I love this book! The research regarding the issues of adoption, immigration and barbeque, yes, even barbeque are done meticulously and heartwrenchingly so, that this story will stay with you a long time.

Alice's story begins with another adoption falling through at the last minute. Jake, her husband, and Alice's hopes for a family are wrenched apart again and they bury their feelings in their work. Alice particularly struggles with the "unfairness of it all". All she wants is a baby to make her life whole.

Carla's story is about survival. As human beings we want to believe we would fight with every ounce of our being to stay alive in the face of seemingly un-surmountable adversity. Carla is a child fighting to immigrate from Honduras to America to find her mother. Her flight with her younger brother in tow should be made required reading for all members of the United States Congress who are currently debating the immigration laws.

As these two different stories are told in alternating chapters, Ms. Ward brings their lives together in a surprising conclusion. I would highly recommend The Same Sky to everyone who loves a good story about families struggling to live the "American Dream".

I was thirteen years old in 1968, the year the movie Romeo and Juliet with Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey was showing in my small town theatre. My friends and I saw the movie five times in the two weeks that it ran and my love for historical fiction was born. I have always wanted to explore the "back stories" of the characters real and otherwise who are portrayed in the genre of Historical Fiction, Ms. Leveen does not disappoint. This book tells the back story of the lover's tragedy from the view point of Juliet's wet nurse. The first half of the book tells the story of
Juliet's childhood. Her nurse is with her through every aspect of her young life and as was common in those days, they rarely interact with the other members of the household.
The second half of the book was harder to read, we already know the ending! The back stories told through the eyes of Juliet's nurse, bring some new insights in the timeless stories surrounding the tragedy. The author has done extensive research of the period and I find myself looking forward to re-watching Romeo & Juliet as I now have a new perspective of the families and their surroundings.

A small college community, a book shop and characters we, as readers, can immediately identify with. Ms. Woodroof takes her characters and turns them into friends that you cannot stop reading and caring about.

The book has many central characters, Tom Putnam, the small college professor who is passionate about Shakespeare and even lapses into Shakespearean thought when confronted with difficult situations. Agnes, Tom's Mother-in-law who retired to take care of her grown daughter. Russell and Iris, colleagues of Tom and Henry, the six year old boy who arrives in the small town with a birth certificate in his backpack stating Tom is his father. But I believe this book is ultimately about Rose.

Motivational speakers who are know for confronting disturbing topics will tell us that as humans we tend to ignore or tune-out people who are different or acting strangely. Some people hide or move on if things get confusing or difficult. Rose has always been one of these people. Her life "has never been a mess" and when she realizes she has talents and blessings to offer others she is forced to realize that life can be hard, but it is "OK" to be happy.

Through a series of humorous and tragic events, our friends come together in such a way that grabs us and makes us want to live in their community too. They embrace each other because they need each other and they genuinely like one another despite their insecurities and doubts about the direction their own lives are going. If you are reading for fun or escapism, beware there are subjects that are distressing and tragic - death, abandonment and alcoholism. These topics are as much a part of the story as the characters are. The frankness, humor and compassion that friends and strangers offer are small blessings.

Small Blessings is a wonderful book that will keep you thinking of the characters and how they are getting on with their lives long after the end of the book.