Cop Town by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Cop Town by Karin Slaughter
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Bantam Dell for the ARC, Cop Town by Karin Slaughter, a riveting adult police crime mystery taking place in 1974 in Atlanta, GA. Unwelcome change has been permeating the police force in Atlanta and there are many “old boy” cops who hate seeing women, blacks, and other minorities, infiltrate their ranks. There is a cop killer on the loose and hostility and fear is rampant. The Lawson family is thick in the police force with Uncle Terry, Jimmy, and Maggie as the most current members. With The first cop killing, Eddie Spivey, was rounded up quickly with tangible evidence as the shooter. But Uncle Terry’s manufactured evidence hurts the solid case and the jury frees Eddie Spivey. In separate chapters, the reader follows Wolf (the killer), Maggie Lawson, and Kate Murphy as they fight (against their brothers in arms) to solve the cop murders and affect justice without losing their sense of self and jobs. But the force is corrupt, and as Maggie and Kate push forward to follow the clues, the Atlanta Shooter is calculating his next sick, deliberate “execution,” all the while continuing to be obsessed with rookie, Kate Murphy . Karin Slaughter’s characters are real, deep, and full of contradictions in a tumultuous period of Atlanta’s police force. I particularly enjoyed the depth of the female characters Maggie, Kate, Dehlia, Oma, and Lisbeth. Almost all of the male cops and men were very flawed but this catapulted the storyline forward. As the Atlanta police force grapples with the murders of their own; women in the police force will use their wits to go against the macho police and their good old boy tactics. A superb tour de force, I highly recommend this suspenseful mystery.
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The Last Child by John HartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! I could not put this book down! It was a riveting thriller about a twin whose sister disappears and the whole disintegration of the family and the ripples in the town. Johnny Merrimon will not stop looking for his sister, Alyssa, who vanished one year ago. His father is gone too- fallout from the blame his mother cast on him for being late to pick his daughter up. What was so freakish about this book were the characters, especially Johnny. He is smart and single minded in his purpose to find his sister. There is a detective, Clyde Hunt, who keeps checking on John and his mother, but he doesn't trust anyone anymore so Johnny is not sharing anything. But in one year, his mother has turned to alcohol and drugs and turned her back on Johnny. The house is lost and Ken is the landlord and abuser of Johnny and his mom. This book is a roller coaster ride that will take the reader to many scary places and sick characters. But there are also other characters you will root for- Jack (Johnny's best friend) and Levi Freemantle (a prison escapee who might hold the key to finding Alyssa)and you will not want to put this book down until the very last page.
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Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The final book in the Caster Chronicles (#4) definitely did not disappoint. When #3 ended, Ethan has jumped off the water tower to save Gatlin and everyone in it from the chaos that resulted when Lena went through her claiming. But this was never supposed to happen - Ethan dying - so he goes through many horror filled challenges in order to bring Gatlin (and Ethan) back to seasons, peace and harmony (if you could say Gatlin was all of these???) rather than the horrendous heat and lubbers - you will have to read book 3. What I loved about this book was the deep abiding love Ethan and Lena share and his love of his grandmother, Amma and Marian (his mom,s best friend and librarian). I liked Macon so much more in this book and I enjoyed the changes in John Brown (remember how he took Lena away from Ethan?) and his love for Liv and his allegiance to Ethan and Lena. Always interesting is Ridley and she is back taunting Link, who proves to be a very cool Incubus in this final book. This was a very satisfying end to the series and I will be reading the other series, Dangerous Creatures too!
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One of Us by Tawni O'Dell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books for this suspense-filled mystery advance e-book . Danny Doyle was born and raised in a coal mining town (Lost Creek, PA) and continues to struggle with many demons from his childhood; being bullied in school and at home by his alcoholic father, and a mother, mentally unstable who is jailed for the death of her week old child and continuing nightmares throughout his life about the mines and his dead sister. Present day Danny is renowned as Sheridan Doyle, a forensic psychologist for the Philadelphia DA’S office. When Danny returns home for a visit to his recently recovered ninety something grandfather, he revisits the gallows where miners were hung in the 1800s and he finds the dead body of the new owner. At this same time, Scarlet Dawes, rich daughter of the mines, unexpectedly returns to Lost Creek. Rafe, the only detective in town and father figure to Danny find the suicide note but this is murder and they have to be extremely careful with this killer. As they delve into facts and many who believe the executed miners have ghosts; the reader is propelled into the world of a psychotic serial killer on the loose with everyone a target. I couldn’t put this down; especially enjoyable was reading from Danny and Scarlet’s viewpoints. Where Danny was methodical, lucid and vulnerable; Scarlet was devious, crafty, and had no remorse. The descriptions of the mines (the workers, their families and the owners) in the 1800s and present day were horrific. Lost Creek was a town you wanted to run away from with its family secrets, lies, and torments. For a mesmerizing glimpse into the workings of serial killers’ minds, this book will hold you captive until the last page. A great advanced read from NetGalley!
