The Tutor's Daughter

The Tutor's Daughter is the latest book by Julie Klassen, one of my favorite authors.  It tells the story of Emma Smallwood, who assists her widowed (widowered?) father in teaching young men at their academy during the early 1800s.

Mr. Smallwood is invited, along with Emma, to become a live-in tutor for the Weston family, who have a family home on the Cornwall, England coast.  Two of the Weston brothers were former students at Mr. Smallwood's academy.  Emma had an amicable relationship with one brother and an antagonistic relationship with the other.  How will she cope when she discovers both brothers are in residence at the Weston home?  And what other mysteries await?

In previous books Julie Klassen has explored themes of unwed motherhood, pre-marital sex and its consequences in the early 1800s, and fleeing forced marriage.  Plus, there is always some mystery to be solved, secrets to be revealed.

A few other books by Julie Klassen are The Apothecary's Daughter, The Girl in the Gatehouse, and The Maid of Fairbourne Hall.  

The Orphan Report

It is very easy in the United States to become isolated and unaware of what is happening elsewhere in the world.  We are a very self-centered nation, myself included.  We tend to think the rest of the world should live and act and think like us.  Many of us have a bloated standard of living that in some ways we would like the rest of the world to enjoy, too.

Within the past couple of years I have learned that there are orphans and there are Orphans.  The first are children who may have lost one or both parents to death, desertion, or other reasons, but they do have family or others in their communities who are willing to care for them.  The second are true Orphans.  While they may have a parent or family living, for whatever reason no one is able or willing to care for them. When money is given for orphan care around the world, the children in the second group are generally overlooked.

Joe Knittig, CEO of The Global Orphan Project based in Parkville, MO, has written The Orphan Report.  In the book he details the history of orphan care, what children are considered to be orphans, and how to proceed if you care about orphans.

This is a very eye-opening book and I HIGHLY recommend it.  Keep in mind that this is a report, not a novel or the typical non-fiction book, so grammar and editing may be not up to your standards.

If you would like to know more about The Global Orphan Project and the ways you can become involved, visit their website www.goproject.org.  I love to read the reports of the great changes going on, not just in other countries, but in the lives of people here.

The Scent of Rain

Daphne Sweeten is a "nose."  That means she has been trained to distinguish 5,000 different scents.  Her sense of smell is her livelihood.  When she loses that ability after being dumped at the altar, it jeopardizes not only her career, but also her life.

Three locations are mentioned in this book - San Francisco, Paris, and Dayton, OH.  Many of author Kristin Billerbeck's books are set in the San Francisco area and it seems to be the setting she does best and in this book it is Daphne's hometown.  Paris is only mentioned as the place where Daphne trained and worked prior to her ill-fated wedding and where she wants to return.  The main setting is Dayton, which isn't described much and came across to me as a bleak place to live.

Author Kristin Billerbeck has written many books that I have enjoyed.  I would place The Scent of Rain somewhere in the middle if I were to line them up in order of preference.   The story is good, but the pacing seemed hurried at the end.

Books by Kristin Billerbeck that I would recommend are Split Ends, The Spa Girls series, and What a Girl Wants series. 

44 Scotland Street 

Alexander McCall Smith, author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, wrote in the introduction to 44 Scotland Street that the book was written in a serial format for newspaper publication.  Therefore, the chapters are short and there are plenty of them.  

44 Scotland Street is about the residents who live at that address in Edinburgh, Scotland, and the people with whom they come in contact. 

I have no strong feelings about this book.  The characters were okay, but they weren't very deep.  As this is the first book in a series of eight, I hope the characters will be fleshed out more in future books.  I doubt I will be reading those books, though.  Too many other books in the pipeline.

A knowledge of Scotland and Edinburgh in particular would have enhanced my enjoyment of the book.  Locations and Scottish notables were mentioned which were unfamiliar to me.  If you do read this book, I would recommend a bit of research into Edinburgh to pave the way.

As a side note, if you have not seen the television series based on the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, you are missing a real treat.  Unfortunately, only one season has been made so far, but it is excellent.

Violet Incredible, Authoress

Recently I read Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. In case you don't know, Sarah was the voice of Violet in The Incredibles. Assassination Vacation is Sarah's account of travelling around to sites associated with three U.S. presidents who were assassinated - Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley. Interestingly, Robert Todd Lincoln, Abe's son, had some sort of connection with each assassination. I must say I learned a lot from this book. Not just about the presidents, but about our country and its policies and politics. It might surprise you to discover what people will actually place in a museum to commemorate a person or occasion. Although Sarah Vowell and I differ in some of the beliefs we hold dear, I find her to be an entertaining and informative writer.

A Simple Gift

What would you do if you found out that your grandfather had done something noble while at the same time perpetrating a lie about his background? If you are Ted Gup, you write a book entitled A Simple Gift.

In December 1933, during the Depression, a man calling himself A. Virdot put an ad in a Canton, OH newspaper offering to send $10 to 75 people who would write and tell him their stories. The response was so great that he decided to halve the amount given and double the number of people helped.

In 2008, through the gift of an old black suitcase filled with papers, Ted Gup discovered that A. Virdot was his grandfather, Samuel J. Stone. He eventually began a journey to discover the stories behind the recipients of the gifts and the true history of his grandfather. A Simple Gift is the result of that journey.

This book gives insight into what it was like living through the Depression and what is was like to be an immigrant to the United States, just to name two themes included.

My thoughts after finishing the book are these. Even though my family experienced some lean times when I was a child, we experienced NOTHING like those in the Depression era. As a WASP (White, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant), I have not experienced the prejudice or distrust of others because of my heritage, faith, or skin color. I have not had to live in fear that I would be persecuted or thrown out of the country because they no longer wanted people of "my kind" living here.

After reading this book, how can I not feel thankful for the relatively easy life I have had. I have done nothing to deserve all the blessings that have come to me and my family. It's all grace.

The Typist and The Girl in the Gatehouse

For different reasons, I find I am not reading as much lately. I have read a couple of books, so I'll give my opinion of them.


Julie Klassen has written historical books that I have really enjoyed - Lady of Milkweed Manor, The Apothecary's Daughter, and The Silent Governess. Her latest, The Girl in the Gatehouse, is another success.

Mariah Aubrey, for reasons that are not immediately divulged, has been banished from her family home by her father. She and her companion are sent to live on the estate of an aunt she has not seen in some time, where they take up residence in the abandoned gatehouse. As the story plays out, we discover why Mariah was banished and the secrets that abound in the lives of the characters of the story.

One reason I like Julie Klassen's books is that her characters are flawed. She addresses life circumstances that are not confined only to the 1800's, but are worthy of our consideration even now. But for the grace of God, we could find ourselves in situations that cause us shame and social alienation.

Another book I read is The Typist by Michael Knight. I saw a recommendation for it in the Books section of the Kansas City Star and decided to give it a try.

Francis Vancleave is a typist in the U.S. Army assigned to work in Tokyo during the post-war occupation period in Japan. In the course of his work and life there he comes into contact with various people, the most notable being Gen. MacArthur and his family.

Thankfully, this was a very short book. It gave me a small desire to further research the post-war period in Japan. The main character, Van as he is known, was not very interesting in comparison with the other characters in the book. Unfortunately, those characters were not fleshed out to the extent they could have been. This book could have been a lot better than it was.