Picture Book Thursday: Say Hello! by Rachel Isadora

If you're looking for a picture book that is not only visually interesting but also has a great message showing how diverse our communities can be, take a look at Say Hello by Rachel Isadora.

Carmelita and her mother take their dog, Manny on a walk through their neighborhood. Each person they encounter speaks a different language and Carmelita greets each in their native voice: Spanish, Japanese, French, Italian and many more!

The text of this book is pretty simple and introduces children to many greetings from around the world. The images are wonderful collages and so engaging! There are store-fronts, restaurants, and a parks. You and your child could talk about all the different things you see on each page, and what types of things were used to make the images. You could also get a globe and show your child where each country/greeting is compared to your current location.

Written and Illustrated by Rachel Isadora: She received a Caldecott Honor for Ben's Trumpet and has written and illustrated numerous books for children, including Peekaboo Bedtime, the Lili at the Ballet series, and several classic tales set in Africa. She lives in New York City.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me from the Penguin Group unsolicited in hopes that it would be reviewed.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? I put off reading it, despite the delicious title. After attempting to read Infinite Jest years ago, I was a bit off self-conscious postmodernism. This is a difficult book to review. The opening pages are...worthless, story-wise. "Rules and Suggestions for the Enjoyment of This Book" are almost unbearably clever. I flipped through them without thoroughly reading them. I recommend this approach. Later developments will make you glad for a passing knowledge of the self-referential (Hi! I'm writing a clever novel! See me writing a clever novel?) parody of a preface, but don't torture yourself by reading it word for word. For the first fifty or so pages, I was wondering, "Is Eggers brilliant, too clever for his own good, or both?" And then I got sucked into the story. Eggers is a brilliant writer with a gripping story: as a young man, he becomes an orphan and de facto single parent, trying to give his younger brother, Toph, the childhood he should have had. Less engaging is the considerable time Eggers spends on his tenure at Might Magazine, an above-it-all publication produced by a group of disillusioned young adults infatuated with their own cleverness. I simply didn't care about the magazine or the people devoted to it.

The description of his mother's end-of-life saga is difficult to read, not because it's clunky or poorly written, but because Eggers has captured the truth of dying in a painful, exquisitely beautiful way. And the relationship with the younger brother is equally well-written and beautiful. Eggers uses outrageous hyperbole to great effect, and if the reader is unsure how much of a grain of salt is required in the reading, well - that's life, isn't it? It's all relative, and what's true in Eggers's mind as he raises this child is not a lie, just as an outsider's perception is its own truth. Small, pedestrian struggles, like the desperate need for a washer/dryer are given equal weight with the bigger problems such as sister Beth keeping Toph in touch with his memories by pulling out photo albums while Eggers works harder to keep Toph distracted from the fact of his orphanhood. Eggers's parenting seems at turns irresponsible (as in the hideous weekly menu of bachelor dishes) and heartbreakingly conscious (as in his evaluation of potential girlfriends based entirely on their view of Toph and their life together).

Eggers goes all the way with his cleverness, and like all risks, some pay off, while some fall flat. An extended "transcript" of an interview to be on MTV's The Real World is used to reveal extensive background on Dave, and quickly becomes tiresome. And the disclaimer that, of course, Eggers realizes that it's a cheap literary device, doesn't excuse the tedium. I don't care how postmodern you are -- don't pull me out of the story. The list of "recipes" for disgusting bachelor food, though, was surprisingly touching and hilarious. The gimmicky ending, reeking of Joyce or Salinger, somehow worked for me. It brought the story to a satisfying close on an emotional note.

I'm not sure how to sum up this review, really. There's brilliance, but a too-clever edge that could have been edited out for a better story. Worth reading? Absolutely.

FTC Source Disclosure: I purchased this book.

YA Weekend - series grab bag edition (again!)

I was happy to see a fourth book in Linda DeMeulemeester's Grim Hill series. Cat is a lovely, strong heroine for the tweener crowd. In this entry, she goes on an exchange trip to Sweden where odd happenings are afoot. Even before she leaves, Cat is haunted by a recurring dream of drowning in cold water, which she ignores, busy as she is with fundraising for the trip. She's horrified when her mother tells her that to save money, Cat will stay with her aunt instead of with her school group, but even worse, her sister, Sookie, will tag along. Her aunt acts very strangely, the Swedish headmistress is odd, a strange fog hovers over the town, and Sookie seems to be conversing with a black cat in the barn. Cat and her friends get to the bottom of the strange occurrences, and Cat's aunt is revealed in a very surprising light. The setting means that there's no soccer in this entry (one of the things I love about this series is that Cat is an excellent athlete), but Cat refers to it, at least, and she seems to be growing in maturity in terms of handling problems and accepting her responsibility for her sister. A fun entry in a unique series.

