The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

Kate
Thea
Isa
Fatima

Four girls connected at the hip for one memorable year of boarding school.

"I need you."

And with those three words gather these women from the lives they have created apart and away in the big world and return them back to the paths of the school and the swamp and the stories and the lying game.

It seemed like a simple game - tell the lie and gain points when others believe. But, those lies had a way of digging deeply into the small village around the school with the remnants remaining years later as a scrap of graffiti on a bathroom wall or a whisper around the edges at the bar.

But there is more than just a story and a lie at the bottom of this book. An unexplained disappearance with rumors of abuse and then a body. As the police try to figure out who that body is - the women tumble to the truth as well.

I thought I had this figured out again and again. As Isa remembers and reveals the truth  - I thought I knew.  But I was left guessing until the end!!

This is great and fast read!!!

#summer2018book2

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

Grace is one messed up ambassador's granddaughter.  That seems to follow here all around Adria, the country where she lands with her grandfather.  She lived in Adria with her mother for ,any Summer's before the fire and her moms death.  Now Grace has been bumped from therapist to clinic and finally landed at the last spot available- her grandfathers house.  Grace is haunted by her moms death- she smells smoke and sees the scarred face of her moms killer everywhere. Except her mom was not killed by the scarred man, and there is a death certificate to prove it.

I had this mystery all figured out, from her moms actual killer to the shady figures appearing in the empty embassy down the road.  But, I was wrong! I love it when I am wrong!  And boy was I wrong!

This story didn't begin or end with this book.  This continues on in the next book. But there are details that are cleared up. Grace solves part of the mystery- and realizes she is not all alone. That makes a big change for her!

I liked this- it was a mini Bond-there was spy work, some acrobatics and diplomacy between embassiesand some pretty big twists. I enjoyed this quick read.

The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes

Image from LibraryThing

Hallelujah, not the best name for a cool girl-so when Hallie was welcomed in to Luke's group and then his arms she as sure she had arrived.  Instead, she became the butt of harassment and ridicule. And it just wouldn't stop.  Life in school and church had deteriorated to the point that Hallie's only real wish is to disappear. And the it was time for the youth group camp out.

When Rachel, the new girl, tries to make friends Hallie one more time and Hallie snubs her- that is the end.  Rachel breaks off the hiking group and starts back to the camp . Hallie feels bad and joins her and Jonah, Hallies old friend joins them.  It should be an easy walk down the mountain.

Should be., but it isn't.  There is a rain storm, a mudslide, and that is all it takes for these three to become hopelessly lost.

So- this is a pretty predictable story.  The there have to depend on each other to make it back.  There is a bear, some unexpected injuries, no food and a bear.  The part that wasn't as predictable was their relatives bishops with God and how that is woven into the story.  I appreciated the honesty and the non- preachy attitude. I also liked that it wasn't all tied up neatly at the end. Hallies questions remained.
I would recommend this one. Survival stories are a hit, weave in a love story and a growing friendship and this was really good.

Crash by Lisa McMann

image from LibraryThing

Jules is haunted by an image of a fiery crash and body bags. This private video plays again and again on billboards, road signs and her computer screen.  Her own private hell to watch over and over.  And if that isn't enough - the video slowly adds details, including the face inside one of the body bags - and she knows him!

Mental - right!  On top of that, Jules father is a hoarder. His mental illness makes Jules fear that she is also losing her mind!   Her dad's breakdown was traced to the beginning of a feud with a rival pizza family.  And it just happens that the son of the pizza dynasty is the face in the body bag that Jules sees!  Oh yeah, and he is her secret love!

What is a girl to do???

That is the story.

This premise really intrigued me.  How would you convince someone else that you know something bad is/might/could happen to them without everyone thinking you are completely off your rocker?  Because really, visions can't be true - right?  But, what if they are true?  What if ignoring this vision brings Sawyer's death?

It was a little weird to read a book that centers so much on pizza following Saint Anything which also focuses on pizza!  It made me hungry!!  Just an odd coincidence.

