Women Books

This book is very easy & quick to read - good for those who don't like to spend a lot of time reading one book.

As I was reading this book, I could easily relate to Darcy's frustration. A few years ago, I had a neurological problem where my muscles were slowly becoming weak, and I could hardly walk or move. It was extremely exhausting just getting out of bed. Thankfully, my problem was resolved, but I remember at the time watching other people go about their normal business, like walking etc, and thinking "They are walking so easily, like they don't have to think about it", yet I had to think about everything I did, just like Darcy.

I felt genuine empathy for Darcy, and I am so happy that she lived her last year with so much happiness, despite her terminal illness.

This book reminds me of another I have read recently by Kim Dalton "The Real Fight". Recommended reading.

Years ago I took an essay writing class with Darcy Wakefield. She was an aspiring writer and a pleasant person. I'm sorry that her first success at publishing came under such tragic circumstances. Reading her memoir, I wish I had known her better. She is smart, funny, and real. I'm glad she found personal happiness, motherhood, and spirituality before she died.

I went to a reading by Darcy shortly before her death. Her sister read short passages, as Darcy with ALS by that time could not do so. Darcy, herself, answered audience questions. She was alight with life and her book, with its candor and humor is a beacon of hope and a challenge for us all!

Darcy Wakefield in her mid thirties was diagnosed with ALS. Coping with ALS must surely be one of the most difficult of life threatening illnesses, for every step along the way brings greater challenge and diminishment. There is no uncertainty with this diagnosis, except for the amount of time left and swiftness of the onset of debilitating symptoms. Darcy is a most engaging person from the very first pages of her book and what happens in the year after she was diagnosed is nothing short of remarkable. I cannot think of a more inspiring book. She lives every moment fully and is an example of a person who knows how to live life well no matter what the limitations. She experiences and expresses a very full range of emotional life and writes powerfully and beautifully. When I finished this book,I felt so enriched, and I could not help but feel immensely grateful that she had written it.

This is a truly emotional and thought provoking book. She endured a deadly disease with grace and courage... teaching the reader how to live and die gracefully. Very powerful!

As a man, I am critical of some of the self-help books written by women. Invariably, I find elements that either misrepresent men's attitudes or totally ignore them. "If Love Is A Game, These Are The Rules," is a wonderful exception. Every man interested in learning how to find and maintain a long-lasting relationship should read this book. More importantly, it should be read, reread and discussed by both partners, as often as questions or issues arise in the relationship. Cherie Carter Scott doesn't mince words; examples are short and to the point; each chapter covers a major rule so it is easy to follow and return to for a refresher. Too many of us, men and women, have been too ignorant, too disinterested, too willing to enter relationships based upon the wrong assumptions and expectations. This book lights the path towards establishing relationships that can grow and withstand the changes time will inevitably bring. Good luck...

I absolutely LOVE this book!!! It is so helpful and insightful!!! It helps you get everything into perspective and teaches you not only how to love another but how to love yourself as well! I recommend this book to anyone and everyone! I have already told so many people about it!!!

This book has been a wake-up call for me. It helped me understand myself and my partner in life. It has taught me how to develop and maintain a lasting authentic relationship.

(Sorry, English is not my mother-tongue.)
This is a great relationship-book! You won't find boring advice that you need to be supportive to your partner, you need to cherish him / her as often you could... but straightly to the point, Cherie will tell you that you need to differentiate being supportive and controlling... etc.

Those things commonly happened in our relationships, and it's nice to have someone reminded us to be a better person for our beloved one. Worth to collect. Recommended for you who're still single, also for married couple.

I'm finished reading this book, but I still use this book as reference, when I feel my relationship start getting trouble. And however, it helps!

This was a really good book. It gave me a lot of good insight on what to look for in a spouce. It also taught me some things about myself. I recommend this book to anyone who seem to be finding love in all the wrong places.

Quick, name the ten top novelists from Nicaragua. Give Up? Well extend it then to the top ten from anywhere in Latin America.

After reading this book you will almost certainly put Gioconca Belli on this list. The Inhabited Woman is Lavinia, a modern woman of our time, she becomes 'inhabited' by the spirit of an Indian woman warrior and she joins the revolution against a violent dictator.

At least semi-biographical, Ms. Belli joined the revolutionary Nicaraguan FSLN in 1970 until forced to leave the country in 1975. After Somoza was ousted and th Sandinistas came to power she entered Government service to 1986 when she resigned in to write full time.

