The White Princess by Philippa Gregory

Book:  The White Princess 

Author:  Phil Gregs 

Grade:  B 

Recommended To:  Phil Gregs fans! 

This is the latest installment in the Cousin's War series of books that Philippa Gregory has written.  It is hard to believe that there have been five books in this series so far.  It seems like she just finished the Henry VIII series.

This book is the story of the parents of Henry VIII.  Elizabeth is married to Henry Tudor, who took the throne from King Richard.  Like all of Gregory's books, the female characters are the feature and the entire book is told from the perspective of Elizabeth, the York princess.

This book continues the mystery of the two lost princes, Richard and Edward, that was begun in The White Queen.  Henry Tudor VII has captured the throne but is far from secure.  He marries Elizabeth, in an attempt to join the two rival houses, but instead rumors of the lost boy prince Richard haunt Henry throughout his reign.

I thought this book was acceptable.  It wasn't the best of the series and it wasn't the worst.   The Lady of the Rivers, which I don't believe I reviewed on this blog was by far the worst.  It took me months to finish that book.

This book moved quickly and was fun to read.  It is true that it is repetitive, but at this point, I just assume that Gregory's books are going to repeat over and over again.  She's a huge fan of telling the reader the entire title for a person every time that person is referenced.  At least 1000 words could have been saved by limiting My Lady the King's Mother to just Mother or Crazy, for example.  So, if you are willing to overlook that, this story was good and it kept my attention.  Plus, I find the mystery surrounding the lost Tower princes to be fascinating especially because no one knows for sure what happened to them.

In other news, I am FOUR books ahead of schedule on my read-65-books-in-a-year Goodreads challenge.   In the three years that I've done the challenge, I don't think I've ever been that far ahead of schedule.  Maybe I'll hit 70 this year!

I definitely recommend this book to the hard-core Gregory fans out there.  You will not be disappointed.

Happy Reading!!

I Want It Now! By Julie Dawn Cole

Book:  I Want It Now! 

Author:  Julie Dawn Cole 

Grade:  B

Recommended to:  WONKA fans!! 

This is the true life account of the actress that played Veruca Salt in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.   I lived and breathed that movie as a kid.  I knew it by heart and my sister and I would rent it over and over again from Blockbuster in VHS.

Remember Veruca?  The total brat who wanted a bean feast?  (I want a bean feast!  Give it to me now!)  What the hell is a bean feast?  Sounds terribly gaseous.   She was one of my favorites, so much so that we have a 20-year-old cat named Veruca after Ms. Salt's very character.  Veruca, the cat, would eat by balancing on her hind legs, place her two front paws on the heads of the kittens next to her and lower herself down to the food.   She's an awesome cat and a perfect namesake for the Wonka character.

This book has all sorts of insight and details into the making of the movie.  Plus, the actress actually got to meet Roald Dahl, which makes me completely jealous.   It was so fun to read about the chocolate river, the Wonka boat, the golden goose room, and the lickable wall paper.  This book made me want to watch the movie, maybe in Blu-Ray, immediately.  Perhaps with a delicious chocolate sundae or some everlasting gobstobbers.

This book evened out a bit when Julie Cole described the rest of her life in television and in various other stage shows because I haven't seen the British show she starred in.  But, otherwise, this book was a fascinating account of how the sets, dialogue, and characters came to live to make this deliciously epic movie.

I recommend this to anyone who loved the original Wonka and who wants some insight into how the movie magic was made.

Happy Reading!!

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Book:  A Dance with Dragons 

Author:  George R.R. Martin 

Grade:  B

Recommended to:  Everyone in the whole universe, especially my hubs, so I can talk about the plot with someone!  

I promise there won't be any spoilers in this review because this series is so good and so exciting and so many things happen (except in book four) that I would be wretchedly pissed if someone spoiled it for me.  So, I pledge that I won't spoil anything.

