I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

I just finished reading this book and it was amazing! It is crazy to think this kind of thing happens, but different cultures have different rules.  This is the start of a change in the way people think.  I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced, by Nujood Ali wth Delphine Minoui.

“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”

Forced by her father to marry a man three times her age, young Nujood Ali was sent away from her parents and beloved sisters and made to live with her husband and his family in an isolated village in rural Yemen. There she suffered daily from physical and emotional abuse by her mother-in-law and nightly at the rough hands of her spouse. Flouting his oath to wait to have sexual relations with Nujood until she was no longer a child, he took her virginity on their wedding night. She was only ten years old.

Unable to endure the pain and distress any longer, Nujood fled—not for home, but to the courthouse of the capital, paying for a taxi ride with a few precious coins of bread money. When a renowned Yemeni lawyer heard about the young victim, she took on Nujood’s case and fought the archaic system in a country where almost half the girls are married while still under the legal age. Since their unprecedented victory in April 2008, Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has attracted a storm of international attention. Her story even incited change in Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries, where underage marriage laws are being increasingly enforced and other child brides have been granted divorces.

Recently honored alongside Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice as one of Glamour magazine’s women of the year, Nujood now tells her full story for the first time. As she guides us from the magical, fragrant streets of the Old City of Sana’a to the cement-block slums and rural villages of this ancient land, her unflinching look at an injustice suffered by all too many girls around the world is at once shocking, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable.

This Charming Man

Just yesterday I finished the book This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. 

Paddy de Courcy is Ireland's debonair politician, the "John F. Kennedy Jr. of Dublin." His charm and charisma have taken hold of the country and the tabloids, not to mention our four heroines: Lola, Grace, Marnie, and Alicia. But though Paddy's winning smile is fooling Irish minds, the broken hearts he's left in his past offer a far more truthful look into his character. 

Narrated in turn by each woman, This Charming Man explores how their love for this one man has shaped their lives. But in true Marian Keyes fashion, this is more than a story of four love affairs. It's a testament to the strength women find in themselves through work, friendship, and family, no matter what demons may be haunting their lives. Depression, self-doubt, domestic abuse—each of these women has seen tough times in life, and it's through Keyes's wonderful storytelling ability that these subjects are approached with the appropriate tone and candor. Her deft touch provides a gripping story and, ultimately, a redemptive ending.

It was a wonderful book to read, and touched on heavy issues - domestic violence, alcoholism, to name a few - but was sensitive about it.  My only complaint would be the way in which Lola's perspective was written. It was written in diary form (which I don't mind) but the sentences were incomplete and words were dropped. I know it was the style Keyes was aiming for, it just took a bit of getting used to.

Though known for her chick-lit, this book delves just that little bit deeper, and gives you something to think about.

Sinner

When I find a good series, clearly I just cannot resist finishing! But then again, 3 books in 4 days is nothing new for me. The Paradise Trilogy came to a dramatic ending in Sinner. This novel preaches a lot more than the previous two, but it is captivating right to the very end.

Some say roll with the punches. Drift with the tide. Nothing can stop the inevitability of change. There was a time when 300 Spartans disagreed with such mindless thinking and stood in the gap.

Now it's time for 3,000 to stand in the gap.

Sinner is the story of Marsuvees Black, a force of raw evil who speaks with wicked persuasion that is far more destructive than swords or guns. Beware all who stand in his way.

It's also the story of Billy Rediger and Darcy Lange, two unsuspecting survivors of a research project gone bad, who discover that they are perhaps the two most powerful souls in the land. Listen to them or pay a terrible price.

And it's the story of Johnny Drake, the one who comes out of the desert and leads the 3,000. Follow him and die.

Sinner tells the story of a free land where people who worship as they please and say what they believe are suddenly silenced in the name of tolerance

Saint

OK, so I may have gotten a little carried away with the remainder of my day off. I started and finished the second book in The Paradise Trilogy - Saint.

If you liked the Bourne Identity movies, you will enjoy Saint. The Protagonist experiences similar training protocols, physical abuse, and honed mental strength. A thrilling book from the first page till the last sentence, you will forcibly turn off that reading light after several hours of heart-beating entertainment with Saint.

Here's the official synopsis:

I know a few things about myself. I know that my name is Carl. My wife is Kelly. I love her more than my own life. If she told me to kill you, I would.

I’m a captive, deep inside Hungary - no one knows I’m here. I can put a bullet into a ten-inch target at 3,000 yards. They tell me that I’m the best sniper in the world. Sometimes I sit in my dark hole for days without moving so that they don’t hurt me.

I can kill a man with my bare hands.

If Kelly told me to kill you, I would.

I only know a few things about myself. My name is Carl. They call me Saint.

I think they want me to kill you.

After you read this book your mind starts to fill you with thoughts. It is a about the man, Carl, who was working for the X Group who were also involved in Black Ops. He is put through brutal training and meets the girl of his dreams. They try to escape together to the little town of Paradise, Colorado, but what they don't know is that they are being followed by one of the most deadly assassins on earth. He is known as Englishman, Jude Law and many more names...but he has a special power than no one else has...or maybe there is someone who has it as well...

