steve Jobs life to be that he used his mind, continued to drive no matter what, and kept going. I think this is a great message for the youth of today.
This would make a great short read for an adult, but for students, this is a perfect biography book that they can understand and would motivate them to work harder in school. I look forward to seeing the report my daughter ends up writing on this book.
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Ayrton Senna - The Inspirational Life of Ayrton Senna, The Greatest Formula One Driver that Ever Lived
by Gregory Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ayrton Senna was born in San Paolo to a wealthy family but saw the slums and poverty of his town. He was born to race and did so with great success up until his death. He understood engines and cars and that made him a delight to work with for the crews. He was also a man who spent his own money in silence to help those in the slums of his hometown. He also was vocal about driver safety and worked to make changes to improve driver safety.
What makes Ayrton Senna a perfect role model or inspiration is that he did all these good works without looking for public recognition. He did it quietly, behind the scenes. As a parent and a teaching assistant I am always looking for these type of books to give to classes to read, This would interest the boys and give them something to strive to achieve, the good deeds. This is great for the upper elementary and junior high grades, depending on reading levels. It would make a great biography paper. I am glad I found this over our school break so that I have it when we start back to school.
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