Review of The Women, by Kristin Hannah, read by Julia Whelan

Audiobooks, Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

The Women

by Kristin Hannah
read by Julia Whelan

Macmillan Audio, 2024. 14 hours, 57 minutes.
Review written August 5, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I know, I know – I’m way behind most people on reading this book, but Wow! Now I see why it’s been so popular.

“The Women” the title refers to are the women who served in Vietnam. Even though they were often told after the war that “There were no women in Vietnam.” (And Kristin Hannah’s author’s note at the end tells us that was a detail she got from more than one woman she interviewed.)

She tells the story of many women by focusing in on one woman, Frankie McGrath. At her brother’s going-away party, setting off to serve in Vietnam, when they all thought the war would be over soon, she was told, “Women can be heroes, too.”

So Frankie trained as a nurse and decided to serve in Vietnam with her brother. But the very day she signed up and told her parents the news was the day that they got word that her brother was killed in action, no remains found.

When Frankie got to Vietnam, it was trial by fire. Kristin Hannah takes us through her bewildering first day when there was a mass casualty event, through her training in the neuro ward, watching over patients who were unresponsive, through her coming into true expertise as an Operating Room Nurse.

And the author shows us how this was the worst and best time of Frankie’s life. Besides the horrors that haunt her, she built friendships like cement. She fell in love more than once – trying to avoid the ones who are already married. And she watched people die. But she also saved many lives, and held the hands of the dying so that they were not alone.

Half of the book is about what happened after Frankie got back. She was not hailed as a hero, not even by her parents, who’d told people she’d gone to school in Florence. The reader can see her PTSD symptoms – before that was even named as an issue.

There were times as I was reading this book when I cringed because I was pretty sure another impossibly hard thing was going to hit Frankie. And I wasn’t wrong.

But this is ultimately a story of a woman who went through impossibly hard things and came out the other side. The book ends on a well-earned hopeful note. And I love that Frankie represents the actual lives of the thousands of women who served in Vietnam. Her story helps us understand their stories.

kristinhannah.com

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Review of Win-Win Miracles Still Happen, by Cheri Baugh Woods

Christian, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, True Stories 0

Win-Win Miracles Still Happen

by Cheri Baugh Woods

Front Line Book Publishing, 2025. 264 pages.
Review written August 6, 2025, from my own copy, ordered via Amazon.com
Starred Review

Full disclosure first: I consider the author Cheri Woods a friend, via her brother Kevin, who I talked with most weeks at church for years. I was in the group that Kevin asked to pray for Cheri when her life was in danger with leukemia, I picked out verses for Kevin to send to her when she was going through treatment, and later when my niece had leukemia at 3 years old and again at 7 years old, Cheri in turn prayed for her.

So I know how miraculous Cheri’s story is, and I ordered a copy the same day I heard it had been published. And yes, I’m biased, and knew I would enjoy the book.

I’ll be honest – this book is not traditionally published, and although Cheri thanks an editor in the Acknowledgements, the presentation is not as polished as what I’m used to as a librarian. There are occasional mistakes such as quotation marks out of place and some repetitive spots. However, I’m glad that I knew I would want to read Cheri’s full story and overlooked those things – because as soon as I picked it up, I was riveted. Getting a Christian memoir traditionally published is incredibly difficult, so I’m selfishly glad that Cheri didn’t wait for that to happen so I could read her book now.

And I didn’t really know the earlier part of her story – that her first husband turned out to be a bigamist, and her second husband passed away when she was 32 years old. From seeing her journey with cancer, I was not surprised to see her faith shine through in her entire story, as God brought her through all of those hard things.

Here’s how Cheri explains the title in her Introduction:

I am here to declare that my cornerstone remains intact. Through all my circumstances and experiences, I learned to rely on the strength, power, and mercy that God so generously gives each of us through our faith.

I began living a Win-Win life, which meant that no matter what came my way, even if that meant my death, I WIN!

If God chose to keep me here on the earth, I win, because it shows me He still has need of me. My purpose for living is not over, and he has more for me to do for the glory of His kingdom.

