Category: Sociology

+Book Review+ The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikli #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 19 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , 14 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

#ChocLitSaturdays | a feature exclusive to Jorie Loves A Story

I wanted to create a bit of a niche on Jorie Loves A Story to showcase romance fiction steeped in relationships, courtships, and the breadth of marriage enveloped by honestly written characters whose lives not only endear you to them but they nestle into your heart as their story is being read! I am always seeking relationship-based romance which strikes a chord within my mind’s eye as well as my heart! I’m a romantic optimist, and I love curling into a romance where I can be swept inside the past, as history becomes lit alive in the fullness of the narrative and I can wander amongst the supporting cast observing the principal characters fall in love and sort out if they are a proper match for each other! I love how an Indie Publisher like ChocLitUK is such a positive alternative for those of us who do not identify ourselves as girls and women who read ‘chick-lit’. I appreciate the stories which alight in my hands from ChocLit as much as I appreciate the inspirational romances I gravitate towards because there is a certain level of depth to both outlets in romance which encourage my spirits and gives me a beautiful story to absorb! Whilst sorting out how promote my book reviews on behalf of ChocLit, I coined the phrase “ChocLitSaturdays”, which is a nod to the fact my ChocLit reviews & features debut on ‘a Saturday’ but further to the point that on the ‘weekend’ we want to dip into a world wholly ideal and romantic during our hours off from the work week!

The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikli

The Maid of Milan by Beverley Eikli

Author Connections: Personal Site | Blog

Facebook | Twitter | Converse via: #TheMaidofMilan

Illustrated By: Berni Stevens

 @circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Regency | 

Historical Suspense | Psychological Suspense

Published by: ChocLitUK, 15 March, 2014

Available Formats: Paperback & E-Book Page Count: 356

Acquired Book By: Although I am a regular reviewer for ChocLitUK, I am usually happily surprised by a tucked in chocolate scented pencils with the books which arrive by their distributor IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing). The book they surprised me with is The Maid of Milan penned by my very first ChocLit novelist I consumed! Ms. Beverley Eikli wrote the smashingly brilliant The Reluctant Bride! I have decided to read this unexpected ChocLit novel for my next ChocLitSaturdays – the 19th of April! Therefore, I received a complimentary copy of The Maid of Milan from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Intrigued to Read:

Although I am quick to lament my adoration and appreciation of uplifting and inspiring romances, there is another part of me that is quite bemused by the darker shades of the human psyche. Give me a well write suspense or thriller, wrapped inside of a historical fiction or a period drama and I will be happy as a clam! There is always a part of me (truly, I think its part of all readers!) which would love to take a bit of an adventurous risk, see inside the dangerous netherworlds people get caught up inside and see if they can just as boldly detach themselves without harm, scrapings, or ill-wonted side effects. There is always a measure of darkness on the tiptoes of light, whilst even the most good-natured individual can side-step and get their lives in a bit of a muddlement! I like seeing the dexterity of a writer take on harder hitting themes and giving us a bit of a hearty narrative to chew on! After all, not all of life is predictable nor is it glistening with happiness, there are undercurrents of events where fear lies in wait and I am not a reader who backs down or away from a more serious topic or subject as it presents itself in fiction. Sometimes too, I think that it is good to throw a wench into the wheel of our reading adventures and take a chance on a story that might unexpectedly take us down darkened corridors and within the heart of where darkness broods ill will. We can always carry the lantern of light and hope that the characters who are finding themselves a bit blighted can emerge out of their situations, a bit weathered but perhaps, wiser for the experiences?

Book Synopsis:  How much would you pay for a clear conscience?

Adelaide Leeson wants to prove herself worthy of her husband, a man of noble aspirations who married her when she was at her lowest ebb.

Lord Tristan Leeson is a model of diplomacy and self-control, even curbing the fiery impulses of his youth to maintain the calm relations deemed essential by his mother-in-law to preserve his wife’s health.

A visit from his boyhood friend, feted poet Lord James Dewhurst, author of the sensational Maid of Milan, persuades Tristan that leaving the countryside behind for the London Season will be in everyone’s interests.

