Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell

Sahara Jones is going into fifth grade-again. Although she won't be "Sahara Special" anymore (special needs, that is), she doesn't expect this year to be any better than last year. Until she gets a new teacher. Not only does she dress different but, Miss Pointy is like no other teacher Sahara has ever known. With her help, Sahara just might find a way to redefine special for herself.  This is a cute Young Adult novel.

Rating: 4.1 Good 

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Ten-year-old Opal has just moved to a Florida town with her preacher father, and she is very lonely.  At the local Winn-Dixie supermarket, she instantly takes a shine to a scraggly stray dog that she adopts.  The pooch, Winn-Dixie, named for their meeting place, becomes a trusted companion with whom Opal can share her thoughts and fears, and her hurt, confused feelings about the mother who left the family when Opal was three. Winn-Dixie is soon helping Opal in other ways, too.

This is a cute easy read.  I am not sure if it may be a bit young but, I might get it for my 10 year old niece.


Rating: 4.5 Recommend

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

You have to be warped and not mind cursing in order to enjoy this book.  I laughed out loud reading this at the airport and on the plane.  It is hilariously funny.  It is short enough that you don't get tired of the harsh humor.  Definitely something for when you are in the right mood and need a laugh.

Rating: 4.5 Recommend

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is the 3rd book I have read by Laurie Halse Anderson and, this may even surpass Wintergirls, which I loved.  This is a young adult book about Melinda, teenager who chooses not to speak rather than to give voice to what really happened to her.  I loved how the author didn't just tell you what happened to Melinda in order for her to stay so silent - instead, bits of the incident unfolds as you read along.  Melinda is a wonderful character with a cutting sense of humor that made you feel her anger, hurt and pain.  Excellently written.

Rating:  4.9 Recommend

I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman

Eliza Benedict, a 38-year-old married mother of two receives a letter from Walter Bowman, the man who kidnapped her the summer she was 15 and is now on death row. The narrative shifts between the present and that long ago summer, when Eliza involuntarily became a part of Walter's endless road trip, including the fateful night when he picked up another teenage girl, Holly Tackett. Soon after Walter killed Holly, Eliza was rescued and taken home.

While this story did seem like it should have had enough to drive the plot, the lack of character development left me skimming the pages.  From Barbara, the over bearing woman with too much backbone who befriends Walter, to Eliza herself who is so mousey and lacking in backbone, this book was just very mediocre.

Rating: 3.0  Just Ok

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This is the story of Miles (Pudge) who goes off to Boarding school in Alabama and quickly joins a tight knit group of friends - his roomate Chip (The Colonel), a Japanese boy Takumi, and Alaska a smart impulsive girl who loves to read.  The chapters of the novel are headed by a number of days "before" and "after" so you know that an "event" is coming when you are in the 'before' section.  This is an outstanding coming-of-age novel

Rating:  4.4 Recommend

Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout

The novel unfolds in a small town in New England of a mother/daughter both alike in so many facets and yet neither wanting to be like the other.   It is about the secrets we keep from ourselves and others, about the fictions we create and believe, sincerely or otherwise, to protect our images and illusions in others' eyes. In quiet, lucid prose, Strout captures the hesitating, awkward moments of friendship, crushes, life at work and at home.

 I didn't care for how insecure most of these women were but, did care about them and how they evolved.

This is a subtle book with a slow plot line.  While the writing and the story were good, it was not a light or overly enjoyable read.  That being said, I am glad I read it and I will read other works by this author.

Rating:  3.2 OK

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

Samara Taylor is a small town pastor's kid and all the other kids think she has the perfect family.  Then, one summer, everything changes, her mother ends up in rehab, her father is always too busy for Sam and then Jody, a 13-year-old girl, a member of their church, disappears. This is a summer of a lot of changes for Sam and this book examines the effects on an impressionable teenager.  A bittersweet coming of age novel.

Rating:  4.0  Recommend

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Let me preface this review by saying I do not care for mystery thrillers or books about ghosts.  I also am one of the heathens that didn't care for East of Eden and, this book had quite a few similarities in my mind to the characters of East of Eden.  The fact that I loved this book and was able to get past all of those things is a testament to the expertise of the author.


This mystery thriller is about Vida Winter, a famous author, whose life story is coming to an end, and Margaret Lea, a young, unworldly, bookish girl who is a bookseller in her father's shop. Vida has a reputation of giving everybody a different version of her life, each time swearing it's the truth. Vida now swears she wants Margaret to write "the truth".

The writing is excellent and the story unfolds in such a way that I couldn't wait to read what would happen next.  Just when I would piece two things together and would think "Oh"  And then "Oh!"  And then "OH!", Margaret Lea would also put those two things together and Setterfield would lead me further in to the story to discover the next two inter-connecting pieces right before Margaret Lea did.  I realized the author was skillfully leading me into the forest as I happily followed the crumb trail.  Only at the end did Margaret Lea go "Oh"  And then "Oh!"  And then OH!", while I sat reading going "What?!?" and the author skillfully led me to the final unfolding of the story.

Setterfield does so many beautiful things that I can not do justice to her writing by trying to capture it here.  Read the book and discover it for yourself.

I can't wait for Miss Setterfield's next book which, unfortunately isn't due till July 2012.


Rating: 4.8 Excellent