Friday Finds: THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN by Coco Irvine

Friday Finds is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Click on over and tell us about your own wonderful book finds by leaving either a link or a comment.

I "found" this lovely little book at Unshelved.

THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN:

A Girl's Diary of Life on Summit Avenue in the Jazz Age

by Coco Irvine, Peg Meier

Pub. Date: March 2011

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Format: Paperback , 104pp

Series: Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage

ISBN-13: 9780816673063

ISBN: 0816673063

Description (from the publisher):

On Christmas Day, 1926, twelve-year-old Clotilde “Coco” Irvine received a blank diary as a present. Coco loved to write—and to get into scrapes—and her new diary gave her the opportunity to explain her side of the messes she created: “I’m in deep trouble through no fault of my own,” her entries frequently began. The daughter of a lumber baron, Coco grew up in a twenty-room mansion on fashionable Summit Avenue at the peak of the Jazz Age, a time when music, art, and women’s social status were all in a state of flux and the economy was still flying high.
 
Coco’s diary carefully records her adventures, problems, and romances, written with a lively wit and a droll sense of humor. Whether sneaking out to a dance hall in her mother’s clothes or getting in trouble for telling an off-color joke, Coco and her escapades will captivate and delight preteen readers as well as their mothers and grandmothers.
 
Peg Meier’s introduction describes St. Paul life in the 1920s and provides context for the privileged world that Coco inhabits, while an afterword tells what happens to Coco as an adult—and reveals surprises about some of the other characters in the diary.

Click here to read Peg Meier's article on "Unearthing Coco Irvine."

About the author(s) (from the publisher):
A lumber baron’s daughter, Coco Irvine Moles (1914–1975) grew up on St. Paul's prestigious Summit Avenue. She and her sister Olivia Irvine Dodge donated their family home to the state of Minnesota in 1965, and since 1966 it has served as the governor's residence. Peg Meier was a reporter at the Star Tribune for thirty-five years. She is the author of many popular books, including Wishing for a Snow Day, Bring Warm Clothes, and Too Hot, Went to Lake.

Friday Finds: Joanna Catherine Scott - Historical Fiction Author

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

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This Friday's Find was a happy accident. I was actually Googling "Joanna Scott" author of FOLLOW ME, in preparation for an upcoming blog post, and I stumpbeled upon the website of "Joanna Catherine Scott", also an author. And just take a peek at the kind of books she writes . . .

Are you familiar with her work? Please leave a comment and tell us what you think.

“Scott can really write.”

―New York Times Book Review

(All book descriptions are provided by the publishers.)

 

THE ROAD FROM CHAPEL HILL

From Joanna Catherine Scott comes a sweeping tale of the Civil War, unique in its perspective and exquisitely woven, in which three young Southerners worlds apart are joined in a quest for something greater than themselves.

Eugenia Mae Spotswood, the daughter of a failed aristocrat, longs to regain the life she lost. The slave Tom wants one thing: freedom. After becoming the property of Eugenia Mae, a dangerous affection grows. But he learns freedom is not something she can give him - he must fight for it himself.

Clyde Bricket, the farm boy responsible for Tom's capture, has always believed in the South. But he soon learns that sometimes the only way to redeem yourself is to fight against everything he thought he believed in.

CHILD OF THE SOUTH
From the award-winning author of The Road from Chapel Hill, a story of loyalty, duty, and love in the days following the Civil War.

Returning to characters introduced in her previous novel, acclaimed author Joanna Catherine Scott explores the terrain of a devastated South, where the war is over-but conflict lives on. Having endured years of hardship, Eugenia Mae Spotswood returns to Wilmington to find out who her mother is, only to be faced with racism and hatred...until she is befriended by the most powerful Negro leader in the state Senate.

Also driven forward are the strong-minded ex-slave Tom and his crippled former enemy Clyde Bricket. Tom spent the last years of the war working for the Union as a spy. Now, Clyde watches as his family farm slowly dies. Only if they work together can they survive...

