ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

Title : Wildthorn by Jane Eagland Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 368 pages Genre: YA fiction I received an electronic copy of this book free from the publisher.  It is currently available in stores.  Synopsis: They strip her naked, of everything-undo her whalebone corset, hook by hook. Locked away in Wildthorn Hall—a madhouse—they take her identity. She is now called Lucy Childs. She has no one; she has nothing. But, she is still seventeen-still Louisa Cosgrove, isn't she? Who has done this unthinkable deed? Louisa must free herself, in more ways than one, and muster up the courage to be her true self, all the while solving her own twisted mystery and falling into an unconventional love . . . Originally published in the UK, this well-paced, provocative romance pushes on boundaries-both literal and figurative-and, do beware: it will bind you, too. Review: I was excited to read this when I read a review on another Reader of Fictions Blog, I was not disappointed.

Title: Down River by John Hart Publisher: St. Martin Press 384 pages Genre: Mystery Thriller Synopsis: Adam Chase is passionate and misunderstood, a fighter.  When narrowly acquitted of a murder charge, he disappears for five long years: not a clue, not a trace. Now, he's back and nobody knows why- not his family or the cops, not the women he left behind.  But Adam has his reasons. When more bodies surface, Adam must unravel a web of deceit and violence so dense it staggers the imagination. Old secrets rise, lives collapse, and more than one person crosses the brink as author Hart probes the timeless destructive power of deception and revenge. Review: I was so thrilled to have found this author when I read his most recent book, Last Child , so I picked up some of his earlier stuff.  I am still thrilled.  Hart keeps you on your toes at every turn and while I sort of predicted some things others were a complete surprise which is hard to do to me since I'm such a die

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.  Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. Here is  list of books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in 2009 and 2010 .  Its amazing what books are on this!  I do find it interesting that the 2 books my daughter had to read for her HS summer reading are both on this list.... Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich and The Tortilla Curtain by Coraghessan Boyle. The Merriam Websters Dictionary is on this list!  Its incredible.   Here is a link to books challenged, restricted, removed or banned from previous years. .. Each day, all across the country, one of our most  basic freedoms — the right to read — is in danger.

Title: The Keepers by Heather Graham Publisher: Harlequin 288 pages Genre : Paranormal Romance This title will be released 10-1-10 - I received this as an advanced galley copy from the publisher. Synopsis: At the core of New Orleans lie the otherworldly vampires and shape-shifters that hide in plain sight among mankind. As one of the Keepers, an elite group possessing superior skill and strength, Fiona MacDonald knows her duty is to secure balance in a place where one vampire’s bite could ignite a war between societies. When Detective Jagger DeFarge is called in at the discovery of a young woman’s body, drained of blood in a cemetery, both the specially talented detective and Fiona must join uneasy forces. Jagger will stop at nothing to find the murderer— including working in close quarters with the sensual and suspicious Fiona. As more young women die, it becomes clear that this isn’t the work of an ordinary vampire. No one is safe. But when the killer’s attention turns

MS150 2009 - Thank God for good books! 

Title: Bow Grip by Ivan E Coyote Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press 219 pages Summary: Joey Cooper, a small-town mechanic, trades a beat-up old car for a brand new cello, he thinks he's in the market for a new hobby; for a man trying to pull himself back together after his wife left him (for another woman), music might be just what he needs. What he finds, though, is a lot more than he counted on, and a search for a cello instructor becomes, in a laid-back sort of way, a quest for personal fulfillment. Review:  Joey is just a small town guy who is trying to figure out life after his wife leaves him for another woman and his dreams for his future are dashed.  He trades a car for a cello because his mother and sister feel he needs to get a hobby and move on with his life.  When the man who he traded the car for gets in touch with him about the car breaking down Joey discovers a secret this man is hiding but before he can confront him he disappears.  Worried, Joey finds clues to t

Title: Dragon Chica by May-Li Chai Publisher: Gemma Media 256 pages This title will be released in October 2010.  I received this book as a free advanced electronic galley from the publisher. Summary: Nea, a Chinese Cambodian teenage refugee from the Khmer Rouge, flees with what's left of her family to Texas when a miracle occurs. Struggling to get by in a strange new world, Nea's mother receives word that wealthy relatives have made it to America as well. The resolute little family stuffs Hefty bags full of belongings into the Ford and heads north. Ahead of them is the thrilling chance to help run the newly discovered family business, a Chinese restaurant in Nebraska. The family is reunited, but soon Nea discovers their miracle is not what she had expected. Tempers flare; local reception is lukewarm, if not downright hostile; fights erupt; and Nea's beloved sister Sourdi is growing up and away from her far too fast. Then the past - and a forbidden love- threate

Its blog hop Friday....today we are supposed to honor our favorite book bloggers.... in no particular order I will have to give a shout out to: Reader of Fictions - Ramblings, Reviews and Rants of a Book Obsessed Librarian - I love this site...mostly young adult fiction books, which is fabulous for me since I like ya books and because I have enough teenagers to start my own high school. Crazy for Books: I love this site for many reasons but helping get the word out about other book bloggers deserves an big thank you! Pink Sheep Cafe: I just stumbled across this little gem of a site the other day.  Love it.  Love the background and I'm glad I found it. Park Benches and Book Ends: I just found this site as well and know its going to be a keeper.

