1776 Books

Stories I Only Tell My Friends (Rob Lowe)

2012-01-30T18:59:00.005-05:00

If there was one book that I was truly skeptical to read, it would be Stories I Only Tell My Friends. I don’t think any person in America would consider the person who starred in St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me to be some literary genius. Well, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Herman Melville Lowe is not. However, you do get the surprise read of 2011…a very well-written, wildly entertaining, and completely honest assessment of his life thus far.

Lowe is honest but never hurtful and gossipy. He name drops like crazy, from John F. Kennedy, Jr. to Demi Moore to the father/sons trio of Martin Sheen, Charlie Sheen, and Emilio Estevez. How cool must it have been to go to school with those brothers and Sean Penn? The auditioning for and making of the classic The Outsiders is, by far, the highlight of the book. Lowe provides incredibly surprising details, especially regarding the finished film. My heart ached to read about the late Patrick Swayze, also in The Outsiders, as I had just read Lisa Niemi Swayze’s memoir. This film started the careers of Lowe, Estevez, Swayze, The Karate Kid himself Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, and someone else you may have heard of by the name of Tom Cruise.

You get the sense that Lowe is much, much more than what he has been portrayed in the media. Yes, he is a “pretty boy”, but he also is a sensitive and intelligent soul. We are very lucky that he considers us “friends” to tell these stories to, and lucky for us, he is a darn good writer!

MY RATING - 4

I don't know why I've been so gung ho for memoirs and biographies lately, but there's no end in sight. Coming soon: books about the Obamas and Queen Elizabeth!

Worth Fighting For (Lisa Niemi Swayze)

2012-01-18T19:11:00.005-05:00

Patrick Swayze. For my generation, he was Johnny Castle who was angry that Baby was in the corner. He was the oldest brother in The Outsiders, which started the career of so many actors of our time. He competed with Chris Farley in the Chippendale dance off on Saturday Night Live. He was larger than life, a darn good actor, and from what we could see, an all-around great guy.

Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze were married for thirty-four years. This was a lifetime considering that nowadays more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. 34 years in Hollywood? Practically unheard of. But this unlikely pairing of two dancers, one painfully shy and one a cocky hunk, made it...through good times and bad, through sickness and health. Patrick's life, as we all know, was cut far too short from pancreatic cancer. Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss, and Moving Forward, by Lisa Niemi Swayze, is their story of this journey through the unknown.

There is a blurb on the cover from Barbara Walters. It reads, "You will be the better for reading this book." There is something about Ms. Swayze's writing that reads so utterly honest. At times, she is laugh-out-loud funny and at other times she is heartbreakingly raw. At no time does she mince words. You will marvel at their strength, admire their courage, and revel in their love story.

MY RATING - 5

Bossypants (Tina Fey)

2012-01-02T14:55:00.003-05:00

I am ridiculously stringent on how I read a book. For example, I must read the inside of the book jacket, the back of the jacket, and the introduction...in that order!! Sometimes I even read the acknowledgments, having no clue who the people are! I'm so glad I followed my routine for this book, however, because the blurbs on the back let you know exactly what you're getting into. There are no blurbs of praise from Picoult, Grisham, or Patterson in Bossypants. Instead, Don Fey, father of TF, writes "I hope that's not the cover. That's really going to hurt sales." Tina Fey...she of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock fame...has written one of the most hilarious books I've read in a heck of a long time.

There really is no rhyme and reason to this book. Each chapter features Fey's thoughts and harps on some aspect of her life...growing up, her family, marriage, motherhood, and her TV jobs. I love how she includes photos of herself from awkward phases of her life (come on...we all have pictures with bowl cuts and '80s bangs). Some chapters are quite long, and one is three sentences. It really doesn't matter. Fey is laugh-out-loud funny in all of them.

I realized that what I like best about Tina Fey is the fact that she doesn't take herself too seriously. She clearly admits to many faults, such as her fear of confrontation (of which I totally relate as I cannot even watch Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity when people yell at each other). I found her hilarious as Palin and was thrilled to find out in Bossypants that she wrote my all-time favorite SNL commercial ("Mom" jeans)! This is a great read to take some stress out of your life (believe me...Fey has enough stress for everyone) and just laugh. Because in the end, what's life without laughter?

MY RATING - 4

It's Hard Not to Hate You (Valerie Frankel)

2011-11-06T13:12:00.004-05:00

Valerie Frankel writes what we are all thinking but don't usually have the guts to do anything about. Which is...What the &@*% are some people thinking? From parents who are "besties" with their children, to business contacts who seem to fall off the face of the earth, to semiconscious religious bias, Frankel discuss it all. It's Hard Not to Hate You is Frankel delving into the question so many of us want to know...Where did common courtesy go?

The premise is simple. Frankel was told by her doctor that she needed to reduce stress. She very soon realized that much of her stress is due to bottling up her emotions into her "easygoing" style. After dealing with rude person after rude person, she finally decides she has had enough. She begins to handle things in a way that is not rude herself, but that shows the other person that she means business. For example, have you ever been at the gym and a person uses the treadmill next to her as a "coat and towel rack"? Well, Frankel has. Rather than seethe silently as she would have done in the past, she offers to move her stuff for her.

Frankel also takes great aim at so-called "helicopter parents". This popularity parenting style is illustrated in the story of the English teacher who busted a child for plagiarism. The child's mother accused the teacher of having a vendetta against her son. I have seen this helicopter parenting in action, and it is not pretty. Children grow up knowing that there will never be consequences, and if there are, mommy or daddy will get them out of it.

This memoir is not just about laughs, as Frankel has faced death in her family. The ease with which she mixes the two makes for a nice read. You will find herself smiling in a "knowing way" but then ask yourself, "Wait a minute. Do I do any of this?"

MY RATING - 4

The Leftovers (Tom Perrotta)

2011-10-29T08:22:00.004-04:00

Tom Perrotta is the king of novels about suburbia. He is probably best known for Election, on which the movie starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon was based. In The Leftovers, Perrotta brings us yet another experience in suburbia, this time of the biblical variety.

People are going about their business on an ordinary day. Suddenly, many people just disappear in what most believe was the Rapture. However, the people who were "chosen" are not the people you would think. The Leftovers is the story of the people who stayed behind. Nora went into the kitchen during dinner and came back to find her entire family had gone. Kevin, Laurie, Jill, and Tom survived with their family intact but completely ruptured. Laurie goes with her friend, who lost her daughter, to join a cult. Tom begins to follow a brainwasher. Kevin and Jill just try to live their day-to-day lives together knowing that they are irreparably changed.

While I was writing this, I know that the premise sounds very hokey. In lesser hands, I would be scared to read a novel like this. However, Perrotta has proven time and time again that he is the master of small-town life. He places a super-human event like the Rapture into suburban life and makes his characters meticulously pick up the pieces.

MY RATING - 4

Comfort Food Fix (Ellie Krieger)

2011-10-11T19:07:00.006-04:00

I am an Ellie Krieger fanatic, so reviewing this book is really a no-brainer for me. Ellie is the star of the Food Network's Healthy Appetite. On a TV network where you have the likes of Paula Deen and Guy Fieri, finding recipes for healthy, delicious food can be hard to come by. Ellie is a welcome respite in the land of supersizing fries for 39 cents and eating meatballs the size of your head. She has a knack for putting together simple everyday ingredients you can find at any grocery store to make something delicious.

Ellie's third cookbook, which should be another bestseller, is Comfort Food Fix: Feel-Good Favorites Made Healthy. In it, she takes Grandma's dishes and other foods that normally have a very high caloric count, and makes them healthier. From breakfast to dessert, and everything in between, Ellie's 150 recipes will have you salivating. I have already made the Lemon-Dill Pita Chips for a snack, the Quick Marinara Sauce (If you are still buying Ragu, you don't know what you are missing.), and the French Bread Pizza. Tomorrow, we are having the Garlic Breadsticks with spaghetti. How does Double Chocolate Bread Pudding sound? Ever think Chicken Parmesan could be healthy for you? It can! And it can be crispy too!

If you are thinking that you could not make the above without some sort of "disgusting" health-food ingredient, you are incorrect. The only think you need to do to make Double Chocolate Bread Pudding healthier is use half whole eggs and half egg whites, use dark chocolate, and use whole-grain bread. There is no tofu in sight.

I do realize that color cookbooks are expensive to make, but I would have preferred to see a photo of all completed recipes. You do not get a picture with every one. Those you do get are beautiful. However, even without a picture, if you follow the recipe to a "T", I guarantee that you will come out with something absolutely delicious. Thank you again, Ellie!

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.

Those Across the River (Christopher Buehlman)

2011-09-29T17:10:00.005-04:00

I find myself reading a plethora of debut novels lately...S.J. Watson's wonderful Before I Go to Sleep, Rosamund Lupton's Sister, and now Christopher Buehlman's Those Across the River. These novels all have an element of suspense and mystery to them, but Buehlman's is just plain creepy...in a good way. For this is not a mystery novel in every sense of the word. This is truly a horror story.

Frank Nichols, great grandson of Lucian Savoyard, and his wife, Eudora, move to the town of Whitbrow, Georgia after World War I. Frank, a notable historian, wants to write a book about Savoyard, an evil, cruel plantation owner, who tortured his slaves. Whitbrow seems to be an ideal town at first, with Eudora teaching school, and Frank settling in to write. However, things begin to get sinister quickly when Frank accidentally meets someone from "across the river". Questions begin to pile up until the ultimate showdown between Frank and those wanting revenge.

I was chilled to the bone reading Those Across the River (and it was 80 degrees out). Buehlman is a master at foreshadowing, making the reader scared to death to turn the page, but unable to stop doing so. He is graphic in a shockingly matter-of-fact way, like this happens everyday in Whitbrow. If you are on pins and needles waiting for the premier of Season 2 of The Walking Dead, read this to get ready.

MY RATING - 4

The Story of Charlotte's Web (Michael Sims)

2011-09-26T11:13:00.004-04:00

I would bet that there is not a person alive who has not read, or at least heard of, Charlotte's Web. It is consistently ranked as the bestselling children's book of all time. Let those words sink in...OF ALL TIME. I remember reading it back when schools divided their reading groups into the "Bluebird" group, and the "Red Robin" group. There is a reason that the story of Charlotte, Wilbur, Templeton, and Fern is so popular with both children and adults alike...it is timeless.

Even though the title of Sims' book is The Story of Charlotte's Web, it is not just about that. It is the story of author E.B. White's life, born Elwyn White. The White family lived in Mount Vernon, New York, but spent many a summer in Maine. From the beginning of his life, White was very uneasy around people, especially girls, and loved nothing better than to be with animals. I take exception to Sims' subtitle, E.B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic. I am not sure that I would define him as eccentric just because he preferred nature to everyday life. I think that he was able to find himself this way, and fortunately for us, he did. Otherwise, would we have a Stuart Little, Trumpet of the Swan, or Charlotte's Web? Probably not.

The most fascinating part of this book is reading the research that went into writing Charlotte's Web. Even though White was writing about fictional animals (but sometimes basing them on real-life counterparts), he wanted to be as accurate as possible (in Charlotte's egg-laying, for example). Just as fascinating is when legendary illustrator, Garth Williams, joins the team. Sims states that Williams' original drawing for the cover fetched $155,000 at auction.

The setting of Charlotte's Web is based on the White farm, still a running farm in Maine. White chose to live in a bucolic setting, most comfortable in his appreciation of the animals. If that is "eccentric", then lucky for us, that's what he was.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.

Sister (Rosamund Lupton)

2011-09-15T12:53:00.004-04:00

Deciding what book to read next (out of the millions out there) is a task in and of itself. In addition to 1776books, I also review for Bookloons and review books related to education for the Summit Series for Families website. At any given time, I am reading 4-5 books, usually of different genres so I don't confuse myself. For 1776books, I rely on a few trusted publications for suggestions. Sister got monster reviews from most of the "big guys", with author Alafair Burke saying that "Sister is an absolutely stunning debut. The ending will leave you reeling." Not really, Ms. Burke.

Having just read SJ Watson's truly stunning debut, Before I Go to Sleep, I jumped right in to this one. Beatrice is a woman living the "high life" in the States, with a boyfriend, designer clothes, and a great job. One day, she receives a nightmare call that her sister, Tess, is missing in London. Lupton tells the story of what truly happened to Tess in a highly creative way, setting much of the novel in the future, and having Beatrice relive the events in her testimony to a lawyer.

For the first three-fourths of Sister, I could not put it down. However, then I found myself putting it down more and more. By the last chapter, I was anxious to read this "ending" that Burke speaks of. Unfortunately, rather than have the effect that Lupton probably wanted, I was let down.

For a truly great book about sisters, read The Thirteenth Tale.

MY RATING - 3

Before I Go to Sleep (S.J. Watson)

2011-09-06T13:31:00.005-04:00

Imagine this "Cinderella" story (although Watson is a male)...You want to be a writer, and apply for a very selective program. You are asked to do a creative writing assignment. You do so, and your book not only gets published, but becomes an international bestseller. Authors such as Anita Shreve and Lionel Shrive write blurbs of praise for the back of your book. Tess Gerritsen, author of the Rizzoli & Isles series, writes "Quite simply the best debut I've ever read." Seem impossible? Not only is this story completely true, but I couldn't agree with Gerritson more.

The premise of Before I Go to Sleep is a nightmare. Imagine waking up every single day, and not knowing who you are, who your family is, and where you live. There is a man sleeping next to you, and you have no idea who he is. You panic, and rush into the bathroom. On the mirror are pictures pointing out that the man in the other room is your husband. Every day, you live your life knowing that when you go to sleep, you will forget everything that has happened that day. Imagine going through life with no memories and nothing connected.

This is the reality of the narrator, Christine, an amnesia patient. She is a prisoner in her own body. She needs the same things explained to her every day. Her doctor, who she is seeing secretly, behind her husband's back, suggests that she begin to keep a journal. Every night, she should write in the journal, and every morning, she should reread it. We learn about Christine's story at the very same time she does, which is what makes this book so fresh.

Before I Go to Sleep is one giant puzzle with sometimes an unbearable level of suspense. The reader knows that Christine is in danger, but Watson keeps us guessing about the bad guys. This is Hitchcock brought into 2011. I cannot recommend this debut novel highly enough, and I can't wait to read more from this promising new author.

MY RATING - 5

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes (Marcus Sakey)

2011-08-28T11:37:00.005-04:00

I remember reading a magazine article about Marcus Sakey a few months ago, which deemed The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes as the next great thing in literature. There have only been a few books that I remember with that much "word-of-mouth" exposure before it was even printed...The Lovely Bones being an example. I was anxious to get my hands on this book, as I had never read Sakey. I love to be introduced to authors I have never read before, because sometimes I will read their entire repertoire...Kate Morton being the last. Well, Sakey stops here.

This is the story of a man who wakes up naked on a beach in Maine, not knowing his name, where he came from, or how he got there. He finds a BMW with a driver's license inside that says...you guessed it...Daniel Hayes, and a gun in the glove compartment. Working with very vague memories, such as having to turn the TV on at a certain time to watch a show, he tries to piece his life together bit by bit. The police are also on his tail, but why?

When Daniel finally begins to figure things out, the novel takes a sinister tone. He realizes that things are not always what they seem. With echoes of The Fugitive, Daniel desperately tries to get his memory back before it is too late.

Very often in crime thrillers such as these, the author chooses to write a slew of characters. This is often confusing to the reader. To Sakey's credit, he focuses on just a few, weaving them in and out of each other's story. I also liked how Sakey used the fact that Daniel was a writer to include scripts in the story.