Una escritora increible para una historia verdaderamente emocionante donde el presente con su guerra civil en Nicaragua y el pasado con su Conquista espan~ola tienen aspectos en comun, se unen, se cruzan, se mezclan, pero todo tiene siempre sentido. Es una de las novelas mas intensas que haya leido de toda la literatura hispano americana. Lo aconsejo a todos los latinos.

This is a book that is a must because it helps to understand (or at least to have another point of view) about latin american "guerrillas", but also about the subtle and not so subtle differences between men and women, that havent changed so much in hundred years. Going back to the past (to the spaniard invasion)and forward to our days, Belli knits a unique beautiful story of two eras distant in time, but very close in their needs. Not perfect in its "literary structure", but an original, passionate and enlighten story.

As a retired English teacher longing for a "good read". I was delighted from the first chapter of Inhabited Woman. The concept of one woman from one period/culture being a factor in another woman's life sent a tingle through me. As I read on, I was excited in the insights gained by the main character. As she struggled with choices, I found myself rethinking my life and values. The characters are well drawn and the plot complex enough to be interesting. Furthermore, the author's use of langauge and images is sometimes almost poetry. BRAVO!!

Gioconda Belli is one of Nicaragua's most highly regarded writers. Her poetry and fiction have been published in Spain, Mexico, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Finland, Greece and Turkey. She currently lives in Los Angeles. THE INHABITED WOMAN was awarded "Best Literary Work of the Year" by the Union of German Publishers and Editors.

"[It] is a passionate story of love, courage, solidarity and death, where reality and legend blend harmoniously. The lives of the characters are intertwined with the destiny of a country and the struggle of a people for dignity. There is so much truth in this book, that it is impossible for the reader to remain indifferent. This is a story that needed to be told and Belli does it with talent." --Isabel Allende

"THE INHABITED WOMAN is engrossing, reading like an action adventure...[it] opens on a stunning, magical note..." --The Daily News

"THE INHABITED WOMAN revitalizes two literary genres that in recent years seemed to have lost their grips on the imagination of new writers and, as a matter of course, readers-magic realism and social realism." --The Hartford Courant

Long novel about the life of Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon (Scottish), born in 1749; died in 1812. Book was fictional romance of her life and times - heavy on the romance! Sexual scenes were almost laughable in Ware's studied avoidance of any hard terms - just skirted porn. But story was good - 529 pages - if somewhat overwritten to keep it going. Very romantic.

I read romance novels all the time, and usually finish them within a day or two. With this one, I couldn't put it down, and I read it faster than any other book I own. This is the first book I've read by Ciji Ware, and I loved it. Not only was the romantic story line grat, but the history was great too. After reading it, I couldn't wait to find out more about Jane Maxwell, Alex Gordon, and Thomas Fraser. Unfortunately there isn't alot out there to be found about Thomas Fraser, but there is tons about Jane and Alexander. My only wish is for Ms. Ware to write a sequel and let us all know where Jane, Alex, and Thomas go from the end. Definitely a must read for anyone who believes in love lost and rekindled!!!

Great storytelling; I wonder how much of it is true and how much of it is romantic fiction. Still, it was fun reading. There are some "sexy" parts", so dont read if you mind explicit descriptions of sex. Too bad she didnt make a sequel.

What a great book this was. I never expected such meat from a romance novel, but I was enthralled with the tale. From start to finish you get a real feeling of real people. The heroine, Jane, is flawed, not perfect like most cookie-cutter romance novel heroines.
I liked the ending. It was enough to know for me that they found each other.
As I read the pages of Island of the Swans, I was reminded of Wuthering Heights and Diana Gabaldon's Dragonfly in Amber, as well as the triangle between Rhett, Scarlet & Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind. But Jane is much more a woman of honor than Scarlet O'Hara ever was, and Thomas Fraser more of a man than Ashley Wilkes. Although Thomas Fraser is not quite as dramatic a love interest as Healthcliff, he is sweeter and definitely manly.
I will being running out to get more Ciji Ware novels! I stayed up well into the night to read the ending of this one and I haven't done that in a LONG time.

Well done Ms. Ware!

