Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate

(4 out of 5)

Reading Level: Young Adult

I read this book several years ago. I thing I was in junior high at the time. My friend and I both read it and loved it. When I was checking some books in the other day I saw this one. I checked it out and re-read some of my favorite parts. This is a sweet story of two girls and a guy they both love. Sam is the new guy in town and both Allison and Isabella have eyes for him. Sam is into Allison. They start to date but then Isabella is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Isabella really likes Sam so Allison encourages Sam to take her out. Allison knows that Isabella doesn't have much time left and wants her to experience love. This really is one of the sweetest love triangle stories you will ever read and as a teenager it was one of my favorites.

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

(4 out of 5)

Reading Level: Adult

If I had to describe this book in one word I would say UNBELIEVABLE. Carolyn Jessop was born into a polygamist cult. Her family were members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical sect of the Mormon Church that had settled in small communities along the Arizona-Utah border. Carolyn believed in her religion and she believed in polygamy. Her grandmother would tell her stories about how wonderful it was to have a husband with many wives. That she would be doing the will of God and of the church. The more wives a man had the more powerful he was and was in favor with God. Women only got to heaven with the permission of her husband. If she wansn't in harmony with him when she died she would experience a second death and live in a type of Hell. At eighteen Carolyn became the fourth wife to Merill Jessop a fifty-year-old man. Within the family Carolyn was as old as some of Merill's daughters and she was targeted by his favorite wife Barbara. The wives would jockey for attention, snitch on each other, and had the right to discipline each others children. If you complained to Merrill he would say you deserved it and that you were not in harmony with him. Withing fifteen years Carolyn had eight children and the new leader coming to power Warren Jeffs was preaching the apocalypse. His rules and laws became more and more dangerous and ridiculous. Carolyn knew she had to escape. Finally in April 2003 she had the opportunity to round up her children and escape with their lives.

I had the same feeling reading this book as I did when I read Dave Pelzer's books. Their stories are very different but they are both like train wrecks. You know you shouldn't look as it happens because it's painful to watch but you are riveted and can't look away. Her story is in many ways so sad it was hard to read at times but I just knew there had to be a light at the end of the tunnel. And there was a light. She escaped and had freedom for the first time in her thirty five years of living. It was definitely worth reading.

On the back cover of the books is a quote by the author John Krakauer, "Escape provides an astonishing look behind the tightly drawn curtains of the FLDS Church, one of the most secretive religious groups in the United States. The story of Carolyn Jessop tells is so weird and shocking that one hesitates to believe a sect like this, with 10,000 polygamous followers, could really exist in twenty-first-century America. But Jessop's courageous, heart-wrenching account is absolutely factual. This riveting book reminds us that truth can indeed be much, much stranger than fiction." Mr. Krakauer I couldn't agree with you more.

Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

(5 out of 5)

Reading Level: Young Adult

I absolutely loved, loved, loved these books. I have read these over again I liked them so much. I just by chance picked this one up off the new rack in the children's area along with some others. I didn't know anything about it. From page one I was hooked. I was Bella, the main character, and I was pining after Edward, her love interest. He is irresistible and a vampire.

In the first book Bella goes to live with her Sheriff father in Forks, Washington. A perpetually rainy place. It is here that she meets the beautiful Cullen family (Carlise, Esme, Rosalie, Emmet, Jasper, Alice, and Edward). Edward seems to take an instant dislike to Bella and she's not sure why. You soon find out the reason. Edward (plus his whole family) is a vampire and he likes the smell of Bella's blood. Despite that they can't seem to stay away from each other. Billy Black's (friend of Charlie) son Jacob helps Bella come to the conclusion that Edward is a vampire by telling her the story of the cold ones. Edward and his family are not like typical vampires. They have chosen not to drink blood from humans but to get it from animals. They do not have fangs and they won't turn to dust in the sun. Bella and Edward are star crossed lovers. And they have to fight the outside world in order to stay together. There is a dangerous vampire that wants Bella for himself.

The second book New Moon has Bella and Edward apart for most of it. Edward and his family move away from Forks in order to keep Bella safe. Being in love with a vampire that wants your blood can be very dangerous. Edward is Bella's world so when he leaves her she is devastated. With the help of her friend Jacob Black Bella is able to function in the world and she discovers that if she pushes the limits by recklessly riding a motorcycle she hears Edwards voice. Bella keeps looking for the ultimate high so she can be close to Edward. Bella is being stalked by one of the vampires from the first book. Edward believes Bella dies so he travels to Italy to end his own life. Bella and Edward's sister Alice frantically race to Italy to stop him. Meyer also introduces a clan of werewolves in this book as well. The werewolves and vampires don't get along.