First, why is the projected release date for Winds of Winter (book 6) in the year 2014?  That is so far away it barely sounds like a year.  How could the projected release date of the paperback version of Dance with Dragons still be three months away?  Ughhhh.   I'm just generally pissed at George.  He leaves a few cliffhangers that are essentially the most massive cliffhangers of all time and then he won't get down to the business of writing fast enough, so I have to wait at least another year to read about my faves again.  It's like Harry Potter all over again, except Rowling had the good sense to finish it.

Second, the HBO series is only a small consolation.  Small.

Third, have you seen how old and decrepit-looking Georgie is?   He had better not conk-out and leave this series unfinished.  Allegedly he's told HBO how the whole things ends, so even if he can't finish the series, at least HBO will finish it.  Again, small consolation. Very small.

If you haven't jumped on this bandwagon yet, I suggest you do.  The HBO series is wonderful, the books are wonderful and apparently there are some good companion novels, which I never read, but if you are into that, then cool.

See, no spoilers.

Happy Reading and Happy Happy New Year!

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis

Book:  The Boy in the Suitcase 

Authors:  Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  Steig Laarsen Fans, Mystery and Thriller Fans. 

I cannot rave enough about how much I like getting good books for 99 cents in the Kindle Daily Deal.  Seriously, if you haven't signed up for the KDD yet, now is the time to do it.  They send you an email every morning with one or two books for dirt cheap.  Initially, because the books were so cheap, I thought they would be terrible, the books that the publishers had to push on the Kindle World in order to generate some publicity.  But, I have had enormous success with these books and I definitely recommend The Boy in the Suitcase as one of those successes.

This book has a lot of characters and their names are Eastern European, so it took some time to get used to the language and characters in the book.  But, at itscore this book is about a stolen little boy, aged 3, who is found by a good Samaritan type named Nina Borg.  She unravels the clues in an attempt to discover the boy's mother and some very nasty characters along the way.

This mystery is very well done.  One of my more recent pet-peeves is when an author has no sense of dialogue and how to make dialogue work well.  These authors were excellent at creating meaningful dialogue and suspense without overdoing it.  I appreciate that and because of that skill, I recommend this book to pretty much everyone.

Turns out that I read this book just in time because Lene Kaaberbol has a new book called Invisible Murder coming out tomorrow!  That book also follows Nina Borg and I can only hope that it is as good as the first.  Plus, I think we all know by now how much I love series books that follow the same characters through different adventures.  Fave!

Happy Reading!!

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Book:  Bring up the Bodies 


Author:  Hilary Mantel 


Grade B 


Recommended To: People who just wished and wished Hilary would fix the second-person speech in her follow up. 


Bring up the Bodies is the second book in a trilogy written by Hilary Mantel.  Her first book Wolf Hall followed Thomas Cromwell on his rise to power as an adviser to King Henry VIII and his tireless efforts to put Anne Boleyn on the throne of England.

Book two is a bit different.  Cromwell must reverse his efforts and remove Anne from the throne in order to keep his ever demanding boss, the king, from blowing a royal gasket.

I really enjoyed this book from Cromwell's perspective.  One of my biggest complaints about Wolf Hall was that Mantel writes in second person.   Everything is: He this and He that.  She still writes in second person in Bring up the Bodies, but at least this time, she makes it more clear who she is talking about.  Now, the sentences read something like:  He, Cromwell, went to the market.    This got very repetitive, but at least the reader is aware that the person she's talking about is the main character and not some other male character in the book.

There are many books about Tudor England and the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, but of all the historical fiction I've read from this time period, Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies are two of the most accurate and most compelling.  Mantel creates an urgency around the conviction and trial of Anne Boleyn that I haven't found in other books.  Her viewpoint on the speed of Anne's downfall is very interesting and I've never seen a Tudor author break down the investigation in the way that Mantel does.  Mantel describes King Henry's orders to Cromwell, the investigation into Anne's behavior, and her imprisonment and trial in a span of around 6 days. It is wildly fascinating to read about how Cromwell interrogated a mere singer in Queen Anne's retinue and from there indicted several of the King's closest friends and the Queen, particularly in such a short period of time.