Sakey divides this novel into parts with, what are supposed to be, huge cliffhangers at the end of each. Usually, if a novel is written well, the reader can't wait to find out what happens next. I just didn't get that feeling, which is disappointing. I didn't get that sense of anticipation, as, I would think, most readers would be able to guess what will happen next.

While not a page-turner, many readers of crime thrillers and mysteries will enjoy it. Just don't expect to be awed.

MY RATING - 3

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

A Secret Kept (Tatiana de Rosnay)

2011-08-17T10:14:00.003-04:00

Out of the books I have reviewed in my quest to reach 1,776, Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key has been my favorite bar none. I loved it so much, that I am very hesitant to see the movie. Movies are rarely as good as the books they are based on. I had such a profound experience reading Sarah's Key that I do not want the movie to change the images I have in my mind. Readers who think that A Secret Kept will be like Sarah's Key (even though the covers are very similar) will be surprised.

The narrator, Antoine Rey, takes his sister, Melanie, to a memorable place, Noirmoutier Island, for the celebration of her 4oth birthday. This island was a special place for them as children, as they spent summers there with their family. Even though they had not been back there since their mother's death, the weekend brings back memories, some welcome, some not. On the drive back home, Melanie is just about to tell Antoine something about a memory when she loses control of the car. Antoine escapes without a scratch, but Melanie is in serious condition. Will she ever recover? Will she ever remember what she was going to tell Antoine before the terrible crash? This is the "secret kept".

The problem de Rosnay (hopefully) knew she was going to face (along with Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help when she writes a second) is that the next book after such a moving one will bound to be compared to the first. This is unfair to de Rosnay because, as I said, the books are not similar at all. de Rosnay is a huge talent in the book world, and while Sarah's Key will always be my favorite, A Secret Kept is well written and worth reading.

MY RATING - 4

Joyful Cooking in the Pursuit of Good Health (Joy Feldman)

2011-08-14T11:48:00.004-04:00

The subtitle of Joy Feldman's Joyful Cooking in the Pursuit of Good Health is Restore & Heal Through Nutritional Balancing. Feldman is passionate about bringing her message of nutritional balancing to the masses; however, in doing so, one is not quite sure what type of book this is. Beginning as an informational tome about the proper things to eat and what our society has become nutritionally, and ending as a cookbook, where does this get categorized?

Depending on what you believe, this will be either be right up your alley, or way too "new-agey" for you. While a slew of studies have been done on the effects of nutrition on the psyche, Feldman goes one step further. While I'm sure no one can dispute the fact that we feel much better when we eat well, Feldman surprises her readers with WHAT to eat and not eat.

Feldman is a big believer in the Oriental philosophy of "yin and yang". Avoiding the "yin" and focusing on the "yang" is at the heart of nutritional balancing. She writes that "It is important to try to avoid yin foods such as sugars, sweet juices, most fruit, nightshade vegetables (this includes eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes as they are inflammatory) and most uncooked food."

Of course, one should avoid sugars, but avoiding fruit and some vegetables? Feldman also writes that raw milk is the best (not pasteurized) and to avoid all wheat, even whole wheat. Make your own decision on whether you believe in "yin and yang". The recipes are easy to follow; however, I need pictures when I cook. I want to see what my "Spinach Lentil Soup" is supposed to look like.

Being from the education field, I can certainly agree with the fact that nutrition is everything. I could definitely see a difference in the afternoon between the students who had healthy lunches and those who had donuts and french fries. However, giving up fruit, pasteurized milk, peppers, whole wheat, and tomatoes is not the way to go (for me).

MY RATING - 2

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

Julie & Julia (Julie Powell)

2011-08-02T09:16:00.008-04:00

This book did not get the best reviews, but I wanted to read it for myself before I decided its fate. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams deemed it worthy enough to star in the movie with the same name, so it must be enjoyable, right? Eh.

I am always intrigued by people who do something like this...AKA having a "Project". In this case, Julie Powell decides that, to take respite from her everyday life (you know...the job, everything going wrong in the apartment, etc.), she will cook her way through Julia Child's masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, in one year. She will also begin writing about her cooking escapades in a blog. Julie & Julia is the story of that year.

If you are thinking that this book is exactly like the movie, think again. The producers of the movie told the story of Julia Child much more than this book did. To me, the most enjoyable part of the movie was Meryl Streep's interpretation of Child. In the book, Powell just includes excerpts of letters that Paul Child wrote about his wife. However, in Powell's defense, the movie and book are based on HER project, so she can do what she wants.

While laugh-out-loud funny at times and absolutely adventurous at others (I give Powell all the credit for even thinking about cooking kidneys, brains, and bone marrow.), Powell never, ever holds back her thoughts. She rips on everyone who she does not share viewpoints with, from her employer, to a specific political party, to her mom. I am all for refreshing honesty, but sometimes she goes too far (in a published book, anyway). However, I admire Powell for having the guts to do something like this. My husband says I should cook my way through the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks. Maybe some day. Thanks for the inspiration, Julie Powell.

MY RATING - 3

Silver Girl (Elin Hilderbrand)

2011-07-27T14:02:00.007-04:00

I was looking through my posts today and noticed that it has been quite awhile since I was able to give a book a "5" rating. The authors I normally love, such as Jodi Picoult (a "2" for Sing You Home???) and Jennifer McMahon just didn't put out the work that I expected from them this year. I love, love, love Bethenny Frankel, but she can't really write a book. The last "5" I gave was to Jane Green on June 2 for the lovely Promises to Keep. I was getting a little discouraged. Then came Silver Girl.

Ironically, it was Jane Green herself who told me about Hilderbrand. I e-mailed Ms. Green to let her know how much I enjoyed Promises. Imagine my surprise when, within minutes, this New York Times bestselling, very busy author, e-mailed me back to thank me and tell me about Elin Hilderbrand. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Hilderbrand grew up right down the street from where I am living now!

Silver Girl is just a treasure, and I was actually sad when it ended. It is a fictional account that is ripped from the headlines. Meredith Delinn is the wife of Freddy Delinn, who is in jail for life for cheating investors out of billions of dollars. People think that Meredith knew what Freddy was up to, and so she is scorned and rejected by everyone she knows. To make matters worse, she and her son (who she is forbidden to have contact with) are under investigation by the FBI.

Connie is Meredith's old friend, who she has not seen or talked to in years due to a falling out. Out of Meredith's desperation, she contacts Connie, who reluctantly agrees to give her refuge at her summer house in Nantucket. Even though Meredith is out of Manhattan, she still is in danger by people who want revenge for her husband's dealings. Meredith never truly feels safe, even as she begins to get some people back into her life, including her ex-lover, Connie's brother, Toby. This is not only Meredith's story of trying to get her life back, but also Connie's, who is still grieving for her deceased husband and trying desperately to get back in touch with her estranged daughter.

What a beautiful, beautiful book. From the gorgeous cover, to the picturesque setting throughout, the reader will become enchanted with Meredith's story. Read this book slowly, and treasure every word. One realizes from reading this that life is not about what car you drive or how big your house is, but who you can count on when life unexpectedly goes awry.

MY RATING - 5 (YAY!!!!)

Part of this review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

A Southerly Course (Martha Hall Foose)

2011-07-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

With the exception of Paula Deen (butter, butter, and more butter), Martha Hall Foose is the queen of Southern cooking. So much so that the director of the upcoming film The Help (based on Kathryn Stockett's outstanding novel) used her in food consultation. Foose creates beautifully illustrated cookbooks of recipes that can really be found nowhere else.

From appetizers to desserts, Foose has the competent cook covered. Her recipes are easy to follow, but definitely not for the diet-conscious. One can find lard, shortening, bacon, and heavy cream in quite a few. There is not a "bacon cheeseburger" in sight in this cookbook. Instead, be prepared to find "Honey Pear Salad", "Dandelion Cracklings", "Venison Meatballs", and "Roasted Pigeons with Bread Sauce". If none of these sound appetizing, I would advise against this book, as it is definitely for the adventurous cook and eater.

My own gripe is that I need to see pictures of the finished product. While the illustrations that are there are beautiful, there is not one for every recipe. I need to know what my "Delicata Browned Butter Crepes" should look like, Martha! However, all in all, this is a book that would go nicely in a cook's cupboard.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

Shiver (Maggie Stiefvater)

2011-07-18T12:52:00.004-04:00

I'm sure that Maggie Stiefvater is sick to death of being compared to Stephenie Meyer (Yes, the Stephenie that I met, by the way, when Twilight first came out. I organized her book signing as Community Relations Manager of Barnes & Noble. If you think I totally wrote that to make me sound cool, you would be correct. It IS true though!). It is hard to believe that Stiefvater didn't draw just the slightest inspiration from Meyer, as Shiver is about werewolf love. This is the first in a trilogy, with Linger and Forever being the other two (Notice the "er" at the end of all three? Cute.).

Linger is the story of Grace and Sam, two star-crossed lovers in the same realm as Romeo and Juliet and Bella and Edward (Yes, I did just put Shakespeare, Meyer, and Stiefvater in the same sentence.). Sam became a wolf when he was bitten as a child, and changes with the temperature (hot...human, cold...wolf). One day as a wolf, his pack attacks Grace, a small child. He saves Grace's life and brings her to her home. Years pass, and the community is becoming fearful after one of their own is "killed" by a wolf. Hunters try to put a stop to them, Sam is shot, and becomes human for some unexplained reason. Grace and Sam fall in love, and they do everything possible to keep Sam warm at all times. This is where Shiver takes off. Stiefvater has an uncanny knack, even more so than Meyer, for making a story about werewolves seem "normal", like you are reading about an everyday high school couple.

Even though Edward/Bella/Jacob are far more interesting to me to read about, Shiver is worthwhile on a beach day. I did not find it that compelling that I had to stop everything and read it; however, I am interested to find out what happens next for this couple. Grudgingly, Linger awaits.

MY RATING - 3

Knit Two (Kate Jacobs)

2011-07-12T10:38:00.005-04:00

I read Kate Jacobs's first in this series, The Friday Night Knitting Club, back in January 2010. I remember curling up with it on long winter evenings, wishing that I could knit like the knitters in this book (Reread my post on this. I had just taken a knitting class, and I was the only one who left the first class without a square!). Needless to say, I like to live vicariously through people who have hobbies that I can only dream to do. Knit Two continues the story of "Walker and Daughter" and the people we have come to know and love.

SPOILER ALERT: At the end of The Friday Night Knitting Club, the reader is shocked to the core when she learns that Georgia has succumbed to cancer. Knit Two takes us years down the road, when Georgia's college-age daughter, Dakota, is running the store with her mom's friend, Peri. Georgia's long-lost friend, Catherine, is trying to find some meaning in her life while still grieving for the friend she had only just reconnected with. Anita, a spitfire in her late 70s, is preparing for her wedding to Marty while trying to find her sister somewhere in the world. Darwin has just given birth to twins, realizing that motherhood and career can go hand-in-hand.

The core of these novels is the friendship the women have with each other. Even though their lives will always intertwine, I found the number of "coincidences" in Knit Two to be less than believable. The trip to Italy, which many of them go on separately, makes the reader long to go back to the store. I did not find Georgia's trip to Scotland to visit Gran in The Friday Night Knitting Club to be as jarring as the Italy trip...perhaps because it was Georgia. I truly missed her in this sequel.

MY RATING - 3

The Maine Summers Cookbook (Linda and Martha Greenlaw)

2011-07-03T15:22:00.004-04:00

I don't really know what my obsession with Maine cooking has been all about lately. I think having just reviewed Lobster Claws & Blueberry Pie (about summers in Kennebunkport), I wanted something to compare it to. While Lobster Claws seems to be an anecdotal record with some recipes thrown in, The Maine Summers Cookbook is all about the recipes, with just a few anecdotes.

The subtitle of Linda and Martha Greenlaw's book (mother and daughter), Recipes for Delicious, Sun-Filled Days, says it all. As I look out my window on this beautiful, sunny, July 3rd in Philly, eating a lobster roll by the pool sounds like my cup of tea. Maine is known, obviously, for the lobster, but I never knew that it was also known for its blueberries. The reader of this cookbook runs into somewhat of a problem, however, when the recipe calls for Maine blueberries or Maine crabmeat, and he or she does not live in Maine (like me). But just like a Key Lime Pie only tastes delicious when using key limes (hence the name), making the recipes like the Greenlaws call for requires the authentic ingredients.

Short anecdotes about pig roasting and "rafting up" come between the real "meat" (no pun intended) of the book...the recipes. From cocktails to desserts, the Greenlaws have you covered. The heart of the book is, of course, seafood (Maine stuffed clams, Red crab cakes, Lobster rolls, etc.)., but I was surprised by the number of other types of food (Moxie Island baked steak, Cilantro and cholula corn bread, Cinnamon-blueberry ice cream, etc.). You literally could put a whole meal together every day for a month just using this book.

The Greenlaws are true "Mainers", and as the pictures show, they know their stuff (witness the picture of soaking wet Linda Greenlaw digging for clams). When you can't get to Maine, this is the next best thing.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com.

Lobster Rolls & Blueberry Pie (Rebecca Charles and Deborah DiClementi)

2011-06-24T13:55:00.005-04:00

I just love cookbooks that combine recipes with stories of family. Food and family are two "F" words that go together. It is no coincidence that the traditions that many of us enjoy with our families combine the two. Such is the case with Lobster Rolls & Blueberry Pie: Three Generations of Recipes and Stories from Summers on the Coast of Maine.

Having never been to Maine, I lived vicariously through this book. Rebecca Charles is currently the owner and head chef of Pearl Oyster Bar in Greenwich Village. The namesake of the restaurant is Pearle Goldsmith, Rebecca's grandmother. Lobster Rolls & Blueberry Pie recounts the Goldsmith's summers in Kennebunkport, from the time Rebecca's great uncle Sam first took the family there to Rebecca's weeks there now. The pictures in the book are worth the price alone. Seeing the male striped bathing suits in the early 1900s makes you realize just how much things have changed. Charles also includes shocking stories about Jewish prejudice in Maine at this time and the heroes who dared to stand up to it.

I have not tried any of the recipes yet, but I am most looking forward to trying Pearle's Shortbread. This is not so much a cookbook as it is an extremely heartwarming, worthwhile memoir of summers gone by.

MY RATING - 4

Jemima J (Jane Green)

2011-06-24T13:36:00.006-04:00

After reviewing the outstanding Promises to Keep, I immediately e-mailed Jane Green to let her know how much I enjoyed it. I have contacted quite a few authors in the past, including Allison Winn Scotch and Suzan Colon, who couldn't be nicer. However, they are not quite as prolific and famous as Green. Much to my surprise, she e-mailed me back within minutes to let me know that it was a beautiful review. I so appreciate when authors (especially famous ones) e-mail their readers. Since Promises was the first book I ever read by Jane Green, I decided to try out her other ones, starting with Jemima J.

This is the story of Jemima Jones, an overweight journalist living in London. Jemima is funny and charismatic, but as we know, in this world looks matter. She is desperately in love with her colleague, Ben, who, though kind to her, does not look at her twice. Since this novel was published in the last century, the internet is just becoming popular (remember dial-up?). Jemima becomes fascinated with it and meets California Brad, the most beautiful man she has ever seen, in a chat room. When Brad asks Jemima for a picture as well, she must think fast. After pulling something together (her face without double chins on a model's body), Brad invites her to California. Will she go? What will happen when she gets there?

