Book Review - Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury

I picked this up for 20 cents when my local library was deleting it from their collection recently and I'm so glad I did. 

This is such a powerful story. 

It made me cry and as I got closer to the end I just couldn't put it down until I was finished. 

It covers topics of autism, bullying, family relationships, friendships and more. 

It's not a romantic love story, but rather looking at the love shown by friends and members of families to each other. It's also about reconnecting.

Autism can be such a tough topic to talk about, particularly when you talk about what might have caused it, how a diagnosis affects family and friends, and the demands of the ongoing care of an autistic child. This book looks at all of these elements in a variety of ways and perspectives.

(This review was not sponsored. I just wanted to share the book.)

Reading Challenges 2018 - Update 1

Hi everyone!
By now you're probably wondering what's happened to me and where I am in the progress on my reading challenges.

Well, by the end of January I had started a new full time job (YAY!! - it's been something I'd wanted for a while)! So I haven't had as much time for reading. I've also read more non-fiction books this year, and they take me longer to read.

For this reason, I have dropped my Goodreads goal to 100 books for the year. My current total says 25, but I have actually read 2 more than that - one that I mentioned in my last post that doesn't appear on Goodreads and another that I finished this morning, but haven't added to my Goodreads total.

As for the Bethany House Challenge, I'm actually doing extremely well, with 3/4 of the books read for the challenge.

So here's what I've read for each one:

• With a car on the cover - A New Name by Grace Livingston Hill
• Whose protagonist has a fascinating career - True Honor by Dee Henderson
• Set in a place you've visited - Life's Adventures by Arthur Barton (this is the one that doesn't appear on Goodreads) - There is a photo in the book of the author in almost exactly the same spot as a photo of me was taken!
• Inspired by a literary classic - Possibilities by Debra White Smith (based on Persuasion by Jane Austen)
• With a child as a narrator - Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke
• Written by an author with your initials - A Girl to Love by Betty Neels (I had a struggle finding a book by an author with my initials and even more trouble finding one that I was actually willing to read. There was another book I initially tried by couldn't even finish the 1st chapter because of the swearing.)
• Containing letters or diary entries - True Valor by Dee Henderson
• A librarian recommends to you - From Desk to Dugout by Robyn Youl & Keith Hallett
• That shares a title with a song - Sweet Home Alabama by Paige Winship Dooly, Pamela Griffin, Lisa Harris & Pamela Kaye Tracy