House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Jacob is an 18 year old boy with Asperger's syndrome (a type of autism). He is a bright young man and is very engrossed with crime scenes and things to do with crime forensics. When a local young woman is found dead, all fingers point to Jacob. Because of his Asperger's and the traits that go with it, the cops all assume it was Jacob. The story follows the events leading up to the girl's death and the trial that follows.

This Picoult book rates up there with My Sister's Keeper. Such a moving book. Picoult pulls you into the mother's world and into Jacob's world as well and really makes you FEEL both sides. As a mother, I couldn't imagine the difficulty dealing with Jacob's breakdowns and crazy routines. As Jacob, I couldn't imagine not being able to say what I was feeling, or not feeling at all.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

How far would you go to protect your children? Would you spy on them? Snoop through their things? And what would you do with the information that you found? This is the issue that is brought up in Hold Tight. At the same time, nearby, someone is kidnapping women and killing them. And what starts out as two separate plots slowly weaves into one larger plot where you see how several people are connected, be it unknown to them.

I just recently finished Caught by Coben a few weeks ago and found this one to be much better. You know that the two plots are going to come together eventually, but Coben gives you just enough information for you to want more. I was propelled to keep reading to find out how the bit of information I was just given fits into the other plot. I was a tad disappointed with the ending, expecting a bigger bang at the end, but over all, a very good read

2010 Challenge Updates

First in a series challenge

I'm into several different series', but there are more on my wish list, so I thought I'd give this one a try. You can find it here:
http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/1st-in-series-challenge.html

Books Read / Name of Series

1. Shop Till You Drop by Elaine Viets
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Shunning (The Heritage of Lancaster County #1) by Beverly Lewis
4. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
5. Killer Mousse (Della Cooks Mystery) by Melinda Wells
6. The Tea Rose: A Novel by Jennifer Donnelly
7. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

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CHALLENGE:

Read 12 Young Adult novels in 2010.

Books read:

1. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
2. Witch & Wizard by James Patterson
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
5. All Hallows' Eve: 13 Stories by Vivian Vande Velde
6. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
7. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
9.
10.
11.
12.

Where to find this challenge:

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-reading-challenge-2010-young-adult.html

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First in a series challenge

I'm into several different series', but there are more on my wish list, so I thought I'd give this one a try. You can find it here:
http://theroyalreviews.blogspot.com/2009/12/1st-in-series-challenge.html

Books Read / Name of Series

1. Shop Till You Drop by Elaine Viets
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The Shunning (The Heritage of Lancaster County #1) by Beverly Lewis
4. The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
5. Killer Mousse (Della Cooks Mystery) by Melinda Wells
6. The Tea Rose: A Novel by Jennifer Donnelly
7. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Charlie is what you call a Death Merchant. After the death of his wife (during childbirth), Charlie begins to see things that are glowing red. At first he thinks he's going crazy, but then he learns that he is supposed to take these items, which contain souls, and hold on to them until the next person is ready to have that soul. Charlie meets some interesting characters along the way and discovers that it's "a dirty job" but someone's got to do it.

This is the 2nd Moore book that I've read. I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of it, but thought that the last bit went downhill. I did like the last couple of lines of the book, though

Caught by Harlan Coben

Wendy is a reporter who is known for her tv show in which she sets up and catches pedophiles. When she sets up Dan, she feels that something is not right. At the same time, a teenage girl, Hailey, has been missing for 3 months. The story weaves the two issues together with a great feeling of "what really happened?!?!". Is Dan responsible for Hailey's disappearance? Dan's friends think he's innocent. So what exactly happened to Hailey?

I am a bit disappointed in the outcome of what happened, but it does bring up a current issues that makes you think and debate on. There was a slight twist at the end, but I had kind of thought of that scenerio earlier in the book, so it wasn't a complete surprise. But over all it was a really good read and I will probably check out other books by him.

2011 Reading Challenges

Hopefully I can keep better track this year. And I'll get a good head start on what I'm doing. I'm going to try these challenges this year:

The Century Challenge
http://bareadingchallenges.blogspot.com/p/century-challenge.html

Off the Shelf
http://bareadingchallenges.blogspot.com/p/off-shelf-challenge.html

I Spy Challenge
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/378554-i-spy-title-challenge

Mystery & Suspense
http://www.bookchickcity.com/2010/11/sign-up-mystery-suspense-reading.html

Where Are You Reading Challenge
http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/2011-where-are-you-reading-challenge/

A is for Alibi

I would rate this 3 1/2 stars. This is the first in Sue Grafton's alphabet series, featuring private investigator, Kinsey Millhone. In this one, Kinsey is trying to find the real killer of Nikki Fife's husband, in which Nikki was put in prison for. Along the way she discovers more murders and tries to figure out how they all tie in together.
On the back of the book, Newsweek claimed this read was "Smart, Well-Paced, and Very Funny". I think that it took a few chapters to become well paced and I had a hard time getting into it. Once it got going, it was an easy read, though. I have to diagree about it being very funny. When I think of a book this type being very funny, I think of the Stephanie Plum series, and this one was no where near as funny as Stephanie is. I think I may try B and see how that one is and hope that it's a bit better than this one.

Really Behind

Well, I've seriously neglected posting reviews and keeping my challenges updated here. I will try and be better for the rest of the year.
Here's my current list of books read this year:

http://amzn.com/l/R4JQZVM1Z42QL
http://amzn.com/l/R3TMIQNSIMR3WS

I am hoping to hit 50, at least.

The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story

This is the true story of Soraya, who was stoned to death in Iran for a "crime" she did not commit. Soraya's husband has become bored with her and needs a way to get rid of her, yet his greediness does not want to give up the dowry he received from her. After a close friend of Soraya's dies, she helps to take care of her family she left behind. Her husband uses this to claim that she has commited adultary. According to Islamic "law", if a woman is accused of adultary, it is she who must prove her innocence. Knowing that men have control of everything, Soraya knows she is doomed, even though she is innocent. Soraya is very close with her aunt, a very outspoken woman, despite the fact that men rule the land. The journalist was told the story through the eyes of the aunt.

The story was a quick read, barely being over 100 pages. Yet it was powerful enough to make me sad, angry, and greatful all at the same time. What happens to this young woman is heart wrenching. To die for something that you didn't do is one thing, but to die in the manner that she did and then be disrepected as a human being even after death is horrible. I'm so angry that these people have the nerve to use religion to back their horrendous crimes. To say that God wanted her to die by being stoned is dispicable. These men have the nerve to call themselves men of God while making up own laws that suit their wants. Reading this story made me greatful that I was born into the country that I was born into. Most of these women in smaller villages in these countries have no clue that how they are being treated is wrong and inhumane.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Set in the future, this book is about unwanted kids who are "unwound". Once a child hits a certain age, if they are an orphan, a troublemaker, or even for religious reasons, they can be sent to a harvest camp and be unwound. This means that they are harvested for their body parts....killed, to those who read the book, but the society believes that they are still living, just in many many pieces in different people. The story follows three different teens who are trying to escape from being unwound. One girl is a ward of the state and they are making room in the state home; another is born to religous parents who's religion has them sacrifice one of their children; and the last is a boy who has been labeled a trouble maker.

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I love dystopian books and was glad that I was able to get into this one. I have tried to read a couple other YA dytopian books and couldn't manage to finish them. The book definitely raises ethical questions. Obviously with so many teens being unwound, there's no longer a wait on organ donor lists, so it's interesting to see what the different characters think of things like this.

Good start to 2010's reading.