Book Review - Only the Truth by Pat Brown

From Goodreads:

Harkening back to the writing styles and small town settings of the earlier American authors – John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, and Carson McCullers - "Only the Truth" is a psychological mystery with as many twists as the country road leading to the humble home of Billy Ray Hutchins, a lonely uneducated man living in the hills of Arkansas. Life changes little for him from day to day until he brings home a young drifter he meets at the railroad tracks, the mysterious Charlene, whose last name he never asks. He becomes her Sweet Billy Ray and his love for Charlene is steady and uncomplicated until the sheriff shows up to take her away in handcuffs. With the only woman he has ever loved behind bars for cold-bloodedly murdering the old man across the road, a confused and devastated Billy Ray sets out on a quest to find the truth, only the truth, whether it leads him to be able to save his Charlene from a death sentence or it frees him from her spell.

My Thoughts:

This story was a pleasant surprise! I was immediately drawn into Billy Ray Hutchin's simple yet somewhat difficult life. He was a loner, could not read, had a menial job cleaning the streets of Whitford Glen, Arkansas and basically kept to himself, not having any family left. Then he meets Charlene. He is instantly drawn to her...this quiet girl who has many secrets of her own....that she is not telling.
The story has such a surprise ending....I didn't see it coming! My rating is 5 Bunnies! Recommended!

Book Review - The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate

From Goodreads:

Propelled by an insurmountable sense of desperation, Stevie Burke is recklessly abandoning home, husband, and outwardly contented life under cover of night; at last resigned to defeat in her long battle against the tortured memories of her past.

Days later, lost and floundering in a dreary motel room without plan or destination, it is a long ago song playing on the radio that gently tugs Stevie back through the dust of remembrance. 1957 - The last summer spent at the ancient house overlooking the North Atlantic. A season which had unfolded with abundant promise, but then spiraled horribly out of control - torn apart by a shattering tragedy that remains splintered in fragments upon her soul. And it is only now, when Stevie at last lifts her eyes to stare deep into the heart of her long sequestered memories, that the long held secrets of past and future are at last unveiled.

My Thoughts:

This was one of those books that I devoured.....I thought about it when I wasn't reading it, and could not wait to get home from work to continue reading it. The story keeps a good pace, the characters are very likable, and the story line is great. I also liked the time period it was set in....the late 50's - 60's. I didn't want it to end! I will be keeping my eye out for more books by Barbara Forte Abate ~ The Secret of Lies gets 5 Bunnies!!

~Short Reviews~

I'm still here....lots of personal problems right now that seem to be trying to take over my life. I am doing my best to not let them take over. It is exhausting, to say the least.

I have read a couple of books since my last post....here are their short reviews:

The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell

Zombies have infested a fallen America. A young girl named Temple is on the run. Haunted by her past and pursued by a killer, Temple is surrounded by death and danger, hoping to be set free.

For twenty-five years, civilization has survived in meager enclaves, guarded against a plague of the dead. Temple wanders this blighted landscape, keeping to herself and keeping her demons inside her heart. She can't remember a time before the zombies, but she does remember an old man who took her in and the younger brother she cared for until the tragedy that set her on a personal journey toward redemption. Moving back and forth between the insulated remnants of society and the brutal frontier beyond, Temple must decide where ultimately to make a home and find the salvation she seeks.

My Thoughts:

I received this book from a Secret Santa....it is definitely not the type of book that I would have chosen for myself. I really liked it!! I was so surprised. I think what held my interest most was the main character...a fifteen year old girl named Temple. She was one tough little cookie, and could really kick some zombie ass. Along in her journey from Florida towards the west coast, she meets a variety of non-meatskins (normal people) a colorful cast of characters that are for the most part, likable. If you are a Zombie novel fan, then I recommend this one.

Very Good!!!

Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz

High atop Hathorne Hill, near Boston, sits Danvers State Hospital. Built in 1878 and closed in 1992, this abandoned mental institution is rumored to be the birthplace of the lobotomy. On the eve of the hospital’s demolition, six teens break in to spend the night and film a movie about their experiences. For Derik, it’s an opportunity to win a filmmaking contest and save himself from a future of flipping burgers at his parents’ diner. For the others, it’s a chance to be on TV, or a night with no parents. But what starts as a dare quickly escalates into a nightmare. Behind the crumbling walls, down every dark passageway, and in each deserted room, they will unravel the mysteries of those who once lived there and the spirits who still might.