I do recommend reading some lighter historical fiction (even wikipedia) about the time period before delving into these two books.  The writing is sometimes very tough and it helps to have a perspective on the way the history turns out before reading the books.  Not that we don't all know what happens to Anne Boleyn, but there is a host of other characters, who are just as important, and some quick background on those individuals is hugely helpful when reading this book.

I give this book a very solid B and I recommend it as an improvement on Wolf Hall.  I am very excited for the third book in the series, which I can only imagine takes Cromwell to new highs and lows.

Happy Reading!!

Fully Loaded Thrillers by Blake Crouch

Book:  Fully Loaded Thrillers. 


Author:  Blake Crouch 


Grade:  B


Recommended To:  Short story fans and horror/mystery fans. 


This was a collection of ten deliciously creepy short stories.  Some were so short that they were about a page long and the description before the book was at least triple the story itself.

I had never read anything by Blake Crouch before I picked up this book as an Amazon Daily Deal.  Crouch is a good author. He creates suspense with scenes and descriptions, which in this reviewer's opinion is the proper way to write good books.  Let me warn you, some of these stories were so creepy that I found myself thinking about them for days afterward.

For example, in one story a husband and wife get a pocket dial telephone call where they hear someone killing another person.   The story twists and turns and ends up with a very shocking ending.  It was deliciously and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Without giving too much away, there's also a very compelling story about a serial killer hitchhiker and serial killer ride-giver who meet.  The result is horrifying and definitely keeps you guessing.

I liked this book.  I liked being a little creeped out by the stories and the characters.  I also liked that these stories were so short, I could nearly get through one on my train ride to the city.

I definitely recommend this book to people looking for something well written and off the beaten path.

Happy Reading!

Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Book:  Three Cups of Deceit 

Author:  Jon Krakauer 

Grade:  B 

Recommended To: Krakauer fans, People who believe deceit is best served icy cold. 

Three Cups of Deceit is Jon Kraukauer's expose of The Central Asia Institute, a charitable institution that builds schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  

Some of the reveals in this book are shocking.  For example, the CAI rakes in millions of dollars in donations each year, but a small fraction of those donations are actually used to build schools.  Instead, the leader of the organization, Greg Mortensen, uses donated funds for private planes to his book signing and speaking events to the tune of several million dollars.  

Another shocker:  that none  of the profits from Greg Mortensen's extremely popular books are donated to the CAI, those royalties go straight into Greg's pocket.   

I've donated to the CAI and I raved about Greg Mortensen's book Three Cups of Tea  on this blog in early 2011.  (actually, almost a year ago today...interesting.)  The book is compelling and the stories told by Greg are uplifting.  I remember crying when finishing Three Cups and thinking that I had to do something, since a man from so humble beginnings was able to accomplish such extensive change.    Krakauer exposes many of the heartwarming stories in Three Cups, and Mortensen's follow up book Stones into Schools, as out right lies.  Many of the stories did not happen, or were seriously elaborated to make them sound better for publishing.

I trust Krakauer.  He has a reputation of thorough research that is easy to follow.  This is certainly not a heartwarming book, but, it is very interesting at a time when many charities are under scrutiny for exactly how donations are spent.

Happy Reading!!

The Story of My Life by Clarence Darrow

Book:  The Story of My Life 

Author:  Clarence Darrow 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  Monkeys

This book is about what you would expect.  A story about this dude's life who was relevant a long time ago and who no one really knows about now.   My aunt got this book for me as a must-read classic. 

But, this book was also extremely funny.  This guy wrote an I-Don't-Give-A-Shit book.  And I loved it.   He's balls to the wall about laying his "truth" out there.  He rants about how the educational system is completely flawed, including how learning latin, greek and even mathematics is completely useless. 

The absolute funniest chapters are about the Scopes Money Trial.   Darrow mocks the religious fundamentalists ruthlessly.  I recommend just reading the Scopes chapters.  There are about three at page 250 in the book and I was laughing out loud on the train.

