Many Reasons

There are many unfair reasons why I didn't like Invisible Girls:  a memoir.

For one, I immediately thought of Kate Bowler when I read this book.  Two young women of faith, hit hard with horrible cancer.  The thing is, Sarah Thebarge is no Kate Bowler, but that isn't fair because Kate Bowler is matchless.

It also isn't fair that even though Thebarge says that she has escaped from Christian fundamentalism, she is still too fundamentalist for me.

But I think there are other reasons why I didn't like the book that are valid.  I found Thebarge to be more of a white savior figure than anything else.  I also found some of her decisions regarding her interaction with Hadhi's family to be super judgy and ridiculous.  For one, the tv show depicting domestic violence, the one that she didn't want Hadhi's kids to see?  Pretty much ignoring the whole truth that these kids have seen this and worse violence in real life.  And then, she is pleased when Hadhi turns the tv to Spongebob Squarepants.  Um.  Okay.

This just wasn't my thing.  I have incredible sympathy for Thebarge and for all of the trials that she has gone through with her horrible disease.  Don't get me wrong.  And I also think that what she did with and for Hadhi and her children was quite commendable and far more than I could ever do.  And it is clear that she is God's hands and feet in this world.  I just think that her editors did her an injustice.  I don't think that someone who has such a giving heart meant to come across like she did-- a white savior and full of "pat myself on the back" moments and ugh, that ending- I think that a better editor would have helped her share her heart in maybe a way more like the person she seems to be.

They say that actions speak louder than words, right?  And Thebarge's actions are just wow, I admire her so much and it makes me want to be that kind of person, but the words with which she told her story, they fell short.  And that's too bad.

Sadly too, she is misguided in that she attends a church which does NOT  understand that God cares THAT we love, not WHOM we love.  It is one of those churches where the pastor believes that what body parts one has should determine whether or not love is Godly.

As for Ms. Thebarge, she can follow James Dobson on that issue.  I will follow Jesus Christ.

I can't recommend this book.

So THAT'S how it happens (not really)

I have always wondered how people flee a country.  When I read Exit West and read of the doors through which those seeking to leave scramble, I admit I honestly thought for a second, "Oh, wow. How is that possible?  Huh."  Well, no, it doesn't happen that way.  That is the magical realism part of the book, but the rest seems very raw and real.  This was a love story, and a refugee story and a story of the evils of humanity story and a story of the beauty of humanity story.  And it shows how life does go on, in small and in "ordinary" ways, like falling in love and feelings and "normal" things, even in the midst of the very worst of times.
On goodreads, Diane S. said this about the book, "We need more books like this, or no, maybe that's wrong, what we need are more readers of books like this. The country it takes place is unnamed, but one part makes it sound as if it is in Asia somewhere. A country under siege by opposing parties, a country at war with itself, a dangerous place, how so many in this world live in constant danger, constant war.," and I couldn't agree more.

It Can't Last

Hindsight is 20-20, so we know that while Lucía's family has hope (at least in the beginning) that "their" Cuba will be "their" Cuba again  very soon, we know that is not in the cards.  Even with Castro's death, Communist Cuba will probably be Communist Cuba for a long time to come.  Those were some of the saddest parts for me.  It reminded me of the mom in A Night Divided, who believed that East Germany would be united with West Germany in a short time, too.
It might seem like I had a theme going on here, with AND in my recent reading past, but I had no idea what to expect with The Red Umbrella.  It was another of the wonderful free audio downloads from Overdrive this summer. When I saw it this week I had it confused with some other book about a bicycle that won a YA award once, but I couldn't get into it and it wasn't on audio.  And now I can't find any trace of it at all!
But that is neither here nor there, except to say that I am glad I had it confused and so glad I downloaded it and really enjoyed this book.  I mean, it was sad and hard and also really hopeful and beautiful.

Hawaii!

I am so close to reading a book set in every state in the US!  This is my Hawaii entry!  I do love the Mysteries in our National Parks series.  I do.  This one just took me a while to get through.  Probably because I had to read it, instead of listening.  But I really did like it!  Rage of Fire is another great addition to the series!  It is set in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Another!

When I was writing about Crenshaw, I found out about Home of the Brave.  In March I went to Denver and I got my Denver Public Library card, where I found the audio book!  And I listened to it and it was great!  So many thanks to Katherine Applegate, goodreads.com and Denver Public Library for making this all possible!
Kek is from Sudan and because of all of the war in Darfur. Minneapolis, Minnesota. First he is in a refuge camp and then he is sent to live with his aunt and his cousin, who is in eleventh grade.  Kek is in fifth.
This was Applegate's first book after the Animorphs.
I found it to be so so so good...there were times when I laughed and times when my heart cried.
I wonder how this matches up to the actual experiences of Sudanese refugees.  I am trying to find something written about the research that Applegate did to write this and/or the reaction of the Sudanese refugee community.  I so want this to be an authentic kind of story, because it is just so very, very good.  There are a lot of really good African proverbs in this book as well.
OH MY GOSH!
I just realized, though I think I knew this before, but I am not sure, but I just realized that Applegate also wrote the Roscoe Riley Rules series, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE and recommend to everyone in the world!

Drita

I have wanted to read Drita, My Homegirl for a long time now.  The cover and story really attracted me.  I finally did and it was lovely.  What a funny, touching, beautiful story told from the POV of two young girls in alternating chapters.  Drita and her families are  Albanian refugees from war-torn Kosovo.  Maxie is a gal with a ton of spirit, but a broken heart, from the death of her mother in a car accident three years ago.  Their friendship unfolds in a beautiful way.  Loved this book.