Lazy summer days

Thank you to all of you who posted to the blog. You have provided us all a great resource from which to choose when we start thinking about summer reading. Some of the books reviewed here might be outside of your normal genre. I don't usually read science fiction, but after a few of these reviews, I think that I am going to do so this summer. I hope you too find a new author, genre, or series that changes the way you think or just makes you smile.

One of the best things about summer reading is, well, that it is summer reading. Sitting down with a book on a warm summer day may be one of the greatest treats summer has to offer. I will leave the book blog up over the summer. It will not be moderated though so please remember to follow some common sense standards of appropriateness and decency in your posts.

Happy reading,

Ms. Farrell :)

Small Changes by: Belinda Yandell

" A remarkable tale of an ordinary housewife who leaves an extraordinary legacy, it reminds us of the true spirit of charity,the lasting effects of poverty,and the tragic self-silencing that limits the richness of far too many lives.""It all started with a single nickle in 1965", as a housewife named Penny Burford takes a nickle from her husband Ron of the change left on the bedroom dresser. She has no idea of why she did it, but she keeps taking coins from Ron's spare change. This didn't matter because he never missed it. Sometime later she starts feeling guilt from taking Ron's coins and keeping it a secret from him, but as the small amount of change collected grew, she began to like having her own money. It gave her the freedom to do whatever she wanted,and she began to realise that "small changes can lead to big changes." Ron was very confused when he saw that there was a check withdrawn with a large amount of money, with only Penny's name on it. He began to wonder how Penny, a housewife who has never worked outside the house come up with so much money. He decided to do some detective work and find out how she did this, and along the way he began to find out more about Penny than he ever knew. Everything he learns about Penny made him austonished and light hearted, because she showed him a different way of life.

Life of Pi A novel by Yann Martel

One boy. One lifeboat. One 450 lbs Bengal tiger.

This is the story of Piscine Patel, a sociable young man in love with bold stories, three religions, and most importantly; his father's zoo.

When Pi is sixteen years old, his family moves from their home in India, across the Pacific to the beautiful shores of North America.

Unfortunately, the Japanese cargo ship, containing the zoo's entire stock of animals, sinks before he can view these stunning beaches.

Alas, Pi finds himself sharing a crowded lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra, and an adult, male, Bengal tiger.

After the tiger slays the 3 other companions, Pi is all alone with the beast.

With only safety-rationed supplies, knowledge, and three religions, Piscine Patel must learn the art of survival. Not on an island, or exiled from home, but floating in a vast ocean on a minuscule lifeboat.

Relying on instinct, fear, and the wisdom of a zookeepers son, Pi attempts to keep himself alive until rescued by men or land.

Life of Pi is a fervent novel containing thoughts on zoos, a life-threatening trans-Pacific sea adventure, and a few comical pages. The more and more you read, the more and more you will fall in love!

Harsh, expressive, tender, dramatic, impassioned, daring, and funny. This is the Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Blogger's note: If you don't get attached to the book right away, or if it just isn't catching your attention, please don't stop! It may not pick up for a while, but when it does, your rating will fly overboard! (pun intended!!!) :)

Boy Kills Man

“An adult is aware of the consequences, he’s likely to hesitate before pulling the trigger, or scale down the hit and just scare the sucker instead. A boy doesn't think like that. You give him a job, he’ll get it done, no question. Why? Because a boy knows the consequences if he doesn't see it through.”

Boy kills Man is a story about two Columbian boys Sonny and Alberto, who are tired of only getting a fraction of what the older guys get for running cigarettes for Galan the owner of the local shop who always says how he’s connected to the Columbian drug lords. One day on the way to work the boys walk into a robbery in progress at Galan’s shop, but the robber pays no attention to them and Alberto beats the man to death, and Galan makes a call. Soon a silver pickup comes and takes the body away, but the men taking away the body were real gangsters the kind that worked for the people who ran the country. It was evident that Galan spoke highly of the two boys to a man called “El Fantasma”, where Alberto got his first actual “job”. He had been given a Smith and Wesson 45 semi-automatic pistol from the boss to hold until he got called. Soon after Alberto started buying expensive things for himself and Sonny. Soon Sonny starts to get tired of receiving gifts for free and wants to go with Alberto on his next job, e was denied by Alberto’s driver but was promised to be taken on the next one. However that would be the last time Alberto and Sonny saw each other ever.


Some time later Sonny is recruited by El Fantasma, and learns what Alberto was doing, killing people that El Fantasma didn't rather fancy. But it pays the bills and got him what he wanted. But exactly how long does Sonny have in this business? Will he share the same fate as Alberto? And what will his family say? Boy kills Man is a book for anyone who loves movies like Scarface, The Godfather, or any other crime movie this book is for you.

Hit and Run

Quin:
Quin had planned out his entire life ahead of him and there was nothing to stop him from it. He was well known be many colleges for his athletic abilities and his entire town knew him by the headlines in newspapers or from his wealthy father. However, when Quin overcomes an accident that will change his future; he must find a way to keep it as a secret before he has to lose his dreams.
Laurie:
Laurie is a freshman at high school and lives with her single mom in an average house. She is not so popular and very quiet unlike her mom, but when she goes on a date with Quin she becomes a witness of the accident on the way home and must find a way to stand up for herself.
Analise:
Analise becomes the victim on her way home from a long night of baby-sitting. She is the only child of her family and they all suffer from her health.
Jeremy:
Jeremy has been in a relationship with Analise for a long time and suffers with her parents about Analise's health. In order to not get worried and carried away, he works harder at his job as a wood crafter and soon realizes he has to carve something for Analize that she will use forever.

