Summer Reading

I finally got to read a summer pick. It is a book from my library, Kaye Gibbons' "Sights Unseen." This is an adult book. I read only a few of those, mainly concentratng on children's books. There's a reason for me to read this for the third time.

The subject matter is similar to my manuscript for a novel, TALKING MAMA HOME, and is for 9-12 age group. Gibbons' "Sights Unseen" is about a woman looking back to her childhood, and what it was like to be born to a mentally ill mother.

This story helps me to see all the ways Gibbons is able to keep me interested in a tough story about mother loss and love. I happened upon Gibbons' books while researching published books on my topic of depression and mental illness. I've bought two of hers, the other, "Ellen Foster," is also about emotional imbalance of a parent and how one child got through her turbulent childhood.

If young adults want to read a book on surviving childhood, "Ellen Foster" will satisfy. Ellen is spunky and full of determination to make it in a cruel world.

I hope everyone has a chance to read or reread their favorite books during the summer. Fall is upon us. School is beginning. Keep reading books that give us hope.

Until next time.