January Totals

Books Read:

1. La's Orchestra Saves the World- Alexander McCall Smith
2. A Single Thread- Marie Bostwick
3. The One Day Way- Chantel Hobbs
4. Crossing Stones- Helen Frost
5. Dream Life- Lauren Mechling
6. Bone-The Great Cow Race- Jeff Smith
7. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte- Syrie James
8. Country Living: Simple Country Wisdom by Susan Waggoner
9. The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
10. The Four Seasons by Mary Alice Munroe
11. Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard
12. Mrs. Malory Investigates by Hazel Holt
13. No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer
14. Tea with Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis
15. Time of My Life- Patrick Swayze and Lisa Neimi
16. The Believers - Zoe Heller
17. Wondrous Strange- Lesley Livingston
18. How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again
19. A Taste for Murder - Claudia Bishop

Total Pages: 4,939

Favorite Book: The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte

Challenges:
100+- 19/100
Reading From My Shelves- 0/20
2010 States Challenge- 6/52
All About the Brontes- 2/6
Gilmore Girls Challenge- 0/10
GBLT- 0/4
Graphic Novel- 1/10
Historical Reading- 2/6
Jane Austen- 0/6
Japanese Literature- 1/1 COMPLETED
Random Reading- 3/12
Sookie Stackhouse- 1/9
Support Your Library- 13/100
Terry Pratchett- 0/4
The Pub 2010 - 1/10

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)



The Four Seasons by Mary Alice Munroe
** How did I just find out about this author???? I loved this book because I am a huge sucker for stories that involve sisters, secrets, and a splash of dysfunction. Each sister is quite different from the other and I truly liked all of them. I identified more with the sister who thought she had to be perfect and had to keep her life in order. They all get their turn to tell their stories which felt real and authentic to me. There was only one small blip towards the end that was sort of "cliche" but when I finished the last page I was truly satisfied!
My Rating:






Witch Way to Murder (Ophelia & Abby Mystery #1)
** I immediately liked Ophelia...how could I not...she's a librarian!! Her grandma Abby is what would be considered as a wise woman, healer, or witch. She is gifted with the sight and tries to use it to keep Ophelia and others safe. Anyway, she is content with her life for the most part until a strange man comes to town asking questions that seems to turn everyone into a suspect. Ophelia doesn't want to use her own natural gifts but finds out that her life may depend on it. I really enjoyed the psychic twist to the story and the relationship between Abby and Ophelia...I'll be back for more of this series!
My Rating:






No Wind of Blame- Georgette Heyer
** Wow, this was not the book that I was hoping to read. I struggled, literally struggled, to finish this book. The problem---way too much verbage (not a word, I know). The descriptions of dinners, clothes, you name it, was so over the top that I felt like screaming. You could read pages and nothing happened. I won't be rushing out to read another mystery by Heyer, but I will continue to read her Regency romance books because I really did enjoy those.
My Rating:

Do Book Reviews Still Matter?

This was taken directly from the email that I received:

Reviews have traditionally played a major part in a book's success. Authors and publishers looked to the trades to start a book's trajectory and then to the major newspapers and magazines to bring a book's merits to readers and book buyers. In the age of the internet, marketing and publicizing books is being radically altered. Print coverage is shrinking and the shift to online is marked by inconsistent, sometimes unreliable information by bloggers. Our panel will address what this changing climate means for the future power of book reviews

• What is the impact of book reviews, both print and online? How do they affect buying habits? Does a good review sell books? Does a negative review hurt sales?
• Is the authority of the book reviewer and the reputation of the publication still important? Will their hard won status hold the power in the new "democratic" climate?
• The critic James Wood said "prizes are the new reviews." Is this true?
• What does a publicist/author hope for these days in relation to reviews?
• A book could in the past be "well-reviewed" and a reputation established without astronomical sales. If authoritative reviews disappear, will this no longer be possible?
• Will the breaking down of the authority of the review mean the end of 'the ivory tower,' opening up possibilities for self published books and books that would not typically generate reviews?

So did the highlighted green part tick you off just a bit??????? Unreliable information by bloggers??? WTH?? We're the real readers out there, not the "professional reviewer." What are your thoughts on this and any of the bullet marked topics???? Speak up you naughty, unreliable bloggers.....let your thoughts be heard!!!
FYI: NO BLOGGERS ARE ON THE PANEL

EDITED TO ADD THE PANEL(Sorry I should've included this! 6:27 pm 1/29/2010)
PANELISTS:
Carol Fitzgerald is co-founder and president of The Book Report Network, a group of Internet sites about books and authors with programming for adults at Bookreporter.com, reading groups at ReadingGroupGuides.com, graphic novels at GraphicNovelReporter.com, Christian readers at FaithfulReader.com, teens at Teenreads.com and children at Kidsreads.com.

