Sarah's Key

My mother was anxious for me to read Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay so that we could discuss it. In hindsight I wish I had not read it right after The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as it also deals with the subject of the Holocaust. Sarah's Key however focuses on another group of victims not much talked about: Parisan children. The story follows present day American journalist Julia Jarmond as she discovers the story of a young Parisian child caught up in the Vel'di'Hiv' roundup in July 1942 when thousands of Jewish families who were French citizens were arrested by the French police and eventually sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Although the story is fiction the horror of the roundups is fact. Sarah's story becomes intertwined with Julias and the result has a profound impact on both the journalist and the reader. There are no happy endings here and I think it would be disrespectful to the true victims and survivors of those tragic events if there was. More than 6o years after the Holocaust people still do not want to talk about it. I have learned more reading these last 3 books (2 fiction and one true story) then I ever learned in school. My fifth grade son was assigned a project on the Holacaust and in helping him research I read more than most of us would ever want to know on the topic. It is difficult to put yourself in the time frame and mindset of the people who stood by and watched this happen. Now that I am aware of many of these tragic events like the journalist in Sarah's Key, I will never forget.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

When I was ordering the book Destined to Live from Amazon the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne was recommended as similar reading. It is described as a fable and written through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. (It is not written for children, though.) It gives the reader another view of events from the Holocaust. Although very short it is still long enough to have an impact. It has been made into a movie though without wide release. It is a must read for fiction about the Holocaust.

Terminal Freeze

Terminal Freeze is the latest novel by Lincoln Child. I've ready just about everything Child has written both alone and with co-author Douglas Preston. The books mostly are in the adventure/thriller category. The pair has written a novel set in the ice (Antarctica) already, Ice Limit. I've also read another thriller by James Rollins, Ice Hunt and one by Matthew Reilly, Ice Station. I think the setting has been explored to its fullest now. In Terminal Freeze some undefined monster is terrorizing the characters at a remote military base. Sound familiar? Some of these adventure novels are starting to be repeats and I'm ready for some fresh material. Don't get me wrong Terminal Freeze is a good novel but it is a far cry from my favorites from this author including: Thunderhead and Utopia. Other thrillers I recommend would include Subterranean and Amazonia by James Rollins or anything written by Michael Crichton. That is the problem with reading as many books as I do - Every book can not be a best seller.

The Lamora Wink

Somehow in my methodical plodding through Martha Grimes Richard Jury series I missed The Lamorna Wink and I'm glad that I found it now. This book finds Melrose Plant, Jury's usual sidekick rambling about Cornwall on his own. He enlists the help of Detective Macalvie to help him solve a disappearance and a four year old murder. Of course Jury shows up toward the end just in time to solve the murder and disappearance and steal all of the thunder from Plant. It was fun to read more about Plant and the what makes him tick. We also get a update on the Long Piddleton group and Plant's Aunt Agatha. The mystery solved we even see a more compassion side of Macalvie and the novel leaves you wishing you could make a visit to Northants.

Light of the Moon

Luanne Rice takes a journey away from her usual setting in Black Hall, Connecticut for her book Light of the Moon. In this book the main character has taken a trip to France to visit a shrine that had special meaning to her recently deceased mother. There she discovers the close-knit communtiy of Romanys, the famous Camargue white horses, and the love of her life. As always, there are complications and the story plays out to a happy ending. I've read many of Rice's novels and this one although an enjoyable story was not as good as many others.

Destined to Live

I read a children's book recently that my son's fifth grade class read. It is the true story of a survivor of the Holocaust, Ruth Gruener, Destined to Live. Ruth was a young girl in Poland when the Germans invaded. The story is written from a child's perspective and written for children. It follows Ruth's story as she survives years of hiding in Poland until she is able to emigrate to the United States. It is an important story and I believe anyone who reads it will appreciate it.

Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of fairy tales written by the Bard himself and edited by J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame. It was originally available in only 5 copies in 2007 as a kind of artifact from the Harry Potter series complete with silver ornaments and moonstones it was published for general purchase in late 2008. Although a bit pricey for such a slim volume part of the proceeds to go to support the Children's High Level Group. The fairy tales feature witches and magic but all contain some lesson. The book also contains notes from Hogwart's famous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The book is cute and whimsy and can be read in an hour or so. Although not remarkable by itself it is a necessary edition to your Harry Potter collection.

