American Ghost (Janis Owens)

I’m going to start with a warning that if you’re looking for a spooky novel, American Ghost, by Janis Owens, is not it.  Many people on other sites have posted that they were under the assumption that this was a ghost story.  However, the type of ghost Owens writes about is not traditional but historical.

American Ghost takes place in the American South, but I wasn’t entirely sure in what time period until after the first few chapters.  Sam Lense is a college student who has come to Hendrix, Florida under false pretenses.  He tells the people he meets that he is researching Native American tribes of the area when really he is investigating an ancestor’s murder at the hands of Henry Kite.  Kite was executed for his crime long ago, along with most of his family, in such a heinous way, that the modern-day people of Hendrix do not wish to speak of it.  Sam meets Jolie Hoyt, who comes from a family that is very well-known for all the wrong reasons.  Did the Hoyt family have something to do with this lynching?  Sam soon realizes that digging into the secrets of Hendrix could be extremely dangerous.

Some readers have compared this book to The Help, but in my eyes, there is no comparison.  To me, the present-day characters in American Ghost were not fully fleshed out enough to the point where I cared enough to continue reading about them.  However, the historical aspect of the novel makes it worth reading and remembering that it wasn’t so long ago that this actually happened in America. 

MY RATING - 3

A Secret Kept (Tatiana de Rosnay)

Out of the books I have reviewed in my quest to reach 1,776, Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key has been my favorite bar none. I loved it so much, that I am very hesitant to see the movie. Movies are rarely as good as the books they are based on. I had such a profound experience reading Sarah's Key that I do not want the movie to change the images I have in my mind. Readers who think that A Secret Kept will be like Sarah's Key (even though the covers are very similar) will be surprised.

The narrator, Antoine Rey, takes his sister, Melanie, to a memorable place, Noirmoutier Island, for the celebration of her 4oth birthday. This island was a special place for them as children, as they spent summers there with their family. Even though they had not been back there since their mother's death, the weekend brings back memories, some welcome, some not. On the drive back home, Melanie is just about to tell Antoine something about a memory when she loses control of the car. Antoine escapes without a scratch, but Melanie is in serious condition. Will she ever recover? Will she ever remember what she was going to tell Antoine before the terrible crash? This is the "secret kept".

The problem de Rosnay (hopefully) knew she was going to face (along with Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help when she writes a second) is that the next book after such a moving one will bound to be compared to the first. This is unfair to de Rosnay because, as I said, the books are not similar at all. de Rosnay is a huge talent in the book world, and while Sarah's Key will always be my favorite, A Secret Kept is well written and worth reading.

MY RATING - 4

A Southerly Course (Martha Hall Foose)

With the exception of Paula Deen (butter, butter, and more butter), Martha Hall Foose is the queen of Southern cooking. So much so that the director of the upcoming film The Help (based on Kathryn Stockett's outstanding novel) used her in food consultation. Foose creates beautifully illustrated cookbooks of recipes that can really be found nowhere else.

From appetizers to desserts, Foose has the competent cook covered. Her recipes are easy to follow, but definitely not for the diet-conscious. One can find lard, shortening, bacon, and heavy cream in quite a few. There is not a "bacon cheeseburger" in sight in this cookbook. Instead, be prepared to find "Honey Pear Salad", "Dandelion Cracklings", "Venison Meatballs", and "Roasted Pigeons with Bread Sauce". If none of these sound appetizing, I would advise against this book, as it is definitely for the adventurous cook and eater.

My own gripe is that I need to see pictures of the finished product. While the illustrations that are there are beautiful, there is not one for every recipe. I need to know what my "Delicata Browned Butter Crepes" should look like, Martha! However, all in all, this is a book that would go nicely in a cook's cupboard.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.