Tag: Review

The Confession by John Grisham

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)9 Comments

In 1998 a young cheerleader is presumably murdered after she disappears one night never to be seen again.  Donte’ Drumm, a college football star is jailed and then after much prodding by the police, confesses that he indeed killed the pretty cheerleader, Nicole.

Flash forward to 2007, mere days before Donte’ Drumm’s execution.  Kansas Minister Keith Schroeder is working in his office when a man by the name of Travis Bronte enters with a story that is shocking and frightening.  Bovette, is a multi sex offender who has been in and out of jail his entire life.  Now dieing from a brain tumor, he shares that he is Nicole’s true killer and can prove it as he knows exactly where her body is.  Boyette wants to end his life by doing something right for a chance.

Keith suddenly finds himself on a mission he never intended to be on.  With his wife telling him he was crazy to get involved, Keith drives Boyette to the scene of the crime, far away from where they are now.  With the clock ticking on Drumm’s execution, and Boyette refusing to confess tot he public until he sees Nicole’s remains one more time so he can say he is sorry… it really is a race against time and the truth.

Long before his name became synonymous with the modern legal thriller, he was working 60-70 hours a week at a small Southaven, Mississippi, law practice, squeezing in time before going to the office and during courtroom recesses to work on his hobby—writing his first novel.
Born on February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to a construction worker and a homemaker, John Grisham as a child dreamed of being a professional baseball player. Realizing he didn’t have the right stuff for a pro career, he shifted gears and majored in accounting at Mississippi State University. After graduating from law school at Ole Miss in 1981, he went on to practice law for nearly a decade in Southaven, specializing in criminal defense and personal injury litigation. In 1983, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1990.
One day at the DeSoto County courthouse, Grisham overheard the harrowing testimony of a twelve-year-old rape victim and was inspired to start a novel exploring what would have happened if the girl’s father had murdered her assailants. Getting up at 5 a.m. every day to get in several hours of writing time before heading off to work, Grisham spent three years on A Time to Kill and finished it in 1987. Initially rejected by many publishers, it was eventually bought by Wynwood Press, who gave it a modest 5,000 copy printing and published it in June 1988. ~ from the official John Grisham site – click the picture to read more.

Why did I want to listen to this book?  I have enjoyed Grisham for many years.  He was probably one of my very first go to authors (along with Dean Koontz, and Harlan Coben).  Going into this one, for some reason I was thinking this was more of a YA read… yeah, that is not true….

The Confession is a book that surprised me time and again.  This fictional book reads like non-fiction.  Several times throughout listening to this book I went on-line to check to make sure I was not reading a true story.  As far as I am aware, John Grisham’s only non fiction book is Innocent Man which was pretty amazing.  The details of police action (or lack there of) in this one felt so real, the layout of the crime, and the trek cross-country to find the body and see if Boyette was telling the truth or just messing with people’s lives felt genuine. After checking and rechecking, The Confession is just a very well written fiction read.

The book had just the right level of creep factor for me.  Never gory, but as I mentioned above, shockingly real.  All throughout this read I was wondering if they really would find Nicole’s body.  Boyette’s back and forth wanting to confess and then backtracking and wondering why should he after all this time was mind boggling.  I wanted to read through the speakers and choke him.  Meanwhile, Donte Drumm sits in jail as the clock ticks down, wondering if a miracle will come in time….  it has been 9 years of jail for Drumm…. what do you think 9 years of jail can do to a person’s state of mind?

In the end, I enjoyed The Confession much like I would if I had read a true crime book. I wanted to know the truth, I wanted justice to be served…  I questioned who was telling the truth… and when all was done… while it was not everything I had hoped for, it was most likely the way it should have been

Fans of true crime and Grisham’s knack for detail when it comes to crimes and the law will enjoy this one.  This would make a fantastic movie.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (listen in to a sample here)

Paper Towns by John Green

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

Quentin, “Q”, has quite literally spent his life coveting the girls next door.  Literally, because Margo Roth Spiegelman is his next door neighbor and has been since they were both in grade school.  Once close, Q and Margo now in their senior year of High School have been separated by social status, Margo having taken on the role of popular girl and living life on the edge, and Q is a brainiac, playing by the rules and spending most of his evenings studying.

