Hope Runs

Hope Runs by Claire Diaz-Ortiz and Samuel Ikua Gachagua is a book I finished reading this week.  The book is about two very different lives intersecting-one of a twenty something American woman, the other of a teenage Kenyan boy who lives at an orphanage.  Their lives intersect and are soon woven together in a story that changes both of their lives.  It is humbling to read the story of Sammy and it made me think about how being born in a certain place and time truly affects a person's life.  Chapters are written alternately by Claire and Sammy, and tell things from their perspective.  This is worth reading if you want a better understanding of the challenges orphans face.  It is an inspiring book because it shows how an individual can choose to make a difference in other people's lives.

Child of Mine

Child of Mine by David and Beverly Lewis is a novel I finished reading last week.  It is two stories-one of Kelly Maines, the other of Jack Livingston.  Kelly has been looking for her only  daughter, Emily, for eight years-she had been kidnapped as an infant.  Jack is raising his brother's daughter Natalie because his brother and his brother's wife died in an accident.  Soon Kelly and Jack's stories become intertwined.  This is a longer book (over 400 pages) that had plenty of twists in the plot that I did not expect.  It would be a good book for a book club to discuss.  It would also likely make a good movie.