Staff Picks : Julie

 Julie's February Picks

The Speckled Beauty, by Rick Bragg  Speck is a very bad dog who comes into the author's life at just the right time.  Rick is dealing with a cancer diagnosis and failing health and is living with his mother.  Speck is a rescue dog who has been on his own for a long time.  He has to learn how to live with people again, and doesn't necessarily do a good job of it.  I always enjoy this author's books.  His short, southern writings have the perfect mix of humor and heart.

The Ride of Her Life, by Elizabeth Letts  This is the true story of Annie Wilkins.  It is 1954 and Annie is 63 years old, alone and flat broke.  She has been told she doesn't have a lot of time left to live and she decides that she wants to fulfill a dream of both herself and her late mother.  She wants to see California and the Pacific Ocean.  The problem is that she is in Maine, where she has lived her entire life.  To the surprise of everyone she has ever known, she takes what little money she has and buys a horse.  After packing up supplies for the journey, she sets off with only her little dog for company.  It takes more than a year, but Annie finally reaches her destination.  Along the way she meets a host of hospitable people who help her and in the process she becomes a little bit famous.    

Oona Out of Order, by Margarita Montimore  I like stories that explore the concept of time.  Oona is 18 in 1982.  It is New Year's Eve and she is on the cusp of some big decisions about her future.  When the clock strikes midnight she faints, and when she wakes up it is New Year's Day - her birthday.  But it is not 1983.  It is 2015 and she is in her 51 year old body, but her mind is still 19.  She discovers that every year as the year turns she travels to a different time.  While her mind ages normally, she never knows what year she will end up in. She experiences her life completely out of order.  One year she is already married, the next year she experiences meeting her husband for the first time.  It sounds confusing, but I was quickly able to jump into the story.  I enjoyed it.