These four teenagers had never met before the accident that had caused to scar all of their lives forever. This story is written in four different points of views and has a unique way of sending each other's messages to the reader. Hit and Run by Lurlene McDaniel shows how one person can make a little mistake and make a huge impact toward others. Hit and Run would keep you reading, as many other Lurlene McDaniel's novels, until you are completely finished.

The Sweet Far Thing

The Sweet Far Thing is a fictional story about three girls at an Elite Finishing school in Victorian England. Gemma, Felicity, and Ann, three completely different girls, ban together to conquer the mysteries that surround Spence Academy. With Order and the Raskanaka fast on their tails, the girls work towards finding the magic in the Tree of all Souls and reattaining the order of the realms. Intertwined in the story is a love tale between Katrik and Gemma, uncovering secrets of friends, and the betrayal of family. This is a delightful story in a series of books that will hook you at first sight! Enjoy!

High Heat

High Heat is a young adult fiction novel written by Carl Deuker. The book tells the story of a sophomore student who struggles through family problems and uses the game of baseball as his outlet.
It is the spring of Shane’s sophomore year at Shore Lake High. He is one of the best closers on the baseball team until tragedy hits his family. Shane’s whole life becomes affected by the mistakes his dad made. His father ends up committing suicide to get away from the problems he created. This has only left the family with even more problems to face. Because of the illegal life that Shane’s father led, after his death the government took everything the family owned. This left them poor and homeless. The family ends up having to move from their rich lives into government housing. Due to the family moving, Shane had to quit the team.
Shane is angry inside and finds himself getting into trouble also. He is drinking nightly with friends and steals alcohol from a mini-mart and gets caught. This puts Shane having to do community service and a year of probation. For Shane’s community service he has to do maintenance on the ball field. This makes him remember the days when he used to play ball and makes him want to play again.
Shane tries out for the Whitman high school team. After a few games on the team, he comes up against his former high school. Something terrible happens to Shane. He hits Reese, one of the players up to bat, with the ball and sends him to the hospital. This bothered Shane and he was unable to pitch like himself again. Eventually Shane does return to his old self; however Reese is unable to overcome the fear of being hit again. As the book comes to an end, Shane brings his new team to the championship where he once again faces Reese. Shane strikes him out for the win, and gains a full scholarship to the University of Portland.
This book tells of the hardships of a family and how they triumph over hard times. It shows how a sport can help overcome anger and trouble. If you are a sports fan or an athlete you will love this book. This has been one of my favorite all time books.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

The wind was slightly blowing, and the air was cold and thin, perfect conditions for climbing Everest. As the expedition slowly ascended up the lonely mountain, they realized that for some of them their life long dreams were about to be reached. The climbers in these two expeditions had been training for this moment for years, and some of them had even reached the summit before. But deep down they knew that not everyone that reaches the
Summit makes it back down to base camp at the bottom of the mountain.

Jon Krakauer was climbing with Rob Hall's team along with many other climbers. Once at base camp, he and the others on his team ascend Mt Everest from Base Camp to Camp 4 while the weather worsens with every step. At that point they knew that not all of them would make it down alive.

Into thin Air is the true adventurous memoir of two expeditions of men and women trying to reach that one common goal of touching the summit and making it back down. Written by Jon Krakauer, you are sure to feel as though you can feel those people’s emotions, and connect with the characters. You are sure to cry and when you finish and want to give it a standing ovation as though you watched in a theater. Follow the journey as Jon Krakauer and his team ventures up the dangerous slopes of Mt. Everest … up into thin air.

Prey, by Michael Crichton

“We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so. We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in the future. Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds - and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own.”

The world of nanotechnology comes alive in this science fiction techno thriller The Prey by Michael Crichton. As the world of technology overpowers our culture, fiction takes hold to produce a cutting edge plot to unsettle our dreams of technological paradise.

The Prey takes you on an unexpected adventure into the life of Jack Forman, a stay-at-home dad and unemployed software programmer in Silicon Valley. Jack’s self esteem seems to be at a low point when he suspects his wife is having an affair with one of her coworkers. Suspicious coincidences start to occur when his baby daughter develops a mysterious disease that vanishes after an emergency room MRI test.
Now newly employed at Xymos Corporation, Jack discovers himself in the middle of a nanotech crisis in the heart of the Nevada desert. Jack will face his worst fear as a mysterious swarm of miniature nanobots take over this small remote compound. With the help of a witty geneticist, field biologist and a suspicious team leader, Jack tries to find out about the mystery of this technological swarm before it evolves and humankind becomes its ultimate prey.

Duma Key by Stephen King

"No more than a dark pencil line on a blank page. A horizon line maybe. But also a slot for blackness to pour through..."

