The Walnut Creek Wish by Wanda E. Brunstetter

 The Walnut Creek Wish by Wanda E. Brunstetter - 518 pages

Welcome to Walnut Creek, Ohio, where Orley and Lois Troyer own an antique store they call “Memory Keepers.” Though knowledgeable in antiques and their repair, their real talent is in mentoring folks who are hurting and don’t even know it. Enter Jeff, a restaurateur, and Rhonda, a hotel manager, who recently moved to Amish country for the slow pace, but the change of scenery puts even more stress on their already strained marriage. Will an antique sled be the last straw, or will it lead to unexpected revelations and the fulfillment of dreams?

The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks

 The Watergate Girl by Jill Wine-Banks - 246 pages

Obstruction of justice, the specter of impeachment, sexism at work, shocking revelations: Jill Wine-Banks takes us inside her trial by fire as a Watergate prosecutor. 

It was a time, much like today, when Americans feared for the future of their democracy, and women stood up for equal treatment. At the crossroads of the Watergate scandal and the women’s movement was a young lawyer named Jill Wine Volner (as she was then known), barely thirty years old and the only woman on the team that prosecuted the highest-ranking White House officials. Called “the mini-skirted lawyer” by the press, she fought to receive the respect accorded her male counterparts—and prevailed.

In The Watergate Girl, Jill Wine-Banks opens a window on this troubled time in American history. It is impossible to read about the crimes of Richard Nixon and the people around him without drawing parallels to today’s headlines. The book is also the story of a young woman who sought to make her professional mark while trapped in a failing marriage, buffeted by sexist preconceptions, and harboring secrets of her own. Her house was burgled, her phones were tapped, and even her office garbage was rifled through.

At once a cautionary tale and an inspiration for those who believe in the power of justice and the rule of law, The Watergate Girl is a revelation about our country, our politics, and who we are as a society.

A Time For Mercy by John Grisham

A Time For Mercy by John Grisham-464 pages

My favorite character Jake Brigance is back.  I love to see how his lawyer mind works and how he is all about getting justice.  The story is phenomenal, it has you pulling for the defendant and you are glad that Jake is his lawyer.  He uses his witnesses masterfully. Jakes whole family gets on board at a huge monetary risk.  And there is an extra special surprise at the end.  I am looking forward to seeing Jake in the court room again!  Another excellent novel by John Grisham.  Loved it! 

 

To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee

 To Kill A Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel by Fred Fordham and Harper Lee-273 pages

I have not read the original "To Kill a Mockingbird" classic novel by Harper Lee. When I saw this on the shelf I decided I would read it for this month's challenge. It is a good novel/graphic novel. It is harrowing and appalling to once again realize that this is how African-Americans were (and to some extent still are) treated during the Jim Crow Era. The way Tom Robinson is convicted even though all evidence says to the contrary is infuriating and appalling, but this is truly the way it was. This is a fairly accurate portrait of life in the 1930s in the American South. Harper Lee was from Alabama and grew up in this time, so she should have a decent grasp on the time. She wrote it from the point-of-view of a young white girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend Tom Robinson because the judge knows he's the only one who will treat him with dignity and truly defend him properly. It is a thought-provoking story. I am glad to have finally read it in some form.