Lev Grossman is Time magazine's book critic and the author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Magicians.

Peter Hildick-Smith is president and founder of Codex-Group, a leader in book audience research. In addition to the firm’s author and new book development programs, Codex tracks ongoing book consumption trends nationally through its Early Read Book Preview survey. Peter was previously the vice president of merchandising for Bantam, Doubleday, Dell Publishing Group.

Dori Weintraub is deputy director of Publicity at St. Martin’s Press where she is also editor-at-large. Before working at St. Martin’s, she was the director of advertising and publicity at Harcourt. She began her career at Newmarket Press and is a graduate of the Denver Publishing Institute.

MODERATED BY: Louisa Ermelino, Reviews Director, PW

If you want to attend here's the info:
DATE: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 | TIME: 8:30-9AM (Registration); 9-10:30 AM (Panel)
LOCATION: Random House, Louis L. Amour Room (14th fl)
1745 Broadway (at 55th Street), New York, NY 10022

Review: The Believers by Zoe Heller

When a stroke fells radical New York lawyer Joel Litvinoff, a secret is revealed that forces Audrey, his wife, to reexamine everything she believed about their forty-year marriage. In the meantime Joel’s children are struggling with their own dilemmas and doubts. Disillusioned revolutionary Rosa has been drawn into the world of Orthodox Judaism. Karla, a devoted—and married—social worker hoping to adopt a child, is falling in love with the owner of a newspaper stand. Lenny, the ne’er-do-well, faces yet another relapse into heroin addiction. In the course of battling their own demons—and one another—the Litvinoffs must reexamine long-held articles of faith and decide what—if anything—they still believe in.




My Thoughts:

Well, where do I start????? This is my first attempt at reading Heller and overall I liked her way with words. The bigger question is did I like this book? I'll start off by saying that Audrey is not a character that I enjoyed one bit. In fact, I wanted to slap her more than once and maybe even throttle her a few times to top it off! I detested the way that she parented. In my humble opinion she was a rotten mother. All of her children are adults but emotionally......still children. Anything that they wanted to do she bashed them for it. Except for the drug-addicted son, who she treated like was her own personal pet. The Socialist slant of this story just wasn't for me. I'm not a Socialist, nor do I believe in any of their principles or ways of thinking. I frankly thought Joel and Audrey were hypocrites and insensitive to others. On the bright side (yes, there is a bright side!) I did like Karla and Rosa. These two characters were the reason why I continued to read this book. I was involved with them and wanted to know if they decided to live for themselves and to ignore their mother's brutal words. So overall, I wouldn't run out and tell all my friends that they had to read this book, but I'm not sorry that I read it.



Thanks again to TLC for asking me to be a part of this wonderful book tour .


Check out other tour stops here.

Library Loot- January 27

Hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
** Blaming Michelle of The Book Junkie for this one. The premise sounds great...boy gets dumped, then meets the new girl at school who really isn't a girl. Fantastic book for the GLBT challenge!!





Beautiful by Amy Reed
** Darn, no one to blame!! Can't remember where I saw this one!
Synopsis:
When thirteen-year-old Cassie moves to a suburb of Seattle, she is determined to leave her boring, good-girl existence behind. She chooses some dangerous new friends and is quickly caught up in their fast-paced world of drugs, sex, secrets, and cruelty.


Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster
** It's been a long time since I've blamed Nymeth so this one goes to her!!
Synopsis:
"One of the great novels of American girlhood, Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs (1912) chronicles the adventures of Judy Abbott, a high-spirited orphan beginning a new life as a college student and aspiring writer, through her letters to her anonymous male benefactor.


Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
** I'm blaming everyone for this one!! Everyone!!!!
Synopsis:
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.



Searching for Pemberley by Mary Lydon Simonsen
** I get to blame Jenny of Jenny Loves to Read for the very first time!! Yay!!!
Synopsis:American Maggie Joyce, touring Derbyshire in 1947, visits an 18th century Georgian country house that she is told was the model for Jane Austen's Pemberley. More amazingly, the former residents of the mansion, William Lacey and Elizabeth Garrison, were the inspiration for the characters Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

The Things They Carried by Patrick O'Brien
** I'm blaming my cousin Renee for this one. Her daughter read it a while ago and she told me that I needed to read this one. I saw it on some lists for the Vietnam Reading Challenge and that kicked my memory into gear.
Synopsis:
Since its first publication in 1979, "The Things They Carried" has become an unparalleled testament to the men who served in Vietnam--a classic work that illuminates the capacity, and the limits, of the human heart and soul.


