Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

I am an avid Roarke fan, and I've even made Eve's mantra of "Bite me" my own... However, this novel felt like a mixture of all of the others in the series. Here are my big questions:
1. Does every murderer need to be from a serial killer? Don't murderers only ever commit one murder?
2. Why would murderers always feel driven to have the same initials? (She has used this over and over and over again.)
3. Why are pocket PC's completely untraceable?
4. Do we need another mystery where a parent is urging a child to commit a massive murder? (She's done several already!)
5. Does every crime have to relate to Eve's past, Eve's dad, and Marlena? Will something new ever happen to Eve and Roarke?

Now, the good parts of this novel?
1. Eve actually invited Louise over and played the matron of honor OK. She even dropped by Louise's for more than a medical consult.
2. We see Jaime in college, so he's still around and getting ready to join the police force.
3. We don't have any arguments about Roarke working on the case--as he's practically an adjunct member of the e-squad.

The language (and use of the F word) was everywhere in this book. Even the 90 year old grandma was dropping the F-bomb. It's a bit over-the-top for me at this point. It's just too much language. The crimes are also much more savage, and the motive this time was really weak. The only way I'd have bought the murderer's motive is if the child had been dropped on his head as a small child.

The theme is also repetitive: We are more than a product of what are parents tried to make us... But the murderer in this book isn't! Like Steve Audrey in Sommerset's mystery, the murderer has been groomed and persuaded to murder because a parent encourages the retribution. This isn't "normal" for murderers in "real-life." BTK and Unibomber each had normal families, normal siblings, and weren't groomed to become serial killers by their mother or their father!

I guess I'm ready for Eve to move past the father/mother/mold/made conflict and ready to embrace something less repetitive. I'll buy the next book---as I'm madly in love with Roarke and Eve---but I'm ready for something new. The old is just old for me. If CSI can find two new crimes each week (and in Las Vegas, New York, and Miami!) I'm pretty sure Eve can find another kind of murder to investigate!

Alyson Noel's The Immortals Series

Once again, girl meets boy, boy turns out to be immortal, girl falls in love with boy, something more-than-mortal keeps them apart...

Alyson Noel's series starts with Evermore: The Immortals which I picked up with its sequel Blue Moon at Costco. The release in paperback at the same time for a reduced price was in anticipation of book 3, Shadowland coming in hardback on November 17, 2009.

The good? It's only a bit unique. It has elements of Moonlight (the vampire show from 2007) with the ex-wife being very Corraline in flavor; it has elements of Tempted by P.C. Cast. Evermore follows the Stephenie Meyer plot feature of being saved by someone who's not mortal, and the immortal is not all good, either. (Edward the perfect = Damen the Immortal... Damen's name harkens to demon...) The immortal theme was in the Cassandra Clare books (City of Glass). I enjoyed Evermore much more than Blue Moon. Evermore had a good start; I liked Ever's name; I wanted to know about the characters and what was unusual... But it definitely wasn't as clever as Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series or the promise of P.C. Cast's early House of Night novels.

The bad? See above. I felt like I could hum all the character's lines, and that I knew based on The City of Glass, bones, etc. where this was heading. It even had Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty in the idea of Summerland. The books also felt very short to me. I finished Blue Moon in under an hour. That's a lot to pay for only an hour! I know I read quickly, but 304 pages should be more than an hour's read! Also, there were scenes from Evermore that seemed to be lifted from other novels entirely. There was the beach showdown scene... and that felt very Twilight bonfire Jacob-vampire-werewolf to me. It reminded me of when Bella jumped off the cliff, too.

For me these books were "meh." I disliked how simplistic Ever was. She was very self-serving and often oddly stupid. I mean, in the end of Blue Moon, she makes a series of incredibly bad decisions. As I was reading it, I wondered, "Really? Who would make these decisions like this? Not anyone *I* know, and I know a lot of teenage girls."

I didn't sign up to have the next in the series rushed to me... so marketing failed in this respect. If I can pick the paperback up at Costco for another song... I might. They were an OK read for Halloween... but nothing to have rush-shipped to me. I'm still on the border for Tempted the new House of Night book in the P.C. Cast world. It has terrible reviews... mine to follow, if it falls into my lap!

