April Reads

27. The Pardon (Grippando)

28. Girl in Translation (Kwok)

29. Who By Fire (Spechler)

30. The Walk (Evans)

31. Alone (Gardner)

32. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies (Smith)

33. Still Missing (Stevens)

34. Eyes of Prey (Sandford)

* Unaccustomed Earth (Lahiri)

* Short Story (not counted)

BOLD titles made my Best Reads List

Clicking on a title will link you to "Thoughts of Joy...".

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Monthly - Yearly Genre Stats:

Chick-Lit: 0 - 0

Classic: 0 - 0

Fiction: 3 - 9

Memoir: 0 - 1

Mystery/Police Procedural: 3 - 8

Non-Fiction: 0 - 0

Non-Fiction Graphic Novel: 0 - 1

Short Story Collection: 0 - 1

Suspense/Thriller: 2 - 7

True Crime: 0 - 1

YA Classic: 0 - 0

YA Fiction: 0 - 3

YA Graphic Novel: 0 - 0

YA Non-Fiction: 0 - 0

YA Science Fiction: 0 - 0

YA Short Collection: 0 - 1

YA Thriller: 0 - 1

Children's Fiction: 0 - 1

Children's Thriller: 0 - 0

Children's Sci-Fi/Fantasy: 0 - 0

Short Stories: 1 - 6

Audiobooks: 4 - 15

Books: 4 - 19

Total: 8 - 34

Best Reads: 1 - 1

Series: 5 - 13

DNF: 0 - 0

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH (1 of 8)

Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

Genre: Short Story Collection

Published: Unaccustomed Earth, 2008

Personal Rating: 3.25/5 (better than just okay)

(ss) Yearly Count: 6

A widowed father travels out-of-state to visit his married daughter. They end up learning a little bit more about themselves and each other.

This first story drew me in, but it didn't grip me. The characters were well-drawn out, and I felt like I really understood them, but it just plodded on and then it was done. Overall, it was a pleasant story.

EYES OF PREY

Author: John Sandford

Genre: Police Procedural, Series #3

Published: 1991

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 34

Lieutenant Lucas Davenport is after a serial killer who disfigures his victims' eyes.

Yay! Book #3 saved the series! I enjoyed #1, but #2 didn't appeal to me, leaving me to wonder if I was going to continue. Thankfully, this story line kept my attention and Lucas actually calmed down in his attitude and philandering ways. I might end up liking the guy after all. There was a lot of foul language, graphic scenes and drug abuse to muck through; however, I still found that the gathering of evidence to decipher who and why these people were being killed to be enough to keep me intrigued.

STILL MISSING

Author: Chevy Stevens

Genre: Thriller, Standalone

Published: 2010

Personal Rating: 4.75/5 (better than excellent)

Yearly Count: 33

From inside the ARC:

On the day she was abducted, Annie Sullivan, a thirty-two-year-old realtor, had three goals - sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.


But nothing could be further from the truth.


Through sessions with her psychiatrist, Annie retells the terrifying story of the year she spent captive in a remote cabin. Interwoven is a narrative recounting the aftermath of her escape and her struggle to piece her life back together.


The truth doesn't always set you free.

This is a day to celebrate!!! Still Missing is the first book of the year 2010 that goes on my "Best Reads" list. What a fantastic book! HOORAY!

This is Chevy Stevens debut novel and what a doozy it is! The only reason it did not receive a 5/5 from me was due to one scene. The scene was an important one, and I thought it came just too easily. Other than that - it was authentic, compelling and visceral to only name a few adjectives.

Still Missing included many characters that had their specific roles, and I loved (or hated) every one of them. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the way in which Annie talked to her "Doc" during her sessions. This was the method in which we hear about Annie's year of captivity. She completely captivated me - I felt it all. And, I loved it all!

I'm delighted to have discovered that Chevy Stevens has a new book coming out in July, 2011 titled Never Knowing. Can. Not. Wait.

Many, many heartfelt thanks go to St. Martin's Press and Shelf Awareness for sending me this ARC. Still Missing is scheduled to be released on July 6, 2010.

IN THE COMPANY OF CHEERFUL LADIES

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Series #6

Published: 2005

Personal Rating: 2.75/5 (better than eh)

Yearly Count: 32

Mma Ramotswe discovers an intruder in her home, Mma Makutsi is in search of a husband, and an apprentice of Speedy Motors makes an interesting choice. There are a few other characters that appear while life meanders along in Botswana.

