We all have our own "trash" books, right? I don't read paperback romance novels because I just can't let my mind vegetate on those (I spend too much time in mocking analysis.).
My trash books are stories like this one. Fairly quick reads, predictable characters you can care about without getting involved. It's fair, as they go. I'm not jumping up and down about it and can't think of anyone I think has to read this book. Would YAs like it? Eh, probably. It does fit right in with crime dramas so popular on TV these days.
From the publisher's blurb...
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR SANDRA BROWN IS BACK WITH A SPINE-TINGLING STORY OF MURDER AND BETRAYAL -- AND A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE'S STRUGGLE WITH HIS OWN RULES OF CONDUCT.
When Detective Sergeant Duncan Hatcher is summoned to the home of Judge Cato Laird in the middle of the night to investigate a fatal shooting, he knows that discretion and kid-glove treatment are the keys to staying in the judge's good graces and keeping his job.
At first glance, the case appears open-and-shut: Elise, the judge's trophy wife, interrupted a burglary in progress and killed the intruder in self-defense. But Duncan is immediately suspicious of Elise's innocent act. His gut feeling is that her account of the shooting is only partially true -- and it's the parts she's leaving out that bother him.
Determined to learn the dead man's connection to the Lairds and get at the truth, Duncan investigates further and quickly finds his career, as well as his integrity, in jeopardy -- because he can't deny his increasing attraction to Elise Laird, even if she is a married woman, a proven liar, and a murder suspect.
When Elise seeks Duncan out privately and makes an incredible allegation, he initially dismisses it as the manipulative lie of a guilty woman. But what if she's telling the truth? Then that single fatal gunshot at her home takes on even more sinister significance, possibly involving Duncan's nemesis, the brutal crime lord Robert Savich.
And then Elise goes missing . . .
Ricochet's plot twists -- as only Sandra Brown can write them -- and palpable suspense combine to create this grippingthriller, in which a decent cop's worst enemy may be his own conscience, and trusting the wrong person could mean the difference between life and death.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The Weight of the Sky, by Lisa Ann Sandell
Again, I'm all about form sometimes. This is one of those "prose-poetry" books. I enjoyed the story, though I think the form didn't really add to it. I just don't think you should use that particular form just because you can, it needs to add something to the story.
I like this one. Sarah's believable, though it's a little odd to small-town me to imagine a 17-year-old jetting off to live on a kibbutz in Israel, but okay. Despite the obvious differences (Israel, being Jewish, etc.), teenagers will identify with her. She's struggling to figure out who she is, in a world she doesn't fit into. What teenager isn't feeling that?
From the publisher's blurb..
Sarah, like every college-bound junior, deals with constant pressure from teachers, friends, and parents. Besides that, she’s a marching band geek and the only Jew in her class. So when she gets a chance to spend the summer on a kibbutz in Israel, Sarah jumps at the opportunity to escape her world. But living in Israel brings new complications, and when the idyllic world Sarah creates suddenly shatters, she finds herself longing for the home she thought she’d outgrown.
This lyrical novel beautifully captures the experience of leaving behind a life that’s too small, and the freedom of searching for a place with a perfect fit.
I like this one. Sarah's believable, though it's a little odd to small-town me to imagine a 17-year-old jetting off to live on a kibbutz in Israel, but okay. Despite the obvious differences (Israel, being Jewish, etc.), teenagers will identify with her. She's struggling to figure out who she is, in a world she doesn't fit into. What teenager isn't feeling that?
From the publisher's blurb..
Sarah, like every college-bound junior, deals with constant pressure from teachers, friends, and parents. Besides that, she’s a marching band geek and the only Jew in her class. So when she gets a chance to spend the summer on a kibbutz in Israel, Sarah jumps at the opportunity to escape her world. But living in Israel brings new complications, and when the idyllic world Sarah creates suddenly shatters, she finds herself longing for the home she thought she’d outgrown.
This lyrical novel beautifully captures the experience of leaving behind a life that’s too small, and the freedom of searching for a place with a perfect fit.
Monster Blood Tatoo: Foundling, vol. 1, by D.M. Cornish
Okay, I don't usually like fantasy stories with a historical bend to them. Really don't. Okay, mostly I just don't like fantasy much (I admit it, I have neither read nor watched the The Lord of the Rings trilogy.). But I LIKE THIS ONE. I really can't wait for the rest of the series..dang it..wonder when that will be.
My only complaint was that this really left me hanging too much. Unlike, say, Harry Potter books--the book is in itself a story. It's nice to know the backstory, but you don't have to. This one leaves me feeling like something's not finished.
From the publisher's blurb...