If God chose to take me home, I WIN again because to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD. That is the ultimate win.

My hope is that my life’s events may be an encouragement and an inspiration for you to keep going as you encounter your own struggles and difficulties. I pray that as you read, you will grab hold and tap into God’s energy, his forever-loving lifeline, and begin to live your own Win-Win life.

Reading this book is like hearing from an encouraging friend with strong faith. Her story is amazing – I wouldn’t believe it if someone tried to put it into a novel – and it’s lovely to see how God’s hand has been on her life all along.

Cheri had to retire early from her career as a teacher and school administrator when she got a bone marrow transplant and a new immune system. So let me encourage you to purchase her book – the money will go to someone who can use it and deserves it. It’s not every day that you “meet” someone who’s been through incredible difficulties who has such a sunshiny spirit of God’s love. This book will not only keep you reading, it will bless and inspire you.

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My New List – Book Talking with Sondy

Library Links 2

I’m adding a new email list!

Lately, I’ve been posting reviews almost every day. It was a couple years ago when I realized how behind I was – I had 270 reviews written but not posted. Since then, I’ve been working hard to catch up – and as of this moment, I have only 61 reviews written but not posted. The oldest ones of those are debut novels I read in 2023 but couldn’t post reviews for until after our winners had been announced. I’m alternating posting those older reviews with newer ones.

All this is to say: I understand if you don’t want email in your inbox every day. So I’ve made a new list, Book Talking with Sondy. My plan is to send emails only once or twice a month. While the list is small, I’d like to do some back-and-forth book recommendations – you can tell me book you enjoyed recently on the form. I will talk about my reading for the last month and what I’m looking forward to reading next, plus some Library insider and award committee scoops (without giving anything away!) and general talk about books.

I’m hoping this will give me better connections with my readers, and I’m looking forward to more interactions.

And meanwhile, check out my revised About page, highlighting the new subscription options.

Who will be the first to sign up?

Review of For Girls Who Walk Through Fire, by Kim DeRose

Paranormal, Teen Fiction Review 0

For Girls Who Walk Through Fire

by Kim DeRose

Union Square & Co., 2023. 307 pages.
Review written May 17, 2023, from an advance reader copy.

For Girls Who Walk Through Fire features Elliott, a teenage girl who’s attending a sexual assault survivors’ support group, but who hasn’t managed to talk about her own experience yet. And it all seems so pointless. What good does talking about it do?

When a member of their group who has anonymously taken her rapist to trial has the guy let off with a slap on the wrist, it just all seems too much for Elliott. At the same time, she finds a book in her dead mother’s things. The book promises to offer the spell she needs if Elliott can bring together a coven.

And so Elliott brings some girls together from the support group, and they begin casting spells for vengeance, because how else will justice be done? But there are some alarming results and the girls need to come to terms with what actually constitutes justice, and is the blowback worth it?

I won’t say how it ends except that the book does rise above a simple quest for justice. Some of the magic was a little murky in how it works, but this was an enjoyable read about a heavy but way too common topic.

If girls who have experienced this read this book, even though they may be sorry they don’t have a magic spellbook, I think they’ll be uplifted by the story of the power of having friends by your side.

kimderose.com
unionsquareandco.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Downpour: Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash!, by Yuko Ohnari and Koshiro Hata

Contemporary, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Downpour

Splish! Splash! Ker-Splash!

by Yuko Ohnari and Koshiro Hata
translated by Emily Balistrieri

Red Comet Press, 2025. Originally published in Japan in 2018. 36 pages.
Review written July 3, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

The onomatopoeia in the subtitle of this book foreshadows much to come. This is a picture book about a torrential rainstorm. The pictures and the wide variety of onomatopoeia used are incredibly evocative. As is the emotion on the boy’s face who’s caught in the rain.

And that’s what this story covers: A boy is caught in the rain. But this wife-husband pair of creators makes the book so much more than that.

It starts with burning hot pavement and a looming cloud. Then big, fat drops fall, bringing their own music and their own smells.

