Vanishing Acts, by Joki Picoult

The hocus-pocus stuff just doesn’t interest me.  As I review the plot, I don’t see why it was included as it didn’t pertain to the events enough to bother with it.  As an adult, Delia discovers that her loving father had taken her away from her mother in Arizona and obtained new identities for the two of them.  They lived in New England as these “new” people for over 20 years. Her father gave up his career and all contacts with their former life. She was raised thinking her mother had died.  Her father did a great job raising her, carving a new life in a new community. Growing up with two boys who were neighbors added richly to her life, but therein lies the tangled romantic angle, too. But one day, out of the blue, the police arrived and arrested her father for kidnapping and the plot charged on.  His experiences in jail were horrifying.  That part of the story was another side trip, like the hocus-pocus stuff, away from the plot.  The story seemed to incorporate three novel ideas into one plot.  Then there was the end.  Only it wasn’t.  6.5 out of 10.

These is my Words, The diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy E. Turner

Loved it!  10 out of 10.  Hard to imagine how primitive and dangerous it was in that time period in Arizona and New Mexico.  Diaries of my Great Great Grandmother from the same time period, in Eastern Iowa, speak of such a different kind of life.  An historically representative story of the times and conditions as well as a love story.  So much loss of life and such hardships,  and yet the family just kept on going through separations, death, sickness, financial troubles.  We are so spoiled now!  Again, a 10 out of 10.

One Year After by William R. Forstchen

The second in his series, following One Second After.  The second year after nuclear weapons were set off above the U.S. knocking out all power, communications, services, and isolating communities. Black Mountain, N.C. is struggling to survive. Perhaps not as scary as the first book, partly because the first had such an impact on me that my thinking has changed and because the community has found a way to sustain itself, still hungry but not starving.  With no supplies coming in, they have become very creative in trying to use what was left from the “old” days.  But outside marauders from nearby are still causing battles and deaths.  Medical and dental care is minimal to non-existent.  A larger community a few miles away has more connections to the national scene.  But they want to take over everything and everyone.  The strongest and youngest in the town have been drafted from authorities there to serve where there is rampant rioting in big cities.  Thus not enough strong bodies would be left to grow and harvest food.  Troubles just are dominoes sliding every which way.  I’m more worried about the next in the series, The Final Day. I think this series should be required reading for every high school student and adult in our country.  Although I read a lot, I rarely buy the books, using the library services.  But I bought One Second After the day before I started One Year Later and will buy it, too. I have The Final Day on reserve.  9 out of 10. We need to think about this topic.