A ship sails in from the horizon. Its picturesque beauty serves to enchant and haunt all who behold it. The myriad colours swimming in the Florida sunset seem to shine right through the very hull, giving it the illusion of lightness and transparency. By the beach, watching breathlessly, is an aging man who has never so much as held a blank canvas in his entire life. The sails bellow, but the vessel moves nowhere. The only movement is within the man. Beside him is a small tin box filled with no more than twelve coloured pencils, non of which would do this dream justice. Despite this, he lays pencil to paper and attempts to recreate the scene before him. He succeeds. The ever present rage fades to nothing, and a nagging itch in his right arm finally ceases to torment. And it is indeed a great relief, for that right arm is long since gone. Edgar Freemantle was a developement tycoon until a horrific accident leaves his mind, body, and soul lost and scrambling for a grip on reality. His dwindling mental presence injures his career and family as well, and as things began to spiral downward, he considers suicide. Realizing an "accident" would fool no one at this point, he decides to wait one more year and relax someplace where the past can't touch him.He searches through the many "dream houses" in his realtors file and is charmed by a beachside manor in the Keys named Salmon Point. Call it love at first sight, he dubs it "Big Pink". Edgar flys down as soon as possible, but not before promising his psychiatrist that he will take up a hobby of some sort.

"Edgar, does anything make you happy?"

"I used to sketch."

As it comes out, there is no better place to be an artist than Duma Key, or perhaps no worse place. Edgars drawing abilities accelerate quickly, impressing and frightening those around him. The local art scene finds him to be a novelty. He is, after all, a one-armed painter. To support him is a pair of two fellow handicapped. Wireman, an ex-lawyer turned caretaker for an elderly woman, and Miss Eastlake, former art patron (and in a terrible and distant past, an art prodigy) Edgars haunted and Alzhiemers stricken landlady. All three have suffered terrible injury, yet have gained from it. Miss Eastlake fell from a carriage onto her head at a tender age, and then made a miraculous recovery, becoming not only a living miracle but a wonder to the people surrounding her. Wireman was a successful lawyer and family man, but his happiness ended in tragedy. All that is left of his past is a scar in his temple, marking him as a survivor of the most tragic battle one could fight, the war against oneself. He now understands people in a way they could not have, and in a way he should not. Somehow they were all drawn to Duma Key. Someone watching them decided that they should be blessed and cursed with these gifts. No one truly said these were meant as gifts though. There may very well be a price. As Edgars artisitic talent starts to reveal its darker colours, they begin to realize that they are feeding into something ancient, eternal, and deadly. Is Duma Key really only haunted by the muses of artists past, or was something else inspiring their colorful inward chaos? The talents,powers, or whatever these abilities may be are intended towards some malicious purpose. The maelstrom may wash away what remains of Edgar Freemantles tattered history before it will let its winds die down and all the colours will fade away. Within Edgar is something bigger than he intended to be, and he needs to learn to control it or risk letting it destroy everything he has tried to create.

Into the Wild - by Jon Krakauer

Christopher Johnson McCandless was a talented young man from a wealthy suburb near Washington, D.C. who seemed to have everything going for him. He had a loving family, a college degree with honors from Emory University, a great car, and $25,000 in his savings account. What a great way to start life, right? Well, not for McCandless. Shortly after college, he purposefully turned his back on everything he seemed to have going for him. He lost no time in giving all his money to charity, abandoning his friends and family, and leaving his past life and his personal identity behind. McCandless invented a new life for himself when, in April 1992, hitchhiked to Alaska to attempt to survive and prosper on his own. With nothing but the cloths on his back, McCandless tries to tackle the ruff wilderness and terrain north of Denali. Four months later, a party of hunters found his dead body.
So, why would a young man give all his money, abandon his car, and break away from the civilized world that he was so successful in? That is the question author Jon Krakauer sets out to answer.
This book is a great, action packed, adventure that you won't want to put down. I was on the edge of my chair throughout the entire read. If the thought of trying to survive in The Great Land's most roughest terrain seems interesting, this book is for you.

Into Thin Air is an adventure tale that is based on a true story of the author’s (Jon Krakauer) extremely disastrous ascent of 29,028 foot Mount Everest in 1996. Krakauer was hired by Outdoor Magazine to do an article on Everest so he decided to actually go and climb it with a group of people who were led by experienced climber Rob Hall, a guide for a company called Adventure Consultants.
After the climbing group reached base camp, they began acclimating. To do this, they would climb partway up the mountain to get used to the limited oxygen and then bac down to base camp. It wasn’t until May 6th that the team finally began their first ascent of the mountain. When doing this they set a turnaround time that everyone was supposed to adhere to, whether they reached the summit or not. On their multiple attempts to summit many things went wrong. One of the guides, Andy Harris got hit with a rock while climbing and narrowly escaped death. A climber on another team slipped and fell 70 feet headfirst into a crevasse when he went out to go to the bathroom in the morning. Several of the team members also suffered from altitude sickness. As the teams climbed on, the conditions kept getting more dangerous.
On May 10th, many of the climbers reached the summit. However, in doing this many of them ignored the turnaround time. Because of this the team got caught in a deadly storm. Conditions deteriorated, and this was when disaster struck.
This is a very adventurous, exciting, and suspenseful account of a disastrous expedition. This book gave a brief synopsis of what happened in the first couple of chapters, so the reader would be hooked quickly. If you like to read about action and adventure, then this book is just for you.

