Goodbye March, Hello April 2015! [NOT YET SUMMER FOR MEEE!!! *sarcasm*]

Tuesday, March 31, 2015


It's April 1!! Yeah, yeah yeah and I'm 20, I'm 20, I'm 20 *sarcasm*. I don't feel like 20, I don't act like 20, boohoo, anyways, it's just a number. :D

I've been in a reading slump this past two months, all thanks to the school works that kept me restless and left me grasping for sleep all day and all night. In spite of all those things I managed to read 3 books, I finished the last one last night and it still counts (I thought I would  only finish 2 but I squeezed another one, so three!), though I haven't reviewed it yet. Woah, I was in an emotional wreck ride last night and pfff, I can't.

MARCH
On Book Reviews:

2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge Update: 11 out of 20 books
(I might just adjust the goal to a bigger number)

James Patterson and Emily Raymond's First Love is kind of disappointing but the last two books are just so great, it eased of my negative feelings toward the book - First Love's Book Review & Book in Focus

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini is his first novel that I've tried reading. I was wee bit disappointed at some point but damn, it's worth a read. They say the other novels are better so I'm saving to buy those - And the Mountains Echoed's Book Review & Book in Focus

Lastly, All the Bright Places. I'm still processing it and I haven't written down the review yet sooo. :D

Book Acquisitions:

I didn't buy any books this month because I'm broke. I just had my birthday and I treat all my friends to lunch and dinner. But I've got two books gifted to me:

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
and
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Random Bookish Posts:

Had the chance to ask questions for Evelyn Holingue, author of Chronicles from Chateau Moines, in a blog tour by CBB Book  Promotions.

Joined the #15DaysOfLying for E. Lockhart's signing here in Philippines. I wasn't able to go to the signing because it's far away and my Mom wouldn't allow me, but I'm happy to participate in the event to welcome her. Here's my entry.

I stumbled upon a blog post regarding one's reading habits so I made mine. See what are my reading habits and compare it to yours. - Ishiee's Reading Habits

On Something Personal:


Here I am with my friends waiting for the pizzas to arrive. These are my new and old friends. Weee.

Here's a picture of me, my dormies and my two best humans on our dinner date later that night.

I still don't have the pictures during my friends' surprise gift giving to me that's why I can't share it with you. I only have the video of when they gave me a ukulele and it's priceless. OMG.

Here's a picture of what I received on my birthday:


APRIL

I actually have nothing to share with you about my April plans because I have nothing interesting to share but I am actually planning on opening a blog that compiles PH book bloggers. I am currently working on it now. If oyou are a Filipino Book Blogger and you want to be featured on its launching, email me at nickolecodico@gmail.com and I'll tell you all the details.

That's it for now.
Wish me luck.

Have a good day everyone! :)



It Echoed, Witness the Effects...

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Title: And the Mountains Echoed
Author: Khaled Hosseini
Published by: Riverhead Books on 21st May 2013
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan / California, U.S / Paris, France / Tinos, Greece
Format: Hardcover, 404 paged
My Copy Source: Bought (Powerbooks)

An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else.
Khaled Hosseini, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, has written a new novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations.

In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page.  —Goodreads


They tell me I must wade into waters, where I will soon drown. Before I march in, I leave this on the shore for you. I pray you find it, sister, so you will know what was in my heart as I went under.”

I finally finished this book! It took me a whole month to actually finish it. I was always busy that's why I found it hard to find time to finish it, and since it's a week long vacation for us college students who are not yet on vacation here in the Philippines, I finally had the luxury of laying down on my bed with books in my hand.

You have been seeing pictures of this book all over my social media accounts because I got all this hyped up energy that I am reading a Khaled Hosseini book for the first time. I know, I know, The Kite Runner is the best, but this book is the copy that I got for the cheapest price ever.  Okay so, all the energy has already died down when I was in the middle of the book when I finally had this weird feeling inside of me, like "Where is this story taking me?", and um, I was a wee bit disappointed, but finally regained a happy face albeit teary eyed in the ending.

The first part of the book was the best part for me. It got me hooked, it got me interested by the enchanting stories of the divs and jinns and all those stuff. It gave me the first glimpse of how great a story teller Mr. Hosseini was. This story actually gave me an idea of what would happen next and really, it's a great move.

