Review: Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website:

Sometimes you have to return to the place where you began, to arrive at the place where you belong.

It’s the early 1970s. The town of Ringgold, Georgia, has a population of 1,923, one traffic light, one Dairy Queen, and one Catherine Grace Cline. The daughter of Ringgold’s third-generation Baptist preacher, Catherine Grace is quick-witted, more than a little stubborn, and dying to escape her small-town life.

Every Saturday afternoon, she sits at the Dairy Queen, eating Dilly Bars and plotting her getaway to Atlanta. And when, with the help of a family friend, the dream becomes a reality, she immediately packs her bags, leaving her family and the boy she loves to claim the life she’s always imagined. But before things have even begun to get off the ground in Atlanta, tragedy brings Catherine Grace back home. As a series of extraordinary events alter her perspective–and sweeping changes come to Ringgold itself–Catherine Grace begins to wonder if her place in the world may actually be, against all odds, right where she began.

Intelligent, charming, and utterly readable, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen marks the debut of a talented new literary voice.

My Review:
This was such a neat coming-of-age novel giving us a glimpse of rural life for one young gal in Georgia.  We learn the story of Catherine Grace who has grown up without her mother, knowing the world has so much more to offer than what is available in her stupid little town.  She looks forward to the day she can leave Ringgold for good.

This story had so many elements to it that I just loved.  I found myself smiling or just plain laughing out loud plenty of times while I was reading it.  I am sure many girls could read this book and easily put themselves in Catherine Grace's shoes, as I did.  Many kids that have grown up in small towns can't wait to get out and explore the world.  Personally, I felt the same exact way.  But, like Catherine Grace, once you get out there and start living you realize that it isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Catherine Grace has been lucky to have some wonderful people in her life.  Even with the support of her Preacher father and motherly women to help her, there were still times she felt left out of events because she didn't have a mother of her own.  She not only found kids treating her differently at times, but even adults.  It's hard to grow up with confidence when you feel out of place most of the time.

I loved the relationships in this novel.  Between Catherine Grace, her sister, her father, and Gloria Jean, I absolutely loved all of the characters.  With themes of love, family, and forgiveness I know that many of you would enjoy this book for either personal leisure or a book club discussion.  Our book club loved it and I highly recommend this novel.

My Rating:  5/5

Disclosure:  This book was from my personal collection and I read it for my own entertainment and as a book club selection.

Mailbox Monday-Dec. 24

Mailbox Monday is a great meme that has us list the books that we receive.  Different bloggers now have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month you can check out what everyone received over at Suko's Notebook.

Here's the latest that came to my home:

 The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Teaser Tuesday-Dec. 18

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson:
She finally buried her face in a quilt to keep the noise of her weeping from her sleeping family.  But she just couldn't stop the cascade of tears.


pg. 26

What Are You Reading?

Sheila over at Book Journey hosts this meme that gives you the opportunity to share the books that you have been losing yourself in lately and also the ones that you are looking forward to picking up next.

I finished on my Kindle:

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore was our last book club selection and I absolutely loved this book!  Most of the ladies in my group loved it as much as I did.  Hopefully I will have my review posted soon for this one.


I'm currently listening to:

I started listening to In Sunlight and In Shadow by Mark Helprin because my last boss told me Helprin is an amazing writer.  This is a long audio book, actually the longest one I have listened to so far.  I have picked up on some very beautiful writing, but as an audiobook I have to say that it does bore me at times.

What's next:

Our Christmas book club selection is The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson.  I've listened to a few of his audiobooks that I have enjoyed, but this will be the first book I have actually "read".  I have to say that I don't have high expectations for this one.

So what is keeping you busy one week before Christmas?

Books That Make Me Go....Ahhhh

So on Fridays I TRY to post a notable excerpt for the week.  These gems that catch my eye deserve much more notoriety besides being written down on a little sticky note in the front of the novel.

As I've been reading The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey, not much has stood out for me, but something finally caught my eye:
I was trembling now, fighting back the tears that pricked my eyes.  All the memories of fighting with Ma flooded back.  Was I to find no peace at all?  Och, why hadn't I gone with Joel when he'd offered me a way out?  I beat down the self-pity that threatened to drown me.  I would not give in to her.  I would hold on to my dream with everything I had.
pg. 248


The first half of this book seemed to drag on for me, but thankfully the second half has picked up!  Well today I am off to watch my baby girl graduate from college...how exciting!

Audiobook Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay

Author:  Suzanne Collins

Narrator: Carolyn McCormick


Unabridged Length: 11 hrs, 43 mn.

Here is a summary of the book from the Gooodreads website:

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains--except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

My Review: 
Mockingjay was a fitting end to an amazing series.  Not wanting to put this series in my past, I held off on listening to the final book for as long as I could.  Once I started, I could tell that this installment would give me a satisfying closure for the trilogy.

