Three Books in One

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

This book is narrated by the two main characters, Little Bee (a Nigerian refuge) and Sarah O'Rourke (a London journalist). Chapters rotate back and forth and pull the reader in from the beginning. Reviews are brief and weak for a reason- this plot should not be revealed at all. I found myself liking the book and wondering how on earth it could end. I thought the ending was a little abrupt and in hindsight maybe predictable, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless and recommend it for everyone.

Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands

I finally finished my book about Andrew Jackson. Jackson is one of my least favorite presidents. I don't like his actions or impact on American History. While Brands is a talented and thorough author, this was not my favorite biography. Too much time is delegated to explaining the historical context of events before explaining Jackson's role in them. Over half of the book is spent on events before his presidency. It seemed like events from his presidency were glossed over and much of the controversy ignored. Jackson's perspective is explained which is good and helped me think a little more of him, but I still felt it was very pro-Jackson instead of middle of the road. It is a quality biography of Jackson, but it did not convince me to love him more and it could have been condensed had some of the historical narrative been eliminated.

I also read Liberalism and Social Action by John Dewey this weekend, but I won't bore anyone with a review of it. My summer Teaching American History cohort classes are beginning, so I am diving head first into all my readings for those classes. I won't review all of them- just the ones I really like! I did not like this one much, so not much else to say.