The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer (TLC Book Tour)

Every mother’s worst nightmare is to lose their child.  Beth always worries over her dreamy daughter Carmel and is afraid that she will disappear.  After her recent divorce, Beth is feeling angry about life and overprotective.  One day while at a fair, a deep sea fog rolls in separating Carmel and Beth . . . and Beth cannot find Carmel anywhere.  Beth’s worst nightmare is realized when days and weeks go by without Carmel’s return.

The novel switches point of view between Beth and Carmel.  Beth tries to rebuild her life, never giving up hope that she will someday find Carmel.  Carmel is on an adventure of her own, not knowing that her mother is still alive and on the hunt for her, even though deep inside, she doesn’t believe her mother is dead.

I really enjoyed this novel.   It is a slow burn thriller that is more about the relationship of a mother and a daughter and how being separated can change that relationship over time.  I did spend a lot of time wondering why Carmel had been kidnapped and if Beth and Carmel would ever be reunited.  The novel does not disappoint and leads you through the entire story with a satisfying ending.

As a mother, I loved reading Beth’s point of view.  The entirety of her emotions from frantic and scared, blaming herself, and then ever hopeful that she would see Carmel again seemed real to me.  I also loved her growth as a woman to accept that her marriage had failed and to even find friendship with her ex-husband and his partner and to rekindle her tumultuous relationship with her own parents.

I thought Carmel’s story also seemed realistic for what a girl in her situation would be feeling.  I don’t want to go too much into it and ruin the book for someone else, but she has been caught up with people who are in a religious fervor.  That also seemed sadly too real to me as well and disturbing how they would use a child with a “gift” for their own means.  For those that have read the book, I still am wondering what happened to the first Mercy?  I wish we would have gotten a definite conclusion on that point.

I love the first line of this novel:  “I dream about Carmel often.  In my dreams she’s always walking backwards.”

Overall, The Girl in the Red Coat is a slow burn thriller that delves deep into the emotions of a mother and a daughter that are living through a traumatic kidnapping.

Book Source:  I received a copy of this book as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thank-you!

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods is the novel that initially engaged me as an eight-year reader and started my lifelong love of reading. My Great-Grandma Kile gave me the first four books in the Little House set for my 8^th birthday.  I promptly sat down and read Little House in the Big Woods that afternoon.

My five-year daughter Penelope has been on a Little House kick lately.  Her goal is that we will read all of the Little House books so that she can learn about Laura and Almanzo’s romance.  As a kid, my Great-Grandma Kile would read the books at the same time I would read them.  She also loved the romance between Laura and Almanzo the most and liked to talk about it.  I feel like I’m going full circle with Penelope

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Little House in the Big Woods does a wonderful job of describing what it would be like to be a pioneer girl in the big woods of Wisconsin.  It’s also amazing as she captures what it is like to be a little girl with all of the feelings it encompasses.  I could tell as I read the book to Penelope that she empathized with Laura.  As it was told through Laura’s point of view, I could see how Penelope related, especially when Laura turned five just like Penelope.

Penelope told me that she liked “everything” about Little House in the Big Woods.  She really liked baby Carrie and the pictures.  Her favorite stories are the dance at Grandpa’s, getting her doll Charlotte for Christmas, Pa’s tales about his adventures.  She especially loved the tale of two bears.  She also like Pa pretending to be a dog, the songs, and Aunt Docia liking both girls hair and not agreeing with Mary that her hair was the prettiest.  Although Penelope has blond curls so she thought Mary’s hair should be the prettiest, but you could see the wheels turning where she realized that Aunt Docia was trying to make both girls feel good about themselves.  My husband Ben and I have been reading Penelope the story of the boy who cried wolf, so she really liked the similar story of Cousin Charlie and the bees.    

Both of my sons enjoyed this book when I read it to them five years ago or so.  They were still intrigued as they heard me reading it to Penelope.  Daniel loved the Cousin Charlie story and Kile especially loved the details of the harvesting machine.

Overall, Little House in the Big Woods is a classic as it tells a historical fiction story of what it was like to be a little girl living in the pioneer days.  The stories are intriguing and relatable to kids of all ages.

Book Source:  I bought a new set of Little House books from Amazon a few years ago so I wouldn’t wreck the beloved set from my childhood.

Star Wars: The Lost City of the Jedi (#2) by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids

The reputed son of the Emperor, Trioculous, receives a warning that at Jedi Prince will be a threat to his reign and must be destroyed.  Luke has traveled to Yavin 4 to put out a fire.  On Yavin 4, Luke meets a young boy named Ken who lives in a mysterious city below the surface and has been raised by droids.  Is this the Jedi Prince?

Kile really enjoyed this book.  In particular he liked and related to Ken.  The book has good pictures and it is a good reading level for a fourth grade boy.  Kile also enjoyed that it is an adventure story with humor.

Overall, The Lost City of the Jedi is another entertaining tale in this series for both a ten-year boy and his mother.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library