Promises to Keep is truly in a class by itself as far as I am concerned. Jemima J was not my favorite. I find it odd that the back states "With a fast-paced plot that never quits and a surprise ending no reader will see coming...". I'm sorry, but this reader saw it coming from a mile away. Green also has an annoying habit of writing in the first person (as Jemima) in one section, then writing in the third person as a Greek chorus in the next. Enjoy this at the beach, but don't expect anything out of it.

MY RATING - 2

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie (Wendy McClure)

2011-06-24T10:17:00.005-04:00

My husband and I just got back from the beautiful city of Montreal on a short vacation. We save money in other areas so that we can go on some nice vacations (Last year's Bermuda cruise was quite memorable.). Out of all of the places I visited, where have I enjoyed going the most you ask? Walnut Grove, Minnesota and Plum Creek...a home of the legendary Laura Ingalls Wilder. Wendy McClure and I seem to have been bred from the same cloth, as both of us are obsessed with Little House on the Prairie (She more so with the books...me with the books and TV show.). This book is perfect for Little House fans like me, but really no one else.

This book is quite the extensive travelogue. McClure and her husband (my husband, being from Minnesota, was dragged along to Walnut Grove as well) decide to do everything Laura Ingalls Wilder, from churning butter to making foods she would have eaten. They travel to sites in the middle of nowhere to see the places she would have lived. Surprisingly, not many of her homes are still in existence. Many are replicas. Along the way, McClure learns about herself, having some revelations about why she is actually taking the trip.

I can completely understand this book, as I would be gung ho for a trip like this as well. I have never felt more peaceful then being on the banks of Plum Creek in the middle of nowhere. Knowing that you are wading in the same creek as Laura in her books takes you back to her time. I heartily recommend this book for true Laura fans.

MY RATING - 4

Don't Breathe a Word (Jennifer McMahon)

2011-06-11T11:30:00.004-04:00

The trademark of Jennifer McMahon's books are "creepy-looking children" on the cover (Think Village of the Damned). I have often wondered if the kids who pose for the covers are told that they are supposed to have a "creepy child" face. I think I would be rather insulted. Oh well...on with it.

Don't Breathe a Word is a dark, sinister, unsettling book that makes your heart beat just a little faster. McMahon has a rather twisted mind, and it shows deeply here. Phoebe and Sam are a couple with a history. Sam is the brother of Lisa, a young girl who disappeared many years before searching for the Fairy King, Teilo. Strange phone messages and notes begin to be delivered to Sam and Edie, their cousin, supposedly coming from Lisa...."I am back from the land of the fairies. I'll be seeing you soon." Is this truly Lisa, or is someone playing a dark, twisted trick on everyone involved?

This book is well-written for about the first three-quarters, and then just gets too implausible for me. The ending was deeply unsatisfying, especially because I normally love McMahon's books. While certainly not my favorite (I didn't want to do anything else on my cruise vacation except read Island of the Lost Girls.), if you would like a twisted read, this may be the book for you.

MY RATING - 3

Promises to Keep (Jane Green)

2011-06-02T11:10:00.004-04:00

As the hot weather begins to come in full force in Philly, it is natural for readers to want to get away from the "heavy hitter" lit and get into something mindless. That is what I thought I was getting when I picked up Jane Green's Promises to Keep. What I got was much, much more and truly made me weep.

Promises to Keep is Green's 11th novel. It begins with a sister, Steffi, who is struggling to find her way in the world in love and career. We then meet Callie, Steffi's older sister, who the reader jarringly finds out later, is in remission from breast cancer. Along the way, we also meet Lila, Callie's best friend; Steffi and Callie's divorced parents, Honor and Walter; Reece, Callie's devoted husband and father of her two adorable children; and Mason, a man who knows deep down that his life is not what he wants it to be, but doesn't quite know how to change it.

When Callie shockingly finds out that her cancer has returned, her family and friends pull together in a way they wouldn't have thought possible. I found myself relating the novel to Steel Magnolias (only with men included). In fact, my favorite line in that movie is by Dolly Parton. "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." At times laugh-out-loud funny, at times heartbreakingly sad, this is a beautiful story of what could happen when life suddenly turns upside down.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

Touch (Alexi Zentner)

2011-04-30T11:32:00.006-04:00

How do you know what is real and what is not? That is the question posed to readers of Alexi Zentner's Touch. One never knows who (or what) is going to pop up in the woods of Sawgamet. Your deceased grandmother? A golden caribou?

The setting is the best thing (to me) about Touch. Zentner vividly describes the Sawgamet woods through the seasons, including the utterly dangerous winters. This is the story of Stephen, a pastor, coming home to care for his dying mother, his father, Pierre, and his grandfather, Jeannot. Death is very prevalent in Touch. The tragedies that end Stephen's father's and sister's lives and that which ends his grandmother's, seem to interconnect in ways that the reader can only imagine.

As the chapters connect and intertwine, the reader meets fantastical creatures and sometimes goes through shocking events. The atmosphere is strange but sinister. Whom to trust? When will actions that you regret come back to haunt you? They do to Jeannot in a way he cannot even begin to imagine.

Touch was a fine book until the end. The ending was too dull for such a mythical novel. Then again, can a book filled with surprises and fantasy at every turn ever really end in a traditional way?

MY RATING - 3

Sing You Home (Jodi Picoult)

2011-04-03T11:54:00.004-04:00

As you know, I look forward to March every year (even though in Philadelphia it is still so blasted cold out), because Jodi Picoult puts out her new book. Nothing is better to me than snuggling under a warm blanket and diving in to her books. However, I must admit something to my readers. I finished Sing You Home about three weeks ago, but I just could not bring myself to write a review of it. I pride myself on being a completely unbiased reviewer, except when it comes to Miss Jodi. I sing her praises to everyone I meet. Unfortunately, and it breaks my heart to say this, I cannot sing her praises about this one.

We begin Sing You Home with Zoe, a music therapist, and Max, a couple who seem very much in love and struggling with infertility. A string of miscarriages brings them to the brink of despair, until Zoe finally becomes pregnant. Tragedy strikes at her baby shower, which tears the couple apart. Zoe begins a relationship with Vanessa, a high school guidance counselor. After legally marrying, they decide that they would like a baby. They ask permission from Max to use Zoe's stored embryos, but Max has other plans for them. What ensues is the standard trial that ends most Picoult novels.

To me, it seems like Jodi was trying to stuff as much "ripped-from-the-headlines", controversial material into one book as possible. She also tried the "free gift with purchase" approach, enclosing a CD with the book (apparently to listen to a song after each chapter? Zoe was a music therapist, get it?). I was able to put this book down a lot, which is not what I have come to know from Picoult books. Better luck next year, Jodi. I still love you.

MY RATING - 2????????????????????????

A Place of Yes (Bethenny Frankel)

2011-03-31T19:30:00.005-04:00

Let me start off by stating that I love, love, love Bethenny Frankel. She is so refreshingly candid, funny, and down-to-earth on her reality shows (The Real Housewives of New York City, Bethenny Getting Married?, and Bethenny Ever After), that I was fully expecting the same from A Place of Yes: 10 Rules for Getting Everything You Want Out of Life. Did I get it? Read on.

Bethenny's life is an open book....natural food chef, businesswoman extraordinaire of Skinnygirl, wife to Jason, mommy to Bryn (the cutest baby I have ever seen) and Cookie the dog (who has her own Twitter feed), and boss to Julie, the assistant, and Gina, the baby nurse. On her show, she even tapes her therapy sessions. A Place of Yes sets up what Bethenny has learned along the way...from an extremely difficult childhood to the very blessed life she has now.

There is nothing new here. Rules like "Find your truth" and "Act on it" have been in every self-help book ever made. She simply illustrates each rule with anecdotes from her own life, making it an autobiography also. Bethenny definitely lives every minute of her life to the fullest; however, her life doesn't really translate well to a book. As much as I advocate reading, one can learn more from Bethenny by watching her than reading this.

MY RATING - 2

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

The Heretic's Daughter (Kathleen Kent)

2011-03-12T11:07:00.003-05:00

When someone mentions the witch trials to an American, they most often think of Salem. However, trials happened in the towns around Salem as well. The Heretic's Daugter is the heartbreaking story of an Andover, Massachusetts family that was unjustly destroyed during that horrible time in American history. Interestingly enough, Kathleen Kent is a descendant of Martha Carrier, one of the characters in this work of historical fiction.

While reading this, I found myself shaking my head at the trivial things that we worry about in this day and age. If a car cuts us off or we break a freshly manicured fingernail, it ruins our day. What if we had smallpox and the plague to deal with? Or being unjustly accused and held in absolutely deplorable conditions with the probability of being hanged?

The members of the Carrier family have a lot to deal with from the very beginning when they move to Andover. Horrible illness runs through the family, resulting in a death, brain damage, and the children being forced to move to a distant relative's home. Upon returning, the main character, Sarah (Martha's daughter) finds herself constantly at odds with her stern mother. The eventual reconciliation and understanding of each other is as much a part of this novel as the inevitable witch trials. Kent effortlessly weaves some of the main historical figures of the trials throughout, from Cotton Mather to Tituba.

The fact that Kent has this in her history makes The Heretic's Daughter even more compelling. I look forward to reading Kent's latest, which is a prequel focusing on Martha Carrier's childhood.

MY RATING - 4

The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton)

2011-02-18T20:44:00.005-05:00

In my last post, I stated how rare it is for me to review two books in a row by the same author. I have never, since this blog has been existence, reviewed three in a row...until today. This is Morton's last book, so after this, it is on to other authors. It is with all anticipation that I wait for her next masterpiece.

The Forgotten Garden begins with an old woman on her deathbed. Nell dies with a family mystery she has never been able to solve. On her eighteenth birthday, the man who she knew as her father tells her a shocking secret. He found her abandoned when she was a four year old child on a dock in Australia. How did she end up alone there? The mystery, of course, is solved in the end, as is Morton's way, but it astonishes me, in all of her books, how she gets there. Morton changes chapter by chapter from the early 1900s to the 1970s to 2005, and never misses a beat. We hear the story told through the eyes of all different characters, including Nell's granddaughter, her mother, and a mysterious woman known as the Authoress. Just when you think that a question you had at the beginning will not be answered, it does at a different point of time. I can only imagine that Morton has a giant flowchart for all of her books, as she is the most talented author I have ever read at being able to bring everything back full circle.

The Forgotten Garden would have gotten a 5 if I had read it first. While not my favorite of her three, she is, by far, one of the most talented literary forces we have today.

MY RATING - 4

My favorite month of the year is coming up! Why?? March is the month when Jodi Picoult releases her books. I will have a review soon.

The House at Riverton (Kate Morton)

2011-02-02T11:56:00.004-05:00

It is quite rare for me to review two books in a row by the same author. I am not one to read a book, and then run out to buy the next one if I like the style. I really don't know why it took me so long to discover Kate Morton (The House at Riverton was her debut, published in 2006), but I am so glad I did.

Narrated by Grace Bradley, a housemaid at Riverton House beginning when she was just a girl, The House at Riverton spans decades. Grace desperately wants her grandson (who has disappeared) to see her before she dies, so she makes him a set audiotapes about her past. She went to work at Riverton when she was fourteen and became entrenched in the goings-on of the House. From the servants to the family to outsiders (or so they seem), every character is important. Grace becomes deeply involved in the lives of the Riverton children, especially the sisters Hannah and Emmeline. However, World War I service meant sacrificing your own life for those you served. Will Grace ever get a life of her own? What really happened in that house? Will Grace die before seeing her beloved grandson? What really happened at the lake, where we learn early on that a character took his own life?

Morton loves her early twentieth century Gothic English estates, as do I. What is most fascinating about her novels is that we find out many plot points early on; however, we don't know how it gets to that point (or if the early plot point is even true), until we get there. Settle in for a deeply layered read that will keep you glued to every page.

MY RATING - 5

The Distant Hours (Kate Morton)

2011-01-18T07:54:00.005-05:00

It is very difficult to name the genre of The Distant Hours. Kate Morton has created a story so layered and enchanting, that it is impossible to place it into a well-defined box. At times, a Gothic mystery (I might even go so far as to say horror) that will make you shiver with fright, and at other times a heartbreaking love story, you will find yourself racing through your day so that you can curl up with it at night.

The Distant Hours is the story of the Blythe family, the owners of Milderhurst Castle (I dare anyone to tell me that the castle cannot be considered a character in the story.). During the Second World War, the Blythes took in an evacuee from London, Meredith. She becomes great friends with the youngest Blythe sister, Juniper. Years later, when Meredith is in her sixties, she gets a long-lost letter from Juniper. Meredith's daughter, Edie, becomes fascinated with the story of Milderhurst and the Blythe family...specifically Ramond Blythe, the author of a classic story about a "mud man", his twin daughters, Percy and Saffy, and Juniper, still waiting fifty years later for the man she loves to arrive for their engagement dinner.

The Distant Hours is brilliant storytelling by Morton. Bouncing from era to era, she keeps the reader enthralled through all 560 pages. I thought I had the mystery figured out early, but Morton threw all of that out the window. My heart pounded as it was finally explained, and then she tied up all of the loose ends with a little bow. Throw a log in the fireplace, pour yourself a glass of sherry, and dive into The Distant Hours.

MY RATING - 5

Driving With Dead People (Monica Holloway)

2011-01-10T18:34:00.004-05:00

When I pick up a new book, I am one of the few out there who literally read it cover to cover. When I say that, I truly mean it. I read the inside book jacket and the blurbs from bestselling authors on the back. One sentence that truly sums up this book is by author Barbara Abercrombie. She quotes "In the space of one sentence Monica Holloway can break your heart and make you laugh out loud at the same time." This truly sums up what it is like reading this memoir.

Driving With Dead People is Monica Holloway's memoir of growing up in small-town Ohio, living with her parents and three siblings. She longs for love, attention, and to simply be wanted by her parents. Her father lives a lie by faithfully going to Church each Sunday and being a member of numerous civic groups. Holloway wonders why he showers attention on others, but cannot seem to love his own family. Her mother turns a blind eye to all types of abuse in the house; even, as we later find out, the worst kind. Absolutely heartbreaking is when Monica has a casual conversation with her mother, and finds out they had planned on stopping after three children and were extremely upset upon learning of the fourth pregnancy. Monica was the fourth child.

The "dead people" come into play throughout this memoir, especially when Monica befriends a girl whose family runs the local mortuary. Don't miss Driving With Dead People. It is unbelievably sad, hysterically funny at times, but wonderfully uplifting.

MY RATING - 5

The False Friend (Myla Goldberg)

2010-12-12T12:46:00.003-05:00

Sometimes life gets in the way of regularly blogging, especially when said blogging is about books. One needs time to carefully read and provide honest and fair reviews. The False Friend, as my first reviewed book in quite awhile, was quite disappointing.

The premise is intriguing enough. One random day, Celia Durst is walking to her Chicago job, and suddenly has a long-suppressed memory. When she was eleven years old, her best friend, Djuna, got into a stranger's car in the woods, and never was seen or heard from again. Celia goes back to her hometown of Jensenville, insisting that there never was a car. Her parents, boyfriend, and childhood friends try to prove otherwise.

What I found so frustrating about this book is that it should be a clear-cut mystery. Did Djuna get into the car? Did Celia cover it up? Instead, Goldberg turns it into Celia's wild goose chase, and the reader is left with no answers. If I am going to spend time with a book, I want to feel satisifed. This just didn't do that for me.