Then the sound of the rain takes over the book – except the boy doesn’t let that be the only thing, first noticing his umbrella is a drum, but then putting the umbrella aside to run, kick, and jump in the abundant puddles.

I love the way every picture takes a different angle on the boy and on the rain. We have how it looks as it hits, how it looks falling, and how the drops bounce off the child. We see everything sopping wet – and feel the great delight the boy feels in the whole experience.

This is one you need to pick up and see for yourself! A picture book about a joyful storm.

RedCometPress.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Orris and Timble: Lost and Found, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen Mok

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Orris and Timble

Lost and Found

by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Carmen Mok

Candlewick Press, 2025. 76 pages.
Review written June 5, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

Here’s a second beginning chapter book about an old rat named Orris and a young owl named Timble, who are, surprisingly, friends. Like the first, it’s a sweet and gentle story.

Orris has gotten accustomed to visits from Timble every evening when they talk with each other and enjoy each other’s company. Orris tells a story every night, and Timble loves a line from a story:

“By the light of the stars, by the light of the moon, I will always return.”

But then, one night as the evening gets dark, Timble doesn’t come. And not the next night either.

Now, the subtitle of the book hints at what happened. But this precipitates a crisis for both friends, and ultimately they come to realize how much their friendship means to each of them.

And it’s all done with Carmen Mok’s gentle illustrations and leaves you feeling warm and cozy. Or perhaps adventurous and ready to fly away – but always to come back.

katedicamillo.com
candlewick.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Ever Since, by Alena Bruzas

Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Ever Since

by Alena Bruzas

Rocky Pond Books (Penguin Random House), 2023. 277 pages.
Review written July 13, 2023, from a book sent to me by the publisher.
Starred Review

This book isn’t exactly pleasant reading, but it is powerful, and it made me care deeply about characters I didn’t even like at first.

The book has a short Content Note at the front: “Please be advised that this book contains depictions of sexual assault, CSA, and suicidal ideation.” So that gives you an idea of what you’re in for.

But the book begins with five teenage girls, all good friends, who are happily looking forward to the summer. I like the first paragraph:

Once there were five princesses. No, I mean five witches. Actually, they were goddesses. Anyway, whatever they were, they were friends.

This opening foreshadows the senior project Virginia’s going to start thinking about this summer, looking into the story of Medea. Which echoes her own story.

The book begins with a road trip out to the coast. Virginia is our viewpoint character. Poppy and Thalia and Paz and Ro are the friends along with her, and there are plenty to meet them at the coast, including Thalia’s boyfriend Edison and Poppy’s boyfriend Rumi.

But something’s up with Virginia and Edison…. She thinks Thalia doesn’t know yet and maybe she can stop, but Edison calls her over away from the crowd….

And then the next day Poppy disappears. She doesn’t turn up for her job coaching soccer. She doesn’t answer calls or texts. Poppy’s house was the only place where Virginia felt safe at night. And then she starts getting close to Rumi. But she can’t betray Poppy, too. But it feels like Rumi actually sees her.

So by this time, I wasn’t crazy about Virginia. But as we see her go through the summer, we get strong hints that there’s something going on under the surface. And we begin to care deeply. And things build up and something with Rumi’s little sister triggers a whole lot of trauma – and I don’t want to say any more, because the author does a great job of weaving this story together so that the revelations aren’t exactly a surprise for what they are – but they’re definitely a surprise about who is involved. And it’s told in such a way that you come to better understand Virginia’s behavior all along – that since she was deprived of consent as a young child, she no longer really understands that she’s allowed to withhold consent. (And that’s a much more simplistic way of putting it than the book gives.)

