The books post
#68, Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson. When Goldy's godfather and his best friend die suddenly, it's pretty clear it was murder. Unfortunately, I was sadly bored by this story which told rather than showed most of the time. Maybe Goldy's godfather had been mentioned in earlier books but considering he was the focal point, and she was so totally emotional about him, I felt like he came out of nowhere. Disappointing considering that the last book broke so much ground. Oh well. 2 stars.
#69, The World to Come by Dara Horn. This was a very interesting and well written novel. On the surface, it's about a stolen painting and can you steal what was rightfully yours? It's about the bond of twins. It's about finding yourself an adult and not understanding how you suddenly arrived there and it's a different place than you expected. But beneath the surface is the religious aspect. The notion of the Jewish World to Come and what exactly that means, is the subject of the notion. Is it Heaven? Or is it our future, the only thing we have control over is how we live our lives. The novel is not linear. Each time line is linear but the past and the present are entwined and we jump forward and backward. Horn's characters are very 3-dimensional and you don't get bored learning about them. 3 stars.
#70, Lady of the Keep by Sharon Schulze. This is a sweet romance with lots of sexual tension but no more. Though that makes sense since Lady Moira FitzGerald is nearly 9 months pregnant. Connor FitzClifford arrives to help Moira keep Gerald's Keep and falls head over heels in love without even realizing. He finds her pregnant state compelling and her attitude and fortitude even more so. Moira has never known a man like Connor. Her husband had looked for a broodmare. Her kin were looking only for what she could bring them. But Connor looked to her for her intelligence and thoughtfulness and he touched her in ways she thought were lost to her. Book 5 of the L'Eau Clair chronicles was solid but not exciting. 3 stars.
#71, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, Robert Byrd. This book is a series of monologues written for young people, about what it was like to be young in a Medieval village. The monologues were interesting and the footnotes and interludes with more historical data made me want to read more. However, I am not sure whether it was really a Newbery award winning book. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it, certainly in the classroom. The monologues were meant to be recited. But it's just a brief glimpse into Medieval Times. 3 stars.
#72, Duplicity by Nikki Soarde. When Carter McCrea's girlfriend dumps him after 3 years, he turns to Lea Saunders, his best friend. He isn't using her on the rebound, he didn't even realize he wanted her. But Lea has been mooning over Carter for more than a year. He had been off limits, now he isn't. There's less character and story development than I'd like, feeling more like a novella than a novel. The sex is well written. If your fetish taste is sex in nearly public places, this is the book for you. 3 stars.
#73, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks In Her Head by Nancy Viau. Fans of Ramona Quimby will be delighted to discover this 10 year old budding scientist. Samantha Hansen has a temper that she can't seem to control, a boy-crazy older sister and a girly-girl best friend. She can't help but get into trouble because she's so single minded. It's a cute story. As an adult, I found some of her mannerisms really annoying, like the constant statements in inaccurate fractions. But Sam sticks to her guns or rather her rocks and things turn out okay. 3 stars.
#74, Kill For Me by Karen Rose. I listened to this book. Rose describes evil so graphically (even when the graphic-ness is implied) that I felt unclean after listening to this. I am not sure why authors have decided that child/teen sexual abuse and torture is the topic du-jour but I don't want to read about it. The reader of this book was among the worst I've heard since audiobooks hit their groove. She had no vocal range whatsoever. The men sounded like women and the women like men. Overall, it was awful. 1 star.
#75, The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. When a wife disappears, the husband is the obvious suspect, but nothing is obvious in this case and it drives Sergeant DD Warren crazy. Sandra Jones is missing and husband Jason Jones is cool as a cuke. Only he isn't. Nothing and no one is exactly who they appear to be. This ties in to some of Gardner's earlier books and once you realize who he is, it's nice to Jason as an adult. Very different kind of mystery/thriller. 4 stars.
#76, Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris. Harris continues to take Sookie into the great unknown. The two-natured make their great reveal and suddenly Sookie's pregnant sister-in-law is found crucified in the parking lot of Merlot's. Sookie's great grand-father Niall comes to warn Sookie that Fey politics have reached their boiling point and Sookie's a target. Slightly understating the case. As Sookie tries to wrap her mind around all that is happening, people, friends, are dying and there may not be anything she can do about it. Harris isn't afraid to kill characters and Sookie's supernatural landscape has definitely changed. The audio would have been better had the Gaelic names been pronounced correctly but it was still a stellar performance. 5 stars.
#77, Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. A quick read and once she starts blowing up cars, it gets funny but the plot is particularly dull. It had real potential. A Barbecue King is murdered and Lula witnesses the event. She's chased by the biggest incompetents on the planet so there's a lot of property damage involved. The subplot with Ranger was good but as a whole the book didn't hold together. 2 stars.
#78, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This book was the 2008 Caldecott Winner. It's not a traditional picture book, not at 530 pages. But it's a brilliant story and fabulous pictures. Hugo Cabret is a 12 year old orphan maintaining the train station's clocks. His secret possession is an automaton that he rescued from the rubble of the fire that killed his father, a clock maker. Hugo is good with his hands. When he makes friends with Isabelle he discovers that her godfather, owner of a toy shop, was actually a famous filmmaker. The children plot to have him resdiscovered. I shed happy tears at the end. Wow. 5 stars.
