PICTURE BOOK THURSDAY: DOG LOVES COUNTING

DOG LOVES COUNTING by Louise Yates: Dog cannot fall asleep, though he's tried counting sheep. He decides to try counting other animals, leading to a clever counting adventure (the five-lined skink is the fifth animal he encounters; the nine-banded armadillo the ninth) during which Dog falls asleep and has a fantastic dream about counting. I read this book aloud to my six-year-old daughter, and we found it a sweet and clever bedtime story that doubles as a beginning counting book. Though my daughter is well beyond the learning-to-count age, she was still enchanted by the story. A new classic.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book courtesy of the publisher.

Picture Book Thursday: PENGUIN CHA-CHA

PENGUIN CHA-CHA by Kristi Valiant: A girl named Julia discovers that the penguins at the zoo are brilliant dancers and she dons a penguin disguise in order to join them. They are not fooled, so she tries a different strategy: teaching them the cha-cha. Who can resist the cha-cha? The ending suggests that a future adventure for Julia is in store at the zoo! I read this book aloud to my six-year-old daughter, and we were both cracking up. It's funny and sweet, and Julia's ingenuity and determination are inspiring. The whimsical illustrations capture the grace of...penguins dancing. Highly recommend.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book courtesy of the publisher.

ANNE FRANK'S CHESTNUT TREE

ANNE FRANK'S CHESTNUT TREE by Jane Korhuth: Wow. A Step Into Reading book (billed for grades 1-3) that tackles, in 48 pages, the Anne Frank story. I read this aloud to my six-year-old, and I was impressed. We've talked in a limited way about World War II and the Holocaust, but it's hard to know how to approach these horrors with a child. This story isn't sugar-coated, but it also isn't overly brutal for younger readers. It's overall feeling (though it acknowledges that Anne Frank did not survive the war) is one of hope, focused on the chestnut tree Anne could see from the attic window of the Secret Annex. World War II is simplified to a sentence or two, and the Nazis and the Holocaust are briefly explained. I think for this age group, that makes it manageable for sensitive children. The message is hope, and the story brings Anne to life as a real child. This is a beautifully told story.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

THE LAST WORD by Lisa Lutz

THE LAST WORD by Lisa Lutz: It should come as no surprise that I loved this book; this is one of my absolute favorite series, and Lutz seems to have an unending supply of laugh-out-loud humor, bittersweet insights, and convoluted (this is a good thing!) mysteries. Don't read this one first. Read THE SPELLMAN FILES first. Starting with book 6 would rob you of the satisfying experience of watching Izzy (and her family) evolve. Isabel Spellman was raised in a family of private investigators, so it's no surprise she has trust issues and an interesting approach to privacy. It's challenging to sum up the plot for THE LAST WORD without giving away major developments in the first five books. Let's see: Izzy is accused of embezzlement, she and her parents are engaged in open warfare, Rae is up to something that involves a truck full of tear gas, and Izzy's niece is a holy terror. All of this is wrapped up in a witty, sarcastic, plot-twisting package tied with a sentimental bow, and I loved every second of it.

If you enjoy smart, snappy writing, tight mysteries with a witty twist, or complex, believable female protagonists, give THE SPELLMAN FILES a go. I was hooked from the first word.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

Picture Book Thursday: SQUIRRELS ON SKIS

SQUIRRELS ON SKIS by J. Hamilton Ray, illustrated by Pascal Lemaitre: SQUIRRELS ON SKIS is a new book in the Cat-in-the-Hat-endorsed Beginner Books series and joins the company of Dr. Seuss works. I read this aloud to my six-year-old daughter and we loved it. The rhymes are gentle and effortless for the most part, the illustrations hilarious, and the story both funny and relevant. In a town overrun by squirrels on skis, the mayor calls for extermination. Luckily for the squirrels, reporter Sally Sue Breeze looks deeper, uncovering the cause behind the pandemonium. It offers one of the funniest indictments of corporate greed I've ever read. My daughter and I loved this book. She was cracking up and I was waxing nostalgic for the clever rhymes and humor of the books of my childhood. Highly recommend.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this book courtesy of the publisher.

UNSEEN by Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter is GOOD. That's the short version of my review, but read on if you want more than that. This entry in the Will Trent/Sara Linton series is riveting, but more importantly, furthers character development is a way usually unseen in thrillers, which tend to put plot before character. Slaughter's characters grow. Every book reveals new developments in individual and relationship development. GBI Agent Will Trent is undercover. Medical Examiner Sara Linton is fretting because Will is distant and she has to deal with the shooting of her stepson, Jared, who is married to her arch nemesis, Macon detective Lena Adams. The Lena Adams-Sara Linton feud, which is, frankly, not my favorite. Despite the pages focused on this less interesting (to me) component, the book as a whole is fast-paced.

