The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

When I visited my mom a few months ago, she was getting rid of some books, so I took a few that looked good to me--including The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  This book is about Precious Ramotswe who uses her inheritance to start a new business--a detective agency near her home in Africa.  She slowly builds up her business and solves cases of missing husbands, wayward daughters, conmen, and other mysteries brought to her by her friends and neighbors.

This was a really fun book.  Once I got into it, it was an enjoyable read.  There was a case introduced early in the book that wasn't solved till the end, so that kept me interested as I followed all the other cases in between.  Mma Ramotswe was an entertaining and likable character, so it was fun to be part of her world throughout the book.  This was kind of a fluff read, but I liked it and would read more in the series next time I don't have a book to read.

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

Almost Home

Almost Home by Joan Bauer has been on my to-read list for awhile (but I can't remember where I heard about this book).  This is the story of Sugar Mae Cole, who has so much going for her when she and her mom lose their home.  Sugar's dad is in and out and can't be trusted, and when Sugar's mom breaks down under the stress of being homeless, Sugar finds herself in a foster home.  But as Sugar pours her heart out into her poetry and comes to love the many trustworthy people around her, she finds there is still good in the world and great hope for her future.

This was a quick read (I started and finished in one day) but a beautiful book.  Sugar is a well-developed character who is real and lovable, and the plot kept me interested the whole time.  The author is obviously a really great author.  (She's also the author of a Newbery book called Hope Was Here, which I don't think I've read--so I will definitely plan to read it.) This book helped me get in the mind of those who are homeless or in foster care and how there is always so much more to their stories.

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