It's a Prison, Not a Paradise!

My Rating: 5/5

Review: Oh what a thrill-ride this little lovely turned out to be! I was completely hooked from beginning to end. In a futuristic world, a paradise was created. It has now become the worst hell you can possibly imagine. Finn is a prisoner trapped within, and Claudia is the future queen of the outside world who is determined to free him. Finn is not alone, of course, and there are many struggles within Incarceron. He has a oath brother named Kiero, a faithful follower named Attia, and an old wise man who believes that he will get them to freedom. It's a story that grips you, and won't let go even after you've reached it's end. Even better, there's a sequel.

Book Description:Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

Art Theft and a Determined Assasin

My Rating: 3/5

Review: I struggled to stay interested in this book, and I might have given up on it had it not been the book-of-the-month for my reading group on yahoo. The premise was ineteresting enough, but the writing seemed to drag a little bit. There were descriptions that droned on, dull conversations, and very little action. I did like the mystery, however, and the author's take on a real-life art theft. I would have to say, however, that this book is more for crime theorists, then the average mystery fan.

Book Description:In 1990, $300 million worth of paintings were stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what remains one of the greatest unsolved art thefts of the twentieth century. Now, nearly twenty years later, the case threatens to break wide open. Members of Boston's criminal underground are turning up dead, and the M.O. suggests IRA training. When Scott Finn learns that one of his clients, Devon Malley, was part of the heist, he's quickly drawn into the crossfire.

Fire Mysteries and Water Magic

My Rating: 4/5

Review: Shannon Hale has such a magical way with analogies. I think that's what makes her books so special. Well, that, and her wonderful imagination. I wasn't quite taken with Razo's story at first, but I was soon drawn in just like with the other books in this series. I do hope that it is a series, by the way, and not just a trilogy. I enjoyed these books so much, that I definitely want more. Enna and Finn join Razo in the distant land of their enemy from the last book, Enna Burning. It's not too long after they arrive that bodies start turning up. They are bodies that have been burnt to a crisp, and suspicion immediately falls on Enna. Razo is determined to find out the truth and protect his friend at all cost. Meanwhile, Enna and Finn are having romantic issues, and there's a certain young woman that's caught Razo's eye. This was a wonderfully fun romp, and I even laughed out loud a few times. There's the mystery of the burnt bodies too, of course, and plenty of close calls with the enemy they are trying to make peace with.

Book Description: Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission--escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy.

But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.

Wind and Fire

My Rating: 4/5

Review: This was a wonderful sequel to The Goose Girl, and I loved that Enna was featured. I like her spunk and loyalty. Of course, the latter is tested a little bit when she learns the magic of fire. Her brother is the first to find the secret, but it takes him down a dark path. When Enna starts to follow in his footsteps, it's up to her best friend, Isi, to bring her back. Magic, adventure, and even a little suspense keeps the pages turning steadily.

Book Description: Enna and Princess Isi became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but after Isi married Prince Geric, Enna returned to the forest. Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good-to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders-and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?

Life

Rating: 5/5

Review: Have you ever driven around at night, seen the lit up windows of houses you drive by, and wondered about the lives going on inside? Well, this book is like taking a glimpse into those lives. One constant in each story, is the formidable Olive Kitteridge. She is a no-nonsense kind of gal, with a nasty temper, big mouth, and very little patience. She has a big heart, though, and genuinely cares when a neighbour is in trouble or dealing with a terrible loss. Each chapter is a story, a glimpse, as I said, of everyday life. Only, the majority of them deal with the hard part of life. The heartache, loss, sickness, forbidden love, and infidelity. There are uplifting moments, too, though. It's not all dreary. It's interesting, engaging, and touching. I'm so glad that I read it.

Book Description: At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer’s eyes, it’s in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama - desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn’t always recognize the changes in those around her: a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive’s own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life – sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition - its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

Tragedy on the Cape

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: It started out a bit slow, and I wasn't too fond of the flash backs at first, but it soon caught my interest enough to keep me reading. The story is told by Henry Griswald, who was a boy at the time of the "affair". He was a student at Chatham school, as well as, the headmaster's son. He didn't have friends, he didn't have much respect for his father, and he is destined to do something he would never be able to forgive himself for. One fateful evening, tragedy will strike, people's lives will change forever, and young Henry would be there to see it all. He's the only one who knows the whole truth, and he's kept it to himself for a long long time. He takes a long long time to get to it, too, of course. The story drags a bit here and there, and there wasn't much suspense to it at all. There's always a feeling of doom, but I was never on the edge of my seat. The ending is a little shocking, especially the final truth that's revealed. So, even though it wasn't exciting. Even though it didn't have me biting my nails and frantically turning pages. I have to say, that reaching the shocking ending is worth the effort it takes to get there.

Book Description: Attorney Henry Griswald has a secret: the truth behind the tragic events the world knew as the Chatham School Affair, the controversial tragedy that destroyed five lives, shattered a quiet community, and forever scarred the young boy. Layer by layer, in The Chatham School Affair, Cook paints a stunning portrait of a woman, a school, and a town in which passionate violence seems impossible...and inevitable.

Forever Can Be Anything

Rating: 4/5

My Review: I didn't think that I was going to like this one at all when I first starting reading it. In fact, I had myself all set up to hate it, when I suddenly wanted to know more. I became curious about this girl, Macy, and the new friends she was making at Wish Catering. There's the scatter-brained, and very pregnant, Delia. The quiet and slow Monica with a very limited vocabulary, but ever faithful to those she cares about. There's Kristy, the flashy one that doesn't take anyone's crap for nothing. There's Bert, the goofball doomsday specialist with a bad sense of humor. And then, of course, there's Wes, the laid back artist with an aura of mystery about him that draws Macy in like a moth to a burning lamp. They are all intriguing in their own ways, and it was fun getting to know them through Macy's eyes. There is also the fact that Macy has lost her father, and has been hiding away from her grief instead of facing it. Her mother has been doing the same. So, there is the issue of how to deal with the lost of a loved one. I think Dessen handled it quite accurately, though I can't relate fully to the circumstances. Thankfully. I have to admit that at times I felt like I was reading some teenager's diary, which was long and a little tedious at times. Overall, however, I liked Macy's story, and I am perfectly willing to read another book by Dessen.

Book Description: Macy's summer stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. She will spend her days sitting at the library information desk. She will spend her evenings studying for the SATs. Spare time will be used to help her obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section of her luxury development.

But Macy's plans don't anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with Wish Catering, a motley crew of new friends, or . . . Wes. Tattooed, artistic, anything-but-expected Wes. He doesn't fit Macy's life at all&150so why does she feel so comfortable with him? So . . . happy? What is it about him that makes her let down her guard and finally talk about how much she misses her father, who died before her eyes the year before?