My Oxford Year

My Oxford Year, by Julia Whelan

17/25 | Started 04.23.21 • Finished 05.02.21 | 2.5 stars

[This post was delayed as I had to wait for the book to come into the library so I could take a photo]

Picked this up to prepare for another pop up book club I plan to attend later this month. I loved the Oxford setting. But it was the kind of love story that from the beginning you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And drop it does. Not my typical read, but enjoyable enough.

I thought the hardest thing I’d have to do was leave him in June. But the hardest thing is staying. The hardest thing is living with dying. Loving with dying. The hardest thing is love, with no expiration date, no qualifiers, no safety net. Love that demands acceptance of all the things I cannot change. Love that doesn’t follow a plan.

The Four Winds

The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah

11/25 | Started 03.14.21 • Finished 03.21.21 | 5 stars

[This post was delayed as I had to wait for the book to come into the library so I could take a photo]

Picked this one up knowing that I enjoy Kristin Hannah quite a bit. I was initially reading it for a pop-up book club of sorts that was being arranged by a woman in my church. Unfortunately, I found out I was be unable to go, but I still devoured this book.

Jean reached over for Elsa's hand and held it. Elsa hadn't known until right then how much difference a friend could make. How one person could lift your spirit just enough to keep you upright.

The story is set in the Dust Bowl era and follows the life of one woman and her family as they try to survive on their Texas farm. I can't reveal much else in the story but they endure huge losses as well as great triumphs. Hannah really invites the reader into the thoughts and feelings of these deep and rounded out characters, their struggles and loves, disappointments and hopes. It can at times feel very despairing but there's always a glimmer of hope to be found, as unlikely as it seems.

"It's not weak, you know. To feel things deeply, to want things. To need."

If you've enjoyed Kristin Hannah before, you will most likely take to this one as well. Give yourself a chance to hope along with the characters and I'm sure you won't regret it.

Jack says that I am a warrior and, while I don't believe it, I know this: a warrior believes in an end she can't see and fights for it. A warrior never gives up. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself. It sounds like motherhood to me.

Our 2020-2021 School Year Reads

Here's a round-up of all the books we read aloud for the 2020-2021 school year. Favorites were a tie between the two Wingfeather Saga books, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten.

Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold, by Jean Fritz

Toliver's Secret, by Esther Wood Brady (not pictured, read Kindle version)

The Slopes of War, by Norah Perez

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, by Andrew Peterson

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, by Richard L. Neuberger

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

Winter Danger, by William O. Steele

The Yanks are Coming, by Albert Marrin

North! Or Be Eaten, by Andrew Peterson