Friday, March 22, 2013

Catching Up

It's been so long since I've updated this blog. My bad! But, I have been reading.


I read good things about this book but, I didn't like it at all. I couldn't follow the plot and didn't like the characters. Very disappointed!



Now, this one I liked! It's been awhile so I don't remember the characters' names but it's about a girl who still lives with her parents, has a jerk for a boyfriend, loses her job, then takes a position caring for a quadriplegic. This experience changes her life. A quick and satisfying read.



This one is really well written but the main character is just so annoying! I wanted to slap her to wake her up! Her name is Lee and she has a perfectly good life as a teenager in the Midwest. But, on a whim, she applies to a prep school in Massachusetts and leaves the warmth of her family for the coldness of the school. She agonizes about everything. I managed to finish it but, honestly, it felt like a waste of time.



I read this book when I was a teenager and loved it then. A few weeks ago, I went to a production of it with friends and seeing the play made me want to read it again. So, I did. And loved it all over again.



And, that led me to this new novel. It too concerns WWII and the treatment of Jews. The book seesaws between the present and the past, between a young woman who meets an elderly man who had been a German concentration camp guard and her grandmother who is a Holocaust survivor. I though I'd read all I could about that horrible era but this novel manages to make it new, again, and relevant. Kudos to Jodi Picoult and her excellent writing!



I can't resist Alex Cross and his family. And this was no disappointment. Yes, it's formulaic but also heartbreaking. I devoured it!



This is the third book in the Delirium trilogy. Lena is still in the Wilds with others who refuse to be cured of delirium. She's still with Julian, and she's still in love with Alex. When they hear about an uprising in Portland, Lena heads back to her home town to help the Resistance. I like this intelligent YA series because the writing is terrific and the characters are likeable.



I started this book yesterday and finished it this morning. A cool mystery, enjoyable characters, non-stop action=my kind of book! Jake Fisher lost the love of his life six years ago when she married her former lover. Now, her husband is dead and Jake is determined to find her again. But, that turns out to be harder than he ever imagines. Gosh, I like Harlan Coben's writing!