MY RATING - 2

Patti LuPone: A Memoir (Patti LuPone)

2010-10-25T19:21:00.005-04:00

Criticism has come out about this memoir exploiting "diva-like" behavior. I didn't read it that way at all. In no way is Patti LuPone a "diva". She is someone with a backbone who will stand up against someone treating her unfairly...most specifically in this memoir, Broadway king Andrew Lloyd Webber.

LuPone does not gloss over anything, beginning with Juilliard and her romance with fellow student, Kevin Kline. From Evita to Sunset Boulevard, to Sweeney Todd to Gypsy, LuPone has seen it all and spills it all. While she spews hatred for Webber (after reading the chapters on Sunset Boulevard, you will understand why), her Life Goes On TV husband, Bill Smitrovich, and others, she is also quick to show her love for beloved stage costars such as Boyd Gaines and Laura Benanti of Gypsy. She has had a monumental theatrical career, and gives the reader a gift by allowing entrance into all of it.

There are very few living Broadway legends today. Patti LuPone is one of them. When she opens her mouth, you stop and listen. If that description sounds like the very first Mama Rose of Gypsy, Ethel Merman, then you know where I am going with this. Thank you, Ms. LuPone, for letting us all in on your fabulous theater experiences...and they're not over yet!

MY RATING - 5

Mini Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)

2010-10-23T14:32:00.004-04:00

Sophie Kinsella is back with a ho-hum continuation of Becky Bloomhood's (AKA "The Shopaholic") story in Mini Shopaholic. This time, the premise lies in passing on her shopping addiction to her two-year-old daughter, Minnie.

Becky is still living in London with her CEO husband, Luke, and working as a shopping consultant in a high-end department store for fantastically wealthy clients. Becky gets the bright idea to throw a surprise party for Luke, as he never celebrates his birthday. At the same time, she must deal with her daughter, who some say, is dangerously close to getting her mother's shopping gene. There is something wrong when a two-year-old knows the words "Starbucks" and "Visa".

We've seen this all before with other Shopaholic books. Kinsella seems to just throw all of the characters we've met in previous novels into this one. While entertaining at times (mindless fluff can do that), it's time for Becky Bloomwood's story to be over.

MY RATING - 3

Look Again (Lisa Scottoline)

2010-10-12T18:13:00.006-04:00

I am the first to admit that I have not always been a fan of Lisa Scottoline's books. I know that readers love her, particularly in the Philly area, where she lives. Having the good fortune of meeting Ms. Scottoline a few years back, I know that she is unbelievably nice, even going so far as to hug her fans. However, to me, I just never thought her books were of substance. That is, until Look Again came along.

This is the story of Ellen Gleeson, an ordinary woman who came home from work one day and noticed one of those "Have You Seen This Child?" cards in the mail. One of the child looks unbelievably like her adopted son, Will. Not being able to get this out of her mind, she sacrifices family and her job as a reporter (convenient, isn't it?) to get to the bottom of it. When she does, well, you can only imagine, there is heartbreak involved.

I found this book haunting, especially the cover, which reminds me very much of Jennifer McMahon's covers. However, while the book was fast-moving and suspenseful, I tend to not enjoy books that wrap things up in the end with a neat little bow. Scottoline fans can be rabid, and this one will certainly not disappoint them. While this is certainly the best book I have read by this particular author, I still cannot call myself a fan.

MY RATING - 3

Cherries in Winter (Suzan Colon)

2010-10-11T14:56:00.003-04:00

Cherries in Winter has as its subtitle, My family's recipe for hope in hard times. That should tell you everything you need to know about this wonderful book. As heartwarming a book as can be, reading this will make you feel like you can get through anything life throws at you. I began reading it going from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ on the ferry and finished it the same day on the ride back.

Colon has written a memoir from the heart. Beginning with her layoff, which has become all too familiar in this day and age, Colon intersperses stories about herself with stories about her beloved Nana. In between, the reader is treated to recipes from her grandmother's kitchen...from meatloaf to potato salad. It is amusing how Colon at times tries to "lighten up" the recipe from using butter and lard back then to nonfat yogurt today. The message of the book is that family and food go together, they always will, and rely on both to get you through the hard times.

You will probably read this in one or two sittings. Treasure it, and know that sometimes you just have to use butter to get it right!

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com.

The One That I Want (Allison Winn Scotch)

2010-09-29T16:58:00.003-04:00

Allison Winn Scotch is quickly rising the ladder to rival Picoult and Scottoline status. It is no surprise that she writes from the female perspective, with a female protagonist searching for meaning in her life. Her books are heartwarming and, even with the hint of the supernatural as in The One That I Want, very true to life.

This is the story of Tilly, a thirtysomething woman living in the same town she grew up in, having the same friends she grew up with, and married to her high school sweetheart. Her life is happy...a gorgeous husband, a job she loves as a high school counselor, and a wonderful best friend. The only thing missing is a desperately wanted baby and her mother, who died awhile back. She lives her life the only way she knows how...helping others with their problems, including her alcoholic father. When Tilly meets an old high school friend at the town fair, things begin to go awry. Suddenly Tilly can "see" things that will happen in the future, and when those events really begin to happen, the story evolves.

Scotch does it again with a real winner. You will not be disappointed.

MY RATING - 5

The Christmas Gift (R. William Bennett)

2010-09-01T19:59:00.007-04:00

To 1776 Readers:

Harper was sent The Christmas Gift to review, so that is why a holiday book is on my blog in August!

The Christmas Gift is an easy read which can be devoured in one night. It's funny how a book can turn your mood around. I wasn't having the best of days, so I decided to just zone out with a good story. Mind you, I read this on August 31. How can a book called The Christmas Gift be a good read in the dog days of August? It is when the "gift" has nothing to do with a package wrapped in pretty paper.

Bennett's story is short, but does not lack in warmth. Two boys in the sixth grade, Scott and Ben, play the bully and the victim. Ben is a burly boy who has no real friends. He spends his days picking on other kids. When Scott dares to stand up for another, he becomes the new target. Things progress until one day Scott cannot stand another minute, screaming that he hates Ben and others do too. Rather than feel good about standing up for himself, Scott begins to think that he should apologize. What transpires is the beginning of a remarkable friendship, where the reader is made to see that things are not always what they seem.

We never really know, unless they tell us, what is going on with other people...why they act the way they do. In a world of lawsuits over spilled drinks and other frivolous things, The Christmas Gift reminds us to take a step back and see the humanity in others.

As an aside, I would highly recommend this book to middle school teachers as a wonderful December read-aloud. Some wonderful discussions can be had from Bennett's "gift" to us all.

MY RATING - 5/5

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com.

Fragile (Lisa Unger)

2010-08-20T17:49:00.003-04:00

Fragile is a mystery in the best sense of the word, with well-developed characters and slow-building suspense. It is the story of missing teenage girls, decades apart, and the connections between their disappearances.

Maggie Cooper is a well-respected psychologist living in "The Hollows", a small town outside of New York City. While juggling a busy practice, she tries desperately to keep her relationships with her detective husband, Jones, and sullen teenage son, Ricky, going strong. When Ricky's girlfriend, Charlene, goes missing, the Coopers and Charlene's mother, Melody, do everything they can to locate her. But is this a recurrence of their worst nightmare from their high school days...when Maggie, Melody, Jones, and the rest of The Hollows' parents and children had to contend with another missing girl...one who was found murdered? Only time will tell.

Unger does a fine job of connecting all of her characters and both of her plots (the disappearances of both Charlene in the present and Sarah in the past) to make one gripping novel. She is a masterful storyteller; however, as she states in the "author's note", she has had a personal experience with this. This novel is not to be missed.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com.

Red Hook Road (Ayelet Waldman)

2010-08-15T13:25:00.004-04:00

In literary history, what are most remembered are the characters and their inner turmoils. Even to those unfamiliar with To Kill a Mockingbird's plot, they know Atticus Finch and Scout. A reader may not remember how Alice met The Mad Hatter, but they know the characters. Red Hook Road excels in character study. If the entire novel stayed true to this, it would be Waldman's tour de force. Alas, it does not.

The novel begins at the Red Hook, Maine, summer wedding of Becca Copaken and John Tetherly....young, vivacious, with their whole lives in front of them. While their families and guests wait for them at their reception, they are given the tragic news that the couple has died in a limousine accident. Two families, of very different social classes, have become unwittingly united in their grief in the succeeding summers in Red Hook. Broken apart at times, but forever together, Red Hook Road is the story of the Copakens...Iris, Daniel, Ruthie, and Mr. Kimmelbrod, and the Tetherlys...Jane, Matt, and Mr. Kimmelbrod's protege', Samantha.

I found myself engrossed in these characters until the last few chapters, when Waldman no longer focuses on them. Somehow a microburst (a tornado-like storm) pops up right over the Copakens' annual Fourth of July gathering (how convenient). The Tetherlys and Copakens must work together to survive this out-of-nowhere storm. And lo and behold, they do, and they are not separated anymore! Waldman's coda then comes out of nowhere.

I couldn't wait to finish this book to rush to my blog and give it a 5! Why, oh why, did Waldman have to go and write a cliched plot device at the end? Focus on characters, Ms Waldman, and you'll have a winner every time!

MY RATING - 4

Girl in a Blue Dress (Gaynor Arnold)

2010-08-08T13:42:00.005-04:00

As I have stated before, historical fiction is above and beyond my favorite genre, especially those that take place in old Victorian England. There is something about the elegance and etiquette of this time period that is second to none. Could you imagine having to present your "card" to a friend's maid to be "announced" to her? When was the last time you wrote a "letter" to your friend instead of a text or e-mail?

Girl in a Blue Dress has fictional characters; however, Arnold states that she drew her inspiration from the family life of Mr. Charles Dickens himself. There seems to be no greater Dickens scholar than she; yet, by her own admission, she took many liberties in extending the truth and filling-in-the-blanks. The novel begins with the end - the funeral of England's most admirable author, Alfred Gibson. He has long been separated from his "widow", Dorothea, the narrator of the story. Dorothea's flashbacks to her happy beginnings with Alfred, the births of many, many children with him, and finally, their painful separation, make up the gist of the novel. However, it is the inner torture of Alfred (as it is with many creative souls) that Gaynor seems to want to make the heart of Girl in a Blue Dress.

It is interesting that I immediately made a comparison in my mind with this novel to The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. Both authors should be highly commended for their efforts and incomparable research. However, as with Whicher, I found myself looking at the clock, wanting this to end. It is just too long and wordy, with endless meetings upon meetings between the characters. Dorothea meets with one person for twenty pages to bare her soul, then she meets with another person for twenty pages. If you like novels with great character development, then this is the book for you. However, if you want some sort of plot to go with those characters, I would advise you to look elsewhere.

MY RATING - 4 for effort, 3 for readability

Alice I Have Been (Melanie Benjamin)

2010-07-27T09:32:00.005-04:00

Alice I Have Been is a thoroughly researched, extremely impressive, strange dichotomy of a book. This work of historical fiction tells the story of Alice...you know, Alice...not the young girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a mystical wonderland, but the young girl named Alice Liddell, of whom Charles Dodgson (AKA Lewis Carroll) wrote Alice in Wonderland for.

Alice and her highbrow family lived in Oxford in a time when girls wore corsets and carried parasols and Victoria ruled the land. Mr. Dodgson was a professor at the Deanery where Mr. Liddell was the Dean. Mr. Dodson took Alice and her sisters along on picnics and boat rides, where he told them many fantastical stories. One was the story about Alice, which she begged him to write down. Needless to say, literary history was made.

However, the story does not stop there. Alice lived a long life, and along the way, had many, many sorrows. Everyone she associated with the "Alice" time period of her life died before her...some way too soon. Benjamin's writing is absolutely breathtaking as she develops the true story of Alice, and sometimes, in her own admission in the author's note, fills in the blanks (particularly as she states with the story of Mr. Ruskin).

In the beginning, I called this book a strange dichotomy, and that is simply because I don't know how to feel about it. Mr. Dodgson's infatuation with the very young Alice makes the reader very uncomfortable. I did not much care for the "true" person of Alice Liddell, as she does and says quite a few things in Alice I Have Been which do not make her very likable. However, when she begins to go through her many, many heartbreaks, the reader can see through the Victorian shell. Benjamin's book is beautifully written and should be read by all fans of Wonderland for the inside story.

MY RATING - 5

The Devil Amongst the Lawyers (Sharyn McCrumb)

2010-07-20T12:10:00.005-04:00

The Devil Amongst the Lawyers is historical fiction based on the 1935 trial of Edith Maxwell in Wise County, Virginia. What I found so interesting about this novel is that the trial is just an afterthought. The real story lies in the journalists who come to cover it, some honestly and some not so honestly.

Erma Morton is a beautiful, young schoolteacher accused of a hideous crime...the murder of her father, Pollock. Is she guilty or innocent? To McCrumb, it hardly matters, as we do not find out until the last few pages. To the journalists covering the case, this is a goldmine trial. A young girl "pretty enough to be in the pictures", living in the "backwards part of the country in them ther hills". Whether true or not, Henry Jernigan, Rose Hanelon, Shade Baker, and especially Luther Swann, will write what their editors want to see in the newspaper. Carl Jennings, on his first major assignment and the only one to report the truth, refuses to resort to writing stereotypes. The only way he can get ahead of the others is if he uses his young cousin, Nora, who has the gift of Sight.

As I love historical fiction, I found this novel fascinating, but not as fascinating as it could have been. As we read the story from the points of view of the major characters, the novel at times can seem hurky-jerky. It is not seamless as a Picoult novel might be. However, McCrumb should be commended for writing about a trial in the Depression-era United States that is not well-known.

MY RATING - 4

A Desirable Residence (Madeleine Wickham)

2010-07-14T15:14:00.005-04:00

First, a word of warning...A Desirable Residence, even though it is portrayed as having a June 2010 publishing date, is NOT a new book. It was originally published in 1996, so I am confused as to why it has been reissued in hardcover. The only information I could find is from "The Daily Beast" website, which calls the novel "a reissued classic on 90s suburbia by Sophie Kinsella (AKA Madeleine Wickham) just in time for the beach." I think it is a little much calling this book "a classic", especially with To Kill a Mockingbird's 50th Anniversary this year, but so be it.

A Desirable Residence is a sordid tale of the Chambers, Weatherstone, and Prentice families and their interconnections with each other. Jonathan and Liz Chambers, along with their daughter, Alice, have just bought a tutorial college and are deeply in debt. Ginny and B-list actor, Piers Prentice, have just rented out the Chambers' home. Marcus and Anthea Weatherstone try desperately to make their marriage work, despite very different views on parenting. One can guess correctly that the connections between these three couples will result in adultery, obsession, and greed.

There is nothing really new here (literally). This is definitely a great novel to read on the beach in the dog-days of July. Just know that if you purchase this book in hardcover, chances are, you already read the exact same thing in 1996.

MY RATING - 3

When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg (George Sheldon)

2010-07-08T10:55:00.003-04:00

I happen to have the good fortune of living about 2 hours from Gettysburg; therefore, a yearly fall trip is always on our calendar. While there, we visit the usual memorials and museums. After reading this almost minute-by-minute account of the 3-day battle where so much blood was shed, I have a much better understanding of the horror that happened there.

