Lisa Eve Cheby's Blog: Reading Connects: Book Review and Recommendations

Gathering: A Women Who Submit Anthology by Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am honored to be a part of this anthology and Women Who Submit, so my review may be a bit biased. That said, I am grateful for the wise, artful, and compassionate works in this collection gathering how women across the country survived, thrived, and were transformed by the Covid19 pandemic.



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Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the intro the author explains how as a young reader she wanted to see Jewish youth portrayed as more than victims in stories set in WWII and the Holocaust. This book is intense and dark, but looks at groups of rebels who left hiding to fight. There are super natural elements and the violence of war is depicted in a way that I would recommend this book for high school students only. However, it is a wonderful addition to other Holocaust literature that focuses on hiding and/or camps, and could open deeper discussions about the role of citizens in the Holocaust.



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Bibliographic Information:  Ribay, Randy. Patron Saints of Nothing. Kokila, 2019.  Plot Description (100-150 words):  In his usual beautiful and lyrical prose, Ribay tells the story of Jay Reguero, a Filipino-American senior who returns to his family’s hometown to uncover the truth behind his cousin’s death. Jun, his cousin, had been close with Jay before Jay […]

Bibliographic Information:  Sylvester, Natalia. Breathe and Count Back from Ten. Clarion Books, 2022.  Plot Description (100-150 words):  After a lifetime of surgeries for hip dysplasia and lessons from her Peruvian parents on how to be a ‘good immigrant’ in the face of fears of deportation, Veronica defies the wishes of her parents and applies for […]

Bibliographic Information: Talley, Robin. Lies We Tell Ourselves. Don Mills, Ont., Canada, Harlequin Teen, 2014. Plot Description: Talley’s decision to alternate viewpoints between two high school seniors — one the white daughter of the local paper editor, Linda Hairston and the other one of the black students integrating the school and daughter of NAACP activist, […]

Bibliographic Information: Soto, Gary. Buried onions. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2006. Print. Plot Description: After dropping out of college, Eddie must struggle to try to make a living and move ahead against the tide of despair and violence in his Mexican-American neighborhood in Fresno, California.   When he attempts to do good by painting house numbers on […]

Bibliographic Information: Whitman, Walt. “Audio & Podcasts.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.

Bibliographic Information: “Franz Kafka’s THE METAMORPHOSIS adapted by Peter Kuper.” Franz Kafka’s THE METAMORPHOSIS adapted by Peter Kuper. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.

Bibliographic Information: “The Short Films Blog.” : The Lunch Date. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014.

Bibliographic Information: Starting With Psychology. n.d. Web. 18 March 2014. . Plot Description:  This interactive online course is a series of modules that provide an introduction to the field of psychology and human behavior.   The modules start with considerations of factors that influence human behavior including how the brain works and how we learn behaviors […]