Water for Elephants

When first reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, I thought that it was going to be very difficult. But, as it turns out, the slight challenge is nice and I quite enjoy it! I love Gruen's depiction of the circus and I can admit to looking up more information about circuses in the mid 1900s. Very interesting, indeed! I am very intrigued by the main character, Jacob's, story. I think that this book is much about vulnerability. Jacob lives a pretty good life. He goes to an Ivy league college and he is already set up with a veterinary career because his father owns a practice. But when his parents die in a terrible car crash, he is left with nothing. Because of the depression, the bank claims his house and the practice. Jacob is left with nothing, vulnerable to the open world. He drops everything and hops on a train that turns out to be the circus. He is again vulnerable there and this allows him to be set to do anything. He starts out by shoveling manure... not the greatest job but he accepts it. He then becomes a crowd pleasure; he tries to get people to see the side shows. When the big circus starts, he sees a beautiful performer... although he used to be too shy to talk to girls--to even associate with them at all. But, with his new acquired vulnerability he was able to talk to her and form an, eventually, unbreakable bond. 

Sold by Patricia McCormick

A heart-wrenching story about a girl named Lakshmi's life as a prostitute. Lakshmi lives in a small hut in a small village in the mountains of Nepal. Her family is so poor, that they cannot afford a tin roof over their heads. When her family's crops (their only means of income) are washed out my the monsoon, Lakshmi's step-father sells her into prostitution in order to pay off her family's debt. Her mother tells her, "Simply to endure is triumph," and Lakshmi makes a mantra of these words. She goes on a long journey to India where she enters the "Happiness House." Because Lakshmi is resistant to the evil ways of the owner, Mumtaz, Lakshmi is isolated in a drab room where she must be drugged so that her clients can freely rape her. When Lakshmi finally gives in to the prostitution, her life truly becomes a nightmare. Mumtaz cheats her out of her money; even after her family's debt is payed. But, she listens to her mother's words and endures. Finally, after a long time of prayers and diluted hope, Lakshmi is rescued by Americans who raid the "Happiness House." After enduring the misery and horrors of being a prostitute, Lakshmi eventually triumphs and becomes a stronger and more mature woman who can finally lead a happy life.

Gone WIth the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

A beautifully written story of love, conflict and war. The pulitzer prize winning novel by Margaret Mitchell has been inspirational to women since 1939. Mitchell writes of a teenage girl, Scarlett O'Hara, and her experiences with love and dealing with the pain of the Civil War. Scarlett is a vivacious, awe-striking, outspoken young woman. Men fall at her feet; she can seduce them with just saying "hello." Her many beau result in a deceiving reputation. Although many find her to be self-centered (as portrayed in the movie), Scarlett is actually an extremely strong individual. She takes over her father's plantation, Tara, when her mother is sick and her dad becomes psychotic. She fights off the carpetbaggers when they try to take Tara from her due to taxes and proves herself to be extremely courageous. The strength and courage of Scarlett acts as a motivation for the thousands of women who read this book to be more proactive with their own lives and live freely and rambunctiously, as Scarlett has.