ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

Title:   The Murder of Adam and Eve by William Dietrich Publisher: Burrows Publishing Pages: 306 Format: E-Galley Genre: YA I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com  in exchange for a fair review. Synopsis: Two teens time-travel to prehistoric Africa to judge whether to save our ancestors: the genetic "Adam" and "Eve" whose descendants will go on to populate the world. When 16-year-old Nick Brynner explores an old fort on a forbidden island for a school history project, he stumbles onto a time wormhole. What follows is a mysteriously deserted village with a prowling sentry that looks like a gargoyle, and narrow escape with the help of fellow teen Eleanor Terrell. The two are hurtled into a grim series of challenges by an alien race called the Xu, which are considering a Reset of human history because of our poor planetary stewardship. If Adam and Eve are murdered, will another couple, or another species, do better? Ni...

Title:   The Day The Storm Came: A Therapeutic Story for children who have experienced loss by Helen Lees Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Pages: 17 pages Format: e-book Genre: Children, Trauma Synopsis: Shuffelump's world feels safe, happy and predictable until The Day The Storm Came and his world changed forever. He experiences pain and loneliness and longs for the return of his safe world. Shuffelump has the courage to allow his feelings to surface and then through showing kindness, Shuffelump feels love within himself again. Review:  This book is great for children who have experienced any type of loss or even a change in circumstance. Through a simple story and cute photos it helps kids realize that despite changes that may have happened in their lives and any sadness they are feeling at the moment the sun will come out again.

Title:   When by Victoria Laurie Publisher: Disney Hyperion Pages: 336 Format: E-galley Genre: YA I received this as an advance e-galley from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for a fair review. This book is set to be released January 13, 2015 Synopsis: Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father's premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one. Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client's young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she's unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that...

Title:  Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline Publisher:  Pocket Books Pages:  528 Format:  Paperback Genre:  Mystery/thriller/suspense Synopsis:  Orphan Train  is a gripping story of friendship and second chances. Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse...  As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren't as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance.  Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both. Review: Flipping ...

Title:   The Great Trials of Clarence Darrow: The Landmark Cases of Leopold and Loeb, John T. Scopes, and Ossian Sweet by Donald McRae Publisher: Harper Perennial Pages: 448 Format: paperback Genre: Non-fiction / law Synopsis:  One of the most famous, if controversial, lawyers in America, defense attorney Clarence Darrow was sixty-seven years old in 1924. His reputation was in tatters after a scandalous trial in Los Angeles and his life and career appeared almost over. Then, in rapid succession, he found himself at the forefront of three remarkable courtroom dramas. Each was dubbed "the Trial of the Century" by the press: the trial of teenage Chicago "thrill killers" Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb; Tennessee's infamous Scopes Monkey Trial, later immortalized in the play  Inherit the Wind ; and the incendiary case of Ossian Sweet, an African American man accused of murder while defending his Detroit home against a white mob. Review: Clarence Darrow ...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of  Should Be Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My teaser is from  Orphan Train: A Novel by Christina Baker Kline "They call this an orphan train, children, and you are lucky to be on it. You are leaving behind a place full of ignorance, poverty, and vice for the nobility of country life."

Title:   The Wrath of Angels: A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly Publisher: Pocket Books Pages: 528 Format: Paperback Genre: Mystery/thriller/suspense Synopsis:   Nature has to be held back, and the trees kept to their domain. The trees . . . and what dwells among them.  Deep in the Maine woods, a wrecked plane is discovered. It was never reported missing, and there are no bodies, but what it conceals is powerful beyond comprehension: a record of those who have struck a deal with the devil. A new battle is about to commence in the war between light and darkness, and the list proves to be a deadly weapon. While private detective Charlie Parker fears his own name is there, he is certain that it must be secured from evil. For others, too, have joined the search: a beautiful, scarred woman with a taste for killing; a silent child who remembers his own death; and a serial killer known as the Collector. But the woods, too, are preparing, for other secrets...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of  Should Be Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My teaser comes from  The Wrath of Angels: A Charlie Parker Thriller (Charlie Parker Mysteries) by John Connolly "Because the last word that my mother whispered to my father after the man fled was your name - 'when the time comes, tell the detective. Tell Charlie Parker."- and that in turn was the last thing he whispered to me after he told us the story of the plane in the woods."

