Firebirds

The Baby in the Night Deposite Box by Nancy Whalen Turner

This is a story about baby Penny, who one night is dropped into a bank's night deposite box. When the bank manager/owner comes into work the next morning he finds the baby in with the rest of the deposites and decided that it is the banks responsibility to raise her. In this short story we watch as Penny grows from a young baby to a young adult. It didn't have much fantasy in it until the very end. For me it ended right when it was getting good, again I felt this was a great set-up for a full-length novel, but it was an enjoyable story.

Beauty by Sherwood Smith

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this story takes place in the same world of Crown Duel. It follows the daughter of Mel and Danric, who I loved, in the earlier books. Elestra is far from beautiful and is upset one evening and runs to the thrown room to get away, as soon as she enters the evil Flauvic (who had been imprisioned in a tree) takes her captive so he can make his escape. The curse that was placed on Flauvic in Court Duel has been lifted and although twenty years have passed he has hardly aged. All his family, friends and connections are long gone and he is all alone. As they travel toward the border a friendship grows between Elestra and Flauvic and before anything can really happen between them the story ends. I have mixed feelings about this one. Flauvic was such a "bad guy" in the Court Duel book it was hard for me to see him as a good guy in this one. I suppose living twenty years in a tree, losing everyone you know, and knowing that no one cared to rescue you is a pretty good punishment. Maybe he has learned a lesson and will strive to live a better life. The story ended a bit too quickly and I'm left wondering more about him then I ever was with the original story. It was fun revisiting and finding out how Mel and Danric are doing, although it didn't have the same magic from the other stories, it was still a fun read.

These Is My Words by Nancy Turner

This story was based on the real-life adventures of the author’s great-grandmother. It is written in diary format by the heroine Sarah Prine. It follows Sarah’s life as she struggles to adjust on the Arizona frontier. Sarah is intelligent and headstrong, but has had no formal education. Her father taught her some letters and she began to teach herself to read. Throughout her life she is always bettering herself and has a deep love of learning. It follows her life through many trials and also many happy days. The story is really about Sarah and her life, she has wonderful friends and family. There is a great love story but the focus is more on Sarah and her development.

This book at first reminded me a lot of “The Diary of Mattie Spenser,” luckily, this book was a lot better. I really enjoyed the story, even though diary format is not my favorite. I liked Sarah’s character a lot; she was feisty and knew how to take care of herself. At the same time she was girly, and playful. The combination made her more real to me. Her relationship with her husband reminded me a lot of my life married to a military man, I was able to relate with Sarah in missing her husband and not always able to understand why they have this desire to serve like they do. The book was slow at the beginning, probably took me about 60+ pages to really get into it. As the book progresses so does Sarah’s education and the writing becomes better. Once I got into it I had a hard time putting it down and kept thinking of friends that I know would love it also. If I were to re-read it I would probably enjoy the earlier chapters more, knowing what happens and what a big part they play in Sarah's life.

There were a few characters that I would have liked a little bit more resolution on, and a few story lines that I would have liked to see finished. I ended the book at peace with everything, it was a great chapter in Sarah’s life and I look forward to reading the other two books in the series.