Very fun book about an unemployed father determined to keep his daughter's belief in Santa Claus alive. Through an increasingly complex (and expensive) scheme, we encounter wannabe directors, incontinent reindeer, and just a touch of magic. If you like zany but heartfelt holiday stories, pick this one up!
Thirteen-year-old Jenna Metcalf has lived with her grandmother, after her mother disappeared and her father is sent to a psychiatric ward a decade ago when a caretaker at their elephant sanctuary is trampled. Jenna keeps searching online and reading her mother's old journals in search of answers. Desperate, she turns to Serenity Jones, a psychic who had success in the past finding missing persons, and to Virgil Stanhope, a drunken private detective who had originally investigated Jenna's mother's disappearance. The ending caught me completely off guard. A great read!
I think what made this book so amazing to me was my originally misconceptions about it. All I knew about it was that it was "creepy and disturbing", and looking down at the plain orange and black cover with a not-very-interesting name, I thought, "Oh well, I have little to expect out of this book." I then realized that the characters had more personality than expected and that the storyline was, yes, disturbing in many aspects, but very compelling. It is a very philosophical book that is thought-provoking in every chapter. I will not spoil any of this wonderful book as I hope that you will read it yourself! It changed my life and is my favorite book! Audiences recommended are older teen to adult. The themes in this book are not suitable for those younger than high school, and it would be confusing and not as meaningful for those who are younger. Despite this, it is a moving and powerful story about the struggle of identity in man, and I highly recommend it to all in the range of the intended audience.
Anna was sixteen and on her way to a school dance when she was killed. Someone cut her throat...someone nearly cut her head clean off! They say she was wearing a white party dress, and when they found her the whole thing was stained red. Anna Dressed in Blood is Scary, but you won't have to sleep with the lights on. Ghost hunter, Cas Lowood provides a witty perspective on ghosts, but the story keeps you wondering what happened to the end.
Such a great book to read around Halloween! It sucked me in from the very beginning, and I almost read it all in one sitting! (Adult responsibilities were the only thing keeping me from it!). Suspenseful, spooky, and fast-paced, this book has a great story, likable characters, and a mystery that will keep you guessing.
Highly recommend for those that love ghost stories! (may be a little too much for those that are easily frightened).
Serafina's Stories shares the folklore of the southwest through the story telling template of Scheherazade's One Thousand and One Nights. Rudolfo Anaya focuses on the time of the Pueblo revolt against the Spanish Conquistadores. The captured Serafina weaves tales from both Pueblo and Spanish tradition that illuminate the similarites and differences of the peoples struggling to coexist in the same land.
This was a good book. The narrator was very entertaining and the weird Watsons were fun to get to know. The characters had some depth, especially the Byron character, and I think if this book had been an adult novel the characters could really have been explored. It's a kids chapter book and so it's not as fleshed out as it could be, but was enjoyable nonetheless. I would have liked to see a bit more focus on the events towards the end of the novel, but I can see that the purpose of focusing on Byron in the beginning was to show his growth toward the end.
Set during World War II in France and Germany, this beautifully written novel tells story of a young blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a young German boy named Werner, whose paths cross only briefly in the story. For a time, we are caught up in the lives of these two sympathetic characters and the lives of those around them, caught up, like them, in the war itself.
Normally I don't read fantasy, but a book store owner and PPLD patron recommend A Discovery of Witches to me. I loved it and the other 2 in the trilogy. Although it has vampires, witches and demons, it isn't the usual blood-sucker massacre. Without giving away the plot, witches, vampires and demons are all looking for The Book of Life to discover what in their genetic makeup makes them different from humans. It is very well written. It's an adult book, but older teens would like it, too.
AMAZING book. They say "never judge a book by its cover" but that's exactly what I did. I randomly selected this book based on the cover and it did not disappoint. It has been a long time since I have read a book that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. A great psychological thriller with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. I finished the book in one day! Since then, it has been brought to life on the big screen and is currently playing in theaters. I have not gone to watch the film yet, but it has also gotten great reviews. Of course, read the book first and then go see the movie.
A lovely interwoven tapestry of human grief and reconciliation, this novel has a mystical lining and wonderful characters that capture the heart and the imagination. It is finely written, with well defined voices threaded together across time and circumstance.
After reading all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, I decided to try another series by Charlaine Harris. Real Murders is the first book in the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries and I am hooked. The writing is fun to read and easy to get involved in. Harris has a way of creating characters that come to life on the pages. I would recommend this for anyone who just wants an enjoyable read.
By the time I finished this book I was numb. It is so beautifully written that you can't help but commit to it entirely. While the contents are far from pleasant, the characters are explored to such a degree of depth that the reader becomes entwined in the often confusing points of view shared by the protagonists.
Dubus seems to slip almost effortlessly between male and female characters with internal dialogue that is achingly realistic. After Kathy Nicolo loses the house she inherited from her father in a bureaucratic mistake, the house is snatched up at auction by a deposed Iranian Air Force Colonel. In the fight that ensues to recover (and retain) the house, it becomes apparent that the stakes are much higher than anyone ever imagined.
Just as sand shifts beneath our feet, the ground that holds us is often not as stable as it seems. Fog obscures the vision, preventing us from seeing things as clearly and clouding our judgment. The House of Sand and Fog combines those two elements in this dark and deeply moving story.
Another amazing book by Jodi Picoult. Absolutely fantastic. Just.... wow.
p.s. I love books that make me want to learn more about a topic, and this book gave me a new awareness and appreciation for these amazing animals (elephants) and the people who care and advocate for them.
I just thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Light and sweet, but with enough substance to not make me gag. I happen to love clutzy protagonists, and Rosie got into enough scrapes to make me laugh out loud. Aunt Lilian's story kept the whole novel grounded for me, if it was a stand-alone novel, it would be quite depressing. In my opinion, their stories balanced each other to make a wonderful story. The supporting cast was great as well, I particularly loved when Edison came around!
This was a fascinating look at an Indian epic, which I do not know much about. Told from the point of view of a woman was a very clever way to put a new twist on a story! I wavered between 3 1/2 and 4 stars for this one, primarily due to the fact that I was occasionally completely confused as to who she was talking about at any given moment. Many of the names are very similar, and although she gave a short list in the front of the book, it did not come close to capturing all of the players in the epic. If I had to do it again, I'd probably make a cheat sheet bookmark of who everyone is!
However, it makes me want to learn more about the Mahabharata, which as I've always said is the mark of a good book!
Varied between 3 1/2 - 4 stars. I actually enjoyed the stories of the ghosts more than the Walkers. I didn't really care for anyone in the family except Amy. The writing is wonderful as with all the Lauren Oliver books I've read, even when I wasn't sure I wanted to continue, I was compelled to finish the book just because of the way she describes things (in this case, not always pleasant, but still interesting).
Read this book in about 1 day, I couldn't put it down! I felt "uncomfortable" reading it - watching someone spiral into deeper and deeper problems is a little difficult, I just wanted to shout at her "Sophie, STOP IT!!!" Fun book to read, I look forward to this author's next book!
Genova's novel follows the hope and struggle of raising an autistic child. This fictionalized story incorporates (as Lisa Genova's novels do) appropriate medical terminology while combing sympathetic characters and their journeys through dealing with autism. While the story line is greatly over-simplified, the story is easy to follow, allows the reader to understand perhaps previously unknown realities, and makes for an easy read.
The novel follows the decline of a woman diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. While the writing elicits sympathy along with hope, the plot and outcome are over-simplified to the point of near disbelief. The events of the character's journey combine medical terms and emotional appeals. Good for a quick summer read.