A is for Alibi

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_sabc?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&pageMinusResults=1&suo=1366912246423#/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=a%20is%20for%20alibi&sprefix=A+is+for+%2Cstripbooks%2C147&rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Aa%20is%20for%20alibi



Murder Mysteries!!!  Ahhhh, not my favorite genre but, I am rating it four stars not because it was of the highest quality book I ever read but because for what it was, it was a good, fun read.  Simplistic without being low quality.

    You, like Kinsey, question each character in your mind and pay little attention to those you doubt could have done the crime.

I'm not a crime novel, figure it out type of a murder mystery girl but this one was fun...kind of like my Janet Evanovich novels...a good break from the heavy duty norm I read.  I will defintely try the next one in time.  Hooray for Kinsey...I turned the last page and still didn't know for sure what would happen and who was guilty.  I saw the page wasn't a full page and thought...OMG...maybe I won't know till the sequel...but the author kept me guessing till the last few sentences...and then she wrapped it all up in a nice tight little package.  I loved that about this book!

This book was like a breath of fresh air, light, breezy reading which you sometimes have to do that when you read something heavy previously like...say...The Book of Ruth (see my other post about that one).  And I'm sure what you read before you read a book could actually make a difference as to how the newer book is rated...I am an emotional reader as well as a critical grammar type reader :).

Happy Reading...and with this one?  Have FUN!!!!

The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton

Buy the book!!!



http://www.amazon.com/Book-Ruth-Oprahs-Club/dp/0385265700/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366911893&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Book+of+Ruth




This was a different kind of book.  Definitely a mark on the literary totem pole.  To get into the head of s someone whose life is hard.  She doesn't have a break in life...and she can't seem to get one...she believes all the lies May, (her mother), told her over the years...she has abused her in every way possible controlling her life, where she lives, where she works, what she eats, where her money goes, just telling her she's too stupid to deal on her own.  Ruth marries someone who is developmentally delayed
In reality, Ruth could have been someone altogther different. She's a good mother, a good wife, a good worker, she works her way up to spotter while May stays in the position she held long before Ruth came to work.  But May has to beat other people down to keep them with her, to make sure they don't leave her because her happiness left her by way of death long before her kids came along.  Her Son, Ruth's brother, left the family with his smarts aand wanted nothing more to do with them.  May tries hard to bring him back...she wants to live through her son and she does...she brags about the son who left her...doesn't speak to her and wants nothing to do with her but is just awful to the child who treats her fabulously and hasn't left her and most likely won't.
Years of abuse...well, let's just say it's not good and if you are a simpleton like Ruth's husband who also moves in with May, you won't be able to handle years of verbal abuse.  And between having the child and growing up and realizing that May is holding them back, their decision to move out on their own...May decides to step things up.  Instead of saying...no, please don't leave me, I'm scared to be alone...she says, you won't leave and gets nastier.  Everyone has their breaking point.  Ruth and Ruby both found theirs that day.
Ruth now has to learn to live without May, she has to learn to live for herself...and her kids.  She has to learn to pick up the pieces and not fall back into the same pattern with her Aunt...which she thinks will happen...although her Aunt is a different person completely...but she feels she needs to escape on her own...and maybe she will now that she's out from under May's thumb.  She also starts at the beginning...hating everyone that comes near her, driving them all away...including the Reverend's messages from God.  OF course she analyzes scriptures and messages from the Rev constantly...so she is still holding onto the hope that there is someone/something out there to help her and Justy...and a heaven for May.
I liked the way this book was written.  It's very heavy...you feel the struggle of life...you feel the unhappiness like a wet blanket over Ruth's life even when she's out having fun with her friend Daisy or out for the day with Ruby.  Her mother hangs over her head all the time no matter how nice of a day or week she has.  I like how the author's main story is the unhappiness and not the crime/happening which brought the story to a climax and caused Ruth to start again at the beginning.  I really liked that you saw how unhappiness can fester...and how abuse can go so much further than just physical and how you cannot just sit and hope that things will change.  Action has to be taken for change to happen and change can be scary enough to deter change.
A heavy story, I'm glad I read it...but one I will never reread again.
I give the Book of Ruth three stars...but they are VERY heavy stars indeed.

Happy Reading!

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Odd-Thomas-Novels-Publisher/dp/B004UZV6CW/ref=sr_sp-btf_title_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366911151&sr=1-9&keywords=Brother+ODd





I loved this book.  the banter between Rodion Romanovich and Odd was so humorous I read through each of their conversations twice.  Humor goes well with horror only so well in the Odd stories.  this wasn't my favorite book in the series but it was just as enjoyable.   the monsters in this book were a little too "out there" but it did leave room for the special effects movie people as they were hard to imagine even as a very imaginative horror fan.  I cannot imagine trying to make those monsters into something on a screen.  I wonder who would play Odd?  I could see the kid there that played SpiderMan maybe...Toby.  Or maybe Ryan Gosling as he looked as the young Noah in The Notebook.  But the banter...Nahhhh definitely Toby as far as the banter back and forth between characters.  OH to be the casting Director on this one.  GREAT characters in the ODD books.  Even the new monks introduced here were fabulous...and the Nuns too.

thanks Dean for continuing a great character and allowing us to read his manuscripts.

I'm going to give this one 3.75 stars as it wasn't the BEST of the Oddie stories...but I do so love the characters in his books.

Happy Reading!

