Reviews by Janet H. (Long Beach, CA)

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Mockingbird Summer
Mockingbird Summer: A Novel
by Lynda Rutledge
Great book (2/9/2024)
I loved this book. It is a great story about a baseball-playing brother and his sister, and their discovery of a gifted runner in their midsts. A potential great addition to their team but for the fact that she goes to a different church, lives in a different part of town, …more
King of the Armadillos
King of the Armadillos
by Wendy Chin-Tanner
Great story (5/16/2023)
King of the Armadillos, by Wendy Chin-Tanner is an excellent story, well told, about a 15 year old boy, an immigrant from China, who develops lesions that are diagnosed as Leprosy in the 1950s. The story is based loosely on the author's father's experience with the same …more
Last House Before the Mountain
Last House Before the Mountain
by Monika Helfer
Dark and Disappointing (2/20/2023)
Last House Before the Mountain, a Novel by Monika Helfer was thankfully brief: 175 pages of of trying to figure out who fathered a child while the mother's husband was away at war. It was, at times, difficult to tell who was being discussed. Most characters came to a sorry …more
Wade in the Water
Wade in the Water: A Novel
by Nyani Nkrumah
A Unique story (11/9/2022)
Wade in the Water by Nyani Nkrumah is not an easy book to read, despite excellent writing, unique characters and a well known piece of US history. It was a painful discussion of racism. It was a peek into a family that treated their children to violence and attempts at …more
In the Time of Our History
In the Time of Our History
by Susanne Pari
What it's like to go from Iran ... to the U.S. (9/11/2022)
What did I know about Iran, it's people and culture? Very little.

"In the Time of Our History" by Susanne Pari immerses the reader in the language, food, temperament styles, and recent history of Iran by telling the story of three generations of the Jahani family. Two …more
The Last Grand Duchess
The Last Grand Duchess: A Novel of Olga Romanov, Imperial Russia, and Revolution
by Bryn Turnbull
Russian History, well written (12/7/2021)
This was an excellent story of Olga Nikolaevna, daughter of Tsar Nicholas ll and his wife Tsarina Alexandra Federovna. The author did a good job bringing these historical figures to life, moving slowly towards their inevitable deaths; explaining how and why those …more
The Personal Librarian
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
A time of fabulous wealth ... and racism (2/13/2021)
This is the story of Belle da Costa Greene, the young librarian who helped build J.P. Morgan's excellent collection of close-to-priceless books and great art during the early 1900's. It reflects the times of the Gilded Age, the Great Depression and WW l. One of the major …more
The Widow Queen
The Widow Queen: The Bold #1
by Elzbieta Cherezinska
A Challenge (12/1/2020)
This was a challenging book to read. Character names were new to me; long and complex. I had no idea how to pronounce them, even mentally. There was much violence, death and destruction, as the characters plotted for more land and more power. I looked for a story within the …more
The Smallest Lights in the Universe
The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir
by Sara Seager
Smallest Lights in the Universe (7/21/2020)
This a is a great story, autobiographical, about Sara Seager. Rarely do we get to read what goes into the making of an astrophysicist. The author describes her fascination with stars when she was a young girl, struggling with the break-up of her parents, and the challenges …more
Remembrance
Remembrance
by Rita Woods
Absolutely outstanding (2/7/2020)
Just finished reading this debut book by Dr. Rita Woods. It is unlike any other I've read. It is historical fiction, from a different perspective - that of former slaves, some with powers beyond understanding. The writing is excellent, and the story is even better.
Lady Clementine
Lady Clementine
by Marie Benedict
For History Buffs (11/15/2019)
Lady Clementine, by Marie Benedict is an unusual look at WW l and WW ll history from the perspective of Winston Churchill's wife, Clementine. The book is written in her voice. She is a smart, ambitious woman who appears, at times, discontent to ride on his coat tails. I …more
Fly Girls
Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History
by Keith O'Brien
For everyone who has ever flown commercially (3/16/2019)
This is a well-written account of the many women who pioneered the aviation industry in the 20's and 30's. These women include Ruth Nichols and Ruth Elder, Louise Thaden and Amelia Earhart. They flew planes that sometimes fell apart under the strain of increasing speed. Air …more
The Last Romantics
The Last Romantics
by Tara Conklin
Review of The Last Romantics (12/10/2018)
I enjoyed reading about the Skinner family in Tara Conklin’s latest book. The characters are very well developed, and the techniques used to introduce you to the family members and their activities are well done. The siblings are familiar in some ways, due to the timeline, …more
The Last Year of the War
The Last Year of the War
by Susan Meissner
The Last Year of the War (10/30/2018)
This was a truly outstanding book about a little known series of events during WWll. I couldn't put it down, and read it in 3 days. I had no idea that American citizens of German heritage were interned at the same time as those of Japanese heritage. Nor did I know that some …more
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    Real Americans
    by Rachel Khong
    From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.
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