The Last Sin Eater

This was a good one!

Set in the 1800's in the Appalachian mountains, a community of people place all their hope on the Sin Eater, a man who will come to their grave and eat their sins so they can have eternal life...and as he does this, he assumes their evil debt and accepts that he will go to hell for the sins of the community. Until...

This really was such a fabulous read by Francine Rivers. The children and the burden they carry. The sorrow of the community and the secrets that some would die for. I could not put this book down. And after everyone was in bed asleep, I would sit and read quietly out loud in my best Scottish accent.

I recommend this book!

The Finishing School

A small finishing school in Switzerland. Rich kids who believe they have the right to be there. A headmaster who is obsessed with writing a novel he cannot finish and a student who is able to get one finished. The headmaster's wife who does not love the man and is sure he is sleeping with other women. This is the beginning, the middle and the end.

Spoiled children, adultery and a final homosexual understanding.

I've heard that Murial Spark is a genius and I don't doubt it. I just don't get it.

By The Shores of Silver Lake

This book may so far be my favorite in the Little House series.

The Ingalls have moved to the Dakota Territory to make a go at a new land. The railroad really does change everything! Laura is now 13 and is in charge of the girls as Mary has gone blind. The responsibility and her mother's dream of Mary becoming a teacher has been shifted onto Laura and she reluctantly, yet silently, takes the lead just as her mother expects her to do.

This was a wonderful read. My daughter asked every night for another chapter and is excited to start the next one (after the 5th Harry Potter, of course).

My recommendation for all families is the read this series together. It really is quite wonderful.