entertainment
On Our Bookshelf
text by amy cook
THE CURRENT
This novel tells the story of two
sisters, fighting for freedom and
survival in France during World
War II. One sister, Vianne, is
struggling to accept that her beloved husband was sent to fight
in the war leaving her and their
daughter to survive without him.
The other daughter, Isabelle,
discarded as a child by both her
father and older sister, is trying
to be part of the resistance.
When the sisters are forced to
live together in Vianne’s home
with a German Captain, the
bonds of sisterhood and patriotism are challenged over and
over again. The Nightingale
shines light on WWII from the
perspective of the women who
lived through it and fought their
own battle away from the front
lines. It is a story of sisterhood,
courage, and standing up for
what you believe in.
Our Rating: 5/5
8 Holl & Lane, Issue 1
THE CLASSIC
This is one of those books you
probably should have read in
high school and never got a
chance to. Gatsby is bound to
be a favorite you will take down
from the shelf repeatedly. The
roaring 20’s come alive on the
pages of this novel set in Long
Island, New York on the towns
of West Egg and East Egg. The
writing is poetic and lovely and
Fitzgerald tells a story of unrequited love between Daisy Buchanan and J. Gatsby. Told from
the perspective of the cousin,
and eventual friend and confidant of Gatsby, it is hard to tell
who is more enchanted; Gatsby
with Daisy or Nick with Gatsby.
Despite the pains Gatsby goes
through to win Daisy’s heart,
her beguiling persona proves to
be deceiving in the end. Gatsby is a wonderful classic to be
read again and again.
Our Rating: 4/5
THE NON-FICTION
Are you one of the millions of
classy ladies that likes to use
foul language in the kitchen?
This book has no recipes with
meat, dairy, or eggs but every
recipe is purported to be delicious and healthy. The guys at
Thug Kitchen tell you what to
substitute when you can’t find
the fancier stuff, remind you that
it is acceptable and encouraged
to make the recipe your own
when it comes to seasoning,
and even have a section to tell
you what to purchase to have
the staples for home-cooking in
your own kitchen. If you want to
start eating healthier and love to
swear, this is an excellent book
to pick up. Recipes to check out
immediately include: Pumpkin
Chili, Roasted Potato Salad
with Fresh Herbs (no mayonnaise!), Strawberry Shortcake,
and Roasted Beer and Lime
Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro
Coleslaw.
Our Rating: 4/5
THE CHILDRENS
Duncan wants to color but as he
reaches for his crayons he finds
a stack of letters addressed to
him in their place. What follows
are the most adorable letters
written from the perspective
of the crayons telling Duncan
what he is doing right, and
wrong, with his favorite colors.
Red is tired, beige is left out,
and yellow and orange are in
a fight! The illustrations, by Oliver Jeffers, are beautifully done
and look like a child created
them. The words are childlike
but amusing for children and
adults. Nothing is as therapeutic as coloring and this book will
have you wanting to pull out a
fresh box and get to work on a
new masterpiece.
Our Rating: 4/5