And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman. Description from Goodreads.com: “When Hector Lewis told his daughter that she had a nothing face, it was just another bit of tossed-off cruelty from a man who specialized in harsh words and harsher deeds.
But twenty years later, Heloise considers it a blessing to be a person who knows how to avoid attention. The Possibilities of Amy by Jaye Frances. Description from Goodreads.com: “Amy is the ultimate trophy girl—gorgeous face, killer body, and a vivacious personality.
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Description from Goodreads.com: “Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated readers with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event–an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes.
Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex’s parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle. With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.”
My thoughts. Falling From Grace by S.L. Naeole. Falling From Grace by S.L NaeolePublished January 2010 by Crystal Quill Publishing Description from Goodreads.com: “When you wake up in the morning and your eyes take in the first hints of light that shine through your window, the dust motes catching and reflecting the sun’s rays like little diamonds, the shimmering hues of yellow and orangey gold breaking through into your room, the first thing you think about usually isn’t how you’re going to make it through the worst day of your life.
Unfortunately for Grace Shelley, that’s exactly what she’s facing as she ponders what to do now that she’s going to be starting out her last year in high school without her best friend. She’s not exactly the most popular girl in school – well, not the most popular girl in school to like, anyway – and everything seems to be hinting at another status quo year for her until she bumps into a stranger who leaves her stumbling for words and chasing after her heart.
The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly. Description from Goodreads.com: “In this classic from a #1 “New York Times” bestselling author, Detective Harry Bosch thought he’d stopped the serial killer known as the Dollmaker.
Now the dead man’s widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for shooting the wrong man—an accusation that rings true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker’s macabre signature.” My thoughts. The Seven Gifts That Came to Earth by John Mellor. I received a review copy of this book.
Description from Goodread.com: “In The Seven Gifts a reclusive outcast rock star heads a band of lonely misfits trapped in the pages of seven mysterious books locked away at the top of a remote seaside tower. Each cryptic book contains clues to a hidden gift that was bestowed on the Earth by its guardian. A young boy is commanded by an Angel to read and decipher the seven stories. The stories transcend all worldly notions of normal, yet remain strangely matter-of-fact; and they challenge even this boy’s view of reality as he struggles to unveil the gifts, and also the enigma of the Angel, and the secret of himself. My thoughts This book is a delightful collection of short stories. The Priest and the Medium by Suzanne Giesemann. Description from BarnesandNoble.com: “ Psychic medium B.
Anne Gehmangave her first spirit readings to her teddy bears at age five. Raised in the Mennonite tradition, she left home at age 14 to finish her schooling. Unidentified Woman by Hillel F. Damron. I received a review copy of this book.
Summary by author: “Unidentified Woman—a story of rape, revenge, and redemption—follows a young Mexican girl, Maria Sanchez, who is kidnapped on her way to school one morning. She is enslaved and repeatedly, brutally raped by paying customers, mostly Americans. But she survives and grows up to become an independent young woman living in Los Angeles.
Permanent Winter by Grant Palmquist. I received a review copy of this book.
Description from GoodReads.com: “Freezing rain and sleet shroud the city of Nepenthe in a chilly mystery . . . Reports of mutilated bodies washing up on the beaches terrorize the community . . . Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Description from GoodReads.com: “‘What are you thinking, Amy?
The question I’ve asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? Just how well can you ever know the person you love? My thoughts: Deviations by Mike Markel. I received a review copy of this book. Description from BooksForABuck.com: “Since losing her job as a police detective, Karen Seagate has done little but drink and have casual (and unsatisfactory) sex with strangers. Even the other losers at the A.A. meeting look at Seagate with annoyance and frustration. When the new police chief insists that Seagate come down to the station for a formal exit interview, she figures she’s in more trouble… but can’t see how her life can get much worse. The new chief might not be as incompetent as the old one, but he does everything by the book and one thing Seagate isn’t is a by the books cop.
The murder of a state senator changes everything. The Orange Blossom Special. Description from Amazon.com: “When we first meet Tessie Lockhart in 1958, she is pinning her hair into a French twist, dabbing Jean Naté on her wrists, and getting ready to change her life. This widowed mother of a thirteen-year-old has decided it’s time for a fresh start for both of them, time to leave behind Carbondale, Illinois, and the pain of loss. Tessie and her daughter move to Gainesville, Florida, where they discover that they aren’t the only ones struggling to move forward in the wake of tremendous grief. Betsy Carter has perfectly captured both the innocence of the 1950s, when even the complex events of our lives seemed somehow easier to endure, and the startling and irreversible changes of the 1960s.
A story about the relationships people develop in the face of loss, The Orange Blossom Special introduces us to a remarkable cast of characters, all of whom are tested—and transformed—by the changes in their midst. My thoughts Buy The Orange Blossom Special from Amazon.com today! A Song After Dark by Grant Palmquist. I received a review copy of this book. Description from GoodReads.com: “Norman thought he’d hit the jackpot when he met Zach, trading his boring straight A lifestyle for one filled with parties, drugs and more girls than he ever imagined he’d meet in his lifetime. Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Description from GoodReads.com: “One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you.
But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.”
Divergent by Veronica Roth. Description from BarnesandNoble.com: “In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. The Cure by Bradlee Frazer. The Little Girl That Could: A Memoir. Jericho Solus by Jeffery Moore. I received a review copy of this book.
Hollowland and Hollowmen by Amanda Hocking. Hollowland by Amanda Hocking Published October 2010 by Amanda Hocking. Nightingale Vale by Declan Munro. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Description from Goodreads.com: “In 70 CE, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on a mountain in the Judean desert, Masada. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic historical event, Hoffman weaves a spellbinding tale of four extraordinary, bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.
Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father never forgave her for that death. One Day as a Tiger by Alan Taylor. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Ripple – A Dolphin Love Story by Tui Allen.