Book Review

It is always exciting for me to get a book review request about a fictional book having to do with Military families. I always enjoy reading them because they each offer a different perspective on war and living life as a Military spouse. I had the opportunity to review Blue Stars by Emily Gray Tedrowe and just finished the book last week.

BLUE STARS brings to life the realities of the modern day home front: how to get through the daily challenges of motherhood and holding down a job while bearing the stress and uncertainty of war, when everything can change in an instant. It tells the story of Ellen, a Midwestern literature professor, who is drawn into the war when her legal ward Michael enlists as a Marine; and of Lacey, a proud Army wife who struggles to pay the bills and keep things going for her son while her husband is deployed. When Michael and Eddie are injured in Iraq, Ellen and Lacey’s lives become intertwined in Walter Reed Army Hospital, where each woman must live while caring for her wounded soldier. They form an alliance, and an unlikely friendship, while helping each other survive the dislocated world of the army hospital. In the end, both women are changed, not only by the war and its fallout, but by each other.

What I liked best about this book is the two different women we get to learn about. Neither one is your typical Military spouse, if there is such a thing. One is the adoptive mother and the other is the wife who married her Army husband later in life. They both experience so many emotions during the book and it is so hard to know how I would have handled the situations they went through. Knowing that my husband could have been in their loved one’s shoes was humbling as well.

Ellen is not someone who ever saw herself in the role she was put in. That makes for an interesting point of view. I liked how the author explained how she was feeling and how she was dealing with it all.

Lacey’s story is very different from Ellen’s but the two come together because of Walter Reed. It is an unlikely friendship but one that I know happens time and time again just because two people are going through the same sort of difficulties. I have seen it happen in my own life.

I have heard stories about Walter Reed but not like this.  I never knew what the day-to-day looked like and it seems like this book does a good job of letting the reader know what it can be like to sit by your loved one who is there because they were injured overseas.

EMILY GRAY TEDROWE is the author of Commuters: A Novel, which was named a Best New Paperback by Entertainment Weekly. Her short fiction has been published in the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, Fifty-Two Stories, and Other Voices. Her new novel, Blue Stars, was conceived during her brother’s Marine service in the Iraq war. Originally from New York City, Emily now lives in Chicago with her husband and daughters. For more information visit her website at www.emilygraytedrowe.com

I received a free copy of this book for review. This post does contain an affiliate link. 

When I was a little girl, bears were my favorite animal. I loved them. So of course I LOVED the Berenstain Bears. I think my favorite one was the one about the junk food. My mom liked the messy room one.

Over the years I have tried to pick up a few for my own boys.

I was given the opportunity to review, The Berenstain Bears and the Biggest Brag.

It is written by Mike Berenstain. He grew up watching his parents, Stan and Jan, working together to write and draw these lovable bears. Eventually he started drawing and writing about them too.

It was published by Zondervan!

This book is good for children of all ages. You can read it to them or they can read it to you.

The book is about how brother and sister bear keep trying to one up each other. I think a lot of kids like to brag. They are trying to figure out their place in this world and when they discover they are good at something, they want to share it. Between siblings it can be such a battle. That is what this book is about. Brother and sister bear are trying to one up each other and Grizzly Gramps comes and explains why they shouldn’t be doing so.

In the back of the book you can find activities and questions you can ask your own little cubs. This is great because it gives you some good ideas on how to make this real for your kids and to get them to think about it. I like how each of the Berenstain Bear books have a lesson we can teach our children. Whether it is something they are struggling with or just something that is important to learn.

The illustrations are fantastic and really show the detail of the bear’s world as well as what they are experiencing.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I get excited when I hear about Military Spouses that write their own books. I am a big reader and I love lots of different types of fiction. I have been following Rebecca Yarros’ blog, The Only Girl Amoung Boys for a while now. When she asked if I wanted to read an advanced company of her new book, Full Measures, I was very excited to say yes.

Full Measures is considered an NA book which I have learned means “New Adult” which are books written about young 20-somethings that are trying to figure out how to be an adult. No longer a teen but not quite into full adulthood yet.

She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead.

Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.

Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.

Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.

Now I will say that the book does deal with some sensitive topics. The story starts out with the death of Ember’s father who was killed in action. I know that can be hard for some in the Military community to read about it. It is also has some mature scenes in it.

I thought this was a great read! Even though it dealt with a sad situation, the book was about a girl trying to figure out how to get life back to where she could really live it. The relationship between Ember and Josh is an interesting one. There were tears, laughs and lots of not wanting to put the book down. I love it when that happens with a book.

I can’t wait to read Rebecca’s next one 🙂

You can purchase the book on Amazon for just $.99 for your Kindle. Go check it out 🙂

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned below for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”