Congratulations N R. (Moonpie)

A Cup of Dust by Susie Finkbeiner

N R. (Moonpie)’s  Winning Review:

After watching a documentary on the Dust Bowl, I have become very interested in it. While nothing like what these individuals experienced, I remember growing up in East Texas as a child and the small dust storms there. I can recall the grit in our home and between my teeth. I haven’t forgotten the sting of the sand as it hit my legs. As an adult I experienced a dust storm here in Oklahoma, where the sky was darkened, and the air so thick I felt I would suffocate. These small events in my life have me in awe of what the people of this era dealt with, and not for a few days but for years. This book made me realize how incredibly courageous and resilient dust bowl families were.

Instead of this part of history being told through the eyes of an adult, the author does it through the eyes of 10 year old Pearl Spence. A child’s view is very simple, but it is also glaringly honest. Although Pearl does not understand everything she sees and experiences, her account is authentically candid.
So vivid are the descriptions of life in this Oklahoma town that I could feel the discouragement and desperation of the characters. Her mother’s constant battle to keep her home clean and maintain a normal family life was heartrending. It is clear the large role adult’s attitudes and actions play in how a child handles a crisis. Pearl’s grandmother, mother, and father were an anchor for her in this unsettled time.

I better understood the despair and fear of never knowing when another dust storm would strike or when the nightmare would end. The author was brilliant with the way she took amazing historical details, brought to life powerful characters, and then created a story filled with danger, mystery, and excitement. A fantastic read!

Come vote in this week’s Review Contest!

We had a lot of really enjoyable book reviews this week! It was difficult to choose, but here are the finalist reviews.

To vote: click the links below, and choose Thumbs Up on the review. You can “Like” (or Share) the review to double your vote! The winning review will appear in the PaperBackSwap blog, and the winning reviewer will get a FREE book from her/his Wish List!

Links to the reviews are below:

“Anybody out there raising older teenagers? Anybody out there rash enough to try to relocate them at that stage in their life?” asks S. J. T. (cactuspatch) in her Book Review Contest Finalist review of the lowcountry tale “Shem Creek” by Dorothea Benton Frank. Read cactuspatch’s review at the link below and vote on it with a thumbs-up and/or a “Like”:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=TFJUWm9pM1VFOHc9

How about “a gripping tale of a truly good person facing down the evil of our world”? Stephanie T (stephkayeturner) recommends “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” by Luis Alberto Urrea, in her Finalist Book Review. Vote for the review using the thumbs-up and/or the Like on the page below:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=T0FXRjc5YVMyREk9

Want a “vivid and brilliant” historical fiction read? N. R. (moonpie), one of this week’s Finalist reviewers in our Book Review Contest, recommends “A Cup of Dust” by Susie FInkbeiner, set in the Dust Bowl era. Read moonpie’s review at the link below, and vote for it using the Thumbs Up and/or “Like”:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=c0Q3bXcvSlJRZlU9

Good Luck to all of our Finalists!

These are the finalists in this week’s Book Review Contest!

To vote: click the links below, and choose Thumbs Up on the review. You can “Like” (or Share) the review to double your vote! The winning review will appear in the PaperBackSwap blog, and the winning reviewer will get a FREE book from her/his Wish List!
Links to the reviews are below:

Did you like Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake”? You won’t want to miss “Free Food for Millionaires” by Min Jin Lee, then – Book Review Contest Finalist “Bookfanatic” says it really “captured the second generation immigrant experience” in the same way. Read her review and click thumbs up to vote for it (and “like” it to double your vote)!

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=bXNNYTZPWGFjaFk9

A book that likens a spiritual journey to a rummage sale? Believe it or not, it works, says Lizzie G (lizzieg88) reviewing “Out of Sorts” by Sarah Bessey. Vote for her review in our Book Review Contest – click thumbs up to vote, and double your vote with a “like”!

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=Q3FCVndabStsWFk9

Kelly S (getinmybellykelly) says “This wonderful book should be required reading for everyone.” Read her Book Review Contest Finalist review of “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, and click thumbs-up to vote for it (and “like” it to double your vote)!

http://www.paperbackswap.com/reviews/details.php?r=NmliQXJvdXIwNGc9

Good Luck to all of our Finalists!