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Wine comes cheap to all the residents of Tortilla Flat, California. Every paisano who inhabits the shabby little district above Monterey would agree that wine is a necessity to their way of life, despite the fact that not even themselves nor anyone else could describe to you what “their” way of life is. In fact, wine seems to be the one and only corrupt and pitiful adhesive of the rag-tag town of Tortilla Flat.

Danny is a man whom everyone in Tortilla Flat likes, even though there is not much about him that would keep the interest of many people. Danny is a paisano, a half Hispanic, half American who shows only physical characteristics of the latter. In this respect, Danny is like a great deal of the others who live on Tortilla Flat. Danny, after being discharged from the military, finds himself living in the tall forest that borders Tortilla Flat, stealing food (sometimes still alive), thriving on the hopes and blissful unawareness provided by his gallon of wine.
In his stupor, Danny’s only relative in Tortilla Flat, his grandfather, dies. Danny is left two houses, neither of which he knows what to do with. But, seeing as an opportunity to move out of the forest has arisen, Danny goes out to look at his new property. On his way into town, Danny meets an old friend, Pilon. Pilon is a fellow always trying to better the situation that either he or his fellow men are in. After typical small talk, Danny agrees to rent to Pilon one of his new homes.
Pilon, who, like Danny, has no money, has to come up with rent. Enter Pablo. Pablo, a friend of both Danny and Pilon, begins to live in the rented house along with Pilon. Well, that works out wonderfully until in their drunkenness, Pilon and Pablo burn down Danny’s second house. No worries though. Danny, seeing as how the pressure of collecting his friend’s rent has been relieved, lets Pilon and Pablo move in with him. After some time, the small house of three men adopts and additional three friends, five dogs, and endless amounts of wine.
This is the story of Danny, Pilon, Pablo, Jesus Maria, Pirate, and Big Jo Portugee. “Soft-hearted, unquestioningly loyal to one another, and in complete disregard of social conventions and expectations” this rag-tag band of friends is the perfect compliment to a rag-tag town like Tortilla Flat.
Everyone has read a story and seen a film about someone amazing, someone truly extraordinary. That is why it is imperative to read a book about people who you can believe. “Tortilla Flat” is not a book about the implausible. It is simply a collection of real, believable people, acting in ways that suit their situation. Take a day to read about what could very well be real; a day to read about a common bond that comes to a common end. You may be left disheartened, but regardless, it will not be a wasted day.
When describing the story of Danny and his friends, I find my self using a phrased I’ve coined. That phrase is “blissful poverty,” and only time and a tale can tell you what that means.

Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

"Sarah Vida shivered. The aura of the vampires seeping from the house in front of here was nearly overwhelming."

Sarah Vida is a witch and a vampire hunter; and a loner. Christopher Ravena is a vampire trying to pass as a normal high school student, who wants to know Sarah better. Sarah is drawn to him despite her better judgment. She meets Nikolas, Christopher’s twin and one of the most hunted vampires in history. She doesn't seem to know what to do, the witch side of her says she has to kill Nikolas, but she likes Christopher. What's she to do; kill Nikolas because that's what she is meant for, or keep him alive because she likes Christopher.
Go get it and find out for yourself.

Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O'Nan

"If he never opens, he thinks, they can never close. It's a kid's wish. Whatever happens today, tomorrow the place will be a locked box like the Perkins up the road (and he'll still have to show up in uniform for a few hours and hand out gift cards to the disappointed lunch crowd, as if this was his fault.)"

Manny DeLeon is the dedicated manager of the Red Lobster restaurant on I-9 and across from the mall. Or, at least he is for one more day. The Lobster has had low numbers this past year, and the head office is closing her down. Manny's last shift after ten years of bonding with the Lobster is not going to be easy, especially with members of the unruly staff planning an uprising in order to get home early. As Manny deals with thrifty Splenda-pilfering "cotton-heads," boisterous office parties, and out- of- control kids with oblivious moms, he thinks, waffling back and forth from the waitress he still loves, Jacquie, to Deena, his pregnant girlfriend. He longs for what he never could have had with Jacquie while agonizing over his responsibilities to Deena, the baby, and the perfect Christmas gift.

Stewart O'Nan's Last Night at the Lobster spans the last shift of Manny DeLeon: his longings, his disappointment, his worries, his sadness, and his good intentions, which turned out to not be quite enough after all. This story is real life; there is no hero, no happenstance event to save Manny from the crushing moment when 10:00 pm hits and the shift is over. O'Nan may not have written an epic tale of a man who walked out of the Lobster and ripped open his coat to reveal Superman's trademark "S" on his chest, but this story of an average guy in an average job is compelling, forcing the reader to sympathize with the plights of everyday man instead of wishing for the impossible fantasy of perfection.