When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg not only focuses on the battle, but also the before and after. The reader is able to create vivid pictures in the mind through diary accounts of Gettysburg residents, surgeons, and nurses. We learn that free African Americans, if captured by the Confederacy, would be marched to the South into a life of slavery. We learn about Tillie Pierce, whose diary accounts are studied thoroughly by historians today. We learn about the new practice of embalming the dead, so that soldiers could be shipped back to their loved ones for proper burial. We learn the minute details of the fascinating 50th and 75th reunions of the blue and the gray.

This book is not for the faint of heart, as the descriptions and especially the photos, are very graphic. However, When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg is not a dry textbook rendition of the battle. Sheldon takes a humanistic approach, which no textbook could ever compete with.

MY RATING - 5

Scout, Atticus & Boo (Mary McDonagh Murphy)

2010-06-27T17:10:00.005-04:00

As of this writing, a signed, first-edition of arguably the greatest American novel of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, is going for $565.00 to $1,800.00 on Ebay. The fact that signed copies are so incredibly rare is not the only reason. Harper Lee wrote one novel in her lifetime, and chances are, she will not be writing another one. In this novel, she said what she needed to say, then stopped publishing. Some would question why she did not write another. Well, if you were the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, there would be no place to go after but down.

Murphy is to be commended for interviewing many subjects as to what this novel means to them. From Oprah Winfrey, who begged and pleaded with Lee for an interview (and knew within 20 minutes of meeting her that she was never going to get anything on the record) to Lee's older sister, Alice, we learn a tremendous amount about her. Often stated that she is one of the most reclusive authors ever, Alice argues that she is absolutely not reclusive in her hometown of Monroeville (also the location of the novel). She chose to write one novel to express her thoughts on racism and countless other subjects (through her beloved narrator, Scout), then settled down to a quiet life. Lee saw what fame did to her friend and notorious Monroeville resident, Truman Capote, and chose to go in the other direction. Her neighbors respect her wishes and do not tell anyone where she lives.

To Kill a Mockingbird is unique in that it means something different to everyone who reads it. Murphy's diligent work pays off in a tremendous collection of interviews. This is a must-read for fans of the greatest American novel of all time.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com.

My Fair Lazy (Jen Lancaster)

2010-06-19T17:19:00.004-04:00

My Fair Lazy is the type of book one picks up when they just want to laugh by the pool on a hot summer afternoon. I have never read memoirs by a funnier, more irreverent person than Jen Lancaster. The most hysterical parts happen when you cannot believe what you just read.

"New York Times" bestselling author Lancaster is a self-proclaimed reality show addict, hence the subtitle of the book: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover if Not Being a Dumb Ass is the New Black, or a Culture-Up Manifesto. Reading about her attempts to go through her own personal "Jenaissance" is the gist of the book, from finally reading the "classics" (loving Brave New World but not being able to get through Eudora Welty) to trying various cultural foods. Lancaster especially has a talent for moving from humorous to heartwarming in a single page, most notably when she discusses her many pets.

This memoir is a very easy read. It feels like you are talking to an old friend who is not afraid to put into words what we think, but don't say out loud. Read this for an escape and many, many laughs.

MY RATING - 5

A Nation Rising (Kenneth C. Davis)

2010-06-10T18:42:00.003-04:00

There are about a million historical accounts that never make it into a school textbook. Textbooks usually do not have the space to give anything but the bare minimum for any given topic. A Nation Rising attempts to correct this injustice by delving deeply into these untold stories.

Aaron Burr...what do we think of when we hear his name? In most textbooks and in the minds of most Americans, he is reduced to one sentence. Aaron Burr was the one who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Davis goes much further than this...offering up a 61 page account of Aaron Burr's trial, not for murder (dueling was common in those days), but for treason!! Davis includes six such chapters in this fascinating book about life in the early 1800s, from Burr's "trial-of-the-century" to severe conflicts over religion in Philadelphia.

This period of history is often overlooked as it is the bridge from the Revolutionary to the Civil War. Davis certainly gives it its due in A Nation Rising.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

The Way I See It (Melissa Anderson)

2010-05-29T18:13:00.003-04:00

I am going to start this with a disclaimer that I am a HUGE Little House on the Prairie fan...both the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and the television show. The Way I See It: A Look Back at My Life on Little House is by Melissa Anderson (known as Melissa Sue Anderson on the show), who played Mary Ingalls. The fact that I am a huge fan plays heavily into my review. I strongly suggest that if you have never seen or never cared for the show, then you should skip this book.

The book begins with Anderson's audition for the part of Mary, especially focusing on her meeting with Michael Landon. She was told, as a sixth grader, that she should lose five pounds (self-esteem, anyone?). Each few chapters focus on a specific season of the show, with Anderson's insight and gossip interspersed with a description of each episode. I found it slightly odd that she did not discuss more her relationship with Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura, but she definitely provided some dirt on Landon (you'll have to read the book to find it out). Along the way, she discusses her other acting work, including guest starring on The Love Boat.

Anderson is no Jane Austen, but I enjoyed the book. Again, I need to stress that you will probably not enjoy this book if you had no interest in Little House. I never thought we would be reading a tell-all by Melissa Sue Anderson, of all people, but I suppose she needed to get some things off her chest. Good for her!

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

So Cold the River (Michael Koryta)

2010-05-29T17:44:00.004-04:00

So Cold the River's book jacket uses words such as "irresistible suspense" and "spellbinding". I wouldn't go that far, but if you are looking for an original, well-written tale very reminiscent of Stephen King's The Shining, then this book might be for you.

Eric Shaw is a down-on-his-luck, back-from-LA, Chicago filmmaker who is now "reduced" to designing "video life portraits" at funerals to make ends meet. To make matters worse, he is also on his way to divorce from his wife, Claire. When he is approached by Alyssa Bradford to spend a few weeks in French Lick and West Baden to document her dying father-in-law, Campbell's, mysterious past, he can't say no. Both are small towns with deep histories in their extraordinary hotels (I told you to expect The Shining). Shaw meets many people along the way who are willing to help him, but becomes addicted to the towns' water. The water shows him visions of Campbell's life in the early 1900s. The story takes a sinister turn when Eric's visions become stronger.

The story begins strong with a penchant for pageturning. Midway through, it loses some steam, but everything is nicely pulled together in the end. I did not find it an "icy, terrifying winner", as Dennis Lehane's blurb on the cover suggests, but if you are looking for some mindless entertainment, you can find it here.

MY RATING - 3

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

Back to the Garden (Pete Fornatale)

2010-05-15T11:37:00.006-04:00

I have always had a fascination with the legend that is Woodstock (the music festival, not Snoopy's little friend). How could all of the pieces fit together so magically as to make the perfect puzzle? How could a curly-haired, baby-faced, basically unknown producer get acts like the Who, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix to perform on Max Yasgur's farm in New York? How did a for-profit festival suddenly turn free?

Woodstock...just the name conjures mixed reviews. Many people claim to be there who were not. Even the people who WERE there have very different memories of what happened. This is probably not surprising at all with all the "smoke" in the air. Back to the Garden is a collection of remembrances by musicians, managers, producers, and attendees who sometimes completely contradict each other. Fornatale goes through each day and act in chronological order, from Richie Havens after 5:00 PM on Friday (He was not supposed to be the first.) to Hendrix's legendary rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" very early Monday morning (Most people had left already.).

Back to the Garden provides one of the best retellings of Woodstock yet. His interviews come together to create an extremely thorough picture. This is must reading for everyone, including the people who were there but do not "remember" everything.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.

The Keep (Jennifer Egan)

2010-05-08T11:31:00.005-04:00

I was drawn to this novel by the cover and description...a suspenseful, psychological, gothic atmosphere...exactly my cup of tea. When I hear words like castle, baroness, and twins, I know that I will be taken for a ride. When this book was good, it was very, very good, and when it was bad, well, you know the rest.

The Keep intersects two stories, one set in a castle in Europe, the other in a prison. The castle was recently bought by Howie, who wants to turn it in to a hotel. He asks his cousin, Danny, to come to Europe to help him with the renovation. The cousins share a long-lost secret from the past, and it does not take Egan very long to share this secret with her readers. Danny immediately knows that something is not quite right, especially when he meets the old baroness, who refuses to leave the "keep" of the castle. The jail story is not as interesting as the castle story, but they do eventually intersect in a creative way.

It is interesting that The Keep tells dual stories, because I felt different ways reading it. It tells its stories very succinctly, but then has abstract, open-ended parts, where the reader has no idea what just happened. I felt the same way about The Glister as I do about The Keep. If I am going to spend a few days of my life reading a novel, I want to have definitive answers about what happens to the characters. Instead, I was left scratching my head.

MY RATING - 3

House Rules (Jodi Picoult)

2010-04-24T18:40:00.004-04:00

I am going to begin this with a disclaimer. As anyone who knows me is well-aware, Ms. Picoult is my favorite author, hands down. House Rules is her 18th novel, and while not her best, even my LEAST favorite would get a 4 in my rating scale. It absolutely kills me to give her anything less than a 5 because I love her so much. This is only the 2nd of the 18 that I would do that to (Salem Falls being the other). Jodi...please don't hate me.

Picoult's novels usually center around an issue and a trial. This time, the issue is a young man with Asperger's Syndrome. Jacob lives with his mother, Emma, and younger brother, Theo. Picoult researches her topics impeccably and this is no exception. When Jacob's social skills instructor is found murdered, he becomes the prime suspect. The fact that he is obsessed with forensics and shows up uninvited at crime scenes does not help him.

Picoult integrates her usual style seamlessly with classic murder mystery. The reader does not find out the truth until the last few pages. However, there is much ambiguity and a lot of questions remain unanswered. While this works for plays like Doubt and TV shows like The Sopranos, I hate when this happens in books. For this reason, and ONLY this reason, I have to give it a 4.

MY RATING - 4

Pictures at an Exhibition (Sara Houghteling)

2010-04-11T11:52:00.003-04:00

There is nothing better than a great historical fiction piece to take the reader to another era. Pictures at an Exhibition accomplishes this for the most part. This is often the little known part of the Nazi reign of terror...how their invasion of France also resulted in one-third of all privately owned art being stolen. The Louvre was evacuated to prevent this from happening there.

This is the story of the fictional Berenzon family. The father, Daniel, is a well-respected French art dealer who spends his days educating his son, Max, in the differences between Mattisse and Manet. Max is in medical school, but cannot seem to find his place in life let alone the family business. With the Nazi invasion, the Berenzons are forced to flee, leaving their stash of priceless artwork in the hands of their gallery assistant, Rose Clement. When they return, the collection has vanished. Pictures at an Exhibition continues in Max's quest to retrieve the paintings and find Rose.

While parts of the book move slower than others, it lets the reader in on a haunting truth. The locations of 40,000 French art items pillaged by the Nazis remain unknown.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com/.

Getting In (Karen Stabiner)

2010-04-02T16:42:00.004-04:00

Upon the arrival of a new baby, parents may begin to sock some money away in a college fund for 18 years in the future. With Harvard's cost for 2010-2011 estimated (on their own website) to be $50,724 for tuition, room, board, and fees, parents are going to need a lot of socks!

Getting In is a fictional story (but very true at many high schools) of students, parents, and guidance counselors working around the clock to gain admittance to competitive colleges. The sad reality is that one blown test can lower a GPA a few hundredths of a percentage point to prevent admission. Stabiner excels at giving the reader a glimpse into the brutal process, from questioning the taking of a non-weighted art class to being a valedictorian that only got on Harvard's waitlist. Stabiner clearly shows us that being a private school guidance counselor has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the world.

This book is very enjoyable, a quick read, and unfortunately, quite true. If you are the parent of a high school student, it will probably scare you to death.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America (Jay Parini)

2010-03-14T16:15:00.003-04:00

A family member recently received a Kindle as a gift and was eager to show it to me. He was confused when I ran kicking and screaming from the room (I exaggerate only a little). Is nothing sacred? Does everything on this beautiful place we call Earth have to be completely technological? Is the closing of libraries and bookstores right around the corner?

Books have been around forever, not the "download this bestseller for $7.99 kind", but the good, old-fashioned, "turn-the-page" kind. Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America is not your average "Best Books Ever" list. There is no The Fountainhead in sight. What Parini does do is come up with a very interesting list of books that, when introduced to popular culture, changed life as we know it. When Harriet Beecher Stowe met Abraham Lincoln after the release of Uncle Tom's Cabin, he is famously quoted as saying "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!" In addition, who can argue that Dr. Benjamin Spock changed child rearing as we know it when he published his The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care?

This is the kind of book you can pick up in March and finish in June. It will not appeal to everybody (I can't see the average American going into Barnes & Noble and picking up a copy of The Federalist Papers), but it is fine reading for those who love literary history.

MY RATING - 4

This review can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com.

Cook This, Not That (David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding)

2010-02-27T14:20:00.003-05:00

Cook This, Not That is the latest book about healthy eating from Zinczenko & Goulding. Eat This, Not That was hugely popular, and this one is proving to be as well. What the authors do so right is include ingredients and foods that real people actually want to eat...no nonfat whipped cream or tofu in sight. The colorful pictures and easy to follow directions make this a no-brainer. Any ordinary cook can whip up something far healthier than a chain restaurant in less time than it takes to drive there or have it delivered.

I would never recommend a cookbook that I wouldn't try, so I have tried many recipes from Cook This, Not That. The ones that I have cooked have been delicious, from appetizers to desserts. Olive Garden's Fettucine Alfredo (A.K.A. Heart Attack on a Plate) rings in at 1,220 calories. The same taste can be gained from using a few tablespoons of butter, milk, flour, and good Parmesan for 540 calories. The Cheesecake Factory's Macaroni & Cheese? 1,482 calories PER SERVING. Or you can cook it at home for 480.

No wonder we live in such an unhealthy world today with portions and ingredients that are served in these restaurants. Is there any appetizer that is not cooked in a deep fryer? Would you rather have Chili's Fire Grilled Chicken Fajita Quesadilla for 1,480 calories (FOR AN APPETIZER???) or make them at home in a cast-iron skillet for 310? It takes just as much effort.

MY RATING FOR ANY OF THE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES - 5

The Glister (John Burnside)

2010-02-15T13:46:00.004-05:00

I would really like to get inside John Burnside's mind to see how this novel came about. The premise is extremely interesting...sinister and unsettling. What exactly is going on in Innertown, a place where no one ever visits and no one ever leaves?

Innertown is known for exactly one thing...a decrepit, condemned chemical plant, which many consider to be the cause of strange diseases attacking its residents. It is not known to the outside world that Innertown is also the place where five young boys have disappeared. Morrison, the insecure constable, found the first boy, but made a regretful mistake in the aftermath. This mistake has changed his life and will ultimately be his demise. The book goes back and forth among different narrators and even tenses.

This novel was such a paradox in that I couldn't stop reading it, yet I still don't know if the mysteries were solved. The reader is under the assumption that what happened to those boys is the central mystery of The Glister. However, I was left with more questions than were answered. I would hope that Burnside did this intentionally. If so, he certainly met his mark, because I was left utterly confused. Read this if you care about a good plot but not a satisfying ending.

MY RATING - 3

This rating can also be found at http://www.bookloons.com/.

White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson & Thomas Wentworth Higginson (Brenda Wineapple)

2010-02-07T13:00:00.007-05:00

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

This is all I remember about Emily Dickinson, reclusive poet extraordinaire. One of my English teachers in high school would start her class every single day by making us recite this poem. A little strange, but I guess she didn't want any of us arrogant teenagers to get a big head. We're "nobodies".