But as Tristan’s political career rises and Adelaide revels in society’s adulation, the secrets of the past are uncovered. And there’s a high price to pay for a life of deception.

 

Author Biography:

Beverley EikliBeverley Eikli wrote her first romance when she was seventeen. However, drowning the heroine on the last page was, she discovered, not in the spirit of the genre so her romance-writing career ground to a halt and she became a journalist.

 After throwing in her secure job on South Australia’s metropolitan daily, The Advertiser, to manage a luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana, Beverley discovered a new world of romance and adventure in a thatched cottage in the middle of a mopane forest with the handsome Norwegian bush pilot she met around a camp fire. 

Eighteen years later, after exploring the world in the back of Cessna 404s and CASA 212s as an airborne geophysical survey operator during low-level sorties over the French Guyanese jungle and Greenland’s ice cap, Beverley is back in Australia living a more conventional life with her husband and two daughters in a pretty country town an hour north of Melbourne.

Beverly won Choc Lit’s Search for an Australian Star with The Reluctant Bride. Beverley’s Choc Lit novels include: The Reluctant Bride and The Maid of Milan.

Read More

Divider

Posted Saturday, 19 April, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Book Trailer, Britian, Charity & Philanthropy, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Deception Before Matrimony, Green-Minded Publishers, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Indie Author, Medicated Against Will, Mental Health, Modern British Literature, Prison Reform, Psychological Abuse, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Social Change, Sustainability Practices inside the Publishing Industry, Sustainable Forest Certification, The London Season, the Regency era

+Book Review+ Etched On Me by Jenn Crowell

Posted Tuesday, 15 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 4 Comments

Parajunkee Designs
Etched On Me by Jenn Crowell
Published By: Washington Square Press / Atria {imprints of}
Simon & Schuster ( ) 4 February 2014

Publicity by: Atria ()
Official Author Websites:  Site  | Twitter | Facebook
Converse via: #EtchedOnMe
Genres: Contemporary Fiction | Mental Illness | LGBT fiction | Realistic Fiction
Available Formats: Trade Paperback and E-Book
Page Count: 336


Acquired Book By: Whilst attending #LitChat for Ms. Crowell’s book discussion on behalf of Etched On Me, I had the pleasure of getting to know a bit more about the novel as much as I did the author herself! Our conversation continued offline through email, where she offered me to receive her latest novel in exchange for an honest review by getting in touch with her publicist at Atria. Therefore, I received a complimentary copy of Etched On Me in exchange for an honest review direct from her publicist Valarie Vennix. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read: Throughout the entire #LitChat discussion about Etched On Me, my heart drew a circle of empathy around the originating premise in which shaped this story together. A woman in the UK was put in a position to possibly lose custody of her child based solely on her history of mental illness from when she was younger. She had already undergone therapy and sought wellness for herself as much as her child, yet before her babe was even bourne there was a question about if she would be fit to be the child’s mother. As soon as I heard this part of the story threads, my heart went out to the woman in the UK! There is a stigma surrounding mental illness and those who are affected by the trauma of having a history in full view of everyone they meet on their future path. And, what is quite apparent is the stigma and the misunderstanding of how far forward one can walk on their lifepath is not always a given measure of their worth if they have something in their past which draws questions from those of whom were once trusted.

What I appreciated the most is the gentleness and raw attention towards the woman’s plight but also to the breadth of depth Crowell was willing to go based on her own experiences as a mother who has dealt with mental illness. She strikes a balance of an accord between fiction and non-fiction memoir to give the reader a full-on glimpse into a reality very few realise is happening in our world. Where parents who have the right to raise their children are being marginalised for reasons that are not fair nor ethical.


Book Synopsis:

Girl, Interrupted meets Best Kept Secret in this redemptive and edgy coming-of-age story about a young woman who overcomes a troubled adolescence spent in and out of psychiatric facilities, only to lose custody of her daughter when her mental health history is used against her.

Partially inspired by Jenn’s own experiences, ETCHED ON ME is also loosely based on the harrowing story of a young British woman who fled her home country in 2007 when she was nearly eight months pregnant. UK Social Services had ordered that she would be forced to surrender custody of her child within minutes of giving birth, due to her mental health history (raped at 14, she had suffered depression and instances of self-harm during her adolescence). Despite receiving treatment and being granted a clean bill of health, she was still considered a risk to her unborn child. Jenn learned of the case while deeply immersed in new motherhood herself, and having overcome her own mental health struggles, she was deeply moved by the story.