As the story progressed, a lot of characters have been constantly popping up on every chapter and at times, I found it hard to keep up, especially with the names that are unusual for me because they are Afghan names. I really didn't see how essential they are to the story of Pari and Abdullah, the two siblings separated when they were young, and up until I finished the book, I still don't see it. Apart from the fact, though, that they are all connected in a way that their lives really intersect at some point or two but then again, looking back to the quote I have posted on my Tumblr., realization dawned, but didn't satisfy me at all.
"A story is like a moving train: no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later."
So, yeah, this book is a web of stories of people whose lives have intersected at some point or another but it didn't stop me from bitching, "I could have teared the middle of this book and it will make no difference to how the story would have ended, and the readers would still understand the whole of it". And then here it goes, "no matter where you hop onboard, you are bound to reach your destination sooner or later". Yes, I believe this to be pertaining on the book itself or even destiny.

  • The book, being on different routes to its eventual destination, which of course, is what I was anticipating right from the day Pari and Abdullah was separated. Of course, a story like this would end in a reunion, so even though it was a maze to get to the destination, it would always find its way to the finish line. 
  • Destiny, for if you are destined for a certain path, riding a train or swimming the ocean, whatever ways of transportation would eventually lead you where you ought to be.
“But it is important to know this, to know your roots. To know where you started as a person. If not, your own life seems unreal to you. Like a puzzle. Vous comprenez? Like you have missed the beginning of a story and now you are in the middle of it, trying to understand.”
I believe I have said certain things about the little stories in the middle, which I believed is not essential. I still have no justification if they are not really, but the thing is, I really enjoyed the stories of Markos, the surgeon, Nabi, the chauffeur / the ever loyal employee, and many other stories. My favorite most of all is the last story, which I am not going to tell in here.

Here's a little nursery rhyme, inspired by the great Persian poet, Forough Farrokzhad's poem.

“I found a sad little fairy
Beneath the shade of a paper tree.
I know a sad little fairy
Who was blown away by the wind one night.”

The only issue I have with these short stories is that, you won't get it at the beginning of the chapters because you don't have any idea that it's a different story already until you get to the middle of it when you are already immersed in it. Another is, the frustrating part of it, is when you are already hooked and waiting for a conclusion, that's where the change of character will happen and it's so annoying and it's FREAKING FRUSTRATING!!! (That's why I only gave 4 roses :( )

What I loved about the stories, apart from Markos and Nabi and others I have not mentioned, are the sibling stories. Parwana and Masooma's story is heart-wrenching and really shows something that is reality in a lot of siblings out there, in which a little surge of jealousy will always be present. It's just a bit sad, how their story happened. Next is Idris and Timur (not necessarily siblings, cousins to be exact, but they grow up to have a brotherly bond), shows how siblings can be different in a lot of ways that is always contradicting. Lastly, my favorite pair, Pari and Abdullah, who shared the greatest sibling bond; I can't believe the tragedy that a single act has caused both of them.

But all in all, even with the challenging story line and characters, I loved this book and looking forward to read his first two novels because I have heard a lot of good reviews about those.

Before I end this, why 'And the Mountains Echoed'? I know, it's real obvious even before I read it. My dorm mate asked me when she saw my book, "Why is the title like that?", and at that time I haven't read it yet. I actually guessed rippling effect. I told her this. I told her how one's actions can greatly affect the future, how your decisions right now can affect not just yourself, but the people around you as well, even without your knowledge. After finishing the book, I still stand by my belief that it is the meaning of the title and it is. Here is a little interview by Huffington Post with Mr. Hosseini himself:

Can you tell us a little about the title, And the Mountains Echoed?
The inspiration for it was The Nurse's Song, a lovely poem by William Blake, in which he ends a verse with the line, "And all the hills echoed."


"Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,
And then go home to bed.
The little ones leaped, and shouted, and laughed,
And all the hills echoed."

