Book Review: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley

A Long Way Home: A Memoir by Saroo Brierley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary by Goodreads:

When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost birthplace half a world away, his story made global headlines. That story is being published in several languages around the world and is currently being adapted into a major feature film. Brierley was born in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India. He currently lives in Hobart, Tasmania.

My Thoughts:

I came across A Long Way Home on the new book shelf at our school library. The cover in itself intrigued me and had "pick me up" all over it. I am always looking for books that broaden my perspective of the world outside of where I live and this one introduced me to a part of Indian culture that I had not already learned about from my husband's family. Throughout the part of the story where Saroo is lost on the trains and then on the streets of Kolcata, I was in shock of how no one questioned why he was by himself or who he belonged to. I was also amazed at the survival skills he had at such a young age to figure out how to find food and bounce from train to train / street to street without something horrible happening to him. For all Saroo had been through in his life, he never gave up hope that he would figure out where he was originally from and find his Indian family. The power of social media and technology helped Saroo find home. This book may not be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it and hope that it does become a movie!

Book Review: If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison

If I Could Turn Back Time by Beth Harbison

Summary by Goodreads:

Told with Beth Harbison's wit and warmth, If I Could Turn Back Time is the fantasy of every woman who has ever thought, "If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I'd do things so differently..."

Thirty-seven year old Ramie Phillips has led a very successful life. She made her fortune and now she hob nobs with the very rich and occasionally the semi-famous, and she enjoys luxuries she only dreamed of as a middle-class kid growing up in Potomac, Maryland. But despite it all, she can't ignore the fact that she isn't necessarily happy. In fact, lately Ramie has begun to feel more than a little empty.

On a boat with friends off the Florida coast, she tries to fight her feelings of discontent with steel will and hard liquor. No one even notices as she gets up and goes to the diving board and dives off...

Suddenly Ramie is waking up, straining to understand a voice calling in the distance...It's her mother: "Wake up! You're going to be late for school again. I'm not writing a note this time..."

Ramie finds herself back on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, with a second chance to see the people she's lost and change the choices she regrets. How did she get back here? Has she gone off the deep end? Is she really back in time? Above all, she'll have to answer the question that no one else can: What it is that she really wants from the past, and for her future? 

My Thoughts:

I received a copy of Beth Harbison's new book, If I Could Turn Back Time, from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is one of those books where I wish I could give an extra 1/2 star. This book deserves 3.5 stars vs 3 stars. I requested this one from NetGalley because the premise of the story interested me - a 37 year old woman has an opportunity to go back in time and redo some of the mistakes she made the first time. I think as we grow older, we all have times in our lives that we wish we could hit the "redo" button. I agree with another reviewer in that I loved the beginning of the story and loved the ending as well. The best part of the middle section was reading about how Ramie changed the time she spent with her father knowing that he would pass away a few years later. I do think there are others who will fall in love with this story so even though I gave it 3.5 stars, definitely give it a try!

Book Review: Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Summary from Goodreads:

The author of the beloved One for the Murphys gives readers an emotionally-charged, uplifting novel that will speak to anyone who’s ever thought there was something wrong with them because they didn’t fit in.
 
“Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”
 
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.

My Thoughts:

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and I loved it so much that I plan to order a hard cover of this book for my own children to read.  Fish in a Tree was so wonderfully written and the message of turning the impossible into the possible is so important for children to hear.  I can't rave enough about this story.  I loved the main character, Ally.  She reminds me of so many students I have come across over the years as a reading specialist.  She is so incredibly smart but because of her learning differences, she feels so dumb and gives up on school.  She goes from year to year and school to school and no one figures out she has dyslexia - no one, that is, until Mr. Daniels comes along and believes in her and helps her see her strengths.  Ally also gets her courage from her two classmates, Albert and Keisha.  Both have struggles of their own, but together they become great friends who respect each other's differences and encourage each other throughout the story.  I have always been a fan of Lynda Mullaly Hunt's novels, but this one has now topped my recommendation list.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!