THE LUCKY GOURD SHOP
When an American mother's three adopted children reach their teens, they grow curious about their Korean heritage. A much-anticipated letter from Korea fails to satisfy them but sparks memories in the eldest. So begins the heartbreaking and inspiring tale of their birth mother's life as their adoptive mother imagines it.

Abandoned as a baby and then again and again, Mi Sook is raised in a Korean coffee shop by its string of owner-mothers. She grows to adulthood fiercely independent and eventually comes to manage the shop. But her marriage to Kun Soo, with whom she has three children, begins a series of events that ultimately wrench her babies from her arms. Deceived by Kun Soo and his well-intentioned mother, and unsupported by a rigidly Confucian culture, Mi Sook emerges as a tragic and heroic figure who embodies the rich complexities of a nation -- and of the heart.

CASSANDRA, LOST
Based on a true story, an enchanting tale of an American woman who flees to France during the revolution, to be with the man she lovedIn the late 1800s Cassandra Van Pradelles, a headstrong seventeen-year-old, elopes with Benedict, a lieutenant from General Rochambeaus French army and flees from her familys plantation in Maryland to Revolutionary France. Once there they hide in his familys ruined mansion, nurse his deathly ill mother and plan their escape from the dangerous city. A chance meeting grows into a clandestine relationship for Cassandra with the young pirate Jean Lafitte, who helps them get out of war-torn Paris. After a harsh rejection by her father, they run again, this time to New Orleans. After Benedicts mysterious death, Cassandra embarks for her familys home hoping for a reunion, but the meeting never takes place. Her ship is taken by the notorious Lafitte and she disappears without a trace. Cassandra, Lost is an exploration of actions and their consequences, as well as the joys and perils of following ones heart. (Out of print.)

Click here to visit the author's website.

Friday Finds: WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE by Julie Otsuka

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I'm not sure where I "discovered" this novel, but I was immediately attracted by the beautiful and serene cover image. Turns out this top image is from the 2002 hardcover edition and the bottom image is the trade paperback.

Apparently, when the novel was first published, it was something of a groundbreaker. From the description, it sounds like a powerful story, and from the awards it has won, it is obviously a good choice for teens.

I really enjoyed Jamie Ford's HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, and I recently completed GIRL IN TRANSLATION by Jean Kwok. I think I'll be reading WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE very soon.

Has anyone read this one? What did you think of it?

WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE

by Julie Otsuka

Pub. Date: October 2003

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Paperback, 160pp

ISBN-13: 9780385721813

ISBN: 0385721811

Edition Description: Reprint

Description (from the publisher):
Julia Otsuka’s quietly disturbing novel opens with a woman reading a sign in a post office window. It is Berkeley, California, the spring of 1942. Pearl Harbor has been attacked, the war is on, and though the precise message on the sign is not revealed, its impact on the woman who reads it is immediate and profound. It is, in many ways she cannot yet foresee, a sign of things to come. She readies herself and her two young children for a journey that will take them to the high desert plains of Utah and into a world that will shatter their illusions forever. They travel by train and gradually the reader discovers that all on board are Japanese American, that the shades must be pulled down at night so as not to invite rock-throwing, and that their destination is an internment camp where they will be imprisoned “for their own safety” until the war is over. With stark clarity and an unflinching gaze, Otsuka explores the inner lives of her main characters—the mother, daughter, and son—as they struggle to understand their fate and long for the father whom they have not seen since he was whisked away, in slippers and handcuffs, on the evening of Pearl Harbor.

Moving between dreams, memories, and sharply emblematic moments, WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE reveals the dark underside of a period in American history that, until now, has been left largely unexplored in American fiction.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Awards:
WINNER - Booklist Editor's Choice for Young Adults
WINNER - New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
WINNER - ALA Alex Award
WINNER 2003 - Asian American Literary Award

About the author (from the publisher):

Julie Otsuka was born in Palo Alto and studied art at Yale University. After pursuing a career as a painter, she turned to fiction at age 30. One of her short stories was included in Scribner’s Best of the Fiction Workshops 1998, edited by Carol Shields. WHEN THE EMPEROR WAS DIVINE is her first novel.

