Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

The titanic, spiritualism, sisterhood, famous Americans and romance all play a role in this book. Jane Oneida Taylor has a rather odd childhood. She is the second of five sisters, the plain and practical one. Her father has just died as the story opens and her mother is striking out on a new path - one of becoming a famous seance leader, spiritual guide, 'ghost whisperer' we might even call her today. The family ends up in the town of Spirit Vale, New York, an entire town dedicated to speaking with those who have passed on - never 'the dead.'

On a whim Jane and her older sister Mimi run off to New York City to meet the famous scientist Tesla for Jane to interview for a journalism contest. While there, they both meet the characters who will change their lives and history. Mimi decides to become the maid and traveling companion of the mistress of Guggenheim ( one of the richest men in America), Jane meets Tesla, the eccentric inventor who created an earthquake machine and Thad his assistant.

Through a series of convoluted events - Mimi and the youngest sister Blythe end up on the Titanic returning from Europe. Due to bad vibes and impressions Jane and her two remaining sisters - Amelie and Emma - sneak aboard the Titanic to get Mimi and Blythe off. The are not able to accomplish this before the ship sails...so all five sisters are on the ship.

Only three will make it to New York. There will be a wedding, an experiment which goes awry and a bit of time traveling.

This is one of those books that I had decided was just too cheesy to like. I mean, we all know the Titanic sinks. But, Jane is a very likable narrator and Tesla is a pretty unusual scientist. His inventions sound like things that we should be researching right now! So - it was a fun and predictable read. The old Titanic story with a twist for YA audiences.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

Win and Chris - friends and recent high school graduates embark on an epic adventure...bike riding from West Virginia to Washington state. That was the plan... but the ending wasn't quite what was expected. Chris returned alone.

That's how this story begins, you know the ending before you even really know the beginning. Chris is being questioned by an FBI agent about the disappearance of his friend Winston Coggans. Chris knows things, but not what Ward, the agent, is really looking for.

He knows that two unprepared high school grads began a journey. Win, with his jokes and his secrets, and Chris trying to prove that he was more than nothing. As the two journeyed for two months, pedaling and meeting new folks, they both changed. Changed enough that Win's disappearance on a mountain pass in Washington didn't surprise Chris as much as you would think. He knew Win's dad was a controlling freak who couldn't wait to get him in an Ivy league school and on the path to running the same chemical monopoly that he did. But, Win kept his secrets.

The book toggles between chapters of the ride and chapters of Chris's life in college, with the agent, with new friends. The reader is able to see the changes unfold and culminate in a reunion of sorts over Labor Day.

This is one of those buddy books where the friends discover they don't really need each other - and in that understanding they become deeper friends. Weird huh?? This is also the story of two boys who actually did the thing that they dreamed of...cool!

This was a fast and rather predictable read, but the descriptions of the scenery and the companionship were enough to make even a sworn bike riding hater consider the call of the road. Bradbury is clearly a biker and that adds to the authenticity of the story.

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Matthew, Emmy and their sister Callie live in a world controlled by their unstable mother Nikki. Their life is filled with constant fear and stress. Nikki wants to show her love for her children in a very frightening way...and then she meets Murdoch.

There was something about Murdoch which drives Nikki beyond all reason. And when he watches her put Emmy in danger and decides to break up - Nikki looses it... The more the kids liked Murdoch the Nikki becomes obsessed.

Matthew gets the brunt of his mother's craziness to try to keep his sister's safe. And then he takes a stand that causes irreversible changes.

This is one of those books that makes you want to reach out and grab the kids around me. This is about a family doing all they can to keep themselves safe and the adults around who can't or won't see what is absolutely happening. As a teacher and a mom we need to keep our eyes open. Because as Matthew describes it - the fear doesn't leave - it changes you - it seeps in and creates something that wasn't there before. Sometimes those changes are for the good - it gave Callie the courage to become a great doctor. But sometimes the changes push you to make a decision that can not be taken back.

This is a goodie!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The world is not a pleasant place in this futuristic puzzle book. Thomas comes too in a dark and metal cube which is rising slowly in the air to...

The doors open and Thomas is ushered into a reality that is nothing like he has ever experienced. This is a world of boys and stone walls that open and close each day to keep the Grievers out. A world that divides each newbie into one of the different jobs and Thomas knows that he will be a runner...one that runs through the enormous mazes that surround this stone Glade looking for an elusive escape.

