Drama

“What Remains True” by Janis Thomas is about everyone’s first nightmare, the tragic death of a child. Being a parent myself, I can tell you I became emotional more than once. The layout of the book is absolutely perfect. Each chapter focuses on one character at a time and while doing that, ties all the characters together.

The son, Jonah tells his story from the view of a four-year-old. Even though it is sad, it’s also sweet. It makes you believe that you are talking with him. Emma, the preteen sister, blames herself for her brother’s death. Samuel and Rachel, the parents, both have their struggles dealing with the death of a child. To help care for the family, Ruth, Rachel’s sister, came into the home.

My favorite character has to be Shadow, the dog. Although he also has his version of events, it makes you wonder if that’s how animals think. The final character is Maddie, the psychologist. None of the family believes counseling is going to help them get back to life. As you can probably guess, it does in the end (not without stuggles for each).

This is a very compelling story and one that I couldn’t put down. I give this 5 stars. Enjoy.




I was reading "The Helpers: An International Tale of Espionage and Corruption" by S. E. Nelson,  but I stopped because about a third of the way into the book there began to be sexually-explicit material. As I mentioned before, this is not something I will read.

I can say that up until that point I was enjoying the plot and how the characters were so intertwined. The book is based in the Congo and it started with two reporters (Jenny and John) going there for a story. This part of the story was excellent and I wish it hadn't taken such a graphic turn.

The helpers are basically a secret and have more power than anyone is aware of. Through there influence in the government, they basically control everything that goes on in the country. Don't be fooled by the name though, because they only help their "group" and have a leader that I didn't get to read about yet.

From what I read, the four groups in the book are the reporters and those that are helping them get information, the government, the military, and the helpers. I have to say that what I was able to read was very well written and kept my interest. If you don't mind sexually-explicit material, you may thoroughly love this book. Here's the link just in case you want to check it out.