I adored this book up until the ending. Like other reviewer's comments there was no real closure. This did not bother me because the factual history of the Duke and Duchess is rather disappointing and not at all in harmony with the potential for love this author has imbued in her telling. Knowing the history of Jane Maxwell and Alex Gordon and still spinning a beautiful fantasy of the posibilities in that relationship takes unparralelled imagination and a true romantic heart.

It's a very emotional tale of being torn betwen duty and love and settling for what you can have or reaching for what you really want. The conflict was very realistic and I may be the only person who understood Alex's complex feelings of love and jealousy and insecurity. But he was truly unlikable at the end and this disappointed me.

This book made me laugh and cry and stay up all night to finish it. My only wish is that the ending where either more conclusive or the very opposite of what it was. I had a soft spot for Alex. But Ms. Ware's ending is hamronious with the history as I understand it.

It's a great journey even though the ending sort of halts abruptly and leaves you wishing for more.

December 14, 2005

Woonsocket Harris Public Library Board of Trustees
Diane Rivers, Chair
Dorian Parker, Vice-Chair
Lisa Sparks, Secretary
John Pellizzari
Ernest "Buddy" DiSpirito
303 Clinton Street
Woonsocket, RI 02895-3214
Fax: 401-767-4140

Dear Members of the Woonsocket Harris Public Library Board of Trustees,

On behalf of the 2,900 members of PEN American Center, an international organization of writers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression wherever it is threatened, we are writing to express our deep concern over the fact that the Woonsocket Public Library Trustees are considering a request to ban It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl written by native Woonsocket author-artist Charleen Touchette.

We understand that a citizen request to ban the book was made at the Library Trustees' September meeting. The Library Trustees removed the book from the Woonsocket Harris Public Library shelves after the September meeting pending a decision.

It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl, the latest work by author-artist Charleen Touchette, invites you into the provincial world of a French Canadian girl in Rhode Island who cannot tell anybody her family secrets. Years later when she has her first daughter she must relive her childhood to heal the future generations of her family. It is a story of survival and triumph as a victim of childhood abuse and was written for an adult audience. The novel tells a realistic story with complex figures. Such books help readers approach sensitive topics and figure out how to deal with them. Even if the novel's themes are too mature for some, they will be meaningful to others. No book is right for everyone, and the role of the library is to allow community members to make choices according to their own interests, experiences, and family values.

Author Charleen Touchette, a member of our colleague organizations PEN USA and the Author's Guild, advocates for the freedom to write worldwide. It Stops with Me has been praised by authors Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Louise Erdrich, Margaret Randall, Ana Pacheco, and Winona LaDuke, and received a Foreword Book of the Year 2004 Finalist Award.

PEN American Center respectfully asks you to deny the request to ban It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl and to return it to library shelves. By doing so, you will be upholding a fundamental principle of freedom: the right of all Americans to read, inquire, question, and think for themselves.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Hannah Pakula

Larry Siems
Chair, Freedom to Write Committee Director, Freedom to Write
and International Programs

An autobiography of a spunky Franco-American woman from Woonsocket, Rhode Island gives cultural storytelling multi-generational appeal. Too many Franco-Americans (with ancestral roots in French-Canada) are quickly amalgamating into the mainstream of American culture without writing their special family stories. Fortunately, Charleen Touchette, a Woonsocket, Rhode Island writer and artist now living in New Mexico, puts both of her pleasingly creative talents together in "It Stops With Me: Memoir of a Cannuck Girl".
Touchette writes about her Franco-American roots by relating simple, often bittersweet and even brutal experiences growing up as a typical French Catholic girl in Woonsocket and later as an accomplished artist.
Moreover, Touchette energizes her autobiography's prose with a series of original black, and white and color print blocks. In other words, "It Stops With Me" expresses Touchette's Franco-American creativity using prose accentuated by her surprisingly cutting edge original art describing absorbing coming of age experiences. Her journey from a parochial Franco-American into her adult life is fraught with opportunities, along with unexpected harsh challenges. Her life is ordinary in some ways but hardly a nostalgic cake walk.
"It Stops With Me" is at its best when Touchette looks back and elevates normal Franco-American experiences to familiarities we can identify with. For example, she describes cooking with her "Ma Tantes" or getting ready to receive First Holy Communion at Woonsocket's Eglise Précieux-Sang (Church of Precious Blood).
Discord arises at a young age. Growing up as a French Roman Catholic girl is an underlying theme. Touchette's typical childhood is without the benefit of feeling safe at home, as she depicts in one of her portraits of a "Not a Picture Perfect Family".
Rather, Touchette's absorbing life story endures familial stress, social and personal conflicts, even leading to physical ailments, which haunt her into adult years.
Touchette's hard hitting narrative is set apart from others of the modern autobiographic genre by the intimate and complicated relationships she shares with her family. Delving even deeper into her private spiral are the intense personal investigations Touchette undertakes with regard to her sad relationship with her father.
Nevertheless, in spite of the particular circumstances, it's typical of Franco-Americans to harbor deep attachments for their relatives and parents regardless of obvious flaws, shortcomings or even family violence. Female family role models are especially strong in Touchette's life. "Although my Maman was a devout Catholic, she was a strong supporter of my right to freedom of expression," writes Touchette. In fact, her female relatives were outraged when Touchette even considered not going to college after high school. In her Woonsocket Franco-Americans world, Touchette writes about how curious it was to be singled out for college when no other woman in her family ever went beyond a high school education.
Throughout the autobiography, her French heritage is front and center, even when she embraces the peace of Judaism.
Many of the book's chapters are charmingly led by simple French titles.
Touchette's talent as a creative writer moves the reader beyond the dark side of her autobiography. Using the power of words, she inspires us to learn more about her as an individual woman with a spellbinding story to tell. Touchette does a good job explaining the pros and cons of the personal contrasts she inherited from her religious and ethnic roots. This is a well written autobiography, nominated for book awards, with a progressive social focus.

