While on our road trip to the Monterey Peninsula gathering deep wealth, we listened to two books on tape — Blessed are the Cheesemakers (our second time through this one) and Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie. Each has the remarkable quality of being laugh out loud humorous and has the ability to touch your soul deeply.
Kathy Rossol of Open Doorways Reading Room introduced me to each so I asked her to write a review. Open Doorways Reading Room is an afterschool, community-based program in SE King County, WA, where young people can listen to good reads and explore books not only as good entertainment, but as catalysts for new ideas and perspectives that may enrich their lives and open doors to the world beyond their own neighborhoods.
As usual, when you buy these books from these Amazon links, the commissions go to help kids.
Here Are Kathy’s Reviews –
Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch
Take one burned-out, alcoholic New York stockbroker, two quirky Irish cheesemakers, five vegetarian, singing dairymaids (who all happen to be pregnant) and add a heart-broken, lost soul named Abby. Mix well on a dairy farm in Kilarney, Ireland. Result – a deeply satisfying, unexpected tale of coincidences, second chances, human kindness and love. For a special treat, listen to the audiobook version – it is a riot!
Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
Steven Alper is your typical 13-year old middle school kid – slightly geeky, passionate about drums, out of his depth with girls, and tolerant (on a good day) of his 5-year old brother, Jeffrey. His life is turned upside down when Jeffrey is whisked off to the emergency room one morning with a horrendous nosebleed only to return home with an even more horrendous diagnosis of acute leukemia. Sonnenblick does an excellent job of balancing drama with humor and extraordinary events with the everyday trials and tribulations of an 8th grade boy.
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Tags: blessed are the cheesemakers, Kathy Rossol, Open Doorways Reading Room