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Lorien-Legacies-Book/dp/0061974579

There is so much action, it's fun, it's heartbreaking and it's believable for an alien story.  Children (Garde) stashed on Earth to grow up and learn their powers (legacies) and then find each other while being hunted by the Mogs who destroyed their home planet of Lorien.  They must then form together and fight...oh and they all have numbers...one through nine...only one, two, and three are dead, and the Mogs can only kill them in order.  IF they try to kill Nine before they kill Four...they themselves will die.

So our story started with I am Number Four...then number four hooked up at the end of that book with another...thus the next book...this one.

And I loved it!  Lots of action plus you are introduced to others in the later numbers that don't have their own books.

I do not like the movie I am Number Four so even if you thought the movie was horrid, doesn't mean you won't like the books.  They are apples and oranges!

I give this book FIVE stars!!!

Happy READING!!!!

The Critical Librarian

Room by Emma Donoghue

http://www.amazon.com/Room-Novel-Emma-Donoghue/dp/0316223239/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366903132&sr=1-1&keywords=room+emma+donoghue

This Book had me torn.  At first it was frustrating.  Imagine listening to a five year old tell a story for days...that is what reading this book was like.  I did get used to it but a lot of it was frustrating because the five year old is very narcissistic.  He wants what he wants and will throw a fit if he doesn't get it.

So to take an emotionally fragile and sheltered five year old and suddenly turn his world upside down and show him that the world is much bigger than four walls and a skylight then you are going to have issues which is what this Mom had...as well as all the others.

But eventually I understood.  I understood the Mom's decisions, and I understood that this was a five year old going through this event...and on top of that, a grown woman was acting the part of a five year old and she did an AMAZING job.

Because of the frustration, I only gave this book around 3.5 stars...probably closer to 3.75.  But it was more because it was hard to experience, hard to read, and not real.  I did read Jaycee Dugard's book and I would rate hers higher because she was really there...she's not an author, she's a survivor.

If you like strange experiences, this is definitely one to read...I wouldn't say don't read it...but I wouldn't recommend it either just because this stuff does happen in today's world.

Save me by Lisa Scott

http://www.amazon.com/Save-Me-Lisa-Scottoline/dp/B009697UJA/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366902745&sr=1-1&keywords=Save+Me




This was a great book.  At first I was a little thrown off.  That whole perfect wife, mother, life, etc....irritates me to no end...but then we find out more, that this model, mother, perfect person isn't so perfect...her life is pretty messed up.  The story goes from one extreme to the other...and then it finds a happy medium and you are able to get into the story and I was guessing...it became a mystery both touching, and sad, and happy...with all ends tying neatly together at the end...nothing being perfect, which was good too, but things ended just right.

Save Me was a weird title..but there was some saving going on...and this books shows how you can save yourself by saving others.

I liked it.  I will definitely read more of Lisa's works.  Coming Home is on shelves now.   I also, upon cleaning out some bookshelves, found I have one of Lisa's older novels where she was into writing suspense and wasn't into the whole relationship type of book.  It will be interesting to compare the two works of hers.

I believe I gave this book 4 Stars...and if I didn't when I first finished it, looking back, I think I would give it that now.  :)

Keep Reading!!!  I am!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Creatures-Kami-Garcia/dp/0316042676/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366902310&sr=1-1&keywords=beautiful+creatures


I liked this book.  At first it was slow and not all that intriguing.  But about 3/4 of the way through it, I was hooked and had to know what was happening.

I give it about 3.5 stars because I wish I had been hooked earlier...but it was an easy read...there were some interesting characters, though I wish the authors had developed the relationships between the characters a bit more as there were some times when I thought the main character was acting like he knew a character more than they had let on in the book.

Overall for a first book in the series, it was okay and I will definitely pick up Beautiful Darkness at some point to read though it's not urgent like it was with Harry Potter or Twilight...it's just a whenever I get the time sort of thing. 

Those are my thoughts!


***Update, I picked up the second book but haven't started it yet.  Will let you know!

The House at the End of the Street

The House at the End of the Street
       written by Lily Blake, David Loucka and Jonathan Mostow


Wow....an extremely good and very short read.  If you have a teen  that does NOT like to read...get this book.   If they have a book report or something where they have to read something...this book may actually turn them on to reading.  I read it in one weekend and probably could have read it in about four hours had I been uninterrupted.

Because it's so short, the fact that it was so surprising...had such good twists and turns and also quite a bit of suspense was actually surprising.  I won't do any spoiler alerts so I cannot tell you much but a girl and her single mom move to a new place due to the main character not focusing on school as much as a guy and some illegal substances at their previous residence.  So of course, she immediately gets involved with the town freak the second she moves to this new location.  Bad stuff happened at the house he lives in and she thinks he just needs a break...some friends, AND she thinks he is cute.

Well there really isn't much left to say without giving things away so I'll go on to my rating.  I think Teens who enjoy that kind of fiction will LOVE this book.  Those who don't like to read that much will enjoy it too.  Even adults!  Just don't see the movie first.  It would so ruin it.

Short and sweet, this book gets an overall 4 on my behalf.  The writing wasn't top of the line but with some suspsense it doesn't need to be.  This carried itself without too much character development.  Most of the focus is on our heroin and that s enough.

Read whenever you can and know that this one is a four!!!

Ciao for now!!!

The Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult

Sorry, the add the link and image button wasn't working so I had to add a different way. I hope it works!