Friday Finds: CIVIL & STRANGE: A Novel by Cláir Ní Aonghusa

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I came across this title while surfing the web -- the cover attracted me, but the description sold me!

CIVIL & STRANGE

by Cláir Ní Aonghusa

Pub. Date: March 2008

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Format: Hardcover, 320pp

ISBN-13: 9780618829361

ISBN: 0618829369

Description (from the publisher):

Finely observed and utterly transporting, Cláir Ní Aonghusa's debut takes us inside a vibrant rural Ireland -- and three interconnected lives -- on the cusp of change.

Eager to escape her failed marriage, Ellen hopes to recapture the magic of her childhood summers when she decides to leave Dublin for the small village of Ballindoon. She is surprised when her uncle Matt, a nearby farmer, welcomes her with the rather mystifying advice to play it "civil and strange," a local expression meaning "be polite on the surface but keep your distance" -- and even more surprised to find herself attracting the attentions of a younger man. But when the two of them are spotted together and Ellen becomes the focus of her fellow villagers' gossip and judgment, Matt's words resonate in a new way. Ellen realizes how little she understands about life in Ballindoon, leading her to question not only her choices, but herself. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Matt and to his friend Beatrice, a widow still troubled by her eldest child's suicide, and begins to glimpse how the web of connection that defines village life can also be sustaining -- which frees her to take a few risks of her own. To Ellen's great wonder, as the events of this transformative, tumultuous year play out in all three of their lives, it becomes clear that even tradition-bound Ballindoon can allow for new beginnings. Anchored by the cadences of its Irish setting and the love story at its heart, Civil and Strange offers a moving exploration of the possibilities open to us, at any age, in any place, if only we are brave enough to embrace them.

Click here to read an excerpt.

About the author (from the publisher):
Cláir Ní Aonghusa is an award-winning poet and short-story writer, and has twice been short-listed for the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Emerging Fiction Writer Award.

Friday Finds: Bernice L. McFadden, Literary Novelist

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Today for Friday Finds, I'd like to spotlight the literary novels of Bernice L. McFadden. I'm currently reading Ms. McFadden's debut novel, SUGAR, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on January 9, 2010. Unfortunately, Ms. McFadden's books, like those of many other African-American literary novelists, are in danger of being allowed to go out of print.

In an open e-mail to book lovers, Ms. McFadden discusses what she believes is the common practice of publishers marketing the work of African-American novelists only to African-Americans. Ms. McFadden's email has been published in full on several blogs, and you can read it by clicking here. My intention right now is to bring your attention directly to her literary novels and to SUGAR in particular. In an effort to propel SUGAR back into the limelight, Ms. McFadden is asking that booklovers band together and purchase a copies for ourselves and/or as gifts. It is her goal to sell 10,000 copies before the anniversary date of 01/09/10. Buy it. Read it. Give it. It's good!

SUGAR
Description (from the publisher):
In a debut novel that blends the rich, earthy atmosphere of the deep South and a voice imbued with spiritual grace, Bernice L. McFadden tells the story of two women: a modest, churchgoing wife and mother, and the young prostitute she befriends.. "When Sugar arrives in 1950s Bigelow - waltzing down the main square of the sweltering tiny Arkansas town as if she has every right to be there - no one tosses out the welcome mat or invites her in for a Coke. The Bigelow women hate her from the minute they lay eyes on her - on the bouncing blond wig and red-painted lips that tell them she has never known a hard day's work. All they know is they want her gone, out of their town, and away from their men.. "But Sugar has traveled too far and survived too much to back down now. She parks herself in the house at #10 Grove Street, even though she feels there is something about Bigelow that is calling up the past she prayed she'd left behind.. "Deep in her soul, Pearl Taylor knows what it is that Sugar feels, because it happened to her. It was the day her world shut down, the day the devil himself murdered her young daughter, Jude. It wasn't that Pearl stopped believing in God, exactly; she just couldn't trust him the way she used to. Then Sugar moves in next door, and Pearl's life irrevocably changes. Over sweet potato pie, an unlikely friendship begins, transforming the lives of two women - and an entire community.

