Kay Bratt - The Bridge

The Bridge

By Kay Bratt


Kindle Edition Available







Product Description (from Amazon) 
In present day China, an old woman's house sits opposite an ancient bridge. Not just any bridge--but a special one because it has always been known as The Lucky Bridge. In olden days it was said that to walk over it during a marriage ceremony, or at the beginning of the New Year would bring the traveler good luck. Because of its reputation, over the years it has also become a popular place for young mothers to abandon their children. What to some may seem cruel is in reality their final gift to their offspring--one last chance to send them off to their new destinies with luck on their side. Jing, an old woman, is the unofficial and often reluctant guardian of the bridge. When no one else will, Jing steps in to prevent the children from frostbite, abuse and hunger, and then she delivers them safely to the orphanage. This has been her routine for many years, but what does Jing do when the latest child, a blind boy, burrows deep into her heart?

Read 'The Bridge' to see how Fei Fei's life is changed by the love of a lonely old woman. The Bridge is a short story of 17,000 words, approximately 72 pages. Fei Fei's character is based on a real orphaned boy that Kay Bratt met during her time in China.

Don't miss these other great books by Kay Bratt! Full length books currently available on Kindle "Silent Tears; A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage" and "Chasing China; A Daughter's Quest for Truth".  For children adopted from China, you may be interested in Kay's book called "Mei Li and the Wise Laoshi."



About the Author (from Amazon)
Kay Bratt is a child advocate and author, residing near the base of Wacau Mountain, in the rolling hills of Georgia with her husband, daughter, dog, and cat. In addition to coordinating small projects for the children of China, Kay is an active volunteer for An Orphans Wish (AOW). Kay lived in China for over four years and because of her experiences working with orphans, she strives to be the voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. If you would like to read more about what started her career as an author, and also meet the children she knew and loved in China, read her poignant memoir titled Silent Tears; A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage. Visit http://www.kaybratt.com/ for more information.



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

It is rare that a book or story touches my heart as deeply as this one.   This is a topic that always moves me deeply.

While I don’t believe this is an indie author, I so enjoyed this story, that I decided to whip in a short review.  It is a story that is easily overlooked, but I think should be read by others.

It is a story of hope – where none existed or should have existed.
Love – and giving of the little you have to make another persons life worth living.
It is a picture of China – and the hopelessness for some, and the heart that still beats.

It is a story of an old woman with nothing, lonely and alone, who chose time after time to reach out to abandoned children and safely deliver them to an orphanage.

One small boy changes her life – and reminds her that life can be so much more when others are there to share it with them.

Orphanages like the one in this story abound throughout the world – one person can make all the difference for a child.

Genre/Theme:   Orphans, China, Modern Time
Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school
Profanity: LOW - few mildly offensive words
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at

Melissa Foster - Come Back to Me

Come Back to Me


By Melissa Foster

Kindle Edition Available




Product Description (from back cover of paperback)
Tess Johnson has it all: her handsome photographer husband Beau, a thriving busines, and a newly discovered pregnancy.  When Beau accepts an overseas assignment, Tess decide to wait to reveal her secret -- only she's never given the chance.  Beau's helicopter crashes in the desert.

Tess struggles with the news of Beau's death and tries to put her life back together.  Alone and dealing with a  pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations.  When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.

Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash.  Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent.  Beau bonds with the women and the children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.
What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love.

About the Author (from Amazon author page)
"Melissa Foster is a wonderful connector of readers and books, a friend of authors, and a tireless advocate for women. She is the real deal"--Author Jennie Shortridge

Melissa Foster is the bestselling, award-winning author of three novels, Megan's Way, Chasing Amanda, and Come Back to Me. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women's Nest, a social and support community for women, the World Literary Cafe, and Fostering Success. Melissa is currently collaborating in the film production of Megan's Way.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children, she's written for Calgary's Child Magazine and Women Business Owners Magazine, and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa is currently working on her next novel, and lives in Maryland with her family. Melissa's interests include her family, reading, writing, painting, friends, helping women see the positive side of life, and visiting Cape Cod.

Melissa is available to chat with book clubs and welcomes comments and emails from her readers. Visit Melissa on The Women's Nest or her personal website.
This biography was provided by the author or their representative.



O.Scarlett! Review by Tenya

Come Back to Me is a contemporary romance which spans the globe and tugs at the emotions. It did bring me to tears at one point, a difficult task since I do not cry over books easily. I wanted to love this book with a first chapter that captured my attention and compelled me to keep reading.

