Look Again

Look Again

Lisa Scottoline

Quarter 4, Book 3

I could not put down this thrilling book! A mother sees a missing children flyer and cannot take her eye off one child who looks nearly identical to her adopted son. Scared of losing her son forever, she secretly finds the child on the flyer's parents and follows them around, being careful not to let them see her. This book showed me how unbreakable a mother to child bond is, and how much a mother will go to keep it intact. Some of my favorite moments in the book were when the mother and son spent time together like when they went sledding. The son's character is most interesting to watch develop, especially at the end of the book when he is taken from his mother, babysitter, and everything he knows as home. The mother sacrifices her love for her son to make sure his life is comfortable and steady.

Saving Henry

Saving Henry

Laurie Strongin

Quarter 4 Book 2

In this extremely moving true story, a dedicated mother explains her son's illness, fanconi anemia, a rare illness that runs in Jews. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to read this spectacular book. I never knew it was possible for one human to love another so passionately. Strongin was the first woman to try pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), a procedure in which she had to inject herself with various hormones to create eggs with a perfect match to Henry and without the gene for FA. This mother sacrificed so much for her child including, TIME, money, body strength, and her heart. Besides learning about their relationship I learned about life-changing medical procedures in a can't-stop-reading fashion. I could connect with Henry and his interests because one of his favorite places is also one of mine: Rehobeth Beach in Delaware. I give so much credit to Strongin who has created a foundation in her son's name which i hope to donate to someday.