Title:   And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini Publisher: Penguin Audio Format: Audio Book Hours: 14 hours 1 minute Narrator:  Khaled Hosseini, Navid Negahban, Shohreh Aghdashloo Genre: Fiction Synopsis:  An unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else. A novel about how we love, how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters and the ramifications of their lives and choices and loves around the globe—from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos—the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and p...

Title:   The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies) by Pittacus Lore Publisher: Harper Audio Format: Audio Book Narrator: Neil Kaplan, Devon Sorvari, Marisol Ramirez Time: 10 hours 8 minutes Genre: YA / Fantasy Synopsis:  The Mogadorians who destroyed the planet Lorien continue to hunt down the Garde, the small group of Loric survivors who have taken refuge on Earth. The Garde must come together. They are Lorien and Earth’s only hope. During the dangerous mission at the Mogadorian base in West Virginia, John found and rescued Nine. But even with their combined powers, special abilities known as Legacies, the pair barely escaped with their lives—and they lost Sam in the process. In order to save our world and their own, John and Nine must join forces with Six, and Seven who have been battling the Mogadorians in Spain, and who are now trying to locate Number Eight in India. Power in numbers will save us all. Review: This book didn't hold my attention as much as The Po...

Title:   Boyfriends with Girlfriends By Alex Sanchez Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pages: 224 Format: Hardcover Genre: YA, LGBT Synopsis:  Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. Lance has always known he was gay, but he’s never had a real boyfriend. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection—but will it be enough to overcome their differences? Allie’s been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years—but when she meets Kimiko, she can’t get her out of her mind. Does this mean she’s gay? Or bi? Kimiko, falling hard for Allie, is willing to stick around and help Allie figure it out. Review: First let me say I love Alex Sanchez.  I haven't read of book of his that I didn't like and this was no exception.  I breezed through this in a few hours.  I loved it based on its story, not the writing.  He has written better books but this is a topic that really isn't discussed. Sanchez really seems to ...

The Authors of The Ending Series have been gearing up to start book four,  Before The Dawn , which they will begin writing in January. In the meantime, Team Lindsey is    gearing up for the holiday season, and they have some awesome Ending Series giveaways. The Prizes: (20)   After The Ending  (book one) ebooks Grand prize --series ebook collection and audiobooks, including: After The Ending,  book one Into The Fire , book two Out Of The Ashes , book three The Ending Beginnings  prequel novellas--the six short-story compilation After The Ending  and  Into The Fire  Audiobooks Second place prize --the Ending Series audiobooks ( After The Ending  and  Into The Fire ) a Rafflecopter giveaway Author Interview with Lindsey Fairleigh (LF) & Lindsey Pogue (LP) Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be? LF: No. When I was younger, and during some of college, I wanted to be a...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of  Should Be Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My Teaser is from  Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption By Brandi Rarus : "Everyone seemed angry and upset, and their hands were flailing a mile a minute. It was quiet pandemonium"

Title:   Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption by Brandi Rarus & Gail Harris Publisher: BenBella Books Pages: 254 pages Format: ebook Genre: Adoption / Deaf Culture Synopsis:  Brandi Rarus was just 6 when spinal meningitis took away her hearing. Because she spoke well and easily adjusted to lip reading, she was mainstreamed in school and socialized primarily in the hearing community. Brandi was a popular, happy teen, but being fully part of every conversation was an ongoing struggle. She felt caught between two worlds—the Deaf and the hearing. In college, Brandi embraced Deaf Culture along with the joys of complete and effortless communication with her peers. Brandi went on to become Miss Deaf America in 1988 and served as a spokesperson for her community. It was during her tenure as Miss Deaf America that Brandi met Tim, a leader of the Gallaudet Uprising in support of selecting the university’s first Deaf president. The two went ...