I changed "hills" to "mountains" partly because of the obvious nature of Afghanistan's topography, but also because of the pervasive presence of mountains in the book. In fact, the mountains in this book bear sole witness to a couple of key, pivotal events. Just as a mountain would echo back a shout, the fateful acts committed before the mountains too emit an echo. They have a rippling effect, expanding outward, touching lives further and further away. I liked the idea of a decision or an act echoing through both place and time, altering the fates of characters both living and not yet born.
The whole interview here.
Khaled Hosseini now has easily become one of my favorite authors because he writes love stories. Not the ones where there's a boy and there's this girl, but a love story of family and I am always greatly affected  by stories (especially For One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven by my favorite author, Mitch Albom) that includes family because family is the dearest thing to me and reading family stories always make me teary eyed.

Love in all its myriad forms is what stands out to me so powerfully in all three of your book and is why I ultimately end up sobbing at some point in each of them. The emotion you convey is so raw, so real and so universal. Talk to me about love.
My books are love stories at core, really. But I am interested in manifestations of love beyond the traditional romantic notion. In fact, I seem not particularly inclined to write romantic love as a narrative motive or as an easy source of happiness for my characters. I am more interested in love that blooms in the most unexpected places, between people who don't really see it coming -the co-wives in A Thousand Splendid Suns, for instance, or between Nabi, the chauffeur in And the Mountains Echoed, and his employer. My characters search love and human connection, and in that process face the limitations of their own hearts and see their own vulnerabilities exposed. It is the overcoming of these obstacles, in the name of love, that leads to those acts of self-sacrifice and altruism that speak so deeply to me and represent what is best in man.

That's it, have you read any of Mr. Hosseini's book? Share them with me, I am excited to read another :D




I know I haven't been kind enough with this book with my review, but I still want a place for it in my Book in Focus feature because for one, the feature does not solely focus on the content, but with the beauty of the book, though it's an added bonus if it's also a great read. I guess I have a thing for books with red designs because they attract me so much, and that's why I considered putting this here.

But as I said, I recommend this for the people who haven't read The Fault in our Stars yet (hmm, there are people who haven't?? :O).
You can read my review here.


First Love
by
James Patterson & Emily Raymond



This little note in the beginning is so high school, right? Have you tried passing notes with your besties way back? Because I sure did.



I just took a picture of this because 28 is my favorite number. :D

That's it for my Book in Focus today, hope you enjoyed the dirty flowers I used as props. HAHA

Ishiee's Reading Habits

Saturday, March 21, 2015


March is nearly done already and I was in a serious reading slump for the first half of the month, partly because of the exams during the first week and then the weeks after that? I don't exactly know where I was.

So, I've recently posted a review of First Love by James Patterson, and I wasn't thrilled about it because... yeah, you can find it in my review post. And I'm not yet done with the other book I've been reading, I'm still halfway through, that's why I'm making this post because I won't be able to post something in here yet.

One day I stumbled upon thebookishuniverse's post about her reading habits and we might have some similarities but we do have a lot of differences. Here are mine:

YOU SEE ME ANYWHERE

Yep, you'll see me reading a book anywhere, any place and any position. I do mind my comfort, but the thing is, I don't have a certain spot for reading a book. I read books in my bed with my pillows, in the car, in the classroom, outside the classroom, on the floor, and basically everywhere. Whenever I have the free time, I grab my book and I just read. I never have to worry about my friends freaking out about me not talking to them during break time because my friends are fellow book worms so we kind'a understand each other.
In the car... (Sorry, I had to use the same books over and over. The photos are taken this month and they're the books I was reading when the photos were shot.)
This one? It looks like I'm at the sidewalk. HAHAH, But this is inside the university and my friends took a snapshot of me because I am so immersed in the book that I didn't know they captured one. I used this photo instead of using the original because the original's in portrait and I'm maintaining the landscape photos. 
Now you see, I'm everywhere! I mean, I read everywhere. :D

STICKY NOTES

You see, I am always reluctant to put markings on the pages, so I use sticky notes to highlight my favorite quotes and scenes in the book, just like the one in the photo above.

ON FOLDS AND ANNOTATIONS

I don't want to leave any markings on my book, just as I said earlier, I also don't like to see folds on the pages and I don't write annotations in it that's why I write some things down on a notebook or when I don't have one with me, I put it on my phone just so I'll remember them.

NO CERTAIN GOAL

I stop whenever I feel sleepy. Because I might not understand everything at all. I also don't try to reach the end of the chapter just so I can stop reading. I just stop at any place in the book.