My reviews of the first three books in the series.

Enola Holmes is a delightful heroine. The much-younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, she runs away from home after her mother disappears, wanting to avoid the finishing school and crippling corseting her brothers seem to think necessary. She sets herself up as a "perditorian," a finder of lost things, and succeeds quite well. Her path intersects often with Sherlock's, and she must use her wits (and collection of disguises) to avoid capture. This is the final entry, and it's a treat. Enola and Sherlock have grown fond (from a distance) of each other as the books have evolved, even working briefly together. In Gypsy Goodbye, they work together more closely than ever before on the case of a duchess who disappeared at an Underground station. Simultaneously, they work to decode a cryptic message from Enola's mother. Will we finally find out her fate? The Victorian setting is brilliantly evoked, Enola is a delight, and the social messages are deftly inserted. A delightful conclusion to one of the best mystery series for young people.

My reviews of the first four books in the series
My review of book five

Alison Dare, The Heart of the Maiden by J. Torres and J. Bone:
Alison Dare, daughter of a world-renowned archaeologist and a superhero, has exciting adventures in these graphic novelettes, and she drags along her best friends from her boarding school to help her. The girls unleash plagues, stumble onto a band of Ninja nuns, and run afoul of a mummy's curse. These are cute, funny vignettes, chock-full of adventure. This would be an excellent series for the reluctant reader.

My review of Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures

FTC Source Disclosure: I purchased all of these books.

Picture Book Thursday: Summer Fun!

With the Fourth of July upon us, I thought it would be fun to feature some books that just scream SUMMER!
I was pleasantly surprised when I opened Hot Diggity Dog by Adrienne Sylver! Even though it is a book about hot dogs, it also provides little fun food facts in general. Such as, July is National Hot Dog Month, but it is also National Ice Cream, Watermelon, Baked Beans and Blueberry Month. And did you know that Americans eat 2 BILLION hot dogs JUST in the month of July! Holy smokes!

There are so many fun facts and lists in this book, such as: what cities eat the most hot dogs (Los Angeles was #1, followed by New York), different types of hot dogs (Chicago Dog, Coney Island Dog, etc), different food contests (not just hot dog eating, but also M&Ms, tamales, grilled cheese and more). The book even has two recipes in the back for Beans and Franks and Hot and Tangy Dogs.

This is a great book showing how the hot dog arrived in America and how it became a stadium food. I think many children will enjoy this book, especially if they are looking for something different from a storybook. It is pretty text-heavy so it might be better for grade school age children.

Ladybug Girl At the Beach is David Soman's third installment of the popular picture book series. Lulu and her family spend the day at the beach. It's her first time visiting the ocean and the waves look a little daunting to her. She finds many other things to do like build sand castles, walk along the beach, get ice cream. But she really thinks the water would be fun even though it looks a bit scary. Not until her favorite pail gets washed away does Lulu finally get into the water as Ladybug Girl! And the rest of the day Ladybug Girl has no fear and enjoys the beach AND the water!

Although my girls and I have enjoyed all the Ladybug Girl books, I think this one is my favorite so far. My younger daughter is definitely less adventurous than our older daughter and the ocean/water makes her very nervous. I think this is a great book to show there are MANY things we can do at the beach even if we are a little scared of the water. And maybe one day, we will decide the water isn't that scary after all and jump right in!

Whatever you do or eat this summer have a fabulous time!!! :-) Happy Fourth of July!

Source Disclosure: Both of these books were sent to me from the Penguin group as part of their summer promotional materials.

Mystery Monday - Laura Levine

Killer Cruise by Laura Levine is the eighth book in the Jaine Austen (Writer-for-Hire) mystery series. This is excellent beach reading. Levine has a great sense of humor, and she doesn't take herself too seriously. Instead, she infuses each entry with tongue-in-cheek observations, snappy dialogue, and Jaine getting herself into ridiculous situations...again. Jaine is a freelance writer, and she pretty much takes any job that will help keep Prozac in expensive kitty kibble. This time, she's thrilled to be offered a free Mexican cruise to fill in for the writing teacher who had cancelled. Her illusions are shattered when she's shoehorned into a closet on the Dungeon Deck with the other employees and meets her "students," one obsessed with Mary Higgins Clark (and she's the most normal). One writing exercise splits up a couple on the cruise to celebrate a milestone anniversary. And Prozac has ended up on board. To keep him quiet, Jaine agrees to read the porter's dreadful manuscript. It's the usual fun, wild ride until Jaine uncovers a murderer.