Beau and Tess are separated from one another by his photography assignment in war-torn Iraq, but this job could bring the recognition that will break Beau’s career wide-open. When the wreckage of Beau’s chopper with bodies burned beyond recognition is found in the desert, Tess cannot accept his death. She has newly discovered she is pregnant; however, that fact does not fit her husband’s five-year-plan. Now that he might be dead, Tess’s only hope to keep her sanity is hanging onto Beau’s promise that he will come back to her.

After month’s go by, she slowly learns to let go of Beau and begins to accept the child growing inside of her. Surrounded by a set of rather tragic characters (her friends), Tess struggles to find the path back to wholeness and normality. Perhaps her new client, Louie is the way she can find herself again.

Meanwhile, Beau struggles to survive in the desert, miraculously aided by two women and a group of children as he recovers from his wounds. In turn, he is obligated to assist them in escaping from the hellish life they have known in Iraq. The bonds which grow between him, the children and their mother are intense, but Beau hangs on to one thing – Tess! Will he be able to return to her?

At the end of the book, I felt a bit unsatisfied. It seemed more of a tragedy than a romance. I have no problem with the author ending it this way, but too many loose ends remained. One of the characters had suffered a brutal attack, but the psychological issues of that were never addressed. Too many things were too neatly tied up in pretty packages in the final chapter while other things were ignored and not tied up at all.

This book is well-written (as far as style) and formatted successfully. The cultural aspects about the women from Iraq and their interactions with Beau and others are authentic and obviously well researched.  The basic plot is intriguing and draws the reader into the world of the main characters immediately. One really cares about what happens to these people and how the conflicts will be solved.

NOTE:
     I usually enjoy a romance with a good plot, so I believed I would like this book. As far as plots go, I did enjoy it, for the most part. The consistently bad language throughout the book, which even permeated the private thoughts of the characters, ruined the story for me. This reader found the profanity of the female characters particularly disturbing, especially since it included the most vulgar of words. The Lord’s name was not used wrongly much in this book, but just about every swear word was used – and frequently toward the end of the story.
     There are many instances of adult situations in this book including rape and abuse, especially within the context of the back story of one of the Iraqi women. A couple of the characters have rather “loose” morals. No qualms are raised concerning “sleeping around” before marriage except for the one female character that has a few too many one-night-stands and suffers the tragic consequences. Quite a few scenes take place in a bar where people are drinking alcohol.


Genre/Theme: Contemporary Romance
Reading Level: (by appropriateness) Mature Teen to Adult (except those offended by bad language or loose morality)
Profanity: The amount in the text bordered on EXTREME (all kinds of words used, even the worst)
Sexuality: OBVIOUS - Nothing explicit, but sexuality is most definitely a major theme throughout.
Other: Adult themes: some violence, rape, abuse, language, tragic death, etc.

Catherine Kirby - Sari Caste

Sari Caste

By Catherine M. Kirby

Kindle Edition Available

Product Description (from Amazon)

 A courageous voyage through destitution, intrigue and murder.

Manasa is abandoned by the man she should marry. He marries her sister instead. Meanwhile Manasa finds herself pregnant with his child. She flees her Bengali village wondering where to go. Eventually, she finds herself wandering the streets of Calcutta. Without money or food, life is a daily struggle. Finally, she is taken on by a brothel. She is desperately unhappy until she meets a different sort of man. This man she marries in secret and together they plan her escape from the brothel.

Murder, corruption, and intrigue threaten to swallow up the new life they attempt to establish in the beautiful hill country of Darjeeling.

About the Author (from Amazon author page)

Writing has always been a passion for me. I started with short stories, poems and haikus and finally found myself writing a novel. It was exciting to see it grow and take shape. I had no idea where the story would take me. I just found my starting point and followed the muse. The research was fascinating, time consuming but absorbing. Once I reached those magical words 'The End', I was overjoyed. Then the real work of editing and rewriting began. Once I'd finished my first novel, I was keen to write another. My novels do not follow the same genre but do deal with the intricacies of relationships - what makes them go wrong and what, if anything, can save them from destruction. I hope my readers will enjoy the results.

This biography provided by the author or their representative.

O.Scarlett Review by Tenya

The description of this book grabbed my attention because the subject matter is something which interests me.  I advocate for necessary changes in this world to stop the exploitation of women and children around the globe.  I hope to do this by bringing awareness to these matters in entertaining stories, the novels I write.  Ms. Kirby has done the same in Sari Caste, a contemporary story set in the country of India. 

