Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

 

Counting Miracles  by Nicholas Sparks  350 pages

Tanner Hughes was raised by his grandparents, following in his grandfather's military footsteps to become an Army Ranger. His whole life has been spent abroad, and he is the proverbial rolling stone: happiest when off on his next adventure, zero desire to settle down. But when his grandmother passes away, her last words to him are find where you belong. She also drops a bombshell, telling him the name of the father he never knew -- and where to find him. Tanner is due at his next posting soon, but his curiosity is piqued, and he sets out for Asheboro, North Carolina, to ask around. He's been in town less than twenty-four hours when he meets Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and single mom. They both feel an immediate connection; Tanner knows Kaitlyn has a story to tell, and he wants to hear it. To Kaitlyn, Tanner is mysterious, exciting -- and possibly leaving in just a few weeks. Meanwhile, nearby, eighty-three-year-old Jasper lives alone in a cabin bordering a national forest. With only his old dog, Arlo, for company, he lives quietly, haunted by a tragic accident that took place decades before. When he hears rumors that a white deer has been spotted in the forest -- a creature of legend that inspired his father and grandfather -- he becomes obsessed with protecting the deer from poachers. As these characters' fates orbit closer together, none of them is expecting a miracle... but that may be exactly what is about to alter their futures forever.

I love Nicholas Sparks books, but this one especially appealed to me because it involved Christian people and Bible verses within.  I loved the way the story intertwined the characters with one another.  I would love to read this one again!

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury 327 pages I enjoy most books by Karen Kingsbury and I have read most of her series, but this stand alone book was above and beyond her other writing. I love to read historical fiction and this story is set in the 1940s, but an older couple is retelling the story before the wonan, recently diagnosed with alzheimers, forgets the stories of the war. I coulbn't put it down until I finished it! In 1941, beautiful Irvel Ellis is too focused on her secret to take much notice in the war raging overseas. She's dating Sam but in love with his brother, Hank, and Irvel has no idea how to break the news when the unthinkable happens - Pearl Harbor is attacked. With their lives turned upside down overnight, Sam is drafted, and Hank wants to enlist. But Sam insists Hank stay home, where he and Irvel take up the battle on the home front. While Sam fights in Europe, an undeniable chemistry builds between Irvel and Hank but neither would dare cross that line. Then a telegram comes, and the news is devastating. Hank enlists the next day and has just two weeks until he ships out. Will either brother make it home alive? Or will Irvel lose everything? And can love find a way, even from the ashes of the greatest heartbreak?"

Women of the Blue & Gray: True Civil War Stories of Mothers, Medics, Soldiers, and Spies by Marianne Monson

Women of the Blue & Gray: True Civil War Stories of Mothers, Medics, Soldiers, and Spies by Marianne Monson-230 pages

I read this for the Non-fiction challenge this month. I also happen to be very interested in Civil War history. I learned quite a bit about women in the Civil War. Some women disguised themselves as men and enlisted and others followed husbands or brothers into enlistment. One woman, Jennie Hodgers, took the identity of a man named Albert D. J. Cashier to enlist and went by that name and dressed as a man for nearly 50 years after the Civil War before she was discovered. Many women served as spies, nurses, and doctors during the war, also. Although, it would take many years and much cajoling for many of the women who served in these capacities to be paid for their service. Women had to volunteer (and not get paid) as nurses or doctors to start the war. Women such as Lydia Maria Child, Harriet Tubman, Susie Baker King Taylor, Clara Barton, the Grimke sisters, Mother Bickerdyke, Dr. Mary Walker, Ellen Orbison Harris, Mary Ann Shadd Cary, Harriet Jacobs, Cornelia Peake McDonald, and Virginia Mason McLean (who had the distinction of witnessing both the first real battle and the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia near her house) are discussed in various detail, along with many others. I found this to be an informative, enlightening read.

Ghost Warriors: Long Range Patrol Airborne Rangers by Bob Stein

Ghost Warriors: Long Range Patrol Airborne Rangers by Lt. Bob Stein -291 pages

Stein served as an officer in Vietnam and organized this book to give the enlisted men who served in the same reconnaissance unit a chance to reflect on their service in Vietnam. Their stories convey the varied background of the men recruited into the Long Range Patrol service. Surprisingly, most felt much safer in enemy territory as part of a small unit rather than in larger conventional units considering the guerrilla tactics of the enemy.  These men also felt much more valued by their superiors than they had been in conventional units. Overall, this is an interesting book recalling encounters with an omnipresent enemy and even unusual encounters with wildlife such as tigers.

Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub

Silent Night:  The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce by Stanley Weintraub -206 pages

I never thought I would say this, but if I were to compare Silent Night (2001) with the similarly-themed movie, Joyeux Noel (2005) I would actually say the movie was better.  Both are about the World War I Christmas Truce in 1914.  The movie covers all the same points the book does in less time and in a more Christmas spirit versus bogging the reader down with the same facts covered multiple ways.  The book also features the gory side of the truce (aka a chapter on burying the dead), which while relevant, kills the holiday mood of a Christmas-themed history book and the downplays the camaraderie taking plays between the two sides.  That said, there were some high points to the book.  My two favorite story threads were the ones about the soccer game (also featured in the movie) and a Scottish solider who bicycled behind enemy lines and was teased by the Germans for his supposed "spying."

Over all, the book was okay but I would recommend the movie over the book.  As a side note, after reading this book I can say the movie was for the most part historically accurate.