The Book of Luke

“ ‘…it has to call guys out on all the crappy things they do. We’re not here to coddle their ego. We’re here to straighten them out, not play Miss Manners…I’m not doing this to be nice, I’m tired of being nice. Now it’s their turn.’ ”

Emily Abbott was the girl in high school voted Girl Most Likely to Be Nice; she was always taught proper manners from her mother. Now her family is breaking apart and Emily, her mother, and her little brother are moving back to Boston after living in Chicago for three years. On top of that, her boyfriend Sean dumped her because of the move. Emily sees the move as an opportunity to transform herself from the polite, proper girl she is always labeled as to a completely new person.

After arriving in Boston and starting back up at Heywood High School, Emily reunites with her two best friends. Together they try to figure out what they should put in the senior class time capsule. A bright idea hits Emily like an oncoming train. The girls decide to create a handbook for guys pointing out all the “Guy Don’ts,” hoping that it will help future girls with their relationships. They came up with “The Guy’s Guide to Girls— A Handbook for the Clueless.”

Anyone could make a guide and hope that it’s helpful, but actually testing it and making sure it is useful is a completely different task. Therefore, the best friends devise a covert operation to test their tips in order to see if they can change the worst of the worst into a good boyfriend, and record the process and results in a notebook. The catch is that the worst of the worst is Emily’s best friend’s ex boyfriend, Luke Preston. This is when the guide became known as “The Book of Luke.”

The Book of Luke by Jenny O’Connell is a wonderful story about friends, relationships, deceit, and the internal conflicts of following what you should do versus doing what your heart tells you to do.

Still Life With Crows by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

“The man strolled into the crowd, which parted silently, and halted ten feet from the sheriff.  The man spoke again, in the mellifluous accent of the deepest South.  ‘The killer works in the blackest night with no moon.  He appears and disappears without a trace.  Are you really so sure, Sheriff Hazen, that he is not from Medicine Creek?’”

Medicine Creek: just another small, dying town in the middle of Cry County, Kansas.  Nobody in Medicine Creek has a last name that starts with the letter ‘A.’  The biggest industry in the area would either be the corn or the turkey-killing plant just down the road.  There’s Smit Ludwig, the owner-reporter of the local paper; Dent Hazen, the sheriff; Corrie Swanson, the town Goth and troublemaker; and now there’s a hacked-up corpse in the middle of a circle in a cornfield.

Sheriff Hazen insists it’s just a single murder, that he and his deputy Tad have a good handle on the case, and that there is no possibility of the killer being a local.  Not two seconds later, FBI Special Agent Pendergast arrives and contradicts everything the Sheriff just declared.

More than a little irritated with the eccentric, black-clad southerner, Hazen reluctantly lets him onto the case—and things quickly take a turn for the worse.  Members of the town have started to disappear, and their bodies turn up the next day under circling clouds of vultures.  Medicine Creek is beginning to come apart at the seams, just on the eve of the arrival of the one thing that may save their town: a field of genetically engineered corn which would either be put in Medicine Creek or Deeper, just down the way….

Meanwhile, bodies continue to pile up.  Without any mode of transportation other than his own two feet, Special Agent Pendergast hires the help of local delinquent and Goth, Corrie Swanson, and her rusted, falling-apart car.  But as one murder after another turns up, Pendergast and Corrie must dig deeper into Medicine Creek’s past—and into the lives of its residents—than anyone has gone before.  Their investigation takes them to the Mounds, three hills just outside of the town itself, and into the strange story of the Forty-Fives, a brutal group of men who ranged Kansas after the Civil War.

But the real story lifts from the perfect circles in the cornfields and the grisly murders, leading Pendergast, Corrie, Sheriff Hazen, and the rest of Medicine Creek down a dark and twisted path that nobody was meant to travel, leading into the screaming blackness of the cave beneath the town… into the lair of the killer they have been trying so hard to catch.

Still Life With Crows is a stunning thrill ride, from its first page to its breathless conclusion, that will hold you in a merciless grip until the last word has been said—leaving you desperate for more.

The Faithful Spy, written by Alex Berenson, is an action packed story about John Wells, the only American CIA agent to ever infiltrate al-Qaeda successfully. During his time as an undercover al-Qaeda member, he moved up in ranks and eventually gained partial trust of the mastermind al-Qaeda leader himself, Omar Khadri. Wells now has orders from Khadri to return to America and lay low until further instructions.
Meanwhile, back at the CIA department in Washington, Jennifer Exley has a creeping suspicion that she hasn't seen the last of John Wells. Just as these thoughts of him go through her mind, she receives a phone call from none other but the John Wells himself. Wells hadn't contacted the CIA in years. Some people thought he was dead, others thought he had turned into "one of them." Now John Wells is back, and nobody trusts him besides Jennifer. What should Wells do? Should he confront the CIA and risk blowing his cover, losing all the respect and trust he has gained since arriving in Afghanistan? Or should he lay low, putting not only his life but Jennifer's life also in harm's way, and follow Khadri's orders until he knows more about "the package?" Rumors about a bomb possibly containing the "Black Death" hidden somewhere in America has minds buzzing. Pick this book up soon to find out what happens in this mind-bottling novel, The Faithful Spy.
"this book is...MIND-BOTTLING!"
-Chris Pace, Reader of the Pack

The Vanishing Moon by Joseph Coulson

The backdrop is World War I, and America is flirting with the prospects of war. Like many other middle class, American families, the Tollmans are blithe and prosperous during the American Industrialization. However, as the summer of 1931 approaches, and the Great Depression looms over hundreds of thousands of starving, unemployed families, Stephen and his family are experiencing the suffering and poverty first hand. As their erratic father loses his job, and their beautiful mother’s eyesight slowly slips away, they are forced to move away from their desolate hometown of Cleveland. Stephen and his family spend a tragic year in a tent surrounded by brittle, broken trees that mock their dreams, and reveal to the young Tollman children that the past is a shadow and aspirations are dangerous.

