7/17-7/23

I wanted to love this book as science and faith and their intersections are where I "live". But this book plunged into the world of addiction so heavily, that I felt like I needed an Al-Anon meeting while reading it. I don't say that lightly because I highly appreciate 12-step recovery groups. I thought this leaned heavily into the coming-of-age issues of how to disengage from mentally ill parents and restrictive churches. Because it was a look-backwards POV, I thought Gifty, being a Stanford student, would be intelligent enough to seek out other places of worship and come to terms with (while not approve of) the cultural issues in churches. To condemn God because of a few people seems.....unwise and unfair. Do we want God to smite every bad action or actor? Wouldn't that include each one of us? This is the inherent tension in Christianity. How do we continue to love? The attempt for Gifty to discover the answers to depression and addiction seems laudable but naive. How many millions of people have hoped to do just that? Maybe working with God and maybe through 12-step groups could move the needle? Nonetheless,I learned a lot about Ghana, the daily pain of immigration, and the bigotry endemic in AL.

A funny story that plays out like a Hallmark movie.

Fascinating book about art, forgery, and painting. The narrator has morals and portrays the ethical questions sympathetically.

5 STARS!!! no explanation needed.

Kids loved reading it

You will not think about parfaits in the same way again

An adventure into space (Uriel, Camazotz and the land of Ixchel) by Meg, her brother and friends in search of her lost father. A journey into light and darkness, self discovery and love.

Enter a world where those with powers are controlled by the kings and identifiable by their different colored eyes. Through the lens of a Graceling who has passions for changing the world, encounters dangers through her trips to the seven kingdoms of this world. Through her journey she meets some other important characters. Non stop action mixed with a little romance makes this a fantastic read for fantasy lovers! (Book 1 of the series)

I liked this book