Library Girl's Guide To Books

The Girls

2016-06-08T16:56:00.001-07:00

The Girls

by Emma Cline

In the beginning of this chilling debut novel, Edie Boyd is a middle aged woman struggling with her life and house sitting for a friend who is out of town. When the friend's son shows up unexpectedly with his girlfriend, he says "Your're that lady.., she was in this cult." So the story begins in flashback of Edie as a fourteen year old teenager in 1969.

Edie's parents have divorced and her self absorbed mother is too busy "finding herself" to pay attention to Edie. After she has a falling out with her best friend, Edie finds herself alone and unsupervised. One afternoon she watches a group of older, free spirited girls dancing in the park. They are dirty and scantily clad but Edie is strangely attracted to them. When she later sees them in a convenience store trying to shoplift, she offers to steal for them but instead pays for the items. The girls want to take Edie to the "ranch" to meet Russell so he can thank her. After traveling in a broken down vehicle they arrive at the commune where a rag tag group of people (mostly girls) and children live. Russell, their charismatic, manipulative leader, takes Edie into their fold and she begins to spend as much time with them as she can. Russell is a brilliant musician who is going to get a record deal, she is told. Edie develops a crush on Suzanne, an older girl who seems to be a favorite with Russell. Soon Edie is introduced to alcohol, drugs and sex and her infatuation with Suzanne grows to almost an obsession.

At times in this book, fourteen year old Edie seems to be squeamish about what is going on at the ranch. They have to steal and forage in garbage cans for food, the children are running around dirty and unsupervised and the girls are jealous of each other when one of them is chosen to be with Russell for the night. But they have taken her in and she feels wanted and loved, so she pushes those thoughts aside.

When Mitch, the record producer, starts stalling about a record deal, Russell sends Suzanne and Edie to spend the night with him to try and convince him. When Mitch finally refuses to make the record, the story takes a dangerous and violent turn.

The Girls goes back and forth between that summer and the present. We slowly find out what happened and why Edie didn't go to jail. This Manson type cult story is a familiar one and Cline does a good job of bringing the reader into the story. We can understand how Edie, a privileged, but neglected child could be seduced by these charismatic older girls. It is a sad story that probably happens all too often. The older Edie looks back with regret but her life has been changed forever by the events of that summer in 1969.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC for a review.

Adult Fiction: Psychological Suspense

Grade: A-

2016-05-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

The Big Sleep

by Raymond Chandler

I have always loved the old black and white noir movies but had never read one until my book club decided to read The Big Sleep. I lead the discussion and in preparation for my "big night" as the leader of this discussion, I did some research into the author and the book. Hey, there's a reason why I am a librarian :)

Chandler had a big stylistic influence on American literature. He, Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon) and a few other writers created the "hard boiled detective novel" as we know it.

Raymond Chandler was an oil executive who lost his job during the depression and, at the age of forty-four, started writing hard boiled detective novels. He wrote short stories for various crime magazines of the time and in 1939 published The Big Sleep. His protagonist, Philip Marlowe is a tough private eye with a stoic demeanor and a sharp tongue, who loves liquor and has a strict moral compass that saves him in many situations, especially where women are involved. There are seven Philip Marlowe books, but the last few were written after Chandler died.

The opening paragraph sets the scene: “It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark little clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.”

What a wonderful opening paragraph!

The story begins when Marlowe is called to the mansion owned by General Sternwood. The General wants to hire him to see who is behind the blackmail threats he has been receiving about his younger daughter, Carmen. The general is very ill, wheel chaired bound and spends his time in a steamy orchid greenhouse because of his health. The General has two grown daughters, Vivian and Carmen and they are both out of control. The General mentions that his son-in-law, Rusty Regan, who is married to his older daughter, Vivian, has gone missing. He has supposedly run off with the wife of Eddie Mars who owns a casino where Vivian can frequently be found. The General is fond of Rusty and wants to find him but he does not hire Marlowe to look for him.

