I don't know how I missed Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground by T.R. Simon when I was reading books in order to inform Half-Truths, but I did. Fortunately, it's never too late to find a great read! Anyone who is familiar with Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) will know that she was a renowned storyteller who portrayed racial… Continue reading ZORA & ME: THE CURSED GROUND by T.R.Simon: A Middle Grade Book Review
Some of you know that one of my passions is teaching writing to teens and adults. I haven't had that opportunity for awhile, but I recently met a young man who loves to write. I've taken Elliott Kurta under my writer's wing and am excited to share his first book review with you. Without further ado, here… Continue reading UNDER THE TANGERINE TREE by Esther Bandy: A Book Review by Guest Blogger, Elliott Kurta
Florida became a state in 1845 and was quickly thrust into the Civil War. The Smallest Tadpole’s War in the Land of Mysterious Waters bridges the years from 1843 to 1900. The main character, Thomas Franklin Swearingen, was author Diane Swearingen’s husband’s great-great-grandfather. Thomas Swearingen, an uneducated farmer who settled northern Florida when it was… Continue reading The Smallest Tadpole's War in the Land of Mysterious Waters: An Audio Book Review and Giveaway
Image-driven poetry. A serious mental health issue. Deep point of view. Madeline Kuderick's debut novel, Kiss of Broken Glass, reminds me of another beautifully written novel-in-verse, Linda Phillips' book, CRAZY. Or to put it simply, if you liked CRAZY, you'll like Kiss of Broken Glass. When a "friend" finds fifteen-year-old Kenna cutting in the school bathroom… Continue reading Kiss of Broken Glass: A Review and a Giveaway
The minute sixth-grader Theo Thomas gets off the bus and arrives in Destiny, Florida with his Uncle Raymond, I’m right there with him. Award winning author AugustaScattergood, uses great details to pull readers into the character and setting: Theo grabs his bags, baseball mitt and a tattered book, Everything You Want to Know About Baseball; the heat hits… Continue reading The Way to Stay in Destiny- A Review and an Audio CD Giveaway!
I didn’t realize when I selected Zora and Me from the audio book shelf of my local library that I would be treated to a powerful, multiracial historical novel. But I was. Under 200 pages long, this book is the result of collaboration between Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon. Their fictionalized account of Harlem… Continue reading Zora and Me: Multi-Racial Read #5
Floridians are in love with the word legacy. In the last two days my husband and I have seen Legacy Homes, a Legacy Pizza Restaurant, the Legacy Golf Course, and today, we biked along The Legacy Trail: As I was biking, admiring the strands of Spanish moss that drape the live oaks like hundreds of grey shawls,… Continue reading Legacy: A Word Study