Blue Bloods Book 4: The Van Alen Legacy

This book is a close follow-up to Revelations, so a re-read is in order. Despite the book's setting of 1 year post-Cordova, the book feels like it takes place the next day. The characters haven't changed since the last page of Revelations, even though a year has gone by. The relationships quickly change in book 4, and I have a fear this series is going the length of the magic number 7. There are 7 houses, 7 gates, etc. I think we're in the middle of this series. This book isn't long, but major plot developments and character details come forth. The themes explored in the book: Is anyone ever really dead? Is history fated to repeat itself? Are we bound by destiny or by our own choices? Is there ever a point where we are unable to forgive the past and pay the piper for our misdeeds? Does love last forever?  
I recommend this book as the best of the Blue Bloods books. It's too short... and the next one is hard to wait for. Fast plot, good developments, good romantic evolution, and good future set-up. We even got somewhere with Charles and Allegra, Schyler & Allegra, and Bliss & Allegra! Finally!!

The Hunger Games--It's SOOO Popular (with good reason!)

Sweeping the nation, on the NY Times Bestselling List (Children's books) The Hunger Games has spent 54 weeks topping the charts, eclipsed only by Catching Fire, it's sequel. 

Any review at this point is virtually superfluous. The books really are good reading; the violence, concept, and other science fiction are very current. There's a focus that feels very real-world oriented (global warming replaced by hunger, famine, and then localized gluttony. Much like obesity in America today.)

The novel is dystopian, so there's a futuristic slant, but like good science fiction, the idea of the "Hunger Games" is a combination of Survior meets The Olympic Games meets Big Brother. It feels entirely current though the plot is as old as the Roman Colosseum. 

I recommend The Hunger Games. I was compelled to read both books back-to-back far into the night. I'll be one of the first readers when book 3 comes out. I'm on Team Peeta...

Parents should be warned, all of the hallmarks of war are in this book: death, dying, and kill or be killed, and the stakes are incredibly high, and the government conspiracy and collusion will hit its zenith in the last book in the trilogy... coming to a book store near you next fall.


From the New York Times Bestselling List this week:

This  Week		Weeks on List
1	CATCHING FIRE, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) The protagonist of "The Hunger Games" returns. (Ages 12 and up)	3
2	THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic, $17.99.) In a dystopian future, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)	54

Ranger's Apprentice, Book 6

We have enjoyed these books by Jonn Flanagan. Book six starts where book 5 left off. We have a more-adult Will Treaty, Alyss and Horace besieging the castle at Mackindaw where Alyss is held captive.

The plot moves along well, and the characters are likeable. It took me 2 chapters to remember all that had happened before in book 5, so I suggest a quick review of that book before reading this one.

Will and Horace do quite a bit of needling each other and they have brief arguments, very indicative of a long-term best-friendship, especially one under pressure. I enjoyed Will and Alyss as they were apart the entire book, but their relationship still moved forward. This book is on a grades 4-8 level, and the book is not "mushy-mushy" at all. It does deal with saying "I love you"--and how that might complicate things between friends (especially Will/Horace/Evanlyn). The book has a great resolution, and does not set-up events in Book 7. Book 7, Erak's Ransom, is going to take place in the years before books 5 & 6.

Ranger's Apprentice has already been released in Australia, and books 7-10 will come out in the United States within the next year. They are being released at a pace of about 4 months apart. They are in hardback in the US, where in Australia, their original print was in paperback. Happy reading!

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles

This weekend, I read Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles an interesting follow-up to the original Spiderwick Chronicles.

The books were fast paced, dealt with giants, hydras, and combined families, and they were a very quick read. The characters were all likeable--no villans in the bunch--and all were important. There weren't any extraneous characters, and the plot kept moving along in creative paths.

The Grace kids make their appearance, and the previous Spiderwick books and plot are part of this book. It's assumed by the writers that you've read the other series.

I finished these 3 in about an hour and 15 minutes. They were a light snack on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

A Run of Bad Fiction?

The good news is that this book isn't in stores near you, right now. However, because it's James Patterson, and his Maximum Ride series is now at book 5, this series will also sell.