Sixteen-year-old Lesley Holloway—our irrepressible narrator in ETCHED ON ME—is alternately streetwise and vulnerable, comically self-deprecating, and wise beyond her years. On the surface, she is just another bright new student at Hawthorn Hill, a posh all-girls prep school north of London. Little do her classmates know that she recently ran away from home—where her father had spent years sexually abusing her—and that she now spends her afternoons working in a fish and chip shop and her nights in a dingy hostel. Nor does anyone know that she’s secretly cutting herself as a coping mechanism…until the day she goes too far and ends up in the hospital.

Lesley spends the next two years in and out of psychiatric facilities, overcoming her tragic memories and finding the support of a surrogate family. Eventually completing university and earning her degree, she is a social services success story—until she becomes unexpectedly pregnant in her early twenties. Despite the many gains she has made and the overwhelming odds she has overcome, the same team that saved her as an adolescent will now question whether Lesley is “fit” to be a mother. And so she embarks upon her biggest battle yet: the fight for her unborn daughter.

Author Biography:

Photo Credit: Hedy Bartleson
Photo Credit: Hedy Bartleson

Jenn Crowell’s debut, Necessary Madness, was released when she was just 19; her second novel, Letting the Body Lead, when she was only 24. Both were critically acclaimed and reviewers marveled at the wisdom, maturity, and depth of feeling expressed by so young a writer. Over the next ten years, Jenn earned her MFA, but also underwent treatment for depression and self-harm—issues that she writes about so vividly in her latest novel, ETCHED ON ME. Jenn is a compelling writer, and she has a talent for creating sympathetic and relatable characters.

With ETCHED ON ME, Jenn Crowell takes her storytelling to new heights as she beautifully unpacks the legacy of sexual abuse, examines the complexities of the relationships we form when our blood families fail us, and raises fascinating questions about the nature of social services and health care in a bureaucratic system. As thought-provoking as it is riveting, ETCHED ON ME is an ultimately life-affirming story that will deepen readers’ understanding and compassion, and perhaps make them reevaluate preconceptions they might have about women who suffer from mental illness and mothers who, for whatever reason, must fight for custody of their children.

Jenn Crowell holds an MFA in Creative Writing, and lives near Portland, Oregon with her husband and young daughter.


A Phoenix on the Book Cover:

When Etched On Me first arrived by Post, the very first thing that I had noticed was the Phoenix etched into the background of the title and set as a bit of a raised watermark. At first glance, this signaled to me the story inside was going to be about a woman who rises out of the ashes of one chapter of her life as she boldly goes forward into a new chapter emblazoned by the one she’s left.

What I had not expected to find underneath the covers is a story deeply etched out of the pages of script that I had watched through an eight-year focus on Law & Order: SVU. I spent most of my twenties watching the trifecta so to speak of Law & Order; on the misunderstanding that it was in effect meant to be “LA Law”. The stories illuminated the hard-hitting real to life cases of women, men, and children living through some of the worst trauma and abuse that any one person could not even imagine. Through my time spent observing the actors who portrayed the police and the lawyers alike, I came to appreciate Mariska Hargitay’s portrayal of Olivia Benton. I would come to find out later she created the “Joyful Heart Foundation” as a way to reach out to the women who would write letters to her in full gratitude of the series and of her honest realism in giving Olivia a grounding persona.

I do believe if I had not had that section of my television viewing focused on specific cases of gutting emotional stories, I might not have been fully prepared now to read Lesley’s story. From the very first page I felt myself brought back to an episode of SVU, barreling into a story I might not be ready to read, but willing to engage into the heart-break to come out the other side into the light.

My Review of Etched On Me:

Lesley Holloway is an abrasive speaking teenager facing the horrific reality of being a victim of incest whilst having to find the courage to turn her own father in to the authorities as her own Mum is not willing to do so herself. From the brink of despair and insightful chapters of her internal struggle to sort out her life, Etched On Me begins when her crisis first erupts into seeking support, shelter, and help. On the foot-heels of seeing a page of her life far past social services, but at an episode of her life propelling out of control which brought her back to the beginning.

