Category: Contemporary
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Blitz (The Checquy Files, Book 3): X-Men meets X-Files meets 007
The Rook (The Checquy Files, Book 1)Stiletto (The Checquy Files, Book 2)Blitz (The Checquy Files, Book 3)By: Daniel O’MalleyMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 18 and up X-Men meets X-Files meets 007 If you hate having fun while you read, let me just stop you now. The Checquy Files aren’t for you. For…
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The Secret Keeper: Kate Morton is a story weaver
The Secret KeeperBy: Kate MortonMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: Advanced 14 and up Kate Morton is a story weaver! My favorite stories surprise me. Sometimes it’s the engaging mystery, other times it’s the characters themselves. Many times it’s a great twist ending. Kate Morton is good at all the above, and her…
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The Help: The movie doesn’t count.
The HelpBy: Kathryn StockettMy Rating: Five out of five stars.Best for: 16 and up Dedicated to those who think everything magically got better after Martin Luther King Here’s my recommendation. Next time you’re in Atlanta, don’t just go to The World of Coke and the Aquarium. Take time to go to the other building in…
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The Constant Rabbit: Ah, satire…
The Constant RabbitBy: Jasper FfordeMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 16 and up Ah, satire… Satire is an art form. Done well as a novel, it’s like getting two books in one: there’s the story you read, and then there’s the story you’re meant to understand. One entertains, and the other teaches. Or…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Camel Club
The Camel ClubBy: David BaldacciReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up Conspiracies and more conspiraciesGuest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Oliver Stone–not his real name–has three real friends. They are all rather eccentric in their own special fields. They call themselves The Camel Club and meet…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Patriot Games
Patriot GamesBy: Tom ClancyReviewer Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up Don’t make the IRA angry . . .Guest book review by Julie H Q: What’s the book about? Jack Ryan, before he became a famous analyst! On vacation he impulsively jumps into the chain of a bombing and saves the Prince…
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Every Heart a Doorway: That was…unexpected
Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)By: Seanan McGuireMy Rating: Three out of five stars.Best for: 18 and up That was…unexpected. I enjoyed Middlegame my Seanan McGuire so much, I looked to see what her next most popular books were. Turns out it’s the Wayward Children series. Book one is Every Heart a Doorway–which makes…
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The Lost Shtetl: Mel Brooks x Fiddler on the Roof x Schindler’s List
The Lost ShtetlBy: Max GrossMy Rating: Three out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up Now THIS how to teach history… I picked up The Lost Shtetl because the blurb sold me on a fascinating idea: What if an entire town had been lost to history? What would happen when it was rediscovered? I checked…
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#TheMidnightLibrary: It’s A Wonderful Life. Again.
The Midnight LibraryBy: Matt HaigMy Rating: Three out of five starsBest for: 18 and up It’s A Wonderful Life. Again. This is the second Matt Haig book I’ve read. The first was The Humans. While that and The Midnight Library are seemingly miles apart, I’m feeling a whole lot of connection between them in tone,…
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A Book Club Guest Review of My Name is River and Hope Girl
My name is River (River, Book 1)Hope Girl (River, Book 2)By: Wendy DunhamGuest Review Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest For: 12 and up Tough subjects done wellA Guest Book Review by Julie Hilton River is a girl with a mysterious parent situation, a friend who dies in suspicious circumstance, an ill grandmother, and feelings…
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#Spoonbenders: Once, we were Amazing…
SpoonbendersBy: Daryl GregoryMy Review: Three out of Five StarsBest for: Adults only Once, we were Amazing. And…sold. Meet The Telemachus family: Teddy’s a slick talking charmer of a card shark who can con anyone for anything. He’s so good, in fact, he tricks a university professor looking for psychics into thinking he actually IS one,…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Just Mercy (YA Adaptation)
Just Mercy (adapted for young adults)By: Bryan StephensonMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!Best for: 12 and up Just Mercy or Miraculous Mercy?Guest Review by Julie Hilton A new lawyer wants to help people who were wrongly convicted and on death row. The major story about Walter McMillian, accused of murder and his road to…
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#FloraAndUlysses: We loved it! (Mostly…)
Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated AdventuresBy Kate DiCamilloMy Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 10 and up The littles and I just finished the 2014 Newbery Medal winner: Flora & Ulysses! I love everything from Kate DiCamillo, so expectations were pretty high. We loved it! (Mostly…) Here are five reasons we loved Flora &…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Lost and Found Bookshop
The Lost and Found BookshopBy: Susan WiggsReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 16 and up Except for three pages… Wonderful!Guest review by Julie Hilton A woman returns to take care of her grandfather and his Bookstore under traffic circumstances. She has friendships with two intriguing men through a series of humorous and sad…
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#SkippingChristmas: A new Christmas Tradition