Books Read in 2010 to date: 14
Number of Books Checked out from the library:20

Teaser Tuesday and It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm running an Inn at Hemlock Falls in upstate New York. It's tough work but rewarding...that is until someone is murdered and my sister and I have to solve the crime!
~ A Plateful of Murder by Claudia Bishop
__________________________________________________

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

"But these guys showed up at the prayer meeting this morning. They looked pretty....unsavory, I guess you'd say. They said Doreen had called that 1-800 number and they were here to..to.."
"To what?"
"Perform an exorcism," said Peter.
"A what?"
"To rid the Inn of succubi and other stuff. I thought we'd better sit in."

p.164 A Plateful of Murder

Tea With Hezbollah by Tedd Dekker and Carl Medearis

Summary:

Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?
That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem. Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.


My Thoughts:

Let me start right off by saying that I'm not a religious person, yet I am a person with faith. I believe in God and Jesus, but I don't consider myself a mainstream Christian. In fact, I'd rather not affiliate myself with any religion. Why you may ask? For some reason people seem to think that one religion is better than another. As if any of the religions don't have blood on their hands? What I believe in is this: love, respect for others, understanding, forgiving, acceptance, and making an effort every day to follow Jesus' teaching- Love your enemies. I've learned through reading this fantastic book that to love your enemy is just as hard today as it was over 2000 years ago. Dekker and Medearis take a journey into the heart of the Muslim faith and meet with people that are at the center of conflicts in their respective countries. They meet with the bin Laden brothers in Saudi Arabia, Sheik Nabil Qaouk of Hezbollah, a Bedouin Prince, Sheik Fadlallah-voice of Hezbollah, Hamas, a Samaritan, and Sami Awad (who moved me quite literally to tears). They didn't write this book to tout one religion over another, but instead to give you, the reader, the information you may need to start making wiser choices about who the terrorist really are and that as a whole, if we, the people of this great world, could come together in mutual respect and love, that maybe we could make violence a thing of the past. But the only way to achieve that is by knowledge, reading, questioning, and educating YOURSELF!!

I could go on and on about this book...it makes for great discussions. My husband can't wait to read it. He's listened patiently as I've stopped and read excerpts to him so that we could talk about these issues. So I will leave you with some affirmations that have come to me personally after reading this.

• I need to educate myself in regards to other religions and beliefs. That means tomorrow when I get to school I'm going to check out our book on the Muslim faith.
• I need to quit believing everything I see or hear on mainstream media. There is always an agenda people....always!
  
• I need to question what our leaders tell us. Believe it or not, we don't always get the "real" story.
• I need to live my life daily without hatred and to try understand my fellow human without judging them.

Highly Recommended!

I was sent an extra copy for a giveaway. So please indicate in your comment if you would like the opportunity to win this book!!! Entries will close on January 31, 12:00 am!


This book was provided for review by the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

To learn more about or purchase these books at RandomHouse.com:

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)


The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James
** I loved every single page of this book and felt like I was walking beside Charlotte Bronte. I honestly understand now why I didn't care for Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte was a dark and brooding type. I have yet to read Jane Eyre, but after reading this lovely book I know that I will absolutely enjoy my venture into Charlotte Bronte's first novel. I totally understood why she had a crush on a former teacher and how that shaped the way she felt about love. The book portrays her as a kind soul who never gave up hope that one day she and her sister's work would be published. Reading this book gave me a personal insight into her life and one that has left an indelible mark on me.
My Rating:








Country Living: Country Wisdom
** I enjoyed reading this book about how to get your house organized, declutter, and suggestions on how to fix certain problems that may crop up in your home. I wish that I could have the author come to my house and decorate for me!! I pick these books up for ideas on decor and for short cuts into the kitchen. I did write down some suggestions on how to clean your oven without Easy Off or using the self-cleaning button, but for the life of me I can't find them!! This is a book that I may check out again just to make a list of things that I wanted to try out- ways to show my personality in the objects that I display is one that comes to my mind immediately. If you're in the mood to browse through a "country style" book this one may be one for you.
My Rating:







The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
I'm so glad that I read blogs so that I could be influenced by others to pick up this book. I truly enjoyed the whole premise and the fact that the main character, Melanie, can see ghosts only made this experience more delightful for me. I loved the tension between Melanie and Jack, and can't wait to see where that might lead. The mystery does have a twist that I didn't see coming and that was a nice surprise. Reading about historic Charleston has made me put this city on my list of places that I would love to visit in the future. If you're into mysteries, old historic homes, ghosts, and a bit of romance then I really think you will enjoy this.
My Rating:

Books that I can't wait to be published!!!