Title: Hacking Timbuktu by Steven Davies Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 272 pages This book was received as a galley from the publisher. This title will be released November 2010.  Summary: Danny is a  freelance IT specialist—that is, a hacker. He and his pal Omar are both skilled at parkour, or freerunning, a discipline designed to enable practitioners to travel between any two points regardless of obstacles. This is fortunate, because they're off on an adventure that's filled with obstacles, from locked doors to gangs of hostile pursuers. Together they follow a cryptic clue, find a missing map, figure out how to get to Timbuktu without buying a plane ticket, and join the life-and-death treasure hunt, exchanging wisecracks and solving the puzzle one step at a time. Review: What a ride.  I wanted to be a 16 year old hacker on this adventure.  The parkour scenes were really well done, I almost didn't want them to find a treasure, I just wanted them to keep

Title: Blue Belle by Andrew Vachss Publisher: Vintage Books - A division of Random House, Inc 340 pages Summary: Burke, the private-eye outlaw with a big problem with child molesters is back. When the yuppie-hating horse-playing ex-con takes on the Times Square world of porn and murder, he finds himself facing a deadly karateka (karate expert) named Mortay (Muerte) and falling for a full figured ex stripper who's learning to deal with her past as a child of incest.  Blue Belle often reads like a hardboiled detective novels. Short sentences. Punchy. Missing verbs. Though the dialogue has a cynical cast, there is not an ounce of moral ambiguity or irony - the evil child-molester/torturer/ killers versus Burke's family of misfits-with-hearts-of-gold, including a tough Asian matriarch, a tough would-be transsexual, a tough jack-of-all-shady-trades and a host of other gruff but goodhearted low-lifes, each with a redeeming mission in life. Review: This is the third Burke nove

Title: A   Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 291 pages Summary: Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. Review: I found the beginning unnec

It seems like yesterday that the whole country stood in horror watching as planes crashed into the twin towers in NYC and ultimately brought them crashing down.  In honor of those who worked there and in honor of those who died trying to save them I am posting information on one of the best books regarding 9/11 that I have read. Written by Pulitzer prize winning NY Times writer Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. Title: 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn Publisher: Times Books 384 Pages Summary: 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, New York Times writers Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn vividly recreate the 102-minute span between the moment Flight 11 hit the first Twin Tower on the morning of September 11, 2001, and the moment the second tower collapsed, all from the perspective of those inside the buildings--the 12,000 who escaped, and the 2,749 who did not. It's becoming easie

Title : The Last Child by John Hart Publisher  Minotaur Books 417 pages Summary: (from publishers weekly)   A year after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon disappeared on her way home from the library in an unnamed rural North Carolina town, her twin brother, Johnny, continues to search the town, street by street, even visiting the homes of known sex offenders, in this chilling novel from Edgar-winner Hart (Down River). Det. Clyde Hunt, the lead cop on Alyssa's case, keeps a watchful eye on Johnny and his mother, who has deteriorated since Alyssa's abduction and her husband's departure soon afterward. When a second girl is snatched, Johnny is even more determined to find his sister, convinced that the perpetrator is the same person who took Alyssa. But what he unearths is more sinister than anyone imagined, sending shock waves through the community and putting Johnny's own life in danger. Review: I loved this book.  Its a quick read but keeps you on the edge of your sea

Title: Imitation in Death by Nora Roberts writing as JD Robb Publisher: Berkley Books 342 pages Synopsis:  Book 16 in the Eve Dallas death series.  In the year 2059 Eve Dallas NY homicide detective, married to multi-billionaire Rourke is drawn into a serial murder case where the killer likes imitating the most infamous serial killers in history.  Meanwhile her assistant is prepping to take her detective exam and is making Eve feel like a nervous mother, a feeling she is definitely not used to. Review:  After that horrid book I tried to read this was a great break.  If you are not already an Eve Dallas fan you should be.  Although these books are billed as romance they have all the suspense and gritty crime ridden dirt of a good mystery thriller.  Imitation in Death is not for the first time reader though, it often alludes to previous books and the relationships between the characters may leave new readers puzzled. I love all their futuristic gadgets, particularly the auto ch

The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits - I wanted to like this book for so many reasons.  First was the intriguing synopsis of the book on the inside cover about a young Mary Veal who disappears after field hockey practice only to reappear a few weeks later.  What happened when she was missing, was she abducted,or did she run away?  Mary says she can't remember anything , her therapist believes she is lying and writes a book about her that makes her life a nightmare.  Her family doesn't know what to think.  The second reason is rather shallow but I can't help it...I wanted to like it simply because the authors name is Heidi, silly I know but there are so few of us I feel like we need to stick together, but on this occasion I just can't. I found this book so difficult to get into that I actually for the first time realized that Gretchen Rubin author of the Happiness Project (which I loved) was so right when she said that sometimes you just need to put the book dow