Educated by Tara Westover

Again, I'm late to the party on this one. I've been hearing rave reviews for months about this one, and finally (because it's on my book club list), I read it. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of memoirs, but this one is pretty darn fascinating. It reminded me of The Glass Castle which I think I read over 15 years ago. In both books, the main character is female and somehow manages to pull herself out of a dysfunctional childhood into a life normal enough to manage to write a book! Amazing!

Tara Westover's family is living off the grid with no formal education for the children and a distrust for government and the medical community. One of her older brothers is very abusive and those were, for me, the most difficult parts of the book to read. Ultimately, her parents do not believe this abuse occurred and this manages to divide the family.

The book is well written and compelling. Would definitely recommend it. But now I certainly need to read something a little lighter. Whew! - June

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

After struggling to find books that held my interest, I was not looking forward to reading some book about Korean women who are divers. It just didn't sound that appealing. But I admit that I found the book fascinating! On the island of Jeju off the coast of Korea, there was a close-knit group of women who supported their families and their local communities by diving and harvesting things from the sea. The novel covers their relationships with each other and with other members of their family. And it doesn't hold back on the dangers of their work.

The book also deals with the political parts of their lives during the 1930's, and be warned..... there are a couple of quite violent scenes.

The themes of friendship and forgiveness are throughout the novel. It's beautifully written and researched. And it taught me so much about this part of the world that I never knew.

Definitely recommend this one, BT. - June