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Two Boys Kissing by David LevithanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was part of the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge and Stonewall Honor Book. David Levithan is such a good writer and the way he presents Two Boys Kissing is very interesting. He focuses on two boys who were once involved, trying to break the kissing record in the Guiness Book of World Records. He has side stories of two boyfriends and 2 boys who meet at a Gay Prom and a lone boy, Cooper( his online activities been caught by his father)who has run away. Tariq, also has an important presence and part as the one who films (he also creates a playlist that will play the duration of the kiss) the two boys kissing. But even more important are the voices of the gay men from the past who are the omniscient narrators as this story unfolds. Their voices were clear, honest, pained, angry and sad. Their voices will give the reader cause to rejoice and also dash their hopes. A powerful book.
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Dogs of War by Sheila KeenanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This graphic novel was part of the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge. I loved the three stories of dogs in WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War and their accomplishments, bravery and love for their handlers. Their stories were inspired by real military history. I especially liked the final story about Sheba, a German Shepherd, who stayed in Vietnam to continue to serve while his handler returned with PTSD, and how a boy and his dog Bouncer, helped him to search for answers. Highly recommended!
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The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this graphic novel as part of the 2014 Hub Reading Challenge and enjoyed introduction by Kurt Busiek. This was a funny look at a SuperHero Girl who doesn't have superhero powers like flying. She also doesn't have a tragic past and an arch nemesis. What she consistently has is the will to help others be it an old lady or battling monsters or ninjas. She has a roommate who has to help out once in a while and a brother who is a famous superhero, Kevin. Recommended read!
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Thus summer, I am participating in Nerdy Book Club Book a Day - how about you. Read the post for all the details, enjoy!
I am going to participate in The Nerdy Book Club Book a Day Summer Reading Challenge this summer from 6/1 to 8/31. How about you? Read this post for details
Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this Prince Honor book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge and oh did I like it! The world that Miles Standish lives in is scary, bleak, and brutal. Miles is different and for that reason he has no friends and is bullied constantly by students AND teachers. Miles has one blue eye and one brown eye and "can't read, can't write, Miles Standish isn't bright." One day a family moves into Zone 7, the burned out, bombed block aptly named Zone 7 where only the ostracized live- and this family, Hector and his mom and dad, The Lushes, have a secret. The Lushes become like family to Miles and his grandfather. Hector stops the bullies in school from their constant assaults and provides the only light, true friendship, in Miles life. It is Hector who helps Miles stand up to the Motherland. The chapters are short, I couldn't stop turning the pages, and even more disturbing are the illustrations of maggots, flies and rats appearing on the pages with their own story.
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Will & Whit by Laura Lee Gulledge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge. Willemina (Will) lives with her aunt after her parents die in a car accident. Will has a great group of friends, an aunt who is now her caretaker, she is afraid of the dark and keeps really really busy. With the coming of hurricane Whit, power is out for an extended time, resulting in Will confronting some deeply hidden fears. This graphic novel does not disappoint.
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The Here and Now by Ann BrasharesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This ARC is from my visit to ALA Philadelphia. Boy am I glad I received this book (I never read the Sisterhood books...) Imagine you are a young boy fishing and sees a girl come from the river. So begins the story of Ethan Jarves who finds Prenna James, a girl who has traveled from the future. She lives in a strictly constricted world with her mother who used to be a doctor. Prenna and others came to the present because there was a series of plagues killing everyone. Some of the rules they live by: seek no medical attention, avoid places of worship, fit into society but don't get too close, and no falling in love. When Prenna's best friend is taken away and she is cautioned against her friendship with Ethan, things begin to get very scary. As the community leaders close in on her, Ethan helps Prenna try to figure out what is going on in her world and his. This book is able to go from the future to the present convinclingly, Prenna's fear and rigid brainwashing are so scary and believable. But her growing love for Ethan and his tentative, sincere love for Prenna power this book and romance, Highly recommended!!!