Skipping Christmas My Rating: Four out of five stars By: John Grisham Best For: 14 and up Oh gosh, I’ve just been reading some other reviews of Skipping Christmas–and laughing out loud at the disdain for the grumpy Kranks and their nosey neighbors. So many one-star reviews! Obviously, some people take their reading much too…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Story of Awkward
The Story of AwkwardBy: R. K. RyalsReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars!Best for: 14 and up Wonderful look inside the world of AwkwardReview by Julie Hilton Peregrine Stork is awkward. Because of it she has been bullied her whole life. She has found a great way to deal with it. She carries a sketchbook…
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A Book Club Guest Review of Where the Forest Meets the Stars
Where the Forest Meets the StarsBy: Glendy VanderahReviewer Rating: FIVE out of FIVE STARSBest for: 12 and up A Five Star Read!Review by: Julie Hilton A post grad student is recovering from a death, and a serious medical condition, and a breakup. She is working in a remote area, secluded and using work to both…
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A Book Club Guest Review of The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club
The Babbling Brook Naked Poker ClubBy: Ann WarnerReviewer Rating: Four out of Five StarsBest for: 10 and up A fun mystery with a sea of complicated people!Review by: Julie Hilton A woman gets shuttled off to a retirement home by her son after an inheritance. She has other plans and other resources. She gets tricked…
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#Flipped: I’m FLIPPED for Flipped!
FlippedBy: Wendelin Van DraanenMy Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars!Best for: 12 and up Well, dang. I’m flipped for Flipped. I LOVED this book! Empathy and and kids are like oil and water. Been to Junior High lately? My favorite books for young people are ones that help them see their life through a different…
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#TheShadowoftheWind: What an ending!
The Shadow of the Wind By: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Translation by Lucia Graves My Rating: Four out of Five Stars Best for: 18+ Well that meandered its way to awesome. There were times reading The Shadow of the Wind that I felt annoyed by the translation, and other times I felt frustrated with the slow…
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#AManCalledOve: Kindness shines brightest.
A Man Called Ove By: Fredrik Backman My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Best for: 14 and up It’s “OOOO-vah,” not “OH-v.”* Thanks Audible. Ove would have yelled at me if I got his name wrong. *See below for a kind correction on how to pronounce Ove by Fredrik Backman himself! Most of the…
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#Sourdough: How bread can change your life.
Sourdough By: Robin Sloan My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE stars Best for: 14 and up This book made me happy. Have you read Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Book Store? You should. Robin Sloan wrote that book too. I went back to check out my review after I read it back in 2015…guess what I wrote?…
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#Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, a.k.a. yet another reason Brandon Sanderson is king.
Legion (Legion #1) Skin Deep (Legion #2) Lies of the Beholder (Legion #3) By: THE Brandon Sanderson My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars Best for: 14 and up Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, is a compilation of the three novellas about Brandon Sanderson’s schizophrenic private investigator, Stephen Leeds. My opinion? The Legion…
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#TheLakeHouse: Kate Morton has it figured out
The Lake House By: Kate Mortin My Rating: Four out of Five Stars Best for: 16 and up Kate Morton has a winning formula. In the past, something tragic happens, but without a resolution–leaving an unsolved mystery. In the present, someone picks up the pieces of the unsolved mystery and puts together the clues. Both…
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#Origin: Dan Brown strikes again
Origin By: Dan Brown My Rating: Four out of Five Stars Best for: 16 and up You’ve read one Dan Brown, you’ve read them all. Good thing for him…it works over and over again! I actually enjoyed Origin a lot more than I initially thought I would. There is much less of MC Robert Langdon…
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#InColdBlood: Whoa…
In Cold Blood By: Truman Capote My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Best for: Mature 16+ If you’re looking for a book about the minute details surrounding the random and gruesome 1959 murder of a family of 4, you can stop your search now. You’ve found it. Me? I’m buddy reading it with my…
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The Swap
5/5 stars The Swap by Megan Shull I try to be a well rounded reader. I’m open to everything but zombies (gross) and romance novels (a different gross). So while this book is targeted for tween girls, I thought it sounded fun and I’m always on the look out for something to recommend to my…
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Midnight Riot (Peter Grant, #1)
4/5 stars Midnight Riot (Peter Grant, #1) by Ben Aaronovitch So magic is real? “So magic is real,” I said. “Which makes you a…what?” “A wizard.” “Like Harry Potter?” Nightingale sighed. “No,” he said. “Not like Harry Potter.” “In what way?” “I’m not a fictional character,” said Nightingale. And, sold. Midnight Riot–or Rivers of London,…
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The Thirteenth Tale
4/5 stars The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Melancholy/Clever A ghost story? I’ll never tell. It took a lot of words for the author to tell this story. The fantastical cover is a bit misleading. The Thirteenth Tale is a sad story about sad people with a fun mystery and a very clever twist.