Title:   The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir Publisher:  Random House Pages: 385 Format: ebook Genre: Sci fi / Fantasy/ high tech I received this an e-copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for a fair review Synopsis:  Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal...

Title:   Beneath The Secrets (Tall, Dark, and Deadly) (Volume 3) by Lisa Renee Jones Publisher: Lisa R Jones Format: ebook (kindle) Pages: 224 pages Genre: Romance Synopsis: Two will paths collide. Two people who will do anything, including sleeping with the enemy, to avenge or save someone they love. But what if everything isn't as it seems and the enemy isn't the enemy at all? Can these two broken people drawn together by their sizzling hot attraction see beyond their pain and their need for vengeance Undoubtedly, they will face the ghosts of their pasts, but will those ghost destroy them or forever bind them? Review: Blake is the broken brother. Shattered by the death of his finance by the cartel that he blames himself for. He has sworn that he will bring this cartel down and doesn't care if it brings him down too. With nothing to lose he hides his investigation from his brothers who he knows would stop him.  When trying to get in deeper with the cartel he...

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of  Should Be Reading . Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My Teasers: “She'd confessed her heartache to him, and he'd confessed absolutely nothing. He'd promised nothing, not even a desire to stay alive.”  - Beneath the Secrets (Tall, Dark & Deadly Vol 3 by Lisa Renee Jones 

Title:   Dangerous Secrets (Tall, Dark, and Deadly) (Volume 2) by Lisa Renee Jones Publisher: Lisa R. Jones Format: e-book Pages: 228 Genre: Romance Synopsis:  Being a divorce attorney for the rich and famous isn't all it's cracked up to be. Julie Harrison has learned that love doesn't last, and she's sworn never to make the same mistakes as her mother, or her clients. She uses the games men play to keep them at a distance. The only man who managed to break down her walls was Luke Walker, a Navy SEAL who loved her and left her, and changed her forever Review: The Walker brothers are sexy, gorgeous and deadly.  Julie is on her way to her best friends wedding to one of these sexy men when she runs into the brother who broke her heart.  What she doesn't realize is that she touch his too but he had no choice when he left the first time and he doesn't intend on letting her go this time around. Julie finds herself tangled within a stolen art ring that i...

Title:  Cage of Bones: A Novel by Tania Carver Publisher: Pegasus Format: Hardcover Pages: 288 Genre: Mystery/ Thriller Synopsis:   An abandoned building. A dank cellar. And inside it, a cage of bones—with a shocking surprise lurking within. Carver's new thriller will scare the daylights out of you. Into the house. Down the stairs. Through the dripping dark of the cellar. Someone is there. Someone that shouldn't be there. As a building awaits demolition, a horrifying discovery is made inside the basement: a cage made of human bones—with a terrified, feral child lurking within. Unbeknownst to Detective Inspector Phil Brennan and psychologist Marina Esposito, they have disturbed a killer who has been operating undetected for thirty years. A killer who wants that boy back. But the cage of bones is also a box of secrets—secrets linking Brennan to the madman in their midst. With the death toll rising and the city reeling in terror, Brennan and Marina race to expose a...

Title:  The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe Publisher:  Random House Pages: 354 Genre:  Biographies Format:  Audio Book Narrated by:  Jeff Harding Length:  9 hrs and 40 mins Synopsis: “What are you reading?” That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less. This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passi...

Title:   Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles) by Kevin Hearne Publisher: Del Rey Pages: 320 Platform: Paperback Genre: Fantasy Synopsis:  Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty—when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II. With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to ...

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly meme about (mostly) books and reading. What do you read when you’re sick and just want something easy and comforting? Or do you watch TV instead?(Assuming you’re not napping, of course.) When I'm too sick I find it difficult to focus on a book no matter how much I would like to.  I tend to watch tv or movies or sleep.  I can actually tell that I'm getting better when I am able to pick up a book and focus on it for more than 5 minutes.  What about you? 

Title:   Megan's Birthday Tree: A Story about Open Adoption by Laurie Lears Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company Platform:  ebook Pages: 19 Genre: children / adoption / open adoption Synopsis:  Megan is adopted, but she and her parents keep in touch with her birth mother, Kendra. Every year, Kendra decorates the tree she planted when Megan was born and takes a picture of it to send to Megan. Megan cherishes this Birthday Tree, for it ties her and Kendra together. But one day Kendra writes that she is getting married and moving to a different town. Will she forget Megan, without the tree to remind her? Review: Many adoptee's wonder about their adoption, their past, their birth parents and why they were placed for adoption.  Open adoption helps to answer those questions for families and adopted children by giving them access to their birth parents.  In this story Megan loves looking through the letters she gets from her birth mother and gets excit...

Title:   Family Medical History: Unknown/Adopted: How a Routine Inquiry Led to Unexpected Answers for an Adopted Woman by Nancy Kacirek & Rebecca Crofoot Publisher: Becknan Books Pages: 182  pages Genre: Adoption Synopsis: Knowing where you came from often determines Who you are… At the age of 45, Nancy Feldman knew how her doctor appointment would go. They would ask her about her family’s health history, and she would hear the doctor’s familiar sigh after she answered, “I don’t know, I’m adopted.” Being perfectly happy with the loving family she had, Feldman never took an interest in finding her biological parents until diagnosed with a disease that she passed on to her son. Suddenly, Nancy’s lack of family history was affecting someone else. Nancy wrote a letter to the Nebraska Children’s Home Society for help, and the adoption agency assigned her case to Rebecca Crofoot. This began a 17-year journey between the two women who were determined to find informati...

Title:   This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids: A Question & Answer Guide to Everyday Life by Dannielle Owens-Reid (Author), Kristin Russo Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC Pages: 240 Genre: lgbt, parenting Synopsis: Written in an accessible Q&A format, here, finally, is the go-to resource for parents hoping to understand and communicate with their gay child. Through their LGBTQ-oriented site, the authors are uniquely experienced to answer parents' many questions and share insight and guidance on both emotional and practical topics. Filled with real-life experiences from gay kids and parents, this is the book gay kids want their parents to read. Review: This is a great book to help parents of lgbt kids and also for lgbt kids or adults to read.  While the questions are directed to parents the answers may help lgbt youth feel better about the reactions they may receive or questions that people ask.  This is all new to many people and while it may have taken a...

Title:   The Summer of Dead Toys: A Thriller by Antonio Hill Publisher: Broadway Books Pages: 369 Genre: Thriller I received an e-galley of this book through blogging for books  in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis:  Argentine native Inspector Héctor Salgado is one of Barcelona's leading criminal detectives. After a stint on probation—he assaulted a suspect from a human-trafficking case—Salgado is back in the office and eager for something major. To his dismay, he's assigned to a routine accidental death instead: a college student fell from a balcony in one of Barcelona’s ritzier neighborhoods. But as Salgado pieces together details from the victim's the life, he realizes that his death was not all that simple: his teenage friends are clearly hiding something and drugs might be involved.  Salgado follows a trail that will lead him deep into the underbelly of Barcelona’s high society, where he’ll confront dangerous cr...

In 2013, there were 307 reported requests for books to be removed from America’s libraries, potentially putting those volumes out of reach of students, readers, and learners of all types. While every corner of the map faces unique issues related to library censorship, these issues also catalyze passionate freedom-to-read advocates dedicated to getting the books back on library shelves. During Banned Book week challenge yourself to read a banned book and get the word out about the freedom to read whatever we choose.  When books are banned we all lose. Book Burning in Berlin May 10, 1933 Over this recent past decade, 5,099* challenges were reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom. 1,577 challenges due to "sexually explicit" material; 1,291 challenges due to "offensive language"; 989 challenges due to materials deemed "unsuited to age group"; 619 challenged due to "violence"' and 361 challenges due to "homosexuality...