Trail by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

The second book in Ms. Barnes Raised by Wolves series did not disappoint. I stayed up once again way past my bedtime to finish reading this book. I was not going to be able to sleep without finishing it. It reminded me of when I was little and my mother would yell for me to turn my light off and go to sleep. I would yell back just one more chapter or 5 more pages. She would then threaten to ground me from my books. My mom sadly isn't around to threaten me anymore but I'm sure she would have been yelling if she was.

Trial by Fire takes up where Raised by Wolves left off. Bryn is starting to get the hang of her new role as alpha when a wolf from another pack collapses bleeding and near death on her doorstep. The teenage wolf asks Bryn for protection but you can't claim another alphas wolf as your own without the other alphas permission. Since that alpha is Shay (who hates her) Bryn and her pack are pretty sure Shay sent the wolf to cause trouble. Ms. Barnes took me by surprise towards the end. My stomach was actually in knots. I should have seen it coming but I didn't. I like when a book takes me by surprise. I'm hoping there will be a third book because this book leaves it wide open for another but since her website doesn't even mention this book I have know idea.

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

At the age of four Bryn's world gets turned upside down. Her parents are attacked and killed by a rogue werewolf and her savoir Callum claims her for his own. So she is a human raised among wolves. For the past eleven years she has adhered to pack rules for the most part but once she finds out that Callum is hiding something from her she starts breaking the rules. The secret ends up being a teenage boy named Chase. He was attacked by a rogue and instead of dying he became a werewolf. From the moment Bryn meets Chase she feels a strong connection to him. Is Chase worth all the trouble she will be getting herself into if she pursues him? Oh I think he will be.

I read this book in two days. I started it at work on my lunch hour and then read it way way past my bed time that night. I finished it up the next day. I can't wait to read the next one. I'm not sure I can wait until Monday when it should arrive at the library for me. I'm so excited to see what happens next. It's called Trial by Fire.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

This book gives us an insight on how a person lives with Asperger's syndrome and how it affects the whole family. Jodie Picoult leaves us with an ending that causes us to consider our justice system.

Submitted by Rose

Die For Me by Amy Plum

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

When Kate and her sister Georgia find themselves orphans they move to Paris to live with their grandparents. Kate's life and heart have been shattered by the death of her parents and she is trying to pick up the pieces when she meets Vincent. Vincent is mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming. He's too good to be true. Vincent has a secret he's willing to share if Kate is willing to keep it.

When I was reading this book it reminded me a lot of Twilight. The interactions between Kate and Vincent's friends reminded me of Bella's interactions with the Cullen's and the other werewolves. I like the easy banter. When I was on Ms. Plum's website she said she was inspired by Twilight so I thought that was pretty cool.

I think there is going to be another book. I hope pretty please, pretty please. From one of Ms. Plums blog posts she mentions that Until I Die needs to be sent to her editor. I pray that Until I Die continues this world that has been opened up for me. I want to know more about Kate and Vincent. Also about Ambrose, Jules, Charlotte, Charles, and all the rest. I loved this book!

Dancing With Mr. Darcy short stories compiled by Sarah Waters

I was so excited when I found this book at the library, because I've made it a point to read all the books regarding Jane Austen and her various fictional characters. This anthology, however, sadly misses the mark for me as a reader. Because of my nature, call it compulsive if you will, it is a very rare book that I will not read from beginning to end, whether or not I'm enjoying myself. It is shocking to me that while reading this collection of short stories, how often I had to force myself to keep reading, and how often I couldn't stand what I was reading. I've worked as a teacher of freshman composition, and I can honestly say, there were only one or two essays or stories I couldn't stand over the years. This collection contains at least a half dozen writings that fall into that category.

Don't get me wrong. There are one or two short stories in this book which are well-written and worth being included in a published anthology. But others are simply abhorrent and go against everything in the very nature of an Austen fan. Most seem like the well written but immature ramblings of teenaged Austen fans, as so many of these stories share the common themes of passing college-level exams, or doing things of which parents don't approve. Some other stories are beyond imagining - which is to say, that I can't imagine writing a story based on Austen that involves a character with her pants around her ankles, characters walking around in the whiffy waste of an overflowed toilet, or a story in which the main character poses in the nude and has the vocabulary of a longshoreman. Not to say that Austen didn't have a pragmatic edge, or that her characters didn't occasionally use the toilet, step in poo or appear in the nude, but the disconnect between the original subject matter and some of these stories is just too great. Perhaps the fault lies with me, but I can't bridge that gulf. As a result, this collection of stories is something I regret having read. Readers who love Jane Austen would be much better served reading authors like Joan Aiken or Carrie Bebris than wasting their time with this nonsense. As Mr. Knightley would say in Emma, "Badly Done."

Submitted by Gerti

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I was so excited when the library finally got me this book! I had waited many months for my name to show up as #1 on the waiting list, and even longer for the person who had checked it out before me to return it. Once past the initial euphoria of finally holding the book in my hands, I discovered that like other books that David Sedaris has written, this one is filled with amusing episodes from Sedaris' life, some of which are found in his other collections. That was a bit of a letdown. Fortunately for me as a reader, this collection contains one of my favorite vignettes, "Big Boy", which takes me back to an episode during my own childhood when my cousin Pam and I were trapped in a bathroom at a relatives home. Sedaris' account is side-splittingly funny. So was the event we lived through. It's great when a book can make you laugh out loud. This book makes you run to friends and family and force them to read the passages that have made you weep with laughter. Not every book that claims to be funny makes you laugh... this one does.

In the first half of the book, Sedaris draws hysterical portraits of other family members, most especially his sister Lisa (who will say anything) and his father (who is a food hoarder). The second half of the book involves Sedaris' attempts to learn or perhaps avoid learning French. He talks about his teachers, his fellow language students, and the peculiar words and phrases he does learn ("bottleneck", "witch doctor") in lieu of those phrases that would be more helpful in conversation with the people in Paris. As always, Sedaris is both touching and amusing, and his writing style and gift for description are nothing short of brilliant. It's always a pleasure to pick up one of his books, even if, as in this case, I've read some of the stories before. Like visiting with old friends from high school, however, you leave remembers why you wanted to get together in the first place. Sedaris is a comic writer of the first order, and I will continue to read through all the titles he has published.

Submitted by Gerti

Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

Morgan Rowlands is just a typical teenage girl until she meets Cal Blaire and finds out she is a blood witch. A blood witch is someone who is a descendant of one of the seven Wiccan clans. Her world is turned upside down, but not necessarily in a bad way. I am almost down with the third book and there are 15 total in the series. I am so excited because all 15 our published. Yeah!!!! At about 200 pages apiece these books are easy reads. I have been enjoying reading them.