THIS BITTER EARTH
Description (from the publisher):
In This Bitter Earth, Sugar Lacey is on her way out of Bigelow, Arkansas, where she’d come to break with the past. With her worn leopard-print suitcase and her head held high, she walks past the prying eyes of its small-minded, cruel-hearted townsfolk, praying for the strength to keep going. She doesn’t stop until she arrives at her childhood home in Short Junction. Here she learns the truth about her parentage: a terrible tale of unrequited love, of one man’s enduring hatred, and of the black magic that has cursed generations of Lacey women. A powerfully realized novel that brings back the unforgettable characters from Sugar, McFadden’s bestselling debut, This Bitter Earth is a testament to the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

CAMILLA'S ROSES
Description (from the publisher):
The poignant tale of a woman who discovers the fragility of life and thestrength of a family's love, from an author praised by Toni Morrison for “searing, expertly imagined scenes”

Known for bringing to life a host of endearing characters who reveal tender truths about humanity, Bernice L. McFadden now turns her storytelling talents to an unforgettable and deeply troubled woman named Camilla.

Unfolding in a progression of stirring and powerful chapters, Camilla's Roses presents a life haunted by the past. Camilla's childhood was immersed in chaos and love, and steeped in the myth of perfection. As an adult, she never looked back, refusing to acknowledge the people and places that had scarred her so many years ago. But a legacy of cancer proves inescapable, forcing Camilla to embrace the past—no matter how painful it may be—and to salvage what is left of her love in order to save her daughter. As Camilla discovers the bittersweet limitations of motherhood and reconciliation, she also awakens an inspiring message about the mortality issues we all must face.

NOWHERE IS A PLACE
Description (from the publisher):
Sherry has struggled all her life to understand who she is, where she comes from, and most important, why her mother slapped her cheek one summer afternoon. The incident has haunted Sherry, and it causes her to dig into her family's past. Like many family histories, it is fractured and stubbornly reluctant to reveal its secrets; but Sherry is determined to know the full story. In just a few days' time her extended family will gather for a reunion, and Sherry sets off across the country with her mother, Dumpling, to join them. What Sherry and Dumpling find on their trip is far more important than a scenic site here and there - it is the assorted pieces of their family's past. Pulled together, they reveal a history of amazing survival and abundant joy.

LOVING DONOVAN

Descripton (from the publisher):
Despite being born to a broken-hearted mother and a faithless father, Campbell still believes in the power of love…if she can ever find it. Living in the same neighborhood, but unknown to Campbell until a chance meeting brings them together, is Donovan, the “little man” of a shattered home—a family torn apart by anger and bitterness. In the face of these daunting obstacles, Donovan dreams of someday marrying, raising a family, and playing for the NBA. But, deep inside Campbell and Donovan live the histories that have shaped their lives. What they discover—together and apart—forms the basis of this compelling, sensual, and surprising novel.

THE WARMEST DECEMBER
Description (from the publisher):
Now and then I forget things, small things that would not otherwise alter my life. Things like milk in my coffee, setting my alarm clock, or Oprah at four. Tiny things. One day last week I forgot that I hated my father, forgot that I had even thought of him as a monster, and woke up early one cold winter morning, boarded two buses traveling over an hour to sit by his bedside in Kings County Hospital...