Upon starting this book, I was hooked immediately, wanted to keep reading but I will say there were parts of it that were a bit unbelievable; The book is about a crime that happens in the world of the Amish...so there are crimes that are just against God in the world of the Amish, then there are crimes that are not allowed in the land of the law as well. There are some times when I started to think that Jodi was bringing us into some really forbidden territory but no, she didn't go there (sexual abuse between older brother and younger sister). In other words, my mind was guessing all over the place though I did guess the right answer a few times during the read, but my mind would shy away from that answer and back down a different road thinking that what I read couldn't be the truth.

The part that was unbelievable to me is the actual house arrest part with the lawyer staying on the farm...seriously? Most likely wouldn't happen...so I had to let that go in order to enjoy the read. Let's see...a lot has been going on in my life recently and I finished this book a while ago so am trying to remember all I have to say about it Oh there were other parts of the book that were different...strange...different...and probably not really needed for the storyline so I questioned what the author was doing with the character...maybe just seeing if she COULD write about that type of a character or figure? For those of you that are going to read this...I'm talking about the ice skating sister on the lake. You'll see what I mean. I liked it...a very sad story...a heartfelt glimpse into the mystery of the Amish world as seen by Jodi Piccoult.

I like the way Jodi writes...though this time there were different story line threads that didn't seem to go anywhere...and though they tied up a little at the end...you were still left wondering in some areas.  That's not always a bad thing though for writers to leave you to your imagination.

The premise of the story...there's a baby born...and found in the barn...that had passed away.  According to the Amish...no one was pregnant...but the clues lead to a young unwed Amish girl.  Did she have the baby and then rid herself of the burden so as to try to hide her turning from her faith's rules?  Or did someone else have a baby?  Or did someone else kill the baby?  So many questions.  Plus a lawyer who has to live amongst the Amish...someone typically used to electricity.

It's an enjoyable read...some long shots but easily forgotten...okay when i wrote that...I realized that the lawyer being ordered to live on the farm by the judge really bothers me...so other THAN THAT...I really liked this story.  But then again, I really enjoy stories about the Amish and the Little House on the Prairie way of living.

That's it for now...I will give Jodi Piccoult's The Plain Truth four out of five stars.  I may have to put her books on their own scale according to her style of writing...there are so many!!!

Happy Reading!  Spring...the rainy time of year when you can always curl up with a good book!!!

Best!

50 Shades of Grey by E L James

Fifty Shades of Grey
by EL James
#1 New York Times Bestseller





This book is all the rage.  It's all over the radio and television.  Dr. Oz is talking about it.  The ladies on The View are discussing it.  All the morning show radio hosts are reading it and talking about it and taking calls about it.  So, I work at a University and I happen to be in the bookstore (go figure) and noticed that they had the trilogy there.  So I think I better pick up the first book because not only was it 20% off but I get an extra 10% off as a Staff person.

I am not a wild woman by any means...but I used to be back in the day.  So needless to say I'm not a prude.  The way people were talking about this book though, I thought I was going to be blushing bright red the entire time I was reading.  As always, it's a matter of perspective.  I know people that explore sexuality in different ways, so I'm not easily shocked in areas such as this.  So I considered this book actually a nice tame story in the world of BDSM.

I would definitely expect that anyone reading this book would be 18 years of age or older.  As far as "sex" scenes go, I liked this author's style because there were no heaving bodices or naughty words used for body parts.  Everything was very natural and rated R as opposed to X.  E L James has a very nice way of describing erotic happenings in a way so as not to offend. 

I guess a good way to describe it would be to say it was clean erotica as opposed to nasty dirty erotica.  You didn't feel like you just visited some back door peep show where you paid a dollar to put your eye up to a hole in the wall.  And you didn't feel like you had to hide the book while reading in public...although that may be because of the publicity.  I actually ran into strangers reading the same book at the hair salon...and she didn't blush when I showed her my copy and said "enjoying the book?"  lol...she just laughed.

So it's clean, sensual exploration into a world most don't know a whole lot about but everyone secretly fantasizes about because let's face it, we all want someone else to take control...and who better than a gorgeous rich billionaire with his own jet, helicopter and a guy who wants to buy you an Audi to ensure your safety while driving?  Hey, I'd let a guy like that tie me up any day!!!!  Okay so he also bought her a laptop, blackberry, closet full of clothing with a monthly clothing allowance and was constantly surprising her with things like upgrading her airfare to first class and buying out the seat beside her so she could sit alone.

MY KIND OF MAN!!!!  LOL...okay so the me, the librarian did think Christian Grey was her kind of man...and Ana is a very lucky woman because she's not your typical tall blonde (yet everyone else in the story is including every woman working for Mr. Grey) but he doesn't want them...he wants plain mousy Ana.  It's an erotic spin on Cinderella minus the talking mice but let's throw in some spankings instead.

So her storyline is intriguing (obviously) because there is a lot of sensual scenes.  Characters are all wonderful...quiet Stepdads, loving Mothers, fun, protective roommates, Cinderella (Ana), our heroine and the Princely Christian Grey.

One (important) thing I didn't like about the book is actually the way the author describes conversations...the actual writing of these.  I almost feel her struggle during the conversations...Ana drops her eyes and looks at her hands, Grey closes his eyes, blah blah blah.  But I don't think people are reading the book to find out what these two have to say to each other...so most probably miss that part.  But I AM the Critical Librarian so I have to bring that up, and I do notice those things.

