ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

Title: Baby, We were meant for each other by Scott Simon Publisher: Random House 180 pages Genre: fiction/ adoption Synopsis: NPR’s award-winning and beloved Scott Simon tells the story of how he and his wife found true love with two tiny strangers from the other side of the world. It’s a book of unforgettable moments: when Scott and Caroline get their first thumb-size pictures of their daughters, when the small girls are placed in their arms, and all the laughs and tumbles along the road as they become a real family. Review: Extremely readable, Scott Simon has crafted a book about international adoption that is informative and describes the hard stuff  in a witty light fashion.  This is no doomsday book and while some might feel that he portrays the adoption process in too positive a light its refreshing to read the positive side instead of all the doom and gloom that is usually part of most adoption stories. Scott Simon describes his painful journey of infertilit...

Title: Invasion by John S Lewis Publisher: Thomas Nelson (2011) 336 pages Genre: YA fantasy I received this book as an advanced readers copy from netgalley.com , it was released in January. Synopsis:  Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident. He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he's sure he's never met but who is strangely familiar. But what if his parents' death wasn't an accident? His mother, and investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world's largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn...

Title: The Hoopster by Alan Lawrence Sitomer Publisher: Hyperion 218 pages Genre: YA Synopsis:  On the neighborhood basketball court, Andre Anderson jockeys for position among his multicultural group of buddies, but, off the court, the African-American teen's writing talent puts him in the spotlight. Given the opportunity to write a feature article on racism for the national magazine where he works as an intern, he addresses his feelings honestly. As a result, he is brutally attacked by a group of racists, hoping to silence his pen by symbolically crushing his hand in a car door. The incident incites a gamut of responses among his friends, his Latina girlfriend, and his family. His cousin, Cedric, collects a group of avengers and invites Andre's best friend, Shawn, to join them. The white teen is torn between loyalty to his pal and his nonviolent sensibilities. Andre's father, also victim of a racial attack as a teen, loses patience with his son's sullen withdra...

Title: Biting the Apple by Lucy Jane Bledsoe Publisher: Carroll & Graff Publishers 274 Pages Genre: LGBT/ lesbian lit Synopsis : Eve Glass, once an Olympic sprinter and now a motivational speaker, has achieved national celebrity. She's the author of two books, Going the Distance: Endurance for Achievers and If Grace is the Goal , and her career and fame are on the rise. Unfortunately, however, Eve's own endurance is waning and her confidence in her expertise on grace is paling. Worse, a former classmate has begun stalking her and threatens to go public with news of Eve's troubled past. Having been a product of other people's dreams her entire life, Eve is now a woman in search of authenticity.  Review: Interesting novel about finding who you are. The book was written in the perspective of 4 different people.  The first is Nick, Eve's High School track coach and current husband. When Nick first laid eyes on Eve (then called Marianne) he saw something in he...

Title: Descanso by Cynthia Tyler Publisher: Alice Street Editions 163 pages Genre: LGBT Synopsis: Two years ago psychotherapist Chris Cameron was devastated by the murder of her partner Robyn. Even now she struggles daily with the loss as she once again tries to find meaning in her own life. It isn't going well. Strangled by her work environment and suffocated by her own overwhelming grief she finally realizes she is searching to find her own spirit. Review: Kudo's to Cynthia Tyler for writing a fabulous first novel. I loved that the characters aren't young 20 somethings and that every person Chris interacts with isn't a lesbian.  Her spiritual journey is one that I could strongly relate to.  I may not have lost loved one's to death but most of us have felt the grief at the end of relationship. That feeling of being stuck, unable to move forward, and dreading that you have to start over. It was so easy to relate to the main character, you could feel her pa...

Title: Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell Publisher: Putnam (2010) 358 pages Genre: Mystery Synopsis:  The story begins at the real Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, where Scarpetta is assisting in developing techniques for virtual autopsies, then shifts back to her recently adopted home at Boston's Cambridge Forensic Center (CFC). A young man's mysterious death becomes even stranger after full-body scans reveal destruction so extensive it's as if a bomb went off inside his body. Scarpetta and husband Benton Wesley-along with her niece, Lucy Farinelli, and ex-cop turned CFC investigator Pete Marino-discover links not only to a government project with the ability to cause mass casualties but also to another grisly case currently under investigation. Review:   I've been a long time Scarpetta fan but the last few books have been seriously lacking.  I was hesitant to buy this one but figured I'd give her another whirl. Good things about this book? A retur...

Title: Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes Publisher: Speak 167 Pages Genre: YA Synopsis: Something's going on. Something more than a high school poetry assignment. Kids are taking a look, leaning in close, asking why or how. Wesley Boone, writing a poem for Mr. Ward's class and actually wanting to read it aloud, poetry slam style. Lupe Algarin, desperate to have a baby so she will feel loved. Raynard Patterson, hiding a secret behind his silence. Porscha Johnson, looking for an outlet for her anger after her mother OD's. One by one, eighteen voices speak up, show themselves to the world and deal with the consequences. Through the poetry they share and the stories they tell, their words and lives show what lies beneath the skin, behind the eyes, beyond the masquerade. Review: What a wonderful and powerful book.  Every other chapter tells the tale of one of the kids in Mr. Ward's class, how they feel inside and how people seem to see them.  After each persons sto...