Imagine Q’s surprise when Margo climbs into his bedroom window one evening dressed as a ninja and asking Q to join her on an all night revenge adventure that comes complete with a list of where they are going, and what they need to shop for to prepare for their night.  At first Q balks at the idea but spending time with Margo is too appealing to pass up.  What follows in a night of adventure and risk taking that becomes the best night of Q’s year and maybe his lifetime…

And then, Margo disappears.  The next day she is gone, missing from her home and from Q’s life…. once again.  Her parents seem to be fed up with her actions and feel she is close enough to graduation that she can just be on her own if that is what she wants so badly.  Q however feels differently.  Through a favorite book of Margo’s, that seems to hold clues to her whereabouts, Q and his close friends Ben, Radar, and Lacy, embark on an adventure of finding Margo…

but what will these clues lead them to… and is Margo even still alive? 

Why did I read/listen to this book?  Hello!  It’s John Green and I have enjoyed him so much this summer, why stop now?

John Green has a talent for breathing life into characters that I want to hang out with.  Paper Towns is no exception… Q is a wonderful Protagonist and I have to say, Ben became a fast favorite in this audio (and if you do listen to the audio you will get what I mean.. Ben is HILARIOUS!).  I also once again love the language of the books that John Green Writes… I could write a book of John Green quotes because seriously the man has a gift of words.

While I enjoyed Paper Towns I am glad this was not my first John Green read.  For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it was Margo who I struggled with.  Paper Towns has elements of Looking For Alaska sprinkled within the character of Margo – a strong Independence woman, but where Alaska was strong and driven with a cause… I never felt I knew the cause of Margo’s angst.  And you know, maybe it wasn’t even teenage angst… but a need to escape to the escape of causing pain to others and not really seeming to care. 

Really though – that is my only peeve.  Paper Towns is interesting and the title itself as the book explains it was also quite interesting.While Margo annoyed me, Q and Ben and Radar made up for her… these three were buddies through and through and I really enjoyed the memory og high school friends who would go out and do anything for you, and as you discover in this book.. they all sacrifice greatly for the sake of friendship.

I do recommend Paper Towns, I am glad I read it and I hope you give it a chance as well.

When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

 

Imagine you are a little girl and you are out walking with your family along a country road on a summer day.  Now imagine that a strange man comes out of nowhere, and wielding a knife he kills your mom, and siblings.  You, Joanna are the only survivor of that tragic day.

Flash forward thirty years.  Joanna is now a doctor and married with her own baby.  Reggie is Joanna’s nanny and loves her job.  She loves that Joanna calls home every day to talk to the baby and to the dog, she loves how attentive Joanna is to the baby when she comes home and how carefully she plans out what the baby will eat. 

Things appear to be going as planned and leading to a wonderful rest of their lives…

But…

The man put away for the killing of Joanna’s family is up for parole.

 

 

 

Why did I want to read this book?  I won this audio quite a while ago and finally decided it was time to listen to it.

 

*sigh*.  I think I am going to be in the minority on this one.  I did not know going into this audio that the detective and other characters were from other Kate Atkinson books.  And maybe, that doesn’t even matter… but later on when I talked to people about the book and they discussed the reappearing characters I wondered if that is where my disconnect started….

Yes, disconnect.

This is one of those books that I am wondering if it would have been better for me to have read as opposed to listen to on audio.  I never felt connected to the story line… in the audio it felt “piecey” to me and I spent way too much effort trying to figure our Joanna’s story and then Reggie’s and then a detective Brody as well as a boatload of others.  Never a big fan of bunches of characters as I find them too hard to keep track of.

Throughout this audio I never felt connected to anyone… and honestly, this may have been more me than the audio/book.  It is not always easy to pick up all the details in audio – especially when I listen to the audio in my kitchen player which is by far where I am the most active while listening (cooking, cleaning…). 

In the end, I was not a fan of the audio.  I felt lost most of the way through.  Plot wise it was too overloaded, too over detailed… and for me just too much.

 

Other reviews from trusted book lovers:

Rhapsody In Books Weblog

Farm Lane Books Blog

Reviews By Lola

A Bookworm’s World

 

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan (YA Review by Camryn)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)1 Comment

Camryn stops in again with another YA read that has captured her heart!

