Publisher: Ballantine Books 
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 331
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical Fiction
Review Date: Recorded July, 2014
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old William Eng, a Chinese-American boy, has lived at Seattle’s Sacred Heart Orphanage ever since his mother’s listless body was carried away from their small apartment five years ago. On his birthday—or rather, the day the nuns designate as his birthday—William and the other orphans are taken to the historical Moore Theatre, where William glimpses an actress on the silver screen who goes by the name of Willow Frost. Struck by her features, William is convinced that the movie star is his mother, Liu Song.

Determined to find Willow, and prove his mother is still alive, William escapes from Sacred Heart with his friend Charlotte. The pair navigates the streets of Seattle, where they must not only survive, but confront the mysteries of William’s past and his connection to the exotic film star. The story of Willow Frost, however, is far more complicated than the Hollywood fantasy William sees onscreen.

Shifting between the Great Depression and the 1920s, Songs of Willow Frost takes readers on an emotional journey of discovery. Jamie Ford’s sweeping book will resonate with anyone who has ever longed for the comforts of family and a place to call home.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers 
Release Date: March 14, 2006
Format: Paperback
Pages: 552 pages
Source: Retail Store
Genre: Historical Fiction, YA Historical Fiction
Review Date: March 8,, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

I have to admit, this is one of those books that make me feel very "well read" if you know what I mean! I read this for book club, but in all honesty I was reading the book up to the very last hour before the meeting.  I wouldn't have picked this book for myself, but it was recommended by someone at work so it made the voting list.  Alas, the group voted...and here we are!  As a bonus, this is the first book that I've read that qualities for my book to movie adaptation reading challenge. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I plan to soon.  We discussed this book almost two weeks ago, but I needed a little bit of time to digest the story.  This is one of those books where after I think about it for a while, my opinion transformed a little bit.

Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Release Date: April 2, 2013
Format: ARC Paperback
Pages: 544
Source: Publisher
Genre: Historical Fiction
Review Date: September 3, 2013
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born, the third child of a wealthy English banker and his wife. Sadly, she dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in any number of ways. Clearly history (and Kate Atkinson) have plans for her: In Ursula rests nothing less than the fate of civilization.

Wildly inventive, darkly comic, startlingly poignant — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best, playing with time and history, telling a story that is breathtaking for both its audacity and its endless satisfactions.

Disclaimer: I received this book courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I had to sit on this review for a few days.  I'm so glad that I didn't write a review immediately after finishing the book because it wouldn't have been that favorable. But after discussing it with my book club group and being able to talk it all out, it made me appreciate it better. I would give this a 2.5. but I'll round it up to a 3 on the merit that this story was so different from anything I've ever read before. Though confusing at times, overall it was pretty clever. I would describe this book as historical fiction with the supernatural component being reincarnation, but it's not enough for me to classify it as fantasy.

Throwback Thursday is my weekly feature which I created to post a review that I've written from the past. Every week I will post a review that I've written prior to my blogs existence. I'll be sharing both the books that I think you'd enjoy and the books that I should warn you against wasting your time on! ;-)

This book was amazing.  I didn't have high hopes when I picked it up, but I was most pleasantly surprised.  Like historical fiction? I completely recommend Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet!

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: January 27, 2009
Format: Kindle
Pages: 290
Source: Amazon Purchase
Genre: Historical Fiction, General Fiction
Original Review Date: December 28, 2011
Rating: 5 bookmarks 

Synopsis: In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's stunning debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol. 

This simple act takes old Henry Lee back to the 1940s, at the height of the war, when young Henry's world is a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father, who is obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Rainier Elementary, where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship - and innocent love - that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. And after Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end, and that their promise to each other will be kept. cont.

This was one of the best books I've read in the last 6 months. This story is riveting, sad, and heartwarming. I could tell that Mr.Ford did his homework. All of the history seemed so detailed and he brought that era of the 1940's and the late 1980's to life. 

