Book 38 of 2011 Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another very good Young Adult book. Set at an Alabama boarding school with a cast of characters filled with outcasts, this is definitely one of my favorite reads this summer. The Alaska that is being looked for is a young lady not the state and her story is a compelling one. Her friends Pudge, The Colonel, Takumi and Lara are perfect. I know nothing about boarding schools, but the author of this book went to one in Alabama so I suppose he knows something about them. My favorite part is glimpsing the humanity of the Eagle.


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Book 37 of 2011 Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

an absolutely wonderful example of Southern fiction.  The characters are amazing and I became invested in them. They each had such personality and likability. The story was amazing. So tragic and yet sweet.  I hated for this book to end and want to know how Larry and Silas finish out their lives. I'm a Southerner and the dialog was spot on. So many times when writers write Southern language they exaggerate it. Tom Franklin got it just right. I'll definitely be looking for other books by this author.


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Book 36 Fallen by Karin Slaughter

Fallen by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always love Karin Slaughter's books. The Grant County series is one of my favorites of all time. She's also a Georgia author and the books take place in Georgia. Don't you just love reading a book and recognizing places and things? I do.


This book is the GBI series and focuses around agent Faith Mitchell's family. Her mom Evelyn, a former APD narcotics investigator is kidnapped. Faith arrives at her mother's home to find her infant daughter in a shed, a bloody kitchen, a dead body in the laundry room and a hostage situation in the back bedroom. Her mother is nowhere to be found. Two of the men are shot by Faith and another gets away wounded. Was Faith's mother dirty when she ran the narcotics squad at the APD? Who has kidnapped her and why haven't they contacted anyone with a ransom demand? The twists and turns in this mystery are numerous and leave you guessing until the very end. I didn't figure this one out. Was this a high brow, important read? Nope, but it was a damn good mystery with a little side of romance and I enjoyed every minute of it.


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Book 35 Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm really enjoying this series. The final battles are so over the top. It's unbelievable that Dresden can ever get through another one, but he always does (with a little help from some friends). I love the different characters and hope to see Susan and Elaine in future books. This was #4, I know I'm late to this series, but that means there are lots for me to read and no waiting!


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Book 34 of 2011 Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun, fun, fun. I love Stephanie Plum. In this installment, Vinnie has been kidnapped by some pretty crazy characters. He owes some mob types lots of money and he's been cooking the books at the bail bonding agency. What's a girl to do? Why Stephanie must go rescue him. Stink bombs, breaking and entering, and hobbits are all involved. Morelli or Ranger? I'm still pulling for Ranger. The next book should be interesting.


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Update...A to Z Reading Challenge

Read a book for each letter of the alphabet. Should be pretty easy. Titles that begin with articles (A, an, the) won't count, I'll skip to the next word in the title. It should be interesting and fun.

A        The Art of Keeping Secrets  by  Patti Callahan Henry
B        Beastly  by Alex Flinn
C        The Cracker Queen  by Lauretta Hannon

D        Devil Bones  by Kathy Reichs

E         The Edge of Sleep  by David Wiltse

F         Flesh and Bone  by Jefferson Bass

G        The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  by Steig Larsson

H        The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins

I          I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman

J

K

L        Lucia, Lucia  by Adrianna Trigiana

M      Murder List  by Julie Garwood

N       The Ninth Judgement  by James Patterson (Maxine Pareto)

O

P        Pretties  by Scott Westerfeld

Q

R         Room  by Emma Donoghue

S         The Straw Men  by Michael Marshall 

T         Total Recall   by Sara Paretsky

U         Uglies  by Scott Westerfeld

V

W        Wild Fire  by Nelson DeMille

X

Y

Z

Book 33 of 2011 The Edge of Sleep by David Wiltse

Edge of Sleep by David Wiltse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think this book is in the middle of a series featuring John Becker. In this one Becker is on an extended medical leave from the FBI but is pulled into a serial kidnapper/killer case by his former protege Karen Crist. Becker does a profile, but gets it all wrong. I would like more background on the kidnappers/killers. And having Crist's child become a victim was just a little too much. Other than those two things it was altogether a good example of one of my favorite genres...sick shit.  I'll probably read more of this series if the library has copies.


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