The Plains of Passage

Whew! It has been a month since I blogged about my reading but I have been reading so I'll try to catch up now.

The Plains of Passage is the fourth book in the Earth's Child Series by Jean M Auel. Best known for the first installment, Clan of the Cave Bear, this novel follows the two main characters, Ayla & Jondalar as they travel East across the continent on a year long journey toward Jondalar's home. This is my least favorite of the series so far. I absolutely loved Clan of the Cave Bear and was delighted when The Valley of Horses was even better but for different reasons. The Mammoth Hunters was entirely different and not as enjoyable. While Plains has an interesting story line and quite honestly is an interestingly told story it is stagnated by long narrations on the plant and animal life of the ice age. While I am sure it is well-researched and very interesting to those who are interested I found it quite boring. I think the story could have been told quite successfully in about half the number of pages(868 in my copy). Furthermore, the lengthy descriptions of the characters love-making grew quite tedious after a while. I have the next book on my to-read list but I think it will be a while before I begin it. It took me almost two weeks to plow my way to the end of Plains of Passage.

The Secret Life of Bees

I know that The Secret Life of Bees is somewhat of a bestseller and received a lot of attention a few years ago. I'm not sure why I haven't read it before except I am usually repelled by what is typically considered a "bestseller". I've read one other book by Sue Monk Kidd, The Mermaid Chair which I enjoyed. The Secret Life of Bees was delightful. I dare say it is the best novel I've read this year and perhaps in a long while. The story is set in 1960's South Carolina and deals with some of the racial tension of that time. The story is one of the special bond of love among women. It is a short novel and a quick read but wonderfully told.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe features the same characters from her novel The Beach House. Five years have passed and the story centers on single mother, Toy Sooner and her daughter who reside in the beach house. Toy has a lot going on in her life. She starts a new turtle hospital at the aquarium where she works as wounded and ailing Loggerheads begin to show up on the coast. Toy has a new love interest, too, but almost blows her opportunities when the father of her five year-old daughter shows up and wants to reconnect. The story is woven beautiful with updates on the other familiar characters and the story of the Loggerhead migration. It is not necessary to read The Beach house to appreciate this novel but I would recommend it.

The Associate

John Grisham is one of the few authors who I buy in hardback as soon as the book is released. His latest novel, The Associate, was no exception. I've been doing this for at least the last ten years and I have read every book he has published. I have voiced my dissapointment with the downhill slide of his stories of legal intrigue over the years and expressed my desire that he write more unique novels. His novels, A Painted House, Playing for Pizza, and The Bleachers are some of my favorites. I don't know if the pressure of turning out a new novel every year is to blame or if the legal thriller is just what he knows how to do best. I think it is possible every good legal themed thriller/story has been written and it is time to move on to other subject matter. The Associate just further proves my point.

First off, The Associate is hardly a thriller. It is filled with intrigue but lacks suspense and certainly contains no thrill. I did not find myself rooting for the protaganist but just sitting back to watch as events unfolded. I will admit that I have grown so accustomed to Grisham's typical end of book twists that I became anxious with anticipation in the last 30 pages or so. There were great twists written into The Runaway Jury and The Partner which are among my favorites. Certainly, this story was ripe for some sort of twist to spice up the ending. I really expected the ending would somehome redeem an otherwise bland story line. However, I was once again dissapointed.

I certainly wouldn't recommend this book unless you, like me, have read all of Grisham's other novels. But if you haven't, please pick somewhere else to start.

R is for Richochet

Traditionally, the novels in Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series are murder mysteries. Murder mysteries = someone dies. Sometimes Kinsey tells us the lucky victim in the first paragraph of the story. So you can imagine my confusion when 300 pages into R is for Richochet there was still no body. Now don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed this book and all of her previous adventures. I do believe they get better each time. But I failed to see the mystery in this mystery. Perhaps, we are running out of mysteries? I mean how many times can Kinsey get herself in a life-threatening situation? (18 so far, if you are counting.) And in all fairness, a body did turn up there at the end, although it wasn't quite murder, and it wasn't quite a mystery. So although it would not be accurate to call this novel a murder mystery it was a quality read nonetheless.