I really felt for Henry and Keiko. They went through so much as young preteens during the 1940's. From dealing with their own individual identities, their families identities and how those meld together as Americans born with Chinese/Japanese heritages, respectively. Even though Henry's father seemed harsh, I could see what he was trying to accomplish with his son. He went about it in an more traditional Chinese manner, in my opinion the wrong way, but I believe that he felt in his heart, he really felt he was doing what was best for Henry.

Throwback Thursday is my weekly feature which I created to post a review that I've written from the past. Every week I will post a review that I've written prior to my blogs existence. I'll be sharing both the books that I think you'd enjoy and the books that I should warn you against wasting your time on! ;-)

Randomly I was thinking about book to movie adaptations that sucked. This was one of them. The book was very good and movie was a major let down. So, if you saw the movie and thought it was "blah", try the book, I'll enjoy it much more.

Publisher: Algonquin Books
Release Date: May 1. 2007
Format: Kindle
Pages: 448
Source: Amazon Purchase 
Genre: Historical Fiction, General Fiction
Original Review Date: April 16, 2011
Rating: 4 bookmarks 

Synopsis:  Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. 

Very good book. It took a chapter or two for me to get into the author writing from an old man's point of view. It was kind of fun reading about circus life in the early 1930's. At first I wasn't sure it would be my thing, but it was entertaining. A good story is a good story, no matter the setting.

Overall, the book was a fast read with an interesting discovery at the end. After reading the first few pages I had one thing in my mind until the event resurfaced again much later in the book...then I understood that it was totally a different situation. I also liked that it had an sort of an happy yet realistic ending, which was nice.

Happy Reading
~Tamara

Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Release Date: Illustrated Edition, October 4, 2007
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 352
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: Historical Fiction, General Fiction
Review Date: December 31, 2012
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: A novel set mostly in Afghanistan. The introverted and insecure afghan narrator, Amir, grows up in Afghanistan in the closing years of the monarchy and the first years of the short-lived republic. His best and most faithful friend, Hassan, is the son of a servant. Amir feels he betrays Hassan by not coming to his aid when Hassan is set on by bullies and furthermore forces Hassan and his father Ali to leave his father´s service. Amir´s relatively privileged life in Kabul comes to an end when the communist regime comes to power and his extrovert father, Baba emigrates with him to the U.S. There Amir meets his future afghan wife and marries her. Amir´s father dies in the U.S. and Amir receives a letter from his father´s most trusted business partner and, for a time, Amir´s surrogate father, which makes Amir return, alone, to a Taliban-dominated Afghanistan in search of the truth about himself and his family, and finally, a sort of redemption.

This book isn't something I would have chosen to read on my own. A coworker talked to me about this book over and over...and over again. ;-) Basically I felt I had to add it to my TBR list at that point. Why not!? So, I added it into my book club's voting poll and it was selected by the majority. Thus, here I am, reviewing The Kite Runner.

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: March 2, 2010
Format: Adobe EPUB eBook
Pages: 368
Source: Destination Download 
Genre: Historical Fiction. Fantasy, Book To Movie Adaptations
Review Date: August 5, 2012
Rating: 3 bookmarks 

I picked this book up for two reason. First, I saw the crazy movie trailer months ago and I was intrigued. I thought it was a crazy premise for a movie! I haven't seen the movie yet, by the way, but the trailer is below.  The second reason is that after seeing the trailer, I started to see a lot of people reviewing this book. Usually the book is better than the movie, so I thought, why not. It seems like it could be good.

Was it good? Yes, it was. But for some reason it took me a really long time to read it.  I believe it's probably more due the author writing style instead of the story itself. The story kept switching POVs, within the same chapter. One paragraph it's reading the story of what happened from a third person, the next paragraph we're reading an entry from Lincoln's journal (in first person), the next we are reading a letter from someone (in first person), or experiencing a dream (sometimes first person, sometimes 3rd person)!  That did take a little bit to get used to.