Book Review: 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher: Story Cartel Classics

Pages: 256

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Page

Amazon.com

Summary (from Goodreads)

This is the true story of Solomon Northup, who was born and raised as a freeman in New York. He lived the American dream, with a house and a loving family - a wife and two kids. Then one day he was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery in the deep south. These are the true accounts of his twelve hard years as a slave.

The Friday 56, #1

The Friday 56 is a weekly blog meme hosted by Freda's Voice. The rules are simple:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.

*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.

It's that simple!

Book Review: Capturing Jasmina by Kimberley Rae

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: BJU Press

Series: India's Street Kids #1

Pages: 101

Rating: 2.5/5

Goodreads Page

Amazon.com

Summary

Jasmina and her brother, Samir, lead an ordinary life with their parents in India. Then one day everything changes: a strange man shows up at their house offering them education and good jobs, and so their father sells both Samir and Jasmina to him. But instead of taking them to a school, the man leads the children to a sweatshop where they are to work as his slaves for a very long time - possibly forever. While Samir submits to his fate almost immediately, Jasmina never stops fighting to regain her freedom.

Book Review: Omari and the People by Stephen Whitfield

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for my honest review

Publisher: ShirleyCastle Press

Pages: 360

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Page

Amazon.com

Summary

In a nameless city on the edge of a desert lives Omari, probably the best thief ever to live there. On the verge of being exposed for his many crimes, Omari decides to set his house on fire, fake his death and start fresh somewhere else:

His mind sharpened to the fineness of a well-honed razor; a habit formed by a lifetime of cheating death. Without realizing it, he had undergone a swift and profound change: from dark despair to survival instincts.

What would have been a perfect plan turns into a catastrophe when the fire starts to spread and destroys the entire city. Aided by a mysterious old woman, and tormented by guilt over the destruction of the city, Omari must take the lead and guide the people to a better land across the desert, a land no one has ever been able to reach before. This is where the epic journey of this people starts. A journey fraught with difficulties, bandits, illness and more, where loyalties are tested, and a people will have to learn to overcome their differences and come together if they want to survive and reach the promised land.