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

Mystery Monday - Lisa Lutz

Still in Paris! I read the newest Isabel Spellman book over a month ago, though, so I wanted to schedule a Mystery Monday post for the series, which has become one of my go-to rereading series. For fluffy, fun re-reading, I still go to Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum books, but Izzy Spellman is fresh and funny, but with a more serious edge. And she's good at her job. A little TOO good...

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (Book One): At twenty-eight, Izzy Spellman is comfortable in the family business, a detective agency, where she enjoys surveillance a little too much. And she's not the only one. The Spellmans can't seem to leave their work at the office, spying on each other with every professional resource they have, except for David, the "black sheep" of the family, who has chosen a respectable job as a lawyer. When Izzy's mother hires fourteen-year-old Rae Spellman to follow her sister to find out about Izzy's new boyfriend, Izzy decides she wants out. Her parents agree to let her go...after one more case. An impossible-to-solve fifteen-year-old missing persons case. They're banking on her insatiable curiosity keeping her in the business after the required hours have been put in. Rae, whose hobby of recreational surveillance is more than a little dangerous, disappears, presenting Izzy with the most important case of her life. The dialogue is snappy, the dysfunctional family outrageous, yet believable, and the cast of characters rich and quirky. This is pure fun.

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Book Two): Izzy is obsessed with the Spellmans' neighbor, who seems just a bit 'off.' She can't seem to leave him alone...despite the restraining order. She's arrested four times in three months, which she writes off as a hazard of the job. It all started when the friend from whom she'd been subletting an apartment showed up in the middle of the night. He's happy to be roomies, but she quickly moves back home. Rae, now fifteen, befriends a cop and great guy, Henry Stone. He really doesn't deserve to be saddled with the Spellmans, but he's so good for them, the reader hopes that he and Izzy will get together. But Izzy is preoccupied with that suspicious neighbor and with her brother David's problems. This is a worthy follow-up to a fantastic debut mystery.

Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Book Three): This series just gets better and better. Izzy is in court-ordered therapy, Rae is accused of cheating on the PSAT, and a new case seizes Izzy's attention. Ernie Black's wife is probably not having an affair...but something odd is going on. Even after Ernie is satisfied, Izzy can't let go until she uncovers the secret. The transcripts of Izzy's therapy sessions are hilarious - she's a terrible client, but a funny one. Her preoccupation with Henry's annoyingly perfect new girlfriend adds another subplot. Another fun read.

The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz (Book Four): I was delighted when Lutz released a fourth book in this series. I can't get enough of Izzy and her crazy family. Unfortunately, this looks like the final entry, but what an entry! Izzy has finally agreed to take over the family business. Her first task is to gather dirt on Rick Harkey, the competition, one she enjoys a bit too much. A mysterious disappearance convinces her to hire an actor friend to play butler in a mansion, a role he can't leave at the end of the day, driving his partner crazy. Rae, now interning by researching pro bono cases, becomes obsessed with freeing a prisoner. And what on earth does Henry Stone mean by hanging around again? A funny, delightful conclusion to a fantastically fun series.

Source disclosure: I purchased all these books.

YA Weekend - series grab bag edition

I am in Paris, not thinking about book reviews even a little bit. I love the scheduled posts feature, which lets me review books for future posts! It also allows me to catch up on the book blog without posting eleven posts in one day...

The 39 Clues: I have not been great about reviewing this series, and it took me a bit of pondering to figure out why. I think I haven't been taking it seriously because each book takes me less than an hour to read, and it has a definite whiff of the potboiler about it. There's also the feeling of being manipulated by a marketing department - the books are released every couple of months and tell a tiny part of the story, stretching it out into ten books AND the books are complemented by a slick website, collector's cards, and a sweepstakes. I was skeptical for the first few books, but really, this series is growing on me. I think it may be the ideal way to coax reluctant readers into picking up a book or ten. And face it, the books are fun! Not high literature by any means, but enjoyable and entertaining and even...educational. But not in an overt way. Each book takes Amy and Dan (and Nellie, their au pair) to a different part of the world, where they delve into local history and biography to solve the next Clue. The improbable villains and unlikely adventures distract the reluctant reader from the fact that he's learning something along the way. I can see a child getting sucked into the story and looking to read more about one of the historical figures he found most intriguing. The books are easier to read than, say, Harry Potter and its descendants, but high-interest to be sure. The interactive component with the cards promotes involvement for children who are more into games than reading. Each book ends with a cliffhanger that would make it difficult to avoid picking up the next book. There is definitely a place for this series, and I think it serves its purpose well.

