Week 2: Appeal Factors

The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dwek

With a sweeping story line and exotic settings, The Debt of Tamar is an epic story of love, loss, and how lives that are seemingly disparate are intertwined more than we know. When Jose Mendez escapes with his family from the Spanish Inquisition to the Ottoman Empire, he sets off a chain of events that trickle down to modern day. Fast paced, and incredibly compelling, this story is effortlessly readable and incredibly exciting.


I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Intriguing, fanciful tone threaded throughout what would otherwise be a typical teen angst story, challenges the reader to question what is reality and what is fantasy in this story of twins Jude and Noah who have had a falling out in their teen years. Told from Noah's perspective from the younger years, and Jude's perspective in the later years, the story of how they got to where they are is pieced together as the reader progresses. Both Jude and Noah are sympathetic and identifiable characters, and the reader can understand their choices and heartaches. Readers will root for their reconciliation and will enjoy much of the heartache and happiness along the way.


Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe by Dawn Clifton Tripp

Set in her early career as an artist, this novel of Georgia O'Keeffe's life explores her love affair with the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. Georgia's strong character is almost at odds with her era and Stieglitz. Their affair, though full of love, is also full of palatable frustration and heartache as O'Keeffe's career continues to thrive. As Stieglitz makes efforts to shepherd Georgia in the direction he feels she should go, they travel, alone and together, giving ample opportunity for the settings to play a role along with the human characters. Bittersweet in tone, this is a lovely novel that gives depth to a famous personality.

Week 1 Assignments

Well, after panicking that several other participants had started ahead of me, I found where I needed to start. I thought it was going to be emailed, I would have hated to be the only person falling behind.


Assignment 1: Well, I am a little ashamed to admit I only got 12 out of 24 correct on the Adult books quiz. I think it might be because I enjoy reading Young Adult fiction a lot of the time, and so I haven't read as much adult fiction as I probably should. For the children's books though, I fared a bit better. I got 16 out of 20 correct. I've never even heard of The Napping House.


Assignment 2: I got most of these, though the thriller ones seem to trip me up. I wasn't entirely sure what a "techno" thriller is.


Assignment 3: These are some great tips. There was once a time I was keeping track of books I was reading along with a little summary. I still have that notebook, perhaps I should pull it back out.


Assignment 4: I'm going to go with the NPR blog for my book blog. I'm hoping it will open my eyes to more literature. As for the genre choice, I'm going to go with Tor.com's Fiction Affliction.


Assignment 5: I wonder what would have happened if you gave the same kid different covers for one book? Kids are so imaginative.