Book Reviews

Read a book that left a lasting impression?  One that you would like  to recommend to others? 

 Or perhaps one you felt came short of what you expected it would be?

 If you would like to post a book review, please feel free to submit it. 

Feel free to give each book your own rating - from one to five with five being the highest.  

  Homefront  by Kristen J. Tsetsi

From the Book's Jacket:  This is the untold war story.  Lt. Col. Dave Grossman writes in his novel On Killing that soldiers experience a range of psychological effects resulting from war: "…fear, exhaustion, guilt and horror, hate, fortitude…" (51).  The loved ones they leave behind experience similar psychological traumas that create a very personal homefront war, one often misconstrued by the media-—as well as by those with no first-hand deployment experience-—as simple "missing" and "worry."

Homefront sheds needed light on the highly under-documented internal battles suffered by those left waiting. Each true-to-life character in Homefront (Mia, the professor-turned-cabdriver whose boyfriend deploys to Iraq; Jake, the boyfriend; Olivia, Jake's mother; Denise, a disgruntled soldier's wife and friend to Mia; Donny Donaldson, an alcoholic, maybe-Vietnam veteran and Mia's cab fare ) responds to the war in his or her own unique, and painfully intimate, way.

Chicken Soup for the Military Wife's Soul

Review:  This long-awaited book in the Chicken Soup series is a must-read for everyone connected to the military

 and should be top on your gift list to those in your circle of friends/family who really don't understand our lifestyle. 

 Although this book is American, I am so pleased to see three Canadian stores in the book.  

No matter what country our husbands serve, military wives are universal and we all go through the same emotions in this lifestyle. 

 If you don't have a copy - make it a priority to get one.  This book is available WORLD WIDE so that should tell you something...

Rating: 

These shared passages - a celebration of friendship's light - by lynn hall

Review:  If you ever wanted a gift that would keep on giving - this is it.  Or if you ever wanted

 something that would express how you feel about a particular friend, then there is no finer gift 

you could give her/him than These shared passages.  Lynn Hall has done it again

 and I am so excited about her work that I can't wait to see what she produces next.  

This is a 'must read-must gift'.

Rating: 

new beginnings - big and small  - by lynn hall

Review:  Lynn Hall is a very special military wife whose spiritualness comes through in a thoroughly enjoyable way. 

 Readers of this book will come away with a new sense of what is really important in life - people! 

  She taps into the inner beauty we all have and should see in others.  Anyone who reads this book will treasure it.

Rating: 

We're Moving Where? The life of a Military Wife  - by Jeanette (Shetler) Russell

From The Book's Jacket:   Travel!  Romance! Adventure!  Such is the life of a military wife.

  Well, it is if your name is Jeanette Russell, who in 1962 married a handsome young 

airman in her hometown of Sydney, Cape Breton Island and began a love affair with the military 

that continues to this day.

Review:  Jeannette Russell is indeed a lady who sees adventure where most of us probably wouldn't. 

 This is a book that her grandchildren will delight in reading.  It's her personal story of her life

 in the military community and you have to accept it as that.  It is not the life of a typical military wife, 

although it might have been typical in Jeanette's circle of friends.  But then perhaps Jeannette 

was just such a bubbly person, she didn't dwell on the negatives but made an adventure out of all that she could. 

 I found it a delightful read.  My only qualms with the book was that I hoped people wouldn't paint all military wives

 with the brush that so adequately describes Jeannette and her antics.  

Being stranded in a strange place without money or taking advantage of a social life to the fullest,

 doesn't happen to most military wives, but the fact that it did to Jeannette 

and she was willing to share so much of herself with her readers makes this book a good read.

Rating:

The Rest of the Story According to Boyle - by Everett Boyle

From The Jacket:  The story broke in MacLean's: 

 sexual harassment and abuse of subordinates by officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. 

 Everett Boyle featured prominently on the side of the angels.  His battle against this insidious corruption

brightened the last years of his successful military career.  According to Boyle, 

who retired a Chief Warrant Officer, these revelations are just the tip of the iceberg, and nothing has changed. 

In his view, the entire officer corps is infected with a malaise, a moral impairment that is destroying morale

 and undermining our armed forces' potential effectiveness in the field.  Boyle's is a passionate

 and convincing argument for a return to traditional military values and discipline.  This is the rest of the story. 