This is also a world that is changing. Somehow Thomas knows things...fleeting memories of the past and boys who have been stung by the Grievers know who and what Thomas is - even then he doesn't.

And then a girl appears who can speak to Thomas inside his head. Teresa, has fleeting memories of the Flare, the ending and the fact that Thomas and Teresa are somehow connected to this odd place.

And then they figure out how to free themselves - but to what? A world that isn't the warm home thought it would be...this is only the beginning

Secrets, Lies and My Sister Kate by Belinda Hollyer

Families have all sorts of secrets - some big and some small. Twelve year old Mini guards her biggest secret carefully. No one knows her true name - it's just too awful to share! But there is another family secret that is tearing apart her big sister Kate. A secret that Mini can't seem to unravel. But, it's a secret that is so big that Kate is changing into someone Mini doesn't know and understand.

And then Kate simply disappears.

This is a story of the choices parents make and the way they play out for the children - not always in the way that they expected. This is also a story of the depth of sister-friendships and the bonds that are created between sisters. And - what it takes to maintain those bonds.

Mini is the one family member who really doesn't know what is happening - but she is also the one who has the potential to find her lost sister.

This is a quick and easy read and is in the Middle School Library.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

I am not usually big on memoirs or autobiographies. They bug me because they often jump around and have that "I'm so important it doesn't matter that my writing is pathetic - you'll still read it anyway" attitude. But, this one was different. Maybe because Rhoda is already a writer and an editor - her PHD in poetry or writing or literary research of something like that gives her a pretty strong pedigree. Or maybe it's because her story is the memoir of pieces of my own history - I'm a Mennonite too. But, not a Russian descended, California raised, conservative, former General Conference Mennonite. To most of you that is just splitting hairs - but to this Old Mennonite, mid-western raised, German Mennonite - it's still a difference.

I really enjoyed this book. I guess I haven't said that yet. There is something deeply funny about irreverently poking fun at the heritage we all grew up with - no dancing, funny clothes, odd foods and a work ethic that simply never stops. There is also something interesting about reading the history of a woman who turned her back on the Mennonite world and chose a path to academia rather than Mennonite community connections, acts of service in the church and occupations that fit in the Menno framework. It is interesting that in all her expostulating about the benefits of turning her back - she certainly spends a lot of time noticing what is good about being a Mennonite. (Oh yeah - and she uses some really big words here and there)

So - how does this appeal to those of you who aren't Mennos? If you have lived near, worked with or been married to a menno you will probably understand a lot of what is being said. But, remember - all their weird foods are not ours. My family didn't grow up with such a love of cabbage! Thank goodness!!!

My recommendation...
This is a story of a 40 something woman on the wrong side of a marriage and a career who returns to her family to reconnect after a devastating car accident. She happens to be Mennonite. But, I think all of us in that time frame appreciate what it means to turn around and re-prioritize our lives! Her stories about camping with her family, her mom's odd conversation connections and the way the addition of in-laws both benefits and destroys a family are excellent and ring true no matter what your religious affiliation is.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Another excellent read!!! Yippee...things are looking up!

This is the July book for our book club. It's the story of Sarah a 10-year-old French girl captured on an awful night in July of 1942, a truly horrible moment of French history. A moment that has been forgotten by many and that is why De Rosnay chose to tell this story!

On that night, the French police brought together thousands of Jewish families and eventually deported them to Auschwitz concentration camp. But it was not a straight deportation...instead the men were sent first, then the women and then...they didn't know what to do with the thousands of children...

De Rosnay tells this story through twin lenses. One is Sarah - the girl wakened from her bed that awful night and taken away. The other is Julia, an American journalist who has lived in France for 20+ years with her husband and daughter. Julia is assigned to write an article about the 60 year commemoration of that awful night. Through her research she discovers a connection between her husband's family and Sarah. You really care about the two characters! Sarah with a secret that drives her and tears her up and Julia caught on a path that wasn't at all what she expected.

Although the story is somewhat predictable, it doesn't keep you from rushing through the book. This is a story of layers of secrets spanning families, decades and oceans. The weight of those secrets is evident in their lives and attitudes. For some that weight is made heavier by the indifference of an entire population.

This book made me wonder at our ability to not care, our ability to turn a blind eye and choose to forget the unpleasant, and the darkness that forgetting invites into your life. It also made me wonder about how the ordinary and simple acts of people who care can have such a profound impact on those caught in tragedy!

Reminds me of Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum and The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff, with the strength of the female characters and time frame and the unexpected twists!

Read it!!!!