Dragon Keeper returns to the setting of the Liveship Traders trilogy, the Rain Wilds. A problem faces the Rain Wild Traders. The dragons that hatched on the grounds at the base of the tree-dwelling city are growing rapidly. Malformed by too late of a migration, they are unable to feed themselves and are irritable and dangerous creatures. Dragon Keeper is the tale of how the city intends both to solve their problem with the dragons and be rid of some ‘non-productive’ citizens. An eccentric wife of a wealthy Bingtown Trader and a river captain become part of the expedition. But there are rumors that the Duke of Chalced would pay richly for ‘dragon parts’ that may halt or reverse his aging. So the expedition may face more dangers than just the acid river and the wild country that surrounds it.







Emily Benedict came to Mullaby, North Carolina, hoping to solve at least some of the riddles surrounding her mother’s life. But the moment Emily enters the house where her mother grew up and meets the grandfather she never knew, 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, Julia Winterson, bakes hope in the form of cakes, offering them to satisfy the town’s sweet tooth—but also in the hope of rekindling a love she fears might be lost forever. 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.

Review: Dream Life by Lauren Mechling

Synopsis:

Claire Voyante's first semester at Henry Hudson High School was eventful, to say the least. As she heads into her second semester, things are calming down a bit. But Claire has a few secrets that are getting harder to keep. Her biggest secret of all? The onyx and ivory cameo necklace her grandmother gave her for her 15th birthday. Ever since she started wearing it, her dreams have been coming to her in black and white and turning out to be oddly prophetic.

I gave this book to Lily to read so that once we both finished it, we could review this together. I think you will find the answers very telling of our respective ages!!

Here are Lily's thoughts on the questions I asked her:

What did you think of the character Claire Voyant?
I thought Claire was amazing! She's so intelligent and unique! I never would have thought to do some of the things she did.

Did you think her name was appropriate or weird?
No, I think her name fits her well. Like her, it's unique!

Did this book strike you as a mystery?
I didn't think so, but boy was I wrong!

Who was your favorite character and why?
My favorite character was Louis! He's so cute and shy!

Did reading Book #2 without reading book #1 confuse you?
Not at all. It pretty much told you what happened and it wasn't that hard to figure out.

What were your overall thoughts?
I thought it was a great book! It was nice just to pick it up when I wanted and not be sucked into it nonstop. I thought it was going to end differently, and was surprised at how it did. Still good, but not what I hoped.
______________________________________________________

Part 2: From an old person's perspective:
Lily's questions to Staci

If you could change one thing what would it be?
I would change the name of the main character! I like Claire but the Voyant on the end was just a bit cheesy for me!

What was your favorite part about Dream Girl?
I liked the grandmother and anytime she showed up those were the passages I enjoyed the most.

Did you like the storyline?
At times I did and then I also found myself thinking it was confusing and strange at times. And I found it very far fetched that a group of girls would be responsible for carrying out secret missions for the elite of NYC.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Again the Grandma....am I showing my age here!! She was feisty, fun, glamorous, and I would so love to hang out with her!

Did it keep you interested?
I found this book to be really hard to get into....I think I needed to read book one first. Unlike you, Lily, my mind is slower these days and the beginning of the book confused me! It wasn't until I was 50+ pages into the story that I realized I that I was reading book #2!

Did you know what was going to happen?
Yep, I knew that the good girls would win and that the betrayer was someone close!

What were your overall thoughts?
That I need to read Dream Girl and then maybe this one again. I didn't really feel a connection with Claire and that isn't a good thing for me. I did continue reading because I liked Grandma. I feel that the book is targeted to the right age group, which is your age Lily.


Many thanks to Lauren Mechling for sending me a copy of Dream Life to review and to Lenore (Presenting Lenore) for hooking us up with Lauren!!

As you can see Lily and I have differing thoughts on this one, but that is why we both love to read. So that we can discuss the book and share our thoughts on them.

Library Loot- January 20th

Hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures.
We share what we each picked up at the library during the week.

I went to the library last night and picked up several holds for myself and a book for my hubby. I have someone to blame for the 4 books that I acquired!!