Katniss gets caught up with the rebel alliance that is located at District 13.  Her family and Gayle are with her, but her thoughts are filled with Peeta every day.  The Capitol captured Peeta after the jumbled Quarter Quell and have been holding him hostage.  Katniss knows that his life hangs in the balance every moment he is in their custody.

After much persuasion, Katniss agrees to become the face of the Mockingjay, satisfying all the residents of Panem that are in support of the revolution.  A big driving force for Katniss fulfilling this role is the knowledge that one day she will have the opportunity to be alone with President Snow, at which time she will be in  control of his demise.

I don't think I've given any important details away.  Of course Katniss's romantic life is still in turmoil throughout most of the book, as she struggles to find out who truly owns her heart.  This will also be resolved by the end of the book, but I'm not going to tell you who she chooses!  This is a series that I didn't think I would enjoy, but SURPRISE, I loved it!  With themes of love, friendship, and survival, there is much in these books to ponder.  I don't know if I would necessarily suggest these books as a book club selection, but I don't hesitate in recommending the entire series for leisure reading.  

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  I borrowed this audiobook from  the library to listen for my own entertainment.

Review: Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Here is a summary of the book from the publisher's website:

Leif Enger's debut is an extraordinary novel—an epic of generosity and heart that reminds us of the restorative power of great literature. The story of a father raising his three children in 1960s Minnesota, Peace Like a River is at once a heroic quest, a tragedy, a love story, and a haunting meditation on the possibility of magic in the everyday world.

Raised on tales of cowboys and pirates, eleven-year-old Reuben Land has little doubt that miracles happen all around us, and that it's up to us to "make of it what we will." Reuben was born with no air in his lungs, and it was only when his father, Jeremiah, picked him up and commanded him to breathe that his lungs filled. Reuben struggles with debilitating asthma from then on, making him a boy who knows firsthand that life is a gift, and also one who suspects that his father is touched by God and can overturn the laws of nature.

The quiet Midwestern life of the Lands is upended when Davy, the oldest son, kills two marauders who have come to harm the family; unlike his father, he is not content to leave all matters of justice in God's hands. The morning of his sentencing, Davy—a hero to some, a cold-blooded murderer to others—escapes from his cell, and the Lands set out in search of him. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers—among them a free spirit named Roxanna, who offers them a place to stay during a blizzard and winds up providing them with something far more permanent. Meanwhile, a federal agent is trailing the Lands, convinced they know of Davy's whereabouts.

With Jeremiah at the helm, the family covers territory far more extraordinary than even the Badlands where they search for Davy from their Airstream trailer. Sprinkled with playful nods to biblical tales, beloved classics such as Huckleberry Finn, the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the westerns of Zane Grey, Peace Like a River unfolds like a revelation.

My Review:
I read this book with my book club and I can tell you that since I didn't like his other book, So Brave, Young, and Handsome, I probably wouldn't have picked this one up on my own.  I'm glad I did though, because Enger brought us along on a miracle filled journey for young Reuben and his family.

Reuben is the narrator of the novel and it was interesting to see things from his young and innocent perspective.  Even when Reuben sees his older brother Davy kill in cold blood, his innocent mind allows him to believe that Davy did no wrong.  In an attempt to escape conviction, Davy flees his home and family on a quest for his freedom.  Davy's escape sets the tone for the novel, when afterwards his father packs up their belongings in a recently acquired Airstream trailer, and toting along Reuben and his sister, leaving their home in the Minnesota plains to head for the Badlands of North Dakota.  This is where they believe they will find Davy.

Miracles keep happening along their journey that really are unexplainable.  They seem to be making headway until they finally stop for gas close to their destination, and meet a woman named Roxanna.  Roxanna is a gracious woman who opens her heart and home to this family in need.  In time she seems to be the link that could make the Land family complete.

This was a very descriptive novel making it easy to create images of the scenes while reading.  I think my biggest problem with the book is that although it takes place in the 60's, it seemed to have an old western feel to it.  I quite often felt like I was watching an old western cowboy movie unfold before my eyes.  I didn't like watching these movies with my grandparents when I was young, so I didn't appreciate that tone in this novel.

Besides the western tone to the book, I have to admit that I found it enjoyable for the most part.  With themes of family, and miracles, and the age old battle between good and evil, I'm sure many of you will love it.  It made for an interesting book club discussion so I don't hesitate in recommending this novel for any book group out there.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This book is from my personal collection and I read it for my own entertainment and as a book club selection.

Teaser Tuesday-Dec. 4

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore:
Funny thing is, "passing" didn't sound like dying to a little girl.  At first I thought Mama must have passed on over to the next county like Buster Black or some bird flying across the sky.

Kindle Location 249 of 3173

Mailbox Monday-Dec. 3

Mailbox Monday is a great meme that has us list the books that we receive.  Different bloggers now have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month you can check out what everyone received over at Suko's Notebook.

Here's what I found:

A Winter Dream by Richard Paul Evans

This is the only thing that came to my mailbox last week, but that's ok!  I bet this will be a nice one to listen to during the Holiday season!