Rated of 5
by Jill S. (Chicago, IL) Haunting, Mystical, Riveting
I expected this book to be a somewhat light reading about star-crossed lovers in the barrio of Taos. In reality, it is so much more. The reader is immersed in the mysticism of the Jicarilla Apache barrio of Taos, where Native Americans, Hispanics, and whites live together, and where a tragedy will affect the community. This is not a linear book; the story is narrated by Ignacia, a medicine woman (some would say a witch), before and after her death...and police reports, witness statements, and short-story snippets, and more help advance the plot. The terrain itself -- the ancient myths -- all set a very realistic atmosphere. I loved this highly original book.
Rated of 5
by Beth C. (Sioux Falls, SD) The Ghost of Milagro Creek - Who is the ghost?
Melanie Sumner has created a fascinating novel set in the barrio of Taos, New Mexico and the surrounding area. It is a story that is both simple - best friends growing up together and loving the same girl, and extremely complicated. She tells the story from multiple viewpoints and includes elements of magical realism, shamanism, Jicarilla Apache mythology and Hispanic Catholicism. The many characters in the novel each exemplify a combining of these philosophies.
Because the story is told by many characters, it is often tricky to follow. While the main plot takes place over the course of a couple weeks in April, 2001, there are time shifts as various twists in the story are revealed in flashbacks. There are also pieces of conversation that take place in Spanish and a version of barrio-speak that includes Apache words, Spanish and slang.
I found it to be a engrossing novel and I would highly recommend it to book groups. There are many points that could lead to good discussions and reading group questions have been included at the end of the book.
Rated of 5
by Patricia H. (Norman, OK) The Ghost of Milagro Creek
The landscapes are haunting, the characters are tragic figures, the story is heartbreaking. The book is superbly written. If you love reading and learning about non-white cultures, you will find excellent descriptions of living in the desert areas around Taos. There is a great loneliness that such living can bring, which makes relationships in this setting so much more central to the story. The book hard to put down.
Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
First time novelist Vaddey Ratner captured my heart and senses in this novel based on her childhood in Cambodia. Her story transcends any news story...
read more
From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years...
read more
Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part...
read more
Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate(Jun 12 2013) Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position...
Full Story
of 5
by Jill S. (Chicago, IL) 