This is a slim book - and the first of a series, the vision seems to be moving on to other characters. There is a bit of a Romeo and Juliet feel to this - but with a vision twist. I would recommend this book.  It grabs the reader quickly, with very little background and keeps your attention throughout.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

image from LibraryThing

I like a good Sarah Dessen! I can count on strong female characters, a bit of a love interest, a family plot and some sort of twist.  But, most of all, I can count on a happy ending - there will be a resolution!

That is just what I found in Saint Anything.  This is the story of a girl, Sydney,  hidden in the enormous shadow of her older brother, Peyton.  That is just fine - until Peyton veers farther and farther from the straight and narrow and ends up in prison.  And then Sydney realizes the depth of his shadow on her parents - they simply don't see her at all!

In an attempt to start over, Syd transfers schools and slowly makes friends with Layla and her family at Seaside Pizza, the family restaurant.  That sets the stage for this book.  Inside the pages there is a creepy, lurking friend of Peyton's, a band competition, a moment of alcohol and a medical emergency.  Through it all, Sydney learns to trust her heart and finds her voice. And her parents finally see her as the individual she is.

I would say finding what is lost in an unexpected way is the theme of this book, whether that is friendship, strength or a new and different reality.

I enjoyed this book and it's comfortable predictability!
I recommended this already to my niece and my daughter!
As I said - Sarah Dessen doesn't disappoint!

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

image from LibraryThing

I liked Mare and the premise of this book - a girl with no prospects becomes Someone (with a capital S).

But the Hunger Games vibe was incredibly strong - a little too strong for me in the beginning!!

Mare is from the Stilts (the lowest of the low) and she is a Red (meaning her red blood puts her in the serving class) held down by the Silvers (silver blood and special powers), the ruling class.  She has a deep commitment to Kilron, an orphaned friend from the Stilts, and is committed to his welfare at all costs.  And, she is falling in love with two men - who just happen to be brothers and princes - Cal and Mavern.

I can accept and even enjoy all those details. But, there was one detail that just pushed it over the edge.  She is also an unwitting revolutionary - operating without seeing the big picture - a pawn for both sides.  That was a little too Katniss-ish for me.

The theme is - making yourself someone when you have NO chances to be someone.  That is appealing to all of us middle of the class, miss average, invisible readers.  And there is LOTS of violence - swords and war and matches to the death and blood and gore - which appeals to a different part of the reader's' psyche.

My overall
feeling - it was an intriguing and fast read. It is the first of a series and even with my doubts I would like to know what happens to Mare, so I would read the next one!

The Verdict by Nick Stone

My wonderful younger sister gave me a 3-month subscription to the Book Of The Month club - and this is the first installment from that club.  It was a great vacation reading book!!

Terry Flynt is a great everyman - the guy who is trying to improve his life after messing up at the bottom of a bottle of booze.  So to start over he is working as a law clerk in a pushy and semi-questionable law firm.

All that changes when his old best friend is accused of murder.  Now that sentence may make you think that he is also a down-on-his-look Londoner.  But - you would be wrong.  Instead, Vernon James is someone - REALLY someone! He is rich and powerful and a little shady and an accused murderer.

So - it seems like Terry Flynt is in the best place to defend his friend. Which would be true if they were still friends, which they aren't.

This is a cat and mouse game of lies and hidden agenda and Londoners and foreigners is intriguing and involved. I enjoyed all of it -didn't quite have it figured out - which always makes me happy!

Vacation Book #2
Book of the Month Book #1

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty

image from LibrayThing

Serafina hides and scurries and watches from the dark recesses of Biltmore house.  As the C.R.C (Chief Rat Catcher) of the estate she she stalks and destroys the mangy beasts from the deepest corners of the basement that she calls home.

It was on one of those evening rat chases that she comes across something completely different -something evil lurking in her domain.  A man wearing a black cloak attacking a young girl in a yellow dress. Serafina tries to save this girl, fighting desperately to help her escape - when the girl simply disappears in the folds of the cloak and the dark, putrid smelling cloaked man turns his attentions on Serafina.  She narrowly escapes with her life.

This encounter changes Serafina and her connections to her Pa and to the only home she has known.  She begins to question her Pa's wisdom of staying hidden in the darkness.  She longs to figure things out and that draws her upstairs into the edges and shadows of the rooms where the beautiful people live.  Here a chance encounter with Braeden Vanderbilt changes her entire future.