There is a section near the beginning in which Lesley cuts her arm quite deeply and needs to go to the ER. I had to sort of gloss past this section because the medical descriptions were a bit bothersome for me. This is a very well-written section about the consequences of self-harming and how cutters can phase out whilst thinking they are not going to cut as deep as they could. I give Crowell credit for taking her readers as close to reality as she does, even if this reader had to side step a bit to muddle through the pages.

The kindness of her Lit teacher, Miss (as she is affectionately referred) is the one who is her calming balm inside the hospital. Without her presence up to this point, I am not sure what would have tethered Lesley in a positive connection with an adult as she could not identify with her peers. Cutting affects a lot of young girls the same age as Lesley as in the story (sixteen) but also with women in their twenties. When Lesley is placed inside her first psychiatric facility she goes through a sexual awakening which at first surprises her as she is a survivor of sexual abuse. She was completely surprised that she was attracted to another girl, but part of her knew that perhaps she had known this before. Little nudges towards this realisation were painted by Crowell who gave the reader little insights into Lesley’s personality and her instincts as a woman developing her vision of who she is as she lives.

Part of Lesley’s recovery involved DBT (Dialectical behaviour therapy), in which the lessons of Zen and Buddhism are implemented to help find balance where previously only chaos lived rampant. To quell the urge to self harm by re-examining what triggered the need to cut in the first place. To be honest and open with one’s feelings and to own the journey towards self acceptance. The other half of her recovery was the close-knit family she surrounded herself with by drawing together positive role models and allowing herself the open freedom to being real with those who loved her to bits. She had to learn that love was unconditional and that by being raw and real might get you an upturnt brow on occasion (due to her choice in words!) but its your heart that shines through that allows people to become attached and endeared to you the most.

She’s an honest portrayal of a young girl who started out as a victim but championed her own cause by becoming the survivor who was as close to being an activist as you can be without crossing the line. Lesley starts out as an a teen of sixteen and transforms into a loving Mum with a University degree in her early twenties, on the verge of marriage. You rally for her each step of her journey, because she is truly walking through hell one footstep at a time — seeking her own truth and leading with her heart. Part of her living truth was accepting that she wasn’t straight and that it was okay to be a lesbian and love differently than she expected herself too. After all, each of us in walking our own path towards love and the greatest gift each of us has is love in full acceptance of each other.

A note on behalf of Jenn Crowell:

I give Ms. Crowell a heap of gratitude and respect for being bold enough to tell this story through the lens she gave Lesley Holloway. Due to the nature of the story and the way in which Lesley raised herself up by the bootstraps, this is one novel I am not going to attach a Fly in the Ointment for language — though please be forewarned she singes off your eyebrows half the time whilst aching your heart towards seeing her find redemption and peace! To be able to take part of your own living history and etch into a story-line as powerful as this one is a credit to her own strength and confidence. I will be forever grateful that I was involved with the #LitChat book discussion which allowed our paths to cross, giving me the honour of reading her novel with the hopes that my observations return the honour back to her. This is a story about social justice and for stablising the civil rights of everyone who has struggled with and has overcome mental illness.


This book review is courtesy of:

the author Jenn Crowell & her publicist @ Atria Ms. Valarie Vennix

check out my upcoming bookish events and mark your calendars!

I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Vennix for giving me the honour of reading this extraordinary novel and by allowing me to bring the story to life on my blog! I am hopeful that through my observations of the Lesley Holloway’s plight and journey, I can inspire other readers to get to know her on a personal level. To turn the tides of indifference or ignorance into compassion, empathy, and understanding. There is so much going on in our world that we are not always fully aware of, that I will always champion the writers like Ms. Crowell her undertake social justice and reform by bridging the gap of misunderstanding by giving back to the world a story whose undercurrent message is to enlighten and endeavour change so that others in Lesley’s position will not have to suffer nor undergo such a harrowing life shift to gain the freedom to raise their children.