BIGAMY

Guilty. I read two books at once. Anyone here like me? :D

PLASTIC COVER

My first treasured books, the Twilight Saga, are in bad shape right now. And I hate to see them that way... That's why I make it a point to put covers on my book before opening them. I will never touch my book unless I have a plastic cover with me. I just can't bear to see the cover crumpled. That's why I can't bear to look at New Moon and Breaking Dawn (Eclipse has a cover. HAHA) and Time Traveler's Wife because they're sick...They're in bad shape. :(

I TALK ABOUT IT...A LOT

If I love the book, I won't stop blabbing about it... To different people. :D

So, What's your reading habit bookwormies? Share it with me on the comments below. I'd love to know who are my twins in reading habits.

Love,




Title: First Love
Author: James Patterson & Emily Raymond
Published By: Little, Brown and Company on 13th January 2014
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Setting: Klamath Falls and somewhere around U.S.
Format: Trade Paperback, 278 pages
My Copy Source: Bought [Powerbooks]



Axi Moore is a "good girl": She studies hard, stays out of the spotlight, and doesn't tell anyone that what she really wants is to run away from it all. The only person she can tell is her best friend, Robinson--who she also happens to be madly in love with.
When Axi impulsively invites Robinson to come with her on an unplanned cross-country road trip, she breaks the rules for the first time in her life. But the adventure quickly turns from carefree to out-of-control...
A remarkably moving tale with its origins in James Patterson's own past, First Love is testament to the power of first love--and how it can change the rest of your life.

"The best thing in the world is to know how to belong to someone else"


I have a lot of issues with this book, I didn't love it because as a reader, one would definitely try to find all the back stories to every situation; one would always want to know! And this book did not gave me the satisfaction of knowing everything! It's such a short story with very short chapters. It would have been more of an adventure if I knew the characters well, but I think the adventures solely depended on their trip around U.S. and the nefarious activities they have engaged in while on their trip.

To get this out of the way, this book is a rather compressed journey. It doesn't make you want to go places, it's not an invitation for a reader to plan a road trip on the places they've been to.

Please stop right here if you haven't read it yet so as not to spoil you with anything. I just can't get this review through without saying these things!

#15DaysOfLying for E. Lockhart's Book Signing in PH.

Friday, March 13, 2015


Want to know what this fuss is about? E. Lockhart is going to Philippines!!! Yeah, do I look excited? Yes I am, but the thing is, I can't go. ;( So I'm supporting this event by pinoybooktours, in the hopes of winning a signed copy or shirt. Want to know how to join? Check out the details below or click this link. This is open to Philippine residents only.

1. Lie. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write a lie. Create graphics containing a lie. It can be a lie about anything. Say you hate books, you hate your favorite show, you hate doing things you love, you hate eating your favorite food. Anything!

2. Post it in your social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram! On twitter, please tag us @pinoybooktours because we will be retweeting all lies for the next 15 days.

3. Don't forget to use the hashtag #15DaysofLying

4. The event will be from March 7th to March 21st, the day before E. Lockhart's Manila signing.

Will there be prizes? Yes, there will be. We will be picking the best lie the day before E. Lockhart's signing and two lucky people will win:

- A Signed We Were Liars shirt (that will more or less look like this)
- A Signed copy of We Were Liars

Okay, so today was the date I asked for this event but I also posted a lie last night. I'm going to share the two lies that I squeezed out of my unlying brain *oops, a lie!*.
I just commited a sin... I lied, so I just admitted to y'all that I do judge a book by its cover ;( . Yes, I do. I actually experience love at first everytime I enter a bookstore, so that's way too much love at first sight in a lifetime, right? But what about those that are not eye-catching or fascinating but still has a beautiful story? I still check them out and moreso if they're highly recommended.
I'm an absolute paper and notebook hoarder. Even if I have no good use to it, I still buy them anyway. Am I weird? Is it stupid? Nope, what I wrote is just a lie :p

Of all the lies I made up, this one is my favorite. Because to some, it may not be a lie but for me and other bookwormies out there, this might be the greatest lie of all. We will never be ashamed to be seen holding a book in public because books are part of who we are now.

So what lie are you gonna tell to win the signed book and shirt? What do you think of my lie?