“Your brother may want something from you… Not yet. But someday he will. He’ll need what you have.” While the country becomes engulfed in the Second World War, Katherine Lennox enters Stephen’s life. She was the manifestation of contemporary women of the war: an exceptional pianist with a black bob, a chain smoking political activist, a revolutionary communist. Despite Katherine’s love for the fair and mild Stephen and his detached affection, his shadowy, rogue brother, Phil, ensnares her. Stephen must step aside as he, once again, slips into his brother’s shadow.

Joseph Coulson’s book leads the reader through a two generation journey from the evocative perspectives of Stephen Tollman, Katherine Lennox, and Phil Tollman’s teenage son. The Vanishing Moon illustrates the triumphs and hardships of those who confront love and war.

Treasures of the North By Tracie Peterson

Tracie Peterson is the author of a series called Yukon Quest and many other Christian series books. The first book in the Yukon Quest series is called Treasures of the North which takes place in the late 1800s. The main character, Grace Hawkins, is a young worry free girl who was brought up by her Nanny and best friend Karen Pierce and her wealthy parents, Myrtle and Fredrick Hawkins. An arranged marriage quickly shatters Grace’s spirit and dreams of someday finding true love. The husband to be, Martin Paxton, is an evil businessman who plans to marry Grace only for his own selfish pleasure because it would give him the ability to get revenge against Grace’s father. He blames Grace’s father for a love affair with his mother and her ultimate death due to sorrow. After Paxton slapped Grace across the face and left bruises, she knew she had to get away. Grace and her mother tried to reason with her father, Fredrick Hawkins, to undo the marriage arrangement, but he wouldn’t listen for fear of his secret love affair being found out. He thought that Martin Paxton would take good care of Grace with his wealth, but Grace knew that Mr. Paxton had a hidden hold on her father that he would not reveal.

Karen Piece was not going to let Grace marry a monster like Martin Paxton and planned to move with Grace to Alaska where Karen’s parents lived as missionaries to the Tlingit natives. Grace, Karen and Grace’s mother planned the trip along with Karen’s Aunt Doris to travel north to get away. With hired actors, Grace was able to escape the nightmare of marrying Martin Paxton, but had to leave her comfortable life and parents behind.

Aunt Doris, Karen and Grace find themselves setting sail for Alaska from the Washington ports and are upon a ship that belongs to Peter Colton. Peter is a man of great pride and wants to save his family’s shipping business. The Alaskan gold rush is providing him with many opportunities for making an income off the gold crazed travelers who need someone to get them to the mines. Grace and Peter form a relationship that Karen does not approve of because Peter’s attitude is one that women are to be seen and not heard. With all that aside, Peter and the three women developed a business relationship selling Peter’s goods he has shipped up to Alaska.

Grace finds a newfound independence in her new life, but misses her mother and father. She hears how Martin Paxton is manipulating her family in an attempt to find out where she is, but Myrtle Hawkins rolls with the punches and doesn’t crack. Martin finds his own way to search for Grace. Grace thinks she is safe tending to business at the goods store until one day, she sees Martin Paxton standing in the doorway. “Good morning, my dear,” smirked Martin.

If you are looking for an easy read filled with adventure and romance, Treasures of the North is a great selection.

So B. It by Sarah Weeks

“ I loved my mother and I knew she loved me too, but if we hadn’t had Bernadette, we’d have been in big trouble. Mama didn’t know things. She didn’t understand numbers at all. She couldn’t tell time or use money or the telephone. She only knew one color, blue, and although she could recognize a few letters, A and S and sometimes H, she couldn’t read, not even her own name. “

Heidi lives in Reno with her mother and their neighbor Bernadette. She has an unbelievable luck at the laundry mat slot machine, when her babysitting money does not cover all of their needs. She does not go to school, and no one works, because her mother is mentally disabled and Bernadette is scared to go outside. . How did Heidi and her mom end up in Reno, living in the apartment next to Bernadette? Bernadette tells Heidi about their mysterious appearance at her door when Heidi was just one week old. Heidi's mother was able to tell Bernadette that her baby's name was Heidi. When asked for her own name, Mama says, "So be it”.

Heidi’s life is happy, but filled with questions about her and her mother‘s past. Where did she and her mother come from before Bernadette found them living in the apartment next door? Why can her mother say only twenty three words? Who is her father? What does her mother mean when she says "soof", this mystery word that nobody is able to define? Heidi feels drawn to find answers to these questions. The truth about her mother's identity eats away at Heidi. She simply cannot rest until she pieces together the clues about her mother’s past. Why is her mother terrified of buses? Why do rainy days make her anxious? When Heidi finds some old photos of her mother at a Christmas party held at Hilltop Home in Liberty, New York, she decides she must travel there alone in order to discover who her mother truly is. This trip is trip of a life time! You do not want to miss it!
This book is a very good book about faith, courage and overcoming hardships. You will learn, that there is always light in the end of the tunnel, even if you do not see it. When you start this book, it is impossible for you to put it away!