I'm not sure if Darrow intended to be funny, it is likely that when he sat down to write his life story, that he had no concept of a 20 something attorney giggling on the metra, but even if that wasn't his goal, he achieved it.  His writing was so straightforward and honest that you couldn't help but chuckle.  His story is also very egotistical.  Darrow knows that he's the best and has no qualms about it. 

His writing was often choppy, unedited, and difficult to follow.  But, this is why I recommend reading just the few funniest chapters.  

I'd check it out if I were you. 

Happy Reading!!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Book:  Unbroken 

Author:  Laura Hillenbrand 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  Anyone with an interest in WWII.  Especially the pacific theater. 

  I took a break from this blog, and I needed it.  I was too overwhelmed with this blog, wedding planning, and my job to actually keep up with the blog how I wanted to. 

But, I'm back. 

I have been reading a lot and Unbroken was one book that I just couldn't help blogging about.  I got this book for my birthday from my fiance's parents and it came highly recommended. 

This is the story of Louis Zamperini, an olympic track runner who joined the air force during WWII.  He worked on a B24 bomber as the user of a brand new proprietary invention that could sight targets and aim bombs directly at them.  

On one mission his plane crashed into the pacific and he survived for over 40 days and then became a POW in a Japanese camp.   This story was excellent.  I have read a lot of WWII non-fiction and this was one of the first books I've read about the pacific theater and the first book I've read about POWs. Everyone knows about the conditions in the concentration camps, but I hadn't seen any literature about the conditions in POW camps that were supposedly regulated by the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions.

This was often a very disturbing book, but also a book that left me believing in the American cause.  It was a book full of hope and resilience and I read it in about two days.  I recommend it to anyone interested in a real life hero and to anyone interested in a story that isn't often told. 

Happy Reading!! 

Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Books:  Catching Fire and Mockingjay


Author:  Suzanne Collins 


Grade:  
Catching Fire:  B 
Mockingjay:  B+ 


Recommended To:  Adults, Suzanne is fooling herself if she thinks these are YA novels. 


Catching Fire


There are some in my book club world that believe that Catching Fire was better than The Hunger Games, but I disagree with those women wholeheartedly.  Catching Fire follows Katniss on her journey back to District 12 after she wins the Hunger Games.  But, this is the year of the Quarter Quell - the 75th anniversary of the games where there are special circumstances for the games.  I don't want to give too much away, but there's a mega huge surprise at the end and I had to re-read the last 6 chapters or so to make sense of the ending.

Catching Fire was not as good as the first in the series because for most of the book, it was much of the same, except now there are uprisings in the districts and Katniss is super rich because of her victory.  The ending was sufficiently shocking to make up for some of the repetitiveness in the rest of the story.

This isn't to say that I didn't like Catching Fire.  It was magnificently well written and again has very dark themes that are not suitable for children or even some young adults.

Mockingjay 


This was far and above the best book in the series.  Katniss has escaped to the mysterious District 13 to begin healing from her ordeal in Catching Fire.  What I really like about this book is that Katniss is so broken.  She is absolutely not a typical hero - she has feelings, emotions, and severe PTSD from her experiences.  I am so glad the author didn't make her any stronger because Katniss's weakness made her believable and extremely interesting.

That said, she still does a lot of hero things - but she does them reluctantly and she does them with a sense that the decisions she makes may not be the right ones.  I appreciate Collins' restraint and ability to craft a believable character that is also heroic.  Isn't that always it anyway - the heroes are the ones who are actually pretty normal?

That is what makes Mockingjay the best book in the series.  There are some superb actions scenes too though, so if you aren't interested in Katniss getting over her issues, Mockingjay does not lack for a great story line.

Happy Reading!!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Book:  The Hunger Games 

Author:  Suzanne Collins 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  Everyone. 

You know a book is great when you put off working on your very first jury trial in order to read long into the night.  You also know a book is good when you are sitting in the courtroom for your trial and you are still reading The Hunger Games.  In all fairness - I wasn't really slacking - there was a 5% chance that the trial would go and it didn't end up going.

Either way, this book snatches your attention and doesn't let go.  This is the book club book this month and it is excellent.  It was probably the fastest I've ever read a book and I could not put it down for the 24 hours it took me to read the thing. 

