The Friday Night Knitting Club

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I suppose being a crafty woman, thanks to my Gma Fazenbaker and my momma, I enjoyed this book. I am a new knitter, knitting scarfs for presents with eyelash yarn combined with a sturdier second and the pull of the women sitting around the shop, knitting, making mistakes and pulling them out, chatting, eating munchies made by shop owner Georgia Walker's teen daughter Dakota sucked me right into the storyline. Georgia is a strong, independent woman - making a living for herself and Dakota in the second story above a Manhattan meat market. Third floor, right up the steps, is their digs. Work is life and life is work when Georgia's ex walks back into the picture, ready to pursue a relationship with his only daughter, throwing everything in a tailspin. Georgia's clients/friends have her back but who can help when the doctors give her an unexpected diagnosis?

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The Death of Bees

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blunt with a touch of humor. Grim and gritty. Edgy. Haunting. This is O'Donnell's first novel and from the very first page of the prologue - it's an eye-opener. I could not put this book down, although adult fiction, for the sheer horror of how Marnie, almost sixteen, and her little sister, Nelly, had to live with and without their drug addicted parents. Living in the projects of Glasgow, Scotland, the girls have never known any other kind of life than what they living - never known the sweetness of a happy birthday or a family filled holiday, let alone the true and bonding love from a parent/child relationship. From page to page you will learn how each sister copes with her loss and reluctantly cheer when their neighbor, Lenny, steps in to give a hand and guidance.

Not for the faint of heart - rough language/crude humor...


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You are the Love of my Life

You Are the Love of My Life by Susan Richards Shreve
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lucy Painter has always kept secrets - it had been well taught to her by her mother after Lucy's beloved and famous father committed suicide in the Summer of '51. Now in the Winter of 1973 Lucy, single mom of teen Maggie and cuddly, sweet Felix, is moving back to her hometown of DC and the same house her father hanged himself. With her, Maggie will still carry all the shameful secrets, hauled back and forth across country, secrets that have become larger, secrets that even her children do not know. While hanging ever tighter to her encumbered baggage, Lucy continues to push people away, even her own daughter until it's almost too late....

A very interesting novel - I liked reading about DC in the early 70s. 12 going on 13 in 1973 and just getting ready to enter our 9-12th school here in Western Maryland, I remember hearing about the Watergate scandal and President Nixon and watching coverage on our B&W TV. (I won't mention how my father became agitated watching the only three channels we could get!) Another turbulent time in our lives...

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The Choice

The Choice by Robert Whitlow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

1974 - Sandy Lincoln, honors student, had thought she was right on track for college next fall. She and her boyfriend, Brad, were going to attend the same college - he on a football scholarship and Sandy would try out for the cheerleading squad. But then, the nausea started and a visit to their family doctor confirmed that Sandy was pregnant. Sandy has several choices, and she narrows it down to living with her Aunt Linda in Atlanta and attending a high school there until she gives birth and chooses the prospective parents to raise her child. Fast forward 30+ years, Sandy is now a high school English teacher in the same hometown school she attended. When one of the students that she tutored in English becomes pregnant and seems to be railroaded into thinking there is only one option, Sandy steps in.

An inspirational book of hard choices and decisions...

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Swimming to Elba

Swimming to Elba by Silvia Avallone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Best friends in the impoverished town of Piombinao, Italy - 13 year olds, going on 18, dark-haired Anna and the blonde Francesca live in the giant, filthy, concrete barracks that line the beaches. They dream of swimming over to Elba, a resort town just across the bay, to escape the life that lays ahead of them. Most of the men in Piombinao work at the local Lucchini steel mills, including Anna's too handsome brother, Alessio, and Francesco's brutal father, Enrico. It's the summer of 2001 and Anna and Francesca, with their new shapely bodies, are teetering on the edge of new, powerful sexual identities and experiences.

Very gritty and sometimes very uncomfortable to read, Avallone never minces words...her first novel won 2nd place in the 2010 Strega Prize competition and will make a good book club choice.

