W is for Wasted: Susan Grafton

Kinsey is asked to investigate the death of a homeless man. His friends didn't seem to know much about his past. I found it odd how much detective work Henry did while Kinsey was away when he didn't even know the people involved. Kinsey ends up being related to the bum who left his fortune to her instead of his children. She then uncovers he was involved in a medical experiment that had gone wrong, which left another detective dead. It was an interesting book where you didn't know how things were going to come together until the end.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: Kate Dicamillo

This was a cute children's book teaching resilience and humbleness. A china rabbit doll belonged to a wealthy little girl. He gets accidentally gets tossed into the ocean during one of their journeys. He spends time with a fisherman's family, in the dump, with a homeless man and then with a little girl who eventually dies from tuberculosis? He ends up learning that love is more important than wealth. After he sits in a shop for a long time, a little girl picks him out; she ends up being the daughter of his first little girl.

The Last Days of the Incas: Kim MacQuarrie

This was a devastating historical book pieced together by both the Spaniard's and the Inca's account of what happened when the Spanish conquered Peru. The story goes from the Spaniards on their horses and disease wiping out thousands of natives to the Incas having victories. Their downfall seemed to be the divided nation, if factions of the natives didn't help the conquistadors most of them would have perished. The Spaniards also had a seemingly endless supply of men that kept getting shipped there from Spain. I was surprised to learn of how many Incan Kings were deceived and murdered by the conquistadors. I hadn’t realized how many family lines were wiped out. It was also interesting to learn the differences in the way the different tribal nations fought and dressed, and that the Amazonians were never “conquered”. The Incan victories were also impressive with how they used their landscape to their advantage, using the hills and causing flooding. I liked that the book didn't end with the last Incan stand, but with Brigham Young's rediscovery of Machu Picchu. This sent the message that the Incas are still alive today and in their native valleys and living alongside the Spanish descendants in the big cities.

Inca and Spaniard Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru: Albert Marrin

This book was very depressing, I am not one for violence, but I kept rooting for the Inca to destroy the Spaniards. This book gives a brief history of how the Incas came to power. It then describes Pizarro's upbringing and his journey in finding "the city of gold" It is mind boggling how many times Pizarro could have been killed before even reaching the Incas. It makes you wonder what history could have been. I hadn't realized the Civil war between the Incan brothers was due to the death of their father, who was killed by the Eurpoean diseases Pizarro brought to their land. Pizarro's conquering destroyed all of South America. They killled most of the llamas in the country off, just to eat their brain, throwing the meat away. If they wanted the wool, instead of shearing the llama, they would just kill it. The violence and mind set of the Spaniards made me sick.

Genghis Khan: Enid Goldberg

I am really liking this series (Wicked History) for teens, though each author writes their book in a slightly different voice. This book covered the life of Genghis Khan; though little is known about his life since there was only one book found that mentioned his early life. He didn't allow any pictures of himself so there are also different interpretations on his appearance. This was very interesting. It seems like a lot of famous brutes came from humble beginnings.