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Sue Clifton

The Island of the Sea Women

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The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Format: Book
Who it’s for: Adults

This book is a One Maryland One Book selection for 2020.

This historical fiction novel is set on the island of Jeju in Korea. Over many decades, beginning with the Japanese occupation during the 1930 – 1940’s and during World War II and the Korean War.
During this turbulent time in history, two young girls Young-sook and Mi-ja, both from different backgrounds bond. Their close friendship begins over their love of the sea and working in their villages’ all-female diving collective. The haenyeo woman are trained from a young age to expand their lungs and go diving on the ocean floor to harvest food. Their livelihood and traditions are intertwined. Their diving skills are handed down for generations.
Mi-ja, a city born orphan living nearby with a neglectful aunt and uncle is caught stealing food in the fields of Jeju by Young-sook and her mother. Her mother as head of the collective, decides to take Mi-ja on and teaches her alongside Young-sook to dive. The girls become lifelong friends enduring many life altering events that impact their lives growing up.
The political unrest and unspeakable tragedies inflicted upon the villagers are part of the horrors of war. The impact on their island from famine, to extreme punishment, and demands of the opposing government regimes are inflicted upon the villagers who struggle to comply.

Young-sook and Mi-ja endure impossible choices that tear their friendship apart causing disappointment, anger and judgement that take generations to understand and forgive.

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The Forgotten Garden

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The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Format: Book
Who’s it For: Adults

A four year girl is found with a suitcase and a fairy-tale book on the wharf in Australia in 1913. She can’t remember her name. A wharf worker tries unsuccessfully to find out where she’s from. Eventually he takes her home where he and his wife raise her as their own.

At Nell O’Connor’s 21st birthday her father confides the truth about her origins. It devastates Nell and she feels a sense of loss and abandonment.

When Nell’s father dies in 1975 he bequeaths her the little white suitcase with the mysterious book of fairy-tales by Eliza Makepeace. Nell decides to trace her parents through Eliza whom is referred to as the “Authoress”. The search takes her to Cornwall where she finds Eliza’s home Cliff Cottage. There memories are triggered and Nell discovers she is the daughter of American artist Nathaniel Walker and aristocrat Rose Mountrachet, who were killed in a train crash in 1913. On impulse Nell buys the cottage. But upon her return to Australia, Nell’s young granddaughter Cassandra comes to live with her.

Years later Cassandra is suffering from a tragedy in her life when Nell passes away and she inherits the cottage she didn’t know anything about. Cassandra regards the mystery of Nell’s past to be her true inheritance and sets off to Cornwall to find out why Cliff Cottage mattered so much to her grandmother.

The novel spans more than a century between 1900 and 2005 and enfolds in a narrative not in chronological order between the three main character. Nell O’Connor 1913-2005, Eliza Makepeace 1900-1913 and Cassandra O’Conner 1975-2005.

This novel pays homage to the book, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and the story explores and examines family secrets, loss, survival, what home truly means, and love.

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What Rose Forgot

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What Rose Forgot by Nevada Barr
Format: Book
Who It’s For: Adults

 

Rose is a widow in her sixties who awakens in a nursing home, in the ward for dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. She does not know how she got there or when. She does know she should not be in this unit and she does not have a memory problem or maybe she does but not Alzheimer’!  What has happened and where is her family? Why would they admit her here? After overhearing a nurse say she will not make it through the week, Rose decides she must escape. She only pretends to take the pills they bring her each day. She is finding that her head is less fuzzy and she is beginning to remember some things. Rose plans a daring escape.

Once outside of the facility, Rose makes her way to her Granddaughters old playhouse, the only place she thinks she will be safe and waits to get Melanie’s attention.

As soon as 13-year-old Mel finds her GG there, she gets her safely back to her own home.  Rose is laying low and only contacts her recluse computer savvy sister for help. Rose begins her investigation into the mystery of her incarceration at the nursing home. How does she convince anyone that she’s not actually demented? Her relatives were the ones to commit her, all the legal papers are drawn up and the authorities are on the side of the nursing home.

