The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

Once I inside the doors of Big Angel’s house, I didn’t want to leave. I knew exactly how this story would end as I was told that in the beginning pages of this book, yet I grew fond of each individual in Big Angel’s life and my admiration for him soared. I laughed, cried and flipped my way through these pages until I realized that I was holding just a few unread pages in my right hand. This was it, I had to finish what I had started. I eased my pace for I would only be able to hold onto these dear individuals for just a while longer. My new family knew that change was inevitable but to what decree, was undetermined.

Big Angel had been planning his last birthday party but now mother/grandma would need to be laid to rest before the celebration. Big Angel knew that this would be his last hurrah, as he gathers his clan together in the family’s home. As the patriarch, he was actually much more than that to his family and friends throughout the years. This story of about hope, survival, family, about making a difference, and about being yourself was fantastic and I’m so glad bookclub choose it.

Big Angel, the family’s leader, feels that he has now been reduced to a child. This man, that his siblings used to see as a father figure, the punctual, computer-genius he once was, is now using a wheelchair and needs help with most of his daily functions. As a Mexican immigrant, Big Angel and his family have had some interesting and amazing adventures throughout their lifetime. As family and friends gather to celebrate Big Angel birthday, their adventures are far from over. For on this one day, some see Big Angel for who he really is.

As I listened to all the different individuals in the story, I enjoyed their interactions and how they all fed into the maze of each other’s lives. As the author blended in all the different time periods, I liked seeing and hearing exactly what had transpired during this time and their account of the event. Big Angel is a proud man yet he’s also humble. As he writes in his mole-skinned notebooks, it’s the honesty and the thought that he puts into each entry that makes these books so special. He’s a man who has accepted what life has given to him and now, he’s appreciating it all. Speaking from the heart, his comments led me to cry and to laugh, sometimes all within a few pages of each other. There are tons of great moments in this book, moments that make me smile just thinking about them. After borrowing this book from the library to read, I realize that I need this book in my collection so I can reread it in the near future. It is definitely a keeper and one that I highly recommend. 5+ stars

“At the end of the day, all he really knew was that he was a Mexican father. And Mexican fathers made speeches. He wanted to leave her with a blessing, with beautiful words to sum up a life, but there were no words sufficient to this day. But still, he tried. “All we do, mija,” he said, “is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death.”

Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth by Sheila O’Connor

Covers can be deceiving and this one truly was. I thought the cover of this book looked dull yet the inside of the book was just the opposite. Written in letter correspondence, I found myself on an incredible journey with Reen, as she tries to save her family. What started out as a business correspondence between Reen and Mr. Marsworth turned into something more impressive than they both expected.

Reen and her older two brothers have been living with their grandma, since their mother’s death. Since Reen has no other friends, she hangs out with her youngest brother Dare.

Mr. Marsworth was a customer on Reen’s paper route and she needed important information to do her job. Known as a loner/recluse, Reen (11), takes to paper and pencil to get the answers she needs. In his responsive letter, he’s right to the point but that’s not the end of this. Reen keeps the letters flying a few times back and forth. Reen is a talker but in this case, a writer, and so she does, to Mr. Marsworth. Soon, it’s just Reen writing and waiting, waiting for a reply from her new friend. I really got impatient and angry too, why wasn’t he responding to her and when she pleaded to him to respond, what was he doing?

Reen begins to pour out her heart to Mr. Marsworth in her letters. It’s not just the newspaper information she needs now but she needs a friend, someone she can talk to. I could feel the love, the anxiety and the desperation in her words as she wrote. She wrote him about her day, her issues and she’d ask him some questions. She found that there are some questions that Mr. Marsworth just couldn’t answer. Those questions were too difficult and/or he just wasn’t ready to answer them for her. How Reen handled this really said a lot about Reen, I thought. What she had with Mr. Marsworth meant more to her than the answers. Now, that is good stuff!

The story occurs in 1968 when the Vietnam War was on everyone’s mind including Reen’s. Her old brother, Billy’s future is on the line: college, sign up for the military, or be drafted? For Reen, there is only one answer and she’s determined to make that happen.

Reen also has been corresponding with a soldier in the war. She received his name from her teacher as part of a project. Reen now knows first-hand what war is all about. I loved how she takes this project seriously and how much time she devotes to it.

That ending was fabulous! I had suspected something an ending like that but nothing as involved as that. I had to get out the tissues as the tears were flowing and I couldn’t stop them. What an awesome book!! Good heavens!! Can someone erase my brain so I can read it over again?? I loved it!

Bazaar of Bad Dreams (audio) by Stephen King

This was one great collection of stories! I listened to them in my car as I drove around and there were many, that after I got done listening to them, had earned the title of the “best story in the whole book” award. I would like to revisit this title in the near future.

I had heard a few of these titles before yet to listen to hours of King’s work was a treat. I liked how King narrated the novel, telling me a bit about each book before that book was read by another individual. This gave a personal touch to the novel and I felt we had made a connection. His stories still amaze me, they each just reach that boundary which we normally don’t cross. We don’t venture too far into this area but just enough to make the experience worthwhile.

It was a long book, the CD’s just kept coming out of the case but it was well worth it. I’ll definitely revisit King Bad Dreams in the future.