I'm probably late to the Hunger Games phenomenon - but in case you are also late - this book is about a post-apocalypse society that is controlled by the Capital.  Each year the Capital picks a boy and a girl from each of the 12 Districts and sticks them all in an arena to fight to the death.  It is all about survival and taking chances.

Although this book is technically "young adult,"  I wouldn't let kids younger than say 15 read this book.  There are a lot of dark themes that left me thinking several days after I finished the book and I don't think they are appropriate for young kids.  I also don't read a lot of  YA books, but this book was refreshingly adult and interesting.

The book did smack of Stephen King's The Long Walk and I found myself wondering if Ms. Collins borrowed some themes from other prominent last-man-standing books.  But, either way, I'm going to definitely read the second and third books in the series.

You should check this book out if you want something super fast - but, I recommend reading it on a weekend when you don't have a work conflict.

Happy Reading!!

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

Book:  Cleopatra:  A Life 

Author:  Stacy Schiff 

Grade:  B 

Recommended To:  Strong women,  people interested in the Roman version of Cleopatra's life. 


I finally finished Cleopatra  this weekend and I really enjoyed it. Stacy Schiff does an excellent job creating a picture of a woman who ruled a vast and dense empire for 22 years.  This is a very different picture from the motion picture version we all get.

Most of us think of Cleo as the woman most famous for her relationships with Ceasar and Mark Antony and then for her famous death at the fangs of an Asp.

But, that version has some serious flaws as Schiff points out.  Sure, she slept with and had children with both Ceasar and Mark Antony, but she also was one of the most successful female leaders, if not the most, of the last 2000 years.  Cleo ruled over a kingdom that never revolted, was the richest kingdom in the ancient world and grew to the largest it had ever been under the Ptolomies.

I really liked that the author didn't make anything up when there were holes in the history.  Schiff acknowledged that there are parts of Cleopatra's life missing and she used other parts of the Ptolomaic history to fill in the holes.   Most of the reason why we do not have a complete life of Cleopatra is because papyrus is a notoriously poor instrument to last 2000 years and because Ceasar burned the Alexandrian library.  So, all of the information we have about Cleopatra comes Rome.

This colors her history significantly because she wasn't very popular with the prolific writers in Rome during her lifetime.  Schiff does an excellent job of parsing out the bias and crafting an interesting account of cleopatra's life.

I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to any lover of non-fiction who wants to read about a powerful woman who had an amazing reign.

Happy Reading!!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Book:  Cutting for Stone 

Author:  Abraham Verghese 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  Everyone who thinks a book is great even with a mediocre ending. 

 Cutting for Stone was out of this world incredible until I got to about the last 50 pages or so.  The book is about twins who are born to a nun who dies in child birth and who are fathered by a very accomplished surgeon. 

The twins are born in Ethiopia and are adopted by the resident gynecologist at the hospital where the twins are born.  To be honest, I wasn't sure in the first 100 pages or so where the story was going and the book seemed to take a very long time for the actual story to start.   The first 100 pages are consumed with the birth of the twins, and Verghese spends a lot of time on the background of each and every character.  It gets tedious. 

The middle of the book is by far the best.  The book is full of amazing imagery - and beautifully crafted language.  Unlike the Sweet Valley Confidential book, I never had to re-read a sentence to figure out what was going on.  The book just flowed.  The chapter breaks didn't even feel like breaks because of how well crafted the story and sentence structure was.  I appreciate books like this. 

The end of the book was much too quick for the amount of time spent leading up to the end.  I won't give anything away, but the end is a bit shocking - and in my opinion, the book was wrapped up too quickly.  It turns out that the story is about Marion's (one of the twins) entire life.  It was a lot to fit into 660 pages.  And seriously, 660 is a LONG book. 

I mostly gave this book a B because of the beginning and the end.    This is a must read for someone looking for beautifully crafted story.  The book is long, but it doesn't feel long.  You will like this book if you pick it up,  I nearly guarantee it.

