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: The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh

YA Horror Book Review of The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh
 

The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh opens with six students arriving at Nightingale Hall dubbed Nightmare Hall, which is their off campus dorm at Salem University. After the students learn the deep, dark secret that another student committed suicide in the dorm, odd things begin happening.

Diane Hoh was a very popular author in the 1990's with a slew of books to her name. It seems as though she simply vanished into thin air as I haven't heard of any new books written by her. I'll have to look into what happened to her and why she hasn't continued writing, or if she has continued writing, why I haven't heard of those books.

Young Adult Book Review of The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh
In my attempt to reread my way through my childhood, I picked up The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh. Since this wasn't a book that I reread a ton as a kid, I really didn't remember too much about the book with a couple of exceptions, and those parts that I did remember, I only remembered when I started reading those sections. So, it was like reading the book for the first time again, and it gave me all the feels and didn't disappoint.

Diane Hoh did a great job on throwing suspicion on several different characters throughout the book on who the "bad guy" was. Being an adult, I thought I knew who it was from the get go, but when the author put out the other clues, I did doubt myself a bit and let myself be led astray. The great thing about this book is that everything was resolved by the end of the book.

The Silent Scream was a compelling read and fast paced. It could easily be read in two or three hours, even by the target audience. With that being said, every time I sat down to read, I was really tired and only got fifty or so pages read at a time, and it took me a few days to finish. I gave it five out of five stars, and even though it was written in the 1990's, kids today would enjoy this book and the series.

If you enjoyed The Silent Scream (Nightmare Hall, #1) by Diane Hoh, then you would enjoy Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersly Cusick.


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