I have been reading and re-reading this book for some 20 years now. Every time I read it I find it more mystical and enthralling. I look forward to reading it to my children and watching them get the same joy I experience every time I pick up this book. I would love to find a hardcover copy of this if anyone knows of one available as my paperback is becoming more and more used looking

The phrasing and descriptions may be from another era, but the charm remains forever! The idea that children and adults can work together with respect and politeness is, I fear, completely foreign to today's society. It has become an "us" vs. "them" proposition. Won't you do your children a favor and read this book, or another of Goudge's, aloud to them one night?

I have yet to find any "contemporary" books that can compare to the innocent spirit and adventure of this, and other, Elizabeth Goudge books. It is a tragedy that they are so difficult to find today--I had to do an inter-library loan to get a copy to read.

Delightful escape from the brutal reality of our lifestyle of today, do yourself a favor and try to track down a copy. It will lift your spirits and make your day brighter every time you read it.

My sister and I have loved this book since we we were children. Some 30 years ago. Now my daughter age 12 and I read it every summer. It is one of the best books written

Oh, I really loved this story! "WOW!"

"Sisters Forever" by talented storyteller Sharon D. Martin was an amazing story...one that touched me so passionately that I both laughed and cried at times! I have no doubt that anyone who takes the time to read this book will feel the same way!

A touching tale that takes the reader back in time (a time long since past) 'The Civil War Period.' A period of slaves and plantation owners.

"Sisters Forever" is a moving story of two young children that are raised together from birth -- One, April the daughter of the plantation owner. And, the other, May the daughter of a slave.

A powerful story ripped from the pages of history. A period when times were turbulant and segregation ran rampid, but even so, April and May through time form a bond between them that is unbreakable and holds steadfast they become unseparable which creates its fair share of stepping stones for everyone involved!

"Sisters Forever" is a wonderful novel that I truly believe everyone no-matter what their favorite genre happens to be in reading material, is a book, everyone will love just as much as I did! I give this book and its talented writer 'Two Thumbs Up' ...

Sharon Martin has penned a delightful thought provoking story in Sister Forever.
We are invited to share the lives of April,a plantation owners daughter, and May,the daughter of one of the slaves.
Their story, and that of their families, span the years before the Civil War and after.
It is the story of the 2 girls being raised as sisters in a most turbulant and segregated time in our history.
What it attempts to share with us is unconditional love and the never ending bond that cannot be broken even through the roughest of times.
I thank Sharon for reconfirming my belief that while we all share differant pasts and injustices,we still are all children of God,and worthy of this love.
Sometimes humorous,sometimes tragic,Sisters Forever is a wonderful read.
Five stars !!!
Cant wait for more from this author.
Thank you Sharon

Sisters Forever tells the story of two girls - one the daughter of a white, southern plantation owner - the other, the daughter of a slave and a slave, herself. Raised together as sisters, the two children are, at first, unaware of both their assigned stations in life, and the difference the color of their skins makes to others. As time and society exert their poisonous influences on the two girls, they fight both their parents and their culture to maintain their relationship as sisters. Unfortunately they fight a loosing battle. But time can and does heal all wounds, yet again unfortunately for one of the sisters, time and life have not been kind masters, and for this sister her life is one, long journey of pain and disappointment.
In this debut novel, Martin shows extreme story-telling talent and natural writing ability. She re-creates the pre-Civil war south with such skill that one almost longs for those by-gone days of sleepy heat full of drowsy dreams and promises. Yet, she also vividly, graphically, and honestly recreates the horror and pain of slavery. Her use of southern, slave patois is artfully done and adds a wealth of color and realism to her characters. Characters that you will cry with, laugh with, hurt for, cheer for, and either love or hate.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! My only regret is that a bigger house has not published it so that it could get the promotion and marketing attention it deserves. This book should be an Oprah Book Selection, it is that good, and if you don't read any other book this year, read this one!

I picked up this novel to read a few pages before bedtime and read until the birds were chirping at 7 a.m. The story of Jessie and Tweets is a grabber. Both characters are well-defined, immediately likeable particularly the spunky Tweets as she grows from a frightened young girl to a tough and beautiful young woman. The author, Dieguez's, portrayal of the south in the early 1900's was quite accurate. The plot has enough twists and turn to make it compelling without confusing or manipulating the reader. Some of the twists were a tad predictable but still written in such a way that one didn't want to skip a word. Dieguez has a skill with the language. Her portrayal of delicate scenes, her descriptions of the circus "family," and the tragedies that befell the main characters or the circus left much to one's imagination. That alone is a skill in today's overly graphic sexual and violent scenes in the media. The author's knack for storytelling is a lost art. I look forward to seeing more of Ms. Dieguez's work. I'd love to know what happens to Tweets as she grows up. But then I have an imagination and I can do as Jessie and weave some stories in my own head. A wonderful coming-of-age novel.

