Educated

Educated by Tara Westover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think, perhaps, it was me who was just educated, even if it was an education I wasn't sure that I wanted in the moment.

Pages: 334

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was obsessed with The Boxcar Children as a child. I mean what's not to love about a smart group of orphans who learn to survive on their own and do their best to stick together and protect each other? There are 4 of them, and I have 3 siblings, so I was sure that should the need ever arise, I would be ready to live with my siblings in a boxcar. In fact, I wanted to (not that I wanted anything bad to happen to my mom, but boxcar in the wilderness would have made a kickass club house).

Also, the children adopt an inured dog, even though feeding it means less food for themselves. I mean, come on! Could these children be any more amazing?

As an adult, I was curious to reread this to see if it still held the charm and whimsy of my childhood. I confess, I enjoyed reliving this book, but a bit of my realistic adult has snuck in at this point and therefore questions some of the things I never questioned as a child. Go figure. Growing up does seem to ruin a lot of good things, but it comes with some amazing perks, like being able to drink coffee without being told it will stunt your growth (clearly that was a lie, as I'm 5'10").

Anyway, long story short, this is a charming and fun read for elementary students. While I confess that I could have survived in the wilderness (and practically did) as a child, I don't think my nieces and nephews would far this well, which makes it even more interesting to me and probably also to them.

Pages: 160


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Educated by Tara Westover

Raised by survivalists/religious fundamentalists who despised the Government and everything it did, Tara never went to school and spent her days working the the junkyard with her father and helping her mother make tinctures and midwifing. It wasn't until she struck out on her own to college that she fully realized the true faces of her family and her upbringing.

Rating: 4/5

Pages: 352