June Reading List

This month’s books:

Home: A Memoir of my Early Year – Julie Andrews
Firefly Lane – Kristin Hannah
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Alice’s Tulips – Sandra Dallas
Summer Snow – Amy Warwick
The Persian Pickle Club – Sandra Dallas

Home: A Memoir of my Early Year – Julie Andrews

In Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, Julie Andrews takes her readers on a warm, moving, and often humorous journey from a difficult upbringing in war-torn Britain to the brink of international stardom in America.

I found this book about Julie Andrews to be truly fascinating.  I have been a fan of Julie Andrews work since I was a young girl.  It was really great to read about her life as told in her own words.  She faced many hardships and struggles that you would not guess.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the work of Julie Andrews.

Firefly Lane – Kristin Hannah

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all—beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.

To me this story is about girlfriends.  The truest of friendships, yet also the most heartbreaking.  It symbolized to me the type of friendship I think most women are looking for.  The book follow Kate and Tully from their first meeting and throughout their lives.  It follow them when they are close and when they are far apart.  It is well written and very touching and heartfelt.  I really enjoyed this book.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

I struggled with this book from the very beginning!  I had such high hopes because I had heard so many great things about this book.  Although it is something I RARELY do, I put this book down at page 116.  I just couldn’t get into it.  I like a book that can capture me.  I like to feel as if I am a part of the story or watching it unfurl before my eyes.  I just never got that with this book.  Maybe I’ll go back to it at another time, it just wasn’t for me.

Alice’s Tulips – Sandra Dallas

Alice Bullock is a young bride whose husband, a Union soldier in the Civil War, leaves her on his Iowa farm with his formidable mother. Equally talented at quilting and gossip, Alice fills her letters to her sister with accounts of her daily life, from the local quilting bees, to the rigors of farm life, to the customs and restraints of small-town America. No town is too small, however, to escape intrigue and treachery, and when Alice finds herself accused of murder, she must rely on support from unlikely sources. Rich in details of quilting, Civil War-era America, and the hardships and rewards of a woman’s life in the 19th century, this is Sandra Dallas at her best.

I typically enjoy any book that falls into the Historical Fiction genre and this was no exception.  I couldnt put this book down.  As Alice stuggled with life on the farm while Charlie was off fighting in the civil war I was right there with her.  I enjoyed every page of this book.

Summer Snow – Amy Warwick

In the rural farming community of Glendale, Washington single mother Mystery Abbott struggles daily with three children, an overbearing mother, and the town gossips led by her neighbor Liv. Liv Randall strives to be seen as the pillar of the community, a complete antithesis to her neighbor. Twins Dana and Janie Abbott struggle with their own coming of age issues, independently fighting against the stereotype of being Mystery Abbott’s daughters. When Mystery’s dilapidated roof caves in after a series of unseasonable storms exposing a secret lover hidden in Mystery’s closet, the women are forced not only to deal with their feelings about one another, but also with the self-imposed limitations they have placed on themselves.

This is Amy Warwick’s debut novel.  It was well written and easy to follow.  The story line was captivating and moved quickly.  The chapters switched back and forth between the four main characters until they all come together in the end.  If Mrs. Warwick’s future novels are anything like this one, I can not wait to read them.

The Persian Pickle Club – Sandra Dallas

It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there’s not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. In her magical, memorable novel, Sandra Dallas explores the ties that unite women through good times and bad.

This book was set during the time of the Dust Bowl when crops were withering and rain was scarce.  This was not my favorite of Sandra Dallas’ books but was still very enjoyable.  I read it in just a few hours.

Well there you have it, my June Reading List.  I hope you have enjoyed this months selections.  As always you can purchase any of the books listed above by clicking the pictures or by visiting my Amazon Store.  Thanks and Happy Reading!