~Sheila

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else is a shorter novel written by Erin McCahan. Bronwen Oliver has never really related to her parents. She doesn’t look like them, she doesn’t act like them. Because of this, she developed a make believe scenario in which her name is Phoebe Lilywhite, and she was switched at birth with the real Bronwen Oliver. She and her best friend Kirsten have been doing this for years. Bronwen was dating Chad Dykstra, but the relationship was never serious and was ended. Bronwen is a senior in high school, preparing for college. At a coffee shop with Kirsten, she meets an adorable friend of her brothers, Jared Sondervan.

As the summer progresses, Bronwen falls for Jared, hard. And vice versa. But when Jared proposes, and Bronwen accepts, she’s not sure she made the right decision. As Bronwen figures out her feelings, she can’t help but wonder what she would do, were she Phoebe Lilywhite.

 

I really liked this book. I always love a good love story, and this one was sweet. It was well written, and the plot moved fast enough but not too fast. You learn lots of things about Bronwen that makes her seem more real, and I always see from the point of view of one character, usually the dominant one. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a novel with twists, turns, and a good ending.

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)41 Comments

Nick and Amy’s marriage started out just as you would hope, two people deeply in love.  Nick was handsome and care free, Amy was beautiful and the “Amy” behind her parents ‘Amazing Amy’ book series which left Amy with quite a little nest egg…

but things are not always as they seem….

As years go by, things change for the happy couple.  Amy gives the majority of her money back to her parents when they hit financial difficulties, then both she and Nick lose their jobs in New York.  Nick’s mom is sick and his dad has Alzheimer’s so the couple moves back to Missouri to be close to his parents and start over.  Amy uses the last large chunk of her inheritance to help Nick and his twin sister Margo purchase a bar. 

Now, on their five-year anniversary a very different couple has emerged from where Nick and Amy started.  They can not seem to connect any more and that morning Nick leaves for his bar, only to receive a call shortly after from a neighbor saying something seems wrong at Nick’s home, the door is wide open, the cat who is never allowed outside is on the front step.  Nick comes home to find the living room tore apart, the iron left on, and Amy missing.

As a closer look is taken, and with the help of the clues that Amy left for Nick as she does every year to find his anniversary present, Nick soon becomes the prime suspect. Having his own secrets, Nick works with his sister trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Amy.

but things are not always as they seem….

As the story unfolds…. there is more than meets the eye and a very twisted tale unfolds which really shows that you never know what goes on behind white picket fences and closed doors. 

It looks like Gone Girl is in the works to become a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. That is a movie I want to see!

Why did I want to read this book?  Angie from my book club and from By Book Or By Crook, was gushing about this book and wanted to discuss it with others who had read it.  Angie has pretty good book choices so to hear her gush made me want to read the book too.  I ordered it immediately.

How does one describe Gone Girl?  At first it came off as a well written mystery… and it is, but it is also more.  I think I may need to quote Alison from Alison’s Bookmarks here, where in her review of this book she said simply, “Holy S_ _ _.”  Yup, that can really sum it up!  😀

So now… here is my review as best as I can put it hours after finishing but still staring at the book cover with a wild eyed look of “What the…” 

Gone Girl is as I said a mystery.  No scratch that… it is a thriller.  But also – not your run of the mill thriller (enter scary man stage left) but add PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER to the mix.  Yup… it is a little wacky but oh so good!

This is one of those books that are hard to review because it is so masterfully put together you (I) do not want to give anything away that is best for the reader (you) to discover on your own.  Which.. leaves me in the awkward position of saying pretty much…

nothing.

Let me put it like this, what you think you know… you don’t.  When you think you have it all figured out (like I did by page 111), you don’t.  You are not even close to the crazy that is happening up in here.  When I told my friend Angie how much I was loving it she asked “are you on part 2 yet?”  and I responded., “There’s a part 2?????”  I flipped ahead about ten pages and sure enough… the book has a part two, and as long as I am sharing… also a part three.

Gone Girl is one of those books you do not want to put down.  I read that first day I picked it up as long as I could into the evening until I felt my eyes droop and I had to stop.  A rarity for me, I read this while standing at the grill the next evening, instead of listening to an audio book.  Folks… this just does not happen.  😯  In fact, I spent the better part of two days reading this book in every spare moment I could squeeze out and my thoughts on it went something like this:

“WHAT?”

