Have you ever read a book that you loved so much you couldn't put down, yet didn't want to finish? You read one more chapter, one more page, all the while telling yourself that at this rate, you'll be done by tomorrow, and then the world you've been immersed in will be over, the characters silent. Bookless. But you just want to keep reading...That's how I feel about Nancy E. Turner's These Is My Words. The story, written in diary form, follows the life of Turner's great-grandmother as she grows from teen to woman in the harsh Arizona territories. It's vast-sweeping, with a fantastic love story and plenty of western action. This is the third time I've read the book--a rarity for me. It's been years since I last read it, though, and I've forgotten many of the details so that it feels new. I'm also struck by the pieces that have worked their way into my psyche. For example, pious and gentle Savannah tells her sister-in-law, Sarah (the main character) that you know you're in love when we can sit comfortably in silence together. I first read this book in my late teens, and I absorbed that little gem as an ultimate measuring stick for knowing whether you're in love. What a reminder, a I finish revising my YA novel, of the power of fiction.
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