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The Ocean at the End of the Lane
5/5 stars The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman Some books are ponds. This one’s an ocean. Do you ever listen to music from decades past and wonder what made that music so special that it had endured while other artists didn’t? And then you have to wonder what music from…
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#BoysLife: Magical Americana
Boy’s LifeBy: Robert McCammonMy Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars!Best For: 16 and up Magical Americana Boy’s Life–my life–what a great story! For 600 pages I longed to be 11 again. The 60’s belonged to my parents, not to me. But the magic of childhood transcends generations. I had it for a while. My kids…
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#Penumbra: What do you seek in these shelves?
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour BookstoreBy: Robin SloanMy Rating: FIVE out of FIVE StarsBest For: 14 and up “Why do you love books so much?Well, actually, I love books because books are my best friends.” Now here is a book for book lovers. Reading it made me so happy! Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore might be my favorite…
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Neverwhere
5/5 stars Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Unexpectedly Fun… I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up Neverwhere. I’d heard of Neil Gaiman but never read anything from him before. I was very happy I took the chance! The book is as unique as I’ve read, I thought the characters were great, the story…
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A Prayer For Owen Meany
5/5 stars A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving I am doomed to remember a boy . . . Apparently John Irving has a thing for first sentences. He said he never writes the first sentence until he’s written the last sentence. Obviously he’s onto something . . . “I am doomed to remember…
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The Snow Child
5/5 stars The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey I’m a sap, I know. But I really liked The Snow Child, and there is only one sappy word that pops into my head when I try to describe why: beautiful. The story, the players, the message, the relationships, the emotion, the setting, the sweet ending. All…
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The Orphan Master’s Son
5/5 stars The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson PROPERTY OF THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF KOREA The Orphan Master’s Son is a heavy book . . . and I don’t mean it weighs a lot on a scale. I mean it weighs a lot on my mind. I’ve long been fascinated with The Democratic…
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The Outsiders
4/5 stars The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Somehow I made it through junior high and high school without ever being asked to read The Outsiders. It’s too bad; I think I would have liked it even more then. It’s a great story….it lives up to the hype. The lessons are simple to grasp, and I…
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Underdogs (Wolfe Brothers, #1-3)
4/5 stars Underdogs (Wolfe Brothers, #1-3) by Markus Zusak Markus Zusak has earned a place at the top of my list of favorite authors. If you haven’t read The Book Thief, do. Read my review of it first though–I think you should know some things before you start. Read I am the Messenger too. Once…
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The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)
5/5 stars The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien There’s no way I’d even attempt to give a critical review of The Lord of the Rings. For now I’ll just say I loved reading it. It is the most amazing adventure–truly the “grand daddy” of them all. Intentional…
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#IAmtheMessenger: Oh, the words!
I Am the Messenger By: Markus Zusak My Rating: FIVE out of FIVE Stars If you read what I thought of The Book Thief, you know I am a pretty big fan. Markus Zusak wrote a book unlike any I had ever read before. I wondered if his other books could be just as good,…
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The Book Thief
The Book ThiefBy: Marcus ZusakMy Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARSBest for: 14 and up I’m trying to decide if it’s too much to say The Book Thief is the greatest book I have ever read. I think I need a few days to say for sure. (See below for an update) I can say…
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The Forgotten Garden
5/5 stars The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton I do not give 5 stars lightly. That should be your first sign that I really enjoyed this book! Think of one of your ancestors and what you know about them. Maybe you’ve seen a wedding picture, or you know the names of their children. Maybe you…
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
5 out of 5 stars I’m not sure if this one would fly today, but I have good memories of it. If my kids brought it home from the library I’d love for them to read it.
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Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
5 out of 5 stars The first time I realized books could make me feel. Have tissues handy.
One Man Book Club 