Set in the world of the Half-Continent-a land of tri-corner hats and flintlock pistols-the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy is a world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people. Foundling begins the journey of Rossamund, a boy with a girl's name, who is just about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey is threatened by encounters with monsters-and people, who may be worse. Learning who to trust and who to fear is neither easy nor without its perils, and Rossamund must choose his path carefully.
Complete with appendices, maps, illustrations, and a glossary, Monster Blood Tattoo grabs readers from the first sentence and immerses them in an entirely original fantasy world with its own language and lore.
My only complaint was that this really left me hanging too much. Unlike, say, Harry Potter books--the book is in itself a story. It's nice to know the backstory, but you don't have to. This one leaves me feeling like something's not finished.
From the publisher's blurb...
Set in the world of the Half-Continent-a land of tri-corner hats and flintlock pistols-the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy is a world of predatory monsters, chemical potions and surgically altered people. Foundling begins the journey of Rossamund, a boy with a girl's name, who is just about to begin a dangerous life in the service of the Emperor. What starts as a simple journey is threatened by encounters with monsters-and people, who may be worse. Learning who to trust and who to fear is neither easy nor without its perils, and Rossamund must choose his path carefully.
Complete with appendices, maps, illustrations, and a glossary, Monster Blood Tattoo grabs readers from the first sentence and immerses them in an entirely original fantasy world with its own language and lore.
The Night My Sister Went Missing, by Carol Plum-Ucci
I don't care. I don't care about these characters, I don't care about the story line. (Okay, that's a little abrupt.)
This didn't even feel realistic to me. In talking with some students about it (yes, a book talk) and they didn't think it sounded believable.
On the upside, it's a quick-quick read (I think it took me a little more than an hour, but I am a speed reader) and it's a Hi-Lo book.
From the publisher's blurb...
A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires, and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt, Casey's older brother, endures a seemingly endless night at the police station while the coast guard searches for his sister and his friends are questioned, one by one. Who was foolish enough to pull the trigger? Was the gunfire accidental or deliberate? Or was the whole drama one of Casey's practical jokes? And where is Casey--or her body--now? Dark secrets are revealed and petty jealousies rear their ugly heads as each eyewitness comes to the questioning room with his or her own version of "the truth."
This didn't even feel realistic to me. In talking with some students about it (yes, a book talk) and they didn't think it sounded believable.
On the upside, it's a quick-quick read (I think it took me a little more than an hour, but I am a speed reader) and it's a Hi-Lo book.
From the publisher's blurb...
A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires, and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt, Casey's older brother, endures a seemingly endless night at the police station while the coast guard searches for his sister and his friends are questioned, one by one. Who was foolish enough to pull the trigger? Was the gunfire accidental or deliberate? Or was the whole drama one of Casey's practical jokes? And where is Casey--or her body--now? Dark secrets are revealed and petty jealousies rear their ugly heads as each eyewitness comes to the questioning room with his or her own version of "the truth."
Set in Stone, by Linda Newbery
Hm..a weird kinda Victorian romancey feel when you first get started. Then there's scandal right out of a soap opera. It's an engaging read, though I have to admit that I wish the change in voices was more apparent. I got confused a couple of times.
I didn't like the cover when I picked up the ARC for this book. But, having read it and internalized it, the cover works.
From the publisher's blurb...
When Samuel Godwin, a young and naive art tutor, accepts a job with the Farrow family at their majestic home, little does he expect to come across a place containing such secrets and lies. His two tutees are as different as can be--younger sister Marianne, full of flightiness and nervous imagination, and Juliana, sensible and controlled. Helped by their governess, Charlotte Agnew, Samuel begins to uncover slowly why Marianne is so emotionally fragile, and in doing so uncovers a web of intrigue. But his discoveries lead to revenge and betrayal--and lives all around are turned upside down.
Linda Newbery has written a novel in diary style, combining different voices and a different century with her usual brilliance and ease. These are characters full of the same passions as our own today, while living in an unfamiliar and fascinating time.
I didn't like the cover when I picked up the ARC for this book. But, having read it and internalized it, the cover works.
From the publisher's blurb...
When Samuel Godwin, a young and naive art tutor, accepts a job with the Farrow family at their majestic home, little does he expect to come across a place containing such secrets and lies. His two tutees are as different as can be--younger sister Marianne, full of flightiness and nervous imagination, and Juliana, sensible and controlled. Helped by their governess, Charlotte Agnew, Samuel begins to uncover slowly why Marianne is so emotionally fragile, and in doing so uncovers a web of intrigue. But his discoveries lead to revenge and betrayal--and lives all around are turned upside down.
Linda Newbery has written a novel in diary style, combining different voices and a different century with her usual brilliance and ease. These are characters full of the same passions as our own today, while living in an unfamiliar and fascinating time.
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