"This book is incredible." Louise Erdrich
"beautiful book." Lawrence Ferlinghetti
"Tough, evocative, border-crossing, honest, unflinching...large enough so it can embrace its readers. Margaret Randall, Author. PEN NM Lifetime Achievement Awardee 2005
"An emotion-charged story of initial struggle and ultimate success...a must in any library collection." Book Wire
"magnificent in its courage and decency." Sam Ballen Author Without Reservations.

Great Reads - New Mexico Magazine, April 2005 p. 45.
Personal Journeys: More Than Just Survival by Michelle Miller Allen
"Our girlhood years, formed in various cultures and family configurations-from the most abusive to the most loving-and tempered by the social prejudices and taboos of one's time-are where we begin our journeys into adulthood. These factors have much to do with whether we will just survive or become empowered by the most demanding, even devastating, events on our individual paths.
It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl by Charleen Touchette (TouchArt Books 2004) Touchette's memoir opens the doors into the lives of women who shaped her childhood into adulthood-the healers, storytellers, homemakers, and artists. This most compelling book includes fascinating color and black and white reproductions of the author's artwork over three decades. The book charts Touchette's journey from a French Canadian/RhodeIsland childhood at the hands of an abusive alcoholic father, to Wellesley College, to New York City's culture of arts, to Minnesota and Indian Country.
Touchette combines the voice of the reminiscing adult writer/artist with that of a child obsessed with "making things" as a survival mechanism. Abusive parents seem to bank on the false assumption that their children, as adults, will not remember abuse. Yet anyone who doubts the intelligence and level of awareness in a young, abused human being should read the end of Chapter "Forsythia Blossoms": "I do not know when I started fighting back. I do not have a memory of when Daddy started hitting me. I was too young. But I do remember clearly the moment when I looked up at my dad's face, and realized he was a fool. I was seven."

Reviewer Jennifer Lefkowitz chose "It Stops with Me" as the Book Special for "Girlfriends Magazine" November 2005 issue, p. 58 with two color photos of Touchette's art.

"It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Cannuck Girl"

"Charleen Touchette's memoir is healing and cathartic, a story of survival and triumph as a victim of childhood abuse. The author is an artist, and throughout the book she showcases her paintings, which resemble the work of painter Frida Kahlo. Like Kahlo, Touchette survived vehicle collisions; after a spine injury she is able to connect her past to her present. This compelling memoir dives into the dark trenches of that past, confronting memories with ancient practices. "I learned it is the task of all human beings to cut through the fog and illusion of maya, and reconnect with the light." A - Jennifer Lefkowitz

"Water Illumination" (top) and "Boom Boom Boom" are two of the many paintings which illustrate the author's journey."