The third book Eclipse is very action packed and full of longing. Bella loves Edward and her best friend is Jacob. Edward is a vampire and Jacob is a werewolf. Edward doesn't want Bella seeing Jacob because werewolves are known to be temperamental. Bella is having a hard time not seeing Jacob so Edward agrees to let her. The vampire from the second books is still after Bella and she has brought along some newly made vampires and their blood lust is high. The vampires and the werewolves have to ban together to take these vampires out. In this book there is a love triangle between Edward, Bella, and Jacob.

The fourth book Breaking Dawn is due out August 2, 2008. I for one am counting down the days. I can't wait.

Twilight is also being made into a movie. To check it out go to http://www.imdb.com/.

To check out more about the author go to http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

(4 out of 5)

Reading Level: Adult

This book came out in 2002 and it went flying off the shelves at the library. If I remember correctly the waiting list was quite long. I was probably one of the only people on the planet not to read this book. It sounded very intriguing but I must have had other books to consume at the time. At the library we do once a month book discussions. I picked this book for our discussion in May. I thought to myself this is the perfect opportunity for me to read it. I'm really glad I did. Alice Sebold has spun an emotional roller coaster of a story. The Lovely Bones is about fourteen year old Susie and her family. From the start of the book Susie is already in heaven. She dies by the hands of a neighbor in a very brutal way. In the weeks following her death, Susie watches over her family desperately trying to reach out to them. And she also explores the place called heaven. As the months turn into years each family member (mom, dad, sister Lindsey, and brother Buckley) cope in their own way. The police have no leads as to who the killer is but Susie's father is convinced that he knows who did it. But he has no proof.

"The Lovely Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing (book jacket)."

The Lovely Bones is being made into a movie directed by Peter Jackson. To find out more about the movie go to http://www.imdb.com/.

Forensic Mystery Series

In this fast paced series for teens, Alane Ferguson created stories of mystery, murder and suspense. Cameryn Mahoney, age 17, convinces her father, the county coroner, to hire her as his assistant in The Christopher Killer: A Forensic Mystery. When a body, found in the forest, matches the pattern of a serial killer, a television psychic and his entourage arrives in town to help with the investigation. The victim: Cameryn's friend Rachel Geller. This makes the autopsy and the resulting investigation more personal for Cameryn who has to put aside her emotional responses and evaluate the information clinically.

The Angel of Death and The Circle of Blood are books two and three in this series. The forensic details are straight forward, with frank descriptions of many of the gorier aspects of the autopsy and police procedures. Ferguson ends the third book with an opening to another installment in the Forensic Mystery books.

These books describe the work of the coroner, forensic pathologist and police investigator following in the path of popular police procedural television series. Teens that read mystery and suspense will find this series irresistible.

Melissa

Tea House on Mulberry Street

What a lovely book! Recommended to me by a coworker, author Sharon Owens brings the lives of several Belfast residents to life. Penny and Daniel are the owners of Muldoon's Tea Rooms; a quaint little place serving coffee, tea, sandwiches and tasty treats. While we read about their own marital troubles we also meet Brenda Brown, Sadie Smith, the Crawley twins and Henry Blackstaff. Each one is at a struggling point in their lives and each one enjoys visiting Muldoon's for a cup of tea or secret indulgence.

I had never read anything by this author before and thoroughly enjoyed the book. Its light hearted content, easy pace and delightful descriptions kept my attention. I often go for the fast paced book with intense action and mystery. Tea House is not a gripping page turner but each night I was hesitant to put it down. I think readers will find something to identify with in one or all of the characters. Whether it's a lost love, a secret affair, stale marriage or tragic and devastating loss, there is a story here to enjoy. I give Tea House on Mulberry Street 4 out of 5 Booklovers.

Carol

The Red Thread by Roderick Townley

(4 out 5)

Reading Level: Adult

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. It had romance, mystery, murder, intrigue, and much more in it. Sixteen-year-old Dana Landgrave is an insomniac that loves to take pictures at night while she should be home asleep. What keeps Dana from sleeping are horrible dreams she keeps having about a boy that is hurt and is left to die. Her dreams start to seep into the day and she is seeing people from her dreams. She feels like she knows them somehow. Her therapist believes she is remembering her past life and encourages her to be hypnotized and try and reach out to her former life. Dana agrees and finds out that she had lived at least two past lives and in one of them she may have been a murderer. The characters from the present day are also part of the past.

"As Dana summons courage to reenter the past, each incarnation propels her to new discoveries -and new suspicions-until the threads of all three lives converge in a devastating revelation (book jacket)."

To find out more about the author go to http://www.rodericktownley.com/