Like I said, it’s not a pleasant book. But it has a wonderful, I-wish-it-weren’t-necessary message. And makes you care about this girl you might have condemned. So wow. Just read it already.

alenabruzas.com
PenguinTeen.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of To Hear the Forest Sing, by Margaret Dulaney

Musings, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

To Hear the Forest Sing

Some Musings on the Divine

by Margaret Dulaney

Listen Well Publishing, 2016. 229 pages.
Review written July 3, 2025, from my own copy, purchased via Amazon.com
Starred Review

I always seem to enjoy “Musings” and put a whole category for them on Sonderbooks. But when I’ve finished a book of musings, it’s usually hard to explain why I enjoyed reading them so much. The title of this book hints that there will be plenty about nature, and the subtitle hints that there will be thoughts about faith and about God.

As usual, I think I’ll fall back on giving you a few quotations to give you the flavor. In this book, the essays were originally broadcast on a spoken word website, so each one is separate. But they do present a unified, thoughtful voice.

Here’s a part from the Prologue explaining the title:

Every early teacher who had me in her class – and most of them were very kind and patient – wrote the same comment on my twice-yearly reports: “Margaret is a well-meaning girl, but her head is always out the window.”

“Oh, but it makes so much more sense out there!” I would answer in retrospect now, if I could, “Trees don’t confuse, birds don’t baffle. Give me simple, clear things to learn like the roll of the hills, the turning of the seasons, and I will be as learned as the rest of them. Give me a field, a patch of woodland to read and I will unlock the wisdom of the ages, break the shackles of ignorance! Of course my head is out the window! You have to be in the woods to hear the forest sing!”

I loved this part about making art (both music and writing):

It’s love that propels us to create, not cynicism.

After many years of wrestling with my own frustrations, I have concluded that our gifts are just that, they are gifts. We might possess the power to postpone their use, try and hide from them, but I suspect we only manage to shade ourselves for a time from the intensity of our passions. This love of ours still shines brightly all around, and waits for us with the focused attention of a beloved dog. When we finally step out from under the protection of our denial, our loves will leap and bark and joyously circle us, too long neglected, racing forward and dashing back to us, hurrying us along on our illuminated path….

Perhaps all that this day really requires of us is to step out from under the cover of our resistance, step out and into the warmth of our loves. To say, today I will do this because I love it. I will write what I love, sing what I love, listen to what I love, read what I love, practice what I love, speak what I love.

I will love what there is to love today, and leave the details to a wiser hand.

And here’s a bit about giving and receiving advice.

As I age, I am more drawn to those who speak honestly to me. No matter how bitter the pill, no matter how long it takes to work, I do want this medicine. Give me your truth and allow me to determine whether it is the right remedy for me. Time will reveal its efficacy.

I would rather hear a truth from a friend, and adjust my behavior accordingly, than meet the reactions of cold consequence which could be much more harsh.

Maybe it’s time to turn that old line from the prayer book around to read, “Speak now and try never to hold your peace.” Speak if you must, absolutely. Speak and then step back. Give room. They are God’s to teach, God’s to hold, God’s to heal.

And yes, God is mentioned in this book. I also love this one:

This has me thinking that I might have discovered my next daily prayer. Dear God, please disabuse me of my calcified notions of how you work in this world. Surprise me, please.

Please don’t ever let me think that I am finished.

That should give you an idea of what you’ll find in this book. I enjoyed musing with Margaret Dulaney.

listenwell.org

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Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/to_hear_the_forest_sing.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of This Book Won’t Burn, by Samira Ahmed

Audiobooks, Contemporary, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

This Book Won’t Burn

by Samira Ahmed
read by Kausar Mohammed

Hachette Audio, 2024. 10 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written July 29, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I loved this audiobook so much! I’d been meaning to read it pretty much since it came out, so when it accumulated enough NotifyMe tags in Libby to order for the library, I placed a hold – and I was completely charmed. (Yes, it’s gotten to where I am more likely to read audiobooks than print books. This is a drastic change.)

It’s the story of Noor Khan, a senior in high school. She’s just gotten an acceptance to the University of Chicago, close to home. The book begins on the day her life fell apart, when her father left their family – including her mother and younger sister. He left the house and never came back. Later, they found a note in his briefcase saying he couldn’t do this any more. Noor even references Vikki Stark’s work on Runaway Husbands, so I related to that part all too much, but Noor was somewhat resentful that the website focuses on the wives who get left suddenly – when it also includes the children.

