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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

Look at what just arrived! - October 18, 2010

mailboxmonday This meme was originally hosted by Marcia @ The Printed Page. It went on tour beginning August '10 and is hosted this month by She Reads and Reads. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do).

This week I received two books for review, both courtesy TLC Book Tours.

Doesn't that cover look to be straight out of a possible sequel Paranormal Activity 3? I thought it was horror fiction when I first came across it, but it's actually a memoir. Everything I Never Wanted to be by Dina Kucera is a true account of her family's battle with alcoholism and drug addiction. Dina's father and grandfather were alcoholics. Her grandmother was a drug addict. Dina, herself, got the worst of both - she is both an alcoholic and a drug addict. Her three daughters also struggle with both vices. My - that is one helluva-gone-wrong family. I haven't ever known an alcoholic personally. I haven't read a book either whose central focus was on either of these themes (other than some passing references). I know how destructive they can be, but it will be a different thing reading about it and its sordid effects.

The other book that came in was A Secret Gift by Ted Gup. I actually love this cover a lot - you should see the real product, it's serene and feels very last-century-ish! This is another nonfiction about a Depression-era man, who offered $10 each to 75 families, if they wrote to him letters describing their hardships. This book talks about those letters, and the people behind the letters. During Ted Gup's research about the letters and the families, he also comes across interesting information about the benefactor himself - Sam Stone. I am actually itching to read this book right away, but my review isn't until December, so it's going to be a while.

Have you read any of these books?



Comments

Lisa said…
Everything I Never Wanted To Be arrived in my mailbox, too. Is it wrong that I was really excited to see that it's not long?!
Both of these are new to me titles and sound great --enjoy
Mary (Bookfan) said…
I'm looking forward to reviews of A Secret Gift!
bermudaonion said…
They both look good to me!!
I haven't heard of either one, but they both sound so good, but intense. When a good book shows up in the mail it's so hard not to put everything else aside and dive right in
Alayne said…
Everthing certainly does have a creepy cover. Hope you enjoy it! My mailbox is at The Crowded Leaf.
I have not heard of either of these books. I hope they are both good reads!
Tales of Whimsy said…
The second one looks and sounds profound. I look forward to your review.
Cathy said…
A Secret Gift sounds really good. Enjoy your books!
avisannschild said…
I considered both of these tours, but declined them in the end because I have so many other books to read. I look forward to your reviews!
Elizabeth said…
Secret Gift sounds good.

Looking forward to reviews.

Stopping by from shereadsandreads.

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http://silversolara.blogspot.com