A Slice of Zion

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats  is a special book. I mean, it is  an international best seller, but that's not the only reason why this book is a diamond in your library. I honestly feel in classrooms 20 or 30 years from now this book will be a topic of discussion. At least, I hope very hard that it will make it that far. This novel has two stories going on. One is of Julia Win who travels to Burma to try and find out why her father disappeared from her life. The other is the tale of Tin Win, Julia's father, told by U Ba. Julia is shocked by the things U Ba tells her: her father used to blind, he had another lover named MiMi, and much more. While on one hand I wanted to be upset with Tin Win for just up and leaving his father in New York, his life story brought me to tears. A basic overview is that when he was born, he was born on a Friday in December. To his mother, this was a bad sign. After repeated "bad luck" such as the chickens dying, his superstitious moth...

Sarah Dessen, the author of The Truth about Forever, said  “There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”  This rings true in Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. In a simple, elegant style, Moyes somehow captures the essence of love in ink. I do not know how she does it, but she takes readers on a journey that fills your heart with love. Except this love is not what you would expect. In fact, the romance between Louisa Clark and Will Traynor for most of the book is so subtle it's hard to recognize. However, in a mere chapter, it exploded into something absolutely beautiful.  This is definitely a book I would consider reading again and again. The book evolves around Louisa Clark, a spunky 28-year-old living in a tiny English village. When she loses her job at a local café, the Job Centre does not offer her many fulfilling occupations. Jumping from factory worker to fast food, she is...