My Thoughts:

I wish I could say that I liked this but it was a big disappointment for me. I was prepared to be really spooked by this creepy-sounding novel of 6 teens who spend the night at the old abandoned Danvers Mental Hospital one week before it is to be demolished. The premise of this book definitely did not deliver what I expected. To be fair, it is a YA Novel, so maybe that explains the "teeny-bopperish" atmosphere of the story. Like I said, I was expecting more. If you want to be truly scared....I recommend the movie Session 9. It is also about Danvers, and I promise this movie really delivers. Sorry, Project 17 -

Do Not Recommend

Review - Sweet Fire by Pat MacEnulty

From Goodreads:

"While most people Trish's age are listening to Led Zeppelin and watching Starsky and Hutch on TV, Trish spends the 1970s stealing and cheating to score. Heroin, pharmaceuticals, whatever's available. She travels from Florida to California and Mexico, hustling all the way, and always in the company of the wrong kind of men, whom she attracts wherever she goes. There's not a rehab unit in the country that hasn't thrown her out at least once." With her habit spiralling out of control, it won't be long before Trish hits rock bottom. How low will Trish have to go before she can find the courage to fight her way free of her spiral of self-destruction?

My Thoughts:

I genuinely liked Trish in this fictional novel that reads like a memoir. Trish becomes addicted to heroin at a young age, and by the time she turns nineteen, she is in prison.

Trish's life is a difficult one. She grows up without a father, and always wonders who and where he is. Her mom is a composer and concert violinist, and travels all over the country. Trish is particularly close to her older brother. But when he leaves home, she is on her own. As Trish begins to come-of-age, she takes up with a different crowd, and happens to find the one thing that makes her life a little less painful....a sweet blissful escape....drugs.

I couldn't put this book down, and hated to do so when my lunch hour was up, or it was time to go to bed. Pat writes with her heart, and I believe that Sweet Fire is loosely based on her life, growing up in Jacksonville, FL.

I have one of her other novels waiting for me on my TBR shelf, and I can't wait to get started on it.

Please visit www.patmacenulty.org.

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852424559
• ISBN-13: 978-1852424558

Pretty Little Things by Jillian Hoffman

From Goodreads:

Special Agent Bobby Dees knows what grief feels like. He understands the pain of losing a child. And he'll do whatever he can to prevent it from happening again. The phone call that comes on a Sunday morning will take him away from his insular world of grief and sleepless nights - and into a far darker place. A young girl, Elaine Emerson, has gone missing and only Dees has a chance of finding her.It seems that Elaine was last seen waiting to meet her boyfriend - a mysterious figure she met secretly on the internet, who goes by the name of "El Capitan", and whose reality is as cruel and chilling as the worst thing Dees can imagine.


My Thoughts:

I loved Retribution and Last Witness....Pretty Little Things rates right up there with them. I finished this book in 2 days, was unable to put it down. Fast-paced and daring, it kept me guessing until the very end. I love Jillian Hoffman's writing, and I look forward to reading many more of her novels... I hope that she keeps them coming!



Very Good!

The Girl from Charnelle by K.L. Cook

From Goodreads:

It's 1960 in the Panhandle town of Charnelle, Texas—a year and a half since sixteen-year-old Laura Tate's mother boarded a bus and mysteriously disappeared. Assuming responsibility for the Tate household, Laura cares for her father and three brothers and outwardly maintains a sense of calm. But her balance is upset and the repercussions of her family's struggles are revealed when a chance encounter with a married man leads Laura into a complicated relationship for which she is unprepared. As Kennedy battles Nixon for the White House, Laura must navigate complex emotional terrain and choose whether she, too, will flee Charnelle.

A heartfelt portrait of a young woman's reckoning with the paradoxes of love—eloquent, tender, and heart-wrenching—K. L. Cook's unforgettable debut novel marks the arrival of a significant new voice in American fiction.

