Girl in Translation: Jean Kwok

The best book I have read in a while, I finished it in a couple hours. She has an amazing, vibrant voice. You are proud of the protagonist and the choices she makes. A very good read. I eagerly await her next book.

Hannah's List: Debbie Macomber

A very lighthearted simple book, a little too scripted to be believable, but a quick, easy, predictable read.

Anna Karenina: Leo Tolstoy

I hadn't known this quote was from Anna Karenina, but I love it " All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I enjoyed how the story started right away and there is little in the way of extra unimportant information. The story starts with a woman hurt by a man, switches to a man hurt by a woman, both couples are reconciled, but ends with another woman hurt by a man. Parts of the book reminded me of Vanity Fair and it felt like three books ( each about a different couple) combined into one story about the family as a whole. The Middle got sort of dry, but the ending was unpredictable. Tolstoy combined everything; one love story ends happily, another mediocre, and the last dramatically. It was a very good book though and was insightful on human nature and human relations reacting with life.

Father of the Rain: Lily King

Very raw and emotional book, you can actually feel the hurt Daley experiences and the feeling of not being wanted by anyone. This book has to be written by someone with these experiences, it's just too acurate to be envisioned. The ties she has to her father who is such a selfish individual are completely believable too, how she has to hold on to good memories of him from her childhood in order to last her for her entire life.

Mockingjay: Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the third and possibly final story in the Hunger Games series. It had been a while since I had read the previous book and it took me a few chapters to remember what had happened. Collins recapped what happened previously in such a way that it wasn't a bunch of extra garble for the reader. The plot is Hard to predict and the storyline keeps the fast pace as in the other books. It was impossible to determine what Peeta's role in this book was to be. I did have a hard time believing all the plots and plans were devoted to keeping Katniss content, come on who is that important lol! The book did seem to finish the series and was just as good as the other two, with more action and death. It seemed like Katniss did a lot of sleeping through this story.

Widow of the South: Robert Hicks

The story moves forward as different characters take up the narrative. Expertly written about not only the pointlessness of war, but the way everyone is affected. Interesting and informative, makes you wonder how many heroes are forgotten. This novel was based on a true story and very heartfelt as well as wonderfully crafted.

The Passage: Justin Cronin

Interesting book about the battle between good and evil. I enjoyed the different means of delivering the Story. The beginning of is oddly distant and impersonal, followed by a section of letters describing bizarre events. The next section is more personable and the characters are developed followed by a journal entry, laws and a watch log. The story was formated really believably, as if the world were starting over. This would be a great movie since there are a lot of characters and the "glowing people" and "vampires" would be more effective if seen. Towards page 200 it gets sort of Stephan King-like and seems like the ending, but only about a quarter of the way. The book is divided up into sections and each is very different from the next, It reminded me of growth, where the characters all die out and new ones emerge. It was a very entertaining read and reminded me of several other things I have read.