Oh and the ending?  It went from Cinderella happy to Cinderella not happy in about three pages...and I think it happened just to give you an ending that makes you WANT to read book number two.  So will I read book number two?  Yeah probably...but I'm going to take a break.  I feel like the author tried to force me into it...besides...you all know me and I have about four other books going at the same time and I'm WAY behind in my blogs as I have about four or five books at least that I need to blog about.  I don't like to be forced...unless it's Christian Grey doing it, of course.

So for good clean erotica...I give this book five stars...for writing quality...I'm only giving out two and a half stars so Fifty Shades of Grey averages right around three and three quarter stars as the ending felt forced so I had to take a little away for that as well.

I don't think E  L James has to worry though.  The book is hot enough to sell...and selling it is!  I cannot WAIT for the movie...rated X?

That's it for today, Readers!!

TTFN

Fallen by Lauren Kate (Tween and Teen romance novel)

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (Lorian Legacies)

Wow!  This book was great.  Another teen book, and I know my son saw the movie but I'm not sure what made me purchase the book and read it.  I guess maybe it was the blurb on the back.  This is a book about nine aliens who look human who have to leave their planet and come to earth.  They each have one person with them to help care for them and keep them safe.  They are children when they reach Earth and go their separate ways.  They have to survive and sooner or later they will start to get their "gifts' when they become teenagers...which are some sort of powers...and they have no idea what their powers might be.  The book focuses on Number Four of the nine.  The reason the number is so important is that the bad aliens who are after these nine have to kill them in order.  The first chapter in the book is very short and basically lets us know that number three is now dead.

So our story starts with Number Four...he and his guardian are leaving (again) and moving to a new location to try and fit in and hide.  So this boy is an alien who has to fit in with humans...he makes friends but can never stay long in any place and he is waiting for some unknown powers to make themselves known to him at any given time.  He has to stay alive...so they can never go after Number Five.

I am going to do something I didn't really want to do in this blog but I have to because it is something I feel people should be aware of always.  My son saw this movie...he is not a reader (which drives me nuts).  He liked the movie a lot and I thought maybe if I tried to put the book around, he would pick it up...but much to my chagrin, he wanted nothing to do with it.  I read the book and absolutely loved it.  I cried and sobbed and could not believe it was filled with such emotion.  I was so attached to John's guardian Henri that I thought my heart would break at the end of the book (can't tell you why, of course).  Character development was great, the fact that these were aliens living among us was believable because they weren't coming in with hostility and tactile warfare.  They are humble and cute.  I grew very attached to these characters.

You have your typical high school issues with bullies and ex-girlfriend/boyfriend anger issues, and there's also a lesson in there about taking the high road and not following the crowd.

I like this book and give it a high five. 

This book is a hidden gem.  It looks like the book a tween would read for action and destruction but it has so much more.  Spread the word!

                                

What are YOU reading????

UP AND COMING REVIEWS AND READS.....

Hi, I just wanted to apologize for sometimes taking so long in between posts and then dumping a bunch on you at once.  Life just gets in the way.  Oh to spend all my time on updating things on the computer, right?

But no, there's parenting and working full time and then, of course, there is the actual reading of the books that I am reviewing.  But that, my friends, is my favorite part!!!!

Currently, I am reading or I have on my list to read, or I am finished reading but have yet to review::::::

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (read...review almost finished)
Salem's Lot by Stephen King (read...review next in line...an oldie but a goodie!!!!)
The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (the next in line to the above)
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (hoping to read it soon)
Tara Road by Maeve Binchy (Just started reading...was in Oprah's Book Club)
Pirate Latitudes and Air Frame and Congo all by Michael Crichton


I will also be picking back up with a few Janet Evanovich's as she is in the high teens with Stephanie Plum and I am on #7 or 8 so I have to catch up!!!!  I also plan on reading a few children's books and I'll get as many teen books in there as I can.  Feel free to read along and also to send suggestions!

For my personal enjoyment, I am rereading some classics like The Swiss Family Robinson (my favorite when I was just a child).  I have no business rating any of the classics of course and will not do so but I will let you know that I am reading them and what I liked and didn't like about them.  Charles Dickens is always a favorite.

I'd love to hear what you are reading as well.

Happy Reading!!!!

Best,
Karen

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Kiss The Girls by James Patterson




I got this book at The Salvation Army thrift store in Portsmouth, NH.  Oh and by the way, that place is incredible.  There is an entire media room filled with books.  It's like heaven!!!


But because I got this second hand, I read this one first even though I was supposed to read Along Came a Spider (I think that is the name of the first).  There is a detective, Alex Cross, who lives with his mother and two little girls in Washington, DC.  He is a widower and his whole life and everything he does is overshadowed by the fact that he did lose his wife and he has to ensure he is around to raise those little girls who mean the world to him.


Suddenly his whole family is around because his own niece has been kidnapped from school in North Carolina.  Someone is kidnapping beautiful, smart, talented women.  Someone is collecting these women.  There's another case going on in Los Angeles.  Are the two cases related?  Hmmmmm.


This book is well written.  We know what the kidnapper is doing.  We know that he will kill and has killed.  We know what he is saying to these women.  We are basically in the room with the two of them and witnessing the kidnap victims fear and horror at what they are being forced to succumb to.  But we have no idea who it is...and I don't know about you, but when I was reading this book, I was suspicious of everyone that Alex Cross was in contact with.  Everyone he talked to, everyone he visited, every one who crossed his path.  THAT is the sign of a VERY well written suspense thriller.