Book In Focus: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Book in Focus is a new feature on my blog inspired by staybookish's Novel Portraits. I've always loved taking photos of books I own, snapping a picture of it while reading and uploading it to my instagram account, but I wasn't really aware that there is a thing as book photography. So when I saw Hazel's feature, I thought of trying out some snapshots and upload it here.

Today I'm gonna be featuring

And the Mountains Echoed
Novel by Khaled Hosseini
This book is literally a treasure. I love the cover, it appeals to me as if it's calling out my name and saying "read me", and I did, I started the book on the first day of the month but I left it in Manila because of my exams and then this weekend, after the exams, I started with First Love. Oh my, I'm having a serious book polygamy right here. But anyway,I left the book at home in Cavite so I picked this book again and I'm under the shade of the oak tree once more, absorbing the stories sung through my ears.

See that? It's classic, it's majestic. This is such a beautiful book.
Out beyond ideas 
of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

-JELALUDDIN RUMI, 13th century

I've never read any other novel by Khaled Hosseini but the praises for his other novels and the way I'm enjoying the first few pages of the book makes me want to read the others as well. Have you tried reading his novels? Tell me what you think about it. :)



Blog Tour: Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue [INT Giveaway]

Saturday, March 7, 2015


Chroniclesfrom (1)
Welcome to my tour stop for Chronicles from Chateau Moines by Evelyne Holingue. Today I'm gonna be doing an author interview, I'm really happy that the author took the time and effort to answer my questions about the book that I am also able to learn things about her too, check it out below and get to know the author and her book as well. The tour runs March 2-13 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule. 

About the Book:


September 1970: Scott’s mother has recently died and his father gets the crazy idea to move his family from California to Normandy. Now Scott has to learn to live without his mom while adjusting to France. In his seventh grade class there is only Ibrahim who comes from another country. Scott doesn’t even want to play his guitar anymore. Why does his father think that life will be better so far from home?


Scott has no idea that his arrival is also a challenge to Sylvie. While her best friend is excited to have an American boy at school, Sylvie cannot say one word to Scott. She can’t even write good songs in her notebook anymore. Why is life so different since Scott moved to Château Moines?


Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War protest era and told from the perspectives of twelve-year old Scott and Sylvie, this is a story about loss and friendship, music and peace, and also about secrets.


Although this is a work of fiction, the cultural, social, and historical background of the early 1970s in France and the United States inspired the writing. At the end of the book the reader will find a list of the songs, the names of singers, and bands mentioned through the novel as well as some elements about fashion, immigration in France, the Vietnam War, and other cultural, social, and historical facts relevant to the period of time.

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N


Author Interview:

1. What was your inspiration in writing your new novel, Chronicles from Chateau Moines?

It started with my desire to write a story where music would play a role. From this simple idea my main character was born. I knew from the beginning that he would a boy and a budding musician. At that time I was running schoolbook fairs and met lots of kids. I noticed that many liked stories told from the perspectives of two characters. Quickly I knew that my other main character would be a girl. I have a special fondness for middle grade novels, which I think start long-term relationships with books. So I knew that my two protagonists would be a boy and a girl and that they would be twelve years old, an age I find fascinating because it marks the official last year in childhood. I like these moments in life when we are in between stages.

Then because I was born and educated in France but make my life in the USA, I like to show my affection to my two homes through my writing. As someone who learned English from scratch (English in middle and high schools help a little, but it took me a while to become proficient, and of course much longer to be able to write as well as a native-speaker. I am still a work-in-progress) I know first hand of the struggles to learn a different language and to adjust to a different culture.

So very quickly I knew that it would be interesting to have one character from the USA and the other one from France. Scott would be from California, a state I know well and Sylvie from Normandy, my native French region.

Music being universal, regardless of countries and languages, the theme of my story quickly evolved around the idea of home. At that time I was reading lots of historical fiction and thought that it would be great to have a story from a rich period of time, but still fairly contemporary.

The 1960’s and 1970’s are among the richest in terms of music but also in terms of deep cultural and social changes. The Vietnam War was raging and from that came the idea of peace. With characters from different places, I knew that they could sometimes clash and not be at peace.