Childhood can be rough. But for Kenzie, growing up in the Lowe home means opening the bottom drawer of her father's dresser to choose which of the three belts, coiled, waiting like snakes, she will get whipped with; trips to Beehive Liquors for her father's vodka; and dreaming of the day she can escape Apartment A5. Eventually, Kenzie does grow up and leave A5. She goes to school, she holds odd jobs, and develops her own craving for the bottle. Twenty years have passed-it's now the nineties-but not everything has changed for Kenzie. She is still haunted by her childhood, and learning that her father is dying she is shocked by her own desire to be with him during his final hours. Returning to his bedside day after day in search of a way to heal her pain, she comes to discover in her visits that some of us, like her father, have stories that "started out bad, curdled and soured in the middle, and ended up worse," but for many, there is still hope for change.

Click here to visit the author's website.

Click here to visit Naki, the author's blog.

Click here to read and/or participate in the ongoing discussion about Seg-Book-Gation in publishing on Galleycat.

Click here to visit the blog, White Readers Meet Black Authors.

Click here to visit the I Read In Color Web Ring.

Friday Finds: Food, Fables, and Fiction

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.
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HIDDEN BUDDHAS
by Liza Dalby

Found at Shelf Awareness
(From the publisher):
According to Buddhist theology, the world is suffering through a final corrupt era called mappô. As mappô continues, chaos will increase until the center can no longer hold. Then the world will end. In Japan, many believe that Miroku, Buddha of the Future, will appear and bring about a new age of enlightenment.

From this ancient notion of doom and rebirth comes a startling new novel by the acclaimed author of Geisha and The Tale of Murasaki. Hundreds of temples in Japan are known to keep mysterious "hidden buddhas" secreted away except on rare designated viewing days. These statues are not hidden because they are powerful-their power lies in their being hidden. Are they being protected, or are they protecting the world?

In this novel, one Buddhist priest struggles with the dictates of his inherited orthodoxy, while another rebels. An American graduate student begins to suspect the mysterious purpose of the hidden buddhas, just as he falls in love with a beautiful Japanese artist who is haunted by an aborted child. The weaving of karma that brings these two together results in a tech-savvy half-Western, half-Japanese child who text-messages her way through the profane world to enlightenment.

Tracing the lives of its characters through the late twentieth century to the present, from Paris to Kyoto to California, Hidden Buddhas turns a cosmopolitan eye on discipline and decadence in religion, fashion, politics, and modern life.

Liza Dalby is an anthropologist and writer specializing in Japan. She lives in Berkeley, California.

APPLES FOR JAM: A Colorful Cookbook
by Tessa Kiros

Found at Chocolate & Croissants

(From the publisher):
Tessa Kiros has circled the globe working in restaurants in Australia, Greece, Mexico, and London. Her extensive travel and multicultural background lend authenticity to more than 200 recipes, which are grouped by color and presented alongside vibrant photographs, sound cooking advice, and heartwarming anecdotes about friends, family, and the whimsies of childhood.

Kiros shares a bevy of diverse and easy-to-prepare dishes playfully themed in colored chapters. An index references both specific foods and recipes. With memories of daisy chains, ice cream cones, circuses, and four-leaf clovers, Kiros shares her belief that good food sparks cherished memories that intensify life's melting pot of flavor. A sampling of the flavors includes:

·Sage and rosemary mashed potatoes
·Pecan butter cookies
·Roast rack of pork with fennel & honey
·Pomegranate sorbet
·Roasted zucchini and tomatoes with thyme
Pan-fried sole with lemon butter

Born to a Finnish mother and a Greek-Cypriot father, Tessa Kiros grew up learning about diverse cultures and tastes. She has traveled the world—living in London (where she worked at the famous Groucho Club), South Africa, Australia, Greece, and Mexico. She currently lives in Tuscany, Italy.

BUT WHO WILL BELL THE CATS?
by Cynthia Von Buhler

Found at Book Blogs post by E. Crawford

(From the publisher)
Finally, the solution to Aesop’s age-old question: Who will bell the cats?

Mouse and his friend, Brown Bat, are determined to get out of the basement and into the banquet hall to join the fun and frolicking there.  But escape won’t be easy with the cats blocking their efforts . . .

It will take many attempts and a surprising solution for Mouse and Bat to succeed.