Deadline

Ben Wolf is eighteen, a senior in high school, and has year to live. During his physical for cross country running--his doctor found out Ben had a blood disease that was deemed fatal. Rather than go through chemical therapies and perhaps prolong his life a short while longer, Ben Wolf decides to live out his year and go out guns a blazing. First, he decided to forgo his chances at winning in cross country, he, Ben Wolf--a 123 pound man--goes out for football. Putting his body on the line Ben goes for every tackle as if it were his last.

Chris Crutcher's newest novel, "Deadline" is a fascinating look at the what if story and the nature of death and survival. The novel is as always, expertly written. I would highly recommend this novel to any person. This shoud be on every person's reading list. Deadline is a page turner--once you begin you'll never want to put it down.

Fat Kid Rules The World

" I'm a sweating fat kid standing on the edge of the subway platform staring at the tracks. It's Sunday afternoon and I'm standing just over the yellow line trying to decide whether people would laugh if I jumped. Like it or not, apparently there's something funny about fat people. I don't get angry. I just think, What was funny about that? Did my butt jiggle? Did I make the bench creak so that it sounded like a fart? Did I leave an indentation? There's got to be something, right? Right?"

"

These are the first thoughts that enter Troy Billings' mind as he's about to commit suicide by throwing himself in front of an oncoming train. He is seventeen, 296 pounds, and utterly miserable. Constant teasing, disgust, and humiliation from the world sends him spiraling into a dark depression. He finally decides to end it all through suicide. As he stands in front of the tracks, waiting for the F train to arrive, he thinks about his miserable life so far and how even his own brother Dayle said that he wouldn't care if he died or not. He closes his eyes and imaigines the whole scene as it might play out. He pictures the train coming and him plumetting straight down into it's path. He would be splattered except for his left leg, which would be left lying on the platform untouched- a fat, bleeding hunk of raw meat. At that moment, he starts to laugh. Suddenly there's something funny about it. There really is.

"

"You laughing at me?" A voice comes out of nowhere, clearly addressing him. He turns around to find a boy that reminds him of a blond ferret. Stringy unwashed hair and huge eyes, faded jeans, ratty old sweater, shoes that are about to fall apart. As Troy stands confused, the blond ferret stands up and extends a grimy hand. "Curt MacCrae," he says. It is at that moment that Troy decides to pee his pants. Curt MacCrae is a legend in among teenagers and musicians in the city he lives in. He's the only truly homeless, sometimes student, sometimes dropout, punk rock, artist god among them. He's the only one to get into five fights in one day, get the crap beat out of him in all five, and still have everyone's respect. That was not the reason Troy was so starstruck. He was more surprised at the fact that Curt was alive than anything else because he hadn't been seen in more than a year. As Troy is engulfed in his thoughts, a starving Curt interrupts and says, "You owe me lunch." What? "I just saved your life. It's the least you could do." Troy turns to find the train pulling into the station. Not knowing what to do, he takes him to a local diner and buys him lunch. After learning that Troy played drums in junior high school, Curt decides to recruit him as his new drummer- depite the fact that Troy can't play drums. They soon form a band called Rage/Tectonic and together, they will change the world of punk, as well as Troy's own life, forever.

"

Fat Kid Rules The World by K.L. Going is an amazing book on how an unlikely friendship between an extremely obese teenager and a homeless rock god result in the saving of not one, but ultimately two lives. It also gives many of the characters in the book a new perspective on life. This story has its classic ups and downs but the intensity escalates until the very end, when everyone is caught by surprise.

"

If you are interested in 300 pound drummers, homeless/high school dropout guitar legends, or punk rock, then this book is perfect for you. If not, you should still read this book anyway because you will be hooked on the journey of a depressed teenager's journey from a pathetic, suicidal being to a confident drumming machine. I finished this book the first day I got it and knowing me, that's quite an accomplishment. If this book hooked me, than it will definitely hook you too. Troy Billings himself said it best when he declared,

"

" I am the Rocky Balboa of obese drummers."

"

p.s. Please comment on this. Good ones will work best.

Th1rteen R3asons Why

Th1rteen R3easons Why, is Jay Asher's first novel, it was written after Mr. Asher took a tour of a museum, the "guide" was an audio cassette which everyone was listening too, he thought of the voice as "eerie" becuase someone was talking about the stuff he was seeing without actually being there. This museum trip was his foundation for what is now his first captivating novel.

What would you do if you received a box of tapes from a classmate, who, two weeks earlier had committed suicide? Would you listen to the tapes or would you simply push them out of your mind? This is Clay Jensen’s dilemma when he receives a parcel of tapes from a person he is trying to forget. Clay plays a tape and is shocked to hear the voice of his deceased classmate. She explains in the beginning that there is thirteen tapes to explain the thirteen reasons as to why she ended her life. Clay is distraught, he wants to listen but at the same time he is terrified as to what she will say about him. How did he make her do this? Did he do or say something that hurt her? He racks his brains to think of what he could of done, but finds nothing. So, he makes a brave move, and listens to the tapes. What he discovers changes his life forever.

