I had no idea how long it has taken for civil rights to reach Mississippi.  This book put history into perspective for me.  While reading about the characters, you’d learn that Martin Luther King, Jr. just gave his “I have a dream” speech, or that a man walked on the moon.  You’d hear about Vietnam, and then I would think, “Wow, black people weren’t even getting minimum wage in Mississippi yet.  So much for progress.”  I’ve only lived in a couple of places and I have not experienced the South first hand.  This book gave me a good taste of what it must have been like and how hard some people had to work to get it to progress as much as it has.  I recommend this book.

I’m not quite sure how to rate this book. It’s absolutely fantastic writing. My favorite line in the story was, “She is tiny. In the same way that a stick of dynamite is tiny.” Isn’t that perfect - unexpected, very descriptive, and short!?! Unfortunately, this book just felt sad around the edges, and I really don’t like sad books.

This story takes place in 1906 in a resort town. The historical part of the story is based on a young woman who dies and was probably murdered. The rest of the story (by far most of it) is a work of fiction. The characters are very real and well rounded. The ending is realistic. The only complaint I have is that I felt sad while reading it and felt discouraged, with understanding, at the end. If you don’t mind that, you’ll enjoy the book. The language is fantastic!

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir is about Lady Jane Grey and her 9 day stint as the Queen of England. Alison Weir usually writes non-fiction, but this story is historical fiction. I’m not sure if it’s that I’ve read so many historical fiction stories that take place during this time period or what, but it just seemed to drag on and on. It was a very interesting story. I don’t think I would have understood very much had I not read about this time period before. You have to have some idea of the events that lead up to her being put on the throne and what comes after to pull it altogether. If Weir wrote about all that, the book would be a thousand pages long. As it is, it is full of detail and goes on too long for my taste. With that said, I bet I’ll read another book by Weir.

I liked this one.   I think just about everyone has read it already.  It’s about Vermeer’s life from the point of view of his maid.  Tracy Chevalier is a great writer.  Even though not that much happens in the story, I was very happy to read about the everyday things.  I really loved all of the characters.  This was a nice, smooth read.  

Don’t read this one. Bleck. Oh so boring…