Alex Cross is a very likable character.  We feel for him...we want to marry him...and be the mother to his children...so therefore, we do not want anything to happen to him.  That gives the novels a new twist.  We actually feel a heart felt warm kind of attraction to this character.  I think I even wanted Alex Cross to succeed in finding the kidnapper/murderer more than I wanted to save the women.  I guess that is because we know Alex and didn't really get a lot of character building with the victims except for Kate, a special victim in the life of Alex, of course.


So I guess we know the characters we need to know...we actually feel for the main characters and want everything to be okay for them...so as far as character building...I give this book a 4.  Storyline, susapense, thrill ride, it was a pretty good ride...so I give the book a 4.5.  As far as the ending...well I like the fact that you know there's going to be another book.  I did not like the ending as far as what happened between Alex and Kate.  They both seemed to understand why they couldn't be together...but for some reason, I never understood...and still don't.  So I was left feeling like I was missing something.  For that little piece of discomfort/bad taste I was left with, I give it a 3.  The book did translate well into a movie with Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.  I may have to watch that again now that I've read the book.


Overall the book is good, worth reading...it's an older book so most of us have seen the movie and know how it ends...but lucky me, I fill my head with so many books and movies, I typically do not retain the info for long so the thrill was not lost on me.


I give Kiss the Girls a four out of five star rating.


Happy Reading!!!


Best, 
The Critical Librarian

The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone

http://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Mile-Allan-Leverone/dp/0615547117/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323737715&sr=1-1

The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone

This book was quite a ride.  It definitely makes you question yet again, getting involved when you see a crime in progress.  Our hero, Bill Ferguson, has no choice but to get involved.

This is a great suspense thriller based on three of the scariest encounters one could have, a serial killer, kidnapped by a human trafficker and someone you should be able to trust turning on you causing the floor to fall out from under your feet at the worst moment in your life.


This book was a ride and a half and I seriously enjoyed every moment of it. Besides the plot, the story, the writing, I also really loved that the chapters are short...and the way that you hear from everyone's point of view. So one chapter from the killer's point of view, one from the captor's point of view, one from the savior's point of view, etc. There are also some mystery points of views in there that leave you guessing throughout the book. I kept saying...okay, this chapter is only a few pages, I'll just read THIS one and then go to the bathroom...or I'll just read this next one and then I'll go do the laundry. LOL.


I also loved the basis for the title "The Lonely Mile". It reminded me a little bit about the speech that Tom Hanks gives in Cast Away after he is rescued and after he see's his girlfriend and realizes she is going to go on with her life the way she has been living it during the four years he has been gone. And he realizes that he has to keep going...no matter what and shares this with his best friend right before he takes off on his road trip to find the Angel Wings woman. The moment that Bill Ferguson discusses his lonely mile with his ex happens before the book takes place but it reminds me of life going on...no matter what...whether you want it to or not.


I cannot give you anymore information on this book because...it's a suspenseful thriller and I am not going to ruin it.  i will say this, I will be purchasing Allan's other books on a regular basis and will follow him as I do Stephen King.  I am not just saying that because I work with his Sister in Law and her kids used to babysit mine either.  LOLOL.


Seriously though, I do rate this book five out of five stars.  I am usually generous because I feel badly rating something badly.  But I am asking myself as I write this if I feel in any way that this book or writing style or anything about it deserves less and I honestly can say no.  


The fact that the chapters are short....wow, that is my favorite writing style.  LOVE LOVE LOVE that...because you can always "just read one more chapter before I go to bed"  LOLOL.


So five stars.  Read it...if you like thrillers...James Patterson, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc? Do not hesitate to purchase, borrow, take out from the library, order, download, steal, whatever,  this book.


Okay, I am going to say that I thought I had already posted this review...but when I looked back tonight it seemed to have gone missing so I am posting it again....so I apologize if it's somewhere on my site that I am not seeing.  But the good ones, You have to ensure that the good ones are getting posted




Best,


Critical Librarian

Switched by Amanda Hocking

  Switched by Amanda Hocking


This is going to be a shorter review because it's not a book that needs a real literary review.  The age group for this particular book is probably anywhere from young tween to late teen depending on what genre you enjoy.  I enjoyed it but then again, I would read ANYTHING including Dr. Suess at my age (42)...so you can't go by me. I will also say, I enjoyed it but nothing like Harry Potter or Twilight.  I will never read this series twice and I'm not sure I will even get to the second and third book except for a slight very mild curiosity to find out what the heck happens to this girl and the human boy.

This story follows the typical Harry Potter story line where a "normal" girl who has had somewhat of an unhappy life thus far, finds out she is not really who she thought she was.  The difference in Switched, however, is that I'm not so sure that the new life is better.  She leaves behind people she loves and has to live with some that she doesn't really love.  It is interesting...and oh, she finds out she is...NO, not a Wizard...but a TROLL but a Troll princess which if you have to be a troll you might as well be top of the bloodline, right?...lol...but good thing for her trolls aren't the ugly creatures listening to those billy goats gruff trip trip trapping across that bridge.

Wendy is our main character and she has trouble fitting in anywhere..and she learns about love (Finn)...and this book was developed as part of a Trilogy.  The other two books already had release dates when this one was being advertised at B&N.  You can check out the series at www.trylleseries.com
Trylle is the World of the trolls...but they are Trylle...not troll.


I am not going to rate this one as I do the others because this is more of a fun read.  I don't think parents really need to read it before their child does...I don't think the first book has anything a parent wouldn't want his or her tween exposed to in it.

There's a bit of violence...but nothing very descriptive.  There is your typical prejudice (against humans) but Wendy doesn't fall into the trap because she grew up thinking she was human and was raised by humans...so no big deal.  If you are concerned about violence, you can read the end of the book, the battle scene is at the very end of this book.