“Noooooo….”

“That can’t be, ri… oh.  It is.”

“NO WAY!”

“That’s crazy!”

“That’s brilliant!”

“Oh no he didn’t!”

“OH NO, she didnt!”

Yes, this is my review of Gone Girl.  Fantastic.  Perhaps, the best book I have read in 2012 so far.  It is different than anything I have read before, well through out and now I am seriously curious about author Gillian Flynn’s state of mind (kidding, kidding… I think…).  So well thought out… so amazingly put together… I am still sitting here in awe and on my way to see what else she has written.  The more I think about the author Gillian Flynn and how she worked in this story line between other story lines and had me thinking one thing but should have been another… and well, lets just say from  this post forward Gillian Flynn will be known to me as “The Great And Wonderful Gillian Flynn”. 

RECOMMENDED!

*Note:  Occasional crude language, nothing over the top (I hate that), but it is there and I want you to be aware.

Also, those of you who have read this and are DYING to gush,vent, rage, chat, ask questions about the book, I have fueled up and dusted off the SPOILER PAGE – let’s talk details!!!!  Click below!  😀

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com sample listen

 

Looking for some other thoughts on this one?  Here are some great book reviewers:

Alison’s Book Marks

S Krishna’s Books

Life In The Thumb

Dear Author

Objects Of My Affection by Jill Smolinski (audio review)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

Lucy Bloom is well on her way to nowhere.  Her boyfriend Daniel had left her with an ultimatum, her nineteen year old son was currently in a pricey drug rehab program that Lucy sold her home so he could get the help he needed.  She had written a book called ‘Things Are Not People’ which was basically about how to let go of possessions and finally clean out that pesky storage room or closet…. it did ok, but Lucy needed a job with a little “cha-ching” behind it to get back on her feet. 

When she makes a connection to a job that involves assisting a crew that will be cleaning out the great and famous painter Marva Meier Rios’s home, Lucy is thrilled to put her organizational skills to work.  It doesn’t hurt that the money is good and if she finishes by the date given she will be given a nice bonus that will certainly start her out with a little  nest egg for a home, or at least get her beloved car back in the shape it once once.

What Lucy does not know is that Marva really loves “things” and when Lucy first steps into Marva’s home she could not have imagined in her wildest nightmares, this sort of hording.

Yes, hording.

Marva hardly has space to move as items are stacked in her rather large home from floor to ceiling, in boxes, and free standing, piles and piles, on stairs, in hallways, every room… full with Marva’s treasures.  And that is the kicker, the job would be enormous no matter what, but add the fact that Marva has the final say on each and every item if it stays or if it goes, and Marva really has a hard time letting go of anything. 

This job, will not be easy.

While Lucy wants to make the bonus deadline, she is also juggling a run in with her ex-boyfriend, a hot guy who is leading a work crew at Marva’s, and her son’s inability to stay clean and in the rehab.  Top that off while digging through Marva’s treasures, Lucy discovers that Marva is hiding the biggest secret of all.

Why did I want to read/listen to this book?  I have read Jill Smolinski once before for book club when we read The Next Thing On My List.  This was a great discussion book where we put what would be on our “to do” or bucket list before we hit a certain age.  A chance to read her again seemed like a good thing to do.

Objects Of My Affection is really about a hoarder.  And while we now have reality shows on all sorts of topics that are horrifying (the strange habits one gives me shudders), Jill Smolinski takes hoarding to a level where it is truly extreme, but never heavy.  The book has a nice mix of humor and breaks between the house filled with goodies (and I mean goodies, like original art work, first edition signed books, screen plays, movie props and costumes…) where it ever feels heavy.

For the most part I enjoyed the storyline, it moved quickly and evenly.  My only real “UGH” moment was some choices that Lucy made regarding men in her life that annoyed me and I felt at one point was not only highly unlikely but also highly inappropriate and that is all I am going to say about that.  (I know, I know… I should lighten up, but I do like my books to be realistic!)  Thankfully by the time the book ends, Lucy has redeemed herself.
Audio listeners, I do recommend this one in audio.  Xe Sands narrates this book and she is fantastic!  Her voice is smooth and the perfect narration for Lucy’s first person thoughts and voice.  She also flows seamlessly to the male characters as well and Marva.

