Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres

Book:  Jesus Land 

Author:  Julia Scheeres 

Grade:  B-

Recommended To:  The Religious Right (not!) 

Jesus Land is the memoir story of a girl and her adopted black brother and their story of survival throughout their  teenage years.  Julia and David have a terrible home life, get into trouble (which mostly sounds like normal teenage behavior), and then are shipped off to reform school in the Dominican Republic. 

Some of the stories in this book are very difficult to read.  There is a lot of child and sexual abuse in this book.  Although I don't think these children were necessarily abused because of their religious upbringing; perhaps their parents' very strict view of the Bible accounted for some of the harsh punishments the kids received.

The story begins when the family moves to Lafayette, Indiana and there aren't any other black kids at school in 1974.   This leads to tension for the kids at school and between the kids because as a white student, Julia ultimately has an easier time assimilating.   This part of the story is interesting enough, but the real juicy bits happen when both kids are shipped off to a reform school in the Dominican Republic.  There, they are systematically beaten down, physically and psychologically, and have witness punishments that are severe.

This book was an enthralling story, but sometimes I am doubtful of memoirs.  I don't think Julia is making it up, but everyone remembers things in a different way.  I would have loved to know about her current relationship with her wretched parents who sent her to the reform school, about how she has gotten past all of this abuse and what her life is like today.  Those details were not included in the book.  I would also have liked to read about the reform school's response to her book - because it is clearly an expose. 

Overall this book is an 80% or B-.  If you like this type of shocking memoir, then you should read it.  I got it on PBS without an issue and I'll probably stick my copy back up.

Happy Reading!!

A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosney

Book:  A Secret Kept 

Author:  Tatiana de Rosney

Grade:  C+ 

Recommended To:  Divorcees, People who didn't read her first book. 

I didn't have very high expectations for this book because it is a second novel by a successful-first-novel author.  Usually the second novel isn't great.  I think this is because really good books don't happen overnight.  These first time authors get super successful and they want to capitalize on that success with a second book immediately when really they should engage in the editing process a bit.

That's what happened with this book.  I mostly liked Sarah's Key, the author's first book, but was not a part of the group of readers who thought this book was astronomically good.

The real issue with A Secret Kept is the characters.  The narrator is a middle aged man who can't communicate with anyone, his dying father, his grandmother, his sister, his children.  This is so far outside my family experience, I found myself getting frustrated with the narrator.  I just wanted him to man up already and ask his kid why he was getting in trouble with the law.

The other problem is that the secret builds and builds but then is only a little shocking.   You find out that narrator's mother died early, in her mid thirties, and then you find out that she was having an affair, also early on.  So, you aren't sure what the secret could be and generally it is disappointing for the amount of buildup. 

To this book's credit, I was wrapped up in it while I was reading.  It was a compelling story even though I was annoyed occasionally at the characters and the plot.  A lot of stuff happened that was out of the blue and kept the story moving.  de Rosney also has a gift for describing scenes and experiences that makes the story quick and light.  She doesn't drag the story down with a lot of pretentiousness and poor writing. 

So, If you read de Rosney's first book and loved it - I can imagine that your hopes might be dashed reading this one.  But, if you had low expectations to begin with, this book is a solid fast read.  I finished it in about a day.  This has been a hell of a week for reading.  My new job starts tomorrow, so I can only imagine how many hours I'll be working and how little time I will have to read and update this blog.  

Happy Reading!!

The Insider by Reece Hirsch

Book:  The Insider 


Author:  Reece Hirsch 


Grade: B-/C+  (maybe I should start giving % ratings out of 100)  This would be 72%


Recommended To:  Legal Thriller and action fans.  Outsiders. 


I tried to win this book on Goodreads, failed and waited forrrevaaaa to get it on paperbackswap.com.  Finally it comes, and I read it in a day.  It is the fastest I've read a book this year that is of any substantial length.  It seems that the font used for this book was especially huge; I might have gotten the "large print" version.

This book follows big law firm associate/partner Will Connelly in his short journey through the world of insider trading, the Russian mafia, and a potential murder charge.

Here's what I liked:  This was a quick book and what I classify as a "train read."  Super fast, easy, doesn't require a lot of thought.   This is the first book by Reece Hirsch and it was a solid first effort.  He probably has a promising future as an author as long as he sticks to what he knows, cuts down some of the character dialogue, and doesn't try to cram too much stuff in one book.

The plot was okay.  It often seemed like a HUGE stretch that a partner at a big firm would be knocked for insider trading, possible terrorism, murder, and connections to the Russian mob and all because he was set up to take the fall.  This could probably have been four books instead of one.  With all of the plot lines and twists it was hard to keep track of what was going on.