Happy Reading!!

Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen

Book:  Double Whammy 

Author:  Carl Hiaasen 

Grade:   B 

Recommended To:  Hiaasen Fans, Fishermen. 

This was one of Hiaasen's first novels - I didn't know this until the elusive Skink showed up and he still had both of his eyes.  This is a recurring and magnificent character in Hiaasen's works and you get a lot of background on Skink in this book. 

In this book the main character is hired to research incidences of cheating in bass fishing tournaments and during those escapades - there are lots of creative murders and drama that make this book so classically Hiaasen.

This book is a lot darker and a bit less funny than some of his other books, which is why I gave it the B rating.  But, overall I will never fall out of love with Hiaasen's work.  He is an extremely talented and well written author that never leaves his audience stranded. 

I almost wish that I had read his books in order - but unfortunately I've had to piece together Skink's character and history from the many books where he is featured.  So, that is my recommendation to new Hiaasen readers - find his website and read them in order - it isn't at all necessary, but it will help if you are interested in the chronology of Skink.  What a goofy sentence!

This book is a solid B for its darker story line.  But, nevertheless I enjoyed it.  

Happy Reading! 

Predators by Anna Salter, Ph.D

Book:  Predators:  Pedophiles, Rapists, & Other Sex Offenders 

Author:  Anna Salter, Ph.D 


Grade:  B 


Recommended To:  Parents, Potential Parents, Grandparents.  Not recommended for actual children. 

My sister is a social worker and has spent the second half of her short life working with victims of sexual assault.  She read this book as a part of a class in college, owns two copies, and has been talking about this book non-stop for the last 7 years or so.

I finally, finally, decided to read it and I am seriously glad that I did.  I feel so much better prepared to have kids and to keep them safe after reading this book.  Which is why this book is recommended to every single person who has kids and every single person who wants to have kids.This book might become a staple in every baby shower gift that I give from now on.  Just so parents have the opportunity to be aware of the dangers facing their children.

The incidence of child molestation and rape is far too prevalent not to be prepared for this horrifying situation that could happen to anyone.  Salter breaks the book up into chapters about each type of predator and ends the book with chapters about how to detect deception and how to deflect predators from yourself and your children.  Those chapters were my favorite because Salter gives practical advice on what predators look for when they groom child victims and how to deflect that attention away from your kids.

Salter is admittedly a bit dry.  This is a sociological work and she goes into lots of detail about a lot of different studies.  This can drag, but she generally does an excellent job of explaining the studies in a way that is very easy for a lay person to understand.  She also includes a lot of anecdotes that move the book along very well.

A word of warning about this book.  It is absolutely terrifying.  Especially the chapter on psychopaths.  Those are the predators that don't feel even a bit of remorse or guilt when they lie, deceive, or commit heinous crimes.  I can't speak about the chapter on Sadists because I skipped it.  Salter includes a warning at the beginning of the chapter and says that if you don't think you can handle it, then you should skip it.  I opted to heed her warning.  I think I can be aware of predators without knowing the exact details of the crimes they commit in their own words.  That's too much.

In short, this book is B material.  I liked it.  I'm passing it around to all of the women in my book club so that we are prepared to keep our kids safe and I recommend it to everyone who has the same goal. 

Happy Reading! 

Room by Emma Donoghue

Book: Room

Author:  Emma Donoghue

Grade:  B

Recommended To:   Book Clubs, Fans of Children's Artwork 

Audio book, unabridged. 


I have been doing some super boring work and thought that instead of podcasts, I should "read" an audio book to pass the time.  This turned out to be the best idea of my entire life and I chose Room as my first audio book because it got excellent reviews and is the June book for my book club.

Let me start by saying that some of my review might be colored by the fact that I "read" this as an audio book.  This book was read by four different people that did the various voices for the characters, which made it super excellent, but also ran the risk of being annoying if you don't like the voice of one of the readers. 