That said, my "reviews" are going to be more reports of which location the books focus on. Too much information about the plot would ruin the suspense. The overarching plot: Amy and Dan Cahill, orphaned at a young age, find out at the reading of their grandmother's will that they are part of the powerful Cahill clan, a collection of four family branches, each with its own strengths, including most of the famous/influential figures in history. Grace Cahill's will offers each member of her family a choice: one million dollars, or a chance to join the race to uncover the 39 clues of the Cahill family - clues that will make the winner all-powerful. Amy and Dan choose the clue hunt and travel the world with their au pair, Nellie, and Grace's cat, Saladin, searching for clues and uncovering more about their own past.

Book 7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis: In this book, Amy and Dan travel to South Africa, where they learn about apartheid and finally discover which branch of the Cahill family they belong to. Amy and Dan also become suspicious of Nellie's motives in helping them. South African history was integrated quite nicely into the story, and the family factions continue to be unclear. Whom to trust is a constant theme in this series, with Amy and Dan forging alliances when they must, but agonizing over those decisions. The different families continue to evolve, growing in complexity from the caricatures they were in the early books to fairly interesting characters.

Book 8: The Emperor's Code by Gordon Korman: The hunt moves to China, where the children travel to the Forbidden City and boy-band sensation Jonas Wizard befriends Dan. Or does he? I enjoyed this one, but I find myself not having much to say about it. The children are separated for a while, and I missed the banter between Amy and Dan, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Chinese history is fascinating, and well-integrated into the plot.

Book 9: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park: The penultimate book in the series is a blast...and made me pre-order Book 10 immediately. Pirates. Really, that's all I need to say. Pirates are fun, and this book is a wild ride. There's a moment when Nellie muses that the clues in this adventure all have to do with "women kicking butt," and I realized that I enjoyed that element as well. This book is more revelatory with regard to the family and the Clue hunt; we learn more about Nellie, about the Man in Black, and about Amy and Dan's family branch. Linda Sue Park really did a fantastic job on this one. The history of Jamaica and of pirates like Calico Jack and Mary Bonny is fascinating. There's a very serious plot twist that I think is handled extremely well. I sometimes think of this series as superficial, but Park really delves into one consequence of the Clue hunt, giving it the weight it deserves. An excellent entry, and a fantastic set-up for the conclusion (Into the Gauntlet, August 31).

Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull: I've really enjoyed this series, but the last book was a bit of a slog. I could easily put this book down for long stretches, and I almost dreaded picking it back up again. Things are getting very dark and serious, and I missed the lighthearted fun elements that were more prevalent in the early books. On top of that, Kendra and Seth are separated for most of the book, and their sibling interaction is one of my favorite parts of the series. Plot twists like "a shocking betrayal!" were becoming stale for me. A reader can only take so many shocking betrayals before he can't be shocked anymore. This one is the most plot-driven of the series. As the characters race from danger to danger, there's little time for character development or reflection. It was rather exhausting, and while Book 5 tied up all the loose ends, making it a must-read for fans of the series, it had a perfunctory feel, as if Mull were checking off dangling threads from a list. I read this for closure, and so will anyone who read the first four books, but I was disappointed in the execution. The joy I found in the rest of the series was missing.

The rest of my Fablehaven reviews here.

Source disclosure: I purchased all these books.

Whip Smart by Melissa Febos

Whip Smart by Melissa Febos: When I heard about this memoir of a professional dominatrix, I was skeptical. I could see a publisher hearing the pitch "It's a memoir that gives a rare look into the world of dominatrices!" and falling all over themselves to sign it, blinded by the potential dollar signs such a sensationalist memoir could bring. I was relieved that Melissa Febos is actually an excellent writer in addition to having a fascinating story. Memoir is not necessarily my favorite genre, particularly memoirs written by young people, who tend not to have the perspective and distance to tell their story in the most insightful way. (Yes, Elizabeth Gilbert, I mean YOU!) Febos is smart, but drops out of high school, moves to New York City, and pursues a degree at the New School. Intrigued by a neighbor who is a professional dominatrix, Febos decides to give it a go; after all, $75 an hour plus tips can buy a lot of heroin and cocaine. I thought she did an excellent job of easing the neophyte into the world of professional domming. Her early sessions are pretty tame, and she doesn't get to the really disturbing stuff until late in the book, at which point it seems almost normal. Febos loves to shock people by telling them what she does for a living and breezily says she has the best acting gig in the city. She constantly distinguishes herself from the other dommes and from other sex workers (she looks down on prostitutes and is quick to draw distinctions between her work and theirs). She's smart, we're reminded. She chose this because she's smart and edgy and cool. But she gets through her sessions high on heroin and cocaine, and though her grades are high, her life is a mess. It becomes clear that while she's dominating men for money, she's the one being dominated; by drugs, by depression, by a growing addiction to domming and being desired by men.