My Thoughts:

I was surprised to learn that the author of this book, K.L. Cook, was a man. The story is told from a 16 year old girl's point of view, and he does an excellent job with it. This is the bittersweet story of a young girl growing up in the Texas panhandle in the early 1960's, who falls in love with a married man almost twice her age. A chance encounter brings them together on New Years Eve, 1959, and as that decade ends and a new one begins, they begin an affair that neither one of them could imagine the course that it would take. Laura's life at home is not one of a normal teenage girl, as she has taken on the roll of mother and caretaker to her brothers and her father, after her mother leaves one day, and never comes back. Dealing with the emotional shock from losing her mother and wanting to feel loved and appreciated, the affair that she has with John Letig fills the void of loneliness and loss for her. As anticipated, no affair can end without heartache and grief. Neither one of them is prepared for what the future brings.

Very Good!

After River by Donna Milner

From Amazon.com:

Before River, everything was perfect. . . .

Growing up on a Canadian dairy farm less than two miles from the American border, fifteen-year-old Natalie Ward knows little of the outside world. But her loving, close-knit family is the envy of young and old alike in the nearby town of Atwood. Natalie adores her three brothers—especially Boyer, the eldest, whom she idolizes. But everything changes one hot July afternoon in 1966 when a long-haired stranger appears at their door—a soft-spoken American, a Vietnam War resister, who will test the family's morals and beliefs, and set in motion catastrophic events that will shatter Natalie's relationships with those she most dearly loves.

My Thoughts:

I didn't want this story to end. This is a beautiful coming-of-age story about Natalie, who lives on a dairy farm with her family in beautiful British Colombia in the 1960's. She is closest to her older brother, Boyer, whose love for knowledge and books mirrors her own. When a stranger shows up one summer day in 1966, Natalie's secure life is turned upside down, with feelings and emotions that she has never had before. The whole Ward family is taken with the stranger, and for awhile, things were good.

The story is narrated by Natalie as an adult, who is preparing to return home to Atwood, to her mother's bedside. She is dying of lung cancer. I was not disappointed in the end of After River...in fact, I felt at peace.

Outstanding!!

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061462993

I loved this story so much, I'd like to share it with YOU! I'm giving away my gently used copy of After River! To enter, please leave a comment below. Let me know if you are a new follower (1 extra point) and old follower (2 extra points) and if you blogged or tweeted about my giveaway ( 1 extra point). Giveaway ends on Thursday, July 7, 2011. I will announce the winner on Friday, July 8th. Good Luck!

Leftovers by Laura Weiss

From Goodreads:

A devastating novel of desperation and revenge from one of today's most compelling new voices in fiction. In this follow-up to her heartbreaking debut, Such a Pretty Girl, Laura Wiess once again spins a shattering tale of the tragedies that befall young women who are considered society's Leftovers.

Blair and Ardith are best friends who have committed an unforgivable act in the name of love and justice. But in order to understand what could drive two young women to such extreme measures, first you'll have to understand why. You'll have to listen as they describe parents who are alternately absent and smothering, classmates who mock and shun anyone different, and young men who are allowed to hurt and dominate without consequence. You will have to learn what it's like to be a teenage girl who locks her bedroom door at night, who has been written off by the adults around her as damaged goods. A girl who has no one to trust except the one person she's forbidden to see. You'll have to understand what it's really like to be forgotten and abandoned in America today.

Are you ready?

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this story about two best friends with very dysfunctional families. Blair's parents are very well to do, and are never there for her....physically or emotionally. Ardith's parents are party animals, who behave just as badly as the teenagers that hang out at their house, partying by the pool. Blair and Ardith have no one, except each other. When their relationship becomes comprised, the girls must figure out a way to conquer the obstacles in their way that threaten to ruin their friendship for good.

Paperback, 256 pages

Published January 1st 2008 by Simon Spotlight Entertainment

more details...

ISBN

1416546626 (ISBN13: 9781416546627)

Outstanding!

~Review and Giveaway~ Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers~

From Goodreads:

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be .


My Thoughts:

I found myself gasping out loud more than several times while reading Some Girls Are. Wow....talk about a group of MEAN girls, these gals take the cake. I felt so sorry for Regina, who deserved none of the treatment that she was getting from Anna and her crew of meanies. Having been bullied in school, I could relate to a lot of what she was going through, especially the dread of going to school on the mornings after something particularly bad had happened the night before. I love Courtney Summers writing style! I was drawn into the story, and felt as if I knew Regina personally. I am looking forward to reading Ms. Summer's other books ~ They're already on my wish list!

