~Friday Finds~

Have you ever read a book that grabbed a hold of you...one that has stuck in your head even though you haven't read it in over 20 years? And somewhere along the way, you lost the book, then tried to find it and couldn't? Maybe it went out of print? Verrrrrrry frustrating! In 1982 when I was in 11th grade, I read a little mass market paperback by author Christopher Fahy. The name of the book was Nightflyer. The story was so unique, that it stuck with me...I never forgot about it. It was a great read...I think I read it 2 or 3 times. Then the book got lost! We were selling our house that year, and I left for college. The book probably wound up in a garage sale that my mother had. I started looking for a copy of that book around 12 years ago. I looked on the internet and couldn't find it for sale anywhere. I prowled used book stores, flea markets....anywhere that sold old used books. Then one day I googled it and lo and behold! Amazon.com had it! It was reprinted and re-released in 2000. I ordered it, of course! The reprinted version is a larger book, with the print being very small...its kind of hard to see. It is almost like they took the print from the small paperback and just copied it into a larger book. I was so glad to finally have it! It sits proudly on one of my bookshelves, along with other horror novels. It is there whenever I want to just pick it up and read it.
A brief synopsis from an Amazon.com reviewer: "A young boy, who leads a kind of tortured existence at the hands of schoolyard bullies and a cruel father, discovers an amazing talent: He can leave his body. As the boy's life begins to fall apart, he is lured towards the dark side of his new power and the hunger for revenge... This was a great read and Fahy did a fantastic job with it. Do yourself a favor and track it down. A must for horror/thriller fans."
Publisher: IUniverse (September 12, 2000) Paperback: 304 pages ISBN-10: 0595006930

~FRIDAY FAVORITES~

Friday Favorites is hosted by Lori at Lori's Reading Corner. She says "Every Friday I'm going to post my "Friday Favorites". Each week it might be something different. It could be your favorite author (new or old), your favorite genre, your favorite character or your favorite series. There are many possibilities!"

My Friday Favorite for today is "When Katie Wakes ~ A Memoir by Connie May Fowler.

This is the memoir of author Connie May Fowler. She tells the story of her traumatic childhood, which is followed by an abusive relationship as a young woman, and the dog that stayed by her side and helped her emotionally and physically cope with what she was going through.
Connie grew up in a very dysfunctional family. Her mother was a mean and manipulative woman. She verbally and physically abused Connie and her sister Deidre;

"We were, she screamed, fat whores. We made her life miserable.
We were all she had. She hated us. She loved us. We were angels
or devils. Sluts or saints. There were no gray tones in our
house. Only the extremes of the wretched." (page 70)

She and Deidre knew how to hide their bruises, what excuses to give when they missed school. They became masters of disguise.
As a young woman, Connie lives with a man who she thinks will take good care of her...a man who is exactly like her mother.

"Maybe that's why last night, when I asked him if he wanted
something to eat, he rabbit-kicked me from his throne
in front of the TV, hitting me square in the stomach, knocking
me onto the pine floor, and then kicking me repeatedly as
I crawled toward the kitchen, a safe place because I can
latch its door from the inside. His blows were rhythmic.
One, two, three - kick! One, two three - kick! We must have
looked like a sadistic version of Fred and Ginger." (page 6)

Connie adopts a black Labrador puppy whom she names "Kateland", Katie for short.

"I hold Katie closer, shut my eyes, and listen to the surf. In its infinite whisper, I find only comfort.
With Katie by my side, I rise to my feet and gaze out at the horizon. For the first time in years, I feel as though I can breathe". (page 256)

This memoir, as difficult and disturbing as it was to read, has left an imprint on me forever. After checking this book out at the library the first time that I read it, I bought a copy of my own. Upon returning the book to the library, I told the librarian that there needed to be a warning tag on this book. You will cry, laugh, cry some more, curl up in the fetal position and rock yourself to sleep (ok, maybe not that, but you will WANT to). So many mixed emotions while reading this! Bless Connie for being able to write this horrific story and share it with others.

Connie is now happily married. She and her husband are the cofounders of the Connie May Fowler Women With Wings Foundation, a non profit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need.

If you read her story, you will never ever forget it.

Five Stars
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 271
ISNN: 038550201X

~FRIDAY FAVORITES~

Friday Favorites is hosted by Lori at Lori's Reading Corner. She says "Every Friday I'm going to post my "Friday Favorites". Each week it might be something different. It could be your favorite author (new or old), your favorite genre, your favorite character or your favorite series. There are many possibilities!

Today I am going to list some of my favorite childhood books. From kindergarten through 6th grade, these were the ones that I remember enjoying the most!

~Where The Wild Things Are~ by Maurice Sendak: As a little girl, I was always intrigued by the cover of this book! The sad-looking monster, sitting in the forest, waiting for someone to come and play with him. Max, in his wolf suit, was "making mischief" and misbehaving, so he was sent to bed without any supper. In Max's imagination, his bedroom is transformed into a forest, with mythical type creatures, with yellow eyes! Max becomes "The King of all Wild Things" when he stares into their yellow eyes and does not blink. Max becomes homesick, and returns to his bedroom, where he finds his supper waiting for him....and it is still warm! (My favorite part of the story!).