I disliked this book to an enormous degree, probably out of perspective for the sheer pique I felt having wasted my time reading this book. Following on the heels of Anthony Horowitz and the Alex Rider books, Daniel X is not a spy; he's an alien hunter. In a story equal parts Men in Black meets James Bond meets Spiderman, Daniel X is just too much of everything and not enough believability.

James Patterson and partner stretch the "willing suspension of disbelief" in so many ways, with so many short, choppy chapters and numerous cliches, easy to guess plot twists, and enough puking and bodily fluid references to truly emphasize that this is a book written for late elementary school boys, that the book is virtually unenjoyable for a normal read. The last 3 of Patterson's books for 'tweens have been so "global warming"-"Earth's in Peril"-mongering that there's little plot and a whole lot of scare tactic. Even in this book, about aliens, a world JUST like Earth has been destroyed and left behind as metal, all life gone. It's just too much.

I won't be reading about Daniel X again. If you want a GOOD book, with a similarly special 'tween who's out to save the world, read Brandon Sanderson's Alcatraz series. That's a world worth saving, a hero worth knowing, and a plot worth laughing about. Definitely skip Daniel X, unless you need a guilt trip and time spent with Al Gore. In fact, skip Daniel X, and just go looking for Gore on DVD. You'll have saved time and effort.

Catherine Coulter, Knockout

This is the 13th book in this series with Dillon Savich and Lacy Sherlock, and Amazon.com readers give it a measley 3 stars. If I hadn't been loaned this book, I definitely wouldn't have picked it up. I remember the last time I read this series (TailSpin) that I had been disappointed with the cookie-cutter characters and numerous repetitive cliches. I also tire of the same-old references to MAX, Sean, and their dog. What once was amusing, has stopped amusing me after 13 times.

I really enjoyed The Maze and I thought that several others in this series had good plot, romance, and action. This book fell ridiculously flat, and the characters were static. Even the "romance" between the sheriff and mother of the adorable Autumn (who was the only round character in the book), wasn't a romance. It was an emotional attachment that was hardly romance. Absolutely no sparks or chemistry. Even Savich and Sherlock were simply partners.

What was truly bad about this story is that we were back to woo-woo-voo-doo and mind-games. It felt more X-Files than FBI. At book 13, I've also stopped feeling the FBI focus now that the stories are taking place in small towns. I often question, "Why is the FBI involved here?"

This was not Catherine Coulter at her finest. Her funniest, most romantic book was definitely The Sherbrooke Bride. It also had a bit of fantasy/ghosts, but The Bride series had true laugh-out-loud characters. However: stretching that series to 13 would also have made the characters cliche and campy.

This is a "meh" for me. It's light, adult level reading, and the characters are flat. There's a lot of action, adventure, and movement in the plot, and it does feel a bit like Numb3rs in the rotation of the story. If you choose to read, do so from the library. Don't waste your funds on the $20 hardback.

The Warrior/Wizard Heir

Yesterday, I read The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I had previously read The Wizard Heir before I realized it was book 2 in the series.

The Warrior Heir is young adult reading, in the middle school grades, and is interesting and creative fantasy. While the plot is not terribly original, the characters and plot unfold in a readable, accessible way.

I enjoyed The Warrior Heir more than The Wizard Heir, but both books combined make me want to read The Dragon Heir, the last book in the series.

These books are highly rated on Amazon.com and I recommend them for light, enjoyable reading. You can buy a boxed set at Amazon, and that's what I'll be getting my nephew for his birthday.

Since School Started...

I haven't had much time to read since school started, and the two books I have read were history books (not much in the way of average, casual reading).

The first was called The Freemasons. I enjoyed the book, and it did give me more insight into people who became masons, why, and when, but it was often more a book of lists and political machinations verses a good, solid history. It was an OK book for me... not a "pick this book up immediately."

It was not what I expected. No big insights or references to what happens, even when they "detailed" the Scottish Rite, it was who invented it, n

ot what it means.

The second book I read was hugely interesting. It was Lost Christianities. Ehrman took a look at many, many different things, and he made all of it interesting. There were quotes, and there were really good notes (and they made for excellent reading).

Ehrman also looked at motivation and orthodoxy vs. heretics. I felt like I had made the 400 year journey of Christianity, texts, and modern discovery. I really enjoyed hearing about how the Biblical canon came to be, and what drove it. Definitely recommend for those who like the idea of multiple texts creating multiple meanings on the same topic.

