Devil In the White City: Erik Larson

This book covered EVERYTHING that seemed to happen during the World's Fair in Chicago. It was interesting to know which things that exist today that were a result of the fair; juicy fruit, cracker jacks, shredded wheat, the Ferris wheel etc. I went back and forth between enjoying the complete history and not. It was interesting, but I felt as though I had to keep changing my mind set with each new chapter. This book covered in detail the architects of the world's fair, the mayor, the killer, and some of his know victims. The story wove back and forth between the characters and happens at the fair and at times I felt everything was included because there wasn't enough information on each to make a book on its own. I also didn't know what the start and end added to the book, it was about one of the architects being on a ship that was supposed to help the Titanic after hitting the iceberg. It was interesting that one person would experience certain events, but by the time I got to the end I had completely forgotten about that story. I was a little surprised there didn't seem to be much of a wrap up on the killer. We will never know how many victims he actually had and what happened to those missing girls.

Basket Case: Carl Hiaasen

The protagonist is a newspaper writer who covers an obituary on an old rock star. As he interviews family members and the spouse he starts to suspect foul play in the singer's "accidental" death. I love how quirky Hiaasen makes his characters. The protagonist knows a famous person that has died at every age and is obsessed with his own demise. Every time he talks to his mother he pressures her to tell him when his father, who is not a part of his life, died. She refuses. The story moves along once he figures out the motive for the deceased's wife to murder him. She had no artistic ability and wanted her husband to give her a catchy song he had written; He was trying to get back in the scene, not having had any hits since the 80's and refuses. The writer comes across the tape and makes a trade to get his kidnapped girlfriend back to the boons. The book ends on his birthday when his mother sends him his father's obituary, His father died at the age he just passed.

Rain of Gold: Victor Villasenor

I can't praise this book enough, wonderfully written. The author tells the story of his parents; how they survived the Mexican revolution, came to America, and the love story of how his parents met. It was told brilliantly and I loved how he took his family stories and put it into a linear order capturing the characters as purely human. Lupe's sister Carlota was the typical jealous sister so it was hard to hate her. The way Juan's friends weren't there for him when he was in need was realistic with how "friends" really behave. It was heart warming to see who was there to really support him. I really enjoyed the love story aspect of his parents and how they kept meeting up. This was a very heartwarming read and has made it to my top ten favorites.