Cynthia von Buhler’s enchanted upstairs/downstairs world shows readers the rewards of determination, bravery, and creativity—and reminds them of the uncomplicated power of kindness.

Friday Finds: RAISING THE PERFECT CHILD THROUGH GUILT AND MANIPULATION

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.
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I found this one at Life By Candlelight. Jennifer at Literate Housewife blogged about it, too. This is totally in fun ;)


RAISING THE PERFECT CHILD THROUGH GUILT AND MANIPULATION
by Elizabeth Beckwith

Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation is not one of those traditional, all-too-earnest parenting guides that, for generations, have sucked all the fun out of child rearing. The foundation of Elizabeth Beckwith's Guilt and Manipulation family philosophy is simple: We do things a certain way, and everyone else is an *&^%#$!.

Is that something you should put on a bumper sticker and slap on your minivan? Of course not—that would be trashy. But in the privacy of your own home, you can employ these essential components of Guilt and Manipulation to mold the little runts ruthlessly yet effectively into children you won't be embarrassed to admit are yours:

• Creating a Team: "Us" vs. "Them"
• How to Scare the Crap Out of Your Child (in a Positive Way)
• Don't Be Afraid to Raise a Nerd
• Mind Control: Why It's a Good Thing

Friday Finds: LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM by Shauna Roberts

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at Should Be Reading.
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Jennifer at Crazy-for-Books.com has posted a very interesting interview with Shauna Roberts, author of LIKE MAYFLIES IN A STREAM. I love Mesopotamian history, so I'm really eager to read this one!




About the book (from the publisher):
In the great city of Uruk, there is no peace when Gilgamesh is restless, and he is never at rest. Shamhat, a priestess of Inanna, goes into the wilderness to find and civilize a match for Uruk's violently active God-King. Like Mayflies in a Stream brings new life to the Epic of Gilgamesh, diving into one of the earliest conflicts between civilization and wilderness, civic order and freedom, romance and sexuality. A book of the Hadley Rille Books Archaeology Series.

Click here to visit the author's website.

Addendum:  I just found out that Shauna Roberts has a guest post at Book Faery Reviews (and a giveaway). Click here to check it out.

Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

What great books did you hear about / discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!


This week, it's all about the picture books for me!

Tina at Tutu's Two Cents picked DO NOT OPEN by Brinton Turkle as a My Favorite Reads this week.  She warns that it is out of print, but I'm already hot on the trail of a reasonably priced used copy. (I'm taking a pass on the collector's edition that's going for $182.09 through Amazon!) Swing on by Tina's blog, Tutu's Two Cents and read why this book is a much treasured family favorite. Just don't nab a copy out from under me!


I was too slow to participate in the giveaway for BIG CAT, SMALL CAT by Amy Rubinger that was hosted recently by Janelle at Brimful Curiosities. But come on! Just look at that cover! You know this book will be fun.  Take a hop over to Brimful Curiosities to read a description and Janelle's review.

And finally, if you're not familiar with the weekly meme, My Favorite Reads, hosted by Alyce, you could click on over to At Home with Books and check it out.  This week she picked a family favorite:  BAD KITTY GETS A BATH by Nick Bruel. I've given more than one cat more than one bath, so I KNOW this book must be hilarious! Sounds like Alyce's family sure thinks so.

Friday Finds: Author Adeline Yen Mah

FRIDAY FINDS is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

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I found this first title at MarjoleinBookBlog. I was so intrigued, I had to find out more about Adeline Yen Mah. She has a very interesting website you can visit by clicking here. I like that some of these books are geared toward young adults, so parent and child can explore this author's work together.

Also, if you are participating in the recently launched China Challenge hosted by Jennie at Biblio File, you might want to consider one or two of these titles.

FALLING LEAVES: The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughterby Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: Bantam Books
Pub. Date: April 1999
ISBN-13: 9780767903578
Sales Rank: 17,093
304pp
Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble): Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer. A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains, Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.