The subtitle of this book says it all. This is the story of the odd "friendship" (although I don't know if I would call it that) between Dickinson and Higginson, an extreme abolitionist. Dickinson, who lived a hermit-like existence, never venturing beyond her father's gates, sent Higginson, an occasional contributor to various publications, some poems for critique. Calling him the "master" and herself the "pupil", Dickinson respected his opinion immensely. Higginson was one of the only visitors she would ever allow to see her, begging him to visit her in Amherst. We learn many things as both of their lives intertwine, including the fact that Higginson was the leader (not Robert Gould Shaw, as the movie Glory would attest) of the first Union regiment made up of ex-slaves. We are also introduced to Dickinson's family, who most of the time respected Emily's need for solitude, as well as Mabel Todd, Emily's brother's mistress. Todd and Higginson published Dickinson's poems posthumously, editing with a heavy hand. Since Emily only published on her own terms, the reader is made to wonder if she would have preferred to remain unknown, even in death.

Wineapple does a fine job of thoroughly researching her characters. However, while Emily Dickinson herself is a fascinating study, a 318 page book about a friendship can get a little dull.

MY RATING - 3

This rating can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

Priorities Please?????

2010-01-25T18:09:00.010-05:00

Reading People magazine cover to cover has been one of my Friday night rituals for a few years now. It signifies to me that my work week is over, and now I can ease into my weekend with some great reading material. People do not believe me when I tell them that my favorite part of reading the magazine is not the latest celebrity info, but the "real" people stories.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010...where were you when you heard that a 7.0 earthquake hit one of the poorest countries on Earth? Perhaps you don't remember. Would you be able to tell me where you were when you heard that the legend that was Michael Jackson passed away? It is amazing to me how much we value celebrity in this country. Nowhere does this prove my point more than the last two issues of my favorite magazine.

To be fair to People, since the earthquake happened on a Tuesday, I was pretty sure that it would not make it to print in just two short days. However, I was absolutely repulsed by what I saw on the cover when I opened my mailbox that Friday. This was not the week to see a tell-all about some reality show "star" that was so addicted to plastic surgery that she had 10 procedures in 1 day (grand total: $30,000).

So repulsed that I did not even read the issue, I looked forward to getting my next issue, sure that People would write about Haiti in a way that they deserved. 200,000 most likely dead. Mass graves with not even the dignity of a funeral service. Some will never be identified or found. Some amazing survival stories and reunions. In the February 1, 2010 issue of my favorite magazine, the earthquake gets the top eighth of the cover. People is telling its readers that Jennifer Aniston's "fun, flirty, and forty!" life is more important this week. How else do you explain the cover?

I am disgusted about the value placed on celebrity in this country. We are to blame. The sad truth is that People is only printing what will sell.

The Friday Night Knitting Club (Kate Jacobs)

2010-01-24T13:06:00.007-05:00

Knitting is not just your grandmother's animal anymore. Over the course of the past few years, it seems like more and more people are taking up this hobby. Not only do they end up with a one-of-a-kind scarf (or if they are really good, a sweater), they can also relieve some stress in the process. Knitters say that there is something in the click of the needles that calms them down. I tried an "Absolute Beginner's Knitting Class", and unfortunately, I was the only one that did not leave the first class with a square. My perfectionist tendencies told me to never go back. Boy, do I admire knitters.

The Friday Night Knitting Club is very character-driven. Jacobs takes her time in letting the reader get to know Georgia Walker, the owner of the knitting store "Walker and Daughter", who the plotline revolves around. Along the way, we meet Dakota, Georgia's daughter; James, the love of her life; Anita, her mentor; Cat, her longlost friend; and many others. Following the women of the "Club" as they begin to form friendships is both heartwarming and sad. I found myself most drawn to Gran, Georgia's beloved Scottish grandmother, and her no-nonsense wisdom.

If you hated the movie Steel Magnolias, you will hate this book. For some, the sweetness will be like nails on a chalkboard. However, if you are looking for something that will both warm your heart and break it, this is it.

MY RATING - 4

The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)

2010-01-16T14:56:00.004-05:00

I am fascinated by the unprecedented moneymaker that is Dan Brown. Not having had a book released since the wildly popular "The DaVinci Code", his fans preordered "The Lost Symbol" months in advance. From the unputdownable (I made that one up) "Angels and Demons" to the piece of junk "Digital Fortress", there is one thing that can be said for Dan Brown...he knows what will sell.

"The Lost Symbol" again pits Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks on the big screen) with the girl of the month...this time, Katherine Solomon, a Noetic scientist. This book tells you more than you ever wanted to know about Noetics, apparently the science of moving mass with the mind. The backdrop is not the Vatican anymore; it is another city with much symbolism, our nation's capital. All Brown books have a villain in need of a vacation...this time, a heavily tattooed man who is a master of disguises. Langdon unwillingly, through Katherine's brother, Peter, gets involved in searching for the same item the villain is searching for...hence the name of the book, "The Lost Symbol". Along the way, we learn about the fascinating history of the Masons.

If I was not very clear in my plot synopsis, I sincerely apologize. That is because the reader never really knows what is being searched for or what is really going on until the last few pages. I found myself, at times, not able to put the book down, but at other times, desperately wanting the book to be finished. That really should not be surprising to me, as some national publications rated this book one of the worst of 2009. I did not think it should have been there, but I also do not think it was one of the best. Therefore, I will put it right in the middle.

MY RATING - 3

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings (Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, etc.)

2010-01-09T16:33:00.003-05:00

The "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books have been around for a long time now. I used to read them religiously but stopped for some unexplained reason. When I saw this new edition, "Count Your Blessings", I knew that it was time to pick them up again.

The premise could not be simpler. As with all of the "Chicken Soup" books, these are 2 or 3 page stories to read when you get up in the morning, before bed, while you are waiting to pick up your kids from school, or one of the other millions of obligations you have. These stories simply make you feel good about the American spirit. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will certainly count your blessings.

I found these stories really put things in perspective when I would complain about traffic, that I spilled coffee on my shirt, or that the TV was on the brink. At least I have my family, my friends, a job, and my health. The story of "Nathalie's Lessons" put absolutely everything in my life in a light and made me incredibly thankful. This book is a gift. Read it, and then give it to someone you love.

MY RATING - 5

Nanny Returns (Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus)

2010-01-03T10:33:00.004-05:00

It has been a few years since The Nanny Diaries first burst into the forefront. Not only did it become a #1 New York Times bestseller, but it was also made into a mediocre movie. It was only a matter of time before the media hounds would come begging for a sequel. Nanny Returns is a pretty good one, if not very far-fetched.

Nan (A.K.A. Nanny) Hutchinson has been living abroad with her husband for many years. They return to New York, having bought a fixer-upper. Nan tries to make a name for herself in her new consulting business by taking a job as a faculty liason in an ultra-private school. With all of this going on at once, Nan's husband, Ryan, decides that this is the perfect time to start a family.

In the middle of the night, Nan gets a visit from Grayer, the now teenage son of the dreaded Mr. and Mrs. X. from her past. He and his brother need help, plain and simple. This starts a chain of events that Nan promised herself she would never do again...get involved with the "X" family.

While Nanny Returns is enjoyable, there are too many plotlines to follow, and therefore, too many plotlines that McLaughlin and Kraus do not wrap up (my biggest pet peeve). I found myself questioning the plausibility of this story as well. Mr. and Mrs. X see their sons as too much of a burden, so Nan offers to adopt them. Seriously? Read this for escape, but don't worry if you can't make sense of things. Neither could I.

MY RATING - 3

Auf Wiedersehen: World War II Through the Eyes of a German Girl (Christa Holder Ocker)

2009-12-26T19:01:00.006-05:00

As a teacher, I was extremely interested in reading this book. I thought it would be a quick read and something that I could use with my students during our unit on World War II. I was mistaken on both of these counts.

Ms. Ocker is "Christa", telling the story of her childhood in Germany during the collapse of the Third Reich. It begins with her family being forced out of their comfortable home in Gorlitz and made to move to a boardinghouse in Apolda. Christa tries to have a normal childhood with puppet shows and puppy love crushes. Getting to America is their goal where new opportunities abound. There are a few profound passages where Christa intersperses what she is doing on any given day compared to what is going on in the concentration camps in other parts of the country.

This book is definitely not for children, as some descriptions are in graphic gratuitous detail. While I wanted to like this book, I felt like it was better served as a private journal. Ms. Ocker wanted us to know what life was like as a German girl during World War II. She succeeded in that fact. However, I felt like she was trying to make the reader feel sympathy for her for having to eat horse meat and for giving up her favorite puppet to a Russian soldier. Knowing the atrocities that Jewish people faced in concentration camps, I personally found this difficult to do.

MY RATING - 2

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

The Swan Thieves (Elizabeth Kostova)

2009-11-29T10:32:00.007-05:00

To be published January 12, 2010...

Elizabeth Kostova...does the author's name ring a bell? Unless you picked up her bestselling novel, "The Historian", it probably won't. "The Swan Thieves", to be published in January, is Kostova's only other published work. Unlike...oh, shall we say...James Patterson, she takes her time in crafting marvelously ingenious tales. It will probably take you awhile to get to the end of "The Swan Thieves". It should. The short chapters (all 106 of them) should be savored until you get to the wonderfully satisfying ending.

The story centers around Dr. Andrew Marlow, a psychiatrist, who is trying desperately to find a way to help his newest patient...the gifted artist, Robert Oliver. Oliver is placed under Marlow's care when he tries to stab a painting in a museum. Oliver will not speak, so it is up to Marlow to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Along the way, he interviews many people from Oliver's past, who, sometimes reluctantly, tell his story. Interspersed with present day, we are taken back in time to Paris to the late 1800s, where we are introduced to Olivier Vignot, an elderly painter, and his muse, Beatrice de Clerval, through a series of letters between them.

Kostova masterfully alternates between the two stories, until we come to the heartbreaking conclusion and the connection between them. This is not a book that you can't put down. Nor is it a book that you will breeze right through. But when the pieces come together, you will feel that you just read a very quality piece of literature.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin)

2009-11-15T14:14:00.007-05:00

To be published 12/29/09...

Anyone who knows me well knows that I love a great self-help book. There are a plethora of these titles in any bookstore, and unfortunately, many of them are just too abstract for the everyday person. What makes "The Happiness Project" so wonderful is that anyone can relate. Who doesn't want to be happy?

One year, Gretchen Rubin decides to forego the specific New Year's resolutions that so many of us break by January 3rd. Eat right, exercise more, watch less TV, blah, blah, blah. Instead, she decides that she wants to become happier. To accomplish this, she decides on 12 specific areas where she would like to become happier in her life, and then sets mini-goals for herself each month. For example, the area to be happier in May is "Leisure". Rubin's goals in May are find more fun, take time to be silly, go off the path, and start a collection.

I found myself laughing, nodding my head with understanding, and "Ah-hah-ing" at almost every page. I found the month about contemplating the heavens to be most profound. To be happier, read memoirs of catastrophe?? Yes, if you want to be happy with and appreciate what you have, read the diaries of people who have just been diagnosed with cancer or survived a plane crash. Maybe the little things in life (Why isn't he going the speed limit?) won't bother you as much.

Journal writing is way too overwhelming for me to do each day. Rubin suggests a one-sentence journal, where you write one thing that happened that day that you never want to forget. It's the little things like these that make this book joyous to read and makes you think about starting your own happiness project. Don't worry, be _____.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on http://www.bookloons.com/.

Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger)

2009-11-04T18:43:00.004-05:00

Audrey Niffenegger is not yet a household name, such as Grisham, Patterson, or Dan Brown. Yet she is making a huge name for herself in the movies, as her debut novel, "The Time Traveler's Wife", did well in theaters. I am not normally a fan of books being made into movies ("The DaVinci Code", anyone???), but "Her Fearful Symmetry" was made for one.

Haunting, tension-filled, psychological...read this on a cold winter's night with a steaming cup of tea in your hand. It begins with the death of Elspeth Noblin in London. Before she died, she stipulated in her will that her American nieces, Julia and Valentina Poole, be asked to live in her flat for a year. In exchange, they would each receive a hefty trust. All bets would be off in Elspeth's twin, Edie, and her husband, Jack, set foot in the apartment. Why? One of the central mysteries in the novel is what happened between Elspeth and Edie.

Along the way, we meet Elspeth's neighbors in London...Robert, her young conquest; Martin, who is suffering from crippling OCD; and Marjilke, Martin's estranged wife. Highgate Cemetary, which is located right next to the flat, is its own character, as the plot turns quickly into a ghost story. What will the Poole sisters find in the flat? Will Elspeth ever be able to rest in peace? Those are the questions that will be answered very satisfyingly.

I would give "Her Fearful Symmetry" a 5 if not for the ending. Some questions remained unanswered. However, the story is pure knuckle-tension. Read it and weep.

MY RATING - 4

Highest Duty (Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger)

2009-10-28T08:52:00.008-04:00

Have you ever had one of those days where everything just seems to go wrong? The bus never comes to pick up your kids. Your umbrella blows inside out during a torrential rainstorm. You accidentally staple your finger. Your airplane hits a numerous amount of birds in flight and loses thrust in both engines. On a day when you have lost all faith in humanity, pick up this book.

Co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow, this is the story of Sully, the pilot of Flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson River with nary a life lost. Beginning with the first flight by himself when he was very young and ending with the nailbiting, armchair-gripping account of the crash, Captain Sullenberger writes a very honest portrayal of his vocation in life...flying. Along the way, we are introduced to his devoted wife, Lorrie, and two daughters, Kate and Kelly.

Captain Sullenberger makes sure that the reader understands that he did not pilot that plane into the Hudson by himself. His entire crew saved lives that day. He lets us read some of the letters he has received from both passengers and everyday Americans who were affected by Flight 1549. One of the letters comes from a man who says Sully is not a hero. He was just immensely prepared for his job, did it well, and all of us are very thankful for that.

MY RATING - 5

This review can also be found on www.bookloons.com.

Currently reading - "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (Katherine Howe)

2009-10-13T18:21:00.004-04:00

Since historical fiction is my favorite genre, I was eager to read "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane". Taking the reader back in time to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, Katherine Howe's book had a lot of promise. I sat down to begin reading it one Sunday afternoon about two weeks ago and could not put it down. It all went downhill from there.

Howe does what seems to be the trend nowadays began by the master, Jodi Picoult...interweaving two or more narratives. Howe's take on it is more ambitious...not only going back and forth between stories but also between time periods. Connie Goodwin is a Harvard grad student beginning her dissertation in 1991. Her esteemed professor suggests that she find a unique primary source that no one has ever seen before. As she is cleaning out her deceased grandmother's home, Connie finds the name, Deliverance Dane, in a Bible. She eventually comes to realize that Dane authored a physick book back in the days of Salem, so her mission becomes finding that. Howe's other story is the actual story of Dane, along with her daughter and granddaughter.

This book had so much going for it in the beginning, but just couldn't get there. I found it harder and harder to pick up, because eventually it just got too wordy. If Howe had concentrated more on Deliverance's story, it would have made for a far more interesting tale. Instead, she got hung up on Connie's story. The ending is like a Scooby Doo cartoon, when the criminal is finally revealed. Pick up "The Crucible" instead.