This is a book I would let my kids read without worry.  Nothing to take too seriously.  If I had to rate it for adult enjoyment, I might give it a 2.8...I would have given it a higher rating, had I been left on the edge of my seat and was running out to the bookstore today as the second book was released at the end of February.

So I guess that is all I have to say about Switched.  It would probably be a good gift to get the teen who has everything...the first two books and maybe a gift card to purchase the third?

Best,
The Critical Librarian

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

 Wintergirls  by Laurie Halse Anderson

Images provided by Amazon.com (the place to buy books)!!!

Wintergirls was more of a young adult, maybe mid to late teen novel but can also be appreciated by anyone who lived through those years and still recall the hurts and joys and deep heartfelt feelings that every little thing seemed to bring on.

Every one of us remembers high school and how we all made sure we were either perfectly dressed like everyone else, or perfectly dressed like no one else, we all had our body image issues, our hair issues, our clothing issues.  But most of us were lucky to make it through unscathed.  Most of us managed to make it to the point where we became fully functioning adults in the real world and we stopped caring so much about what others thought or about what our bodies were doing.

This book is the story about Lia...whose body image issues and friendship with someone who had similar issues  fed her mind until she became diseases with anorexia.  I won't give too much of the story away but unfortunately, Lia is now alone and has even more to deal with on top of her body image issues and anorexia.  Lia is fresh out of a hospital and living with her Dad and stepmom and half sister.  She is superficially functioning.  She is lying about eating, lying about her weight and fooling her family...but the truth may be that most of them would like to be fooled because this isn't an issue that anyone really wants to deal with.

Here's an excerpt of Laurie Halse Anderson's writing:

         "I pee out the extra water inside me and strip.  I stand five feet, five inches tall, a little shorter than freshman year.  That's when my periods stopped, too.  I pretend to be a fat, healthy teenager.  They pretend to be my parents.  Everything is just fine."  (in the book 'everything just fine' has a line through it as if it was a mistake).
     "I close my eyes.
      As I step on the scale, Jennifer warns Emma about ice cream.
     As I step on the scale, Emma fears vanilla.
     As I step on the scale, Dad swings his racket and scores.
     As I step on the scale, Mom slices open a stranger.
     As I step on the scale, shadows edge closer.
     As I step on the scale, Cassie dreams.
     I open my eyes.  099.00 pounds.  I am officially standing on Goal Number One.
     Ha.
     If my docs knew, they'd bodyslam me back into treatment.  There would be consequences and repercussions because (once again) I broke the rules about the perfect sized Lia.  I am supposed to be as big as they want.  I am supposed to repeat my affirmations like incantations to drive the nasty voices out of my head.  I am supposed to commit to recovery like a nun pledging body and soul in a convent.
     They are morons.  This body has a different metabolism.  This body hates dragging around the chains they warp around it.  Proof?  At 099.00, I think clearer, look better, feel stronger.  When I reach the next goal, it will be all that and more.
     Goal Number Two is 095.00, the perfect point of balance.  At 095.00, I will be pure.  Light enough to walk with my head up, meaty enough to fool everyone.  At 095.00, I will have the strength to stay in control.  I'll stand on the blocks hidden in the toes of my satin ballet slippers, pink ribbons sewn into my calves, and rise above up in the air:  magical.
     At 090.00, I will soar.  that's Goal Number Three.

     Cassie watches, half hidden in the shower curtain.
     "Give it up, " she whispers."

Okay...so great writing technique.  You spend the entire book inside Lia's head which is a scary place to be when you are a person of sound judgement.  It's scary to me as a grown women because so many of our teens today DO think this way and Ms. Anderson does a very good job at giving us the experience of reliving those very scary mixed up teenage hormonal years where our sense of self was mostly in the toilet and was definitely never good enough.

Writing technique, I definitely give this four stars.  I would go with five but there are times when you are in someone else's head that you can become confused and therefore you have to reread what you just read to understand it.  Not a bad thing...just different and some might not enjoy that type of book as it's not an easy breezy read.  Story gets a four, simply because it's sad and tragic...I won't tell you the ending...but the ending is why it is getting a four. :)   I love the story, I love the characters.  I feel Lia's discomfort at being around her Mom.  I feel her aloneness in the book when she is in the house with her stepmom.  Wow, that was a scary place to be as I was there so many years ago.

I will give this only a 3.5 rating for the character development.  Because we are in Lia's head we don't really know what is going on with the other characters.  I guess because of the way the story is told, we really shouldn't know...but I was curious.

Overall, a good read.  I think teenage girls should read this with their Moms reading it as well.  Everyone should know what their daughters may be going through.  So as a reference tool for mother's of teenage girls, I give this a 4 as well.  Obviously not everyone is developing anorexia...but they could be thinking about cutting, or taking drugs, or any number of crutches that are available to today's teens.  Today they are even picking up guns before going to school...

Overall this book gets about a 3.5 - 4.0 star rating.  I go with the lower rating because it's not a book for everyone.  You probably have to ensure your teenager is strong enough to handle a story such as this one.

Best,
the Critical Librarian :)

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

NIGHTSHADE
       by Andrea Cremer


The reason I read this book was as a favor to my friend.  I was told her daughter,who is a 12 year old Tween, is a self proclaimed Nightshade Trilogy fan (there are three books altogether in the series).  The book that she owns is falling apart, literally, pages falling out, etc. as she has read it over and over.  Because I love Twilight and Harry Potter, she thought I might share her daughter's passion for this book or at least her enthusiasm and at the same time she, who does not read much, would know what her daughter was reading and embedding into her brain.  I was disappointed when I found out.