This book follows a girl's self-discovery journey.  There were things I really liked about this book and things I didn't.  I thought Serafina's inner dialogue was a bit stilted - not really the words of a young frightened girl.  And there were moments bogged down with description of the behind the scenes workings of a huge estate.  I felt at times that this Disney published book was trying to jump on the Downton Abby craze with American's own aristocracy.  But - it's an interesting story with twists that I didn't quite expect.  That makes it fun to read. I did care about Serafina and her quest to figure out who or what she is and what is happening to the disappearing children.

Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

image from LibraryThing

This is the story of 4 friends, 4 weddings, one divorce, one shooting and one carefully guarded secret.

Friendships - are the centerpiece of this book.
Male friendships in a small midwestern town.
Male friendships that span decades - and that fray and tatter and rebuild.

I liked this book.

I liked Henry and Beth - the down-to-earth, live on the farm, stalwart couple with their own secrets - Henry paints landscapes and burns them before anyone can see and Beth was not always the mild-mannered house wife!

I liked Lee the rock star who made it big - yet carried a part of Little Wing with him in his lonesome songs.

I liked Kip the stock broker who came home to show the town how important he was by trying to restore the long defunct feed mill. Kip who was all 'bluster and strut' to hide his real longing to just watch the sun come up over the mill each day and belong.

And I really liked Ronny the washed up rodeo rider.  Ronny with a heart of gold and a brain sloshed around too often from booze and bulls.  Ronny who loves deeply and openly and isn't afraid to share that. Ronny who is sort of the butt of all jokes - but the real glue.

This is a melancholy look at what happens when you have to grow up - and leave behind what you thought you knew for what really is.

I liked this book!

Ashfall series by Mike Mulin

 I read these three books following the Iowa School Librarians Association Conference in Des Moines.  Mike Mullin, an Indiana author, was a featured speaker on Sunday afternoon and evening.  I was so intrigued by both his encouragement to us to write and the process he used to write these stories.  I am disappointed in myself for not reading these before the conference - because I have questions I would love to chat with him about!

The catalyst of these books is the eruption of the super volcano under Yellowstone National Park. There really is a volcano there and the prediction is that the eastern edge of the ashfall would be the Mississippi river.  It was with that bit of information that Mullin created his story.  Alex is a 16 year old boy left alone for the weekend at his Cedar Falls, Iowa home while his parents and sister travel to Apple River near Galena, Illinois.  It was that Saturday afternoon that the eruption occured.  Alex's house is destroyed and he barely escapes to his neighbors' across the street.  This house is not safe either as civilized society quickly unravels and they are attacked by a group of youth.  Alex barely escapes and decided that his only option is to travel east and find his parents.

That is the beginning. Ashfall is the story of that trek east.  Everything we take for granted - water, sunlight, warmth, food, transportation - have all disappeared under the weight of the ash.  And with an earthquake opening the local prison - you never know who you will find when you stop at a farm house.  Alex's one amazing piece of goodluck was stopping at the home of Darla and her mom.  Against Darla's better judgement she and Alex become friends and eventually they are the key to keeping one another alive.

Ashen Winter and Sunrise continue the story - and I don't really want to give too much away in my summary.  Instead, I want to comment a little about how these books have affected me...I am not a doomsday person. I tend to believe that human nature will move ahead and life will remain mildly pleasant. It is almost impossible to believe that as you read these books. Life is impossible.  Really impossible!  Laws don't make sense anymore and so people in each enclave create their own law - at the cost of the next village down the road.  It is a dark time - both literally since the sun is gone for more than a year and figuratively!  These books are not fluffy reads - there is death and violence and cannabilism and general sadness - as well as love and sacrifice and hope.

The presentation by Mullin really brought the story to life as he shared about choosing the house and the road that Alex would follow.  He pictured these places as he wrote each part of the book. I found that fascinating!  As a reader I set the books in a known place - so to think of this for the writer also is really interesting!  Mullin was very approachable and welcomed questions from the librarians and the students he talks to.

I would love to chat with someone after reading these books. I would like to trade stories and thoughts and preparedness!!  Highly recommend these!

