Melanie Watt: Have I Got a Book for You!
fun to read aloud with a cheesy salesman voice
Paul Fleischman: The Dunderheads
Ocean's Eleven meets Matilda
David Sacks: Vigfus the Viking
laugh out loud funny, and the kids like it too :)
Michael Bedard: Emily
beautifully illustrated story of a little girl who lives next door to Emily Dickinson
Karen White: The Girl On Legare Street (Tradd Street)
As much as I pshaw ghost stories, this one hooked me. (****)
John Shors: Dragon House
Serious subject with a light touch. (***)
Georgette Heyer: No Wind of Blame
3.5 stars (***)
Peter Ferry: Travel Writing
(****)
Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)
i appreciated the slower parts and thought the end was rushed. i'm also not sure i like the added emphasis on the romantic part of the story - i hope it's not the influence of twilight. (****)
Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me
going on my top 10 list this year (*****)
Dan Chaon: Await Your Reply: A Novel
another 3.5 - much hyped and there lies my disappointment. i just didn't care about the story or characters until about 2/3 of the way through, and then soon after figured out the clever twist. but a very well written clever twist. (***)
Jenna Blum: Those Who Save Us
i'm hovering in between a 3 and 4...3.5? another perspective - a German woman's survival during WW2. it think I need a break from this genre. (***)
Beth Kephart: Undercover
(*****)
Maeve Binchy: Heart and Soul
no one writes feel-good stories better (****)
Gillian Flynn: Dark Places: A Novel
another eerie one...with quite the twist (****)
Alan Bradley: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
4.5 - old fashioned mystery (****)
Diana Orgain: Bundle of Trouble (A Maternal Instincts Mystery)
review coming soon (***)
George Pelecanos: The Night Gardener
3.5 - my first Pelecanos book - love the DC setting (***)
Dave Cullen: Columbine
(****)
Jennifer Cody Epstein: The Painter from Shanghai: A Novel
3.5 (***)
Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
(****)
Kathryn Stockett: The Help
(*****)
Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize)
(****)
Claire Kilroy: Tenderwire
(****)