Charleen Touchette's story "The Pie Religion" is online in the May issue of Késsinnimek - Roots - Racines

"What a loving, touching article! I could see, smell, hear everything, thanks to your beautiful descriptions. And what memories of my own childhood you brought back; we, too, had a pie religion among the women in our large family. My mother even had a modest business of making pies for the restaurants and the hotel in our little Northern Vermont town.
Indeed, the secret to pie-making is passed on from mother to daughter to daughter as a sacred tradition.
Thanks for a great read!
I've recommended your article to several people, with my comment that if I could write as well as you, I'd give up quilting and stitching...and making pies!"
Louise Dubrule

This is an enjoyable flip-through for Jane Austen and Regency lovers, but because the format limits the length of any entry, it is a rather abbreviated overview without a lot of depth. Many of the entries had me yearning for more information, especially those items about social mores, society, relationships within the family, etc.

This is a really great book. I'm a fan of Jane Austen and have read all her novels but there were many things in them that I didn't understand because I didn't know the culture, customs and history of that time. Just one small example--Mr. Darcy hands his letter to Elizabeth Bennett instead of mailing it. Apparently unmarried men and women did not correspond with each other unless they were relatives or engaged to be married. Another example--balls and dances were a primary way for unmarried people to meet and socialize and one of the few ways they could talk alone to each other (while on the dance floor). So the balls/dances in Jane Austen's books are much more significant than I realized.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand Jane Austen's novels better.

These days many books come along that discuss specific influences on Jane's writing such as poets, other authors, politics and social customs. This book allows a return to the overview of her story. The hard cover book is 8 x 11 in. which makes it easy to be a coffee table presentation or to read in a comfortable upright chair or even in bed (Yes, I do it!) Six well written chapters choronical her life, who she was, what it was like to live in Regency England, the society and spirit of her times, what her country was like, and her influence through the ages especially via her six novels and in the recent movies and television productions. For the old timers who have followed Jane Austen for some time or for the new comers wanting to know more, this is the book for you.

This books is so informative! Easy to read, lots of information about the Georgian and Regency Eras, very informative. It goes into depth about Jane Austen's time and her life. It talks about everything from the Army, to everyday life, to the madness of King George, fashion, etc.. So much info! If you're into history or Jane Austen, you'll like this book.

This books is so informative! Easy to read, lots of information about the Georgian and Regency Eras, very informative. It goes into depth about Jane Austen's time and her life. It talks about everything from the Army, to everyday life, to the madness of King George, fashion, etc.. So much info! If you're into history or Jane Austen, you'll like this book.

So far this is my favorite Beth Moore book. I've already read it twice and am sure to read it again. She tackles a very familiar story with fresh insights just about every chapter. It's not a "preachy" book. Rather she makes you feel like you're a fellow learner with a good friend. Unlike some of her other books, this does not require looking up many references which makes it ideal to read when you're reading somewhere other than your desk at home.

I have been in numerous Beth Moore Bible studies and this is one of my favorites! This is the study of Christ's life in the form of a daily, personal study. It is 53 short chapter messages.

You can never go wrong with a Beth Moore study. She has a gift for opening the Word and revealing Truth!
I would not buy from this seller, however. It took almost an entire month for it to arrive.

As always, I am very satisfied with the Beth Moore studies. She does an excellent job and everything is well researched and Biblical.

This book had great depth but was still fun to read. The author has an excellent knowledge of her subject and presented it very well. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

I just finished reading Just as I am and I have to say that is is now one of my favorite books!! This is not a normal Christian story of the pretty girl who meets the handsome man and live happy ever after. Mayla goes through real problems in her life. She stands out with purple hair and a nose ring. I love the way Mrs. Smith shows that even if you are different you can still do great things for God. I cant wait to read the next book in this series, the last chapter of this story left so much in question. I think that everyone should read this story. I hope it blesses you like it has me.

I loved Just As I Am! This is a great book and I would recommend that you read it. I borrowed a copy from a friend and liked it so much that I bought a copy of my own. This book is a great example of how God loves you and wants a relationship with you no matter where you are in life: purple hair, nose ring, etc. It also helped me to look at people differently and not to judge them by what I see. "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). This book is a great example of that! I hope you enjoy it too!

