An Invisible Thread, by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski

I am so happy to announce that my website will be up and running in the next couple of weeks! As a result, I've decided to have my blog posts consist solely of book reviews. I hope my reading has spurred your own desire to nestle in with a good book. There are so many of them out there. Here is my latest review:

It was a single question that changed two lives forever. 

A successful businesswoman named Laura Schroff strolled the streets of New York City, lost in her own thoughts, doing her best to block out all of the noise. That is, until the plea of a young boy named Maurice stopped her in her tracks. Laura's response to his hunger was remarkable. And with the planting of a new and an unbreakable bond, the friendship ended up feeding many of her own deep and desperate needs.

I found the parallel of their lives to be extraordinary, even though they'd both come from such a different socioeconomic backgrounds. Laura's own childhood struggles created an empathy that prepped her heart for the kind of pain Maurice dealt with every day. She reached out with Monday afternoon lunches, baking dates and shopping sprees. Laura would purchase necessities and a few fun items too. The story was heartfelt and compelling and it stirred my own empathy for people God may end up putting in my own path. I will certainly have my eyes open in a new way.

I would highly recommend An Invisible Thread to anybody interested in getting lost in a good memoir. I was pleased to see how much the author is doing to ensure her message gets replicated. There are so many others out there with compelling stories just like hers and Maurice's. Her next project includes a compilation of other people's invisible threads.

You can visit her website at www.aninvisiblethread.com. 

Room, by Emma Donoghue

I just finished a rare treasure that I'd like to share with all of you today. This piece of literature is unique in so many ways. I watched the movie shortly after turning the last pages of the book, and as always, the book was so much better. 

Have you read anything lately worth recommending?

Jack and his Ma have been kidnapped and they are trapped in the backyard of their perpetrator. Jack, being a result of this man's abuse, is oblivious to the torment inflicted on his mother. The entire story it told through the eyes of this 5 year old little boy, and the author educates the reader through somebody who is not yet able to understand what he is seeing. It's absolutely brilliant.

This unique perspecitve provides this story with a fresh curiosity right from the start. She introduces the reader to a very limited POV, then slowly branches out, peeling away the whereabouts in small layers. This style mirrors the book's setting, another amazing literary device, and once the stakes are introduced, any reader will have a hard time putting the book down.

A new empathy sprouted inside of me from reading this piece, and I will never look at abduction the same way again. I thought the story played out realistically, and while the plot line ended up being more about the emotional and psychological ramifications, I still clung to every sensory detail.

I recommend this book for anybody who is looking to read a heartwarming story about a young mother who is determined to make everything as normal as possible for her little boy, in a not-so-normal world.