I got hooked on circus novels after reading "Geek Love" (pick it up!). This is another marvelous contribution. Ms. Dieguez expertly recreates the south just after the turn of the 20th century. She also creates deep, tangible characters, especially in Jessie and Tweets, but in every one of the other characters as well.

This book is a marvelous exploration of love, desire, sisterhood, societal norms, and gender. Dieguez's narrative is a beautifully woven tapestry, and I lapped up every word. I only have a couple disappointments. First, the hardcover version was badly edited (there were a few misspelled words, and several paragraphs that were not indented). Second, a serious problem with Jessie is not wrapped up by the novel's end. This could be because Jessie is no longer worried about it, or it could be the case of a first-time author forgetting to tie up all the threads. With both of these problems, they were disappointing, but did not lessen my enjoyment of this marvelous book.

"The Bearded Lady" is a strange and wondrous tale that quickly pulled me in and didn't let me go until the last, mesmerizing scene. It is the story of Jessie and Tweets, two sisters who find themselves orphaned and join a traveling circus to earn money and escape from their cruel aunt's "care". Jessie fastly becomes someone the reader grows attached to as we read about her secret desires and adventures within the traveling circus world where anything can happen ... and does! This book is a must-read for anyone seeking literature that is new and exciting, strange and wondrous! Highly recommended!

Yesterday we finished reading The Moffats by Eleanor Estes. It was about this family that lived in the yellow house on New Dollar Street. They had a cat named Catherine. The kids were named Joe, Jane, Slyvie and Rufus. The family had many adventures together in the town of Cranbury. I liked this book because it is very funny. My favorite part was when they scared Peter Frost by turning Madame the bust into a pumpkin headed ghost in the attic. It was a great story.

I loved this book. I especially liked the chapters about Rufus and Hughie running away from school and Joey dancing the Sailor's Hornpipe. Chet was my favorite character in the book, and also his brother Hughie. If they were based on real people the author knew, I'd like to read about who they really were. I love the Pudges!

The Moffats is an entertaining story about a poor family without a father that has many marvelous adventures. One of the adventures is when the Moffats help a man from the Salvation Army find his way.When the man moves to the back to get some rest he falls out and gets left behind.Read the book to find out what happens next. The Moffat family is a kind family. The book is a good family story. If you are interested in good book The Moffat's is the book for you.

In another 2 of a Kind book that reminds me of Sweet Valley Twins,a scout visits Mary-Kate and Ashley's school to choose a one-time model to appear in Real Teen magazine.Ashley couldn't be more excited!She starts turning up at school in sparkly dresses and high-heels.Mary-Kate thinks modelling is silly and playfully teases Ashley over her love of it.There is surprise in both girls when it is Mary-Kate who is chosen as the new Real Teen.Ashley begs Mary-Kate to swap places with her,but after MAry-Kate is conjoled into agreeing ,she starts to regret it.

"My sister the Supermodel" This book is about two girls,Mary-Kate and Ashley.Ashley wants to be a supermodel and she can't wait.The poeple from Real Teen magazine were coming to there school to pick a model of the month,and Ashley thinks or she knows that they are going to pick her.But when the day comes Mary-Kate gets picked.So ashley beggs Mary-Kate to make believe that she breaks her leg,so Mary-Kate did.But at the end it turned out that both of them were able to do the modeling.

I really liked this book because it was funny,interesting,and teaches us on how to handle our prblems. Yes I would definetly recommend this book to any one person.

In this Mary Kate and Ashley book the girls school is having a supermodel come to there school to do a photo shoot for one lucky girl who gets picked. Ashley really thinks she has a shot at it and really wants to be a model but Mary Kate on the other hand only wants to miss class. She never dreamed she would get picked but she did. Now Ashley is begging her to switch places. Will they? You'll have to read the book and find out. Oh and if you like the books check out the show on Fox Family Channel. Ta-Ta

I read this book within 3 hours of buying it. The story is good and the drawings make it look like a real jornal (along with the lined paper) Keep writting those Amelia books Mrs. Moss!

I liked this book because I liked how Amelia finnaly got to go back to her home town and see Nadia. I think you should read this book because someday maybe you'll be in Amelia's place!