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Summerland

Summerland: A Novel by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nantucket, the lovely little island where people flock to for carefree vacations, is also the home to many year-round islanders - retirees, working class stiffs, and kids who attend the Nantucket school system. The 17 year old twins, Penny and Hobby Alistair, are juniors at Nantucket High, soon to be seniors when Fall rolls around. But Penny, the lovely girl with a gifted voice will never see her senior graduation and Hobby, the talented athlete, will never play football again after the horrible car accident following the senior party on graduation night. The island mourns the horrible loss of one of their own and looks for clues and causes.

One of our greatest fears is to lose a child in a car accident. Prom night and graduation parties roll around every year, and which one of us as parents doesn't worry until we know our teens are safe at home? The novel also looks into the secrets teens hide that we do not see or sometimes, don't want to see.

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Glimpse

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lizzie and Hope, sisters and only a year apart in age, look out for each other - with no Dad and a Momma who works more hours than ever - it's a necessity. Nice Miss Freeman, from next door, checks on them now and then - but more often than not, it's just the two of them. Then comes the morning when Hope walks into the bathroom and finds Lizzie fingering the trigger of a shotgun. She's fourteen and thinking about leaving by killing herself. As Lizzie is hauled away by the cops to an institution, Hope immediately absorbs all the guilt, not their momma, for not seeing the warning signs. When the hospital psychiatrist starts chipping away at the months before Lizzie's attempted suicide, Hope slowly starts putting together the pieces of what drove Lizzie to even consider such a thing.

Gutsy, rough, disturbing, heart-breaking and written in verse - my daughter and I consumed this work of fiction too quickly!

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Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with all Jodi Picoult books, there is always a huge debatable topic covered and this novel deals with a family's heart-rending decision for their father - continue life as a comatose patient or allow death by removing life-support.

Luke Warren, the well-known Wolf Whisperer, and his daughter Cara has been involved in a terrible accident, leaving him in a coma and machine dependent and Cara, injured. Cara, who has lived with her father and his wolf-pack predominately since her parents divorced years ago waits upon a miracle. But, Cara has an older brother, Edward, that left home years ago, who feels that his Dad would not want him to extend his life as is. Ready for battle, both Cara and Edward will find that there are no winners with either decision..

Interesting facts about wolves and their packs are woven into the storyline, but there were times when I questioned Luke's sanity as when he left his young family for a year to disappear off the map and live with the wolves..

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The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What an on the edge of your seat, dystopian page turner! I read this on my Kindle late at night and actually had a nightmare about it. My son woke me up wondering if I was trying to get away from someone!

Thomas can not remember the past, only his name. He is in a dark moving thing as it ascends. Above him doors seem to open and light comes flooding in, blinding his eyes. Other boys unknown to him, some younger, some older help him out and suddenly Thomas is surrounded and even more afraid. Where is he - what has happened to his memories? What is this place - the Glade - where walls move at "night" and terrifying things outside the walls, called Grievers, roam at will....

#2 The Scorch Trials
#3 The Death Cure





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The Limit

The Limit by Kristen Landon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


How embarrassing - while at the local store, Matt's family exceeds their credit. But wait, it's much worse than just teenage embarrassment - Matt is only 13 and is sent away to a workhouse to pay off his family's overspending. Good thing he's almost a genius - Matt is allowed to live on the top floor where the brains live and work on contracts for the government and large corporations. Things seem good at first - he makes new friends, the rooms are cool, big TVs and computers to play with and a swanky pool to swim in. But then, while cracking into the workhouse files, he finds that his sister has also been taken and has been living on a lower floor for days. She, for some reason, is also getting headaches and seizures. His family has been ultra careless, overspending on all kinds of things they don't need and he also discovers that anything he has ordered, such as clothes, food, and even living on the top floor has been put on the bill - Matt will never be ever to pay it off.

How easy it is, with credit, to slap a few extra "needed" items on the conveyor belt every time we visit a store.....an easy good read for teens.



