Fun YA

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Capricorn "Cap" Anderson was born and raised on an old Hippie commune called Garland. He was raised by his grandmother, Rain, who homeschooled Cap. The lived off the land and off the grid, only leaving the commune to pick up supplies in town every so often. One day Rain was up a tree picking plums when she fell and broke a hip.

While Rain is forced into rehab for 6-8 weeks, Cap is sent to live with Mrs. Donnelly who had lived at Garland until she was 12 years old, but now lives in the modern world. Cap becomes an 8th graders at a typical middle school where he must learn how to live in the real world and deal with all that happens in the halls of a middle school.

This was a really fun read!

Two Good Reads

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I am trying to get in all the classics I was SUPPOSED to read as a teenager but never did. After reading Wuthering Heights for the first time, I was anxious to get to Jane Eyre to compare them. Why do women think these brutish bullying men are romantic? I will never understand it. I liked Jane Eyre a lot more then Wuthering Heights.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

Ack. I need to think about this. Not sure what to say without spoiling anything!

Okay, I re-read the book jacket and hopefully I don't give away anything that isn't on there:

Chip and Emily Linton live in the Pennsylvania suburbs with their 10 year old twin daughters, Garnet and Hallie. Chip has a busy career as a regional airline pilot and Emily is a busy lawyer. On a routine flight, Chip is forced to bring his plane down in Lake Champlain, killing many on board.

With anxiety and PTSD, Chip and his family decide to leave the area and find a big beautiful old Victorian in a small White Mountain town in New Hampshire. In a dark cold corner of the old dirt basement is a large door with 39 carriage nails, precisely the number of people killed on Flight 1611.

This was a good read. Very creepy and engrossing. The beginning with the plane crash was difficult to read! I loved that this took place in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. An area I know pretty well as we had a ski house in North Conway growing up. So, I know exactly how creepy and desolate those northern NH woods can feel!

Escape

Escape by Barbara Delinsky

Emily has a great job at a high powered law firm in New York City. It is what she has worked for her whole life. She has a perfect house, they can barely afford. A fantastic husband (also an attorney) whom she never sees, and a BlackBerry that bings and dings 24 hours a day. A typical day in her cubicle suddenly sets something off in Emily. All of a sudden, she needs to get out. She needs to escape this rat race of a life and figure out who she is, what she wants, and what is important to her. She heads to a small town in New Hampshire to find herself.

I always enjoy Delinsky books. While this wasn't a favorite by her, I did really enjoy it and could definitely relate to a lot of what Emily was going through.

A Chase Around the World

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Lisa Marklund

Jacob Kanon is an NYPD detective at the end of his rope. He has become an alcoholic and each day puts his gun in his mouth hoping to end his misery, but won't pull the trigger until his daughter Kimmy's killers are found. Jacob is on the hunt for a pair of ruthless killers moving through Europe killing young couples and sending postcards and clues to newspaper reporters as they go.

With the help of Dessie Larsson, Swedish newspaper reporter, Jacob tracks the killers to Stolkholm in a race against time to stop the killers for good.

This was another entertaining and fast-paced Patterson. Not my favorite, but it kept me engaged.

Back to Virgin River

Angel's Peak by Robyn Carr
Virgin River #9

Back in Virgin River with some of my favorite people. This installment focused on Luke Riordan's brother, Sean who is visting Virgin River while on leave. He has been looking for his ex Franci and actually stumbles across her in a nearby town.

Also featured in this one are Luke and Shelby, the Riordan mother, Maureen, Noah and Ellie, and Noah's father-figure George.

Another good one!

A Stand-Alone Baldacci

True Blue by David Baldacci

Mace Perry has just finished serving a two year sentence for a crime she didn't commit. What is worse is that she was a super cop striped of her badge because of it. Now that she is out Mace is desperate to get back on the force and can only think of two ways to do that. She could prove her innocence or solve a big case.

Mace finds her big case when a high profile attorney is killed and her law associate, Roy Kingman, teams up with Mace to figure out what happened. Her chief of police sister, Beth, wants Mace to stay out of trouble and out of jail, but as Mace and Roy start piecing clues together, staying out of trouble and staying alive become nearly impossible.

I love Baldacci. He has become one of my favorite authors. Issac listened to the audio of this book and passed it along to me. This title is a stand alone but I would definitely like to read more wth Mace and Roy.

Great YA!!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Hugo is forced to live in the train station of Paris with his old drunk uncle after the death of his father. Hugo helps keep the clocks and tries to keep from being noticed. He finds the old automaton his father had been working on and has decided to fix it himself.

This was a great book! The kids loved it and the darwings are just beautiful!

Another Health/Nutrition Book

Eat to Live by Dr Joel Fuhrman

Dr Fuhrman makes a compelling argument for a total overhaul of your daily diet. His plan focuses on fresh veggies and fruit, some nuts and seeds, and beans. Little to no oil or fat, no dairy, and very little meat.