Vivian is a femme fatale with a gambling problem who doesn't like "masterful" men. Marlowe has a great observation when he meets her. He said “I sat down on the edge of a deep soft chair and looked at Mrs Regan. She was worth a stare. She was trouble.” She wants to know if her father has hired him to find her husband, Rusty Regen. Throughout the book everyone wants to know if Marlowe is looking for Rusty Regen.

Carmen, the younger sister, has become involved with a pornographer who has taken naked pictures of her and is blackmailing the General. Something isn't right with Carmen and Marlowe is trying to figure her out. Marlowe begins investigating and he finds more than he expected.

The plot is complicated with lots of characters but the writing is unforgettable. Chandler makes you feel like you are in 1939 Hollywood with the bootleggers, pornographers and steamy rain soaked streets. Some of the dialog is no longer politically correct and some of the words might be difficult to understand in our current time but this is one terrific book.

Descriptions like this abound in The Big Sleep: “I walked to the windows and pulled the shades up and opened the windows wide. The night air came drifting in with a kind of stale sweetness that still remembered automobile exhausts and the streets of the city. I reached for my drink and drank it slowly. The apartment house door closed itself down below me. Steps tinkled on the quiet sidewalk. A car started up not far away. It rushed off into the night with a rough clashing of gears. I went back to the bed and looked down at it. The imprint of her head was still in the pillow, of her small corrupt body still on the sheets. I put my empty glass down and tore the bed to pieces savagely.”

There is so much more to this book than just a simple crime story. The symbolism and motifs in the book are amazing. Marlowe is loyal and has a strict code of ethics even when it might impact him negatively. He is a great character and I cannot wait to read the next Philip Marlowe book, Farewell My Lovely.

Adult Mystery
Grade: A

2016-04-28T13:10:00.003-07:00

All The Missing Girls

by Megan Miranda

Ten years ago, Nicollette (Nic) Farrell's best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge after leaving an amusement park. Nic and her friends were under suspicion and investigated. After that, Nic fled the town to start a new life in Philadelphia. Now Nic is a counselor and engaged to Everett, a wealthy attorney. When Nic receives an urgent call from her brother, Daniel, she returns home to Cooley Ridge to help him. They must fix up and sell the family home to raise money to help pay for the medical expenses of their father who is in an assisted care facility. Their father is losing his grip on reality and keeps saying that "he saw the girl on the porch" and "Nic is in danger". Cooley Ridge is like a lot of small southern towns where everyone know you and rumors circulate freely. Nic thought that she had left that life behind her but when she arrives home, another girl, Annaleise, goes missing. Annaleise was the alibi for Nic and her group the night that Corinne disappeared. Suddenly history is repeating itself and Nic, Tyler, her high school boyfriend, and Jackson, Corinne's boyfriend are once again under scrutiny. Nic and Daniel's father might also be involved.

All The Missing Girls was written in a unique way. It is told backward from Day 15 to Day 1 from the time that Annaleise went missing. There is a lot going on in this book with twists and turns and secrets revealed. This book is billed as a "psychological thriller" but I didn't find it to be that thrilling. I often found that I was getting confused with the plot and had to keep going back to see if I had missed something. I still have questions about a couple of things in it. Maybe if I had been able to sit down and read it all at once, I would have liked it more. While the mystery was good and I wanted to find out what happened to the girls, the plot lost momentum for me with the writing style.

Adult Fiction/ Mystery /Thrillers

Grade: B

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

2016-04-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

A Fine Imitation

by Amber Brock

In 1923, Vera Bellington is married to a wealthy, handsome man who doesn't love her. They live in a spectacular building on Park Avenue that he built. Her only social contacts are the people who live in that building,The Angelus, and her weekly lunches with her difficult mother. For her entire life, everything has been planned for Vera. She is expected to marry well and endure the social restraints that society had for young women in the 1920's. The story goes back and forth between 1913 when Vera was a student at Vassar college studying Art History and 1923 when she is married and lonely. While she was at Vassar, she had a falling out with a free spirited friend named Bea, who was a talented artist. After they got into some trouble, Vera land Bea become estranged but Bea later comes back into her life in an unexpected way. When the residents of The Angelus hire a French painter named Emil Hallan to paint a mural in their pool room, Vera's life will be changed forever.