Showdown

Whoops, it's been a long time since I've updated my blog. Today is my RDO for the month and it's been pretty good. I'm a little dazed still from a wonderful massage but I'm determined to write this post.

On the weekend I bought The Paradise Trilogy by Ted Dekker from Koorong, as it is a series I've been meaning to get around to for a while. Last night I finished the first book Showdown. After getting off to a slow, and a little confusing start, the connection between the alternate perspectives became clear. 

Showdown - good vs. evil - another epic saga by Ted Dekker. One thing I love about Ted Dekker's book is that he pulls characters from various books of his. Somehow, they all seem to be connected to each other, though they are great stand-alone novels, as well.

Here is the synopsis from the book itself:
It begins on a lazy summer day in a small, secluded mountain town named Paradise. But in Paradise, nothing is as it seems.

When a stranger named Marsuvees Black appears and announces he’s come to bring hope and grace to Paradise, the town isn’t sure how to respond. He offers dazzling love, hope, faith, and fun . . . the kind of fun everyone desires but is too timid to pursue. He knows the unspoken secrets of each person’s heart–and has the power to grant them.

Tucked deep in the nearby canyons is a monastery long hidden from the world. Within its walls is power beyond comprehension. Yet that power is quickly slipping out of control.

As dark clouds and sandstorms shut Paradise off from the rest of the world, the unthinkable happens. Readers will be shocked as they discover the true secrets of this sleepy town. The ultimate collision between good and evil begins . . . with Showdown.

If you enjoy Ted Dekker's other books - in particular The Circle Trilogy, Thr3e, House - you will enjoy this series.

Now to get back to reading the next book Saint.

Matthew Reilly

Whoops, it's been a couple weeks since I posted. I'm such a bad blogger. But please excuse me, I have been wrapped up in some of the most fast paced action books I have ever read. Matthew Reilly is an Australian author, and I have fallen in love with his books. The first book I read of his was called Scarecrow. I saw it at Kmart and after reading the blurb I knew I could not put it back. Would you?

IT IS THE GREATEST BOUNTY HUNT IN HISTORY

There are 15 targets.
And they must all be dead by 12 noon, today.
The price on their head: $20 million each.

ONE HERO

Among the names on the target list, one stands out.
An enigmatic Marine named Shane Schofield,
call-sign: SCARECROW.

NO LIMITS

And so Schofield is hunted by gangs of international bounty hunters,
including the 'Black Knight', a ruthless hunter who seems intent on
eliminating only him.
He led his men into hell in Ice Station.
He protected the President against all odd in Area 7.
This time it's different.
Because this time SCARECROW is the target.

And the book was amazing. In 500 pages only 24 hours passed, and they were so very full of action. Now I realise this is the 3rd book in the Shane Schofield series, and I have gone back to read the others.

Matthew Reilly has also written about an Australian hero in his Jack West Jr series. I have completed this series just this afternoon, and am in awe. It reminds me of Indiana Jones, but on a much larger scale. In fact, when asked about this in an interview, this is a similarity he notes. The series follows our hero and his team to each of the seven ancient wonders in a race to prevent the end of the world.

If you enjoyed the Bourne series, you will definitely enjoy these books. If you want to borrow any of the books, let me know. You know you want to. And soon you'll be begging me for more.

Dean Koontz

I have been reading a few Dean Koontz novels lately, and have been enjoying myself quite thoroughly. The last four I've read I've barely been able to put down. They are thrillers, and a bit different from the normal type of novel I read. They are all based around the mind; manipulation, enhancement, supernatural and psychic abilities.

One I read was False Memory, about brainwashing, and how a highly reputed psychiatrist was able to gain complete control of people's minds and make them do his bidding. Given his egotistical and sociopath tendencies these tasks turned into murders and suicides. It is only once our main characters start noticing segments missing in their own lives and sudden onset autophobia (fear of yourself) and the apparent suicide of a best friend (who had sudden onset agoraphobia), that suspicions are raised.

It made me think about mental illness. Mental illness is spoken about a lot more often than it used to. Yet, in my experience it still isn't discussed a lot. Perhaps it's just me, and the circles in which I socialise, are sheltered, but I feel like it isn't. As I'm reading through the book, I vividly imagine what the characters are going through and feel the fear and confusion they are going through (the sign of a good writer and my active imagination). I imagined feeling her autophobia, I imagined my life if I had agoraphobia; it would be horrible, and unbearable.

In False Memory the signs of the mental illness were obvious; panic attacks and extreme behaviour. But it was the little things that led to the discovery of the underlying reason.

I am recommending Dean Koontz's books at the moment. So far, in the last 2 weeks I have read 5 of his novels. False Memory, By the Light of the Moon, Fear Nothing, Sole Survivor and Odd Hours (I will finish this one today).