The Blue Notebook by Dr. James A. Levine – 224 pages
Book Blurb:
An unforgettable, deeply affecting debut novel, The Blue Notebook tells the story of Batuk, a precocious fifteen-year-old girl from rural India who is sold into sexual slavery by her father. As she navigates the grim realities of Mumbai’s Common Street, Batuk manages to put pen to paper, recording her private thoughts and writing fantastic tales that help her transcend her daily existence. Beautifully crafted, surprisingly hopeful, and filled with both tragedy and humor, The Blue Notebook shows how even in the most difficult situations, people use storytelling to make sense of and give meaning to their lives.
My Review: 4.5 stars
A short, phenomenally well written book by a doctor who wrote this story after visiting Mumbai. It is extremely dark as we live in this young girl’s head, but her spirit and tenacity to find solace with pen and paper keeps us cheering her on. I really enjoyed this book as depressing as it was.
I highly recommend if you can handle the subject matter. All US proceeds of the book go to help exploited children.
Quotes I liked:
You can never fully straighten bent metal; you can only make it less bent.”
I could not put this book down! The subject matter was difficult but handled well. I was so glad to see that the proceeds of the book go to help exploited children – Thanks for the recommendation. Laurie d.
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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters is a novel not to be missed. I went into the book completely blind, and it served me well. I still can’t believe this is a debut.When Ruthie, the youngest in a large Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia goes missing, her family is wrought with grief. Joe, one of the protagonists suffers the most as he was the last person with Ruthie. His life is shattered in many ways, both physically and emotionally. Not a day goes by where he doesn’t feel guilt and/or shame for his behavior. We learn early on that Ruthie was taken by a woman unable to hold a pregnancy. She is overprotective to a fault for fears of Ruthie (now Norma) getting hurt or recognized. Norma has dreams that relate to her family, but she was too young at four years old to have any real memories of her earlier family. Norma’s parents completely ignore her dreams by shushing them away.There is a lot of grief in this book, but there is also many lessons about forgiveness and hope. Peters also touches on alcoholism, discrimination, and terminal illness. At its heart, this book centers around the meaning of family, the hope of reunion and the ties that bond one person to another.I will be first in line to pick up Peters next book. The writing was exquisite.@amandapetersauthor #Catapult 📘 Have you ever been berry 🫐🍓 picking? #newbookreview#bookreview#bookreader#TBR #addtoTBR #booklover#bookstagram#goodbookfairy#goodbookfairybookreview ... See MoreSee Less
I could not put this book down! The subject matter was difficult but handled well. I was so glad to see that the proceeds of the book go to help exploited children – Thanks for the recommendation. Laurie d.