Mayla has just become a new Christian. Everyone in her church is surprised because her dyed hair and piercings don't make her look like a normal Christian. However Mayla is eager to know more about God's word and to grow in her newfound faith. She has to battle grumpy church members who prejudge her because of her appearance and old friends who prejudge her because of her new faith. She is also becomes friends with a guy with AIDS and helps him to live out his last days with hopes of reconciling with his estranged family. Then there's finding her niche in church and her growing relationship with Pastor Paul. If you ever wanted to know what it's like to be a new Christian in today's world, read this book!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Mayla was such a refreshing, realistic character. I could really relate to her. She's my age, going through the same problems that I am. I loved the fact that she had piercings and dyed hair. Just by that alone I could relate to her because I used to have piercings in not typical places. This book showed how you really shouldn't judge people just by their appearances. Mayla had to face a lot of prejudice by the older Christians just because of how she looked. To me, if I had become a new Christian and keep facing this type of attitude, I would become very discouraged and eventually lose my faith. Mayla on the other hand, turns the other cheek and does not allow this to hinder her new thirst for more knowledge of Christ's love. The same can also be said of the non Christian who assumes about what Mayla will become now that she's become a Christian. Mayla's roommate judges her totally unfairly because of a bad experience. The treatment she receives from both sides is enough to make anyone go crazy but she handles it with such maturity and grace. The storyline involving Alex and his battle with AIDS was extremely well done. Virginia Smith is an excellent writer and this book really showcases her work. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book to find out what happens between Maya and Pastor Paul!

The question was compelling. Author Virginia Smith asked, "Can He (God) really use a purple-haired young woman with a pierced lip?" The question spoke to my own prejudices so I picked up Ginny's debut novel, and began to read. What I read changed me. It reminded me that no matter where we are in our own personal walk with the Lord, we can be reenergized in our faith. And it also reminded me how dangerous it is to judge someone's heart based on their outward appearance.

Ginny's story presents a solid example of the life-changing work of Jesus Christ. But it's also fun read with unexpected twists and turns. I highly recommend it!

When 22-year-old Mayla Strong --- with her purple hair and assorted facial piercings --- makes the walk down the aisle to publicly commit her life to Christ, the congregation gapes. But Mayla doesn't care. She's used to stares, rude comments and the like. Somehow, Mayla's choice of hair color, clothing and jewelry make her distinctive and noticeable, and that's the intent. So the long walk to the front of Salliesburg Independent Christian Church is a piece of cake for this independent, strong-minded young woman.

It isn't until the pastor mentions baptism that Mayla's heart jolts some. Before the next heartbeat Mayla agrees, and her mom, Angela, is leading her to a side door to get dressed for this special occasion. Not expecting to being up front and center with a baptismal gown clinging to her body, Mayla's hot pink panties would be pretty obvious (and distracting), so Angela pulls off her own slip and Mayla is set to go.

With such a morning as becoming a Christian and being dunked under water by a young and handsome preacher, Mayla wouldn't have been surprised by anything. Yet the afternoon's welcome to the church family picnic stirs in Mayla some interesting and thought-provoking questions. Should she get rid of the nose piercing and labret stud? What about her hair color of choice? Mayla also works as a server at the restaurant/bar, distributing liquor to customers. Does this matter? With some not-so-subtle remarks Mayla is immediately thrust into the world of Christian do's and don'ts, but she isn't taking anything lying down. In her own style, Mayla is determined to discover what God's Word says about such things.

During the following days and weeks, Mayla immerses herself in daily Bible reading, asking poignant, thoughtful questions of her mom and pastor, and tries to find her place in this church world community. Despite some setbacks, her non-believing friends thrust Mayla into Personal Evangelism 101 and her experiences are delightful, humorous and genuinely real. This new-to-the-faith young adult must overcome friends' disappointments and prejudices from Christians who hurt them. She meets and befriends a young man dying of AIDS, all while attempting to live a life alive to God and in service to others.

Throughout this lively and often comedic text, author Virginia Smith successfully bridges the gap between Christians and their failures in reaching a hurting world with a message of hope through kindness, love and transparent humility. Excellent reading!

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

Lisa (LYE-ZA) Alther's latest, Kinfolks, falling off the family tree, is irresistible!

Kinfolks is the most humorous and entertaining book I have read in years! (And I've probably read 15,000 in my lifetime of 81 years.) It also introduces you to a very interesting woman who is unafraid to reveal her weaknesses and foibles. She is also a marvelous role model of openness and self-effacement for the young as well as a reassurance for all senior citizens.

Do not be fooled this is only about ancestors or genes. The genealogy and DNA searches provide the structure for very wise and unhurtful humor--a very rare quality.

