Friday, March 19, 2010

No Moon by Irene N. Watts

I was lucky enough to snag an ARC copy of this book from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

LibraryThing lists a new batch of books every month that a person can request. If you receive a book, all they ask is that you submit a short, honest review of the book on their website.

From Amazon: A story of reliance and resilience. Did you call out to us, Johnny, before your small body was dragged down under the water? Why didn't we hear you? I am sorry! I'll never forget.

Louisa Gardener is the fourteen-year-old nursemaid to the young daughters of a wealthy, titled family living in London, England, in 1912.

Despite the bullying Nanny Mackintosh, for whom she is an extra pair of hands, she loves her work and her young charges. Then everything changes. The family decides to sail to New York aboard the Titanic. An accident to the children's nanny, only days prior to the sailing, means that Louisa must go in her stead. She cannot refuse, although she dreads even the mention of the ocean. Memories she has suppressed, except in nightmares, come crowding back.

When Louisa was five and her sister seven years old, their two-year-old brother died on an outing to the seaside. Since that time, Louisa has had a fear of the ocean. She blames herself for the accident, though she has been told it wasn't her fault.

If Louisa refuses to go on the voyage, she will be dismissed, and she will never get beyond the working-class life she has escaped from.

How Louisa learns self-reliance, overcomes her fears, and goes beyond what is expected of a girl makes No Moon an unforgettable story.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

What a wonderful surprise to find a box at my doorstep when I got home the other day. And to make it even more wonderful, it contained a book (free) that I was not expecting! And to make it even more over the top wonderful, the box also contained a bag of Bliss white chocolate!!!!

I had registered my book club on a publisher's website and then forgotten about it. Lo and behold, I won a book!! And chocolate to enjoy with it!

Shanghai Girls is a book on my TBR list so it is really nice now to have a copy in my house ready to read when I can
.

ABOUT THIS BOOK
In 1937 Shanghai — the Paris of Asia — twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree — until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth. To repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from Los Angeles to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, from the Chinese countryside to the shores of America. Though inseparable best friends, the sisters also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. Along the way they make terrible sacrifices, face impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are — Shanghai girls. -- Random House

http://www.lisasee.com/shanghaigirls/


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