This was a fascinating look at a lifestyle most people never glimpse, and, to a certain extent, it's an interesting look at addiction and recovery. Some of the passages in which Febos discusses her addictions and growing awareness of her problems resonate with truth. However, these are numerous, and her constant justification, sense of entitlement, and navel-gazing got a bit tiresome. A person in therapy is always fascinated by her psyche and the dawning understanding of her thought/emotional processes, but to an outsider who is not being paid to listen, the self-analysis becomes tedious. I also didn't find her particularly likable. She seems to fall into drug use and domming because she's bored. She has a great childhood, no trauma to send her spiraling, a family and friends who care about her, but she's rebelling against something unknown. I kept reading along and thinking that I had a revelation of abuse or trauma coming up, something so horrible I should brace myself, but it eventually dawned on me that there was no precipitating event to her downward spiral. It's almost as though she decided to try everything a person as smart as she is (and we are told often that she is smart) should known better. I could have used a little less self-analysis of her growth and a little more backstory about her emotional state. Really, I didn't put the book down knowing why a perfectly nice girl ends up a heroin addict without any apparent reason.

As a glimpse into the world of professional domming, this book is fascinating. As a journey from depression and addiction to self-awareness, it has its moments of clarity and inspiration. As a memoir...If she had waited ten more years, she might have had the perspective to make this a really great book, but she's too recently healed (and I suspect she's still in the midst of the process, or was at the time she wrote this) to tell her story - at least the triumphant rise from addiction and self-destructive behavior part. Still, it's worth reading if you're curious about professional dommes and their clients, and the moments of insight in her journey back to herself are lovely and thought-provoking.

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

Teaser Tuesdays - Fall Asleep Forgetting

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!

I'm reading Fall Asleep Forgetting by Georgeann Packard, a review copy from The Permanent Press. It's taking me a long time to read, simply because the language is so rich and the reading experience so intense. I started marking pages with beautiful passages, but gave up, as nearly every page was dog-eared. Utterly gorgeous, riveting, filled to the brim with truth and beauty. Practically any page would be perfect for Teaser Tuesdays, but I'm delighted to have randomly turned to this lovely passage:

Now I sit with her absence in my small, cold cell. Her absence seems more tangible and real than her presence was. I can almost touch the watery empty space she inhabited that followed me here. (page 185, galley)

Alison Dare, Little Miss Adventures

Alison Dare is not your average twelve-year-old. She's the daughter of a world-famous archaeologist...and a superhero called the Blue Scarab. On top of that, her uncle is an international superspy. So the three adventures in this delightful graphic novel are going to be over-the-top. The first adventure is Alison Dare and the Arabian Knights, in which a bored Alison traveling with her mother finds a genie. Her first wish? To bring her friends/sidekicks Wendy and Dot to liven up the dull desert. As things always go with genies, the girls' wishes don't end up exactly as they had planned. In the second, Alison Dare and the Secret of the Blue Scarab, we learn more about Alison's family, including how her parents met and how a mild-mannered librarian becomes the Blue Scarab. In the third, Alison Dare and the Mummy Child, Alison helps her mother when her arch-nemesis Baron von Baron comes to steal a mummy child from the museum.

These stories were a quick read, but so much fun, I'd look for more. In fact, a second volume, Alison Dare, The Heart of the Maiden, is available, and sounds like a fun summer read. I'd recommend Alison's adventures to graphic novel fans, fans of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, and to reluctant readers who would be drawn in by a spunky heroine in over-the-top adventures.

Source disclosure (hi, FTC!): I received a copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is part fairy-tale, part coming-of-age story, part mystery, and each component is captivating. I kicked the habit of biting my nails decades ago, but I found myself nibbling ever so slightly as the events unfolded to their conclusion. Though the story takes place in 1998, there is a timeless atmosphere that makes the disappearance of girls from a tiny German village all the more creepy. One could almost sense the gingerbread house witch lurking just outside the narrative. Pia, the daughter of a German man and his English wife, is eleven as the story begins, a social outcast because of her status as "the girl whose grandmother exploded," which is well-known through the village of Bad Munstereifel. Her best friend by default is StinkStefan, the only child who doesn't inch away from her as though spontaneous combustion were contagious, and the two spend time with the elderly Herr Schiller, who tells the most delightfully creepy tales and knows everything about the town's history. After Katharina Linden disappears during Karneval, the town is ready to lynch Herr Duster, Herr Schiller's brother, who had been suspected in disappearances of girls many years before. Pia and StinkStefan begin to investigate Herr Schiller and the disappearances (Katharina is only the first). The town busybody Frau Kessel is more than happy to fill them in on past scandals. Herr Schiller's fantastic tales wind together with the grim reality of a kidnapper on the loose in a tiny village. The reader is taken on a journey gradually deeper and darker and more tangled, like Hansel and Gretel walking into the woods.