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

I really enjoyed this book.  I liked the characters and the situation and the surprise twists and turns.  Moriarty has a way of making the reader expect one thing and then gently twist the story to a different place.

The premise is a school parent event - a trivia night for parents to raise money for equipment.  This takes place Australia - so the event also included alcohol - something that wouldn't happen in the schools where I have worked.

Moriarty starts the story with parents fleeing the trivia event - and then builds the tale by backing up to a morning months earlier when a few future kindergarten moms gathering for a roundup sort of day.  The pecking order appears quickly with a one new mom nervously trying to figure out her place. She is sort of swept up with Madelaine - one of the more flashy moms and it all feels good until...There is an event that very first morning - a little girl is bullied and her mom goes ballistic.  And that sets this group of parents on an unexpected path.

Now my favorite part. Each of the chapters ends with a snippet of a police or reporter interview with a few of the parents. Clearly there is a death. But that is all you really know...who and why and where.

My only complaint is the title for this book and the picture. I felt like the broken candy cheapened the seriousness of the topics in the pages.  Although this was an easy read - brings forward darknesses that are ususally hidden.  This is only my opinion  - and I would strongly recommend this to others.

I loved this March book club read!

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

image from LibraryThing

I am still not completely sure how I liked this book.  It was hailed as a great alternative to Harry Potter.  I am not so sure I would agree with that description.  I think it is more a bored teenagers' bored view of magic and the disillusionment that can come when you get what you wished for.  Now - that doesn't sound very Harry Potterish.

Plus I feel truly sorry for any book compared with Harry - it just isn't going to measure up in my reading world.  Harry was for all ages - The Magicians seems mostly for out of sorts teens.

Even though I was not in love with the book I could not stop reading it. I wanted to know what happened in Fillory, what happened at Brakebills, what happened to Quentin.

So the basic story is a hidden magical school in upstate NY.  Quentin, a very anti-social, anti-excitement, anti-everything sort of teen gets in to his shock and hidden awe.

The book chronicles his life in Brakebills, his love for Alice and his ongoing escape into the fictional world of Fillory.  So - Fillory is a book that he loved as a kid and keeps returning to as if that is the seat of all magic. Every magical moment seems to be compared and found lacking to Fillory.

So I thought his schooling would build to a big ah ha moment - but it built to a creepy secret graduation ceremony that included personalized demons and secret codes from the head of the school.  And the book continued.

So - what does a graduated magician do in the real world - absolutely anything they want and you can imagine the problems that causes.

Then there is a quest - sort of  - and a horrible battle - way gruesome - there are deaths and there are survivors.

But - this book lacked the undertone of good vs. evil.  This was just magic for magic sake and the questions that Quentin and his friends bantied around were the meaninglessness of magic in a world where there was no need.  I found it all rather depressing and anti fun.  That is what magic brought in other stories - fun.  I know there is often a down side - but there was joy and positive energy.  That does not exist for the Magicians.

The end was a bit of a shock to my system.  Not what I expected.  But - it did make me want to pick of the next book and start reading.  So even though this was not my favorite - I have hope for Quentin!!

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

image by LibraryThing

I want to start out by saying this is one of my favorite books!  I LOVED it!

Now - you can decide if you want to continue to read this to see why, or if you just want to go out and find the book to experience it on your own.  Your choice - but I would recommend one or the other!!

This is the story of a journey by a rumpled, stoic, retired, non-starter named Harold Fry.  In the first pages he receives a letter from a woman - Queenie Hennessy to thank him for his friendship and to tell him she is dying.

Harold rushes to write a reply and tells his wife he is going to the mailbox to send it.  But, he isn't ready to stop walking at the mailbox - so he continues across town passing postbox after postbox and at each one he feels the need to continue moving.  And that is how his 500+ mile journey to deliver his letter to Queenie in person begins.

His pilgrimage begins in a flurry of self-righteous stupidity - sounds like too many of my self-help journeys! :)  He relishes the simplicity and the ease and all the new truths surrounding him.  Then it gets hard and he must depend on the help of strangers.  Then the help of strangers becomes his new focus - he is saving them by allowing them to help him.  Then things become a bit commercialized and he looses himself in the process.  Then everything falls apart and he is left bare and old and withered and the journey is still in front of him.

