New American Library

When She Flew

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:03:00 +0000

In a fictionalized version of a true event that that happened a few years ago, an Iraq war vet and his young daughter are discovered living in the Oregon woods. When police officer Jessica Villareal hears that a young girl has been sighted in the woods and could be a runaway teen, she asks to be added to the search team. Jessica has always played by the rules, but finds herself heading towards forty and feeling like her job is the only thing she has going for her. She has an estranged teenage daughter and grandson who live close to her ex-husband, Rick in another state. As the story unfolds, we learn that Jessica, who is half-Mexican, is the daughter of a policeman who was killed in an auto wreck while on duty when Jessica was very young. Since then she has tried to maintain a firm grip on her world to keep danger and insecurity at bay.

Throughout When She Flew, we sense that Jessica is trying to find her way back to her daughter and her own lost childhood by trying to help Lindy, the teenage girl. As told through the narrative voices of Jessica and Lindy, we inhabit the worlds of these two separate, but linked individuals. Despite a lack of material resources, Lindy has been brought up by her survivalist father to love and appreciate nature. She has a special interest in birds and is first sighted by bird watchers when she ventures away from the campsite to follow a blue heron she sees by the river.

Without giving the entire plot away, the title of the book _When She Flew_ symbolized, for me, how both the younger and older female characters of the novel eventually find the courage to leave the safety of the known and find their own “truths” about life and their place in the world, even if they doesn’t always conform to societal expectations. The novel asks thought provoking questions about our assumptions when it comes to raising children. Pater is raising his daughter outside of the confines of conventional society, but would Lindy be better off with a foster family, or in an institutionalized setting? These characters stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page. Once I started reading this book, I found it hard to put it down.

Written by: Gita Tewari, January 12th 2010

Green Kids, Sage Families: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Kids

admin — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:48:00 +0000

By Lynda Fassa

New American Library

We've come a long way since that 1970s TV commercial of a Native American crying at the sight of trash by the side of the road. Green living has finally gone mainstream. Lynda Fassa (author of Green Babies, Sage Moms) takes on the tykes and tweens in her latest, similarly titled, how-to guide on raising kids to be more conscious about treating their bodies, their homes, and the environment in a healthier, more ethical way: Green Kids, Sage Families

This is a great book chock-full of tips on how kids can help contribute to a greener world at home, in school, and beyond. Fassa offers ways to save money too, which is very appealing in this weak economy. Featuring advice on green toys, home repairs, organic snacks, what to ban from the house and garden, and even tips for throwing an eco-birthday party, Green Kids, Sage Families is accessible and creative in the ways in which it offers advice. The author also informs on how to save green by going green if you convert your home's power source to solar.

Of course, most of the book is directed to parents, teachers, and other childcare providers, so that they may become better role models for living the responsible, organic lifestyle. Green Kids, Sage Families is beautifully organized for easy dips in and out for specific topics and works as a very comprehensive guide to running a non-toxic household. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do by showing how to go green and protect your two most precious resources: your kids and the planet.

For those seeking writing that’s clean and concise about how to go green, Green Kids, Sage Families is your manual. It offers a well-balanced selection of tips, from basic and easy things you can do to those that are more cutting edge.

Written by: Cheryl Reeves, June 5th 2009

Haley’s Hints Green Edition

admin — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:44:00 +0000

By Graham Haley, Rosemary Haley

New American Library

Green is the new black. Today, it’s fashionable to be environmentally conscious, yet many of the eco-conscious tips and remedies in Haley’s Hints Green Edition are household remedies and grocery solutions that a hardworking and wise grandmother would have meted out 'back in the day'. The collection of 1,000 tips in this well-organized collection likely contains a few classic tips that you’re now using, or have used in the past, and will jolt your memory about tips that you’ve long since forgotten.

Remember how that kid in your elementary school chemistry class added vinegar to baking soda to make his clay volcano erupt? In addition to making volcanoes erupt, white vinegar reigns as a top natural household disinfectant and cleaning agent. According to Graham and Rosemary, white vinegar can remove stubborn tub rings, brighten your white wash, clean fruits and vegetables, and remove newly dried paint from glass.

What’s best about this book is that the tips utilize household staples that most consumers are likely to have in their cupboard or refrigerator. A great number involve the following items: lemons, baking soda, white vinegar, cooking oil, cornstarch, olive oil, and salt. It’s comforting to know that the ingredients that I’ve just cited are a lot safer than the expensive and dangerous chemical cleaners that are being sold on store shelves. As Graham points out: “I don’t believe in cleaning a toilet with bleach. If you forget and use a cleaner that has ammonia in it, as soon as the ammonia mixes with any bleach residue, you could get very toxic fumes.”

Best of all, it’s nice to know that the natural products work just as effectively as commercial cleaning products. There’s no sense in spending money on a bottle of a commercial brand chemical-laden furniture polish when the book’s olive oil and lemon recipe works just as well. Plus, spraying fewer chemicals in the air is so much better for the health of our planet.

Haley’s Hints Green Edition is a great reference book to keep on hand. Use these tips to save money and save the planet at the same time.

Written by: Rachelle Nones, May 17th 2009

Five Lessons I Didn't Learn From Breast Cancer (And One Big One I Did)

admin — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:02:00 +0000

By Shelley Lewis

New American Library

I’ve never had to battle cancer, but I’ve had many family members - including my mother right now - diagnosed with other forms of cancer. It’s difficult to find a light side to cancer when you’re fighting for your life. Shelley Lewis, however, writes about her experience with humor and advice for a world that has marketed breast cancer.

One thing that sets Lewis’ book apart is that she makes a point to say that breast cancer didn’t change her or give her a profound realization about her life; she’s the same person she was before the cancer. After talking to other women with breast cancer, she found that she wasn’t the only person who didn’t feel cancer changed her, which is quite a different conclusion than the media gives.

Five Lessons I Didn't Learn From Breast Cancer traces Lewis’ treatment (it includes important information on chemotherapy and radiation) and the experiences of other women. From this, Lewis offers wise advice for others with cancer, such as using the Cancer Card. She discusses how each treatment is different (she chose the longer period of small dosage chemo so she could keep most of her hair), and how every woman will react differently.

At the end of the book, Lewis includes a history lesson about how breast cancer awareness started and continues to grow. What is disturbing, though, is the inattention other cancers and diseases have gotten. And because breast cancer has been getting so much media attention, there have been conflicting images (i.e., Pink Ribbon Barbie).

There is no sugarcoating of how serious breast cancer is, but has valuable advice from someone who has gone through it with a bit of humor attached. In addition, it’s a helpful book for family and friends of a cancer patient, as it gives a better insight to what a loved one is going through.

Written by: Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch, June 9th 2008