Of course, a story needs different layers to move the plot but moreover to give a chance to the characters to grow. With peace now at the heart of my theme, I wanted Scott to be conflicted. He has lost his mom, his best friend’s brother has lost a leg in Vietnam and he was involved in peace rallies with his family back in California. Now he finds himself in France with his brokenhearted father and eight-year-old smart and adorable little sister, and of course feels lonely, different and yet curious about his new surroundings.
French girl Sylvie would be of course the opposite of Scott, and yet the two of them would find a common passion for music.

Set in France it gave me the possibility to write about the changes the country was starting to see through the recent waves of immigration, particularly from the former North Africa French colonies. Racist incidents will challenge the small fictional town of Chateau Moines where my story is set.

I read many books where siblings don’t like each other. I wanted to create families where siblings would love and protect each other despite normal annoyance that exists between brothers and sisters.

And I love secondary and tertiary characters in any novel, so I had fun to create a cast of people who inhabit the small town of Chateau Moines.

Because my characters are kids, they go to school and I decided to have them live through the course of a school year, starting in September 1970 to the spring of 1971. It allowed me to incorporate lots of elements from the recent past and add current events.

And because I love surprises in life and books, I also added parental secrets that Scott, Sylvie and the readers will discover as the story unfolds.
In the end this is a story about finding a place to call home and being at peace, there, despite world violence.

2. Is Chateau Moines a real place in France? If yes, why did you choose this to be the setting for the novel? If not, was there a real place where you patterned the place?

No, it’s a fictional name. I was looking for a name that sounded French and wasn’t too difficult to pronounce for an American. The combo of Chateau and Moines was the result of this search. I kept the accent on the first A of Chateau to be true to the French spelling. To be frank, it wasn’t that easy to find this name because France is a land of many small villages. But I haven’t found any named Chateau Moines.

Although my novel holds true elements in terms of music, world events and culture, it is a work of fiction and I wanted to depict a town that was the product of what I know of France and my imagination.

3. Why did you pick 1970 as the time frame for this novel?

I wanted to write a story where music would play a significant part. Music, I think, holds the universal power to reunite people, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, and even beyond our time. Think of a concert where musicians play pieces written in the 17th or 18th century and how we still emotionally respond. Music, in my opinion, has the power to create peace.
From this notion I quickly considered a story written in the early 1970s, a period that benefited from great music from the 1960s and also a period marked with significant popular opposition to the Vietnam War, to violence in general and to the excessive power of governments.

4. Which character did you enjoy writing and which one have you had a hard time embodying?

I had an easier time to write from Scott’s perspective. It’s strange because I am a woman, so you would think that finding Sylvie’s voice would have been a no-brainer. Perhaps because I wrote the story in English I immediately connected with Scott who is an English speaker.

5. The book is enriched in historical backgrounds, did you have a hard time writing these histories and incorporating it in the novel?

The hardest part in writing is to incorporate elements of storytelling as organically as possible. In this novel, I tried to do that mostly through the conversations between Scott and Sylvie and through their personal reflections on current events. Since Scott was involved in peace walks when he lived in the USA, it was an easy way to introduce historic facts through this character. Sylvie is less politically educated but she’s curious about Scott, so as she learns more about the Vietnam War and the American activism from Scott, the reader does the same. On the other side Scott learns about France’s history through Sylvie and Ibrahim, his new friend from Algeria. In addition the adults in the story helped also to bring to life some of the elements that defined this period of time in France and the USA.

About the Author

evelyne0115
I was born and raised in Normandy, France, where I spent most of my childhood reading.
My first published piece of writing was a poem about a man spending Christmas behind bars. I was eleven years old and wasn’t paid for my work, but I was hooked.
I studied French Literature at the Université de Caen and at the Sorbonne in Paris and worked in a publishing house before moving to California, following my husband.
It was a challenging time in my life as I was leaving my own career, my family, my friends and my beloved Paris behind.  But how could I say no to the dreams of the man I love?
Readers enjoy escaping the familiar for the unknown.  Being a foreigner is discovering the unknown day after day, not only for the time of a book. However, since most things in life come with a silver lining, I credit this move for giving me the opportunity to write. Through my words, I share my affection for my native and adoptive countries that I love equally.
Website

Giveaway: 
Two (2) kindle copies of Chronicles from Chateau Moines (INT)
Ends March 18th

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