Emil taps into Vera's soul but he is not who he seems to be and secrets will be revealed. The title of the book has more than one meaning. Vera has to make some difficult choices to save herself from her lonely, unhappy life and the unexpected ending was a surprise for me. Well done historical fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with and Advanced Reading Copy of this book. It will be published on May 3rd, 2016.

Adult Historical Fiction

Grade: A-

2016-03-30T17:22:00.004-07:00

The After Party

by Anton DiSclafani

This book is the story of the friendship between two girls named Joan. In kindergarten, their teacher decided that she couldn't have two girls with the same name so she re-named the darker haired Joan, Cece, short for Cecelia, her middle name. Both girls were born in the wealthy Houston suburb of River Oaks. Most of the book takes place in 1957 with some flashbacks to earlier times. As young adults, Joan and Cece are still living in River Oaks where their time is taken up with social events, Junior League and garden parties. Joan is the toast of Houston society because of her beautiful blond looks and her sometimes outrageous, self-destructive behavior. Her older, wealthy parents have always indulged her. Cece is now married with a young son. She and Joan have been closer than sisters their entire lives and Cece has always protected Joan and watched out for her. Joan has a habit of disappearing, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days or even longer. W hen she was a senior in high school, she ran away to Hollywood leaving Cece behind, to wonder why she left. Although she returns a year later, she was changed by her experience but she won't tell Cece what happened. Cece has an obsessive love for Joan and will drop anything for her. This is causing problems in her marriage and with some of her other friends. No one can understand their attachment.

Even though I have a few reservations about some aspects of this book, I really like a lot of things in it. The 1950's setting and look into the lives of the wealthy elite really pulled me into the story. I could feel how hot it was in Houston during the summer. Legendary places like The Shamrock Hotel and The Cork Club play a big role in this book. I could vividly picture them. Joan has secrets and I was anxious to discover what they are. Her behavior, mood swings, drinking, promiscuity and possible drug use are spiraling out of control but Cece is always right there to rescue her. Despite all that they have gone through growing up, it was a little bit difficult to understand her pull on Cece, especially when Joan would drop her whenever it was convenient. Towards the end of the book when Joan reveals herself more fully, it took me by surprise and I'm not sure that I can fully accept her explanation. However, I couldn't stop reading! The ending left me with some unanswered questions. The After Party is a fascinating, addicting but somewhat sad look at two women and their lifelong bond of friendship.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book to review.

Grade: A-

Historical Fiction

2016-03-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

This is the first book, written by Kristin Hannah, that I have read but I will be reading more! Loved, loved, loved this book! I listened to it on audio and would give the reader (Polly Stone) ten stars if I could. She had to use French, German and American accents and she was perfect.

Wonderful book about two sisters who are living in Paris when the Germans begin occupying France. They each take different paths but their love for each other overcomes their differences. A heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting story about sisters, family, betrayal, hardship, and the redeeming power of love. Don't miss it!

My favorite book of 2015!

Grade A+

Adult Historical Fiction

2016-03-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Pretty Girls

by Karin Slaughter

This is a really tough book to review and it isn't a book for the faint of heart. The first chapter grabs you and doesn't let go. I listened to it on audio and the reader, Kathleen Early, was very good. The story is set in Atlanta where young woman have been abducted and presumed to be dead. Claire's sister, Julia, disappeared more than twenty years ago and the family fell apart after this tragedy. Their parents divorced and her sister, Lydia, became a drug addict. Their father wrote heartbreaking letters to Julia before he died. Claire is estranged from her sister, in part, because, Lydia is living with an ex-con, former drug addict and Claire is in the midst of the Atlanta social set. After another murder occurs, Lydia and Claire form a wary alliance to try and find out if their sister might still be alive.