Title: Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Publisher: Viking 592 Pages Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance Synopsis:  Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. Review:  Diana is the daughter of two of the most famous witch families, the Bis...

Title: Dear Linda, An Adoptive Father's open letter to the birthmother of his child by Anonymous Publisher: Trafford 88 pages Genre: Adoption, Synopsis : Often during the past decade this adoptive fathers thoughts returned to the memory of a meeting with a young pregnant girl, a young girl whose ultimate, loving decision changed the course of his life. "Dear Linda," is an open letter to the birthmother of his child. But it is also more,it is an open letter to all birthmothers from the perspective of an adoptive father. Review: Perhaps I got the wrong impression of this book by its synopsis but it was not what I expected.  What I expected was an adoptive father explaining his feelings toward the birth parents of his child.  What I got instead was a detailed history of their infertility, and the life of his daughter up to age 10.  This book is only 88 pages and it wasn't until the 84th page I felt that this book lived up to its title.  In his last chapter ent...

Title: Deadly Vows by Brenda Joyce Publisher: Harlequin 384 pages Genre: Romance I received this as an advanced readers copy from netgalley.com  This title will be released in February 22, 2011 Synopsis: New York City, 1902 Something happened on the way to her wedding… On the morning of her wedding to Calder Hart, amateur sleuth Francesca Cahill is lured away to a private viewing of a portrait that could destroy her entire family: the nude Hart commissioned of her. Her desperate quest to recover the scandalous portrait leads her into a dangerous trap with no way to escape—until it’s too late. And when Francesca finally arrives at the church, it’s vacant. She has unintentionally jilted Hart at the altar. When Hart tells her their estrangement is for the best, Francesca is devastated. With a blackmailer intent on destroying her reputation, Francesca turns to Rick Bragg, the city’s powerful police commissioner. Together they scour the sordid streets of lower Manhattan, f...

Title: Probation by Tom Mendicino Publisher: Kensington Books 333 pages Genre: LGBT lit Synopsis : A middle-aged married man whose indiscretion in a men's bathroom forces him to re-evaluate his chosen life becomes a surprisingly sympathetic narrator in this potent debut. When Andy Nocera is arrested at a public highway rest stop, his wife leaves him, prompted by her father, for whom Andy works. Resigned to putting his life back together, he moves home with his mother, recently diagnosed with cancer, and takes a job as a traveling salesman around which he schedules his court-ordered therapy with a stubborn Jesuit priest. Andy attempts to detangle his motivations for both getting married when his emotions lay elsewhere and settling for an existence as a dutiful son. Review: Andy's life is spiraling out of control.  First he is arrested for an indiscretion in a bathroom, sentenced to probation he then loses his wife and his job.  Plodding along through his life wi...

Title : The Ruins by Scott Smith Publisher: Vintage Books 509 Pages Genre : Horror Synopsis: Two young couples are on a lazy Mexican vacation- sun-drenched days, wild nights, making friends with fellow tourists. When the brother of one of those friends disappears, they decide to venture into the jungle to look for him. What started out as a fun day trip slowly spirals into a nightmare when they find an ancient ruins site....and the terrifying presence that lurks there. Review:  This book was creepy.  At first you aren't quite sure what is going on but then as you figure out what is happening it gives you the creepy crawlies.  I never thought killer plants would be scary but when I started having dreams about my house plants creeping across my room to kill me I realized that Smith might have been on to something.  Giant worms, killer crocs, and sharks these have all been done to death but plants? The group dynamics were perfect and Smith does keep you wonde...

The 19th Annual African-American Children's Book Festival was held at Philadelphia Community College today.  There were a wide range of vendors ranges from those for educators to Children's book authors and illustrators. They had a good turn out although I thought the room was laid out a bit strangely and wasn't very well organized.  Some of the Educational vendors had massive attitude problems as well.  When one of the vendors asked a woman if she was an educator and she responded yes but she had forgotten her ID the woman looked at her and replied "well I guess you're out of luck huh?" I was stunned. I ventured to this book expo with a white friend who has two African-American children so he could look for books for his kids.  While there, one of the other vendors said to him "well if you had your kids with you I might take pity on you and give you a free book". Again I was stunned.  I don't know who recruited the volunteers or even if they...

Title : The Winter of Our Disconnect: How three totally wired teenagers (and their mother who slept with her iphone) pulled the plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale. Publisher: Penguin 265 Pages Genre: Memoir Synopsis: Maushart decides to have her family take a six-month experiment into an unplugged life. No smart phones, ipods, laptops, game stations, hand held game devices, tv, or pc's. Easier said than done in a house with three digital native teenagers.  The first two weeks of the experiment Maushart also shuts off all the power in the house, hoping that in two weeks when it comes back on having no ipod won't be as important as the fact that they now can turn on a light or use the fans.  Internet is available outside of the house in wifi cafe's or friends houses.  The no technology zone only pertains to their home. Review: I felt like Maushart was living in my home.  I've got three teenagers, two of which are very wired.  The third ...