beautifully-written description of relationships, but little happened and the resolution felt lacking.

This show business biography of Meryl Streep marches through her movie roles and co-stars but leaves one wanting to know more about the person as opposed to the actress.

This memoir by a woman who feels herself a bit of a misfit finds her calling training horses. She is asked to help out at a ranch for prisoners finishing off their sentences, most of whom have been drug dealers and addicts. By teaching the residents patience with training the horses, she finds a number of them react with love and care for the horses and overcome many of their personal difficulties.

so far ive almost cried twice

Overall, I did enjoy this book. But there was about 150 pages of BORING content in the middle, and the author seemed to use the fact that the main protagonist is 12 years old to justify her doing some REALLY senseless things... even though her main attribute is (supposed to be) classic 12-yo quick thinking. The last 50 or so pages were kill but.... the book opens with a mystery that is never solved. And ends with two characters who have NEVER mattered having a pointless conversation. It feels like they left 150 pages of boring writing in the middle and cut an extra 30 pages that should have wrapped up the end. But still, the writing was enjoyable enough that even though the plot didn't resolve as well as I wanted, I still liked the process of reading it.

Kushtakas were half man-half otter, spirits of those who had drowned. These phantoms appeared to those in danger of drowning and offered to rescue them, but aimed to turn them into kushtakas too. Only those with respect for elders and traditions and a strong will from ascetic practices were able to resist these spirits. The shamans were healers and could see into the future and tried to use their powers against the kushtakas. There are beautiful illustrations at the chapter headings. This is a nice book of native American legends.

Roberts, a longtime political commentator, has written an interesting book on the wives and mothers who participated in the American Revolution and the early political life of the Republic. Based largely on the letters women wrote to their families, friends, and political leaders, the book sheds new light on women's contributions to early American history. There are wry asides comparing life and politics then and now.

Love that this book was selected for the 2018 Community Read! Shirley Jackson's writing style flows dreamlike and makes for a fast, engaging read. The story encompasses many issues, including bullying, individual and group neuroses and the cruelty of mob mentality and attacks on anyone who is different. A perfect read for October!

This is a great heartwarming book about friends and sticking up for yourself.