Finally got out of the house today after many days at home. We woke up on Saturday morning to this:
So what did I do all weekend? Read, read, read. Luckily I had hit the library and stocked myself up. I read a total of 5 books; 1 adult, 1 children's and 3 young adult titles. I enjoyed them all. Just going to touch briefly on each book.
I started with My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.
The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself? (Description from http://www.amazon.com)
My thoughts:
This book was great. A perfect summer teen romance. I loved the Garrett family, every single one of them. The author wrote them all quirky and easy to love. Especially George. And Jase is the boy that every girl wants; a good son, a great brother, a sweet boyfriend. Samantha on the other hand, wasn't my favorite at the beginning, but she did grow on me. So did Tim. Huntley Fitzpatrick really spent some time developing the secondary characters and I enjoyed seeing them grow. I do have two problems with the story. The conflict did not happen until about 3/4 of the way through and I kind of felt it was left unresolved. I also feel that the issue between Samantha and her best friend Nan came out of left field and was also left unresolved. But overall, a good young adult story.
I then moved on to something totally different. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I had previously read Gone Girl and Dark Places and was anxious to read her debut novel.
WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg
Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.
HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle
As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming. (Description from http://www.amazon.com)
My thoughts:
I am a big fan of Gillian Flynn. Her writing is terrific and her her mind is warped. If you are looking for a psychological thriller that will keep you reading and make you say "WHAT THE HELL?" this would be the book.
On to a Young Adult that I have been waiting for! Prodigy by Marie Lu, which is the sequel to Legend.
June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.
It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.
But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong? (Description from http://www.amazon.com)
My thoughts:
Marie Lu totally delivered on this one. Sometimes a second novel in a series is just a filler and just does not go anywhere. This one was filled with loads of conflict. Conflict between Day and June, conflict between The Republic, the Patriots and the Colonies. It was one of those novels where you had to pay attention to every detail (well, at least I did) so you can understand exactly who is on what side of this political conflict. Just when you think you have it straight in your head, something will change. And the ending. Ugh! How long until the next book?
Then I read Girl of Nightmares, which is the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake which I reviewed here. Being that I just read Anna a week or so ago, everything was still really fresh in my mind. That makes me happy.
It's been months since the ghost of Anna
Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it,
but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor. (Description from http://www.amazon.com)
My thoughts:
The last book I finished was something that some of my librarian friends had been talking about and I just happened to find a copy on the shelf. I was surprised to find it, as it had just been announced as a Newbery 2013 Honor Book. This might have been my favorite book of the five that I read. Although I am a trained Children's Librarian, I read far less juvenile fiction than I should. Sometimes it seems well, a little juvenile, and it takes a special book to get me excited to read some kid's fiction again. This was one of them! Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage.
A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.
Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee. (Description from http://www.amazon.com)
My thoughts:
This book was delightful. It was so well-written. The book has heart. I loved, loved, loved the characters, the plot and the pacing. It made me laugh out loud. While funny and heartwarming, it did deal with some tough issues (alcoholism, domestic abuse and abandonment). Parents and kids will enjoy it. I keep raving about it to my boys and hope that they will pick it up. I love talking about books with my kids!
Happy reading!
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