The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman FIC Ste

There aren't too many themes in novels.  Love is probably the most common and it is the theme in this novel.  The love between parents and a child and the love between a husband and wife.  What would you do for the one you love?  Is your happiness more important than that of someone else?  Does that question depend on if you love that someone else or if she is a stranger?  Lots of thinking can be done after reading this book!  Or you can just sit back and enjoy this well-written book.  It begins after WWI  with Tom who has come back to Australia after four years of fighting.  Like most returning soldiers he has plenty of emotional baggage and is looking forward to living the solitary life on an isolated island taking care of a lighthouse.  But within a few years he is sharing that life with Isabel whom he met before he began his job.  It seems as if they are well-suited to this kind of life.  But when Isabel suffers miscarriages she begins to head into  a deep depression.  Then one evening a boat washes up on shore. In the boat is a dead man, a woman's cardigan and a crying baby.  Although Tom knows what he should do, he cannot deny Isabel's need for a baby.  They bury the father and name the baby Lucy and she is to be raised as their own.  They do not live happily ever after.  It's a great read. 

The Dog Lived (and So Will I) by Teresa Rhyne 362.196 Rhy

Another memoir. Another story of a young woman with cancer.  Another story of the love between a dog and a human.  Put that all together and you have a great read.  Loved this book.  The first part of the book is mostly the story of Seamus.  Teresa had been through two divorces and the loss of two beagles.  The only good thing in her life is her job (she is a lawyer) and her new boyfriend (who is quite a bit younger than she is).  After returning from a trip to Ireland (in an attempt to get away and start fresh upon her return) she gets a call from a Rescue organization who has a Beagle that needs a home.  She tells Chris, her boyfriend, about the call and is shocked at his response.  Seems he isn't "much of a dog person".  She is shocked.  "Not a dog person? How had I missed that? I knew he was a Republican and I overlooked that.  I knew he was inappropriately young, and I was working on overlooking that. How did I miss that he was not a dog person?"  Chris and Seamus didn't hit it off at first but eventually he comes to love him.  Then Seamus is diagnosed with cancer.  Teresa spends LOTS of money and time to save her companion.  A year later it is Seamus' turn to help Teresa when she gets cancer.  A very heartwarming story that is well-written.  Check it out!

The time keeper by Mitch Albom FIC Alb

    Albom does it again.  This is a short book with a long message.  Here is a quote:
"There is a reason God limits our days."
"Why?"
"To make each one precious."
    This is the story of Dor who invented the first clock.  For that he is punished and spends thousands of years in his own hell.  He is finally released to return to the present day with a mission.  It concerns a teen-aged girl whose will to live has left her and a elderly man who wants to go on forever.  Their stories may make you rethink your conception of time.   I loved it as I have all of his books.

Most of Me by Robyn Michele Levy 616.8 Lev

   When I tell you what this book is about you will probably wonder why anyone in the world would want to read it!  Levy, however, is a terrific writer and I read her memoir quickly.  When she begins her story she is a working mom who is so depressed and tired.  That is probably not an unusual state for most women in that situation.  Hers continues to get worse and worse.  Finally she is given a diagnosis after other symptoms appear.....and the news isn't good.  She has early onset Parkinson's disease.   As if this weren't enough she also is diagnosed with breast cancer within the year.  Pretty depressing isn't it?  But her writing brought many smiles to my face.  Here is a quote to give you a taste of her sense of humor.  "I have a confession: I married an older man.  Three years older, to be exact.  Mind you, that's in dog years.  Multiply three by seven and you get the age difference in human years-something to really bark about".
    Her biographical information says: "She lives with her family and her remaining body parts on  Vancouver, British Columbia."   I don't want her to get anymore diseases but I would like her to write another book! 

Friends by Michael Foreman

 

 

This beautiful, sweet, heart-tugging picture book says everything a person needs to know about friendship in just 24 pages.An excellent choice to bestow on the children in your life.