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The Scent of Lilacs

Ann Gabhart wrote that this book was her first attempt at inspirational writing and it is the beginning of a series set in a small town in Hollyhill, Kentucky in the 1960s. A much simpler time and way of life but people faced the same distractions, temptations,and problems as now. Jocie, at only 13 and daughter of the local pastor, prays for her sister to return and a pet dog to love. Her father also is a newspaper editor and Jocie hangs out at the shop and helps out by taking pictures of local events and writing stories. They both share their home with Jocie's stern Great Aunt Love, who loves to quote scripture and handout chores. When Jocie was a baby her mother left in the middle of the night, taking with her Jocie's older sister, Tabitha, finally settling in California and never returning. One night at the beginning of summer, the family returns home from church to find someone sitting on the porch in the dark, waiting for them.

The main characters are so well written and your heart will break for sweet Jocie and the secrets that will change her summer and her life.

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After what Ginny, nicknamed "Big" and her daughter Liz or "Little" went through years ago, both are determined to keep Mosely away from booze, drugs and boys, not necessarily in that order. Three generations of women, 15 years apart in age, it's that time in the family when something not so good happens. The wheels are set in motion when Big decides to have the big willow out in the backyard cut down to have space for a swimming pool and tiny bones are found in a familiar looking box under the willow's life giving roots.



Southern voices, flawed loveable, downright funny characters to root for, and a mystery to solve make this book hard to put down. Good summer read or anytime read!



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Things We Didn't Say

Things We Didn't Say by Kristina Riggle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A contemporary read about a blended American family and all its warts and blemishes. Casey is a recovering alcoholic with a not so happy past, but when she falls in love with Michael and his children, all that is covered up. Michael only knows the "new" Casey whose worst "fault" is smoking. When Casey moves in to their family home, things shift and change. As Casey draws closer to the two youngest, Dylan and Jewel, teenager Angel plots with her real Mom to get rid of Casey. Then Dylan runs away, all hell breaks loose and secrets are exposed, words are said in anger, and Michael sides wrongly with ex-wife. Casey is ready to walk.



Very real. Very now. Gritty and honest.



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Christmas Treasures

Christmas Treasures by Thomas Kinkade

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another wonderful Christmas release by Kinkade and Spencer - Cape Light's favorite minister, Ben suffers a heart attack right before the Christmas season. As he slowly recovers, Ben considers giving up the pulpit for a well deserved retirement. At the same time, a young, troubled family moves into a small rundown home on Cape Light, hoping for a fresh start or at least a clearcut ending with bittersweet memories.

Kinkade's Christmas series is another personal favorite. A small cozy town, kind and resourceful residents, and hope born at Christmas always makes for a great story.



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The Sweetest Thing

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Mary “Dobbs” Dillard and Anne “Perri” Singleton are destined to be great friends, even though their first meeting was not pleasant. Brought together by circumstances during the Great Depression, affluent and socialite Perri still lives in a fairytale world several years after the Black Market crash of 1931. Dobbs’ wealthy Aunt Josie has brought her from her very poor world with her beloved evangelist parents and two sisters in Chicago to Atlanta to attend a prestigious, private school, Washington Seminary. Amidst the fluff of high society, tragedy strikes, and Perri’s father, a banker, takes his own life. Dobbs, who has only known poverty and want, steps in and not only boosters Perri’s spirits but shares her open, exuberant faith and sets out to discover several mysteries in the lovely Atlanta.

Love and loss, faith amidst tragedy, jealousy, abiding friendships, segregation, new beginnings, all have a say in this sweet faith-based historical fiction set during the turbulent times of the Great Depression. Even though bible verses are quoted, the message is never heavy handed. The two main characters are well fleshed out and mature as they learn from each other and I fell in love with the little, outgoing Parthenia.
A bit of history was learned – pop-calling was the rage in the ‘30s, where young men would “pop” in on marriage-aged young ladies, to sit on verandas and drink lemonade and sweet tea during lazy afternoons and evenings.




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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first read of Sherman Alexie's novels - and a pick for One Maryland, One Book for 2011 is a 100% uplifting read about 14 year old Junior, who lives on the bleak Spokane rez with his alcoholic parents and an older sister who never leaves the basement. Junior, because of his size and health problems, against all odds, somehow still maintains hope and this hope spurns him on to leave his own school to attend an all white high school inconveniently located 22 miles away in a farming community. Junior's "friends" on the rez, shun and bully him even further for leaving, and even his best main man, Rowdy, is out to maim him on the basketball court.

