Good Books

I just finished reading Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I have been wanting to read it for a long time. It is a great "feel good" book. It made me want to go out and do something nice for somebody. I'm excited to watch the movie now. I wonder why Kevin Spacey was selected to play the role of Reuben. Reuben is African American in the novel. His face was a big part of his character. Not only is he a black teacher, he is missing an eye and his face has been reconstructed using skin from his thigh because of an injury he suffered in the Vietnam War. I think they should have cast the role of Reuben with somebody else. Denzel Washington would have been my choice.

The stares that Reuben deals with are the same stares that Erin Joy gets. Her birthmark is much lighter now after several laser treatments and the stares and questions are not as common now as they were in the past. She sure gets a lot of stares after laser treatments when her face is spotty and black. This would be a great book for her to read when she is older. It is a great book for anybody to read.
I enjoyed My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. She is a great author. Anna was conceived to be a donor for her older sister who was suffering from leukemia. Her embryo was selected out of several because she was a perfect genetic match. When she is 13 years old, she decides to sue her parents when they want her to donate a kidney to her sister. She is tired of having her body used without her permission. Meanwhile, the older brother is out setting fires and causing trouble as his reaction to being neglected because of the attention given to his sick sister. Picoult uses each character's viewpoint in alternating chapters.

It is a great book about family dynamics and relationships. I enjoyed reading it. I just added both books to my bookshelf. I have a lot of books on my bookshelf. You'll have to click the "next" button if you really want to look at all of them.