Speak

I saw Speak at the library and noticed it was a best-seller by Laurie Halse Anderson, an author whose historical fiction books I love.  Speak is a story about a very sensitive subject--rape.  The story is from Melinda's point of view, and it follows her during her freshman year of high school after a disastrous party that happened the summer before.  The book tells of Melinda's struggle to understand what happened to her and her journey to find courage to speak out.

This was a very powerful story.  In the author's note, the author points out that this topic is one that is often not addressed appropriately for teenagers; I thought this book did a great job of bringing to light the seriousness of this issue in an appropriate way.  (It shares facts at the end that 1 in 6 American women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape, and half of them are under the age of 18.  And, experts estimate that only about 16% of rapes are actually reported to police.)  The point of view of the book was very strong, and it was easy to relate to the main character.  The book also made me really appreciate good teachers and true friends.  It was quite a depressing book throughout, obviously, so that made it hard to really love the book--but it was a good read with a strong message about overcoming obstacles.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Testament

I wanted to read more John Grisham books and had The Testament recommended to me.  It is about billionaire Troy Phelan who has 3 ex-wives and numerous children--all anxious to get his money as soon as he dies.  Troy has a better plan than giving his money to his selfish, reckless descendants--he writes a secret will, gives it to his attorney, Josh, and then commits suicide.  The new will leaves all his money to an illegitimate daughter--a young woman named Rachel, serving somewhere in Brazil as a Christian missionary to Indians.  Josh sends his lawyer friend (and recovering alcoholic) to Brazil to track Rachel down, while the rest of Troy's descendants and their lawyers fight the new will.

This was another really great book.  The story was really compelling, and it also had a great message of change and redemption.  I loved the characters, and the plot kept me guessing.  Unfortunately, I didn't love the ending; I was just bummed about how it turned out.  But, I do have to give John Grisham credit because even though I didn't like the end, he left no questions unanswered.  I have felt that in all his books--he's really a master at addressing every detail.  In my reading, I tend to consider a lot of what-ifs, and he seems to just cover everything, so I never am left wondering.  Another good book!

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

Beauty

I read Beauty by Robin McKinley because of recommendations from friends.  It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and tells of Beauty, who considers herself quite plain, especially compared to her older sisters. When Beauty and her family have to leave their life in the city, they find themselves living a very different life in a small village.  One day Beauty's father is out on a journey, and when he picks a rose for Beauty, he finds that he has stolen a rose from a beast, who requires one of his daughters as payment.  It is Beauty who volunteers to go to the beast in order to save her father's life.

This was a great book.  I haven't read a book quite like this in a long time, and I can't place exactly what made it different.  But, I liked how the entire book was from an all-telling Beauty's point of view.  It made it interesting and exciting to follow her throughout the book.  The only thing I didn't like about the book was that I knew the story of Beauty and the Beast.  That made it so at the beginning, I was just waiting for the connection to the fairy tale, and then toward the end, I knew how it would all pan out.  But, I liked the differences to the story I was familiar with, and I think the author wrote the story very well.  The book was filled with detail, but other times, it skipped right to the part of the story that mattered--and that made it a nice read.  And I loved the ending.  :)

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

A Single Shard

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park is a Newbery Medal winner.  It is about Tree-ear, an orphan in 12th century Korea who lives under a bridge with his guardian, Crane-man.  Tree-ear loves to watch Min, a town potter, create his beautiful work.  Soon, Tree-ear finds himself as Min's apprentice and then on a journey to bring Min's finest work to the city in hopes that Min can be assigned a royal commission.

This was a really good book.  It took me a bit to get into it, but then it was a really nice story with beautiful language and great character relationships.  It was a simple book but a good one.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)

The Client

After reading John Grisham's two books for young adults, I decided to move up in the world to his adult books.  The Client is about 11-year-old Mark who, along with his 8-year-old brother Ricky, witnesses an attorney commit suicide.  Before the attorney commits the act, he confesses to Mark some secrets about his client--a mafia member accused of murder.  Soon, Ricky is in the psychiatric ward from the trauma, and the police start asking Mark questions about what happened.  Mark realizes that he has to find a lawyer and has to figure out what to do with the information he has before the mafia finds him.

This was a really great book.  I loved the main characters (Mark and his lawyer, Reggie) so much.  I loved how well developed the characters were.  The book got me to laugh, got me a little choked up, but mainly got me completely, continually freaked out due to the awesome plot twists.  I kept wondering how the book was going to keep the story going for the length of the whole book, but it did it--and it did it well.  I also liked how the book covered the points of view of lots of characters. The only downside (another reason why I tend to prefer young adult/children's literature) was a bit of language.  And there were a few parts where I questioned if it really would've happened the way it did....but hey, it's fiction.  I think I will start reading a lot more of John Grisham's books, so if you're reading this, and you've read some and have a favorite, let me know.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)

The Maze of Bones

I've heard a lot about the 39 Clues series, so I decided to read the first book, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan (who also happens to be an author I really like).  It is about Dan and Amy Cahill who are raised by their great-aunt since their parents died years earlier.  When their grandmother dies and leaves behind a mysterious will, Dan and Amy decide to accept a challenge rather than $1 million.  The challenge will leave them (and other family members, their competition) to find 39 clues, which will apparently lead them to the most powerful treasure in the world.

I'm surprised that I didn't really enjoy this book too much.  I love Rick Riordan's other books, and this series is so popular, I expected to be really into it.  But, I just felt like the characters weren't super well developed, so I couldn't build the connection with them that I wanted to.  That led to me feeling like parts of the story were just unrealistic.  I think the plot is a fun idea, but it just dragged on with a lot of searching for clues without any idea about where this is going to lead.  I did think the book was kind of interesting with lots of connections to Benjamin Franklin and his history.  I wouldn't consider it a wasted read, but it wasn't my kind of book.

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)

Theodore Boone: The Abduction

After reading John Grisham's first book about Theodore Boone, I went to the library to get the newest one: Theodore Boone: The Abduction.  In this book, Theo's best friend April (who has a very dysfunctional family) suddenly disappears and is presumed kidnapped.  Theo and his friends form their own search parties to help find her, but when the police suddenly find a body in the river, Theo realizes that everything is not as hopeful as he thought.

This was another really engaging book--a super quick read because it kept me interested.  I enjoyed the plot and the characters.  I probably liked this book slightly less than the first one, but it was still great.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)