The reader is quickly drawn into the traumatic world of Manasa, one of four daughters unwanted by their father.  (Culturally, India still values the birth of male offspring over that of girls, and I’m reminded of an article I read recently about Indian girls and women changing their names in mass groups because the names they had been given by their parents meant “unwanted.”)  The father is abusive toward Manasa’s mother, blaming her for a lack of sons in the family.  He’s a drunkard who takes every advantage to marry off his daughters as cheaply as possible, hoping their required dowries won’t deplete the coffers he has failed to fill.

Locked into working long hours to provide a dowry which will allow her younger sister to marry the man Manasa loves, the drama of this family’s life captures the attention and compassion of the reader.  Finally, Manasa is forced to flee her country village with her newborn child and seek out a new, and hopefully better, life in the city.  But, the city is not all she dreamed it would be.  She soon discovers that her dreams may end in starvation for her and her baby.  The only true friends she finds are “pavement dwellers,” street people, who experience tragedy heaped upon tragedy.

Desperate to provide for her own child and her friends, Manasa takes a job in a brothel.  Eventually, her sister escapes to the city and joins her.  As Manasa and Kajal struggle to survive their circumstances, one would think it could not get any worse, but it does.  Discovering that the orphan children living at the brothel are being exploited in the worst way by the owners, Manasa determines she must save herself and anyone else she possibly can.  The bulk of the book deals with the struggles she endures and her efforts to escape a life of prostitution and slavery.

For such a horribly difficult subject, I cannot imagine that anyone could have handled the presentation of the situation into which young Manasa is forced, out of necessity, any more tactfully than this author has done.  This story is hard to read, simply because of the subject matter, but Catherine Kirby has written it in a compelling way that forces the reader to continue to the last page, no matter how horrific the lives of the characters become.

Sari Caste is a work of fiction, but the heart-wrenching situations and tragic circumstances of Manasa and the other characters are far too real for many people living in India today.  Yes, today, not one hundred years ago!  Your support of organizations that strive to help women escape this kind of hopeless lifestyle is important.  Often stores or internet retailers who offer Fair Trade merchandise will carry items produced by people like Manasa who have been rescued from the horrors of forced prostitution, or prevented them from choosing it as a desperate means of survival.   The jewelry, handbags and other lovely items produced by these people is astoundingly beautiful!

Is there victory and escape in this story?  Truthfully, the end left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.  Every man in this book ends up being a total louse!  I resolve my dissatisfaction by remembering that true liberty is having the freedom to mess up your own life rather than letting others do it for you.  It is a most compelling and heart-wrenching story that I recommend to adults who like some real 'meat' in their fiction.

Notes:

As previously stated, the subject matter of this book is difficult.  Obviously, there’s going to be sex involved because much of the story takes place in a brothel.  There are descriptions of certain situations, but they are not overly explicit.  The events are clear without becoming vulgar.

The book is written in first person which is not my favorite.  I really did become tired of the word “I” but this is probably just a personal pet peeve of mine. If you are not a great fan of first person narrative, be prepared when you do read this book.  Don’t let it keep you from reading! The story is compelling enough to overlook such a simple thing, and truthfully, Catherine pulls it off very well.  After a few chapters I did not even notice anymore.

Genre/Theme:  India, Human Trafficking/Slavery, Drama

Reading Level: (by appropriateness) ADULT – because of subject matter

Profanity:  NONE – I cannot remember any.

Sexuality:  BLATANT – subject matter could not be presented without it, but it is never vulgar or overly explicit

Other:

There are many tragic things in this book including children starving to death, murder, rape, and the general horrors of the exploitation of women and children in the forced sex trade.  Several very unwholesome characters appear, and their behavior is characteristically lecherous.

Expect this story to shock you!  It should. 

T.S. Ingalls - Cumbrian Rain

Cumbrian Rain
by Tenya Sharp Ingalls

Kindle Edition Available



Product Description (from Amazon)
This contemporary adventure romance weaves a web of international intrigue and danger.

Attempting to escape her grief, tragically widowed Annora Lang travels to Cumbria, England to bury herself in research for her doctoral thesis, but when she meets the mysterious Tad, she discovers her own sinister past has come back to haunt her. Caught between her fear of one man and her love for another, can Annora be the hero this time, instead of the victim?

