Book Review: A Pirate’s Ransom by Gerri Brousseau

I just love pirate romances, and was drawn in by the first page of this book, A Pirate's Ransom by Gerri Brousseau. The story is about a young English countess called Catherine, who lives on one of the Spice Islands with her father. To avoid financial ruin, Lady Catherine must sail to London to wed an elderly Duke she's never met. Aboard …

Book Review: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi by Yann Martel begins with a boy named Pi, his family, and their zoo in 1970s India. I loved reading about Pi’s family, teachers, and religious explorations. My favorite aspect of this book was the spirituality. As a teen, Pi finds himself practicing multiple religions simultaneously. He also shares with the reader many …

Book Review: Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

Spirited little Rachel Kalama’s life changes for the worst when, in 1890s Hawai’i, she is discovered to have leprosy. The disease breaks up the Kalama family as it makes them anathema, which no one in their community wants to touch. Young Rachel is deported to the secluded island of Moloka’i, never to be permitted to touch …

Book Review: Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

What a creative novel! Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones is set on a tiny, tropical island called Bougainville, down near New Zealand. The story takes place during Bougainville’s civil war in 1991, while the island is blockaded. All of the Bougainvillians are black, except for one eccentric white man, Mr. Watts. Our narrator is thirteen-year-old Matilda, …

Book Review: The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

At first, I was reluctant to read The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd, because I knew it was about adultery. But I absolutely loved The Secret Life of Bees by the same author, and was eager to read more of her fiction. I wasn’t sure how I was going to relate to this book, …