TsalagiWriter

Poetry and prose from students at Red Cloud Indian school. Some really good writing with raw emotions and wonderful illustrations.

At age nine, Bakhita was kidnapped away from her loving family and sold into a life of slavery. During her enslavement, she endured brutal treatment until she was taken to Italy, where she eventually became a nun.

Bakhita's story is inspiring. I really enjoyed reading the sections where people who had actually known Bakhita shared their stories. And of course, I liked reading the actual stories of her life. Those parts were my favorite and the ones I most enjoyed. The rest of the book, while informative, was rather dry and it was hard for me to stayed interested in reading.

Bakhita's story is wonderful, though, and I greatly enjoyed learning about her.

A cute book of haikus. Fun and colorful illustrations. An enjoyable read.

Only recently I found out about Victoria Woodhull. Thanks to someone on Twitter mentioning Victoria Woodhull and that the fact that she ran for President, I became very interested in this woman. And I wondered, how could I have never heard of her? A woman running for President in the 1870s, why wasn't I taught that in history?

And of course, I know about the women's rights movement, but in all that I've read, I don't recall ever seeing her name come up.

I was happy to see my library had a few biographies of her. I decided I'd read this one first and I'll the other biography at a later time.

Marion Meade does an amazing job of making Victoria's world come alive for the reader.

I just honestly think Victoria Woodhull was amazing. And despite what some historians may say, I don't think she set feminism back a hundred years. She did talk about things that were shocking in her time, things that many apparently just couldn't handle being discussed. But, I think she did what she felt she needed to do. And I know how tough it was for women in her time, especially a woman like Victoria.

It's sad that Victoria Woodhull has been almost forgotten. It really is. Shouldn't a woman like this be celebrated? She did a lot for women, spoke out for women, even if she was attacked for it.

I really liked this book a lot. And I'm happy to have learned about this amazing woman.

I read this because The Golden Compass is one of my favorite books. So, despite knowing the story and what happens already, I figured this would be a nice way to revisit one of my all-time favorite books.

It definitely reminded me why I love the book so much - the story is wonderful and interesting. And Lyra is such a great character. Sure, she is a bit odd, but I love that about her. She's different, she's herself and not afraid to be herself.

The story is definitely five stars, but the artwork. . . . I personally did not find it very appealing. But, besides the artwork, fans of the original book will love this.

A short biography about Victoria Woodhull, the woman to run for President.

I hadn't heard of Victoria Woodhull before, but it seems that she was almost forgotten. I'm grateful to those who saved her story by writing books about her. She is really a fascinating woman and this book is a good start to learn about her.

I found this book while searching through my library's online catalog. It didn't have a description, which some books on the catalog don't. But I borrowed it anyway, thinking it to be about the paranormal in America.

The book does have to do with the paranormal, but more so with people that believe in the paranormal. There are many charts throughout the book and the authors have studied surveys from people of different religions, races, education, etc.

Here and there the book was interesting, but for the most part, it just didn't hold my interest. It was kind of dry. While the data they collected and studied is a bit fascinating, I think it best if you wish to know about the people who believe in the paranormal is to talk to them. Despite what the book shows, we're a varied group from all different backgrounds, race, religions and so on.

The book was just okay for me.

In Sudan, thousands of men, women, and children are in slavery. In Marcus's class, his teacher teaches the whole class about modern day slavery. And that's when his class gets the idea to help people by buying them out of slavery.

While a work of fiction, Dream Freedom is based on true events. Slavery still does go on even in our modern times. And there really was a class of students trying to do something about it, as is explained by the teacher in the end of the book.

While I will admit some chapters, for whatever reason, didn't keep my interests. It may have been the jumping from character to character, but that usually doesn't bother me. For the most part, though, I did enjoy this book and think it is important. I really liked the character Marcus and I think it is wonderful the author used her writing talent to bring attention to modern slavery.

This book has nine stories of haunted homes such as the Winchester house. Fast and interesting read, has some stories I never heard of before. Good book.

Emma gets the chance for some alone time when her parents go on a business trip. And maybe she'll have a party, get a piercing or even a tattoo. Who knows.

But things aren't really as great as she planned. She misses her parents and her best friend isn't talking to her. And when she does have a party, the cops show up and find out she has been living alone.

Luckily for Emma, her brother's one-time friend, Bennett shows up and becomes her guardian for the time-being.

Soon they are on a plane to where Bennett lives and strange things start happening to Emma.

This is a book I have been wanting to read for a while and I'm really glad I finally did. Deception is the first book in theHaunting Emma series and it was a great start. It can be a bit of a spooky read, but I also thought it had some originality, too. Sure, seeing ghosts isn't all that original, but it is much more than just seeing ghosts in this book.

Emma is a fun and likable character. She's strong and deals as best as she can with the things that are coming her way.

The story is very interesting and has me wanting to know what is fully going on. It was somewhat explained in this book, but there's definitely more that needs to be explained.