This is the story about a pack of shape shifting teenagers.  They are werewolves by most definitions but they claim to not be werewolves in the story...and it's true that they have control over their shifting...there's no full moon action in this story.  There are actually two different 'packs' (one being the Nightshades) that are supposed to combine on Halloween night through marriage.  Top Dog of one marries top dog of the other so to speak.  You get the distinct impression in the beginning of the book that typically these two clans are not very friendly with one another but both leaders decide to make a good impression on their followers because after all once the marriage takes place in a few weeks then they will have to get along.

Calla is our heroine and Ren is our hero...or is he?  Calla is to marry Ren but a few weeks before a new kid starts at school "Shay" and he causes all kinds of chaos.  He's human (or is he?) and the humans are typically looked down upon...but he's adamant and wants to know Calla a lot better.  So a little bit of a love triangle happens...which is very dangerous because these packs also have adult packs...grownups, adults, parents that all support this marriage and they are very dangerous folks to deal with apparently.  Some of them give you the distinct impression that they are sort of the mafioso of shape shifting.  Anywho, Shay brings up info to Calla that proves that perhaps her pack are not good people (animals) and perhaps she lives a lie and all hell breaks loose on Halloween night (the night of the wedding)...and this is where we leave off and supposedly wait breathless for the next book to come out (NOT ME!!!!).

I am going to be a bit hard on poor Andrea as a writer because I know she has freedom of speech...but so don't I.  This book and definitely geared toward young teenagers and some of the things it entails...lots of lust...although no sex...but there is sex implied...Calla wants it badly from two different men...constantly.  Women are supposed to do what the packleader says no matter what...for instance Calla's mother is actually sort of hit on by the head mafioso guy even though she is, of course, married to Calla's Dad.  Calla tells her mother to not allow it and before we know it, Calla hits the floor because her mother has punched her...yes folks, punched her closed fisted and told her that the women give certain people whatever they want.  REALLY, Andrea????  Aren't we teaching our young tweens the wrong message here?

Another issue I had was that the teens are all around the age of 16 and 17 and some a little younger and they are attending dance clubs and partying at bars where underage drinking is okay with all of their parents.  Yes, it specifically says that in the book...that these packs of wolves can drink whatever they want and do whatever they want despite the fact that they are underage.  YUCK!  Oh yes and Calla makes her first kill...as that is her job...and it doesn't bother her in the least...

What else?  Oh yes...all the humans are lower life forms and are not spoken of and turn their heads and run away...so it's not like Harry Potter when we, as muggles, are happily unaware.  No, there are select kids that go to the same school with these packs and even the teachers let these kids do whatever they want.  There are no consequences for these kids.  They run everything...and I don't like to be considered a lowlife in any book that I read.  I don't mind being a muggle...because there are those that like the muggles and that try to save and protect the muggles...but not these shifters.  We aren't worth the dirt on the bottom of their paws...hmmmmmm...THAT is a thought in itself isn't it?

So no, I will not find out what happens unless I ask my friend's daughter what the outcome is...but I will not waste any more time reading this series.  I had to force my way through this one and kept hoping it would get better somehow!!

I give this book one star and I feel I'm being generous.  I give it that star for the pretty purple on the cover of  the book and also for the character descriptions.  Sorry...Nightshade is usually my type of story but this one is definitely in the toilet of the supernatural life for me.

To each their own.

Prey by Michael Crichton

Prey by Michael Crichton

This is a thrilling story about technology and experiments going horribly wrong.  Not only do they go wrong but they start to evolve, things start to think...start to copy us, start to try and take over.  It's a small piece of the world that this technology actually starts to control...but the thoughts are planted as to how far technology can go...and how fast it can go horribly wrong.

Our main character thinks his wife is having an affair...he's out of work and home with the kids.  She comes home later and later each night.  Sometimes not at all.  by the end of this story, he wishes she was having an affair.  I bet an affair would be much better than what he actually had to deal with.

These stories always start the same.  Jurassic Park for instance...we think...wow...a park where we can see dinosaurs, real life dinosaurs.  Wow!!!  Yes!!!  But one of my favorite lines from Jurassic Park was Jeff Goldblum's line where he says something along the lines of they were so busy thinking about if they COULD do it, they didn't stop to think whether they SHOULD do it.  I am not putting that in quotes because I'm sure it's not exact but you catch my drift, I'm sure.  This book is not about technology for entertainment such as live dinosaurs.  This one is about injecting teensy weensy cameras into your blood stream so they can see what the heck is wrong...the size of nano particles.  A great idea, right?  I mean, they would travel through the chambers of the heart, the lungs, etc.  Doctors could see EVERYTHING.  I was thinking...hey, maybe then they could tell me what was wrong with me and maybe I could enjoy food again...lol...sorry...I digress.

So it sounds great.  But some problems develop.  Lots of problems.  You want to know more?  READ THE BOOK!!!  I picked this book up at a thrift store on a Saturday.  I was done by Thursday.  I couldn't put it down.  It was thrilling, suspenseful and very creepy!!!  Very creepy.  LOVED IT!!!!  It's been a while since I've read a book that I just had to finish...but lately I've found a few.  I'll be reviewing another one later this week (sorry too tired tonight to do more than two reviews).  This book made me want to pick up other Michael Crichton books that I've had on the shelf but hadn't yet read.  Airframe will be next...but after I vary the genres a little bit.  I try hard not to clump all my books together like that.  Not everyone loves the same types of books and even though I only have a few followers, I have to think ahead to when I have a few hundred, right???

