Karen's Book Nook

I love Avi, historical fiction, and series so reading Crispin: At the Edge of the World, the sequel to Newbery Medal winner Crispin: Cross of Lead was thoroughly enjoyable.

About the book: The more I came to know of the world, the more I knew I knew it not.

Now Crispin and Bear have set off to live their lives as free men. But they don’t get far before their past catches up with them: Bear is being pursued by members of the secret brotherhood who believe he is an informer. When Bear is badly wounded, it is up to Crispin to make decisions about their future—where to go, whom to trust. Along the way they become entangled with an extraordinary range of people, each of whom affects Crispin and Bear’s journey in unexpected ways.  To find freedom and safety, they may have to travel to the edge of the world—even if it means confronting death itself.

My thoughts: I loved this sequel and look forward to more.  Whenever I read Avi, it’s like watching a movie in my mind. This one was no different. Who can help but pull for Crispin and cheer him on?  Avi definitely ended the book with the promise of more adventures to come.

Rating 4.5/5

In this riveting sequel to the Newbery-Award winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead—the second book in a planned trilogy—Avi explores themes of war, religion, and family as he continues the adventures of Crispin and Bear.

Continuing on my Newbery Medal self-imposed reading challenge, I listened to A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.

About the book:

This linked series of carefully crafted vignettes is set in rural Illinois during the Depression, when fifteen-year-old Mary Alice leaves Chicago to spend a year with Grandma Dowdel. Her initial apprehension at life in a small town with a scheming old woman gradually gives way to admiration and love as she recognizes the warm heart behind Grandma’s shenanigans.

My thoughts: I love YA literature and this was one that I immediately was drawn into.  The characters are so likable and the little stories kept pulling me in to keep reading. The tales were told from Mary Alice’s perspective and over the course of the school year, we got to see her relationship with Grandma Dowdel grow and change.

Rating 4.5/5

While awaiting the release of newest Stephanie Plum novel I grabbed Plum Lovin, a between the numbers novel by Janet Evanovich.

About the book:

Mysterious men have a way of showing up in Stephanie Plum’s apartment. When the shadowy Diesel appears, he has a task for Stephanie—and he’s not taking no for an answer.

Annie Hart is a “relationship expert” who is wanted for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Stephanie needs to find her, fast. Diesel knows where she is. So they make a deal: He’ll help her get Annie if Stephanie plays matchmaker to several of Annie’s most difficult clients.

But someone wants to find Annie even more than Diesel and Stephanie. Someone with a nasty temper. And someone with “unmentionable” skills.

My thoughts:  This was just as good as the regular numbered Stephanie Plum books.  I’m glad that there are a few filler books since I’m waiting for
Sizzlin Sixteen to arrive. The extra novels gives us a chance to meet new characters and visit some old faves.  Not enough Grandma Mazur for me though… she’s always my fave!

Rating 3.5/5

Always determined to read the books before seeing the movies I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

About the book: Seventeen year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller’s life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alienated from her parents, especially her father… until her mother decides it would be in everyone’s best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie’s father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church. The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story about love in its myriad forms – first love, the love between parents and children – that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that deeply felt relationships can break our hearts… and heal them.

My thoughts:  Either I’m just so used to Nicholas Sparks books by now or it wasn’t that sad but this one was not one of those “tears streaming down my face” reads at all. In fact, I knew what would happen right from the start but it didn’t have the usual effect on me. I’m curious to see the movie and what they did with it.  My favorite part of the story was the baby turtle angle but other than that, it was just ok. Still, a quick, fluffy beach read is always good for a filler.

Rating 3/5

I read the third in the Series of Unfortunate Events, The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket while floating around in the pool on a hot afternoon.

About the book:

Dear Reader,

If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick–witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all.If you haven’t got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signalling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

My thoughts:  I enjoy these quick reads and I can say that if I was a young kid and was reading them I would like them too.  Of course, you always know how it’s going to end but that’s what keeps you coming back for more. I am a fantasy genre type of person and always have been. While this isn’t fantasy per se, the over the top characters give the books that feel. I definitely plan on reading the entire series and the size and length of each story is just right for a single read. Books like this evoke dreams of faraway lands for me…

Rating

4/5

As a Special Educator, I was looking forward to reading Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet, because I’m intrigued about what it “feels like” to be in his head and most especially, what the sensory issues are like.

About the book:

Born on a Blue Day is a journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today — guided by the owner himself. Daniel Tammet is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life and able to explain what is happening inside his head.

He sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head. He can learn to speak new languages fluently, from scratch, in a week. In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of pi, setting a record. He has savant syndrome, an extremely rare condition that gives him the most unimaginable mental powers, much like those portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man.

Fascinating and inspiring, Born on a Blue Day explores what it’ s like to be special and gives us an insight into what makes us all human — our minds.

My thoughts: While some parts of the book were a bit dry and drawn out (the mathematical stuff for me…) I loved reading about what it feels like from his perspective. I was encouraged to see his growth and his adaptation to the world around him despite his sensory issues and his limitations due to Asperger’s. It was great to see him forming relationships and encouraging to see such a wonderful family.  I recommend this book to anyone interested in spectrum disorders and also for those who appreciate memoirs about successful people.

Rating 4.5/5

My most recent audio book was  Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I didn’t know anything about it but had run out of audio books and it was available for digital download so I grabbed it.

About the book:

Product Description

WE DON’T WANT TO TELL YOU TOO MUCH ABOUT THIS BOOK.

It is a truly special story and we don’t want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.

The story starts there, but the book doesn’t.

And it’s what happens afterward that is most important.

Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

My thoughts: I hadn’t read that description prior to reading the book and I don’t think it has much to do with  the story at all. This was a gripping tale that unfolds from two point of view, Little Bee’s and Sarah’s that was unpeeled layer by layer.  I loved this book.  I listened via audio book and the reader, Anne Flosnic,  was terrific.  I found myself thinking about it constantly when I wasn’t reading and couldn’t put it down because there were questions that needed answers.  The life of a refugee was brought to the public in this awesome book in the style of A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Kite Runner.  I am definitely going to read Cleave’s other works.

Rating 5/5

I’m back on track with posting and just finished Clear and Convincing Proof by Kate Wilhelm, part of the Barbara Holloway series.

About the book: The Kelso/McIvey rehab center is a place of hope and healing for its patients — and for the dedicated staff who volunteer there. For lonely newcomer Erica Castle, its’ a place to make new friends. For brilliant physical therapist Darren Halvord, it’s a chance to showcase his unusual gift. For beautiful Annie McIvey it’s a sanctuary from a cruel husband. And for directors Naomi and Greg Boardman, it’s a lifelong dram about to be destroyed if Annie’s husband, David, has his way. A brilliant surgeon, an implacable misogynist, a man whose ego rivals his skill with a scalpel, David McIvey now has controlling shares in what has always been a non profit clinic. His plan to close the clinic and replace it with a massive new surgery center — with himself at the helm — means that the rehab center, with all its good work and good people, will be forced to close its doors. MORE HERE

My thoughts:  I love the Barbara Holloway series and especially get a bang out of her dad, Frank… “Christ-on-a-mountain,- Bobby!”  LOL.. I listened on audio and I’m used having the same reader for the series. This one took awhile for Barbara to get involved and I had to double check to make sure that it was one of the series of books. Once she did, she brought along her usual cast of characters and in true form, kept the reader guessing right up until the very end.

Rating 4/5

I’m cranking out the Stephanie Plum books  by Janet Evanovich and the latest was Lean, Mean Thirteen.

About the book:

New secrets, old flames, and hidden agendas are about to send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most outrageous adventure yet!

MISTAKE #1

Dickie Orr. Stephanie was married to him for about fifteen minutes before she caught him cheating on her with her arch-nemesis Joyce Barnhardt. Another fifteen minutes after that Stephanie filed for divorce, hoping to never see either one of them again.

MISTAKE #2

Doing favors for super bounty hunter Carlos Manoso (a.k.a. Ranger). Ranger needs her to meet with Dickie and find out if he’s doing something shady. Turns out, he is. Turns out, he’s also back to doing Joyce Barnhardt. And it turns out Ranger’s favors always come with a price…

MISTAKE #3   More Here!

My thoughts:  We really get to see a different side of Stephanie and her past in this book. I always wonder where Janet will take her next and in this one, we got to see what came before. Lula is enjoying a bigger role in each book lately which I like.

Rating 3.5/5

As part of the Stephanie Plum challenge, I read Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich.

About the book:

FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS
While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her.

THEN, THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS
The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm GLOCK, has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso… street name, Ranger.

NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES
The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer.

More here!

My thoughts: If you are a Ranger fan, this book is for you. It’s heavy Stephanie/Ranger and as always, it’s a fun, LOL, read. Stephanie’s antics are up to par and Lula is also a star.

Rating 3.5/5