If you haven't heard of  Room it is about a woman who was kidnapped and held as a sex slave by a man that is only known as "Old Nick."  She has a baby with this man and she creates an entire world for she and her son, Jack in one room.  They finally escape (this isn't a spoiler because the back of the book says it) and the last half of the book is about Jack and his mother's readjustment to the outside world.

This is a really fantastic book about the love between a mother and her son and her incredibly ability to keep him alive and happy in an 11 x 11 room.   Once they get out, Jack is shocked to learn that other people exist, that there are many copies of books and toys, and that he might occasionally be separated from his mother. 

There are a few parts of the book that just seem callous.  For example, Jack's uncle wants to take Jack to the museum, a mere week after he has been in the "outside."  They stop at a mall and are shocked when Jack flips out from being in such a huge place.  It was surprising that his family members would not immediately put the child first and consider how he might react to all of these new things.  Even the mother had a few shocking bits after the escape, but as a reader, I had to remember that she had been trapped in the same room for the last 7 years.

This book was absolutely intense, riveting and comes highly recommended by this blog.  I enjoyed that this was an audio book because it was easy to keep track of the characters, was extremely easy to listen to (and do some work) and seemed well done because of the various voices.  You should check this out if you haven't.  It made a ton of book lists in 2010 and for good reason!

I have a couple of other audio books to listen to, including Michael Connelly's newest; The Fifth Witness.  Look forward to that review and to a review of The Help, April's book club pick!

Happy Reading!!

Crash Into Me by Liz Seccuro

 

Book:  Crash Into Me 

Author:  Liz Seccuro 

Grade:  B 

Recommended To: Sexual Assault Survivors, Women. 

This book is the true story of Liz Seccuro who survived a very violent sexual assault in college and who, 22 years later brought charges against the man that raped her.

This book was really good, but it was very sad and described a very violent sexual assault scene and the ramifications of that event in Seccuro's life.  

This book was educational in a number of ways.  First, I learned that the Commonwealth of Virginia  does not have a statute of limitations for rape.  This was fairly shocking because it wasn't at all what I expected from any state, let alone Virginia.  This was why Seccuro was allowed to press criminal charges against her assailant over twenty years after the assault took place. 

Second, I learned quite a bit about the 12 steps of recover in Alcoholics Anonymous.  Seccuro had, for the most part, put the assault behind her; she was married with a brand new daughter, and suddenly she received a letter from her assailant that was very unapologetic, but "attempted to make amends" for the assault.  This brought the horror roaring back and resulted in the criminal charges. 

This book was powerful, and it wasn't just because of the horrifying rape scene.  It was powerful because of Seccuro's incredible strength to relive the experience and testify against her assailant.  It was also incredibly powerful of her to write this book and give other survivors some hope that they can move past an assault. 

I recommend this book to everyone.  I said before that it was recommended to women, but I don't at all believe that sexual assault is only a female problem.  Everyone should be educated about the ramifications of sexual assault and this book is a riveting first person account of those consequences. 

Happy Reading!!

The Confession by John Grisham

Book:  The Confession 

Author:  John Grisham 

Grade: B 

Recommended To:  Law fans, John Grisham Fans, Confessors. 

The Confession is John Grisham's latest book.  I waited forever for it on paperbackswap and it took me an entire week to finish it because my commute is extremely short, which means I get through about 8 pages and then have to quit.  Taking the fast train is not boding well for my blog. 

This book follows the fictional story of Donte Drumm a high school football hero who is convicted of murder and sent to death row.  The story opens with the real killer contacting a Keith, a Lutheran Minister and confessing to the crime.  That confession spurs a frantic dash to Texas to stop the Drumm execution before it takes place 

This story is very well done.  It is Grisham's first about the death penalty, I believe, and he captures some incredible detail about an inmate's struggle in solitary confinement, the tortuous last days and hours leading up to an execution, the appeals process, and the racial tension surrounding the death penalty. 

I love how Grisham writes.  He wraps up every single story line at the end of the book and his writing is fact based.  He includes some emotion, but for the most part, he writes like a lawyer.  His books are one fact after another.  This is quite a bit different from some of the other books I've been reading lately and it was refreshing to know exactly what was going on at all times.  

