Abbey Force's father is in a coma, accused of a crime she knows he didn't commit. In the midst of it, Abbey is forced to live with her aunt and uncle while watching her family's plantation handed over to new owners. The daughter of the new owner, Bee Force (no relation--except that Abbey's family may have kept Bee's as slaves a hundred years ago), forges a relationship with Abbey and together, they set out to prove that something strange is going on in Felony Bay and that Abbey's dad is not guilty of the crime he committed. This was an engaging read, perfect for younger middle level readers.
Denton Little's Deathdate
Sometimes I start reading books and don't realize they are part of a series. This was one of those times. Denton lives in a world that is not too dissimilar from our own, except that in Denton's world, everyone knows the day they will die. They don't know the exact time or the cause, but they know that is when they will die. In this case, your funeral is celebrated the day before your deathdate, while your family spends the next day with you, in what is called your sitting. The very concept of this stressed me out, just the thought of knowing when I'm going to die and that every day brings you one day closer. In Denton's case, his death date is the same day as prom, which is a little distressing for a high school student. As Denton enters his last few hours, he sets out to experience everything that he can in the few hours before his short life ends. I enjoyed the concept of this book and found it a pretty interesting story, though I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. I'll need to read the next book to make that decision!
The Wonder Garden
I love books where it seems like a bunch of unrelated stories and events all tie together in the second half. This is what this book set out to do, but it fell short for me. The writing was strong, the stories compelling, but there were so many different people who the author was trying to tie together, that I would lose track and spend half of it trying to figure out who was who. The stories themselves were fascinating, like I said, and as a short story book, I would've loved it... but it seemed like she was trying to do more than that.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye
This was on the recommendation of Becky, and it was a good one. Lex's brother Tyler committed suicide, leaving Lex to try and pick up the pieces. Throughout this all, Lex is haunted because she is pretty sure she sees Tyler's ghosts and wonders if she's losing her mind. She distances herself from her friends and starts to slip in school, all over the thought of the last time she spoke to or saw Tyler. In the end, the story behind their last goodbye was heartbreaking. For a YA novel, I felt like this left out the drama and instead painted a realistic picture of what suicide does to those left behind.
What are you reading?
7 comments:
I'm curious about this Denton character... and The Wonder Garden too. The Last Time We Say Goodbye is on my list already so maybe I'll pick it up sooner rather than later. Thanks for the tips!
This week I actually had time to read!! :) I read:
The First Bad Man A Novel by Miranda July: oh my, this one gets weird. As in, how does a person think of this stuff weird. It is about a host of emotionally stunted characters and narrated by someone you think might be a little quirky who turns out to be far more disturbed than quirky but then goes through a bit of an awakening. It was interesting journey.
The Magician's Lie: I came thisclose to LOVING this story. The last 10 pages kind of ruined it. But up until the ending, it was delicious. A magician kills her husband on stage (or does she) and is caught running away by a small town police officer who takes her back to his jail instead of turning her in. All night long she tells her story and it's a good story but the whole time you (and the officer) are wondering is it true? Is it lies? Is she going to escape? This one was fun.
I don't think I've chimed in for a while...
I read 'Magyk' because it's Amara's new favourite series and she reeeeeallly wanted me to. I enjoyed it, but more than that I'm happy that she is enjoying the series SO MUCH.
'Night Blindness' - Barb maybe told me to read it? I enjoyed it and passed it along.
'Etched on Me' - even though this isn't a happy read, I couldn't put it down.
And now I'm halfway through 'My Notorious Life' which I'm also enjoying.
I love it when I have a stretch of great books!
What was that JK Rowling book where all the little stories ended up tying together? Was it A Casual Vacancy? I hated the first half of that book trying to make sense of all the characters, but ended up really loving how it all tied together in the end. I think I'll skip The Wonder Garden though.
Denton's Little Death Date sounds interesting, but like you, I can see it stressing me out lol.
Denton's Deathdate sounds interesting - will have to check that out. Also, The Magician's Lie sounds interesting as well.
I just finished The Dinner -I didn't really care for the book, because I felt disappointed by so many of the choices the character's made, and made me think how many people would do the same thing given the circumstances. (That's all I'm going to say because you can't describe more without giving they story away).
Just started The Longest Ride - Nicolas Sparks - his stories kind of run along the same type of storyline, but with big breaks in between I actually like his books.
I like to revisit this post a few days later to get more book recommendations from the comments :)
So now I've added Etched on Me to my list!
One Crazed Mommy... re: The Dinner. It's hard to talk about that book with someone who hasn't read it yet. You're right, I don't know how any normal person could possibly agree with how the characters handled any of that situation. I will admit though - I found the writing very compelling. Even as I found every character reprehensible, I couldn't stop reading to see how the whole thing was going to wrap up.
Exactly Barb!! I couldn't put it down either, even when I was unsure of how I felt about the book as I was reading it. I stated I didn't like it, but I may have to restate that...I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it, because it definitely keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens.
YAY! Glad you liked it. I'm now reading Before I Go by Colleen Oakley and so far so good.
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