There is so much going on in this novel and it is really hard to review it without giving away too much. There is violence, sexual sadism and murder. It is also a stunning, suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading even when you don't want to keep reading it!

Did I like it? Yes and no... Loved the plot twists and the suspense but the violence was difficult to read, or in my case, listen to. If you like well written, psychological thrillers and can handle sexual sadism, betrayal and violence, then you will want to read Pretty Girls.

Grade: A for plot and writing but this book isn't for the squeamish.

Adult Psychological Thriller

2016-03-22T18:08:00.001-07:00

DEAD TO ME

BY: MARY MCCOY

Los Angeles, 1948: “Don’t believe anything they say” were the last words that Alice’s older sister, Annie, said the day she disappeared. Now four years later, 16 year old Alice is called to the hospital where she finds Annie, badly beaten and in a coma. Their father works for a movie studio and their mother was an actress in low budget films. They didn’t quite make it to the big time so they were grooming Annie and Alice to be stars. Annie didn’t want to be a star and, after a volatile argument, Annie disappeared. For the past four years, her dysfunctional parents have acted like Annie didn’t exist. Now, drawing on her favorite detective novels from the 1940’s, Alice believes that she can be as good as Sam Spade or Phillip Marlowe in finding out where Annie has been for the last four years and why she was beaten, almost to death.

Hiding the fact that Annie is in the hospital, her investigation takes her to the underbelly of Hollywood including a dangerous but very handsome movie star, gangsters, a hard boiled private eye who might or might not be trying to help Annie, pornographers, a runaway Annie was trying to help and a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department. Snooping in her father’s office, Alice finds evidence that might implicate him, too. The more she digs into Annie’s dark past, the more see realizes that the shiny glamour of Hollywood is a facade. This gritty noirish style mystery has twists and turns, red herrings and a great setting. The author is a teen librarian at the Los Angeles Public library who has written articles about Hollywood’s dark past and her research is evident in this terrific book.

Grade: A-
Teen Historical Fiction
Grades 9- Adult

2016-03-22T17:56:00.004-07:00

MONUMENT 14 (Book 1)

BY: EMMY LAYBOURNE

Set in Monument, Colorado, Monument 14 is suspenseful story of survival. 14 kids are on their way to school when a giant hail storm suddenly starts. The hail causes the school bus to crash into a giant super store. While the bus driver goes for help, the kids take shelter in the Wal-Mart like store. After entering the store, the security doors slam shut and the kids are trapped inside. The kids are a mix of ages, six high school students, two eighth graders and six little kids. When The Network, the communication hub for the town, goes down and their bus driver doesn’t return, the kids are cut off from the outside world. Trapped in the store with a mix of nerds, popular and unpopular kids, they must learn to co-exist by using their wits and the resources available to them in the superstore. When they try to escape, they find that the outside air and water are contaminated due to a chemical weapons spill, poisonous gas and an earthquake. Will they escape and find their parents or has the whole town, and maybe even the whole world, been destroyed?

This is the first book in the Monument 14 series. It is well written with strong characters and an interesting plot. Readers of survival fiction should like it. It is best suited for older teens due to some mature situations in the book.

Grade: B+

Teen/ Young Adult

Survival/ Dystopianl Fiction

Grade: 9 and up

2016-03-22T17:27:00.001-07:00

Finding Audrey

by Sophie Kinsella

Audrey is a fourteen year old British teen who has suffered a traumatic experience that has left her with a severe social anxiety disorder. She dropped out of school, wears dark glasses and doesn’t want to leave the house. Her family is supportive and working with her counselor, Dr. Sarah, and she is beginning to recover. As part of her therapy, Dr. Sarah asks her to start filming a video of the things around her and Audrey begins filming her family life.