In the midst of the fables and unfolding mystery as the disappearances mount, Pia is undertaking far more pedestrian struggles. Her mother, long yearning for England, sees the disappearances as a good excuse to remove Pia from the only home she has ever known. A miserable visit with the cousins who mock her English interrupts her investigation with StinkStefan, of whom she becomes rather fond by necessity.

This book is like nothing else I've ever read. It was one of those rare stories that doesn't leave your thoughts when you've set the book aside. The atmosphere, the storytelling, the rich characters came together into a meeting of realism and fable.

Source disclosure: I received an advance proof of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer Program.

Caught by Harlen Coben

I'm always excited when Harlan Coben comes out with a new stand along book! And Caught was no exception. I even pre-ordered it!

In Coben's latest novel, we meet Dan Mercer a social worker who unfortunately gets caught on television camera meeting up with an underage girl whom he had a relationship with through the internet. Wendy Tynes is a mercenary reporter dedicated to bringing criminals to justice. Though Mercer claims innocence his life is ruined. Turns out several of his college buddies have run into trouble as well. His friend Phil lost his job because of embezzlement charges, a doctor friend also finds himself in trouble, and a third friend is locked away in a mental institution for schizophrenia. As Wendy begins to doubt her claim that Mercer is a sexual predator, she investigates further to find the truth. A missing girl also falls into the story here adding more to the mystery.

I'm not sure if I have too high expectations for Coben's novels now having read and enjoyed The Woods, The Innocent and Hold Tight. Or if this was one was just sub-par for him. I was a little disappointed. The characters didn't engage me as much. And I found the story to be a tad bit boring. I had to force myself to read along and frankly, the reveal wasn't that interesting. It wasn't a horrible book, I just didn't think it was as good as some others I've read by him. This is a good one to bring along on vacation, but if you have other books in your queue, Caught could probably wait a bit.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Chevy Stevens debut novel Still Missing is quite a ride. Annie O'Sullivan, an up and coming realtor, is abducted one evening after an open house. She is taken by a crazy guy she calls The Freak and locked away in a cabin in the mountains for a year before she is able to escape. She tries to get back into her old life but after living by The Freak's strange rules and enduring his daily abuse, she understandably doesn't quite know how to fit back into civilization.

I kept reading this book thinking to myself, "Why do I keep reading this?" The book is not divided into chapters, but rather Annie's therapy sessions. Each session flashes back to her life before the abduction as well as what happened to her while being held captive. We also see what her life is like after she returns home. It was very difficult to read what happened to her which is what made it so hard to continue reading. Once she makes it back home to her friends and family, it is much easier to read on. And this is where the mystery begins. Why was she chosen? Why did The Freak pick her and not some other realtor? Did he have a partner who was still out there somewhere?

This book had a few twists and turns and was not predictable at all. The ending was quite a surprise actually. I felt the book was well-written and interesting, but it is very difficult for me to say this is a must read. Should I say, "Hey, if you're in the mood for a book about a crazy man and how he abuses a kidnapped woman. This is your book!"? I guess more I'll say if you're interested in a suspenseful story with well-written characters and an interesting twist, check out Chevy Stevens' Still Missing. There is definitely something to said for a book that is so disturbing but continued to hold my interest and get me to make it to the end. This book will hit shelves July 6th! I would highly recommend this to readers who liked Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell series.

Source Disclosure: Sent to me via the publisher after seeing an ad on Shelf Awareness.

Picture Book Thursday: Red Green Blue by Alison Jay

Alison Jay's new book Red Green Blue: A First Book of Colors is a refreshing take on both a color book and nursery rhymes. She combines the two into one book and in a very succinct and fun way.

Each page features a different color and two-sentence paraphrase of popular nursery rhymes. For example, "Little Boy Blue's asleep in the hay. His sheep and his cow have run away." or "This yellow teapot's short and stout. She is the best at pouring out."