Return on Thursday, 17 April for my Author Q&A with Ms. Crowell!

{SOURCES: “Etched On Me” Book Cover, Jenn Crowell author photograph, book synopsis, and author biography were provided by Ms. Vennix and were used by permission. The book synopsis & author biography were pulled together from the Press Release given to me. Book Review badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Divider

Posted Tuesday, 15 April, 2014 by jorielov in #LitChat, 21st Century, Author Found me On Twitter, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Discussions, Cutting, Equality In Literature, Foster Care, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Modern Day, Psychiatric Facilities, Realistic Fiction, Self-Harm Practices, Social Change, Social Services, Sociological Behavior, Sociology, Trauma | Abuse & Recovery, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event, Vulgarity in Literature

_+ #atozchallenge _+ 26 Days | 26 Essays [epic journey] Today is Letter “E”. Hint: The World is a Melting Pot

Posted Saturday, 5 April, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

A to Z Challenge Day 5 Letter E I am involved in a world-wide globally connected blogosphere challenge where each blogger who signs into the participant linky is quite literally confirming their express desire to blog straight [except on Sundays!] for *26 Days!* whilst writing *26!* most intriguing & thought-producing alphabet essays! Or, to be comically inspiring, randomly cheeky, and otherwise delightfully entertaining! The bloggers who have signed into the challenge are from all walks of blogosphere life: book bloggers united alongside lifestyle gurus; writers of all literary styles nudged up against travelogues; the gambit runs the full course of each and every theme, topic, subject, and genre you could possibly light your heart with joy to broach in a blog! And, the curious bit to the journey is where your posts lead you as much as where other blogger’s posts inspire you! It’s this fantastic community to celebrate the spirit within the blogosphere as much as the spirit of connection amongst the bloggers who might not have crossed paths with each other otherwise. After all, the road map for blogs is as wide and large as the actual world outside the nethersphere of websites, pixels, and memes! Walk with us whilst we discover a bit about ourselves, our blog, & each other!

I am blogger #552 out of 2279!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{ should be noted: @aishacs posted a multi-post Interview
on the blog Story & Chai
about diversity in literature; Part II, Part III, Part IV }

Originally I was going to focus on E P I C F A N T A S Y for Letter E, except to say, that throughout the twitterverse and the book blogosphere I was finding encouragement to draw light on another equally as important discussion of interest E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E! I grew up in a moderately sized city to the extent that the world was outside my door, the essence of the melting pot in vivid colours and dimensions was all around me. I loved the multicultural heritages I grew up near and I enjoyed the conversations I had with those who could help me understand traditions, cultures, and religions outside of my own. I have many fond memories speaking to Native Americans for instance whether I was at a bookshoppe or at an arts & crafts festival. I loved finding ways to engage with people who could dynamically shift my point of view and endear me to how our differences bridge the gap to how we are all interconnected and related.

Although I grew up in a house full of European descent (for the most part; mostly Briton though), the inertia of connectivity of other cultures was always encouraged and sought out. When you live in a city of any size, you get to see a beautiful cross-section of everyone who lives within the city itself. Whilst your riding the bus or walking down the boulevard you are greeting people as you come across them, accepting them as you speak to them, and within those brief moments of conversation you begin to grow curious about their own stories. Stories in which they grew up sharing within their own families and stories in which they grew up reading inside the books they cherished as bedtime companions.

I always celebrated then when I found multicultural characters in the stories I was personally reading as well as settings outside the norm of the net in which is regularly cast. E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E does not end nor begin on having different perspectives in ethnicity or nationality, as it also is inclusive of the ideal for a balancing of all characters and the lives in which they lead. This can include single | divorced | grandparent | foster parenting, adoptive or step-parent families, LGBT families and individuals; learning difficulties as well as those who are living with a medical handicap, illness, or affliction. Immigrant stories of people and families changing their stars for a life in a new country; biracial and multi-ethnic families. Whilst going further to extend past religious differences and spirituality freedoms to include a cross-section of all representations of a person’s beliefs as much as the differences in how we live, eat, and breathe. Full equality is giving the writer the will to focus on the characters they can personally identify with and as thus, can endear the reader to draw connection with as well. For every well-written story there is a reader who is aching to read a story which has transcended the living reality mantra of the earth being a melting pot and has taken the theory into practice in literature. I hint about my views about all of this under “My Bookish Life“.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E for me is reading the world through the lens in which we live. Our world is a beautiful melting pot of cultures, traditions, religions and individualism. Why not celebrate those differences by painting living testaments of our lives as a portrait through the characters we breathe to life in novels? Giving back a bit of the grace in which we are free to live?
by Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Access to Different Kinds of Literature via Color in Colorado

