Read Your Way Homewood

Nicely written.  The mystery unraveled quite well. by Amy

Loved, loved, loved this book!  by Amy

I didn't feel a connection with the main character.  Seemed like this graphic novel was trying to cover too much -- junior high and high school and gave it a gloss rather than an in-depth treatment. by Amy

First in a series.  Made me want to read the next one. by Amy

Big twist that makes it interesting. by Amy

I read Black Chalk because I like psychological thrillers.  Give me a psychological thriller over horror any day of the week.  I was disappointed. I’ll start by saying that it did keep me reading, but only because I thought there would be some big payoff in the end.  Spoiler alert: there wasn’t.  At least not what I was hoping for. The plot follows a group of six friends during a year at university in England.  The narrative switches between present day and fourteen years ago while the friends were in school.  The friends develop a game (the rules of which are never quite explained) of cards, dice, and consequences.  Depending on how a player finished the game each week, each person would choose from a pot of consequences to be carried out in the coming week.  It was essentially a pot of dares.  If someone did not want to play anymore, they would forfeit their entrance fee and a chance at the pot of money at the end.  T...

Title: Pawn by Aimee Carter Pages: 352 Summary: Kitty is a seventeen year old girl who can't read but needs to score at least IV on her assessment test in order to be able to have a future with her boyfriend Benjy. When she scores a III she feels her whole world collapse in on her and decides to become a prostitute in order to stay close to Benjy until he's tested and they can make a life together. But as we all know the best laid plans and all. Instead Kitty is offered a chance to become a royal in exchange for losing her identity. Just when she thinks that is the worse that can happen she forced to make choices that she never would in order to keep herself, Benjy, and the cause going.

Title: Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper Author: Hilary Liftin                                                       Pages: 352                                                       Summary: Actress Lizzie Pepper was America’s Girl Next Door and her marriage to Hollywood mega-star Rob Mars was tabloid gold—a whirlwind romance and an elaborate celebrity-studded wedding landed them on the cover of every celebrity weekly. But fame, beauty, and wealth weren’t enough to keep their marriage together. Hollywood’s “It” couple are over—and now Lizzie is going to tell her side of the story.   Celebrity ghostwriter Hilary Liftin chronicles the tabloids’ favorite marriage as Lizzie Pepper realizes that, when the curtain fa...

I enjoyed Ratchet's emotional journey.

   I don't agree that the comparisons to Little House on the Prairie.

   I found this a bit predictable.

Title: Ever After (Nantucket Trilogy, Book 3) by Jude Deveraux Pages: Summary: Life is anything but perfect for Hallie Hartley, a young physical therapist who has given up nearly everything—even her love life—for her beautiful blonde stepsister, Shelly. Though Shelly’s acting career has never taken off, she has certainly perfected the crocodile tears to get what she wants—which all too often means Hallie’s boyfriends. When Hallie arrives home early from work one fateful day, she makes two startling discoveries that will turn her life upside down: Not only has a mysterious relative left Hallie a house on Nantucket, but Shelly has been trying to steal it. Desperate to put her troubles behind her, Hallie impulsively flies to Nantucket.   New trouble, however, has already settled into Hallie’s guest room in the form of her newest client. Hallie is told that wealthy, young James Taggert has injured his leg in a skiing accident. Assuming that the devastatin...

Title: The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler Pages: 352 Summary:  Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival. One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned--always on July 24, which is only weeks away. As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could th...

It's odd to think of Batman in his 50's, but here's a comic that depicts just that. We always see a young, agile Batman in his late 20's-early 30's, so this is a new take on the vigilante. The Dark Knight Returns is set in a Gotham that hasn't seen Batman in 10 years. Having lost his arch nemesis, the Joker sits catatonic in Arkham Asylum. When the psychological pull to be Batman overtakes Bruce Wayne, he decides to pick up where he left off. Unfortunately, Wayne's aging body just isn't what it used to be and Gotham's reaction to Batman's return is a negative one. Eventually the fight for justice in Gotham is between Batman and someone unexpected. You can probably guess if you've been paying attention to recent movie trailers. This comic is well written and illustrated. It poses interesting questions about character motivations and whether or not Batman creates his own villains. The Dark Knight Returns a must fo...