The Covenant

The Covenant is the first in the series by Beverly Lewis called Abram's Daughters. The story is about a community of Amish farmers in Pennsylvania. At first I found the story a little to simply written for my taste but as the novel progressed the writing improved greatly. The story became more complex and more enjoyable. It's obvious it was written with a sequel in mind as the resolution of story is incomplete. I do believe I'll finish the series but I need to read something a little more challenging for now.

Dakota Home

Dakota Home is the second book in Debbie Macomber's Dakota trilogy and I enjoyed it much beter than the first. I believe it was written a few years after the first installment and reflects Macomber's improved writing style. Like the first book the story centers around one unlikely couple and their struggle to admit they love each other. But in the small town of Buffalo Valley we find out more about several other characters from the first novel, too. In fact, in this book their are 3 weddings and 2 births to celebrate. The door has been opened for several of these to continue their stories in the 3rd book. It is light reading but enjoyable.

Two Days after the Wedding

Two Days after Wedding is the fourth or fifth book in the Ladies of Covington series by Joan Medlicott. This is a wonderful series about about 3 ladies who have rediscovered life (and love) in their 70's. I recommend starting this series from the beginning. The novel is really a collection of stories woven together about the lives of Hannah, Grace & Amelia as they celebrate life and love together in the small North Carolina town of Covington.

P is for Peril

"I followed them out onto the deck. We sat in the dark, just the three of us, sipping wine and chatting, listening to the surf rumble on the beach until Jonah came." Huh? That was the last line of my latest read P is for Peril by Sue Grafton. This is clearly the best Kinsey Millhone novel yet. Not only did she keep me guessing until the very end but also after the end. As in, I never really figured it out. Oh, I have an idea but Kinsey was not kind enough to confirm it. She just left me hanging there. And what was with that alternate story line about the twin homicidal brothers? Was that just to distract me from the who done it? And the Medicare fraud? Am I just to guess that the perpetrators will be brought to justice? Other than the dangling ending it was a delightfully good read. Grafton just keeps getting better. I can hardly wait to read the next one.

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers is the first novel in a new series by Nora Roberts called the Sign of Seven Trilogy. I've read a lot of novels over the years by Nora Roberts and I have to admit that this one is a little out of the range of my taste. As suggested by the title of the series this novel involves demons and a battle of good and evil, white and black magic, etc. Blood Brothers introduces you to the central characters of the series. The series seems to follow a typical pattern for trilogies by Roberts in there is a central romance in each book. The first book only dabbles in the evil which is most definitely to come as the series escalates to book 3. As a Christian, I typically avoid this type of subject matter although I'm not opposed to a little magic now and then. The series seems to promise evil incarnate or the devil himself and may be a little too much for me. I enjoyed two other trilogies by Roberts involving some mysticism and the supernatural (Irish Trilogy and Three Sisters Island Trilogy). Having said all this the first novel does leave you hanging and wondering what will happen next (even as you are certain love and goodness will prevail) and I may after all read the next two in the series.

2008 Year in Review

It looks like I read 57 books in 2008 about 15 less than 2007 but still better than a book a week. Looking back at the request of finding my favorite of the year I can't narrow it down that far. But I'm going to list a few (in no particular order) of my favorites and the reason.

1. Valley of the Horses by Jean M Auel is one of those novels that truly engrosses the reader. This is the sequel to Clan of the Cave Bear. The book tracks two separate characters until they eventually meet 2/3 the way through the novel. It is a beautiful love story but also a story of the survival of the human spirit. This is my favorite book in this series.

2. What Came Before He She Hot Her by Elizabeth George is a kind of explanation of the events that led to the death of a beloved character from George's Thomas Lynley series. But the book is also a startling look at the lives of underprivledged youth in suburn London and the choices that are made in desperation and necessity. It is a story of struggle and coming of age and loyalty.

3. The Magician's Assistant. Read my entry about this book.

4. The Smoke Jumper. This book is written by Nicholas Evans who is also the author of The Horse Whisperer, The Loop, and The Divide. This novel is a wonderfully written, emotion evoking story of love and loss.

5. The Book Thief. This book was recommended to me from some fellow bloggers. It is unlike any story I've read before. For starters, the narrator is Death, himself. He tells the tragic story of lives affected in Germany during WWII from a perspective I've never considered. The main characters are children from poor families just trying to survive and go unnoticed in a Nazi-crazed country. The writing style is unusual but the story is well told.