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Books on the Underground; Books on the Subway; Jorie Loves A Story: Booking the Rails

I recently reviewed a book for my Booking the Rails Feature where I highlighted Wonder by R.J. Palacio who wrote this beautiful book about a boy whose face is altered from other children yet the light of his heart uplifts everyone who meets him. The beauty of the novel itself is showing the grace of living your life as true to who you are on the inside as to reflect back to those who perceive you through prejudicial eyes the joy in being authentically yourself. The barriers people build up between each other can be brought down one by one if we endeavour to understand what alienates us and be determined to draw out empathy and compassion as a first response rather than fear, ignorance, and indifference.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

August has a keen philosophical intuitiveness about himself, the dynamics of his family, and his personal living environment around him. He seeks to find solace out of uncertainty and squalls chaos with simplistic truths which etch out the stigmas of which society oft-times places on individuals who are in some shape or form ‘different’ from the ‘norm’. And, the sad truth is that normalcy is in the eye’s of the beholder! To be normal is quite definitively the ability to be wholly true to yourself, your internal resolve of spirit, and in knowing who you are without the prejudgements and negative thoughts of others assembling into your heart. August has instinctively dry humour to convey his thoughts about life, dispelling any unease to meet him because he breaks the ice by simply being himself! He draws you into his sphere by engaging you in a way you were not expecting! No pretense. He’s simply ‘August’, who prefers to go by ‘Auggie’, the brother of Via and the boy who wants to live like a regular ten-year old entering fifth grade!

– quoted from my review of Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Each book I am selecting to highlight as part of my Booking the Rails feature will be a story which will challenge convention and/or the ideals of story-telling and branch out into new horizons for both my readers and those who find the books on the trains. I want to start a conversation on those posts of giving dialogue and conversation to topics and subjects that will benefit from having a light shined on them. It’s my own wink and a nod to creating a new pathway back into the culture of being ‘bookish’ and ‘conversational’ with each other. Rather than merely nodding in agreement or staying silent altogether. More of my thoughts on this are contained on my visit to The Star Chamber Show : Episode 16. (archived & easy to listen too)

Carol Antoinette Peacock & Pepper
Carol Antoinette Peacock & Pepper in the author’s office. Peacock Family Album.

Previously, I showcased the adoptive story of Carol Antoinette Peacock whereupon her story entitled: Red Thread Sisters embarks on the journey of adopting children from China. This is one of many yet to appear on Jorie Loves A Story, as one of my sub-focuses on my blog will be positive adoptive stories for those who are considering foster adoptive options as well as international, open, and other avenues towards adopting children into their family home. I wanted to find authors who give a positive testament of the emotional keel a child or teen experiences prior to adoption as much as the transitional period after they are adopted. (if the story broaches both time periods) What I appreciated about Ms.  Peacock’s writings are her honesty in leading with her heart and her own adoptive story in which the Red Thread Sisters stems from at its core.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

There are two sayings throughout “Red Thread Sisters”, as well as in the personal letter attached in the afterword by the author herself,… one is a meditative pause of ‘light reflected as brightly lit as lunar lanterns’, and the second is the poignancy behind the entitlement of the book itself, ‘of the delicate red thread that unites all of us in a shared common bond, where those who cross our path are meant to be in our lives, and despite the appearance of the thread’s nature, will hold steadfast and strong perpetually’. The book gives pause to any woman considering motherhood through adoption and any father choosing his path of fatherhood through adoption, because it touches on the raw emotions that are silently withheld from the adoptive parents, by children who live in constant fear that something they do or say or not do even will be grounds for them to return back from whence they came. To become un-adoptable simply because they didn’t live up to the adoptive parents expectations. It’s also a book that examines adoption from the reflections of the children themselves, as they struggle to yield and bend with a new rhythm completely different from the one they were used too whilst at an orphanage, group home, or foster home. They have to learn its okay to make mistakes, to learn and grow through their experiences, and that a forever family isn’t co-dependent on perfection but rather with honesty, heart, emotion, and love. May we always keep ourselves lit from within with a light of hope as powerful and strong as lunar lanterns, to advocate for adoption and the expansion of our hearts and worlds when a child in need of a family, finds one in those of us willing to open our hearts and homes to them.

