The Soloist : a Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez

Memoirs are my favorite read these days. A memoir is a bit of an autobiography with a large dose of personal experience. They are always true stories. The memoirs I have read have been written in an "I'm your friend" voice always drawing me in to the author's life - or at least a segment of his/her life. I like them because they reveal the grittiness of life, the difficulties, the problems people endure. The Soloist by Steve Lopez meets all of those criteria.

Steve Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. One day he stopped to listen to a homeless man playing an old, two string violin. The music was classical and showed a depth of talent that did not match the Skid Row homeless environment. So Steve asked. He approached the bedrageled soloist and commented on his talent. Over weeks, months, and years Steve learned that Mr. Nathaniel Ayers had attended New York City's prestigious Juilliard School for students with talents in the performing arts. Mr. Ayers also suffers from the mental illness, schizophrenia. He simply was not able to manage the demands of school and was hospitalized against his will. When Mr. Lopez wrote of Nathaniel Ayers in his column, readers responded favorably. Many wanted to help. Steve Lopez found himself advocating for the homeless and his new friend, Nathaniel Ayers.

In reading The Soloist you will learn much about homelessness and mental illness. Your eyes will be opened to life on the streets. You may be surprised to know that many homeless choose that life style as they do not want the day-to-day responsibilities that we take for granted. You will be moved by this story and appreciate your life, no matter the hardships you may think you endure.

Soon, The Soloist will open as a major motion picture starring Jamie Foxx as Mr. Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey, Jr. as Mr. Steve Lopez. Read the book first as there is ALWAYS something more to know from a book than a movie. I will certainly be watching the movie too!

The Juilliard School has also covered this story. You may enjoy reading The Long Road: Nathaniel Ayers' Journey From Juilliard to Skid Row to Disney Hall by Louise Lee for The Juilliard Journal.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks

Sixteen year old Sally is involved in a car accident in which she is the only survivor. This accident sets into motion a chain of events and secrets that eventually haunt her own daughter, Odella.

Odella is left to wonder about many things - why doesn't her Great Aunt Gloria visit her family any longer? Why has her mother, Sally, abandoned her and her sisters and her father and moved far away? Only after her mother's death and meeting the grandson of her Aunt Gloria's long-ago boyfriend do the secrets begin to unravel. I was able to guess a few of the secrets, but there were some surprise twists in the story.

The story is told through three generations of women and how these secrets overshadowed their lives. Many families have secrets, and in some cases, it seems that the keeping of these secrets is more harmful than the truth.

Reviewed by Mrs. Dunaski

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman

I could tell you that Whirligig by Paul Fleischman is the story of a teen boy who kills a girl because he is driving drunk, and that would be true. You'd wonder about the curious title and its connection to the boy. You'd notice that it's a short book, only 133 pages, and might be enticed to read it as you could finish it in a day or two. I will tell you - this book is a must read!

Brent has killed Lea while he was driving drunk but he was also trying to kill himself. He never intended to hurt someone else. His heart is heavy knowing what his irresponsible actions have caused. How can he ever atone this? Lea's mother asks Brent to set her daughter's spirit free by building four whirligigs, one for each corner of the country. We follow Brent as he sets out toward Washington, California, Florida and Maine. His journey brings him closer to peace and an understanding of what is important in life.

Don't be confused by the chapters of this book. Interspersed with Brent's story are short story chapters of the lives of individuals who encounter the completed whirligigs. Each whirligig brings meaning to others lives as well. Could Lea's mother have known the impact each whirligig would have on so many lives? Did she realize how Brent would grow and heal as he traveled, designed, and built each one? Perhaps you will feel, as I did, that Brent may be able to feel a sense of atonement having been on this personal, self-reflective journey.

Reviewed by Mrs. Boehm

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

15 year olds Carmen, Lena, Bridget and Tibby have been life-long friends, and it's the first summer they are all going in separate directions. Through one pair of "mystical" blue jeans they stay connected for the months they are separated (they make up rules to go with the pants!)

There are three more books in this series:
*The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
*Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
*Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

Throughout the four summers of the series, each of the girls learn a lot about themselves and about life, while always staying loyal to each other.

I laughed and cried and completely enjoyed all four of these books. There have been movies made from the first and second books - they were good but the stories were changed. I liked the books better!

Reviewed by Mrs. Dunaski

One Thousand White Women : the Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

This story is fiction based on something that actually happened, but with a twist. In the second half of the 1800’s a Cheyenne Indian Chief recognized that the eventual fate of his people was doomed. Because the Cheyenne society was matrilineal (all children born belong to their mother’s tribe) he made a request of the American government. He requested that the U.S. government make them a gift of one thousand white women as brides for the warriors of his tribe. By this request he thought that children of these women and his warriors would be assimilated into the white man’s world, and the legacy of his people would live on. In reality the U.S. government said no. In this story the U.S. government said yes.

The story is told through the journals of May Dodd, one of the white women who became an Indian bride. It is a fascinating story of the time that May and a group of white women spent with the Indians - the final days of the American Indians living on the land as free people, as they had done for thousands of years, before their demise at the hands of the U.S. government.

I enjoyed every page of this book and didn’t want it to end. It is full of remarkable characters whom we come to know well and love. It gives a different perspective on this period in American history - one which is most times completely overlooked.
Reviewed by Mrs. Dunaski

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The following quote is from the author on the jacket of the book:
“Usually we give some clues about the book on the jacket, but in this case we think that would spoil the reading of the book. We think it is important that you start to read without knowing what it is about. If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (Though this isn’t a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence.”

This was a great book - another intriguing story about the World War II Holocaust. There is now a movie based on this book, and I am looking forward to seeing it.
Reviewed by Mrs. Dunaski

President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

This image is a visual representation or Wordle "word cloud" of President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address. You can see that the predominant theme of his historic address is America: New Nation.



Image created with Wordle.