A Word Nerd May Have Cringed In The Making Of This Post

I had the cool opportunity to read Annette Lyon's new book Tower of Strength, and she asked me if I would write a review on it. As I started reading it, I was trying to decide what kind of review to write, considering I have never been lucky enough to do something like this. Then I got to page 17, and something clicked in one of the paragraphs that connected with me personally. Voilà! I decided to write down sentences and quotes from the book that interested me. So here they are, and after each quote I will tell you why I liked it:

"It was because of him that she had pulled herself out of the spiraling hole of despair and come to Logan to attend school." Okay, I like this one because I am from Logan (northern Utah), and having a book, a novel, talk about my old stomping grounds just made me a bit nostalgic.

"Time had a strange way of playing games with one's memory and expectations." Amen!

"He hated the stables and their sickly smell of manure. He despised getting filthy and covered in animal waste every day. At times he feared the stench would penetrate his very pores and he'd never get it out. [He thought] I wasn't made for working with animals." Um, yeah. I definitely related to this paragraph. Animals are not my forte.

"Though technically a Latter-day Saint, he hadn't darkened the doors of a chapel since he was born. He was an old bachelor who lived alone in a ramshackle cabin and was known for yelling at people for looking at him wrong." I've never known anyone like this.....have you???

"I've repaired holes in that wall probably a dozen times now, and she's done made another one again - only this time in a new spot." Did you notice the "done made?" Although it makes perfect sense in the context of the story, it made me laugh out loud and think that it would be a perfect faux-pas for Annette's WNW (Word Nerd Wednesday) post!

"After a spell, she moseyed home, feeling as if everything in her world might finally turn out right." After reading this, I decided I do not mosey enough. I definitely need to mosey more often.

"At this, Tabitha nearly choked on a piece of cold chicken." Do I really need to explain this one? If I had been eating something while I read this sentence, I may have choked on it because I was laughing so hard.


I enjoyed reading this book! In life, I love connecting with people. In books, I love connecting with things the characters say, or the author describes. Tower of Strength did both for me. Thanks, Annette, for publishing another great book.