Book Reviews by CWalb
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Porcelain Soldier is an autobiographical journal about the author's journey through a tough time in her life. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2006 after being rushed to the hospital for severe arm pains. It was a completely unexpected diagnosis, and it changed Kelli Davis' life. No one really tells you how to live life after cancer, and this is the story of just how Ms. Davis managed it.

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Vlara's Song by Neil O'Dennell is a quaint little collection of medium-length short stories all set in the same, fictional world. The title story is about a druid priestess on her travels after the death of her lover, and there are many other interesting tales, including one about a troll who just happens to be a monk. Other works include the story of a soldier who loses his memory in the midst of battle, and the real story of what happens when a writer dies.

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Lisa Brown's life has just taken a turn for the worst. Her mother has decided to commit herself to a psychiatric ward, and leave Lisa with her Aunt in Lynn, Massachusetts. As if that isn't enough, this city is bizarre. The locals have a saying "Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You never come out the way you went in." Lisa must live in the local boarding school for geniuses, which her Aunt owns. There, she meets a dog named Pig, and a cat named Rat. "Mind the cat" everyone says.

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It's winter in mid-19th century Bavaria, and two men,Andreas Schiffer and Abelard Bauer, are trying to overcome the pain of their sons' deaths, and the scandal they left behind. When Schiffer sees a glass minstrel in Bauer's shop, he know's that Bauer is trying to keep his son alive, and is angry with him, having blamed him and his son for the scandal. However, Schiffer must learn to live in the now and take care of his family, as Bauer must try to understand why his son died.

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This book was written for young girls who have grown up in households without fathers. The author is trying to give advice to girls like these on how to move on and grow to be stronger from a situation like this instead of succumbing to the statistics that girls without fathers will not live good lives. By sharing her own personal experiences, and the experiences of other girls, Aarica J. Black aims to show these girls that they are not alone.

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Philoxenia- a Greek word meaning "love of strangers." Love is exactly what Philoxenia House- a house for women who need to hide from abusive husbands- shows to the strangers it takes in. Darya and Nikki are two children adopted by Tee-tee, the head of Philoxenia house, from Russia many years ago. Told from the point of view of Darya as she struggles with feelings of abandonment and being an adopted child, this story deals with the mundane as well as the fantastic, for little does Darya know that she is born to fulfill an ancient prophecy.