#69, The World to Come by Dara Horn. This was a very interesting and well written novel. On the surface, it's about a stolen painting and can you steal what was rightfully yours? It's about the bond of twins. It's about finding yourself an adult and not understanding how you suddenly arrived there and it's a different place than you expected. But beneath the surface is the religious aspect. The notion of the Jewish World to Come and what exactly that means, is the subject of the notion. Is it Heaven? Or is it our future, the only thing we have control over is how we live our lives. The novel is not linear. Each time line is linear but the past and the present are entwined and we jump forward and backward. Horn's characters are very 3-dimensional and you don't get bored learning about them. 3 stars.
#70, Lady of the Keep by Sharon Schulze. This is a sweet romance with lots of sexual tension but no more. Though that makes sense since Lady Moira FitzGerald is nearly 9 months pregnant. Connor FitzClifford arrives to help Moira keep Gerald's Keep and falls head over heels in love without even realizing. He finds her pregnant state compelling and her attitude and fortitude even more so. Moira has never known a man like Connor. Her husband had looked for a broodmare. Her kin were looking only for what she could bring them. But Connor looked to her for her intelligence and thoughtfulness and he touched her in ways she thought were lost to her. Book 5 of the L'Eau Clair chronicles was solid but not exciting. 3 stars.
#71, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz, Robert Byrd. This book is a series of monologues written for young people, about what it was like to be young in a Medieval village. The monologues were interesting and the footnotes and interludes with more historical data made me want to read more. However, I am not sure whether it was really a Newbery award winning book. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it, certainly in the classroom. The monologues were meant to be recited. But it's just a brief glimpse into Medieval Times. 3 stars.
#72, Duplicity by Nikki Soarde. When Carter McCrea's girlfriend dumps him after 3 years, he turns to Lea Saunders, his best friend. He isn't using her on the rebound, he didn't even realize he wanted her. But Lea has been mooning over Carter for more than a year. He had been off limits, now he isn't. There's less character and story development than I'd like, feeling more like a novella than a novel. The sex is well written. If your fetish taste is sex in nearly public places, this is the book for you. 3 stars.
#73, Samantha Hansen Has Rocks In Her Head by Nancy Viau. Fans of Ramona Quimby will be delighted to discover this 10 year old budding scientist. Samantha Hansen has a temper that she can't seem to control, a boy-crazy older sister and a girly-girl best friend. She can't help but get into trouble because she's so single minded. It's a cute story. As an adult, I found some of her mannerisms really annoying, like the constant statements in inaccurate fractions. But Sam sticks to her guns or rather her rocks and things turn out okay. 3 stars.
#74, Kill For Me by Karen Rose. I listened to this book. Rose describes evil so graphically (even when the graphic-ness is implied) that I felt unclean after listening to this. I am not sure why authors have decided that child/teen sexual abuse and torture is the topic du-jour but I don't want to read about it. The reader of this book was among the worst I've heard since audiobooks hit their groove. She had no vocal range whatsoever. The men sounded like women and the women like men. Overall, it was awful. 1 star.
#75, The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner. When a wife disappears, the husband is the obvious suspect, but nothing is obvious in this case and it drives Sergeant DD Warren crazy. Sandra Jones is missing and husband Jason Jones is cool as a cuke. Only he isn't. Nothing and no one is exactly who they appear to be. This ties in to some of Gardner's earlier books and once you realize who he is, it's nice to Jason as an adult. Very different kind of mystery/thriller. 4 stars.
#76, Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris. Harris continues to take Sookie into the great unknown. The two-natured make their great reveal and suddenly Sookie's pregnant sister-in-law is found crucified in the parking lot of Merlot's. Sookie's great grand-father Niall comes to warn Sookie that Fey politics have reached their boiling point and Sookie's a target. Slightly understating the case. As Sookie tries to wrap her mind around all that is happening, people, friends, are dying and there may not be anything she can do about it. Harris isn't afraid to kill characters and Sookie's supernatural landscape has definitely changed. The audio would have been better had the Gaelic names been pronounced correctly but it was still a stellar performance. 5 stars.
#77, Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. A quick read and once she starts blowing up cars, it gets funny but the plot is particularly dull. It had real potential. A Barbecue King is murdered and Lula witnesses the event. She's chased by the biggest incompetents on the planet so there's a lot of property damage involved. The subplot with Ranger was good but as a whole the book didn't hold together. 2 stars.
#78, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This book was the 2008 Caldecott Winner. It's not a traditional picture book, not at 530 pages. But it's a brilliant story and fabulous pictures. Hugo Cabret is a 12 year old orphan maintaining the train station's clocks. His secret possession is an automaton that he rescued from the rubble of the fire that killed his father, a clock maker. Hugo is good with his hands. When he makes friends with Isabelle he discovers that her godfather, owner of a toy shop, was actually a famous filmmaker. The children plot to have him resdiscovered. I shed happy tears at the end. Wow. 5 stars.