This is an excellent entry in a fascinating series. Will's pursuit of a mysterious drug kingpin and the raid are riveting. Lena's point of view slows things down a bit, but not enough to knock more than one star from the rating, at least for me. The novel is gritty and often dark, and Slaughter is fond of exploring the gray area between right and wrong. This makes for a compelling read.

Where to start? Slaughter combined two series, her Grant County/Sara Linton series, which begins with BLINDSIGHTED, and her Atlanta/Will Trent series, which begins with TRIPTYCH. The first combined book is UNDONE. I think you can easily start with UNDONE if you'd like. Since this is where the most compelling plotlines begin, that's what I would recommend. You can always go back and read the earlier books later.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicci French

TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicci French: This is the second book in the mystery series following psychotherapist Frieda Klein, as she assists the police in investigations. The first, BLUE MONDAY, fell squarely into the "okay" camp for me, but the series had enough potential that I was willing to give the second installment a go. It was probably my last Frieda Klein mystery. The plot setup is intriguing enough: Chief Inspector Karlsson calls in Frieda when a social worker finds her mentally ill patient serving tea to a naked, decomposing corpse. You have my attention! (The authors are married couple Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, by the way, a pairing that may explain some of the choppiness of the story.)

The reservations I had after characterizing BLUE MONDAY as just "okay" for a mystery held true in the sequel. Frieda is very closed off and I had trouble relating to her. She doesn't like to get personal, a challenging quality for a protagonist. While the premise of the book is interesting, the plot meanders, the villains are telegraphed early on, and I saw the "shocking" plot twist a mile away. A continuing arc for the series was introduced (the series is proposed to be eight books, so I suppose the eighth will be titled NEXT MONDAY or something?) that I found boring. I'm also tired of the "heroine in constant danger" trope of female-amateur-sleuth mysteries. Frieda says and does some dumb things that bring her into danger. Again. She, and not the crime, is the focus, but because she's such a private person, I'm not connecting to her at all. If the book were focused on how she solves a mystery, that would make the lack of sympathy tolerable, but the book is about her even though we don't know much about her. It's an odd setup for a series.

Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.

Netgalley Knockout 2013

Are you ready for Netgalley Knockout? At just about the time I think I will never ever ever be even remotely caught up with my review copies, along comes a support group for other bloggers in the same predicament. I've been mired in the Game of Thrones series for what seems like forever, but nearing the end of Book Five, I can see a time in the not-so-distant future when I might read something else! Here is the appalling list of books I have yet to read and/or review:

Update: As I request more books...and I seem unable to stop doing so...I will add them to the top of the appropriate list. As I review a book, I'll strike through instead of deleting so I can see my amazing progress!

LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program:

HOLY ORDERS by Benjamin Black
THE BLACK COUNTRY by Alex Grecian
ANTONIA LIVELY BREAKS THE SILENCE by David Samuel Levinson
SUBSTITUTE CREATURE by Charles Gilman

Other Sources:

UNDERCURRENT by Paul Blackwell*
SONGS OF WILLOW FROST by Jamie Ford

Netgalley:

