It's the best I can do

After months of not posting my book reviews, this is the best I can do. It is frustrating because I know I read more books than this, but these are the ones I remember. I apologize for the short reviews, but most of these were months ago. I will review them to the best of my ability and try better in the new year.

There are two reasons I keep up a blog like this:
1)Let people know what I am reading.
2)Allow me to remember what I read.

Hopefully in 2008 I will be able to get back around a normal reading level for me between 150 and 200 books.

Kabul Beauty School : an American woman goes behind the veil

Title: Kabul Beauty School : an American woman goes behind the veil

Author: Rodriguez, Deborah.

Publisher: Random House

CIP

To aid Afghan women, an American runs a beauty school in Kabul.

Comments

This was a thought provoking book. Ms. Rodriguez goes to Afghanistan to help women better their lives and the lives of their families. In this strict society she faced challenges in teaching the students how to perform the most basic beauty techniques safely. Most of these women were using products that were harmful to their health or that were too old to use any more. It was interesting watching how this one American woman gave up so much to help so many women.

After reading the book, I heard an update on NPR. Then it left a sour taste in my mouth. I felt that the author was careless with the women's lives and safety for her own gain. Now I don't know where I stand.

Either way it is a good read. I would love to know what you think.

Good Girls

Title: Good Girls

Author: Ruby, Laura

Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers

Synopsis In this new novel, Audrey Porter is a "good girl" -- a good student, a great daughter, an amazing friend. She's also the last person anyone expects to be hanging out with Luke DeSalvio, the hottest guy at Audrey's school. But Luke is a liar, a player, a dream, and Audrey knows it. She dumps him at her friend's Halloween party with no intention of looking back. But everyone else is looking -- looking at a mysterious and humiliating photograph that has popped up on their cell phones and computers. But who took it? And why? And how will she ever live it down?

Comments

This was well written. I don't feel it received the attention it deserved. On the surface it looked like your average teen angst novel with the good girl gone bad angle. But if you look a little deeper to also is a cautionary tale to teens about protecting their privacy. In this age, anyone can take a picture at any time or place. Then with the click of a mouse or a push of a button everyone in school, town, or the world can receive it.

Audrey learned this lesson the hard way. These embarrassing photos aren't just for celebrities anymore. Every student in her school has the photo and then when it can't get any worse, it shows up in her parents email.

Broken moon

Title: Broken moon

Author: Antieau, Kim

Illustration:

Publisher:Margaret K. McElderry Books

CIP When her little brother is kidnapped and taken from Pakistan to race camels in the desert, eighteen-year-old Nadira overcomes her own past abuse and, dressed as a boy and armed with knowledge of the powerful storytelling of the legendary Scheherazade, is determined to find and rescue him.

Comments

To be honest, it has been a few months since I have read this book. There is nothing like a holiday to help me catch up on the last six months of book blogging.

I read this book after I had read Sold. While some elements are similar, most readers will find the traditional format of the book easier to read. Other than having female characters in developing countries being sold into some sort of captivity, they are totally different. Nadira goes into the camel camps dressed as a boy to save her brother. Throughout her experience she comforts other boys in the camps with stories of the legendary Scheherazade.

It is a short book which provides a window into another country and the things families need to do to stay together.

Impulse

Title: Impulse

Author: Hopkins, Ellen.

Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books

CIP Three teens who meet at Reno, Nevada’s Aspen Springs mental hospital after each has attempted suicide connect with each other in a way they never have with their parents or anyone else in their lives.

Comments

Ms. Hopkins's books are always interesting to read. They are about five inches thick, but you will hear lots of people comment that "it doesn't count each page only has a paragraph of text."

I would disagree. The format of the book makes is accessible to a larger group of readers who normally wouldn't attempt a book that size, but also provides the readers with a sense of accomplishment when they finish it. The format also allows for separation of characters and division of storylines.