And when he arrives at the end of his journey...then what...

This is a story of a man and his marriage and his son and his mother and father and the life that he has so carefully created in a very English way.  This is the story of what happens when you dare to step aside and really feel what is around you.

I dearly loved Harold - but honestly I loved Maureen, his wife, every bit as much.  Maureen must watch and wait and remember and choose to live.  Her pilgrimage takes place in her small cottage while she cleans and disinfects and eventually takes down the net curtains and lets the sun into the 'best room.'

Please read this!!!

Sweetest Hallelujah by Elaine Hussey

image by LibraryThing

Racism in the south is like another character in this story of love and two women- one white and the other black.  But calling it a story of love makes it sound sappy and predictable - and that is to short change it.  This is a story of worlds crashing and reshaping in the midst of deep heart break!  A story of strength and frailty.

Betty Jewel is a washed up jazz singer who burned brightly with Saint a famous trumpeter. But drugs and fame soured everything and Betty Jewel fled from her marriage to Shakerag, Mississippi to be with her mama and raise her daughter. In a last ditch effort to save that daughter, she takes out an ad in the local paper looking for someone to adopt her girl after she passes from cancer.

Cassie is the lily white widow of a much beloved local coach. Since his death she has floundered her way through life barely living and depending on her job at the local newspaper to keep her going. She notices the ad and decides it would make a wonderful human interest story.

And thus the worlds crash.

But - this is not a touchy feely feel good story.

At the heart of this story is a 10 year old girl who will soon be without a mama.  Billie, who sneaks around listening at keyholes, can not imagine a life without her mama - unless she is able to find her papa - Saint - and life with him.

Laid across the top of this story is the busted history of Jim Crow laws and lynchings in the south.

There were times this felt like a different version of The Help.  But, Betty Jewel and Cassie are not merely telling a story  - they are living it.  Their lives are interwoven in a way that the south can not rip apart.

I really liked this book.  I especially liked Billie. After teaching 10 year olds all those years - I felt like I knew her innocent and bare face.  Her bravado and her depth of pain were real to me!  The fantasies that she creates and believes in even while she knowing they can't be real - rang true!

I would recommend this!!

House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Image from LibraryThing

The next book in the Heroes of Olympus series.  This continues the journey of the heroes to fulfill the prophecy.

Percy and Annabeth must fight demons and monsters through the underworld.  This journey is simply horrible!  Especially as they continue to cross paths with creatures they have already killed. In the worst segment - they are cursed to relive each of the final curses of those they have killed!  But, they also discover some reformed creature who sacrifice themselves to help the pair.

The other six heroes (Leo, Frank, Piper, Hazel, Jason and Nico) continue on the ship and each of them faces their own demons - for real!  Frank grows up and accepts the burden of his own life, Nico admits his hidden secret to Jason, Leo falls in love and Hazel figures out the way to save them all.

Even though I am getting weary of waiting for the story to finish, this was a good installation.  It moved the story along, but, of course it didn't finish.  I continue to be amazed how Riordan so easily weaves myths into a current day story with it all making sense.

Now - I have to wait for the next one!

I Am Number Four Series by Pittacus Lore

image from LibraryThing

This is another "teenagers out to save the world" series, except they are aliens and they are trying to fight off a race of aliens (Mogadorians) who have destroyed their planet and are not set to take over earth.  Sound a bit odd?  It is  - but it is also an interesting read.

Number Four is the first Lorian to tell the story.  He has been on the run his entire life with his Cepan (guide) moving him from town to town across the US. Four (John is his human name) hides in plain sight in small towns until life there becomes compromised in some way and then they move on. They end up in Paradise for longer than usual and it is there that Henri (the Cepan) begins to tell John what his life is really all about - how he was sent from Loric as the planet was consumed with 9 other children and the legacies of Lorian.  These legacies are special talents that grow as the children mature and will be used to defend themselves and remake Loric in the future.

image from LibraryThing

Following a fiery explosion and the heart-breaking death of Henri, Four meets the next of his group, Six.  She is completely different from Four - confident and in control of her legacies in a way he only wishes.  Four, Six and Sam, a friend from Paradise, escape Paradise and hit the road.  They find an abandoned house and heal and train and grow their abilities.