THE SEANCE SOCIETY by Michael Nethercott
THE LITTER OF THE LAW by Rita Mae Brown
THE BONE SEASON by Samantha Shannon
WHEN THE WORLD WAS FLAT (AND WE WERE IN LOVE) by Ingrid Jonach
POWDER BURN by Mark Chisnell
MRS. POE by Lynne Cullen
GOOD GIRL BAD GIRL by Christopher Finch
CLEAN BURN by Karen Sandler
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION by Paulette Alden
DEATH AND THE OLIVE GROVE by Marco Vichi
THE AMBITIOUS CARD by John Gaspard
LAWLESS & THE DEVIL OF EUSTON SQUARE by William Sutton
THE RED QUEEN DIES by Frankie Y. Bailey
UNSEEN by Karin Slaughter*
IVA HONEYSUCKLE MEETS HER MATCH by Candice Ransom**
TWERP by Mark Goldblatt
THE OPHELIA CUT by John Lescroart
TRAVELS IN ELYSIUM by William Azuski
TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicci French*
MURDER BELOW MONTPARNASSE by Cara Black
BOLERO by Joanie McDonell
HOLD FAST by Blue Balliett
THE LITTLE DEATH by Michael Nava
THE EMPEROR OF ALL THINGS by Paul Whitcover
THE NOT-JUST-ANYBODY FAMILY by Betsy Byars**
THE FIRST BOOK OF CALAMITY WEEK by Paula Lichtarowicz
IN THE MATTER OF NICOLA TESLA by Anthony Flacco
THE GOLD DUST LETTERS by Janet Taylor Lisle
MUMBO JUMBO by Ishmael Reed
THE ARCHIVED by Victoria Schwab
HIDING GLADYS by Lee Mims
DADDY LOVE by Joyce Carol Oates
BLOOD ON THE THRESHOLD by Karin Richmond
SPILT MILK by Chico Buarque
THE SCIENTIFIC SHERLOCK HOLMES by James O'Brien
THE SEVEN MARKETS by David Hoffman
MAKE BELIEVE by Ed Ifkovic
THE PINEVILLE HEIST by Lee Chambers
THE REBELLIOUS LIFE OF MRS. ROSA PARKS** by
GERONIMO STILTON CAVEMICE**
VEGAN EATS WORLD by Terry Hope Romero
THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER by Mike Robinson
SIMPLY SATISFYING by Jeanne Lemlin
THE PANTHER by Nelson DeMille
BECOMING HOLMES by Shane Peacock*
THE SECRET KEEPER by Kate Morton
CHRISTMAS IN TINSELTOWN by Frank De Caro
SMOKE & MIRRORS by Ryan Browne
THE ICARUS PROJECT by Laura Quimby
THE DALAI LAMA'S CAT by David Michie
THE INFECTS by Sean Beaudoin
SOMETHING RED by Douglas Nicholas
WHITE FOREST by Adam McOmber
BLACK BREAD WHITE BEER by Niven Govinden

Edelweiss:

THE LAST WORD by Lisa Lutz*
AFTER HER by Joyce Maynard
THE FLYING BEAVER BROTHERS: BIRDS V. BUNNIES by Maxwell Eaton III**
THE FLYING BEAVER BROTHERS AND THE MUD-SLINGING MOLES by Maxwell Eaton III*
DEATH CANYON by David Riley Bertsch
THE ABSENCE OF MERCY by John Burley
DOG LOVES COUNTING by Louise Yates**
PENGUIN CHA CHA by Kristi Valiant**
DREAM ANIMALS by Emily Winfield Martin**
THE CONTAGIOUS COLORS OF MUMPLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL by Fowler DeWitt**
SQUIRRELS ON SKIS by J. Hamilton Ray**
ANNE FRANK'S CHESTNUT TREE by Jane Kohuth**
ESCAPE THEORY by Margaux Froley
TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicci French
GARLIC, MINT, AND SWEET BASIL by Jean-Claude Izzo
WACKO ACADEMY by Faith Wilkins
THE LONGINGS OF WAYWARD GIRLS by Karen Brown
THE CHALICE by Nancy Bilyeau
MOTHERLAND by William Nicholson
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN by Hallie Ephron
FAIRY TALES BY THE BROTHERS GRIMM retold by Philip Pullman*
THE CLOVER HOUSE by Henriette Lazaridis Power
THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS by Deborah Crombie
COVER OF SNOW by Jenny Milchman
THE SUMMER OF DEAD TOYS by Antonio Hill
GET STARTED: GROWING VEGETABLES by Simon Akeroyd**
THE BIG BOOK OF THINGS TO MAKE by James Mitchem**
ELDERS by Ryan McIlvain
THE PERFECT MEAL by John Baxter
THE CHILD'S CHILD by Barbara Vine
AURORARAMA by Jean-Christophe Valtat
SWEET TOOTH by Ian McEwan
THE DEATH OF BEES by Lisa O'Donnell
THE AVIATOR'S WIFE by Melanie Benjamin
THE END OF THE POINT by Elizabeth Graver
THE SECRET OF NIGHTINGALE PALACE by Dana Sachs
A STUDY IN REVENGE by Kieran Shields
YESTERDAY'S SUN by Amanda Brooke
A KILLER IN THE WIND by Andrew Klavan
INDISCRETION by Charles Dubow
AMERICAN BOY by Larry Watson
THE EVOLUTION OF MARA DYER by Michelle Hodkin
GOLDBERG VARIATIONS by Susan Isaacs
AN EXTRAORDINARY THEORY OF OBJECTS by Stephanie LaCava
SEVEN LOCKS by Christine Wade
ASHENDEN by Elizabeth Wilhide
COLD LIGHT by Jenn Ashworth
PATRICIDE by Joyce Carol Oates
FLIGHT BEHAVIOR by Barbara Kingsolver
LIVE BY NIGHT by Dennis Lehane
THE HOLLOW MAN by Oliver Harris
THE GIRL ON THE CLIFF by Lucina Riley

*Already read
**To read with Lilah