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...
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Book Review: Sunset Island (Sunset Island, #1) by Cherie Bennett

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Complete Series of Sunset Island by Cherie Bennett

One of the books I chose to read as part of my rereading my way through my childhood is Sunset Island (Sunset Island, #1) by Cherie Bennett. As a first book in the series, it features teens at an au pair convention looking for work across the United States, and we meet three friends who get assignments on the wonderful Sunset Island in Maine . . . Emma Cresswell, Samantha "Sam" Bridges, and Carolyn "Carrie" Alden.

What I love about the Sunset Island book series is that it deals with a lot of issues that tweens and teens deal with and how sometimes it is blown out of proportion (and sometimes not). In the first edition of Sunset Island, it deals with secrets being kept . . . Emma Cresswell doesn't tell her friends Sam and Carrie and her boyfriend Kurt that she comes from a wealthy family because all she wants to do is fit in with everyone and try to find out who she is without her family's money. When she finally decides to tell her friends, they make some harsh judgements about wealthy people, and Emma chickens out of telling them about her true self.

Who hasn't kept a secret from someone? It could be big or small, but I think most people don't reveal everything about themselves, especially when they first meet someone. So, I definitely find this part of the book very believable. What I didn't find believable, even as a teenager, was that people would think that someone not mentioning their wealth was lying to people. Why would someone not mentioning something about themselves be a lie? There are just some things that are not anyone's business.

With that being said, it was an engaging read as a teenager, and I still found it interesting as an adult. I would give this book four out of five stars.
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