Here's what I didn't like:  The main character!  He was so dumb sometimes.  If the Russian Mob tells you that they are going to extort you, then you DO NOT under any circumstances leave your busy law office with them.  What is wrong with this guy.  He's so smart sometimes because he figures out all of the tenuous connections between terrorists, mobsters, partners, etc.  but he does some mega dumb things, like go to the Russian restaurant that serves as the headquarters of the mafia.  Alone.  As in -  by himself.  Foolish.

Connelly was also a very flat character.  Hirsch tried to give him dimension, but sometimes in these action based novels it is better not to pretend that the characters are substantive. The effort at substance highlighted that Connelly was flatter than ever.  Jack Bauer - not very substantive.  Excellent show?  Yes. 

I also didn't like the fight scene at the end.  Without giving too much away at one point the main dude and some other guy are circling each other with a hammer and a screwdriver respectively.  What?  The mental image I got from this was so funny I had to laugh out loud. 

I get that this is a first novel - and it was a solid first effort by Hirsch, but I think there were some serious plot fails that took away the story as a whole.  I enjoyed reading this book overall and if you are looking for something fast from a new and promising author - then you should check out this book.

Happy Reading!!

Predators by Anna Salter, Ph.D

Book:  Predators:  Pedophiles, Rapists, & Other Sex Offenders 

Author:  Anna Salter, Ph.D 


Grade:  B 


Recommended To:  Parents, Potential Parents, Grandparents.  Not recommended for actual children. 

My sister is a social worker and has spent the second half of her short life working with victims of sexual assault.  She read this book as a part of a class in college, owns two copies, and has been talking about this book non-stop for the last 7 years or so.

I finally, finally, decided to read it and I am seriously glad that I did.  I feel so much better prepared to have kids and to keep them safe after reading this book.  Which is why this book is recommended to every single person who has kids and every single person who wants to have kids.This book might become a staple in every baby shower gift that I give from now on.  Just so parents have the opportunity to be aware of the dangers facing their children.

The incidence of child molestation and rape is far too prevalent not to be prepared for this horrifying situation that could happen to anyone.  Salter breaks the book up into chapters about each type of predator and ends the book with chapters about how to detect deception and how to deflect predators from yourself and your children.  Those chapters were my favorite because Salter gives practical advice on what predators look for when they groom child victims and how to deflect that attention away from your kids.

Salter is admittedly a bit dry.  This is a sociological work and she goes into lots of detail about a lot of different studies.  This can drag, but she generally does an excellent job of explaining the studies in a way that is very easy for a lay person to understand.  She also includes a lot of anecdotes that move the book along very well.

A word of warning about this book.  It is absolutely terrifying.  Especially the chapter on psychopaths.  Those are the predators that don't feel even a bit of remorse or guilt when they lie, deceive, or commit heinous crimes.  I can't speak about the chapter on Sadists because I skipped it.  Salter includes a warning at the beginning of the chapter and says that if you don't think you can handle it, then you should skip it.  I opted to heed her warning.  I think I can be aware of predators without knowing the exact details of the crimes they commit in their own words.  That's too much.

In short, this book is B material.  I liked it.  I'm passing it around to all of the women in my book club so that we are prepared to keep our kids safe and I recommend it to everyone who has the same goal. 

Happy Reading! 

Three Cups of Tea - Retraction

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen 
Retraction based on 60 Minutes  

I feel it is necessary to issue a retraction for any statements I made endorsing the charity Central Asia Institute that was begun by Greg Mortensen, the author of Three Cups of Tea. 

60 Minutes aired a piece about the CAI today and exposed several aspects of Mortensen's charity as poorly run and several portions of his book as fictional, even though the book is written as a non-fiction account of Mortensen's work with the charity.  

I'm especially upset about this because I used the Central Asia Institute as my yearly Christmas charity this year.  My mother donates to a charity of our choice in our name each year for Christmas as a part of our gift and I loved Three Cups of Tea  so much that I chose the CAI as my charity.  Unfortunately, their records are rarely audited and the charitable organization funds Mortensen's book tours and travel expenses to the tune of millions of dollars a year  - instead of sending donations to the schools in Pakistan. 

60 Minutes also investigated some of the schools and found that some of the schools are underfunded and that Mortensen exaggerated the number of schools that were actually built in a particular area of Afghanistan. 

Bummer.  A total stinking bummer.  I don't think it is that bad that Mortensen is making money from his books, or that he uses the books to promote education for women and girls.  But, I do have an issue with a charity that is poorly run and a book that might have serious exaggerations for the sake of selling books.

I apologize for my un-researched support of Three Cups of Tea and for the CAI.   Greg Mortensen still wrote a compelling book, regarless of the fabrications and the problems with his charity, but I will think twice about donating after watching that 60 Minutes episode. 

Happy Reading!