Th1rteen R3asons Why is a tragic tale of teen life, it depicts the life of one girl who put’s up with things that she shouldn’t have suffered and the desperate attempts to rid her self of the pain by ending her own life. Jay Asher writes a thrilling tale of the stories which we only hear about, but could never, or would never think would happen in our community. The novel illustrates how oblivious teenagers can be to their surroundings and how their mistakes can have a snowball affect on other peoples lives.

If you are willing to become engrossed in a book which is not only terrifying to read, but full of truth, I suggest that you go to the library right now to pick it up. Th1rteen R3asons Why will make you look at the bigger picture in life.

Stravaganza: City of Masks

Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and is situated in a lagoon in northeastern Italy. The city is built on water and you get around there only in a gondola. Most famous though is it for the Carneval, people dancing all night in beautiful gowns and their faces covered with the most fantastic masks....

All this goes through Luciens mind as he falls asleep, his red notebook in his hands, hoping for a good night sleep. Unfortunately this is not what is happening, for he finds himself standing in the middle of a grand plazza in a city he thinks looks like Venice in the 16th century...
This is when Luciens nightly adventures start. During the day, he lies in bed, for he has a brain tumor and is getting chemotherapie, and in the night he tranports himself to this whole new world called Talia, a world full of magic, to the city of Bellezza. Lucien becomes Luciano once he arrives there and is the apprentice of Senator Rodolfo, the grandest man in the lagoon and closest friend to the ruling Duchessa. He learns everything he needs to know about his special talent to stravagante between worlds. Accompanied by his new friend Arianna he explores the city and realizes more and more how different both cities are, which become even more clear when his health improves greatly in our world and his parents take him to Venice. But the happiness only lasts a few weeks, for the next appointment with his doctor tell him that the tumor is growing back....
Trying to get over his dissappointment and the false hope he makes a big mistake: He stays longer in Bellezza than he is allowed to, which means that his parents find is body unconscious...

When I first picked up this book I would never had thought that the story of a cancer-striken boy and a rebellious girl would transport me into this world of magic and still give a reaqlly good story, which was not just plain flat and where could not neccessarily foretell the ending.
You should definitely read this book if you are a fantasy fan and just love Venice, for it gives you a good description of the city built on water and it makes you want to get onto the next airplane to Italy. City of Masks is definitely the best book out of the Stravaganza series so far, so don't miss to read it.
All in all I would rate it a 9.5

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold's novel, The Lovely Bones, is a story that follows the perspective of its leading lady, Susie Salmon. With an opening line of, "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973," this opening is sure to gain the popularity of such famous book opens as Moby Dick's, "Call me Ishmael," and Mrs. Dalloway's, "Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself."

Susie Salmon was a fourteen-year old innocent girl who was unabashedly raped and murdered by her pedophile of a neighbor, Mr. Harvey. The novel follows her stay in her heaven, which consists of a gazebo and her middle school, and through her eyes we are able to witness how her family copes with her murder through the years and the whereabouts of her murderer. All that remains of her is her elbow, found by the neighbor's dog, and a charm from her beloved charm bracelet. Susie demonstrates a longing to have life once again when she watches her sister Lindsay's beautiful metamorphosis into a woman. She keeps a keen eye on her school crush Ray and the school's outcast Ruth, who seem to be the only people to sense that Susie is watching them.

As the secondary characters grow and develop, so does Susie. She continues to keep watch on her father's persistent search for her murderer and Mr. Harvey's new claimed victims. The book defies the conventionalities of most murder mysteries in that it is abundant with human emotions and promising characters. If you are searching for a book that is a fun read, yet a literary piece, then I suggest The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

A World out of Time

We are first introduced to Corbell, a man who, due to cancer, was frozen before he died so that he may be reawakened in the future. He was, but not into his body. His mind, once extracted from its previous owner, was injected through memory RNA into the head of a criminal!

After serious training, he is sent into space to change the atmospheres of Venus like planets. This all goes fine, until Corbell gets out of the reach of the State. When this happens, he rockets off into space, towards the Galactic Core, the mass of stars in the center o the Milky Way. During this journey, he is put in stasis, and his ship’s computer acts as the pilot. Unfortunately, when he connects a laser message back to Earth, his checker, Peerssa for the State, beams his own personality into Corbell’s computer.

When the ship pilots itself into the center of the galaxy, and sends Corbell 3 million years into the future, what will happen to the displaced Corbell and his endlessly annoying computer, Peerssa? Will he find Earth, and if he does, what will be left?

I'll tell you what. Not too much. Jupiter has expanded, the sun has turned into a red giant, and the Earth is almost entirely desert. The only humans that survive are ageless children that keep adults in a little isolated building. Since all of civilization is marooned on antarctica (which isn't really that small) there is an incredibly long night during the winter, during which people only survive because of oil pressed from seeds. Also, there are tiny elephants! And the Fountain of Youth! It's about time they found it; it's been 3 million 5 hundred years!

I really liked this book. It was great, and would be fantastic for those of you who like survival, sci-fi, and tiny elephants. Nobody doesn't like tiny elephants.