A few months later, Noor is facing the last quarter of her senior year at a new school in small-town Illinois, where her mother moved them to give them all a new start. Noor’s not happy about that.

But she does make friends quickly. The one Desi guy in the school volunteered to give her a tour, and she quickly makes friends with his lesbian friend. And then a cute white boy makes overtures.

However, when Noor gets to the library, she sees the librarian pulling books off the shelves because of a new school board policy that one challenge from the public gets books removed until they can be “reviewed.” The next day, Noor wears an “I Read Banned Books” t-shirt, which gets her called into the principal’s office.

When some of the books being banned show up in Noor’s locker, she decides to read them aloud in the park across the street during lunch. But then the principal retaliates by taking the privilege of going off campus for lunch away from juniors and seniors, letting everyone know she’s to blame.

Meanwhile, Noor’s mother, who together with her father taught Noor that silence is defeat, is upset with Noor for making waves in their new town. And she’s confused about her feelings for the two guys in her life. As Noor stands up for the freedom to read, she gets more and more pushback and even violence.

As a librarian, I found this book completely realistic and completely timely. The situations were pulled directly from current headlines. Yay for standing up for free speech and our Constitutional rights! I also appreciated the call-out of many excellent books that are widely banned by groups such as Moms for Liberty. (The book called them “Liberty Moms,” but I know the real-life group.) It showed their hypocrisy in trying to “protect” kids from books by excluding books by diverse authors.

So the cause, of course is wonderful. But the story was wonderful, too. I related to Noor’s pain from being abandoned by her father, her difficulties in her relationship with her mom, and enjoyed reading about her setbacks and triumphs with her new friends. This one doesn’t even have an kisses, but there are a couple of sweet romances going on, and the conflict between Noor’s head and heart at times was portrayed in a completely relatable way. Listening to this book had me smiling all day.

samiraahmed.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of A Line Can Go Anywhere, written by Caroline McAlister, illustrated by Jamie Green

Art, Biography, Children's Nonfiction Review, Starred Review 0

A Line Can Go Anywhere

The Brilliant, Resilient Life of Artist Ruth Asawa

written by Caroline McAlister
illustrated by Jamie Green

Roaring Brook Press, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written June 6, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

I love the way my job at the library brings me into contact with beautiful picture book biographies of people I never would have known about otherwise. A Line Can Go Anywhere is about the American sculptor and artist Ruth Asawa. She is best known for her sculptures made from wire looped and intertwined into lovely shapes.

And author Caroline McAlister takes the idea of those long lines of wires turned into form and applies it to the artist’s life.

When Ruth was a child, there was an invisible line between her home life, where she spoke Japanese and had food and customs from Japan, and her school life in an American elementary school. Then Japan attacked Pearl Harbor – and her father was arrested, and Ruth and her mother and six siblings were imprisoned first at a racetrack, and then at a Relocation Center in Arkansas. But some skilled artists taught the children at the racetrack – and Ruth began sketching the lines around her.

She was allowed to leave to attend college to become an art teacher – but they refused to place her in a school. So she went on to a more open college in North Carolina, and learned to truly express herself in art.

I like this page that explains how she began her distinctive art from wires:

Then on a summer trip to Mexico, Ruth watched women carry eggs in woven wire baskets. She liked that the baskets were sturdy, strong, and practical, but also beautiful, patterned, and transparent. This was art made by ordinary people, used in their everyday lives. It didn’t hang on museum walls.

She thought back to the barbed wire that had kept her imprisoned at the Arkansas camp. Now as the world moved on from war, she found freedom in twisting wire into cells that divided and multiplied. A single strand of ordinary wire became a continuous piece with no beginning or end. She demonstrated that a line could go anywhere, be anything. A line could stretch into infinity.

The book goes on to talk about some public art she made and about how she continued to express herself. The back matter gives more details and includes of a photo of the artist with her wire art.

An interesting, informative, and inspirational story.

carolinemcalisterauthor.com
jamiegreenillustration.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?