Amelia Hits the Road was a great book!! In the book Amelia writes down all of her thoughts and feelings while she's visiting the GRAND CANYON, DEATH VALLEY, and YOSEMITE with her mother and her sister, Cleo. She also visits her old friend Nadia. I loved that part! The book was very funny and I loved the illustrations! WHAT A FANTASTIC BOOK!!!

Rita Williams-Garcia's Like Sisters on the Homefront is the tale of a fourteen-year-old girl who is sent by her mother to live with her Aunt and Uncle in the south after getting pregnant for the second time. Gayle Whitaker, the protagonist in the story, compares her stay at the relatives as 'being sold into slavery'.(Williams-Garcia. 23)
This link is constantly being made throughout the story by Gayle, a girl who seems to lack any kind of regard towards anyone or anything except herself and three friends. The reader has a hard time connecting to her because she appears so self-centered which although common among young teenagers is hard to accept from a girl who seems older than her years as a result of her experiences. It is only through Gayle's interpretation of the world that one can see how vulnerable she is and realize that her lack in concern is directly related towards her age and development.
Gayle's lack of any type of emotion is clear from the beginning of the book when the reader discovers she is pregnant. To the reader it seems as though her regard to her situation is without concern. Her response to the abortion was more a sense of annoyance than any type of loss or even understanding about consequences. When the Doctor tries to offer some sympathy and encouragement during the procedure Gayle responded with, "Oh, Doc, it ain?t nothing to cry about."(Williams-Garcia. 8)
The inconsistency Gayle expresses shows how she can still easily be taken advantage. Throughout most of the book she tries contacting her boyfriend Troy with no success. Instead of realizing he has moved on she places the blame of his lack of response on everybody else but him. Yet the flight attendant on the plane causes Gayle to feel suspicious. "Gayle didn?t trust her. She was to nice." (Williams-Garcia. 21)
Although she seems experienced and often the reader forgets her age, comments Gayle makes throughout the book often expose how young and unexposed to the world she really is. While flying over New York, Gayle notices the landmarks like a wide-eyed child. "Jose! Look. There go that Freedom Lady and her torch. See! And those two giant buildings be on postcards. Look!"(Williams-Garcia. 22)
Upon meeting her relatives at the airport, Gayle refuses to show any emotion towards her cousin Constance. Although she is aware the 'insolent' response to her cousins 'sympatric look' causes Constance to feel rejected and reveals this by justifying her unfriendly behavior to herself. "How can I smile at you? Smiling means we know the same thing, and you don't even know what I'm feeling. Cootie still sore fore the abortion. Ears still ringing from the plane ride. Back fit to split wide open from playing the mule, but I?m s?posed to be grinning at you?"(Williams-Garcia. 27)
Many readers may have a hard time relating to this book. The main character seems shallow. Taking a closer look though shows depth to Gayle and allows a great deal of maturity and growth throughout the book.

Like Sisters on the Homefront is one of the best books that I read. This book is about a girl named Gayle who is pregnant by a boy named Troy.After her mother found out she went and got her an abortion because she already has a child. After getting her an abortion, Gayle's mother sent her down South to live with her uncle and aunt. These are the issues that Gayle was dealing with: family problems, stress, dropping out of school, getting along with people, looking for a job, and pregnancy.

I think teenage girls will read this book, because they would think it's interesting because having a baby at a young age is not the way to be cool. It takes away a lot of your time and freedom. Gayle learns how to take responsibilities for her and her child.

Down South, Gayle learns that being on her own is hard. Being a full time mother is a hard job. She has to work to get her and Jose things that they need. Doing all this while taking care of Jose is hard because her mother is not there to help her, and she is learning her responsibilities quickly because her mother is not there to do everything any more.

I encourage you to read this book because you can learn a lot from this book.

My eighth graders loved this book! They were so excited after I read the first page to them as a preview of what's to come, that they went to the library to check out the book because they weren't scheduled to read it for another week. They really connected with the author's use of language and her up-front, in your face style of writing.
The author deals with teen pregnancy, abortion, and religion in a well-written, well- balanced way. She makes sure that the "real deal" of these teen issues are portrayed, as well as offering a "there's still hope" message for the readers.
As a reading teacher, part of my job is to expose my students to well-written, exciting books they might not ordinarily find on their own, and I'm surely glad that this wonderful treasure has been found!

This was the first book that I've read by this author and I was very pleasantly surprised. I am going to have to read more by her now. Normally I read Danielle Steel, Lavyrle Spencer, Barbara Delinsky, Eileen Goudge, and Sandra Brown. I am definitely adding Kristin Hannah to my list of must reads. It is rare that a book can make me cry but this one did! Gread story about sisters and the thin line between love and hate that they sometimes walk.

