Mistress, Orphan Train, and Eleanor and Park

Yeah, yeah, I know, another James Patterson novel. But, dammit, they are just so readable! At first, I didn't think I was going to like this one. The main character is kind of weird because he keeps spouting all this presidential and movie trivia.

Then, he grew on me and by fifty pages in or so, I was hooked. Ben is obsessed with Diana before she falls from her sixth floor balcony. After her death, he is even more determined to find out as much as he can about her life and death.

The usual formula but an engaging hero. Good book!



And, then, this one! OMG! So good! Catherine Baker Kline mixes a troubled teenage girl in modern day Maine with a young orphan in the late 1920s and makes it work.

Molly has been in and out of foster homes for years. When she has to perform community service, she meets Vivian, an elderly woman who has her past stored away in her attic. While Molly organizes all the boxes, Vivian narrates the story of her ordeal as an orphan forced to ride the Orphan Train to the Midwest.

They learn and change with each other. Loved it!



I don't know why I've been reading so many YA novels this summer but they've all been great! Interesting and unique characters, poetic writing, and surprising plots.

This one is a love story but not your usual romantic one. Eleanor is overweight and dirt poor. She tries to hide all this behind outrageous outfits and a smart mouth.

Park is a short Korean/American who reluctantly let's Eleanor sit next to him on the school bus. Slowly, they become friends. There's a lot more to this book. I took it to the beach with me yesterday and stayed until I finished....with tears running down my cheeks.

I used to read YA novels so I could recommend them to my students; now, I read them because I just like them!