– quoted from my review of Red Thread Sisters

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

One author where I found a strong sense of giving E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E a new definition of purpose is Laura Resau. Her blog is linked to my sidebar where the RSS feeds join the mixture towards the bottom. I have been making purchase requests for her books at my local library each chance that I can as well. The tricky bit is to remember which book of hers I read first: What the Moon Saw OR The Indigo Notebook!? I have taken it upon myself to read all of her novels, but I am still in the middle of accomplishing this goal! I have also read Star in the Forest.

Laura Resau
Photography Credit: Tina Wood Photography

Laura Resau is the award-winning author of seven highly acclaimed young adult and children’s novels– What the Moon Saw, Red Glass, Star in the Forest, The Queen of Water, and the Notebooks series (Delacorte/Random House). She draws inspiration from her time abroad as a cultural anthropologist, ESL teacher, and student. Loved by kids and adults alike, her novels have garnered many starred reviews and honors, including the IRA YA Fiction Award, the Américas Award, and spots on Oprah’s Kids’ Book Lists. Praised for its sensitive treatment of immigration and indigenous people’s issues, Resau’s writing has been called “vibrant, large-hearted” (Publishers’ Weekly on Red Glass) and “powerful, magical” (Booklist on What the Moon Saw). Resau lives with her husband, young son, and beagle in Fort Collins, Colorado. She donates a portion of her royalties to indigenous rights organizations in Latin America.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The Indigo Notebook Book Trailer by the Author Laura Resau

The Indigo Notebook Page on Laura Resau’s site

[ after the 1:00 mark the song continues to be enjoyed by audience ]

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

The Indigo Notebook by Laura ResauResau has the natural ability of fusing the indigenous culture of Mexico and Ecuador into her novels in such a wonderfully skilled way, that whilst I was reading The Indigo Notebook I instantly flashed back to my own memories of traversing through the interior of Mexico in and around the Federal District and the Yucatán Peninsula! One of these days I want to collect her books for my own personal library, but what I appreciated about my local library is being open to bring in authors who write multicultural stories for a young audience who could benefit from the life lessons and story contained within her pages! As I start to re-read over the books I have already read and progress forward into the ones I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading, I will be writing down my thoughts on my blog! I am always hopeful that through the sharing of my own lamentations about the writers and books which speak to me to the point of being moved emotionally, I will in one small way impact another reader’s life.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E : A sampling of Books to Read

{ books I have predominately found through my local library }

UPDATE: per rifflebooks.com errors I’ve moved this list to my #LibraryThing
(as I will be reading these selections throughout [2019] part of my #BeatTheBacklist challenge)

E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E : New Authors on the Horizon

A full list of the book covers & stories is on Riffle: (share at will!)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Equality in Literature & Diversity in Literature : walk hand in hand – July 2014

Reaching past our own heritages and our own living environments gives us a wider world view and depth of understanding. We become wholly in-tune with the harmony of the world’s spirit by embracing all the lovely and unique differences which shape our identities. We grow out of love and we give back love each time we endeavour to forge a bridge between our culture and the culture of someone else. We give our spirit a bit of a lift by the joy of celebrating the history of people who live as passionately as we do and whose traditions are as rooted in their culture and families as much as our own. Lessons of connectivity and of friendship will always abound when two souls are willing to make a connection.