CHINESE CINDERELLA
by Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub. Date: March 2001
ISBN-13: 9780440228653
Sales Rank: 4,533
Age Range: Young Adult
224pp

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble): A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s. A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for — the love and understanding of her family. Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.
CHINESE CINDERELLA and THE SECRET DRAGON SOCIETYby Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: November 2006
ISBN-13: 9780060567361
Sales Rank: 74,633
Age Range: 12 and up256pp
Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble):" The future belongs to you. Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this: I am a child of destiny who will unite East and West and change the world."

After enduring abuse at the hands of her cruel stepmother, Chinese Cinderella (CC) seeks refuge at a martial-arts school and joins a secret dragon society.

Under the guidance of Grandma Wu, CC is introduced to the exciting world of espionage as a part of the Chinese Resistance movement. And when CC and her new comrades take on a daring mission to rescue a crew of WWII American airmen, they prove that true bravery knows no age barrier

.
CHINA: Land of Dragons and Emporers
by Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Pub. Date: June 2009
ISBN-13: 9780385737487

Sales Rank: 54,368
Age Range: Young Adult256pp

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble): A fascinating book about the history and culture of China. The history of China spans thousands of years. Journey through China in this fascinating and absorbing book: discover the land of dragons and emperors, and learn about the significance of its ancient dynasties. Countless tools and materials that people have used every day for centuries—paper, gunpowder, cast iron, matches, and silk, to name just a few—were first made in China. Chinese society has progressed through major changes, but lucky numbers, festivals, beliefs about colors, the practic of footbinding, the building of the Great Wall, and the larger-than-life people of China are all integral parts of this ancient civilization and still have an impact on life today. Bestselling author Adeline Yen Mah explores an extraordinary view of the great story of China over the last two millennia in this nonfiction work, which also includes black-and-white photographs.
A THOUSAND PIECES OF GOLD
by Adeline Yen Mah

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pub. Date: August 2003
ISBN-13: 9780060006419
Sales Rank: 296,190
272pp

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble): In this poignant memoir the New York Times bestselling author of Falling Leaves, Adeline Yen Mah, provides a fascinating window into the history and cultural soul of China. Combining personal reflections, rich historical insights, and proverbs handed down to her by her grandfather, Yen Mah shares the wealth of Chinese civilization with Western readers. Exploring the history behind the proverbs, she delves into the lives of the first and second emperors and the two rebel warriors who changed the course of Chinese life, adding stories from her own life to beautifully illustrate their relevance and influence today.

Friday Finds - August 14, 2009

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

This week's find is a new-to-me author, Rosy Thornton. I think her books sound delightfully fun. I've got to squeeze them into my reading schedule!
(Book descriptions are from the publisher.)

While it's not easy being a woman in a man's world, James Rycarte has decided that the reverse is also true. Taking on the job of principal at an all-female college at Cambridge has quickly become the biggest challenge of his career. He is breaking with tradition and the faculty is unhappy with the results. But amid the hostility of his fellows and the endless bureaucracy of university life, he finds an unexpected hand of friendship from Senior Tutor Dr. Martha Pearce.


This is the story of Peter, a Cambridge geography don who crashes his car into a tree stump when swerving to avoid a cat, and Mina, the girl at the Sheffield call centre who deals with his insurance claim. It tracks their parallel lives, as well those of their families - because both Peter and Mina are single parents.
An old-fashioned fairy tale of love across the class divide, it is also a book about the small joys and tribulations of parenthood; about one-ness and two-ness; about symmetry and coincidence; about the things which separate us and the things which bring us together. It is a story, in fact, of the accidents of geography



When Richard Slater receives a letter of complaint from one of his constituents, a Margaret Hayton, he merely responds with his standard letter of empty promises. Clearly, this woman is insane and must be avoided at all costs. But she will not be dismissed so easily, and when Richard finally sets eyes on the "twenty-something vision in stone-washed denim," he risks losing his heart, his head, and quite possibly his political career.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading

I found all three of these titles at Book Club Classics. Now they're all on my Wish List!