I am giving away my gently used copy of Some Girls Are! Please leave me a comment to enter the giveaway. If you become a New Follower, you will get an extra entry. If you are an Old Follower, you will get two extra entries. Blog or Tweet about my giveaway, you will also get an extra entry.


Please let me know in your comment if you are a new or old follower, and if you have blogged or tweeted about my giveaway....and please be sure to leave an email address where I can contact you if you win.


Winners will be chosen by Random.org on June 24, 2011.

Thanks and Good Luck!

~Book Review - Ghellow Road by T.H. Waters~

From Amazon.com:

Ghellow Road is a literary diary of a young girl's journey through the tangled labyrinth that is her life. Theresa's story begins in a large midwestern city where she is born to loving parents in 1965. For a brief moment in time, her life is full, as is her heart, and the world is hers to receive without consequence. As time passes and Theresa grows, supernatural forces begin to shape her existence, no matter how carefully her father colors the empty spaces of her world. After a series of tragic events, Theresa and her family seek refuge in a small Minnesota town nestled near the shores of Rainy Lake. She creates a new life for herself there, sharing adventures with friends and riding the ups and downs of adolescence. Yet through it all, her mother remains forever lost in the prison of her own mind and forever lost to Theresa. The young girl feels as though she is leading a double life, one that no one else could possibly understand. She begins to peer at the world as if looking through a thick, black veil, never certain which pieces are illusion and which are not. Through the kindness and support of the townspeople, She eventually summons the strength to survive. This is a story of tragedy and triumph. This is the story of my life.

My Thoughts:

I have a fondness of memoirs. I have read some that have been pretty raw and gritty, heart-breaking and mind boggling....but....I have never read one quite like Ghellow Road. Others have skimmed the surface, where Ghellow Road digs deep down into itself, and fleshes out the story of the life of Theresa Waters and her troubled family when she was a teenager, during the 70's and 80's.

She was a happy-go-lucky child, who was a "Daddy's Girl" and enjoyed living and growing up in her hometown of Minneapolis, MN. Her mother always seemed to be floating adrift in her moods, and became depressed easily. Her father was more grounded, and Theresa and her older brother looked to him for guidance and support.

When her father is suddenly gone, Theresa and her brother are thrown head-first into their mother's world of depression and schizophrenia. They are shuffled about, sent to live in foster homes, all the while wondering what they had done wrong, and why didn't their mother want them?

As time progressed, Theresa would shuffle back and forth between her mother's home, and relatives' homes. She was a teenager, and just wanted to fit it, have friends, have a boyfriend. My heart broke for her, especially when a boy she had a crush on hurt her feelings openly. It brought back many memories of MY own junior high school days. She and I shared similar junior high experiences.

Throughout the story, I held my breath, wondering when and if things were ever going to settle down for Theresa. Would she have a secure home? Would her mom get treated for her mental illness and be a real mother to her? Would she ever feel accepted? I yearned for "normal-ness" for her.

Ghellow Road is a painful and honest account of Theresa's life, and I applaud her for being able to pen her story for the world to read. To quote her, I admire her for being able to finally "Live Out Loud".

• Paperback: 302 pages
• Publisher: Verefor Publishing Company LLC (October 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982893116
• ISBN-13: 978-0982893111

Outstanding!

*a BIG hug and Thank You to Theresa for contacting me, and giving me the opportunity to read and review her story ~ Theresa, you are awesome*

~Book Review - How It Ends by Laura Wiess~

From Goodreads:

All Hanna's wanted since sophomore year is Seth. She's gone out with other guys, even gained a rep for being a flirt, all the while hoping cool, guitar-playing Seth will choose her. Then she gets him -- but their relationship is hurtful, stormy and critical, not at all what Hanna thinks a perfect love should be. Bewildered by Seth's treatment of her and in need of understanding, Hanna decides to fulfill her school's community service requirement by spending time with Helen, her terminally ill neighbor, who she's turned to for comfort and wisdom throughout her life. But illness has changed Helen into someone Hanna hardly knows, and her home is not the refuge it once was. Feeling more alone than ever, Hanna gets drawn into an audiobook the older woman is listening to, a fierce, unsettling love story of passion, sacrifice, and devotion. Hanna's fascinated by the idea that such all-encompassing love can truly exist, and without her even realizing it, the story begins to change her.

