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Showing posts from April, 2020

Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...

Book Review: April Fool! (Sweet Valley Twins, #28) created by Francine Pascal

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As an adult, I am having a blast rereading my way through my childhood. The most recent book I read from my childhood is April Fool! (Sweet Valley Twins, #28) created by Francine Pascal. When I read the synopsis of the book before reading it, I vaguely remembered the premise. Was I ever surprised because I ended up not remembering any of the details. The synopsis of April Fool! (Sweet Valley Twins, #28) is that twin sisters Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield typically switch places on April Fools Day, and the twins switching places has become legendary with their classmates.  This year, Elizabeth and Jessica decide not to switch places but pretend that they actually had. It all goes down hill for Elizabeth when she keeps getting in trouble for things that Jessica had done. I felt extremely bad for Elizabeth because it seemed like she couldn't catch a break, but at a certain point, I realized that an elaborate scheme had to have been concocted to prank Elizabeth. It was ...

Book Review: Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry by Mary Higgins Clark

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Mary Higgins Clark's latest book Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry was published shortly before her death and is one of my favorites by her. The novel is about an investigative journalist named Gina Kane who is tipped off about woman who had a terrible experience at REL News. When Kane starts investigating the story, it goes sideways. Like most of this author's books, Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry was an easy read, and I was immediately drawn into the story. The main character being a journalist likely helped draw me in as I wanted to be a writer in some way, shape, or form. Early on, I suspected one person as the "bad guy", but I quickly started suspecting another person about halfway through the book. I wasn't sure which way it was going to go, but the further I read, the more sure I was it was the latter. I rushed the last forty or fifty pages to see if I was correct, and I was. One thing that I loved about this book was that Mary Higgins Clark mentions n...