Book readers, this one is going to come across well in book format as well. 

In the end, I thought the storyline was done well, there where a few moments where I wanted to hang Lucy’s son by his toes, but as a mother, I understand that her choices were hard ones – and tough love comes even harder. 

I purchased this book from audible.com

Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

Sarah Dessen is an author who still eludes me… I have to read one of her books and I know Camryn has gushed about her before!  ~ Sheila

Along for the Ride

 

 

Austen is a teenager with teenager issues. Her parent’s divorce gave her a case of insomnia, and her mother’s relationships with her grad students doesn’t sit well with her. Her dad is a professor who like strange names, such as Austen. He believes that great writers deserve to have his children named after them. His new wife, Heidi, gets a taste of this when their child is named Thisbe. Luckily, Heidi convinced him to allow her to make Caroline her middle name, instead of Andromeda. Austen, fed up with her mother’s attitude and games, packs up to live with her dad in Colby, a small beach town. She wants her last summer before college to be different. Her first few days consisted of prepping for Defriese, the college she was going to attend, but soon turns into a friendship with Heidi, and a job at Clementine, Heidi’s store, as Heidi’s book-keeper. In Colby, she meets a fellow insomniac, Eli. Eli is different; he is mysterious, a sort of closed book. As Auden becomes better and better friends with Eli, she starts to learn about his past, and what made him the person he is today.

 

 

Along for the Ride is Sarah Dessen’s most recent novel. It’s also my favorite of all of her books. It is for the same preteen to teenager audience, but it’s really great. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good summer read.

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Check out Camryn’s other YA reviews here

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

 

When sixteen year old Miles Halter leaves his home to go to a boarding school in Birmingham, Alabama he had no idea how his life would change.  He left a minor life in Florida, one that had little friends and little significance…. Miles own words.  He first meets his roommate Chip who what he lacks in statute he makes up for in attitude.  Instantly Miles is dubbed the nickname “Pudge” even though he is quite the opposite and Chip asks to be called The Colonel,  .  While things seem to be off to a good start in Miles, errr… Pudge’s new adventure, he was unprepared to meet Chips, best friend Alaska Young. 

Alaska is a free spirit, she is smart, beautiful, witty and reckless.  She has books everywhere called her life books, the books she hopes to read in her life time.  She smokes on campus which is strictly taboo, and drinks in her room long after lights out.  Miles is instantly infatuated with all that she is. 

That was 136 days before….

 

 

Why I wanted to read/listen to this book:  If you read me, you know I am on a John Green binge.  After my heart exploded listening to The Fault In Our Stars, I joined a John Green “in my mind” fan club.  I am so enjoying his writing and honestly, I am devouring his writing through audio because oh my gosh…. they are good.  REALLY GOOD.

 

In Looking For Alaska, Miles is looking for something more.  He is a huge fan of “famous last words” and wants to make sure his own life has some sort of significance worthy of his own last words. 

I am stopping here to say, I really like Miles.  He is just the level of geek that I can appreciate because I am one too.  He is looking for the meaning of his life, in fact, due to an assignment he is given by a teacher regarding the after life, this is a small background theme in the book, so small and smoke screen like, you can easily miss that it is there at all.

Anyhoo…. as much as I enjoyed Miles/Pudge’s straight-laced life…. I just as much enjoyed Alaska’s free will “lets try anything” attitude.  I think… some of both live in me. 

As you may have picked up, our story starts out 136 days before.  You may be wondering “before what?” and that… I can not share as that is really a huge part of the story… as the book counts down, you can have a sense of the foreboding… what are we counting down to.  Is it good?  Is it bad?  What happens at day 0?  Is there an after?  That is the beauty of John Green.

I loved this book on audio.  The narration by Jeff Woodman was good…. really good and captures the teen voices well. 

I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time shutting it off as I wondered what would happen and where do they go from there?  I highly count this read/audio as gush worthy and recommend if you have not yet experienced the greatness of John Green please do so soon so you can gush with me…. we will chat on-line, drink coffee or iced tea and gush Green!  😀

Amazon Rating

Goodreads review

Audible.com (listen to a sample here)

will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

Will Grayson has been best friends with “Tiny” Cooper since 5th grade.  They make for an odd friendship. For one thing, Tiny is anything but Tiny.  Tipping close to 300 pounds, he is quite the opposite of his thin friend, Will.   Also, Tiny is gay.  Scratch that, Tiny describes himself as really, really gay.  And sings it out loud.  Really, he does.  Will, is not gay.   Now in high school, Will enjoys life as it comes to him, not really pursuing a girlfriend, life, can be complicated enough at this point without adding relationships to the mix.  That is… until recently… because now there is this girl, who he doesn’t want to like… doesn’t want to be in a relationship…but cant stop thinking about her.