This is one of her more complex stories with three characters talking at the same time. It took me a long time before I could keep the story straight in my head. I was frustrated, but engaged by the characters.

She builds a very realistic setting for these teens. Each comes from a totally different background proving that no one is immune from mental issues. She gives adults a look into the minds of teens. She also allows teen readers to see what other teens might be facing and just because things look good on the surface, doesn't mean that is what it is like behind closed doors.

It tackles tough teen issues.

Harry Potter and the half-blood prince

Title: Harry Potter and the half-blood prince

Author: Rowling, J.K.

Illustration:Mary Grandpré.

Publisher:Arthur A. Levine Books

CIP

The war against the Voldemort is not going well and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

Comments

Finally after years of trying to get this book read, I achieved it today. When this book was published I had a month left of grad school. By the time I got around to reading it in Missouri, I moved. I have been trying for a few months to read it before I go to bed, but I would fall asleep and then the hard covered book would smack me in the head. A friend of mine finished her paperback copy and was nice enough to loan it to me.

I know this series isn't for everyone, and that is ok. But Harry Potter is one of those characters that has a special spot in my heart. It is because of him that I discovered the fun of working in a library. It is because of him I went to grad school.

I have to admit, the book started off a little slow. I finished a number of other books in between when I started it and finished it. But the last half of the book was non-stop action. There are hundreds of other reviews you could read to find out about the plot line. I am more fascinated by Rowling's ability to give readers a character they can understand and sympathize with.

One of my 2008 goals might be to listen to each of the books. I have a lot of painting to do in the next few months, what better way to pass the time than with an audio book read by someone who has two Guinness World Records, nine time Audie Awards and much much more. Jim Dale is one of a kind.

Whistling in the dark

Title: Whistling in the dark

Author: Kagen, Lesley.

Publisher: NAL Accent,

CIP A story of 2 young sisters in the summer of 1959, left, virtually, to fend for themselves when a murderer and molester terrorizes their town.

Comments

This year I was invited to join a book club. I have never been in one before mainly because I am such a picky reader. I thought I would give it a try and read some books I normally wouldn't even pick up. For the most part it has been a good experience.

This book should go down in the record books. It is the first book I have finished, since I graduated, that I didn't really like. Something about it kept me going, but I didn't feel it flowed. others in the group identified with the time period and the music. I felt it was a disjointed story that left me unsatisfied. At the end I feel the author rushed to tie up the loose ends.

Most of the book group liked it. I will chalk it up to different tastes and experiences.

The glass castle : a memoir

Title: The glass castle : a memoir

Author: Walls, Jeannette.

Publisher: Scribner

CIP The author, a contributer to MSNBC.com, recalls a bizarre childhood during which she and her siblings were constantly being moved from one bleak place to another by dysfunctional parents, and in which she and her siblings learned to prosper on their own.

Comments

For those of you that have read Dave Peltzer's books, I recommend this as well. It was my first book club book. I received it rather late, so I wasn't able to finish it before our meeting, but it was fascinating. The life that this woman lived growing up is something some people feel must be fiction.

It is parents like Mr. Peltzer and Ms. Walls that give us a chance to look our lives to realize how good we have it. Books like these need to be available so that we can learn about people. Not everyone has a great childhood, but that doesn't mean that they grow up to be worthless people. Ms. Walls comments on a time when she was on her way to a fancy party, and along the way passed her mother on the street digging through the garbage. She tried everything to help her mother, and she didn't really want it.

I know this is a common book with book clubs. It is well reviewed and well written. Parts are difficult to read, and I wanted to strangle the mother about every other page. Our histories are what make each of us different.

I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you

Title: I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you

Author:Carter, Ally.

Publisher:Hyperion Books for Children

CIP As a sophomore at a secret spy school and the daughter of a former CIA operative, Cammie is sheltered from "normal teenage life" until she meets a local boy while on a class surveillance mission.