Then a would-be killer shows up at Rose’s home in the middle of the night, Rose knows someone is out to kill her. With the help of her sister Marion, her granddaughter Mel and Mel’s friend Royal, a few harebrained stunts on Rose’s part and then the unlikely but blackmailed would-be killers help, Rose begins to unravel the chain of events.

This mystery is a serious, yet funny adventure of What Rose Forgot. A clever novel of action and suspense yet quite witty and entertaining. I laughed out loud while reading this novel.

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The Art of Racing in the Rain

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The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Format: Book
Who It’s for: Adults and Young Adults

 

This story is about Denny Swift, a race-car driver and rep. for a BMW dealer in Seattle Washington and his dog Enzo. Told from Enzo’s perspective and his belief in the legend that a dog “who is prepared” will be reincarnated in his next life as a human. Enzo also loves watching T.V. documentaries and racing.
Denny adopts Enzo from a farm as a pup. Denny and Enzo begin their journey together where Enzo struggles to hone his humanness and Denny soon meets and marries Eve. Eventually they have a daughter named Zoe. Enzo is devoted to Denny, Eve and Zoe.
Life has many difficulties and sometimes the unthinkable happens. Enzo describes to the reader his life with Denny and his family, the bond he has with each of them and the great struggle they go through when Eve develops brain cancer. In addition, to a surprise and shocking custody struggle of Zoe with Eve’s parents and Denny.
Enzo gleans his knowledge through the television shows and documentaries that he watches. He has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, but cannot understand why a dog does not have thumbs. He does his best to communicate with his family even though he cannot talk.
Enzo sees that life, like racing, is not simply about going fast.

This book is one of the best I have ever read. The story told through Enzo’s point of view. It is happy, sad, traumatic and charmingly funny.
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1-2-3 A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control

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1-2-3-A Calmer Me: Helping Children Cope When Emotions Get Out of Control by Colleen A. Patterson and Brenda S. Miles
Format: Children’s Picture Book
Who It’s for: Children and Caregivers

In this story, a little girl explains how she can get angry and frustrated sometimes. Like when she loses her balloon in the park. It is OK to get mad, but when you do, you can recite this rhyme.
1-2-3 a calmer me, 1-2-3 I hug me, 1-2-3 relax and b-r-e-a-t-h-e, 1-2-3 a calmer me.
The story introduces children to a simple rhyme they can use to slow down their bodies and stop mad feelings from spinning out of control.
The mantra or rhyme appears several times throughout this picture book whenever the little girl finds herself becoming upset from conflicts with friends, family and even while playing sports.

By memorizing the simple mantra, a child can use it to slow down their immediate reactions and replace them with words that are more comforting. The idea is based on the psychological principles of relaxation and mindfulness.

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The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

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The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom   
Format: Book
Who’s it for: Adults and Young Adults

 

On the morning after Annie is married, she and her husband Paolo are involved in a shocking balloon ride accident leaving them in critical condition. Paolo needs a lung transplant and Annie donates one of hers.

At eight years old, Annie was the survivor of a terrible accident. A falling amusement car severed her arm.  Eddie, a maintenance man pushed her to safety but was killed by the falling car. Annie’s arm is reattached in a miraculous surgery.

Annie endures a lot of bullying until she meets a boy named Paolo. They become friends until he moves away with his family.  Annie, estranged from her Mom after high school, wonders about the mistakes she’s made and why she survived the accident.

Years later Annie meets Paolo again. Soon they get married.

Annie awakens after the lung surgery but where is she?

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven follows Annie as she meets five people in heaven. One of them is Eddie the maintenance man who saved her. “‘Mistakes,'” Eddie declares. “‘That’s what I’m here to teach you about.”

Annie learns from her five people in heaven that, lives are intertwined in many ways.

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