Until the day when the story becomes all too real...and Hanna's world is spun off its axis by its shattering, irrevocable conclusion.

My Thoughts:

How It Ends has been sitting on my shelf for months, so I am not sure what inspired me to pluck it off of the shelf Thursday evening....from the first page I was captivated. I totally connected with Hanna, and felt her anguish over longing for Seth. She envisioned them together as a couple, and it was idyllic. In reality, Seth was a hurtful, selfish jerk and unfortunately Hanna found this out on a very personal level. What she thought was going to be a loving relationship with him, turned into a heart-breaking situation for her. That, coupled with losing her special relationship with her Gran (her neighbor Helen) was almost too much for her to bear.

She called Helen "Gran" because they had been close since she was a tiny girl. Helen had looked after Hanna, while her parents worked at sorting things out in their marriage. Helen's house became a refuge for Hanna, and they had shared many special hours together.

You sidled close and touched my hand. "Are you going away too?" "Oh sweetheart, no," I said, and in that heartbeat the bond was formed, the promise made, and the emptiness inside of me was filled with the rush to comfort and protect, to earn this trust you put in me, ME, no blood relation, The Grandma Helen a courtesy title given by your parents to the childless lady in the neighboring farmhouse with a passion for books, stray cats and hungry deer, who fed the birds and loved a creaky old man named Lon who sang Beatles' songs and still had shoulders strong enough for a little girl's piggyback rides. "No, Hanna. Wild horses couldn't drag me away." pg 2

So when Helen's health begins to decline, Hanna doesn't want to face the fact that Helen will not be around forever. Hanna must complete 60 hours of Community Service as part of her school work, so she asks her guidance counselor if she would be able to take care of Helen each day after school. What is terribly sad, is that as a child, she had spent almost every day with Helen. Now, as a teenager, it had been years since her daily visits with her. Hanna was not prepared for what was in store for her.

Helen had begun listening to books on tape. Hanna began listening to them daily, while visiting with her. She is drawn into "How It Ends"....the audio book that Helen is currently listening to. And with each new chapter, Hanna becomes more emotionally involved in the story.

How It Ends is an emotional roller-coaster ride story.....filled with love, sadness, and realization that life can be painful and beautiful at the same time~


"Stay Gran," I said and I wanted it to be an order but it came out a plea. "I need you. I do." I didn't even try to stop the tears. "Who am I going to talk to if you go? You said that you would never leave me, Gran. You said so. Please stay." pg 317

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: MTV; Original edition (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781416546634

Very Good!

Book Review ~ Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen~

From Goodreads:

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

My Thoughts:

This is another novel that I was hesitant to read, due to all of the hype. When I started seeing the movie previews on TV, I picked the book up and began to read.....and hated to put it down. What a wonderful, engaging story! I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Jacob tugged at my heartstrings, especially the scenes of him in the nursing home. There were characters that I hated in the beginning, but grew to love toward the end. And, of course, there was Rosie the Elephant. I loved her the most, I think. This novel is also filled with real photos from circus's past. I found it to be a very memorable read....and I am listing it as one of my top reads of 2011. If you haven't read it yet, you need to! You're missing out on a five star story!

ISBN

1565125606 (ISBN13: 9781565125605)

www.saragruen.com

Outstanding!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love

My Thoughts:

This is a book that I did not think I would ever read, let alone enjoy. When I found a paperback copy of it at TJ Maxx awhile back, I picked it up, thinking....."maybe I'll save this for a rainy day." Saturday morning, after steam-cleaning my carpets, I decided to curl up with a book for the rest of the day. It was overcast and the weather people were calling for storms, so I browsed my shelves, and picked up The Hunger Games. Awesome choice! I read for the rest of the day, during tornado warnings (we are all fine....luckily the tornado missed Garner but did unfortunately hit downtown Raleigh, NC) and finished it yesterday. I was surprised at how much I loved this story! This week I will be looking for Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I am glad that I finally read this book. I know that I am probably one of the only bloggers left that had not read it....I am not one to give into a lot of hype over a book. I'm glad that I had put this one away for a rainy day....it was well worth it!

Highly Recommended!



Outstanding!

