Book Review - A Walk Across the Sun

Yet another absolutely fabulous book club selection and dinner!!! My friend Maura had recommended this book and said it was a great read, she was not kidding. I loved that for this month, it was easy to pick what type of food we would go out for, Indian food. I've probably had Indian food twice in my life, and it was close to a decade ago, and it was not the best experience. I went with my Mom and Bridget and I seem to recall not enjoying it and picking things that were too spicy and not to our liking and I've never had Indian food since. It's certainly not Mike's thing so the two of us have never been. But I was really excited to try it again and experience something new, hoping that this would be a better experience and it was!

After the original restaurant we picked to meet at we found out was closed for renovations we headed over to this small little place, Tandoori Chef, not far away. We decided it would be fun to split a couple of different items from the menu. For our dinner we had:

• Vegetable Samosa - Crisp deep-fried turnovers filled with seasoned potatoes and green peas
• Samosa Chat - Samosa topped with chickpeas, yogurt, and onions
• Chicken Tikka Masala - Boneless marinated chicken broiled in the tandoor clay oven and then smothered in creamy tomato sauce with onions and peppers
• Chana Masala - Chickpeas, onions, and ginger cooked in with Indian spices and tomato sauce.
• Basmati Rice 
• Garlic Naan - White flour bread topped with fresh garlic
• Kulfi - Homemade pistachio ice cream with saffron and cardamom

I have to say I loved all of it. It was so different from what I was used to but everything was delicious. I really enjoyed the vegetarian chick pea dishes and the vegetable samosa's were awesome, and you definitely can't go wrong with the garlic naan. Maybe I can go back with my Mom and Bridget again and give it another shot since it's been 10 years since our last try. I was so excited to get to try all this new food along with the great company!

Book Title: A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison

Book Summary (From Amazon): When a tsunami rages through their coastal town in India, 17-year-old Ahalya Ghai and her 15-year-old sister Sita are left orphaned and homeless. With almost everyone they know suddenly erased from the face of the earth, the girls set out for the convent where they attend school. They are abducted almost immediately and sold to a Mumbai brothel owner, beginning a hellish descent into the bowels of the sex trade.

Halfway across the world, Washington, D.C., attorney Thomas Clarke faces his own personal and professional crisis-and makes the fateful decision to pursue a pro bono sabbatical working in India for an NGO that prosecutes the subcontinent's human traffickers. There, his conscience awakens as he sees firsthand the horrors of the trade in human flesh, and the corrupt judicial system that fosters it. Learning of the fate of Ahalya and Sita, Clarke makes it his personal mission to rescue them, setting the stage for a riveting showdown with an international network of ruthless criminals.

Book Review: Wow, what a powerful book, this book had so many emotions and layers to it. At times I was so angry for what these girls went through and to think that this actually goes on. The terrible things that these innocent children were put through. It was amazing to just learn about this topic and know that this is going on in the world today. The chapters were so short I just kept reading on, I found it took no time at all to read this book. I wanted to read on to make sure these girls were ok. The author also did a good job of weaving in the other story line of the Lawyer that was helping with the case and trying to find the girls, of describing his own hardship and the story of him and his wife. The book was very well written and made you feel for all of the characters in the story. Although it is not a light hearted read, it was a very good read, educational to say the least!