". . . I realized that, sure, Indians were drunk and sad and displaced and crazy and mean, but dang, we knew how to laugh. When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing."

Although terrible, tragic situations arise, Alexie gets his point across with a sense of humor and hilarious cartoons. Reading it after me is my 15 year old son, who was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. Don't let the blunt language and the real thoughts of a teen boy put you off - this book is a definite winner.

To deepen your reading and knowledge of Sherman Alexie, look more into his background and see the correlation between his life and his novels.



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The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my all time favs - The Ranger's Apprentice series crosses almost all ages - juvenile, teen, and adult readers. Again, my 15 year old and I fought over who was going to read it first. Hehehhh, I won! A nice, hefty size, the 10th and last book in the series finishes the story off nicely with several of our favorite characters getting together. Horace is visiting the land of Nihon-Ja, where he and the Emperor develop a close friendship. When the Emperor becomes threatened, Horace extends his stay and promises to protect his mentor - even at the risk of losing his life. Old and fast friends, Rangers Will & Halt, Diplomat Alyss, and Princess Evelyn and a boatload of Scandians travel across the many miles to assist their friend. Lots of exciting military battles and humor liven things up.



Can't wait until movies are made from the Ranger's Apprentice series.



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Fallen Angels

Gritty. Real. Explicit. Heartrendingly Sad. Terrifying. War.

Richie Perry, a 17 year old Harlem graduate, can't afford college nor has any good job prospects - so he enlists in the Army hearing that the war in Vietnam is ending soon. Although his relationship with his Mom is not good, Perry hates to leave his kid brother. When he arrives in Nam he soon joins a ragtag group of young men, most under the age of 20. At first the heat, bugs, and the monotony set in, then as the skirmishes and deployment begin, things get hot and heavy. Casualties mount, including those in his squad - good men who were in the wrong place, wrong time. Troops hurt and maim, by accident, other squads. Fear is a constant, heavy companion and Perry questions the war and himself. Overriding it all is the question - will he and his buddies make it back to the "world?"


Myers lays Perry thoughts and fears down so easily that it's hard to read without wincing. You can't put down the book, but the pain, confusion, and terror is right there in your face. I had to come up for air every once in awhile and think on the words I just read.....

It is said that in war, no one wins...

On the list of banned books due to "vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery that is gratuitously employed."

Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this as a e-book through my library while I was training on a Barnes and Noble Color Nook. Laurie Halse Anderson is a wonderful author of teen books and this work of fiction deserves 5 stars. I couldn't put it down and worried incessantly about the main character all the way through the book. I've known a few teens who have cut themselves to alleviate emotional and/or physical pain, but this gritty book gave me more insight on that and the everyday stress many of our teens are under.

Lia has an eating disorder, as does Cassie, who at one time was her bestie. They had made a pact years before to be the skinniest girls in the class. Both also had messy family lives. Now grown apart, on the night of her death, Cassie called Lia's cell 33 times - but Lia hadn't answered and now, guilt-ridden, continues the pact of losing weight. Will Lia accept help or spiral down to death like Cassie?



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Night Road

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Everyone knows that they better have an entire box of tissues nearby as Kristin Hannah's books are read. Another book I couldn't put down - although from the beginning I knew something of great tragedy was about to happen. Every mom fears when their children get their license and approach senior year in high school. I remember thinking and feeling the same things when my own children were beginning to drive and closing in on graduation.

Jude Farraday is a wonderful mom but is a helicopter parent. Her own childhood was not happy and she promised herself that she will do anything to make sure her two twins, Mia and Zach are happy and on track for college. When Lexi, a lonely teen, makes best friends with Mia, Jude is thrilled, as Mia is the opposite of Zach, quiet and into drama, versus he is popular and athletic. The further along the senior year goes, the parties intensify and Jude is wracked with fear. When the worst happens, Jude is so angry, that instead of offering forgiveness - she can only spiral down into depression, guilt, and hatred.



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