This story was reminiscent of Dead Man Walking by Helen Prejean, the nun who befriended a death row inmate and watched him die.   Dead Man Walking launched me firmly into the anti-death penalty camp, (if I wasn't there already), and as a fictional novel, The Confession has the ability to do much of the same.  Grisham casts an evil glow over the proponents of the death penalty and ends up writing a fairly believable and well-written novel.  This story is also resonant because of the recent abolition of the death penalty in Illinois by Governor Pat Quinn. 

I gave this book a B, it should have been a fast read for me and probably will be for someone with a little more time, it was well -written and it was about a great subject.  You should check out this book!

Happy Reading!!

Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule

Book:  Small Sacrifices 

Author:  Ann Rule 

Grade:  B

Recommended To:  True Crime Fans,  Farrah Fawcett Fans.  

Small Sacrifices is the true crime story of Diane Downs, the mother that shot her three children and then drove them to the hospital with a dramatic and terrifying tale of a 'bushy-haired stranger' who had demanded Downs' car and then inexplicably shot her children when she refused.

Some of you might know this story from the Farrah Fawcett made for TV movie by the same name, personally I've not seen it, but it is on now on our Netflix.

The book has an air in incredibility, how could a mother not fight to save her children? And, when Downs becomes the prime suspect, how could a mother have shot her children as they lay sleeping in the backseat of her car.

Ann Rule writes many true-crime novels, although this it the first that I've read of hers.   I think it is difficult to write true-crime stories without getting boring, but for the most part, Rule accomplishes this and weaves together all of the incredible evidence with precision.  There are times when the story drags a bit because Rule is literally just recounting factual data or testimony.  Her sentences in places also are a bit choppy, but this seems to be part of the problem with a lot of true crime books.

The story is powerful.  When Christie Downs, Diane's daughter takes the stand and definitively points to her mother as the shooter, Rule captures the event with enough description to make the reader feel as if they are really in the courtroom witnessing the exchange between the child and the prosecutor.

I gave this book a B because it was very well put together, if a bit lengthy.  Diane is an extraordinarily interesting and terrifying woman and this account captures her personality well.  I recommend this book to anyone who really enjoys true-crime novels.   I will certainly be reading more of Rule.

Happy Reading!! 

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Book:  Dragonfly in Amber 


Author:  Diana Gabaldon 


Grade:  B


Recommended To:  Scottish, People who like love stories, Witches. 


This is the second book in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and I think it was even better than the first.  If you have not read this series - you should take a trip to a closing Borders and get it at a discount.

This book begins with a Claire that is 20 years older and her daughter's trip to Scotland (circa 1968) where Claire tells Brianna about the circumstances of her birth and her father, Jamie.  Yay!  I was so excited for this, but was totally disappointed in Brianna's reaction.  What a total moper.  Jamie is possibly one of the most attractive male characters that I've read about since Gabriel Allon (Daniel Silva fans, please stand up).  Who wouldn't be happy to have Jamie as their dad?  Hello, Brianna - you don't know what great news this really is!

But, of course the story wasn't really about Brianna, but about the fateful battle of Culloden that Gabaldon took about 700 pages to actually write about.   Even though this book is written in a series of small events that happen to Jamie and Claire in the months leading up to the culminating battle - this book never failed to keep my attention.  Everything absolutely comes full circle at the end with a serious twist in the last 30 pages.  And, a serious cliff-hanger.  Damn it, Diana, don't you know that I have fifty-three books on my to-read shelf?  I don't have time to engross myself in another 1000-pager.

One thing I didn't like was the obsession with Jack Randall and allowing him to live.  He's a really bad guy in this book with absolutely no redeemable qualities.  I wish Jamie had just killed him when he had the chance so I didn't have to keep reading about what a horrible person he was.

Otherwise, this was a pretty good book.  I gave it a B because her writing is absolutely fantastic, the attention to detail is unparalleled in most of the historical fiction that I've read.  I can't wait to read the third book, Voyager, and see what happens to this glorious couple next.

Happy Reading!!