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What I’m Reading Wednesday: The Summer Middle-Schooler Edition
Both of my kids are avid readers, and while for my eight-year-old any book involving princesses, fairies, or animals having an adventure, she’s in. My ten-year-old is a tougher nut to crack. Historically he hasn’t been a fan of science fiction/fantasy, so no amount of reasoning could get him to try the Harry Potter series or any of the other YA fiction in that genre that I love, although I have seen some Rick Riordan find their way to his shelves. He’s a big fan of sports fiction, with books by both Tim Green and Mike Lupica filling his shelves, and he does like fiction that’s either compelling (like Michael Morpugo’s War…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Vanished
Are you a mystery fan??? Well, this week’s pick is an excellent, stay up late ’til ya’ finish romantic thriller: Vanished by Kendra Elliot. Fans of Carla Neggers, Lisa Jackson, Nora Roberts and/or Karen Robards will love this book as Elliot successfully meshes an intense mystery/thriller with a blooming romance. Initially, the story is about an eleven year old girl abducted on her way to school, but it proves to be much more complicated than that. The cast of characters is a complexly intertwined bunch. The missing girl turns out to be the stepdaughter of Mason Callahan’s ex-wife. (Got that?) On the surface, he, his ex-wife, her new husband and HIS ex-wife seem to…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: The House We Grew Up In
This week’s pick is a family drama by British author Lisa Jewell, titled The House We Grew Up In. A compelling, complex family drama that was so very different from the book description (you might wonder if I’m just rubbish at reading the description, but no), I was quickly drawn into both the story and the family members. The happy scene depicted in the opening pages proved to be a stark contrast to the later lives of the inhabitants of the Bird House. When tragedy strikes on an Easter Sunday, the family falls apart, but while the blame for this is put on the tragedy, it turns out to…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday (on Thursday*): The Land Of Decoration
Grace McCleen’s “The Land of Decoration” was a compelling read – not one that was to be consumed in one sitting, but instead one that forced me to slow down and contemplate and absorb. It’s also one that is difficult to review without giving away too much of the story. McCleen was brought up in a Christian Fundamentalist sect herself, which lends an authenticity to the story and leaves you wondering how much was drawn from her own experiences. Hearing her speak at the Hay Festival last month, she confessed that the process of writing was physically challenging – it literally made her ill. The book resonates with such loneliness…
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What I’m Reading Wednesday: Port Mortuary and Red Mist
Let me preface these reviews with the statement that I am a long-time Patricia Cornwell fan. I read and re-read her Kay Scarpetta novels. Heck, I eschewed product samples (you know, the ones you get in the Sunday paper or in magazines or in the mail) for years after reading Unnatural Exposure for fear of product tampering. When I was supposed to be moving to Richmond, Virginia in the late ’90s, my mom was freaking out because all her knowledge of Richmond came from Kay Scarpetta novels. But somewhere along the line, the writing in the series changed as did the characters’ personalities, and…