So yes, I give this book a fabulous five stars.  I loved it and will probably read it again in a few years.  A must read if you love reading about technology...but you don't have to be a geek.  There is enough information for us non-geeks to understand what is going on but not too much to cause us to get confused and say never mind!  We get the gist...and that is what we need in order to go for the thrill ride.  After reading this book, I will never walk through another swarm of gnats at the beach without being a little more afraid than I used to be.

"Julia's original email says, "We have nothing to lose."  But in the end they lost everything--their company, their lives, everything.  And the ironic thing is, the procedure worked.  The swarm actually solved the problem they had set for it.  But then it kept going, kept evolving.  And they let it.  They didn't understand what they were doing.  I'm afraid that will be on the tombstone of the human race.  I hope it's not.  We might get lucky."

--Prey by Michael Crichton pg 502

Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson

Breathe My Name
R.A. Nelson

Okay, I don't know what is going on but I'm having trouble adding in Amazon associates so that you can purchase a copy of the book right here...it looks like a lot of people are having the same trouble and it doesn't look like anyone can resolve it.  So I'm not sure you will be able to order this book through my blog...but here goes anyways....

This was an interesting book...hmmmm, no, that might not be the right word for it.  I have to say, I read this book with a different perspective than most will read it.  As a foster parent...a mother of children who have seen and lived through things they just shouldn't have seen and lived through.  This is a book about one such child who survived a mother who had severe issues...maybe schizophrenia?  Not really sure what her diagnosis was...it might even say in the book but it's been a while since I actually read this that I had to go back through and refresh my memory a bit.  So we have this teenage girl on the verge of adulthood...18 years of age who doesn't just have the struggle of life between being Mom and Dad's kid and an adult but also the struggle of a past with a Mother who she no longer has a relationship with who is actually in an insane asylum and the memory of siblings who do not have the same opportunities she has been given (I don't want to give too much away so am going to leave it at that).

Then we also have the VERY strange twist of someone wanting an eye for an eye...and trying to ensure it happens...and then that same mother who took away the happy thoughts of childhood giving this 18 year old girl her the gift of an adult life which if she wasn't there, she wouldn't have.

Like I said, it's an odd book...at first I was thinking this would be a great book for some of the teens I know who were adopted out of foster care to read...but after getting to the end...ummmm....no.  There's violence...a twist that is twisted and unexpected.

I did like the thoughts that the main character (Frances) has in the story.  The story makes you question what it would really take to not only forgive or to get forgiven but what about eternity?  What does it take to buy your spot in heaven after doing something so wrong it seems you can never make things right?  Here is a quote I found to be a very neutral answer to that question.

"One thing I am sure of--death is a very big place.  There is room for all kinds of people."  So she categorizes heaven and hell together into one place called 'death' and leaves it at that.

Okay...as far as imagination and character development...great job on the main character...everyone else was sort of background info and that was okay...you got the idea of who the people were and what they were about.  You felt the sadness when Frances meets her father, you can feel the regret, the choices, the disgust.  You can also feel that Frances no longer fits into that world...and wonder how she ever did fit into that world.  It's amazing how children move from such a horrible situation and learn to thrive in a wonderful family.  I have seen it firsthand and this book did a good job of showing it.

The twist is the story is totally unexpected...but I almost felt like it didn't fit.  It wasn't what this book seemed to be about...kind of like you have this puzzle before you and one piece left and it's a nice piece but it's not the one that fits into THAT puzzle.  ODD...that's the best word for it.  It wasn't horrible...just odd and a bit unsettling.
For the feeling of discontentment the book left me with, I'm going to leave this book with three star...maybe even 2.75 stars.  I wouldn't let young teens read it...it's disquieting...young adults perhaps.  I didn't walk away glad that I had read this book...but it made some good points...showed me a person with a certain perspective some good character development and transition (but not very universal).  I also for the sake of the author will say I'm not a person who enjoys reading about mentally ill mothers...a personal thing so that could be part of my disquiet as well.  When a child is afraid of her own mother, when she knows that there is something not quite right but no one else knows or maybe she has everyone else fooled, it is a heavy burden to bear, that fear.  An excerpt from the book that was a perfect description of that fear for me, and I will leave you with this...

"In the night, in my imagination, there is no light where she is.  Momma moves on the tips of her big fingers, scrabbling along on a dirty concrete floor like a spider.  She is a spider.  That is what she has become.

Maybe that's what she always was.  Only none of us knew, because she kept it hidden.  And through everything, all the times she was kissing us or playing games with us or being the queen of our pretend kingdom, really she was a spider underneath everything, just itching to break free.  And every night the stiff little spidery hairs were coming to the surface, and she had to be careful to pluck them off each morning so that no one would suspect she was really a spider.  Toward the end she began to smell different too.  That was her spider smell coming out.

But still none of us knew.  We didn't know a person could be a spider.  We didn't know that in the middle of the night she would crawl out of her bed and get down on her fingers and toes and climb up the wall and scuttle across the ceiling just to keep in practice, because she knew she would be transformed into a spider again soon.  Now she gets to have her wish.  She can be a spider all the time."

---breathe my name, R.A. Nelson, chapter 1, pgs 4-5.