 "When an officer accepts the responsibility of Command, as far as women and sex goes, 

the only drawers available to him inside that Command, are in his desk and he better remember that!"...

Review:  This was a book that I just couldn't put down. 

 Having worked for the military for many years, I fully understood the whole book. 

 I applaud Everett Boyle's commitment to telling this story as I feel it definitely needed to be told 

and I don't doubt the accuracy of what he has penned. 

 However, as with any select barrel of apples, all the apples aren't bad. 

I think the reader needs to form his own opinions and I would recommend this read highly.

Rating: 

From Cowboy's Office Window  - by Tom King

Review:  This is a delightful book - "A collection of not too serious Cowboy Poetry" written by a man

 who thoroughly knows the life of a cowboy - because he's lived it. 

 His exquisite sense of humor and his writing style make this book a 'must read'.  

The graphics are absolutely wonderful and you can tell that the whole project was not only a labor of love, 

but that those involved from start to finish had a great time participating in the book.  

Rating: 

A Rose For Her Grave  by Ann Rule

From the jacket cover:  Ann Rule turns her unflinching professional eye on one of the most infamous cases

 in the Pacific Northwest - that of Randy Roth, a man who married for profit and the women who were his victims.

Review:  This was one book that I found hard to put down.  Not the type of book I usually read

 but I was fascinated at how this man could dupe so many women and why it took so long for the police to close in on him. 

 I can't begin to know the grief these women must have felt when they realized 

the man they loved and married was definitely not what he portrayed himself to be.  

Ann Rule's telling of a most difficult story was done with much compassion 

and made the terrible truth somehow a little easier to read.  Dianne Collier

Rating:

Red Tent by Anita Diamant  

Military Wives 101 by Tynisa Gaines 

From the book's jacket:  Military Wives 101 is a provocative and inspiring novel about Tayler and Sandy, 

two women who marry uncharacteristically into the military lifestyle. 

 Although Sandy currently has no male suitors, Tayler has a tentative proposal from Carl, and Army soldier

 with whom she had a one-night stand, two years ago.  Ironically, Sandy's promiscuity introduces Tayler to Carl, 

and her selfishness tries to keep them apart.  Fed up with Sandy's childish behavior, 

Tayler cuts Sandy off from their one-way friendship, and vows to accomplish her future dreams without her.  

Sandy is disturbed by this, and impulsively makes some choices that she soon regrets....  .

  It does not take either of them long to realize that, even though they both hold graduate degrees, 

the one class they must struggle to pass is Military Wives 101.

Review:  The book was not at all what I expected - but I didn't have the above comments 

to read before I purchased it. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be full of good advice 

for military wives just starting out but instead it is the story of two young women dealing with today's stresses

 and they just happen to end up with military men.  It is definitely a book for young women

 - I couldn't relate to many of their experiences. 

 Also, there were many errors throughout the book which I found surprising 

as it is presented well with  an unusual cover for a book about the military community.  Dianne Collier

Rating: 

Married to the Military  by Meredith Leyva  

From the book's jacket:  Whether you're dating, engaged, or married to an active military service member or reservist -

 or you've just signed up yourself - you may feel as if you've somehow married the US military. 

 While there are plenty of orientation books for him, there are almost no handy, user-friendly resources for you. 

 Meredith Leyva, a military wife and founder of CinCHouse.com the internet's largest community for

 military wives, girlfriends, and women in uniform, details everything you need to know to manage

 day-to-day issues and get on with the adventure of military life.... Written by a seasoned military wife, 

this smart and savvy guide will help you take control at every point of your service member's career - 

from filing marriage papers as newlyweds to choosing prenatal and child care 

when you start a family to figuring out his pension when he's ready to retire.

Review:  The first thing that impressed me about this book was its cover -

 camouflage background done in shades of pink and gray and a set of dusty rose Corporal hooks.  Love it!!   

There are some 'war stories' throughout the book and it is full of advice for various situations. 

 It must have been a tremendous amount of work to put together as it is full of pay rates, 

how to recognize all the different ranks, baggage allowances for traveling overseas, etc -

 no small feat to gather this type of information.  It looks like an absolutely wonderful reference book

 for American military wives and would be a good read for Canadian military wives who might like to compare 

our system with theirs.  I couldn't help but feel as I glanced through it, that this type of book 

with Canadian information would be invaluable to our young wives just starting out.  Dianne Collier

Rating: