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 disappoi...

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 ...

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 ...

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 f...

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...