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

From Goodreads:

Jude Farraday is a happily married, stay-at-home mom who puts everyone’s needs above her own. Her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill enters their lives, no one is more supportive than Jude. A former foster child with a dark past, Lexi quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable. But senior year of high school brings unexpected dangers and one night, Jude’s worst fears are confirmed: there is an accident. In an instant, her idyllic life is shattered and her close-knit community is torn apart. People and Jude demand justice, and when the finger of blame is pointed, it lands solely on eighteen-year-old Lexi Baill. In a heartbeat, their love for each other will be shattered, the family broken. Lexi gives up everything that matters to her the boy she loves, her place in the family, the best friend she ever had while Jude loses even more. When Lexi returns, older and wiser, she demands a reckoning. Long buried feelings will rise again, and Jude will finally have to face the woman she has become. She must decide whether to remain broken or try to forgive both Lexi…and herself. Night Road is a vivid, emotionally complex novel that raises profound questions about motherhood, loss, identity, and forgiveness. It is an exquisite, heartbreaking novel that speaks to women everywhere about the things that matter most.

My Thoughts:

I won this ARC from Librarything Early Reviewers. I was excited to read it because I loved Firefly Lane. However, the characters in Night Road kept me from enjoying it. I felt a strong dislike for Jude. I thought that Mia and Zach acted like spoiled rich kids. Lexie was really the only character that I could connect with, but I felt she was a typical orphan down-on-her-luck character. The story just did not seem real to me. Sorry folks, Night Road was not my cup of tea.
Fair

~Sweetie~ by Kathryn Magendie

Over-weight, bespectacled twelve-year-old Melissa is captivated by wild-mountain-girl Sweetie. As the two friends explore the Western North Carolina mountains where Sweetie lives, they learn about friendship and family, loss and love, loyalty and betrayal. Before the tragedy that changes their lives, and causes Melissa to lose her friend to the mountain spirits, the two become friends, blood sisters, confidants, and caretakers of secrets. At the end of that summer, Sweetie makes a sacrifice that only twelve-year-old Sweetie could make for her mother, and alternatively, Melissa makes a selfish decision, then can only stand by and watch as her friend is there, then gone.


My Thoughts:

I loved every minute of this story. A beautiful coming-of-age tale set in Appalachia in the 1970's, tells the story of Melissa and Sweetie; Shy, overweight Melissa, and brash, outspoken Sweetie, who become fast friends. It is a story of a summertime friendship, spent roaming the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina's Haywood County. Two friends who become "bound sisters" for life, each needing something from the other. Author Kathryn Magendie lives and works in the very same area where this story takes place. Her love for the mountains shines through in her story, with beautiful details of the flowers, rocks and creeks where the girls play. This book is now one of my top favorite Coming-of-Age stories (which include Roseflower Creek by J.L. Miles, Prayers and Lies by Sherri Wood Emmons, Walking Through Shadows by Bev Marshall, Where the Woodbine Twines by Sherry Austin, The Star Lite Drive In by Marjorie Reynolds, Summer of the Redeemers by Carolyn Haines...Just to name a few!) "Sweetie" is a character that I will never forget~

A West Virginia native, Kat Magendie came home to Maggie Valley via South Louisiana, where she reclusively writes and co-edits/publishes The Rose & Thorn online journal. Visit her at www.kathrynmagendie.com


**Many thanks to Deborah Smith at Bell Bridge Books for the opportunity to read and review "Sweetie"**

Feathered by Laura Kasischke

Afterward, Terri will tell everyone that, from the beginning, she knew something terrible was going to happen on spring break.

Something bad was going to happen.

She knew.

It was supposed to be the perfect vacation: hot guys, impeccable tans, and no parents. But for two high school seniors, an innocent car ride will drive them into the heart of their worst nightmare.

Feathered is a provocative and eerie tale that flies readers from safe, predictable suburbia to the sun-kissed beaches of Cancún, Mexico, and into mysterious Mayan ruins, where ancient myths flirt dangerously with present realities.

Feathered by Laura Kasischke

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Three friends travel to Cancun for Spring Break, and the unthinkable happens.

This was a good story that seemed all too real. I noticed that it was published after Natalee Holloway's disappearance, and the story was eerily similar.

Two of the three girls decide to tour the Mayan Ruins with an older man, who is not a certified Tour Guide. Their friend stays behind at the hotel to party with some other kids that she has met. What transpires is a nightmare that is all too real.

The book kept me guessing right up until the end - it did not disappoint. Great read!