MY RATING - 2

The Food You Crave:Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life (Ellie Krieger)

2009-10-04T11:44:00.004-04:00

I decided to expand my repertoire a little when it comes to reviewing and every now and then, review another passion of mine...great cookbooks. For someone who used to mistakenly put cabbage, instead of lettuce, on her nephew's sandwich, and stuck a whole can of tomato soup in the microwave without water, something finally clicked when I moved to Philadelphia. No longer does my poor husband get a 3-course meal of meat, potato, and vegetable served 15 minutes apart. Now I pride myself on being able to put a delicious, healthy meal on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave:Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life" is by far, my favorite cookbook. Ellie is a Food Network personality, but first and foremost, a nutritionist. She believes that food can be healthy and full of flavor if you just make some minor adjustments. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store, and revel in all of the delicious fruits, vegetables, herbs, meats, seafood, and dairy. Who wants to eat the "chemistry experiments" in the middle of the store? If you can't pronounce it, don't put it in your body.

My favorite recipes include Apple-Pecan Muffins (with applesauce substituting for butter), Scrumptious Scramble, Blueberry Blast Smoothie (which my husband asks for all the time), the Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Dip (which I use with chicken), Lemon Pepper Grilled Shrimp, Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce, and Vanilla Hot Cocoa (once you taste this, your days of drinking the powdery stuff will be over).

Many recipes include a picture for easy following. Here's to your health. You will not be disappointed.

MY RATING - 5

Currently reading..."The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" (Katherine Howe)

The Test (Patricia Gussin)

2009-09-19T10:27:00.005-04:00

There is nothing like a good mystery story, especially one that is set in your hometown. Landmarks that the author writes about are familiar enough to make the reader understand the story more. Philadelphia seems to be the setting for many of these stories (Lisa Scottoline being the master)...I suppose because of the city's historical value.

"The Test" is the story of a billionaire family with roots in Philadelphia's exclusive Main Line. The many Parnell family members gather after their father's death to hear the reading of his will. They are shocked when they learn that they will only receive their part of the inheritance if they each pass his "test". Paul Parnell, the patriarch, felt guilty that he never really taught his children the morals they need to survive. Their inheritance will depend on if they can learn these morals in one year. Along the way, they will each face much hardship and tragedy.

This novel had such an interesting premise, but never really succeeded in getting where it needed to go. I had a hard time getting through it, as I felt at times that I was reading a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery. The story is cliche'-ridden, and the ending comes so out of left field that it is laughable. Still, Gussin should be commended for her outline. This could have been a slam dunk.

MY RATING - 2

This review can also be found at www.bookloons.com.

Note From Author Heather Gudenkauf

2009-09-08T19:27:00.002-04:00

This is a note I received from bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf ("The Weight of Silence") regarding yesterday's review. This is posted with Heather's permission.

Dear Harper,

Thank you for the great review! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book. Your blog looks great - I know I'll be back often to find some good books to read.

Yours,
Heather

The Weight of Silence (Heather Gudenkauf)

2009-09-07T11:48:00.004-04:00

"The Weight of Silence" has been one of the summer bestsellers this year, and for good reason. I found myself very quickly becoming lost in Gudenkauf's debut novel. At times absolutely heartbreaking, it will grab you from the beginning and not let go until Calli's epilogue.

The story begins one early morning as Calli, a first grader, is dragged into the woods by her alcoholic father. Calli is a selective mute, and the backstory about how she became that way is intriguing. As the people who love her try to find out where she has gone, the story intertwines with another disappearance, Calli's best friend, Petra. Petra has always been there for Calli, being her "voice". When a substitute teacher punishes Petra for always talking for her friend, Petra saves the day. Calli's mother, Antonia, tells her that one day in the future, she may have to help Petra in the same way. This day comes sooner than she thinks when Petra is in serious trouble.

"The Weight of Silence" speaks from different viewpoints, all in the first person, except for one, Calli. The puzzle pieces keep piling up, until the reader finally puts them together. What happened to Calli that she stopped talking? What happened to Calli and Petra in the woods? The ending is bittersweet, yet heartbreaking.

MY RATING - 5

Cocktails for Three (Madeleine Wickham)

2009-08-31T14:31:00.004-04:00

"Cocktails for Three" is one of those books that was just made for summer.....read it by the pool while sipping a strawberry daquiri. Reading any book by Madeleine Wickham is wonderful for zoning out...mindless entertainment with a heart. You may know Wickham better by her pen name, Miss Sophie Kinsella, the queen of British chick lit.

This is the story of three best friends...each one with a secret. There is Candice, with a childlike innocence and a terrible past; Maggie, a new mother who does not feel any of the emotions that new moms are "supposed" to feel; and Roxanne, unbelievably glamorous with a secret man on the side. None are as happy inwardly as they portray to others. Their first of the month cocktail meetings are held as a release with friends. When a new girl enters the picture closely tied to Candice, will it tear the three friends apart for good or or bring them even closer together?

I have said before that Wickham (AKA...Sophie Kinsella) is a master at "intelligent" chick lit. The reader cares about her characters and wants them to succeed. This is a great book to read when you want to get away from it all. It's a great form of escapism.

MY RATING - 4

Currently reading..."The Weight of Silence" (Heather Gudenkauf)

Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)

2009-08-18T15:41:00.005-04:00

Once in a blue moon, a book comes along that is so profoundly moving that the reader cannot begin to fathom it. "Sarah's Key" is that book for the early part of the 21st century. It is a work of historical fiction set in France during the terrible time of the Holocaust.

Sarah Starzynski is a 10-year old Jewish girl living in Paris in July 1942 with her parents and younger brother. In the middle of the night, the French police bang at the door to arrest them. In order to protect her younger brother, Michel, Sarah locks him in a cupboard, their secret hiding place, promising to come back to him in a few "hours" when all this is over. Michel goes into the cupboard bravely with some water and his teddy bear. After the historically accurate Velodrome d'Hiver roundup on July 16, 1942 and the fact that her parents were torn away from her and sent to Auschwitz, Sarah can only hope that somehow her brother escaped the cupboard. She is able to slip away from Vel' d'Hiv' to go back to Michel. Your heart will pound as you follow Sarah's trip back there.

The novel seamlessly intertwines the time periods of Sarah and a journalist reporting on the 60th commemoration of the roundup, Julia Jarmond. Unknowingly, Julia and her family are preparing to move into the apartment where the cupboard was located. de Rosnay skillfully weaves between the major characters and time periods, showing that why some want to remember the Holocaust in any way they can, some choose to forget.

I cannot recommend this book enough. How many of us are ashamed to admit that we did not know that 76,000 Jews were deported from France by the French police and sent directly to Auschwitz? What happened to the 4,000 children arrested on that day, who had their heads forcibly shaved and their earrings ripped out of their ears for money? Read this book. You will weep and wonder how this could possibly have happened in our world less than 100 years ago.

MY RATING - 5

Twenties Girl (Sophie Kinsella)

2009-08-10T13:03:00.003-04:00

Sophie Kinsella, in my opinion, can do no wrong. As you can tell from the books I have been reviewing, "chick lit" is not normally my thing. It takes a lot for me to pick one of those up. However, Kinsella is not your normal author when it comes to that. Her books are poignant, heartwarming, laugh-out-loud funny, and just the thing you want to curl up with at night after a long day. "Twenties Girl" is no exception.

The premise is outlandish, but believe me, it works. Kinsella's latest follows Lara Lington, a Londoner starting out with her own business and desperate to get her ex-boyfriend to love her again. When her great aunt Sadie, who dies at 105 years old, begins to visit her as a ghost, things go even more haywire for Lara. Sadie cannot rest in peace until she finds a necklace given to her in the 1920s. Lara does not want to help her find it, but reluctantly agrees to get Sadie off her back. Kinsella's backstory of the necklace and ultimately how Sadie pulls Lara's life back together again is at the heart of the novel.

The author never disappoints. Be sure to actually read Kinsella (and her alternate pen name, Madeleine Wickham), and not think that movies such as "Confessions of a Shopaholic" do her any justice. Her books are great fun and will put a smile on your face.

MY RATING - 5

Child's Play (Carmen Posadas)

2009-08-07T15:18:00.007-04:00

As an avid reader of psychological mysteries, I was very excited to read this book. The description on the book jacket and the dark cover with the school uniform-wearing child made it seem like this novel would be The Bad Seed of the modern day.

Luisa, our narrator and bestselling author of mysteries, enrolls her preteen daughter, Elba, in the private school she once attended. On the first day of school, Luisa discovers that her old friend, Sofia, is Elba's teacher. Another friend from long ago, Miguel, is the father of one of Elba's classmates. These three were somehow involved in the death of Miguel's twin, Antonio, many years before.

Elba is a strange character indeed, and the reader never knows quite how to take her. She is entranced with things that a preteen girl has no business being entranced with. Unbelievably, another death occurs in Elba's school that mimics Antonio's. Between understanding the details of these two deaths and keeping track of the advent of Luisa's new novel, the reader can get terribly confused.

This novel was less than enthralling. I found myself only able to read a few pages at a time without having to put it down and take some Tylenol. The paragraphs were entirely too long and riddled with bad metaphors. Comparing a man's pink socks to two cones of raspberry ice cream was too much for me. Posadas is trying to be too literary here and lost what could have been a humdinger of a whodunit.

MY RATING - 1

The Department of Lost and Found (Allison Winn Scotch)

2009-08-03T15:51:00.004-04:00

After reading "Time of My Life" by Scotch a few months ago, I was anxious to get my hands on this, her first book. Scotch manages to take a very serious subject, cancer, and develop a story that is at times touching, at times hilarious, and at times achingly raw. In her book jacket bio, the author says that she lost a close friend to breast cancer and wanted to write a book with a happier ending. She accomplishes what she set out to do, but the reader is not spared any of cancer's wrath in the process.

"The Department of Lost & Found" is the story of Natalie Miller, a ruthless senior adviser to a senator. She will let nothing stand in her way. When she is diagnosed with breast cancer, she tries to continue things as normal, but must face the fact that everything she has must now go into fighting this disease. Along the way, the reader sees cancer for what one can only imagine it is who doesn't have it....merciless. Natalie begins to understand that life is not for settling, and if she is lucky enough to get a second chance, she should live the life she wants to live.

Scotch does not sugarcoat anything, including her main character. There are times when it is very difficult to like Natalie. But aren't there times in everyone's life when we are hard to like, with cancer or without?

MY RATING - 4

The Embers (Hyatt Bass)

2009-07-29T11:45:00.009-04:00

You know a book has you right where it wants you when you just want to get through your ordinary routine of a day to curl up with it. That is "The Embers" in a nutshell. What is so enthralling about the book, however, is not what happens. The plot takes a backseat to the four main characters. "The Embers" is purely a character study, plain and simple.

I am certainly not giving anything away by stating that by page two, the reader knows that one of the four members of the Ascher family is getting married and one has died. Bass alternately juxtaposes the time periods of 1993 and 2007 to tell the stories of the wedding planning and the death. There is very little surprise in the novel and one is not waiting on the edge of the seat to see what happens. You already know what is around the corner.

The reader grows to care about each member of the family, even through all of their faults (and believe me....there are many). I felt happiness for Emily Ascher as her wedding was approaching, but tremendous sadness for Thomas Ascher as his death was imminent.

It is truly hard to believe that this is the debut novel of Hyatt Bass. The prose is at times beautiful and heartwrenching, the cause of laughter and tears. Spend a few days with the Ascher family, and you may appreciate your own just a little bit more.

MY RATING - 5

Dismantled (Jennifer McMahon)

2009-07-26T12:36:00.004-04:00

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jennifer McMahon has the most disturbing covers in the book business.....real pictures of creepy children staring out at you. It's like a whole shelf of "Children of the Corn" and "Village of the Damned" at the bookstore. I told you before that I read "Island of Lost Girls" on vacation and did not want to do anything else but read. I was so anxious to read "Dismantled", McMahon's latest. Wow! It did not disappoint!

One of McMahon's strong points is going between time periods throughout her stories. With a less-talented author, this can be extremely jarring. In "Dismantled", the effect is seamless, alternating between the summer when four people formed the Dismantlers and a decade later, when two of them are unhappily married with child. This child, Emma, is desperate to get her parents back together. One seemingly innocent act sets off a chilling chain of events that will answer the questions about the summer of the Dismantlers.

Part murder mystery, part character study, part ghost story, I can easily see this turned into a movie directed by Hitchcock, if he was alive. The spine-tingling ending will make your heart beat out of your chest.

MY RATING - 5

Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn)

2009-07-23T13:15:00.005-04:00

After reviewing another Flynn novel, "Dark Places", a few posts ago, I was a little hesitant to do another one. Don't get me wrong. Flynn is a very talented author, but you really have to be in the mood for her. Her books are not frivolous beach reads, filled with rich girls shopping and sleeping around to their hearts content. Flynn's novels are dark and messy. The covers are jet black, with one small picture in the middle. I have to say that of the two, I preferred the book I am about to review, "Sharp Objects".

This is the story of Camille Preaker, a Chicago newspaper reporter. Camille is sent back to her hometown in Missouri to report on the murders of two preteen girls. While there, she must deal with family ghosts...a mother who never loved her, a half-sister she has never met, and a sister who died long ago. Her past is not pretty, but she must confront it if she wants to report on the murders and get on with her life.

"Sharp Objects" is hard to put down but not a fun read. Gillian Flynn just needs to go on vacation somewhere and relax to get away from her dark side. I will be reviewing "Twenties Girl" by Sophie Kinsella, the queen of chick lit, very soon! I need to get back into "summer" mode!

MY RATING - 4

Notes From Authors Beatrice Colin and Allison Winn Scotch

2009-07-22T13:25:00.009-04:00

I wanted to share two e-mails I received from Beatrice Colin ("The Glimmer Palace") and New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch ("Time of My Life"). I will share author e-mails as I get permission from them to do so.

RECEIVED FROM ALLISON WINN SCOTCH ON JULY 14, 2009 REGARDING REVIEW

Hi Harper!

Thank you so much! I sincerely appreciate it and am just tickled that you enjoyed it as much as you did! :) Now I'll have to pick up Picoult's newest on your recommendation.

Thanks again!
Allison

RECEIVED FROM BEATRICE COLIN ON JULY 22, 2009 REGARDING REVIEW

Dear Harper

Thanks for the great review! Nice site. My next book, The Songwriter, is published in the UK in March 2010.

With best wishes
Beatrice

Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult)

2009-07-22T11:29:00.006-04:00

Oh, yes....another Picoult book. Get used to it. She is an outstanding writer and deserves every bit of her success. I am in the process of reading "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn, so while I am finishing that, here is another Picoult to devour.

Think about a ripped-from-the-headlines issue that you feel sharply for or sharply against. Picoult takes these issues and, in her "I have no idea how she does it way", makes you see all sides. How can you possibly have even an iota of sympathy for some of the characters in her books? You will....you just wait and see.

What can you do in nineteen minutes? Bake cookies? Dust the bedroom? What can you do that will change everything as you know it? Accidentally fall down the stairs? Jump off a bridge in a fit of despair? "Nineteen Minutes" is the story of a shocking, violent school shooting. Sterling, New Hampshire, is changed forever in nineteen minutes. Once the killer is identified, Picoult makes the reader feel uneasy. What role does society play in tragedies such as these? Most importantly, who has the right to judge anyone else?

MY RATING - 5

Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)

2009-07-20T16:14:00.006-04:00

I stumbled across "Dark Places" one day in the library. It immediately struck me how similar Gillian Flynn's style is to one of my favorite authors, Jennifer McMahon. There is one key difference, however. The reason you cannot stop reading a McMahon novel is because you just have to find out what happens. The reason you cannot stop reading a Flynn novel is quite the opposite. You actually DON'T want to find out what happens, but you are powerless to stop yourself. As the king of macabre, Stephen King, says in a blurb on the jacket of "Sharp Objects" (which I am currently reading and will review in a future post), "I found myself dreading the last thirty pages or so but was helpless to stop turning them."

