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Showing posts from 2011

The Night Circus

No words I write are going to do this book justice. It’s a tale about a competition between two young magicians. They have been trained since childhood solely for this competition. Only one will be left standing. But when they meet, they fall in love. It’s amazing. The way the author writes is beautiful and magical. She has such talent. I felt like I was sitting on cotton candy clouds reading this.

Before I Go To Sleep

This book had me guessing until the end. I was in disbelief. I loved it! Chrissy wakes up each morning not knowing who she is, where she is, who the man is beside her in bed. Each day she goes through the process of learning about who she is and what her life is like. She secretly begins meeting with a doctor who encourages her to keep a journal of what happens throughout the day in hopes that it will eventually help her discover the truth. My review does not give the book justice; you'll just have to read it for yourself!

Never Let Me Go

Follow Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy as they attend Hailsham – a pleasant English boarding school where the students are well supported although they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed very little contact with it. When they are allowed to leave Hailsham, they finally realize what it is and who they truly are. I can’t put this book into words. It was so good. 

A Child Called It

T his memoir describes one of the worst documented cases of child abuse in California history. Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother. She would play tortuous games with him that left him almost dead, games that he would learn to play in order to survive. It's disgusting how someone can treat another human being like this, especially their own child.

Before I Wake

A three year old girl is the victim of a hit and run. Left in a coma, she has the ability to heal the sick. Each chapter has sections told through the different points of view of the characters. The ending was disappointing (too rushed), but overall this book was really good.

The Pilot's Wife

Jack, a pilot, is flying a plane when it explodes. His widow tries to figure out what happened on the plane and uncovers something about her husband of sixteen years she did not know about.

The Pact

I couldn't put it down. I wanted more, more, more! "The Pact" has something to do between seventeen-year-old Emily Gold and seventeen-year-old Chris Harte. The pair had been best friends their entire lives and later end up as lovers. Picoult takes us through the “now” and “then” to help us understand the story and the characters. 

A Million Little Pieces

Made up or not, I don't care; I love this book. Written in a unique style, this page turner tells the story of a drug addict and his journey to get clean. I was addicted.

Sarah's Key

In this book there are two stories – one story is about a Jewish girl named Sarah during the Vel d’Hiv Roundup in France, and the other story is about an American journalist named Julia who finds out about a lot of terrible things that went on during this time while writing an article about the Vel d’Hiv sixty years later. This book was a page-turner. I really enjoyed the author's writing.

Still Alice

I couldn’t put this book down! My heart broke for Alice, an intelligent fifty year old woman with a successful career as a Harvard professor, who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The author really made me feel like I knew Alice personally and that I was helplessly going through her decline with her. Beautifully written.

The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls grew up with her alcoholic father who believes everything is a conspiracy and her artist mother, who has a teaching degree. They put themselves first before their kids. The parents make me angry, so I’ll leave it at that. It is a great book, though. I’m glad she never gave up because she has talent as a writer and we never would have had the pleasure of reading her work.

When God Was A Rabbit

Although this book jumps around a bit, it's still very enjoyable.  It tells the story of Elly - her innocence as a child, her friend Jenny Penny, the bond she has with her brother, her life as an adult. It tells the story of love

The Secret

A family member lent this book to me when I was going through a rough time. It actually helped me. It is common sense, but seeing the words in writing made things clearer. You have the power to turn your life into what you want it to be as long as you believe you can do it. If you feel down definitely read this book.

Half Broke Horses

Jeannette Walls tells the story of her grandmother, Lily, in this book. Lily helped her father break horses, she rode five hundred miles on her pony at age fifteen to get to her teaching job, and she learned how to drive a car as well as fly a plane. She raised two children on a ranch she ran with her husband, and she survived many things - tornadoes, floods, droughts, the Great Depression, prejudice and personal tragedy.  It’s such a good read.

False Memory

I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! This book is a suspenseful thriller in which the characters start to notice lapses in their memory. I’m glad it's fiction because it’s kind of freaky.