Wicked... Not Recommending!

Not to be confused with Wicked, now a popular Broadway musical, this series is a collection of dark magic, sacrifice, goddess, and Wicca worship. I found parts of these books to be disturbing and gruesome.

Not even the love story of tormented lovers separated by hundreds of years redeemed these books for me. I found the characters exceptionally hard to like, the plot blundered on, and it wallowed in witches, warlocks, and a mish-mash of voudon, Native American Shamanism, and any conceivable type of magic.

There seemed to be no redeeming characters, and the books always ended unresolved.

I definitely do NOT recommend these books. Read them at your waste of time...

Summer Reading

This summer I read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, picking them up at Costco. The recommendation on the front was from Stephenie Meyers, and with the run-away success of Twilight at both the Teen Choice and MTV awards, I knew her endorsement would be key.

This series is very much a hero journey. We have Jace and Clary, who are divided by circumstance despite their love for one another. The book brings forth all sorts of characters, settings, and situations, including war and some violence.

In typical fashion, there are twists and turns along the way, but the world is saved, and through a delightful plot twist, it ends happily ever after. I definitely recommend these books to those who read and enjoyed The Twilight Saga. These books are very much in the same vein, and are better written.

Happy reading!

I haven't QUIT reading...

I haven't stopped reading entirely. I did read Ranger's Apprentice, Book 5, that my 9 year old son, Jack, got for his birthday. Unlike the Harry Potter books, Ranger's Apprentice reading level doesn't grow with the age of the main character. It's perfectly suited to a 9 year old, the entire series.

This book is set the year after Will becomes a "real" Ranger (not an apprentice). There are two drawbacks with this book:

first, it is not a complete story. It concludes in book 6 (to be released in August 2009, although it has been previously released in paperback in Australia). The second drawback is that book 7 actually occurs before books 5 and 6. It is out of chronological order. 

Here's the description on the Ranger's Apprentice site http://www.rangersapprentice.com/the-series.htm

I recommend the entire series, and I've even considered spending the $80 to import the next 3 from Australia. I think I can wait... for $80.

The Graveyard Book

I borrowed this book from our school library, as I was intrigued by the premise of "it takes a graveyard to raise a child." Loosely based on the concepts of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (not Disney's version), "Bod" Owens escapes death at only 18 months old, the same age as my own Max. I have a very, very hard time with this believability, but reading requires a strong suspension of disbelief.

Bod Owens' life is detailed in the book, and it is often lonely and macabre. Neil Gaiman is the author of Coraline, and like Coraline, The Graveyard Book is dark, even in it's child-like story. Bod is no older than 15 when he leaves the safety of the graveyard, and he leaves a hero. However, he's still an orphan, he still has no name, and he loses the only family he's ever known the second he leaves the graveyard for the last time.

What I was left with was a sadness. There was no triumph. There was no heroic victory. There was simply life: and life was the end of the beginning, but the point of the entire book. All in all, I recommend it. It's a nice, quick read, but it's thoughtful, and it's not a warm-fuzzy book. Emotionally, it's quite detatched, and perhaps it's better that way. After all, life doesn't begin in a graveyard.

I'd recommend this book for students in middle school. It's not hard reading, but it's not a comfortable subject.

Nefertiti

In preparation for my unit on historical fiction and researching history, I bought 4 novels at Barnes & Noble. Actually, I was at Barnes & Nobel as a Den Mother for my new 8 year old scout's field trip. While waiting for our tour to begin, the pack stood next to a table with "buy one get one half off" books on it. I saw 4 books that were historical fiction, and we'd discussed (the day before) doing and using historical fiction as part of research which is required in the state core.

I bought 4 books that day. The first book I've read of the 4 is called Nefertiti by Nick Drake. Had I bought it from Amazon.com (as I usually do), I would have noticed it only had a 3 star rating. It's a "meh" as far as mysteries go. It's a bit "history light" and I didn't really care much for the narrator, the missing Nefertiti, nor the whole Ra/Rahotep religion issue. I didn't care, one single bit, for the way the mystery played out, and although I'll use the book again as an example next year, it will be my "don't choose this book because of the cover" book.