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Showing posts from July, 2018

Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...

Book Review: Time of the Witch by Mary Downing Hahn

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When I was a kid, I hated reading chapter books because I found most of them boring . . . that was until I discovered two series during the summer between 5th grade and 6th grade . . . Sweet Valley Twins by Francine Paschal and The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. These two series made me an avid reader. Unfortunately, the middle school library didn't have these books in stock, so I started perusing the shelves for something to read when my English class visited the library. I happened across a book titled The Time of the Witch written by Mary Downing Hahn. The synopsis of the book sounded intriguing, so I decided to check it out. I fell in love with the book, and it is what made me love fiction books about the paranormal . . . witches, vampires, daemons, etc. My love for the book made me check out many of her books from the school library. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of her books, and the public library by my house had none of her books, so I had to res...