I have found most of this series to be very bland, but still like to listen to one on occasion. They make good break-books. Unfortunately, this one was a bit slower and a tad bit more boring in comparison to the rest. I did enjoy a few scenes and am still glad I heard it, but it was nothing special. I'll still continue with the audiobooks when my listening ear needs some calm. However, I hope there is a little more depth in the next one.

ALONE

Author: Lisa Gardner

Genre: Thriller, Series #1

Published: 2005

Personal Rating: 3.75/5 (better than good)

Yearly Count: 31

Bobby Dodge, a Massachusetts police sniper, is called to a domestic hostage scene and fulfills his duty. The outcome launches an on-slot of questions and concerns relating to Bobby's involvement and who was truly at fault. The family involved have differing views of the event, and Bobby makes every attempt to sort it and himself out.

I enjoyed sifting through the pieces of the puzzle and finding the small clues to put together in order to answer the questions. There were some good scenes, and I liked Bobby. I'll definitely be moving on to #2 in the series.

THE WALK

Author: Richard Paul Evans

Genre: Fiction, Series #1

Published: 2010

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 30

Alan Christoffersen is a happily married, successful entrepreneur, until one day . . . it all falls apart. Unsure of what life is to bring, Alan gathers his camping gear and heads out the door for a walk.

I glanced at this book during lunch, that turned into reading a few pages, and that lead to not wanting to put it down - now that's a sign of a good book. So, in other words, it grabbed me from the start. There is a bit of schmaltz and a smidgeon of unbelievability, but overall I really enjoyed this fast read.

The best part? I really, really liked Alan. And, I love how Richard Paul Evans told the story. This is the first of five in the series. I'll definitely be watching for the second.

*Recommended By: April from Cafe of Dreams

WHO BY FIRE

Author: Diana Spechler

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2008

Personal Rating: 2/5 (not enjoyable)

Yearly Count: 29

Ellie - the mother, Bits - the daughter and Ash - the son narrate their lives chapter by chapter for the duration of almost a year and a half. Could their lives be reflecting the anguish and blame they feel about the kidnapping of their daughter/younger sister thirteen years ago?

I just don't get it. This book is rated a 5/5 with 40 reviews on Amazon. There are only 4 that rated it something other than a 5. Well . . . I'm standing with the lonely 4. I actually struggled reading approximately 75% of the book! It seemed like everything that happened was to the extreme, and I didn't like any of the characters. Then when I thought something good happened - I was way off base. ??? Grrr - another book bites the dust.

GIRL IN TRANSLATION

Author: Jean Kwok

Genre: Fiction, Standalone

Published: 2010

Personal Rating: 4/5 (very good)

Yearly Count: 28

From Jean Kwok's Website:

Introducing a fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice, Girl in Translation is an inspiring debut about a young immigrant in America, a smart girl who, living a double life between school and sweatshop, understands that her family’s future is in her hands.


When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life—the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family’s future resting on her shoulders, her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition—Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself, back and forth, between the worlds she straddles.

Jean Kwok states on her website, "Although Girl in Translation is a work of fiction and not a memoir, the world in which it takes place is real." Despite those words, the book reads like a memoir - it truly does. Kimberly's coming-of-age story mainly focuses between the ages of 12 and 18, and Kwok's writing style transported me into Kimberly's world with ease. It was very engaging. I would have never have guessed that it was a debut novel.

I saw glimmers of Betty Smith's, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Lisa See's books - both authors' work in which I have enjoyed. I'm definitely adding Jean Kwok to my "Waiting for More" list of authors.

My thanks go to Shelf Awareness and Riverhead Books for sending me this ARC. Girl in Translation is scheduled to be released on April 29, 2010.

THE PARDON

Author: James Grippando

Genre: Legal Mystery, Series #1

Published: 1994

Personal Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Yearly Count: 27

The Florida Governor, Harry Swyteck, does not grant his son's (Jack Swyteck, attorney) request for a stay of execution for his client. That response begins an avalanche of psychopathic reactions from someone who knew the client.

This is the first in the Jack Swyteck series, and I liked it. I wasn't necessarily taken with the plot or Jack - himself, but I liked the solid writing. This book was Grippando's debut, and then he spent 8 years writing standalones before writing the second in this series (Beyond Suspicion). I'm hoping that all of that practice assisted in fine-tuning the errors of far-fetched and contrived events. I'm very curious to find out.

Anybody else read this series? Thoughts?