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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I re-read this book as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge. I loved it when I first read it and the words, characters, and setting were just as beautiful and horrifying. Told from the point of view of Death, Liesel Meminger is a young girl who is adopted by a German family during the time the war with Germany broke out and the Jews were persecuted, killed, and some were hidden in homes, basements and walls. Liesel becomes the book thief when she picks up a book a gravedigger dropped while burying her brother, Werner. She continues to take books at a parade celebrating the Germans superiority (where she realizes Hitler probably killed her mother because she was a Communist)and later when she carries her step mother's laundry to the Mayor's house. His wife has a room full of books and lets Liesel read any of the books. Liesel's stepfather, Hans Hubermann is a wonderful man who has difficulty finding work because he will not join Hitler's party. He shows Liesel love, and teaches her to read. On the other hand her stepmother is gruff, and angry. But that changes the day, Hans accepts Max, a Jew (Max's dad saved Hans in the war)into their house. Liesel's stepmother now becomes a loving, scared person who supports hiding Max and swears Liesel to tell no one, even her best friend, Rudy. The story of Liesel, her friends and family, narrated by death is one of my favorite books. Everyone should read it, Markus Zusack speaks of a time that must never be forgotten in history. He writes with depth and compassion to show Liesel's world and how she continued to live despite losing everyone she loved, one by one. Death loves Liesel and you will too.
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Winger by Andrew Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read this book as part of the Yalsa Hub 2014 Reading Challenge and I loved it. For most of this book, I laughed at Ryan Dean West's loser status and proclamations. Winger, as he is called by his Rubgy friends is smart, 14, and a junior at a Prep school. After getting in trouble, Ryan Dean is now exiled to the bad kids dorm, Opportunity Hall with a really scary roommate, Chas. He misses his old roommates in the normal dorm. He is also madly in love with Annie Altman, who has been his best friend for two years. He is so insecure about so many things, you laugh out loud with him about his loser status. But this book is about so much more than his fumbling, sports, and high school hijinks. On the back cover of the book, I didn't understand why AS King said the book was "heart-wrenching" and Matt de la Pena called the book "raw." You only have to read Part Four to become so totally sad, angry, and beyond hope about this book. That is all I will say, YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!!
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Panic by Lauren OliverMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow another great nail biter from Lauren Oliver. Panic is a game that takes place and involves secret judges, a series of dares, and a group of contestants that get smaller as the challenges get more serious and very, very scary. I liked Heather and Bishop and grew to like Dodge. Heather comes from a very dysfunctional family - a mom who drinks and parties and doesn't love Heather and her little sister, Lily. Bishop and Heather and Nat have been best friends forever. Dodge has a sister who was paralyzed as a result of Panic years before and he is out for revenge. Oliver's portrayal of these teens, what makes them tick, what scares them, and why they do what they do was pitch perfect. The book was scary, exciting, and all about teens who are graduated and spend a summer seeing if they can win the $67,000 purse in the game of Panic. The police are after anyone involved and will jail them, so everyone is very, very careful with how they act around adults and family members. Who will win and at what cost? Read Panic, you won't be able to put it down, I couldn't!!!
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Deep Blue by Jennifer DonnellyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I want to thank NetGalley and Disney Book Group for the ebook, Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly. This is an engrossing novel about Princess Serafina, a mermaid, about to be betrothed to Prince Mahdi, in a Dokimi ceremony. Sera must be perfect in the Dokimi, and declared a true Daughter of Merrow, or be killed. On this fateful day, Sera finds out from her mother, Isabella (The Ruler of Miromara) there have been raids carried out by unknowns villains in the mer kingdom for over a year where entire villages have vanished. Sera’s mother stresses how important this alliance with Mahdi’s kingdom is to ensure their survival and might. As the Dokimi proceeds, Miromara is attacked and Sera’s mother is poisoned by an arrow and her father is killed. Sera and Princess Neela (her best friend) must flee with protectors. When they meet up with the River Witch, Baba Vraja, she tells the two princesses that there is an ancient evil monster, Abbadon who is going to destroy all the Mer kingdoms. Both Sera and Neela have been having these same bad dreams of terror and ruin being brought to bear on their families and kingdoms. Baba Vraja tells Serafina she is the chosen one who must find the five other brave mermaids and form an unbreakable bond to save their kingdoms. Can Sera and the five princesses keep hope alive and stop the destruction of their Mer nations? Jennifer Donnelly uses beautiful words and language to evoke the magic of the undersea worlds and their memorable characters. Readers will keep turning the pages as the tension mounts for the mermaids and you will root for their victory in the deep blue oceans. This will be enjoyed by middle school/junior high readers.
