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Lynda Rutledge

Autor von West with Giraffes

12 Werke 1,488 Mitglieder 105 Rezensionen

Über den Autor

Beinhaltet den Namen: Lynda Rutledge Stephenson

Bildnachweis: Korey Howell Photography

Werke von Lynda Rutledge

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Wissenswertes

Andere Namen
Stephenson, Lynda Rutledge
Geburtstag
1950
Geschlecht
Female
Nationalität
USA
Wohnorte
Texas, USA
San Diego, California, USA
Berufe
journalist

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Rezensionen

Faith Ann Bass Darling lives on Old Waco Road in Bass, Texas, the town that her great-grandfather, James Tyler Bass, founded. She lives shut up tight in the beautiful mansion that James Tyler Bass built for his bride, Belle, where she is surrounded by a plethora of family heirlooms, collectibles, and fine antiques that she cherishes. That is until she opens the front doors and has the neighborhood boys lug all the fine antiques, collectibles, and heirlooms out onto the front lawn for her (very first!) and last garage sale. This story tells what can happen when you have everything, then lose everything, and are left with only your memories ... and then you start to lose your memories too. What is left of you when all you had left is gone? What value do valuables have when you don't recall why you hold them dear? What do you do when someone you loved, then were afraid to love, and then lost comes back into your life, and you aren't even sure if they're real. What a tale of love, despair, anger, depression, and faith, or, in this case, Faith. A very good read well worth five stars.… (mehr)
 
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TsarinaTyna | 44 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 22, 2024 |
 
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BooksInMirror | 44 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 19, 2024 |
Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I loved this! Deserves more than 5 stars! A heartwarming, historical, coming-of-age story that takes place during a time of massive cultural upheaval, this remarkable novel explores the power of friendship, hope, and progress.

The novel begins with this paragraph, “In 1964, a small miracle of a summer happened in Kate “Corky” Corcoran’s tiny, segregated town because of a softball game, a pastor feud, a drugstore sit-in, and a girl named America who Corky saw run as fast as Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph, the fastest woman in the world.”

After reading that sentence, I couldn’t put this book down. It’s well-written, with realistic characters, authentic dialogue, and edge-of-your-seat plotting. The book smoothly shifts from various characters’ points of view, including a dog, as well as an omniscient narrator. The suspenseful foreshadowing kept me turning the pages in anticipation. Talented author Lynda Rutledge (“West With Giraffes”) creatively takes the larger 1964 issues of racism and the Civil Rights Movement, women’s rights, the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy assassination, Viet Nam war, Martin Luther King Jr., and makes them personal by telling the story from the perspective of naïve 13-year-old Corky.

Rutledge explains how “The moral of this novel, if it has one, is about the absolute miracle of friendship and also about the miraculous ability that books and sports possess to draw those new worlds together.” Of course the book she is referring to is “To Kill A Mockingbird” and the sport is girls’ softball. If you want to read similar heartwarming 5-star coming-of-age novels of small-town drama mixed with poignant humor after finishing this one, I highly recommend “The All-American” by Susie Finkbeiner, “The Incredible Winston Browne” and “Kinfolk,” both by Sean Dietrich.

This would be great for book clubs and is one I’ll be telling everyone to read. Don’t miss this feel-good novel!
… (mehr)
 
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PhyllisReads | 2 weitere Rezensionen | Feb 13, 2024 |
A 17 yr old Woody makes his way from Texas to New York after the Dust Bowl kills his family. He happens to be there when he sees two giraffes being taken off a ship and put in a trailer bound for San Diego, CA. He becomes infatuated with them and decides he will follow them to California. When he is over 100 and a nursing home, he feels it is purpose to journal his story so it can be shared with other after he passes. It is a remarkable journey getting the giraffes to San Diego. Princeton Book Review: PBR Review: (by- Andrea)Based on an actual event, West with Giraffes is an endearing story about transporting two young giraffes across the country in 1938. 17-year-old Woody, a dust bowl orphan, finds his way to NY during the hurricane of 1938 and ends up driving across the country with a scrappy older man, Riley, to deliver the giraffes to the San Diego Zoo.The journey is complex and filled with adventures and mishaps. They encounter shady characters, unforeseen circumstances, and several obstacles. Both good and evil people are interested in these beautiful animals, and they struggle to deliver them safely. Throughout this challenging journey, Woody is given many opportunities to grow and reinvent himself.An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.?Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes?Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.It?s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California?s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world?s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.Barnes and Noble:Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it?s too late.… (mehr)
 
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bentstoker | 54 weitere Rezensionen | Jan 26, 2024 |

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Statistikseite

Werke
12
Mitglieder
1,488
Beliebtheit
#17,263
Bewertung
4.1
Rezensionen
105
ISBNs
43
Sprachen
4

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