View all my reviews

Prayers and Lies by Sherri Wood Emmons

From Amazon:

When seven-year-old Bethany meets her six-year-old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone-deep loneliness. Every summer, Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae, keep them coming back.

But as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought. . .that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teem with scandalous whispers. . .and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever.

Spanning four decades, Sherri Wood Emmons' debut is a haunting, captivating novel about the unexpected, sometimes shocking events that thrust us into adulthood--and the connections that keep us tethered, always, to our pasts.


My Thoughts:

You know that feeling that you get when you first start reading a book and you quickly fall in love with the main character? You hang on to their every word and feel the same emotions that they are feeling? That's how it was between me and Bethany Wylie. Bethany and her parents and her three sisters spend every summer on the Coal River in West Virginia. Her parents were born and raised there, and there were numerous aunts, uncles and cousins to visit with. Bethany forms a special bond with one of her cousins when she is seven years old. Reana Mae is six, and they become sisters and soul mates. What transpires over the next four decades between the two of them and their families range from poetic to painful...unimaginable and unbelievable. It had me wondering ~ Could their friendship remain strong?

I was in Wendy's yesterday, eating a salad while reading this book, and my mouth literally dropped open during one chapter. I lost a little lettuce and blue cheese, but I tell you, it was well worth it.

Prayers and Lies made me laugh, cry, and yearn to crawl into the pages to be with Bethany and Reana Mae, to hug them and tell them that everything will be okay.

Sherri Wood Emmons has written a beautiful coming - of - age novel that has now earned a spot in my favorite Top Ten Reads ever. I certainly hope that she is working on her next novel...I'll be waiting for it~

Visit Sherri's website at www.sherriwoodemmons.com

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen; A Real Page-Turner!

From Goodreads:

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy. For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place. with only his two sisters, only his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day. As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary - and their sanity - Eli can't help but wonder if he's rather take his chances outside. Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe - or sorry?

My Thoughts:

I loved it! It was so neat to envision The Compound, filled with all of the luxuries that the wealthy Yanakakis family was accustomed to in their "real" home above ground, before the nuclear attack. Rex, the family patriarch, filled their underground space with movies, music, and even a gym. The family is "kept in the dark" so to speak, for 6 long years. Until their son Eli becomes suspicious of his father, and attempts some sneaking around behind his father's back. What he stumbles across is shocking...not only to him, but to the rest of his family as well. This was a fast-paced page turner that I highly recommend.

Very Good!

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Square Fish; First Edition edition (September 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312578601
ISBN-13: 978-0312578602

My Thoughts on Wrong Number by Rachelle Christensen

When Aubree Stewart receives a mysterious phone call on her way to work, she doesn't know what to think. At first she assumes it's some kind of prank. But the call isn't a practical joke, and Aubree soon finds herself swept up in a world of danger, intrigue, and murder. With help from the FBI, Aubree races to protect herself and what's left of her family, but the one thing she forgets to protect is her own heart.

My Thoughts:

Quick, enjoyable thriller with romance included. The mystery kept me on the edge of my seat, and the puzzle pieces didn't fit together until the very end. The characters were totally likable, and I especially enjoyed the relationship between Aubree and Wyatt, the park ranger. I fell in love with Aubree's baby, Scarlett, and feared for their safety while they were on the run.

I think this novel was very well written, and will be looking for more by Rachelle Christensen. Stop by Rachelle's blog at www.rachellewrites.blogspot.com or visit her website at www.rachellechristensen.com.



Very Good!

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Bonneville Books; 1st edition (March 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599553643
• ISBN-13: 978-1599553641

My Thoughts on The Help by Kathryn Stockett

From Goodreads:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger.

Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends — view one another.

A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

My Thoughts:

There aren't enough words to express how much I loved this book. I waited so long to read it, too...just because I usually do not read hyped-up New York Times Bestsellers. Was I ever wrong. This story opened my eyes to what was happening in the early 1960's, right around the time I was born. I fell in love with Aibileen, Minny and Miss Skeeter. When you love the characters in a book it's such a wonderful feeling; although I did not care one bit for Miss Hilly. LOL!

For anyone who HAS NOT yet read The Help....what are you waiting for? Yes....it is that good. Go out and buy a copy for yourself....and several others to give as gifts for the holidays. You will not be disappointed!