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Going Over by Beth KephartMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Thank you so much to my Goodreads group, YA Reads for Teachers (And Any Other Adults, Chronicle Books, and Beth Kephart for this advance reader's copy, what a great read! I read Small Damages by Beth Kephart Small Damagesand fell in love with Kephart's word usage and wonderfully drawn characters. I felt the same way reading this book. I was completely immersed in Ada and Stefan's lives in the separate cities of East and West Berlin in the 1980s. The isolation and heartache that the Berlin Wall caused to families, friends, and communities is palpable in this tale of love, family, and sacrifice. We learn in alternating chapters from Ada (her chapters are titled SO36) and Stefan (his chapters are titled Friedrichshain)what life was like before and after the Berlin Wall divided their life and worlds. Spunky, cocky Ada lives with her mother (Mutti)and grandmother (Omi)in "155 kilometers of wrong," but in the freedom of West Berlin. Their freedom consists of eking out a spare existence in a squatter's commune. By day, pink haired Ada goes to school, works at a day care center (catering to Turkish immigrants)and by night, daring to paint a graffiti wall of heroes. Independent Ada dodges guards with rifles in towers and works by flashlight daring to create this wall. Stefan lives with his Grossmutter (grandmother) in East Berlin where he does not go to school, is dictated to become a plumber and yearns to be with Ada and "her love brighter than color." Where kind, sweet Stefan is full of what ifs about escaping, Ada is confident with her many newspaper stories of those who risked danger and found freedom over The Wall. Will Stefan take the risk for Ada? Going Over is so much more than a love story- I also loved Savas, Arabelle's pregnancy, Mutti, Omi and Grossmutter's lives since the War and The Wall. You will ache for these characters. Beth Kephart's words of beauty, fear, and hope make this a very special book - enjoy and dare to hope!
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Go: A Kidd's Guide to Graphic Design by Chip KiddMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, Chip Kidd has written, designed, and illustrated the BEST book for graphic design for kids; I recommend everyone read this book----they will love it. What did I learn? I had no idea Chip Kidd was involved in sooo many books, book covers (like Jurassic Park and all the covers on pages 10-12, 68-69, p. 112-115). In each of the six chapters, Kidd goes into detail about What is Graphic Design?, Form, Typography, Content, Concept and 10 Design Projects. I really liked the Chapter 4 Concept on Illusion (p. 109) where Kidd, G. Spear and Augusten Burroughs "goofed on the title, Side Effects, by addig a sixth finger to the hand (mine)." I loved how Chip Kidd shared what the title of this book Go means, p. 117. I think it would be fun for kids to jump in and try the 10 design projects and post it on gothebook.com
Loved this book!!!
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Saints by Gene Luen YangMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge, and I enjoyed Four Girl (Vibiana) as much as I enjoyed Bao. She was a strong character because she had to be in her family. Four Girl seeks help and strength from Joan of Arc and Dr. Won and his wife and Father Bey as she converts to Christianity. As a Christian, Vibiana cares for children in the orphanage and begins to prepare to fight like Joan in order to fight against those who do not support Christianity. Like Bao in Boxers, will Vibiana survive?
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Boxers by Gene Luen Yang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this as part of the 2014 Hub Challenge and what a great graphic novel exploring the China of 1898 when the peasants were besieged by the foreign missionaries and soldiers. It was wonderful to see Bao's love of life, the gods and their involvement in his daily life and culture. My favorite character had to be Red Lantern; he had an impressive air about him that helped Bao mature and lead The Big Sword Society which later becomes The Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist. But Bao as he succeeds he continues to have doubts and conflicts with his mission. What will his future hold?
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