Comments

Every few books, I throw in one that is just plain fun. I loved the title of this book. There was no deeper meaning. No great teen angst or historical perspective that I learned. It was just a fun story about a secret spy school. Classes teach the girls how to blend into a crowd, different surveillance techniques and technologies, and the languages. Imagine having to go to a lunch with people you see every day, but you don't know what language you will be speaking until you enter the room.

I recommend it to anyone who feels life is getting a bit too serious.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Title: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Author:Cohn, Rachel David Levithan.

Publisher: Distributed by Random House,

CIP High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

Comments

This is a well reviewed book. It is being made into a movie due out in late 2008. I read it months ago, so the details are pretty hazy. I liked it. It is kind of your average teen angst boy/girl disses by friends, significant other, or society. They are brought together by their taste in music. The two authors work together to write the book Levithan writing Nick's portion and Cohn penning Norah.

It will be interesting to see what kind of air play this book will receive with an movie and a sequel out within the next year.

Does my head look big in this?

Title: Does my head look big in this?

Author: Abdel-Fattah, Randa.

Illustration:

Publisher:Orchard Books

CIP Year Eleven at an exclusive prep school in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, would be tough enough, but it is further complicated for Amal when she decides to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time as a badge of her faith--without losing her identity or sense of style.

Comments

I have been pushing this book on anyone who asks. I went into this thinking it was just another teen novel, but it provided so much more. I gave me a glimpse into a what it is like when a person choses to wear a hijab full-time.

Even though the story takes place in Australia, the author keeps the Aussie slang to a minimum. It isn't just a book about a Muslim girl and the trials she experiences with her choice, it is a book that any teen girl can identify with. The author did a great job showing the difference in Muslim families and the worried Amal's parents had with her decision.

The ending is a bit too neat for me, however the characters are realistic. There are students that are supportive, and those that are not. There are concerns from the school administration, and from her parents. Her parents support her all the way as do her close friends. In the end a lot of her classmates get to know her better because of her decision.

Highly recommended.

The watchman

Title: The watchman

Author: Crais, Robert.

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

CIP A former Los Angeles police officer becomes the bodyguard of a troubled heiress marked for death.

Comments

Crais is one of my favorite authors. He writes the Elvis Cole series that I discovered years ago. Cole's partner is a man named Joe Pike. While you don't need to read the Cole series it does give you a little more background about Pike. On the same line of thought, this book provides more of Pike's history than any other book Crais has written.

He is hired to protect an heiress, and as usually where Pike goes trouble follows. He does everything possible to keep her alive. At one point he can't trust anyone but Elvis. Elvis provides him what he needs with no questions asked.

It is a fast-paced, action-packed novel. Anyone who likes James Patterson should give Robert Crais a try.

Who's sorry now? : a Grace & Favor mystery

Title: Who's sorry now? : a Grace & Favor mystery

Author: Churchill, Jill.

Publisher:William Morrow

Synopsis Times couldn't be tougher in the Hudson River Valley during the Great Depression, so penniless sister-and-brother duo Lily and Robert Brewster are in good company. Even the much-revered chief of police in poor, tiny Voorburg has been forced to abandon his boardinghouse. But there's something even more sinister going on around town.

Comments

Just noting that I read it. This is one of my brain candy reads. I nice light cozy mystery that takes place after the Crash.

The cat who had 60 whiskers

Title: The cat who had 60 whiskers

Author:Braun, Lilian Jackson.

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

CIP The columnist Jim Qwilleran and his cats probe a mystery in the 29th "Cat Who" book.

Comments

I love the Cat Who series. They are nice cozy fun mysteries. It is one of the reasons I moved back north. I am not sure what happened to Ms. Braun, but this was not her best. It felt unfinished and left too many things unfinished. The barn just burns and Qwill is okay with this? Polly goes to Paris and decides to not return? Are you kidding me?

These have been topics of discussion in the library as people who love the series. I personally keep waiting for the "just kidding, it wasn't finished," note. I guess it isn't coming.