Most Americans no longer live where they grew up. What they gained by living among strangers, what they lost by uprooting, and what they may profit from by accepting ALL their roots, traits, and history are hilariously illustrated.

The Melungeons, interesting as they may be, only provide a vehicle for Alther's search for more self-knowledge by a very gifted writer. The writing draws one on as Alther reminds us of cogent points through artful means: she contrasts northeast Appalachia church message boards' weekly quotes with Vermont bumper stickers to give us insights into two very different responses to extremes of the Appalachians. She teases her family who seem recognizably familiar, and she tantalizes us with the potential of what DNA may one day tell us about ourselves and others.

This was a great book. It is styled like an autobiography and tells the tale of the authors childhood through adult years, focusing on family, culture, and the things she learned about her family through the years.

Lisa Alther hasn't lost her sense of humour or her keen insight into human nature. This is a great book and I learned a lot about history of the Southeast of which I knew nothing before reading this. I found it very interesting and I also loved learning more about Lisa's life as she is a favorite author of mine.

Well written, easy reading. But if you are looking for the history of the Melungeons, take this book very lightly. Borders on "Cultural Genocide". As with the works of Brent Kennedy and Elizabeth Hirschman, a very poor attempt at rewritting the history of the Melungeons.

I had never heard the word 'Melungeon' before, so I had to go look it up on the web. It appears that no body else really knows what a Melungeon is either. Therefore, what a great thing to go searching for. You can find it if you wish. (662 people claimed to be Melungeon in the 2,000 census).

Ms. Alther's search among her family roots lead her to about as confused a family as, as, as, well most families. The particularly amusing aspect of her family, especially among the older members is the refusal to admit even the slightest possibility that there might be a small percentage of African American blood running through their veins.

Ms. Adler is able to take her investigation into the upper bounds of comedy. She reports a church sign, 'What did Noah do with the woodpeckers.' Upon her father finding out that he might have some Indian blood he tells a fund raiser who calls, 'Sorry, but I'm Cherokee, and I need to give my money to my own people.' I'm going to try to remember that line.

This book is one of my favs.
I read in it in an hour!!!!
It is about a girl who has just turned 16 and is searching for who she is. She thinks she has found it, but is it who she really wants to be. To find out I encourage you to read
The Year I turned 16- Lily

Once I started this book I couldn't stop.It was a great book about how a 16 year old finds her true self.Se is the baby of the family and wants to be different then her sisters so she pretends to be someone she isn't.

Lily Lily Lily- A great character. A great ending book to the series. Boys, Jobs, complications, everything a sixteen yr old has. If youve read the other three books, dont stop there!! Continues and find what happeneds with Rose and Stephen, Laurel and Carlos. I recommend Highly!!!

This is the last book of a 4-book series. There are 4 sisters, and there is a book for each sister for the year they turned 16. Each book is written in first-person by that particular sister. The sisters, in order from oldest to youngest, are: Rose, Daisy, Laurel, and Lily.

This book is about the youngest sister, Lily Rebecca Walker. Lily's three older sisters had definite talents and interests when they were 16. Rose had singing; Daisy had sports; Laurel had animals. But Lily feels that she has no talents and no identity. Instead of being 'Lily', she feels as though she is 'Rose's sister' or 'Daisy's sister' or 'Laurel's sister'.

Determined to find herself, Lily ends up in the It crowd (via a boyfriend), and almost abandons her two best girlfriends who are not invited to the It crowd. Will Lily be happy in the It crowd, and is this really her true identity? Will she continue to be happy with her It boyfriend? Will she ever fully come back to her girlfriends? Will she find her true identity and a true love?

The 4 sisters have a wonderful relationship with each other. Their mother Maggie is the best and most wonderful mother in the world. She deeply and truly loves her daughters unconditionally. The whole family loves and appreciates each other.

This book is not just about a girl turning 16. It is about family. The important bonds of family love, linking the past, present, and future. If you don't get anything else out of this book, the book will have been worth reading just for that.

You don't have to necessarily read each book, but I would highly recommend that you do. You will enjoy the books a lot more if you read them all, and read them in order. More of the events and characters will be familiar and will be more meaningful if you've read the previous books.

I had read all of the previous three books and enjoyed them too but not as much as this one!A lot of people probably could relate to this story because Lily's situation happens to a lot of girls her age everyday.I recommend tis book to anyone who likes to sit down to a good book(but you'll love it so much you won't want to put it down)!