January 2012
"Outside the Lines" by Amy Hatvany
I originally thought that this book was a biography. The characters were so realistic and the plot line was engaging and fascinating. The book jumps back in forth in time, following Eden when she was ten years old and was coping with her father's (David), growing mental illness. Twenty years later it shows Eden running a catering company with dreams of finding the father she hasn't heard from since a suicide attempt when she was almost eleven. As the story jumps back in time it also shows David's point of view as he deteriorates mentally, tries to hold himself together and ultimately fails. I couldn't put this book down. I was very invested in the characters and found myself rooting for Eden as she searched for her dad. Overall, I highly recommend this book.
"Juliette Gordon Low" by Stacy A. Cordery
Juliette Gordon Low is most famously known as the founder of the Girl Scouts. Born in Savannah right before the civil war, she was known as Crazy Daisy, a precocious child who defied conventional rules and wisdom. Vowing never to marry, she fell in love with an English aristocrat and moved across the sea. After realizing her husband was a wastrel and adulterer, she began divorce proceedings, only to have him die due to his bad health and excesses. After meeting Robert Baden-Powell, she became enthralled with the Boy Scouts and helped organize the Girl Guides in England. After returning to Savannah she began the Girl Scouts and dedicated her life to enriching girls lives.
I found the book interesting, yet at times it seemed too long. It read as a history book with lots of facts and dates. I would have enjoyed a more story-type book. But overall I found it to be well written and engaging.
"The Book of Jonas" by Stephen Dau
I'm not quite sure how to describe this book. It is about a young boy who survived a military raid on his hometown. The boy was helped by a soldier named Christopher, and then sent to America, where he lived with a foster family. The book shows his point of view through sessions with his therapist and scenes showing his life in America. The book also has diary entries of Christopher, as he participates in the military raid on Jonas' hometown. Towards the end of the book it also shows Rose, Christopher's mother, who has dedicated her life to helping military families and finding out why her son never returned home.
I couldn't put this book down. I found it fascinating and extremely enjoyable to read about. The ending shocked me, yet looking back it shouldn't have. Overall, I highly recommend this book.
"Moonlight on Linoleum" by Terry Helwig
Terry's mother married young, divorced multiple times and had five girls during the 1950's and 1960's. The family often moved around and at times the girls were separated and left behind with a variety of relatives. As the oldest, Terry became her mother's helper and at times was the mother figure in her sister's lives.
This book was extremely well written. At times I wanted to shake Terry's mother and take away all of the children. At other times I marveled at Terry's resourcefulness and ability to be the support and role model for her sisters. Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in biographies and memoirs.
"Laugh with the Moon" by Shana Burg
After the death of her mother, Clare's dad drags her across the world to a remote African village for three months. While her dad works at the local hospital, Clares attends the village school, where she meets and befriends a girl named Memory. At first Clare is angry about the trip but as she becomes involved with the villagers she gradually accepts and begins to love their way of life.
Overall, I was highly impressed with this book. The plot moved very swiftly and I could feel the changes in Clare as the book progressed. Clare's attitude and demeanor seemed dead-on for a teenage girl. I think many teenagers would enjoy reading this book. It shows a world and way of life that American's rarely get to experience.
"Erebos" by Ursula Poznanski
This is one of those books that I stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish. I just couldn't put it down. It follows 16 year old Nick as he receives a mysterious computer game named Erebos. The game is a role-playing adventure game and has the characters perform a variety of quests and activities. However, the game starts having the characters commit a variety of acts in real life, which soon turns deadly.
Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. I found that it was well written, the pace kept me turning pages all night long. I think this would be a great book for teenagers and young adults who are interested in gaming to read, as it explores the darker side of computer games.
"River's Call" by Melody Carlson
This is actually the second book in a trilogy. I read this book without having read the first. Anna Larson has made her home on the river and with the help of her husband has started a B&B type inn. The book takes place over a long time period beginning when her daughter Lauren drops out of college to marry the father of her child. Lauren and Anna have a difficult relationship and Anna rarely gets to see her granddaughter.
I did enjoy reading this book; however I felt that at times it skipped around too much. The author would jump ahead years into the future and then give detailed descriptions of certain slices of time. I found this a bit disjointed and would have preferred a smoother time line. I did feel that I knew enough about the characters without reading the first book and felt that it was a complete story without reading the rest of the trilogy. Overall, not a bad read.
"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
This is the third and final book of the Hunger Games series. It follows Katniss after she and some of her competitors have been rescued from the arena by members of District 13. While I don't want to give anything away, I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked a few more chapters to resolve matters rather than the rushed way it appeared. Overall, I thought this was a good conclusion to the series and highly recommend the books.
"Michael Belmont and the Tomb of Anubis" by Ethan Russell Erway
The book begins when Michael is sent to Scotland to stay which his friend Liam while their parents conduct research at an ancient Egyptian site. When the boys discover that their parents have disappeared they began their own journey.
I don't wish to give this book a bad review. Although the book did not appeal to me, I believe that it would appeal to pre-teen boys. The book itself was well written, the plot lined seemed to be engaging and well developed. Even though I (a thirty-year old woman) did not enjoy the book but I believe that a large audience will.
"December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World" by Craig Shirley
This book was written from day-to-day relating the newspaper articles published on each day. A lot of sporting events were covered for each day, which I found to be a bit boring. It also seemed that it took several days for Pearl Harbor to be featured in the book. I also thought the book had a lot of typos and spelling mistakes. After reading the description of the book I thought that it had some promise however, I was not impressed with it.
"Two Rings: A Story of Love and War" by Werber and Keller
As a Jew in 1941 Poland, Millie made the difficult choice to survive by working in an armaments factory near the Radom Ghetto. Despite the horrendous circumstances and physically demanding labor, Millie managed to meet and fall in love with a Henreich, a Jewish policeman. Shortly after they were married he was betrayed and led out of the factory. Millie never saw him again. Left with a single photograph and their wedding rings, Millie survives a hellish time in Auschwitz and a second factory before she was liberated. Not only a story of love and family, this is also a story of hidden strength and a young girl coming-of-age. I thought the story was heart breakingly beautiful. It is a monument to love and what one can endure. Overall, I highly recommend this book.