Let's start with the main character, Libby Day. When she was seven years old, most of her immediate family was murdered in front of her. She testified that her brother, Ben Day, was the killer. Fast forward twenty-five years later. Ben is in prison, and Libby lives off the money she makes from her trust funds. You know Libby is a not-so-nice girl when she regrets new murders that occur because they will take attention away from "her".

The Kill Club, a group of people obsessed with famous crimes, contacts Libby when they become convinced that Ben did not commit the murders. Money-hungry Libby decides that this is her prime opportunity to make more money. She will tell the club what she knows and contact key players in exchange for hefty fees.

Who is the killer? What is the motive? What happened twenty-five years ago? Libby is certainly not a Pollyanna, and she is not a character you will root for. However, you will desperately want to find out the answers to these questions.

MY RATING - 4

Body of Work (Christine Montross)

2009-07-18T12:58:00.008-04:00

I'm going to start with a disclaimer. This book is certainly not for everyone, as the subtitle is "Meditations on Mortality from the Human Anatomy Lab". If you get squeamish easily, then scroll up or down for another review. If one of your favorite television shows is "Dr. G., Medical Examiner", then keep reading.

This work of nonfiction grabs you from the very beginning. Christine Montross (now Dr.) is entering her first year as a med student. She knows that her first class will be Gross Anatomy, and that she will be responsible for dissecting a cadaver throughout the term. She knows nothing about the person she is dissecting.... hopes, dreams, memories, cause of death, family, etc. All she knows is that it is female with no belly button. Therefore, she and her lab partners decide to name her "Eve".

This book is hauntingly beautiful as it explores the making of a doctor. The author intersperses the detachment needed in her lab dissections with stories of mortality in her own family and in other countries. I give this book the highest rating, but again, don't say I didn't warn you.

MY RATING - 5

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (Kate Summerscale)

2009-07-16T12:43:00.006-04:00

Who is Mr. Whicher and what does he have suspicions about? How many out there have ever heard of him? No one? Now how many have heard of Sherlock Holmes? Everyone? Well, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would not have been inspired to write about old Sherlock if not for Mr. Whicher.

Mr. Whicher was a real person living in England in the mid-1800s. In fact, every word of Summerscale's thick book is true. The main thrust of the book is about a horrible crime that occured in an English country house. In 1860, a boy of toddler age was found murdered on the grounds. To make matters worse for the grieving family, suspicion fell on some of the inhabitants of the house, including the nursemaid and the owner's daughter.

To help local law enforcement, Scotland Yard sends its best detective, Mr. Whicher. After just a few weeks, he was sure of who had committed the murder, but could not attain the evidence needed to put the person in jail. In fact, he outraged people in the surrounding land with his, what they deemed, invasion of privacy.

First, I want to say that Summerscale should be applauded for her, obviously, very thorough research of this horrifying murder. The book reads like a novel, which is very hard to do when one is writing a work of nonfiction. When she sticks with the murder investigation, her book is riveting. However, she tries to take on too much when she ventures off into discussing other cases Whicher is investigating and stories about other members of the Kent family. I do not really want to read five pages about William Kent's obsession with coral at 1:30 AM.

I wanted to like this book....I really, really did. In fact, I read late into the night until my eyes closed. Then I realized that my eyes were not closing because I was tired. They were closing because I was bored.

MY RATING - 3 (for effort) and 2 (for keeping interest)

The Little Stranger (Sarah Waters)

2009-07-15T13:14:00.007-04:00

Staying with the theme of "The Thirteenth Tale" (http://1776books.blogspot.com/2009/07/thirteenth-tale-diane-setterfield.html), "The Little Stranger" is a Victorian, English thriller that drips with suspense. We are first introduced to our male narrator, Dr. Faraday, who will competently take us through the story. He is called to Hundreds Hall, which once sang with grandiosity and now is just wasting away, to check on a new patient. Dr. Faraday has a history at Hundreds, as his mother worked there as a maid many years before.

Mrs. Ayers and her two grown children, Caroline and Roderick, own Hundreds and have vastly different opinions of what should be done with it in its ruin. The suspense builds as unexplained happenings begin to abound in the house. Caroline's dog, who has always had the easiest temperament, bites a child. Marks that cannot be explained begin to appear on walls. Fires begin with no cause. These events occur as Dr. Faraday finds himself increasingly entwined with the Ayers family at Hundreds.

"The Little Stranger" is not one of those books that need to be read with the doors locked and the lights on. The reader feels that something is just not quite right and has an eerie sense of foreboding....something is going to happen at some time, but what? Waters keeps the reader guessing throughout as her characters slowly drift into what possibly could be madness.

Don't expect the author to answer all of your questions. If you want to feel satisfied, this is not the book for you. It is purely psychological, and you are left to your own devices to figure things out.

MY RATING - 4

Handle With Care (Jodi Picoult)

2009-07-13T14:23:00.007-04:00

Well, now you will finally be introduced to my absolute obsession with Jodi Picoult's writing style. I started reading her books in the late '90s with "The Pact", and I eagerly look forward to her new title every March. Grisham and Picoult release their new books at about the same time every year. While Grisham used to write very, very thrilling material, he now seems to be following the unfortunate "write junk to make my deadline and more money quickly" protocol (like Patterson). Picoult, however, writes stories of quality every single year. What is so interesting about her is that she makes you have sympathy for characters who you can't believe you can have sympathy for. Picoult writes all of her stories from many different viewpoints. No character is 100% right and no character is 100% wrong.

"Handle With Care" is Picoult's newest. It is so difficult to determine her best, but I believe this is it. Willow is a child with osteogenesis imperfecta, a debilitating disease which makes bones break at the slightest strain. Normal childhood events like going to Disney World and the first day of Kindergarten are magnified 100 times with the possibility that a bone will break. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe are Willow's parents who desperately love their daughter. With mounting medical bills and the accusations of child abuse due to Willow's breaks, the O'Keefes are forced to confront some what-ifs. What if they had known about Willow's disease before she was born? What determines a valuable life?

I will be reviewing many of Picoult's books in this blog, but I wanted to do my favorite first. You will never regret reading one of her books. They will confront you with questions about your own beliefs and fears and will keep you up late into the night. There is a reason why she is on the bestseller lists every year.

MY RATING - 5

Island of Lost Girls (Jennifer McMahon)

2009-07-11T11:13:00.012-04:00

"Alice in Wonderland" was a book that I enjoyed in my childhood, but that somehow creeped me out. There is something very unnatural about someone named the Mad Hatter, who, by the way, will be played by Johnny Depp in an upcoming version (run to your local theater and see "Public Enemies"). While some kids (and adults) just fell into this world with no problem, the analytical side of me did not really want to read about a cat who smiled all the time and about two creatures named Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

McMahon masterfully takes this strange world that Carroll created and inserts it into "Island of Lost Girls". It begins with Rhonda watching, unbelievably, as a six-foot tall person dressed as a rabbit kidnaps a young child.

Feeling guilty about doing nothing, she helps the investigation. McMahon reminds me of Picoult; however, instead of telling the story from different viewpoints, she tells it from different time periods. The book chillingly weaves together the story of the present with the past....Rhonda's best friend, Lizzy, vanished years ago when they were kids.

It will leave you breathless as you try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Don't plan on reading this on vacation, as you will not want to do anything else but read!

MY RATING - 5

A Trip Back In Time

2009-07-10T18:14:00.007-04:00

Who among you has NOT read the Little House books? They are a staple of childhood, and I find myself rereading them now that I….ahem, am not a child. I also absolutely love, love, love the show. I have seen every episode so many times I can recite the dialogue and challenge anyone out there to an online Little House quiz.

My hubby is from the great Midwestern state of Minnesota. This past June, we took a trip to Minneapolis to visit family and friends. No sooner did we hear our first “Ya, ya betcha!” at the airport when I put a bug in his ear that Walnut Grove just happens to be in the state that we are currently standing in. So we loaded up on sunscreen and decided to make the 2 ½ hour trip there in our rental car. For those unfamiliar to the location of Walnut Grove (which I think is pretty much everyone), it is smack in the middle of nowhere. For Little House fans, it is like a mirage when you see the green sign. Some big dorks even pulled over to take a picture of the sign (oh yeah, it was us). We went to a great museum, with artifacts from Laura’s days and memorabilia from the show. I was most excited to see the actual fireplace from the show and Doctor Baker’s bag! The story of Laura’s life is so interesting, and the museum tells it in a very informative way. The teacher in me came out in the one-room schoolhouse when I ordered my husband into the corner.

We then drove to Oleson’s Mercantile. It doesn’t sell any souvenirs, but it sells some nice gifts. The highlight of the trip, however, was going to PLUM CREEK!!!! For $4.00 a carload (entirely on honor system…..gee, Pa, we’re not in Philly anymore), you drive down a long dirt road, park, and walk exactly where Laura walked along Plum Creek. The depression where the Ingalls dugout once stood is there. You can stand on top of it. We waded in the creek. During this trip, I was determined to reenact the opening of the show when the 3 girls run down the hill (even Carrie’s fall). However, there really were no hills to be seen, so my husband videoed me running in slow motion (like Chariots of Fire) on a plain. I even sang the theme song (well, it has no words, so I hummed it). Yes, you are truly meeting the biggest Little House fan.

Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield)

2009-07-09T18:34:00.004-04:00

This is my kind of book…..psychological terror that just drips with suspense. I picked this up a few years ago when it was a feature of the bookstore I was working in. Margaret Lea gets a letter from the most reclusive writer of the day, Vida Winter. Ms. Winter is an elderly, sick woman and wants Margaret to write her life story before she passes away.

As Margaret interviews the writer, she is captivated by her gothic stories. She does not entirely trust Vida’s account, as she has toyed with previous biographers. She decides to investigate the story in her own way, and what she finds is chilling.

This is a long read, but well worth it. Read it on chilly, rainy evenings in October to get the full effect of what Ms. Setterfield wanted.

MY RATING – 5

Time of My Life (Allison Winn Scotch)

2009-07-09T18:32:00.006-04:00

OK….sometimes you just need to zone out in a book and not think. When I saw the cover of this book and read the description, I thought, “Oh great…chick lit.” As I quickly made my way through this however, I realized that there can be really intelligent “chick lit” out there. This is it.

The story revolves around Jillian and her, on the surface, “Good Housekeeping" life…..an executive husband, a baby girl who she adores, an exquisite home in the New York suburbs, and gourmet meals. Never has she felt so “suffocated” and finds herself terribly sad when she hears that her ex-boyfriend has recently married.

Have you ever thought about what would have happened if you had gone down the “road not taken”? Jillian gets her chance and finds herself one day 7 years in the past….no husband, no child, no house in the suburbs, and again with her ex-boyfriend. She has the chance to take this road. Will she?

A thoroughly enjoyable read which comes highly recommended.

MY RATING – 5

The Glimmer Palace (Beatrice Colin)

2009-07-09T18:19:00.005-04:00

Ahh, my favorite genre….historical fiction. I read the first page of this book, closed it, and put it away…not interested. However, I HATE giving up a book when I start it, even when I just read the first page. So I decided to give it another try on the plane to Minnesota. I am so glad l did, as it was one of the best books I have read in a long time.

The Glimmer Palace is set in early 20th century Berlin and includes both world wars. Lilly Nelly Aphrodite was born at the turn of the century and promptly, through unforeseen circumstances, becomes an orphan. Lilly’s life is filled with unforgettable characters who consistently show up throughout the book, from the nun who becomes a mother-figure to her tragic friend. I haven’t read a book in so long that has been as character-driven and plot-driven as this one.

Lilly’s life is exciting yet fated from her first breath. I felt sad when this book ended and would recommend it to anyone at anytime.

MY RATING – 5

Exposed (Alex Kava)

2009-07-09T18:15:00.005-04:00

I am going to start with books that I have read so far in spring/summer 2009. Thereafter, I will keep a running blog as I read. Please send me your suggestions of books that you just could not put down. I want to say that I will read 1,776 books, but I know I have read at least that many in my lifetime, so I’m not going to count. Here goes…….

Exposed is the story of FBI agent Maggie O’Dell and her cohorts. It starts innocently with a box of doughnuts and leads to a murderer with an admiration of past killers (Unabomber, Anthrax Killer, etc.) and the most deadly biological weapon of all….Ebola Zaire. This strain is so deadly that it is called the “slate wiper”. Who will get the virus? Will they live? Who is the killer?

Here’s something you should know about me. I am not the biggest fan of mindnumbing entertainment and frivolity. I prefer to read something that’s going to make me think….psychological thrillers especially. I was able to guess the killer halfway through, and so will you.

MY RATING – 3

1776 Books Rating System

2009-07-09T18:13:00.004-04:00

5=Excellent. I would read it again in a heartbeat.
4=Solid. Worth the time invested.
3=Average. Nothing to write home about.
2=Fair. Consider reading it if it’s the only book in the house.
1=Poor. Don’t read it even if it’s the only book in the house.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning, A Very Good Place to Start

2009-07-09T13:16:00.003-04:00

Books. Books. Books. What immediately comes to mind when you hear that word? Unless you stumbled upon this blog by mistake, you are probably a book lover. Did you read about Ramona's adventures with a flashlight under the covers when you were supposed to be asleep? Did you pray to get through puberty quickly after reading Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? Did you ever think about what you would do if you could become immortal like in Tuck Everlasting? This blog is for all those whose love of books has started in childhood and continues now into adulthood.

So how did this all come about? I am a history teacher from Philly (hence the name, 1776 books….get it?). What do I know about blogging? I am about to let you in on a little secret…..absolutely nothing. In fact, if my students knew that I was writing one they would laugh their heads off. I am, as my brother-in law loves to say, “technologically inept”. But I do love books, and I also found that I love reviewing them. I love to let everyone know when I come across something worth reading.

I have had a few jobs over the years, but at one time, I just needed a break from teaching for awhile. So I decided to try something new. After wracking my brain trying to come up with something to pay the bills, I decided to try to go into public relations. I had worked for many years on the side at a local bookstore as a cashier. I decided to give them a call, and lo and behold, they needed someone to work PR. It was a stressful, but exciting job, as I was the point person for all the famous authors who came to the store (Fun fact….Stephenie Meyer was the nicest person and deserves all her success). Every now and then (Christmas), they needed me to step down from my management position for a few days and help customers. That was where I felt my niche was…..suggesting books to them, writing “Staff Recommendations”, leading book clubs. Now that I am teaching again, I still buy “gold seals” every year. Kids can write a review of books they particularly liked and stick them on a display.

What do I do in my spare time? Read, read, and then read some more….usually 4 or 5 books at once in different genres. I practically live in my local library. I am not one of those who has to buy books, although I will on occasion. I take books everywhere….planes, trains, automobiles, the beach…you name it, I have a book. My spouse runs a blog of his own, so he suggested I think about starting one. After laughing so hard my sides hurt, I began to think. Why not use the fact that I know how to turn a computer on to my advantage?

So what will this blog be about? There will be a little of everything. I read all types of things, so after I finish a book, I will give my opinion of it. No bells and whistles, just good, solid reading. I will rate each book from a 1-5. Why Harper? All readers know why. But let me end with my first shout out to a book….run, don’t walk, and pick up Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. I’m not going to review this one because I read it so long ago, but what a complex relationship between Lee and Capote! A beautiful book!