One of the books I have oft spoken about online via my blog and my Twitter feeds is “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker, which is an atmospheric enriched narrative which crosses the divide between mythology and immigration. She digs deep into the setting of her novel to shift between New York City and the old world in which the Golem and the Jinni originated from. She has a deft hand in revealing human emotions and convictions out of characters who are everything except human! What endeared me to the text is her gift of story-telling to not only enchant you with a magical kinetic plausibility but to give you a full score of characters who are each on their own individual journey towards self-discovery. It’s in this inherent quest to understand both origin and worth in a world set against the tides of where their destinies are taking them, Wecker infuses her narrative with a connection of heart.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Each were set on a course to learn and grow out of their experiences in a place neither expected to be. They each succumb to their inherent natures, but I feel only one of them is able to change the other for the good. Because one of them is stronger than the other as far as knowing how to make good on what has been turned for the bad. Their journey leads not to a resolution of sorts to overcome their individual obstacles towards true freedom, but rather too a junction point that leads them to question everything they felt they knew thus far along. And, in that conclusion the reader has to sit back and ponder the true meaning behind “The Golem and the Jinni”, for was it a journey of theirs that you took or an inward journey of understanding the limitations of humanity?

– quoted from my review of “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker

I am hopeful that more readers will seek out E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E by choosing titles by all authors of all backgrounds who celebrate our united spirit within the global society of nations and nationalities.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Not enough multicultural books? via Color in Colorado

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Thank you for joining me on DAY 5 | A to Z Challenge!

I am a girl named Jorie who loves a story!
I am a bookish library girl on a quest for literary enlightenment!
I am predominately self-taught and library educated!
I am Mademoiselle Jorie!
Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This marks my fifth post for the:

A to Z ChallengeFun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Which authors do you feel reflect the beauty of E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R E? Which authors who are newly published OR have books which will soon be forthcoming would you recommend to be added to the “on the horizon” category of this post!? Which books have captured your heart whilst enveloping you in another person’s shoes and culture?! How do you feel progress has been made to give ever writer a voice and each story the gift for expanding our horizons?

UPDATE: 1 May, 2014: In the weeks since this post was first published I have participated in #diverselit & #WeNeedDiverseBooks movements on Twitter. I also created the tag #EqualityInLit to reflect my personal view and feelings towards diversity and equality in literature. You will denote a new category indexed on Jorie Loves A Story E Q U A L I T Y in L I T E R A T U R Ewhich speaks to the heart of how this blog post inspired me to make my views a bit more well-known.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: A to Z Challenge Participant & Letter C Badge provided by the A to Z Challenge site for bloggers to use on their individual posts & blogs to help promote the challenge to others.The photograph of Carol Antoinette Peacock was given to me by the author and used with permission. Laura Resau photograph, author biography & book cover for The Indigo Notebook used with permission by the author. The book trailer by Laura Resau had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portals to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Related Articles:

Diversity Solutions with Sherri L. Smith (author of “FlyGirl”) – (mayaprasad.com)

Why I Write About India – (mayaprasad.com)

Diversity in Kid’s Books – (nytimes.com)

Booklist 2014 (for multicultural literature) – (campbele.wordpress.com)

Exploring Diversity Through Children’s & Young Adult Books: Background Reading – (cynthialeitichsmith.com)

Embracing Diversity in YA Lit – (slj.com)

Comments via Twitter:

Divider

Posted Saturday, 5 April, 2014 by jorielov in A to Z Challenge, Adoption, Book Cover Reveal, Book Trailer, Booking the Rails, Bookish Discussions, Bookish Whimsy, Brothers and Sisters, CFHS The Society, Children's Literature, Coming-Of Age, Conservation, Cultural Heritage, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut in United States, Debut Novel, Epistolary Novel | Non-Fiction, Equality In Literature, Family Life, Fantasy Fiction, Genre-bender, Guest Spot on Podcast, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Interviews Related to Content of Novel, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Meteorology, Nanowrimo 2008, Non-Fiction, Orphans & Guardians, Quaker Fiction, Readerly Musings, Septemb-Eyre, Siblings, Sociology, Southern Belle View Daily, Teenage Relationships & Friendships, The Dystopia Challenge, The Rocketeer, The Typosphere, Time Travel, Time Travel Adventure, Travel Narrative | Memoir, Vignettes of Real Life, Wicked Valentine's Readathon, Writes of Passage, Wuthering Heights, Young Adult Fiction