I really loved this book and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

While taking a walk, Alexandra comes across the night Bookmobile. She goes inside and comes to find it is a library of books and everything else she had read so far in her life. Once dawn comes, the Bookmobile closed and it's time for Alexandra to leave.

For many years, Alexandra is obsessed with finding the Bookmobile again. But it seems to only show up when she least expects it. And each time, she doesn't want to leave. She wants to work for them, but it's not allowed. Soon, she becomes a librarian for a regular library. But, she never forgets the Bookmobile and how much she'd rather be there.

There will be spoilers so if you haven't read it yet and don't want it spoiled, don't read any further.

The idea that everyone has a Bookmobile with their entire collection of read books that grows and grows is definitely nice. How cool would it be to look at everything you've read? I certainly think it would be neat.

And while I was enjoying this, the ending completely ruined it for me.

I can suspend my belief and think it possible for a magical bookmobile to exist. I greatly enjoy fantasy after all. This is said to be a cautionary tale about the seduction of the written word. And I do love reading. I'm an avid reader. I love writing so very much. I love words. But, I've never thought there such be a cautionary tale about reading or writing.

The main character wants to live in her Bookmobile, live in the past, despite having a job being around something she loves: books.

And the main character apparently has depression because she can't work for the Night Bookmobile, which eventually leads to her committing suicide. And that right there left me completely shocked. Suicide. Depression. These are serious things and I'm not really sure what the author's intention was with this graphic novel.

It started out promising and ended so very differently. I just didn't like this book.

Born into an Old Order Amish community in Canada, Ira was the ninth of eleven children. Content as a child, as Ira grew older he became restless and unhappy being Amish. He left four times before finally leaving for good at age 26.

Besides Growing Up Amish, I've read three other books about people who have left the Amish. I read both of Saloma Miller Furlong's books, which I highly recommend.
Just know if you're looking for a book about the Amish to learn their culture and traditions, this is not the right book for that. While there is some to be learned about the Amish in Mr. Wagler's book, it is about him and his struggle with being Amish.

Some of the reviews I've read for this book say Ira Wagler is egotistical and bitter. I didn't see any ego or bitterness his writing. The author, in my opinion, is very honest. He never really criticizes the Amish for their ways, even if he disagrees with them.

So, while the author does talk about his Amish upbringing, some traditions and how Amish differ from community to community, this is mainly about him, the times he left the Amish and ultimately finding peace within himself and choosing the path that was right for him.
I think Ira is very honest in this book and doesn't want to give anyone a romanticized view of the Amish, which I've encountered many people who have such a view of the Amish. The Amish are plain people, but they are still people. They have their flaws and share of problems. And Ira doesn't try to cover up the faults of the Amish.

While there is plenty I don't agree with the Amish about, there is one that does amaze me about them. Whenever someone in their community needs help, the community gets together and helps them. If only all people did that.

While Ira doesn't exactly in depth about the struggles he had with the Amish, this is still quite a good read. And I think people will be able to relate to Ira's feelings of not fitting in. A good book I enjoyed reading.

Nora's father left for work in America because he couldn't make enough for his family in Mexico. But he made a promise, he would be back for her fifteenth birthday.

But, her fifteenth birthday is nearing and the letters and money have stopped coming from her father. Nora knows she just has to find him. Nora convinces her mother they need to go to America to find her father so they can all be together again. And so they begin their long, tough journey crossing the border illegally into America in hopes of finding her father.

Immigrants and illegal immigrants are such a heated subject. I've heard all the arguments why they shouldn't be here. From they are taking our jobs, they are taking money from the government because they are on welfare, etc. And criticism of people from Mexico and others from non-English speaking countries not learning English. Well, let me just say, it's not easy to learn another language.

And I don't feel I can criticize people for coming to America illegally. Just knowing the history of America is reason enough for me not to criticize.

Except for Natives - We're all immigrants.

And while I have always had compassion for immigrants and illegal immigrants, I feel even more compassion after reading this book. I know it is fiction, but what if it really is someone's experience? What if I just read is happening to someone right now?

I'm Cherokee, Welsh, and German. This book made me think about what my ancestors had to possibly go through to get here, how frightening it must have been. A strange place with different cultures and people.

This is the first book I have ever read that had to do with illegal immigration and I thought it was great. Nora is such a strong and amazing character. She's not without flaws and her emotions, what she feels, is so real.

So much heartache in this story. I found myself tearing up different times while reading. But, the story was not without hope. There was struggling, there was lots of pain and anger. Beneath it all, there was still hope.

I just want to thank the author for writing this. I think this book and any book that lets you see through the eyes of a legal or illegal immigrant is important to read. This was a great book.

Mackenzie is finally gone! She transferred schools and now, Nikki doesn't have to deal with her bullying. Or so Nikki thought. Mackenzie may be in a different school, but she's still up to no good. And somehow Nikki must hide the fact from her parents there is a total of 8 dogs in her room!

I didn't enjoy book number 9 as much as the others, but I really did enjoy this one. It was funny and had a lot going on with Nikki having to hide the dogs and all. I had a good time reading this and I really liked the ending.