But, the unknown Mogadorians and Sam's missing father haunt them.  As do the scars burned in their legs. Each time one of the original Garde is caught and killed by the Mogadorians, a scar is seared into their legs.

The story shifts a bit in the next book and more of the Garde are introduced - the story telling moves between the characters until they all end up in the penthouse apartment of Six at the top of the John Hancock building in Chicago.  As the Garde gather and train and learn from one another more and more of the story comes out.  It is their responsibility to carry on their legacy.  But, at what cost?  They are after all only children.  All of them have lost their Cepan's and some have lost the chests of their Loric tools. But the end of this book the group is:  Four, Six, Eight, Nine and Ten plus Sarah (Four's girlfriend) and Sam his friend.

image from LibraryThing

The story shifts as Five joins the Garde.  He adds a layer of darkness and tension.  Sam also is able to reunite with his Father who disappeared long ago - he was one of the Greeters who welcomed the Lorian spaceship to earth.  I found this book harder to understand. The storytelling switches between characters - each using the first person. I was sometimes a bit confused by who was talking.  The font is different for each - but not drastically.  I found it distracting from the storyline.

I like parts of these - but get so tired of the teenage angst that is layered in these stories.  They remind me of the Series of Unfortunate Events in that Pittacus Lore is also a character in the story.  He is the one that Sam's father met on earth - but how can that be since only the children made it to the planet.  Each book leaves unanswered questions.  I am not sure how dedicated I am to stick with these though. It would be much easier to just wait and read them all at once...

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

Image from LibraryThing

I was totally enthralled with Downton Abbey - watching as many episodes on Netflix that I could.  So, this was a great follow up book!

The story takes place at a time when America was filled with new millionaires due to all the industries here while England was filled with dilapidated estates in need of cash. The idea of an American heiress traveling to England with deep pockets in need of a husband is a great place to start the story.

Cora Cash is a filthy rich spoiled daughter of a flour baron and an incredibly driven mother. Mrs. Cash's sole purpose seems to be proving her importance through what she can buy and that includes her gilded daughter.  Then a fateful coming out party and a flaming headress sends the mother and daughter to England to branch out and find a husband.

And that is where the book gets better. I liked Cora so much more when she was growing up - when she was becoming her own person, not her mother's shadow.  But, it is a book - so true love doesn't come easily! There is an evil mother-in-law, a lost love that doesn't want to stay lost, and all the mysteries of English country living.
Cora is the most real personality in this glittering facade.

I was a little disappointed in how quickly the book came to an end. There was a lot of build-up and then - boom - it was over.  That left me wanting more!  But, I would recommend this! It's a great tale and a fun summer read!

The Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa

image from LibraryThing

I am always intrigued at the way imaginary lands creatures carry over from one story to another. This series by Julie Kagawa is an excellent example of that.

image from LibraryThing

The first book - The Iron King - takes place partly in the our world and partly in the world of Faery - where King Oberon has had a half faery daughter named Meghan who figures out on her 16th birthday when she figures out her 4 yr old brother has been switched with a changeling.  As the Faery sight begins to emerge she realizes that her great friend Robbie is actually her protector Puck or Robin Goodfellow...sound familiar?  It's Midsummers night dream tied in to today's world.

But that isn't the only twist - the faery world of NeverNever is slowly dying due to a strange new fey of iron. Iron is the killer of all faery creatures - one touch is deadly.  Who knew?!   And there is a king aiming to take over the entire world of NeverNever.

image from LibraryThing

Meghan crosses path with Ash, the hunter from the winter court and sworn enemy of Puck and Grimalkin the Cait Sith (that is a fancy way of calling him the cheshire cat from Alice). This group comes together to defeat the Iron King and in so doing Meghan finds a part of herself she had no idea existed.

Iron Daughter picks up right where Iron King ends.  I love books that do that! 

image from LibraryThing

But - I really felt like each of the next books didn't have quite the build up the first one did. As a reader, the excitement Meghan felt as she was discovering her identity was gone. Instead, it was a slow smoldering romance. I wasn't as interested...but I can't seem to stop in the middle of a series. I wanted to know how Meghan overcomes the obstacles that her father and Mab the Winter Queen throw in front of her. I wanted to know if her relationship grows with Ash and if he decides what his real priorities are and if he and Puck continue the feud.  And probably most importantly I wanted to know how Meghan defeats the false Iron King.