The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
** All blame for this one goes to Margot at Joyfully Retired. I love reading her blog and she wrote about this book last week. I enjoy perusing a fun cookbook and Margot really enjoyed it, she gave it an A, so I knew that I would like this one!! And you never know, I just may try out a few recipes!



French Milk by Lucy Knisley
** I've seen mixed reviews for this one, but was swayed by JoAnn's (Lakeside Musing) review so I decided to get it and judge for myself. I enjoy graphic novels so I'm hoping to like this one. In this book I will be visiting France.






The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming
** I was heavily influenced by Alyce's Friday Finds post which featured this graphic novel. I thought it looked like a great read plus I always enjoy learning about interesting people in history. With this book I will be visiting China.






The Color of Earth by Kim Dong Hwa
** Blame again goes to Alyce!! This is another graphic novel that she listed and I just had to read it!! This is the first of 3 in a series. This book takes me to Korea!






Books Read in 2010 to date: 11
Number of Books Checked out from the library:16

Teaser Tuesday and It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

It's Tuesday...Where Are You?

I'm back in England and Wally Carter has been murdered! I have no idea who did it but I can't wait to figure it out. Could it be the neglected widow? The neighbor who's in love with her? Or could it be her resentful daughter? Or is it the phony Russian prince????

No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer
___________________________________________

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!

"Well, I've got to think up a convincing excuse for being practically on the scene of the crime, haven't I?"
'You little fool,' interrupted Hugh, 'are you seriously proposing to fake an alibi for yourself?'

p.157 ~ No Wind of Blame

Mailbox Monday- January 18

Mailbox Monday
is hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page.
We share what books that we found in our mailboxes last week.

Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff
** This is an ARC that I requested last year. I like to read a good love story every now and again and I think this one will hit the mark.
Synopsis:
Lily was married for just days before her husband was sent abroad to fight in WWII. Now, he and the other soldiers are returning, and the small town of Toccoa, Georgia plans a big celebration. But a handsome and kind Italian immigrant, responsible for the elaborate fireworks display the town commissioned captures Lily's heart and soul. Torn between duty to society and her husband, and a poor, passionate man who might be her only true love--Lily must choose between a love she never knew and a commitment she'd already made.


Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds
** I won this from Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit.
Synopsis:
In this sexy Jane Austen sequel, Elizabeth Bennet accepts Mr. Darcy's first marriage proposal, answering the "What if...?" question fans everywhere have pondered

What came for you?

Six Sentence Saturday

Welcome to Six Sentence Saturday.

Where I try to express my thoughts on recent reads using only 6 sentences!!!!.
At the end of each review I will post a
rating scale of 1-5 using the cute and original (lol) Playing Cards.
Rating scale will be as follows:

5 of Hearts- You must read this book NOW!!
4 of Hearts- A great read, put it on your TBR list.
3 of Hearts- Glad I read but no big deal
2 of Hearts- Why did I finish this?
Joker Card - Don't bother (why did I?)



A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick
** What a lovely book!! There wasn't a part in this novel that I didn't enjoy or truly believe could happen. I'm a big sucker for stories that involve women, hardship, friendships, and some sort of craft, this one has it all. I wanted to live in their town and be friends with all of them. I could so see myself learning how to quilt with the help of Evelyn, the main character.Thankfully, there is a sequel, A Thread of Truth, which is resting happily on my library loot shelf!!

My Rating:







Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
** I'm not sure how I heard about this book, but I'm very happy that I picked it up to read. What I loved the most was the free form poetry that Frost incorporated into the story. She also designed her words to simulate the lake and the stones that the characters crossed daily to visit with each other. I haven't read many books that are about WWI and this one brought the horrors of the war to me without the gore. Eighteen-year-old Muriel will capture your heart, she's a feisty young lady who questions the reasons for this war and finds out that even in the United States you must watch what you say or write. Highly recommended for history buffs, young people, those that love poetry, and anyone looking for a fast-moving story.

My Rating:







Bone Volume 2: The Great Cow Race by Jeff Smith
** I can only gush when I talk about this charming graphic novel series. I am so in love with Fone Bone and his sheer innocence. His heart is filled with love for Thorn and there are some amusing moments when they're at the town festival and a sweet talker tries to take Thorn away from him. If you are looking for a book to get your reluctant reader to read, I would ABSOLUTELY tell you to grab this series. The best part is that you, an adult, will enjoy this just as much as your child!!! I'm so happy that I have many more installments to look forward to!!

My Rating: