Gravel Road Musings

 I will read anything Erin Bartels writes. I love her books and I think I have all her novels on my shelf. This book took me about three days to read, but it is probably my least favorite so far and yet it had such a good, good theme running through it.  Michael Sullivan is down on his luck. Kicked out by his bandmates, rejected by his dad, bunking up with his alcoholic, loser uncle, life is looking pretty bleak. And then he meets Natalie Wheeler, daughter of a very popular musical parents. I'm not going to give much more of the story, except to say that Natalie's mom is dying of cancer. This isn't a huge spoiler because it is pretty obvious almost immediately that something is wrong with her health wise. And yet Deb has a heart of gold, especially for the down and outer.  This is the story of redemption and second chances. Michael is encouraged to forgive and move forward and maybe give his dad a chance. He is forced to confront him at certain level and struggles to do so,

  Young Reader's Edition Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us This book is a series of ten short chapters that each tell a brief synopsis of ten ladies who made a difference in the world in which they were part of. Most of the stories take place in the Civil War era, either just prior, during, or soon after.  I have not read the regular edition and might find that one a bit more interesting, but the chapters were almost too short and didn't give enough information about each lady to really draw me in. However, I think for a young reader it might be about perfect--enough information to learn something without being overwhelming.  What I did like was the fact that it was written to be used as a history supplement. Hard words were highlighted so they could be looked up in the dictionary and at the end of each chapter there were discussion questions and also research opportunities to learn more about the person or that era in which they had lived. If I was a teacher, I could s