And that took us through the next two books. 

The Iron Knight was completely different. Ash was the main character on a quest to become human so he could be with Meghan and the Iron Fey.  When I started this one I just wanted it to be over. It felt like the final season of ER - I just really didn't care anymore - but I had put enough time in that I didn't want to quit.  At least that is how I felt at the beginning. It did draw me in. I did care about Ash and Puck. I really didn't like Ariella though.  But - my favorite characters were Grimalkin and The Big Bad Wolf.  They were great!  

So - I really liked these books. I thought they were interesting and a new twist on the fairy tales we know. Great ideas!

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

cover image from LibraryThing

I am a bit ashamed to admit that I have never read this book.

Whew - now the secret is out.

I have guiltily created a whole list of books that librarians and educators regularly talk about that I haven't read. It is honestly a bit embarrassing - and one of my most guarded secrets!!

Well, I decided it's time to start reading some of these oft mentioned books so I can do more than stupidly nod when someone mentions them in conversation.

Lord of the Flies is the first book that I tackled.  And I really liked it!!!  I understand both why it appeals to teachers and the readers.  It has everything a great YA book needs - kids, a new world and no adults!!!

There were shades of Hatchet here.  I wondered if Gary Paulsen flashed to this at any point...hmmmm....

But, what appealed to me the very most was the constant interior battle.  Each of the boys had to decide over and over again whether to give in to their secrets or to hang on to what they had been taught. The cost was terrible - but it's an epic battle. One that teens come face to face with more than we realize, I think.

So  - my first secret stash of novels was a hit...will the next also be a hit??? Stay tuned!

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

cover image from LibraryThing

I have been accused of liking books where nothing happens - where the characters are the story and that's about it.  

Well...this is another one of those stories... and I LOVED IT!!!

Henry Skrimshander. What kind of a character do you think he is?  Henry sounds a little nerdy, a little demure, a little bit in the background. But Skrimshander makes you stop and take notice. It's not a name you skim over.

Does that describe Henry?  Maybe. Henry is a baseball fanatic.  More than that though - Henry is the perfect baseball machine. He lives and breathes fielding and really nothing else. His goal in life is to be a shortstop. It may not even matter where that shortstop is -although the Cardinals are his ultimate favorite. That is due to a book Henry has mad his own story - The Art of Fielding by Aparicio Rodriguez, the best shortstop to ever play for the Cardinals.  


Henry is discovered by an ox of a catcher - Mike Schwarz who hails from a small liberal arts college - Westish - nestled on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Mike is the kind of contagious do-gooder who mothers everyone into being more of a person than they would be on their own. And his true love is Westish.  

There is also the president of the college, his messed up daughter who runs away from her husband and returns to live with her daddy, and Henry's very eccentric roommate.

But - mostly there is Henry. A kid who does everything right. A kid who makes his skills something most player only dream of. 

and then...he starts to think about it.

I have to tell you that reading about his baubles and brain freezes reminded me of my own swimming lessons way back in jr. high. I had taken swimming lessons for years and really loved to swim.  I could jump of the diving board and dive into the deep end with out pausing. Then one day,  I vividly remember standing on the end of the diving board absolutely frozen in fear.  It was impossible for me to jump off. I just couldn't do it again. and you know I never did. I haven't dived off an edge since. 

What in the world happens?  How can you have seasons of error free games and then not be able to toss an easy out at first base???  That is Henry's dilemma.  I have a feeling we can all relate to that!

One more thing before this review is finished. I read this book on my nook. So convenient and light weight and so disappointing.  I have discovered that books for me are a kind of commododity. As I read I am thinking about who I can recommend them to  - who I can share them with. This was no different. But, if it's on my nook it's only on my nook. I can't hand it to my baseball fanatic brother-in-law or my Cardinal fanatic nephews. I can't pick it up off my bookshelves and remember the spring vacation when I read it.  Books are more than the story for me...the physical book holds such appeal.  It's making me reconsider ebooks.