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.
He was a nameless orphan, marked for death by his masters for an unknown crime. Discovering his name— Crispin—only intensified the mystery. Then Crispin met Bear, who helped him learn the secret of his full identity. And in Bear—the enormous, red-bearded juggler, sometime spy, and everyday philosopher—Crispin also found a new father and a new world.
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
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
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.
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
Continuing with Debbie Macomber‘s Cedar Cove series, I just finished 8 Sandpiper Way.
About the book: When a wife finds a strange earring in her husband’s pocket, what’s a woman to think?
Emily Flemming can think of only two explanations—an affair or sticky fingers—but neither sounds like the husband she knows and loves. Still, Pastor Dave did regularly visit the elderly woman whose jewelry has been turning up missing, and he does refuse to tell Emily where he’s been when he comes home so late. He may be a good man, but he sure looks guilty—even to his wife.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Troy Davis’s long-ago love has moved to town, and there’s news aplenty from newcomers and old-timers alike in Cedar Cove. MORE HERE.
My thoughts: The Cedar Cove series books are always my feel good, quick read, go-to books. Never anything earth shattering but always enjoyable and give me the feeling like I’m visiting old friends.
Rating 3.5/5
My son was reading The Things they Carried by Tim O’Brien for school and told me it was good so I picked it up.
About the book: The Things They Carried is a collection of related stories by Tim O’Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. While apparently based on some of O’Brien’s own experiences, the title page refers to the book as “a work of fiction.
My thoughts: This was a very well written book and was quite intense and realistic. It’s no wonder vets have PTSS after living through the atrocities of war. The stories were supposedly fiction but the book was like a memoir. This wasn’t an enjoyable book but a powerful one.
Rating 4.5/5
I always wanted to read the Lemony Snicket books but never got around to it so I finally started the series with The Bad Beginning ( A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
About the book:
Dear Listener,
I’m sorry to say that the audiobook you arc holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very beginning of this Program when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on to the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune. In this short audiobook alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast. It is my sad duty to tell these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from turning off this audio and listening to something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
I loved this book and it was especially a great listening experience being read by
Tim Curry. This will likely be a series that I will read quickly as I’ll either do the audio books or will read the paper copies.. just the right size to carry around as a purse book. It’s got that fantasy feel and colorful characters. Just reading the product description gives you a feel for the writing style.
Rating 4/5
I was totally unplugged for a week so I didn’t listen to any audio books so I finally finished Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich.
About the book: Stephanie Plum is thinking her career as fugitive apprehension agent has run its course. She’s been shot at, spat at, cussed at, fire-bombed, mooned, and attacked by dogs. Time for a change, Stephanie thinks. Time to find the kind of job her mother can tell her friends about without making the sign of the cross. So Stephanie Plum quits. Resigns. No looking back. No changing her mind. She wants something safe and normal. As it turns out, jobs that are safe and normal for most people aren’t necessarily safe and normal for Stephanie Plum. Trouble follows her, and the kind of trouble she had at the bail bonds office can’t compare to the kind of trouble she finds herself facing now. MORE HERE
My thoughts: Although it took me awhile to finish this one it had nothing to do with the story itself. I actually liked this one a lot and got to see a different side of Stephanie and a more in depth view of her family members. Things are heating up with her two guys and they all seem to be coexisting.. for now, at least. Looking forward to number 12 to see where it takes Stephanie in terms of her employment.
Rating 3.5/5
Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge, Audio Book Challenge, Stephanie Plum Challenge, Finish that Series Challenge
I finished the 3rd book by Sarah Addison Allen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, and I’m anxious for her to get writing to produce another one!
About the book: In her latest enchanting novel, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen invites you to a quirky little Southern town with more magic than a full Carolina moon. Here two very different women discover how to find their place in the world—no matter how out of place they feel.
Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. Such as, why did Dulcie Shelby leave her hometown so suddenly? And why did she vow never to return? But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew—a reclusive, real-life gentle giant—she realizes that mysteries aren’t solved in Mullaby, they’re a way of life: Here are rooms where the wallpaper changes to suit your mood. Unexplained lights skip across the yard at midnight. And a neighbor bakes hope in the form of cakes.
Everyone in Mullaby adores Julia Winterson’s cakes—which is a good thing, because Julia can’t seem to stop baking them. She offers them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth but also in the hope of rekindling the love she fears might be lost forever. Flour, eggs, milk, and sugar . . . Baking is the only language the proud but vulnerable Julia has to communicate what is truly in her heart. But is it enough to call back to her those she’s hurt in the past?
Can a hummingbird cake really bring back a lost love? Is there really a ghost dancing in Emily’s backyard? The answers are never what you expect. But in this town of lovable misfits, the unexpected fits right in.
My thoughts: Once again I was completely hooked on an Addison Allen book right from the start. She has such a magical style of writing and touches on all of the senses. Hers are always easy reads and stories that keep me turning the pages. I wish that she had a whole slew of books written already but I guess I’ll just have to wait for each new release with anticipation. This is perfect book to read in between heavy fiction or non-fiction. It’s a light read and as always, makes me hungry!
Rating 4.5/5
Counts towards: 100 Book Challenge, Library Challenge
Having enjoyed The Time Travelers Wife, I decided to check out Her Fearful Symmetry, also by Audrey Niffenegger.
About the book: Audrey Niffenegger’s spectacularly compelling second novel opens with a letter that alters the fate of every character. Julia and Valentina Poole are semi-normal American twenty-year-olds with seemingly little interest in college or finding jobs. Their attachment to one another is intense. One morning the mailman delivers a thick envelope to their house in the suburbs of Chicago. From a London solicitor, the enclosed letter informs Valentina and Julia that their English aunt Elspeth Noblin, whom they never knew, has died of cancer and left them her London apartment. There are two conditions to this inheritance: that they live in it for a year before they sell it and that their parents not enter it. Julia and Valentina are twins. So were the estranged Elspeth and Edie, their mother….
My thoughts: I listened via audio and the British accent only added to the story. I really enjoyed this book and liked the intertwining stories of the main characters. As with The Time Traveler’s Wife, it’s supernatural in nature and suspends your belief system. If you are into that type of book, then this is an enjoyable read. If you look for straight realistic fiction, this is not the story for you. I kept thinking about this one after I finished and was disappointed that it was over when I picked up my ipod to go for a walk. That’s a good book to me!
Rating: 4.5/5
Counts towards: Library Challenge, 100 Book Challenge, Audio Book Challenge,
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In the Book Nook
Planned books:
- Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasi by Chantal Sicile-Kira
- Teacher Miracles: Inspirational True Stories from the Classroom (Miracles) by Unknown
- Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman
- Cesar’s Way: The Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems by Cesar Millan
- While I Was Gone (Oprah’s Book Club) by Sue Miller
Current books:
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Suze Orman’s Action Plan: New Rules for New Times by Suze Orman
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Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
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The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping: Insider Tips, Helpful Hints, Hip Shops by Melody Fortier
Recent books:
- The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans
- Dogplay: The Canine Guide to Being Happy by Kim Levin, Christine Montaquila
- The Barn by Avi
- A Beginning, a Muddle, and an End: The Right Way to Write Writing by Avi
- Amber Spyglass #3 His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
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