Secrets, Tad must keep them, but the appearance of the fascinating Mrs. Lang threatens everything he has carefully hidden for twenty years. Although his work breaks the law, it’s for all the right reasons. Can he leave it all behind to get what he really wants?
About the Author (from Amazon)
Tenya Sharp Ingalls has been writing as long as she could hold a pencil. She began writing poetry and short stories as a child, continuing to ply her hand at story-telling in her teens by participating in young writer's conferences throughout high school. "No matter what else I planned to do at any point in my life, I always wanted to write," she says. After years as a homeschooling mom of three and owner/operator of a subcontracting business, a partnership with her husband, Bobby, Tenya has finally begun to self-publish her novels. She believes that so many protagonists and plots have built up in her head that she may never get them all on paper.

Tenya tends to pay homage to the mountains which nurtured her growing up years in the small logging community of St. Maries in northern Idaho. Gleaning from her interest in missions, the hosting of a foreign exchange student, various travel experiences, and snippets of information in her world, Tenya strives to create memorable and relatable characters. She honestly believes in love-at-first-sight, true romance and marital bliss. Tenya and her husband of 25 years reside in south Louisiana with their three children.

O.Scarlett GUEST Review by Kendra

I am not, as a rule, a fan of the Romance Genre. I prefer to have it more as the icing on the cake, rather than the cake itself. Therefore, if it weren’t for the fact that the author was my cousin, I probably wouldn’t have read this book. That said, I’m glad I did read it.

It took me a while to get into it, especially as I have had a bunch of other books on my reading list for school. I wasn’t “hooked” until about 25% through. Then, I couldn’t put it down.

The romance part of the plot starts quickly enough. Annora nearly runs over Tad with her car, gets her car stuck in the mud, and ends up stranded while he goes fishing. She manages to run into him again, right as it starts to rain, and he helps her by taking her to his sister’s house. It is pretty much love at first sight.

If they were normal people, that would be the end of it.

Unfortunately, they’re not. He’s distrustful of her, as he knows things that certain people would rather not be known, and he suspects that she’s on a mission to kill him. Unfortunately, that’s not far off the mark, although she has no idea she’s part of a plot. In fact, she’s almost as much a victim as he is.

The person who wants Tad dead, wants her.

It was a well written book, with believable characters, and a rather twisty plot, which is what I look for in a book. The descriptions were enough to give you a great mental image of the characters and settings, and weren’t so many that they became annoying. I enjoyed all of the fishing references, as my grandfather is a fisherman, and used to take me on fishing trips.

Note: If you have a queasy stomach, you might want to skip on this book. There are some descriptions of some of the things Annora’s former employer did that makes your stomach turn.

Genre/Theme:  Romance, Crime, Human Trafficking

Reading Level: Mature Teen to Adult

Profanity: LOW

Sexuality: Mild to Obvious There is nothing that happens outside of marriage in this book (beyond kissing, and a bit of exploring) but there is mention of rape, and Annora narrowly avoids it twice. Also, it is mentioned that before they became Christians, both Tad and Annora had much looser life styles

Other:

There are dealings with human trafficking, and one of the characters had his tongue cut out, as well as a few other things, as a child. It is stated that he was not the only child to have it happen to him at the time. Also, the person who wants Tad dead addicts him to a drug that causes some horrid withdrawals, and there is a fight scene that is quite bloody.

Janet Smith - Colandra's World

Colandra's World
Caress the Sun - Embrace the Thunder
by Janet Smith

Kindle Edition & Paperback Available through Amazon

Book Two – Colandra’s World: Her Journey Continued is also available


Product Description (from Amazon)
THIS IS A STORY about the the Ayore Village in Paraguay, where Colandra, a ten-year-old mute resides. Pastor Youngblood, the American missionary, has returned to the field, along with his staff. They minister to the Ayore people and teach them the Word of God. This book reveals God's work in Colandra’s life. Salvation and faith are the focus of this story.

About the Author (from Amazon)
Janet Smith is a native of New London, Connecticut. She now resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
          She was very active in the community during the Johnson administration. Ms. Smith was the first woman appointed to the New London Redevelopment Commission. She was hired as a program manager with the Model City program. Ms. Smith wrote programs for the education, recreation and public safety departments. Under her leadership, the first hot lunch program was implemented in all the cities' elementary schools. Later, she was employed by the Department of Defense as the Federal Women’s Program Manager. She assisted in writing the documentary "Extraordinary Women of Rhode Island in the 20th Century," which won the PBS best documentary award and the Department of the Navy Best Women’s Program.
          Her first novel, Squeeze My Hand, written in both English and Spanish, has received an award from USA Book News. She is a member of the Treasure Coast Writers and The National League of American Pen Women, Inc.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