The illustrations are the absolute best part of this book. If you look closely, just about each page has a story-within-a story. For example, on the teapot page, there is a framed portrait of Miss Muffet on the wall. The next page of the book features Miss Muffet and the spider. You can also see the Little Boy Blue (on the previous page) in the background outside the window on the teapot page. These continue throughout the book sometimes showing four or five nursery rhyme characters or locations (ie: the pumpkin from Peter, Peter pumpkin eater in the background) in one illustration.

I think a child who is well versed in nursery rhymes would LOVE this book! They would have a great time trying to spot all the different nursery rhymes on the pages. But really anyone can enjoy this one. This book is available on May 13, 2010.

About the Author/Illustrator:
Alison Jay is the celebrated illustrator of many books for children. She studied illustration at the London College of Printing and lives in London, England.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited by the Penguin Group.

YA Weekend: The Wake Trilogy Series

I don't think you can be a part of the book blogging community and NOT have heard of Lisa McMann's Wake Trilogy. After reading countless reviews of these books, I decided to purchase them last year. And I waited to read them until the last book came out because everyone kept saying that when they finished one book, they wanted to move on to the next one right away.

Because there are so many reviews/synopses of these books out there, I'll just summarize by saying that Janie realizes she's different at a very young age. She can jump into people's dreams. She doesn't seem to have a choice. If someone is sleeping around her, she's pulled into their dream. As she gets older, she starts to figure out how to avoid some dreams, but still finds herself in some interesting situations. When she gets pulled into a dream, she blacks out and usually ends up convulsing. This happens to her while driving and luckily, she only ends up in a ditch. She finds herself attracted to a fellow misfit classmate named Cabel. She soon learns he may not be who she thought he was. She also learns more about her dreaming and her destiny as a Dreamcatcher. She begins to learn how to control which dreams she enters and ends up using her ability to help people including the police.

Fade picks up not long after Wake ends with Cabel and Janie working together to help track down a teacher who may be a sexual predator in their school. Janie also learns even more about her ability and potentially what it holds with regard to her future.

The final book, Gone is a bit different from the first two in that it doesn't involve Janie working on a police case. In fact, she spends the book trying to decide if she should cut herself off from the world and just live a solitary life. Discovering who her father is helps her decide whether living alone or using her dreamcatching ability is her destiny.

Overall, I found this series intriguing and fresh. I was pulled in and couldn't wait to read each book to see how the story arc moved along. I don't know that I can think of any books with a similar concept. I feel like the characters were represented very realistically. My only concern is that these books are quite heavy. Alcoholism, sexual assault, profanity, sex, drugs, etc. abound. I would definitely rate these books as rated R and would hold off on recommending them to anyone younger than fifteen or sixteen or so.

Picture Book Thursday: Sleepover at Gramma's House

Yes, I am waaaaay behind on Picture Book Thursday posts! I can't believe how behind I am on those. At least 12 books in the queue to be reviewed. Instead of thinking about how behind I am, I'm just going to get caught up, yes I am! Okay, now that's the right attitude! I'm going to schedule these for every 2-3 weeks and then hopefully, that will help me get caught up and I won't have to remember that it's time for another PBTh book. :-)

So here goes...Book #1: Sleepover at Gramma's House by Barbara Joose, illustrated by Jan Jutte. This book's illustrations remind me a bit (just a bit) of the Babar books. The book starts with a little girl so excited to visit her Gramma's house. She runs around her house packing her "nighty trunk" and saying good-bye to everything and everyone. And then she's off to have fun adventures with Gramma: painting, having fun snacks, telling each other stories and finally good night.

This is a very sweet book that would be wonderful to give to preschoolers before a trip to Grandma's house, especially if they are going for their first overnight! The beginning of the book seems to be ode to Goodnight Moon. After the first few pages the text gets a little long and more sing songy. The illustrations are fun throughout!

This might make a fun book to give to Grandma for Mother's Day from the grandchildren. She could keep it at her house to read to them when they come over. (Edited to add: Just checked the publication date...May 13th. So just misses Mother's Day this year. Maybe for next year though!)
:-)

About the author:
Barbara Joosse is the author of more than thirty books for children, which include Mama, Do You Love Me?, Please Is a Good Word to Say, Love is a Good Thing to Feel and ROAWR!, her first collaboration with Jan Jutte. Sleepover at Gramma's House joins her other major titles as a book that can be, as she says, shared by parents and grandparents and their child inside a hug. Barbara Joosse lives with her husband, sculptor C. T. Whitehouse, and their two dogs in a little stone house in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

About the Illustrator:
Jan Jutte is one of the Netherlands' most accomplished picture book artists. He has illustrated over one hundred titles and has won many of the country's highest awards, including the Golden Brush and the Golden Plaque. Jan and his wife, Nanouk, live in a very old town in the Netherlands called Zutphen with their son, Melle, and two dogs, Titus and Igor.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited from the Penguin Group.