Living in the Seattle area, I enjoy reading books written by the Northwest authors. It's always fun being able to "picture" all the places the author talks about---having been there in person. With that said, I also love this author's style of writing, the development of her characters and the story's plot as well. She didn't disappoint in this novel, "Between Sisters".
This was her best work thus far and each book seems to be the best---a trademark of a great author. I haven't cried so much since "The Bridges of Madison County". It had much humor, sensitivity, sadness,happiness, love,and the dysfunctional families. It had it all!! I didn't want the story to end. I also hope she might continue the characters in a future novel. The story of Joe and Meg could be a book in itself.
I could not put this book down--became very involved with the story and people and felt that I "knew" them as friends. I lost a child to cancer--so I could also relate to the pain of that disease, the agony of the survivors.
I hope Kristin Hannah continues to wow me with her books. I look forward to the next one.

Kristin Hannah always delivers. Between Sisters has all the things I love in a book - rich, believable characters, individuals who must face their fears and weaknesses in order to grow, external challenges, friends, romance, and a great plot. I had to pace my reading so I wouldn't finish it too quickly!

I picked up this book after reading Long's collection of stories "Blue Spruce" and feel sure I am going to be reading his other works as well. Long's story gives us an insight into smalltown America, totally different from what we see in Hollywood movies and such. It's simple and honest and explores the basic and fundamental intricacies in human relationships. I personally find the protrayal of the Stavros sisters interesting as one can see the mirror and similarities in the characteristics of the four of them. Although the main focus of the novel was on Mark and his marriage to Olivia, I think more enduring was the flashbacks of Nick's marriage to his long-dead wife, Grace. That is a bond that overcomes differences, difficulties, temptations and time -- gathering all the strands of the novel together and thereby providing a centre for the story. I would have liked to have the WHOLE TRUTH about Celia and Linny, Olivia and Linny, and all the other little mysteries peppered throughout in the novel, but that would just have detracted from the novel's purpose and might just have reduced it as a whole. I enjoyed this book which spoke to my heart and by the way, isn't Davey just adorable?

On many different levels, the Falling Boy is a joy to read. The story of Mark Singer and the family he marries into is a fairly simple one, but the reach of the novel is so much greater.

David Long invests the ordinary with so much meaning and life, without making his observations at all contrived. The Falling Boy will make you look at your own familiar surroundings in a new light.

A perfect read for a quiet day.

I have just finished reading this exquisite novel and I know it will be with me for days to come. Mr. Long has written a beautiful story, not just about marital infidelity but about the "messiness" of life in general. His characters are distinctly drawn without ever becoming archtypes, recognizable even if we have never met anyone exactly like them. There is so much here that strikes a chord of recognition not in a showy, lightning striking way but as gentle thoughts curling up in those many recesses our souls develop as we age and experience. The short story writer that Mr. Long is shows in the well-crafted but clean prose that is a hallmark of this novel. Thank you, Mr. Long. I look forward to reading your other work.

Santa Santa Calls Book Review

Santa Calls is a book by William Joyce. Art is a boy who lives on a farm. Santa sends his family a box and they fly north in it. When they get there, Santa takes them for a ride. When they are riding, dark elves take Art's sister. Art gets her from the dark elves. Santa Calls is an awesome story. I liked the part when Art made a candy bomb of his own design. To find out this stuff buy Santa Calls.

By: Joey

I sent this book to my nephews & nieces last year, and it was a huge hit. Both families have children ranging in age from 5-9, and finding read-aloud books that are interesting for everyone is always a challenge. This story was well-loved and enjoyed by the younger kids as well as the old, and its subtle message regarding sibling relationships is perfect for children who are struggling to be "good" for Santa!

In the weird and wonderful world of William Joyce, everything looks like a Little Nemo cartoon, and "Santa Calls" is no exception. You have to experience Joyce's illustrations to appreciate their lush intricacy, but even they aren't as good as this book's warm story, the tone of which perfectly captures the "Boy's Life" fiction of the American West, circa 1908.

Spunky Art Atchison, along with Spaulding his pal and Esther his little sister have a thrilling adventure after Santa calls them all North. They battle dark elves and evil queens with gee-whiz pluck (and a candy-bomb of Art's own design). But even THAT isn't the big hug in the book---it's the very end that makes this gem a keeper. Few read those two letters and go away untouched.

Every year several gooey Christmas books come out, both religious and secular, and very few are worth much. But years after purchasing this one, we still pull it out and comb the rich pictures for new details. Forget the "Ages 5-9" recommendation for this: "Santa Calls" is for everybody!