Then, there is Will Grayson.  Not the Will Grayson, mentioned above.  This Will is also in high school.  He has a harder personality and not a lot of close friends.  He has a secret from everyone.  He likes a guy he met on line, Isaac. 

ISAAC  ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC ISAAC…

It really is all Will (hence forth known as the “OWG” , other Will Grayson, thinks about, waiting for him to be on line, waiting to read what he will say… and one day he says the magic words…  “Let’s meet.”

A random change encounter puts both Will Grayson’s in the same place at the same time, and this encounter changes both of their lives forever.

 

Why did I want to read/listen to this book?  I am having an author crush on John Green.  After listening to The Fault In Our Stars ( SUPERB narration – highly recommended!)  I had to listen to another audio by him, and this one sounded like a really interesting one.

 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is told in alternating chapters by the two Will Grayson’s.  At first, this confused me on the audio as chapter two opened it took me a minute or two to realize that this rougher, angrier Will Grayson was not the gentle fun Will I had just met in the previous chapter.   After that, the book just flowed.

While I enjoyed the original Will, I think it is safe to say that Tiny is the adored character.  Obviously he is a really big guy.  And he is gay, so he is used to a little harder lifestyle, a little more jokes and cruelty than most.  But Tiny …. shines.  He doesn’t care what you think of him.  He knows he is BIG.  He knows he is gay.  And… he is about to write a musical about his life.

Yup.

Another beauty of listening to this in audio is yes, it does involve a musical and I am not sure how that translates on paper, but on audio…. it is not only all sorts of awesome, it is hilarious.   Narrated by Nick Podehl is a real treat to the ears.  (Nick also narrates The Knife Of Never Letting Go series, Wonder, and several Harlan Coben books).  I seriously not only fell in love with a sweet story, I laughed a lot, and received strange looks form my husband if he entered a room where my audio was cranking out a song about Tiny. 

Note that if the sound of a musical makes you scrunch up your nose like you smelled something bad, don’t worry – the musical is not all through the story.  It shows up towards the end and by that time you love these characters so much you want to see how they are going to pull this off.

I recommend Will Grayson, Will Grayson.  It is a 9th grade and up read and I think that is appropriate.  There is nothing in this book to cause a young reader alarm.  If anything, it may help them understand others better, and perhaps… even themselves. 

Purchased from audible.com

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

 

Wisty and Whit Allgood are just your average every day teenagers.  Or, so they thought. When the “New Order”comes crashing into their home to arrest them as being witches, the teens are baffled.  They are even more shocked when their parents who are told they can send one item with each child send them off with a drumstick and a book with wordless pages. 

HUH?

Things really heat up when Wisty discovers that when she gets really angry, she bursts into flames.  Kind of making that “I am not a witch!” story seem not so true after all… As time goes on, Wisty finds out even more things she can do and how to control her new-found skills.  Enter in Whit’s dead girlfriend who helps them in their confinement, and things are bound to get interesting.

 

 

 

 

Why did I want to listen to this audio/read this book?  I have a fairly civil relationship with James Patterson.  I really have enjoyed some of his books on audio and I was very curious about what he would do with a YA book, as well as what kind of narration would go with it.

James Patterson and co-author Gabrielle Charbonne write an interesting first YA novel.  I have heard this referred to as dystopia but it didn’t seem that way to me, more fantasy/ paranormal.  It was interesting, told in alternating chapters from each siblings point of view and felt more MG (middle Grade to me than the YA I have read. 

The narration by Spencer Locke and Elijah Wood was pretty good in this 5 hour and 41 minute audio.

While I did not find the read captivating to the point that I must continue on with the series, I did find it fun and light and I believe young YA readers or older MG readers would enjoy it.

 

For fun, do you see the two faces in the cover?  😀

 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads review

Audible.com (listen to a sample here)