The Lost Symbol

Stars: 4/5

Author: Dan Brown

Subjects: History, Symbols, Masonic, Washington DC, Robert Langdon, Thriller, Drama, Family, Religion, Spirituality

ISBN: 9780385504225

Copyright Year: 2009

Other Comments:

Out of the previous two books in the series following the protagonist Robert Langdon, The Lost Symbol, is defiantly the weakest of the three. It follows Langdon, on his quest to save one of his best friends, Peter Solomon’s life. Peter is like a father to Robert. He is a prominent and the highest ranking Mason in the Washington DC area. The only way to save the kidnapped man’s life is for him to be thrown headlong into the secretive Masonic world. Decoding the Mason’s most protected secret will be the only way to ensure Peter’s safety, but will Robert a non mason be able to achieve the feat? Only a wild, Dan Brown styled trip around Washington DC, studying the symbology will tell us now.

The Kitchen Daughter

Stars:4/5

Author: Jael McHenry

Subjects: Family, Loss, Death, Asperger's Syndrome, Cooking, Coping, Ghosts

ISBN: 978-1-4391-9169-9

Copyright Year: 2011

Other Comments:

This is a heartfelt story about a young college graduate with an undiagnosed case of Asperger's Syndrome and her attempt to cope in a world filled with grief. The story begins at her parents funeral, the people that sheltered her from all of the problems in her life as well as the world. She did not have a problem or anything wrong with her, she had a "personality" and her own definition of what is normal. The story is about how she copes with the loss and learns how to assimilate into society and her own. Her coping mechanism is cooking. She is an amazing cook, and soon learns her cooking has the power to "call forth the ghost of any dead person whose dish she prepares" (McHenry). This is the way she learns of her past and then learns how to move past this and on with her life. I thought this book was easy to read and touched on some delicate topics very well.