~Miss Suzy~ by Miriam Young: Miss Suzy is a little gray squirrel who has her own tree house, until a "band of mean red squirrels" take over. She takes refuge in someones attic, in a beautiful dollhouse. She sweeps and cleans (I specifically remember her sweeping away spiders, who had angry looks on their faces!) and makes the place her home. But she is sad, and misses her tree house. She meets a band of toy soldiers, who chase the red squirrels away, and her tree house is her home once more. I still own this book....I wish I had a child to share it with!

~Sasha, My Friend~ by Barbara Corcoran: A beautiful but heartbreaking story. Hallie and her father go to Montana to live after Hallie's mom is killed in a terrible accident. Her dad is weak from his injuries, and needs a good long rest. They live in a trailer on a Christmas Tree Farm. There is no school close by for Hallie to attend, so she has no way to meet kids her age, and she is terribly lonely. In her explorations into the woods around their trailer, she finds a wolf pup whose mother has been killed by hunters. Hallie adopts the wolf pup and names her Sasha. Sasha takes away Hallie's loneliness, and they form a strong bond. Hallie is finally happy and has Sasha to keep her company. As Sasha grows up, Hallie realizes that Sasha is a wolf, and will want to return to the wild. This is a wonderful story of true love and friendship.

~Are You There God, It's Me Margaret~ by Judy Blume: I remember this book making the rounds in my 5th grade classroom. When someone was finished with it, they would write their name on the inside of the front cover, and hand it over to the next girl in line. I liked this book about coming of age, and learning what it was going to be like to be "grown up". Judy Blume did a fantastic job with her fictional story of Margaret, who moves to a new neighborhood and has to make new friends, and the curiosities of girls her age who are wondering what it will be like when they "become women". This book touched on many subjects and situations that pre-teen girls often encounter. I bought this book and read it over and over again.

~Go Ask Alice~ by Anonymous: This book scared the living daylights out of me. I was in 6th grade when I first read it and was shocked by the story. The book is actually excerpts from a girl named Alice's diary. She is a normal girl, who starts to hang out with the wrong crowd, and experiment in drugs. Alice describes her descent into a "hell" suffering from addiction, running away from home, and finally, losing her mind. The most important message that I got from reading this book, was to stay away from drugs....which after reading it, I did. The book was first published in 1972 when drugs were very popular among young people. This book was an important part of my pre-teen years.

~What were your favorite childhood books?

~Friday Favorites~ Favorite Genre

Friday Favorites is hosted by Lori at Lori's Reading Corner. She says "Every Friday I'm going to post my "Friday Favorites". Each week it might be something different. It could be your favorite author (new or old), your favorite genre, your favorite character or your favorite series. There are many possibilities!"

My all time favorite genre is Southern Fiction. There is something about these stories that are set in the south that just appeals to me...and I have read so many that are good! Here is a list of some of my favorites!

~Where The Lilies Bloom~ by Vera and Bill Cleaver
This is the story of a young girl who makes a promise to her dying father that she will do whatever it takes to keep the family together.

~Fay~ by Larry Brown
17 year old Fay Jones runs away from home, from the poverty she was living in, and the the father that was sexually abusing her. Although she is naive about the world in general, she finds that she is self sufficient when she is out in the world alone. Her life changes drastically, but it is really for the better?

~Roseflower Creek~ by J.L. Miles
'The morning I died it rained. Poured down so hard it washed the blood off my face.'
So begins the story of 10 year old Lori Jean. She is an innocent, loving little girl, who wants nothing more than to have a real family. Living with her mother and abusive stepfather in rural Georgia in the 1950's, Lori Jean longs for a loving family and a sense of belonging. This story will grab your heart from the very beginning and won't let go.

~Where The Woodbine Twines~ by Sherry Austin
This southern gothic thriller takes place in the South Carolina Low Country in the 1950's/1960's. It is the story of 13 year Nan, who, with her mother, move into a rented cottage owned by an elderly well-to-do couple. Nan tries desperately to befriend the couple's grandaughter, 11 year old Catherine. While Nan never seems to win Catherine over, she leaves an imprint on Nan's life that will haunt her the rest of her life.
All Books: Five Star Rating

~Friday Favorites~

Friday Favorites is something new that Lori at Lori's Reading Corner has come up with. Please visit her blog to find out more about it, and to post your Friday Favorite!
This is my first Friday Favorite post and I am quite excited about it! This week I am choosing the book Every Good And Perfect Gift by Brenda Jernigan.
I am a HUGE Southern Fiction fan, and this novel does not disappoint!
It takes place in the early 1950's. Complete with a small North Carolina town, a ten-year-old girl who can see God, a free-spirited mother and one fiesty granny, this novel is not only entertaining, but heartwarming as well.
Harmony; 1st. ed edition (May 22, 2001)
288 pages
ISBN-10: 0609607901
Rating: 5 stars