The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

Title: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

Author: Amy Schumar

Pages: 323

Genre: Autobiography

Grade: B

Synopsis: Amy Schumar is a comedian who has apparently lived a full enough life to warrant writing an autobiography. The book is mainly a collection of essays and stories of her life trying to make it as a comedian and having as much sex as she possibly can (yes, really).

My Review: I actually found this book to be more entertaining and enjoyable than I had expected.  I'm not sure if I've actually seen anything that shes in besides SNL, so I'm not terribly familiar with her, but the book felt like an honest view into her life interspersed with loads of lame jokes.

My Story

Title: My Story

Author: Elizabeth Smart

Pages: 7 discs

Genre: Memoir

Grade: A

Synopsis: Elizabeth Smart was abducted at knife-point from her bed in her home in Salt Lake City by Brian David Mitchell in June of 2002. She was taken to a camp high up in the Wasatch Mountains  and kept there with Mitchell's other wife, Wanda Barzee, for months before moving with her captors to San Diego, California.  Mitchell, Smart and Barzee stayed in San Diego for about 6 months before hitchhiking their way back to Utah. Their intent was to head back up to the same camp in the mountains, but while making their way north and while walking along State Street in Sandy, UT the police apprehended Mitchell and Barzee and returned Elizabeth to her family after being with her captors for 9 months.

My Review: Most of us are pretty familiar with Elizabeth Smart's horrific story and this book outlines the details of her abduction and captivity. The writing was a little repetitive and at times defensive. I tend to give my highest marks to books that make me feel something or make me want to be a better person and this book fit the bill.  Maybe it was hearing Elizabeth read the words of the book herself on the audiobook copy that I listened to, but when I finished the book I realized that I had been strengthened by Elizabeth's faith, beliefs and toughness.  I want my daughters to grow up with these same convictions and Elizabeth has become a more-than-worthy role model for the young LDS generation.  She suffered from many of the worst abuses imaginable, but as she puts it in the conclusion of the book (and I'm only paraphrasing because I don't have a written copy), "At the time of this writing I am 25 years old.  I've been on this earth for 307 months and of those 307 months I suffered the abuse of Mitchell and Barzee for 9 of them.  The other 298 months have been happy and spent with my family who loves me.  I cannot let those 9 months define who I am."

During the worst moments of Smart's life she was witness to miracles, kindness and generosity from the most unexpected places.  I hope to be able to both recognize these sorts of miracles in my own life (I know they exist!) and to be able to be that miracle in somebody else's life if God is willing.

I donated to the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, and you should too: http://elizabethsmartfoundation.org/donate/donation/

Dorothy Must Die: Stories

Title: Dorothy Must Die: Stories

Author: Danielle Paige

Pages: 392

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B-

Synopsis: This book is a collection of three prequel novellas to the popular Dorothy Must Die series.  The books take place after Dorothy Gale has returned from Oz.  This book contained the first 3 stories, 0.1, 0.2 & 0.3, and apparently there are also 0.4-0.9 as well as the three books of the Dorothy Must Die series.  The stories were No Place Like Oz, The Witch Must Burn and The Wizard Returns.

My Review: For me, The Wizard of Oz is just ok.  It's a story that has been overdone and these books fit into that same mold. The premise was interesting, but I just never caught the bug.

Tiny Dancer

Title: Tiny Dancer: The Incredible Tue Story of a Young Burn Victim's Journey from Afghanistan

Author: Anthony Flacco

Pages: 243

Genre: Non-Fiction

Grade: B

Synopsis: In the summer of 2001, 9-year-old Zubaida Hasan falls into a kerosene fire in rural Afghanistan.  She is severely burned all over her body and the family lives far from any medical facilities.  Miraculously she survives, even though the local Afghani doctors only suggestions to the parents are for them to pray for her to have a speedy death.  After a few months the scar tissue on her body and face is building up to such an extent that her chin is fused with her torso and it is even pulling the skin from around her eye sockets. (You may have even seen her photo before). Her father is desperate to save her and travels with her to the nearest American Army Base where she is seen on the streets by an American Green Beret who takes pity and begins campaigning for her to get help. Eventually Zubaida is brought to Southern California where she undergoes a series of treatments and surgeries to remove the excess scar tissue.

My Review: This is an incredible true story and a reminder of how blessed I am to live in a country with access to some of the best medical care available. The risks of living and growing up in the USA are far less than are faced by other children throughout the world.  The book was also a nice reminder of the humanity around us. So much of what we hear these days is only the bad and yet there are good people across the globe who are still trying to be good and willing to help those in need.