I enjoyed this book - at least the parts about Colandra and the missionary work in the village. I have many missionary friends and relatives, and have always enjoyed their stories. So it was with great anticipation that I curled up with this book.
          Unfortunately, the book was not as wonderful as the story that it is telling.
First, I never figured out what the sun and thunder had to do with the story. Maybe I missed something. But I usually expect the title to be inspired by or be the inspiration for a story that I read. At the very beginning of the book, Colandra runs out to greet the rising sun, a poetically beautiful bit of prose that will sweep you up and make you want to run with the small girl, and it isn’t long before you realize that the girl is smart, but deaf.
          Second, the dialogue was frustrating. The voice in my head sounded like I was reading from a 4th grade reader. The conversations were choppy and flitted around without structure much of the time. I found this frustrating and nearly put the book down. I found myself skimming many of the conversations. Many of them felt rushed, out of place, or filler to run up the word total. This was a jarring change from the beautiful prose of the first chapter.
          Third, since I don't like sports and baseball, the long chapters about the baseball games were skimmed over, and I likely missed a few important parts of the story doing this. If you love baseball, or understand the game well, it is very likely that you will enjoy the lengthy descriptions of the missionaries starting up a village team and Colandra’s trip to a major league game. Several chapters are spent describing a game that Colandra umpires shortly after she returns from the USA.
          Fourth, very few of the characters had any depth. Names and quips of conversations - but you never got to know any of them. Colandra was fairly well developed, it was easy to cheer for her. You also got to know a few of the leaders, but only at an acquaintance level.
          Personally, I feel this book would have been much better executed as a series of short stories, with each theme it's own story, or at least it's own chapter. .... Dividing the story into smaller bites would have been a great way to tell the stories - Meet Colandra and her People, Returning Home, Colandra's Ears and a Trip to the USA, Fun with Baseball, Starting a School. ... Many of the sub stories, I would have loved to have heard more about - like the school. I do understand that the author was trying to tell a story chronologically.
It was a beautiful story ... with a lot of baggage to read.
          One thing I found frustrating was how easy it made it sound to live as a missionary. There was no struggle, everything just happened in such a positive way. This left the story feeling flat. For instance, every time the missionaries needed something, somebody knew just the right person, like a doctor for Colandra’s operation and a baseball player who was willing to set up teams with quality equipment. Computers ran with few problems, boxes of curriculum were purchased, shipped, and arrived on time. The only "challenge" in the story was leading the rest of the tribe to Christ, which happened quickly and easily once the missionaries arrived back in their country.
         I feel like this is a wonderful story .... trapped in poor writing, even though there are many moments of brilliance. I wondered if the story was true, it might be, but I was unable to confirm that it is an actual true account.

Notes:
This would make a good read aloud to children who enjoy baseball. It would also make a good learning platform for a homeschool family. The book lends itself well to learning more about Colandra’s country, the village, and so much more.

Genre/Theme:  Missionary, Christian, Baseball, Special Needs
Reading Level:  CHILD
Profanity: NONE
Sexuality: NONE

Ben Woodard - The Boy Who Flew With Eagles

The Boy Who Flew With Eagles
Mythic Adventure Collection #1


by Ben Woodard
illustrated by Laura Leikona

Kindle Edition Available




Product Description (From Amazon)
Famine. A giant eagle. And a boy who would be prey.

The book combines excitement, adventure, and the dream of all humans. To fly. Naa'ki, a boy snatched by a giant eagle, must use his wits and knowledge to survive. And to save his people and animals from starvation. To succeed, he will have to give up his future.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Tenya

Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest, I have a great appreciation for these kind of Native American tales, full of wisdom and a true appreciation for the natural world.

Ben Woodard has woven this story beautifully. It's easy to read. As an adult, I enjoyed it immensely. What human has not wished to soar on the wind? I was charmed from the first sentence. Wonderful!

As a homeschooler of 13+ years, I recommend this book as an example of Native American folklore and as a thought-provoking, unobtrusive invitation to wildlife conservation. Most third or fourth graders should be able to read this book on their own, and even those into their teens will probably enjoy it. Even though it is aimed at boys, which is fantastic, I think many young ladies will value it as well.

Notes:
Additionally, the illustrations by Laura Leikona which highlight each chapter are simple and beautiful.  Between the lovely aesthetic of this book and the good writing, it's a must read for all families, and especially for boys.  One of Ben Woodard's goals is to create books which excite young men about reading.

Genre/Theme:  Native American Tales, Children's Literature, Wildlife Conservation
Reading Level:  CHILD to ADULT - Most 3rd graders should be able to read this book independently.
Profanity: NONE
Sexuality: NONE