Just finished reading:

Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Enjoyable little book. While taking her dogs for a walk the Queen of England stumbles upon the Bookmobile. After all the racket her dogs caused she felt compelled to check out a book. Poor Queen! She didn't know what ride she was about to begin. One thing leads to another and the Queen learns to enjoy reading more and more. Totally fictional but really enjoyable. I appreciated following the development of the Queen as a reader. First the light, indiscriminate reading; then learning to be more careful, reading more serious authors and starting the dialogue with the authors. I love the passage when she realizes that for all her pomp and position, she has no voice and she decides to do something about it.

Hershey Herself by Cecilia Galante: This is one is a young adult fiction title. Hershey is a twelve or thirteen years old girl living with her mom, baby sister and her mom's abusive boyfriend. She has taken upon herself the responsibilities of the well being of her family. She seems to know better than her mom what is good for their family.

With the help of her friend Phoebe, Hershey devices a plan to drive Slade, the cruel boyfriend, crazy hoping that the mother will have the sense to leave him. This plan proofs more disastrous that she ever imagined. They left but instead of a rosy life without Slade, they end up living in a battered women's shelter. There unexpected things happen and Hershey discovers a gift that will get her a chance to do something to repair the damage and alleviate her guilt.
I can't say I liked the book. Maybe I should say that I liked it but didn't love it. The writing was OK. The characters were likable if not always believable. I liked Hershey. She has a problem. She lives in a crappy family. She has a crappy life. She stuffs herself with junk food. She is bullied by Andrea. But she has been loved. Her mother loves her and people in the shelter like her. She is honest, frank and stronger that people might think. She has a rich interior life. She has courage. All in all it was an entertaining reading but not my favorite.