Teaser Tuesdays - Revenge of the Spellmans

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!

I decided to re-read the first three Izzy Spellman books by Lisa Lutz after reading the fourth, The Spellmans Strike Again. The first is The Spellman Files, then Curse of the Spellmans, then Revenge of the Spellmans. My teaser is from Revenge of the Spellmans, page 71:

"It's my life. You're just a member of the audience," I said, getting up to leave.

"Well, I want my money back!" Mom shouted after me as I headed for the front door. "Because this show sucks!"

Teaser Tuesdays - The Vanishing of Katharina Linden

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!

Mine is from The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant:

'Herr Schiller? Are there really such things as ghosts?'
The old man did not even show surprise at the question. He heaved a sigh. 'Yes, Pia, there are. But never the ones you expect.' (p. 63)

Mystery Monday - G. M. Malliet

Death at the Alma Mater (St. Just mystery #3) by G. M. Malliet: The delightful Malliet turns her rapier wit to the university murder mystery in the third St. Just and Sgt. Fear mystery. St. Michael's College, the red-headed stepchild of Cambridge, is desperate for money. The college master invites rich alumni for a fundraising weekend. Both Lexy Laurant and her ex-husband, Sir James, are on the guest list, promising fireworks, but when Lexy turns up dead, the weekend becomes a bit too exciting. Detective Inspector St. Just and Sgt. Fear come to St. Michael's to sort through the array of suspects, including Lexy's Latin lover, a spoiled student, a dot-com millionaire, the shrewd college Bursar, and so many more. St. Just's girlfriend, Portia, is on the scene, as she is a student. To be honest, I'm a bit annoyed by the St. Just - Portia relationship. I just don't care too terribly much about it. But the good far outweighs the bad in this series, which is both an homage to classic mysteries and a gentle parody. The suspects are many, the investigator entertaining (he delights in the drawing-room scene with all suspects assembled), and the plot convoluted enough to keep the reader guessing. A really fun read in a delightful series.

My review of Death and the Lit Chick (#2)
My review of Death of a Cozy Writer (#1)

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

Flashback Friday - Louise Penny

I received The Brutal Telling, the fifth in Louise Penny's Inspectpr Gamache mystery series, through LibraryThing's Early Review program. I was so utterly charmed that I ordered the first four books in the series. This series is a new favorite of mine. Chief Inspector Gamache, of the Surete in Quebec, investigates murders primarily in the tiny village of Three Pines. Penny has a gift for characterization and a flair for mystery.

Still Life by Louise Penny (#1): The body of eccentric artist Jane Neal is found outside the village of Three Pines, and Chief Inspector Gamache is called in to investigate what appears to be a hunting accident. But the plot quickly thickens with suspects as Jane's dreadful niece, Yolande, turns up to claim her inheritance and villagers' secrets are brought into the light. Penny is a master of both mystery and the village novel. Her characters are rich and vibrant, their relationships complex and satisfying, the mystery plausible yet not obvious. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are smart and determined. Penny's prose is beautiful and the reader is drawn into Three Pines and its wonderful inhabitants.

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (#2): No one mourns when abrasive socialite (and self-made spiritual guide) CC dePoitiers is electrocuted during a curling match during the Christmas season. But Chief Inspector Gamache arrives to investigate. CC's lover, her abused daughter, and any number of villagers offended by her are all suspects. The mystery is involved, and while the method of murder seems overly complicated, Penny kept me guessing until the end.

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (#3): In this entry, the villagers of Three Pines hold a seance in the old Hadley house, and Madeleine Favreau collapses, apparently dead of fright. Naturally, there is more to the story, and Chief Inspector Gamache and his team arrive to investigate. A subplot involving Gamache's accusations about a superior has Gamache wondering if there is a mole on his team.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (#4): Gamache and his wife are on holiday at Manoir Bellechasse, a lovely, peaceful resort. Vacationing with them are the Finney family, including Three Pines residents Peter and Clara Morrow. When a statue of the Finney pater crushes one of his daughters, Gamache's carefree holiday is at an end. Leaving Three Pines for a book was probably a good idea, since the village is tiny and would soon run out of residents. And the Manoir, with its intriguing staff and contentious guests, was a delightful setting.

Source disclosure: I purchased these books.