She is a keen observer of what is going on around her and there are laugh out loud moments. Her mother is convinced that her brother Frank is a computer game addict all the while the mother is addicted to reading the Daily Mail newspaper believing everything she reads. This book deals with a serious situation in a sensitive way and we can feel for Audrey and the effect her illness has had on the entire family. There are touching moments, funny moments, a new romance and family drama and the reader is pulling for Audrey to fully recover.

This teen book is written by the author of the very popular Shopaholic series. I haven't read that series but I loved this book so I might have to check them out.

Grade: A

Teen/ Young Adult Fiction

Recommended for 7th grade and up

2016-03-22T16:51:00.002-07:00

Girl Stolen

by April Henry

Sixteen year old Cheyenne Wilder is very sick with pneumonia. She convinces her step-mother to let her stay in the car while she goes into the pharmacy to fill her prescription for antibiotics. Suddenly a young man jumps into the Escalade and drives off, not realizing that someone is in the back seat. Cheyenne is not only very sick, she is also blind. The carjacker, Griffin, is a high school dropout who is taking the car back to his family’s “chop shop” where they steal cars and sell the parts. Griffin is horrified to realize that he has kidnapped someone and wants to release her but knows what will happen to him if he goes back home to his violent family without scoring a vehicle. Unfortunately, his family discovers that Cheyenne’s father is the president of Nike and they decide to lock Cheyenne up hold her for ransom. How can Cheyenne protect herself and escape when she can’t see where she is? Griffin is nice to her and wants to protect her from his violent family but he has to make sure that his father doesn’t know that he is being kind to her.

This book is told in alternating points of view between Cheyenne and Griffin. Griffin isn’t a bad teen but he is a victim of his violent upbringing. Cheyenne is a strong character and because she is blind she must focus on her other sense to help her. Can she really trust Griffin or is it just a case of Stockholm Syndrome, where the hostages begins to identify and sometimes defend their captors? When Cheyenne takes matters into her own hands and tries to escape into the woods behind the house, this book races to a thrilling climax. Readers won’t want to put it down.

Grade A-
Teen/Young Adult Fiction
Suspense, Mystery
(Grades 7-up)

2016-03-21T21:23:00.001-07:00

She's Not There

by Joy Fielding

Many years ago I read See Jane Run and The Deep End and really liked them, so I'm not sure why I didn't continue reading Joy Fielding's books. When I was given the opportunity by NetGalley to read an ARC of She's Not There for an honest review, I took advantage of it. I'm glad that I did!

Caroline and Hunter Shipley seem to have a perfect life with their two beautiful little girls, a seemingly wonderful marriage and an affluent lifestyle. Caroline is determined that she won't raise her children as her mother raised her and her brother, Steve. Although Steve is a charmer, he is also a drinker, a gambler and an underachiever. Her mother always favors him over the more responsible, Caroline. However, Caroline is finding it difficult to not favor her own children because her sweet little toddler, Samantha, is a joy while her older daughter, Michelle is difficult and demanding.

Hunter takes the family to Mexico to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Caroline is excited to spend time with her husband only to find that he has invited her brother, his wife, and two other couples to join them. On the last night, the babysitter at the hotel doesn't show up. Hunter insists that they should still go to dinner with their friends because he has a big surprise for her. Caroline doesn't want to leave the girls alone but Hunter says that they will check on them every half hour and will be eating right below their window, so everything will be fine.

When they finally return to their room, they find that Samantha has been taken.. The authorities are called but they can't find her. This story is reminiscent of the case that was in the news a few years ago about a couple whose child was stolen, when she was left alone. while the couple was eating.

The book moves back and forth between the present and fifteen years before when Samantha disappeared. In the years after the abduction, Caroline's marriage falls apart, she has trouble keeping a teaching job because of the notoriety of the case and Michelle becomes even more difficult.

Every year, on the anniversary of her disappearance, the press dredges up the story and the crazies seem to come out of the woodwork. They either claim to have seen Samantha, or worse, claim to be her. But this time, one of the callers seems to be the real thing and Caroline makes arrangements to meet her. Is she Samantha or just another imposer?

I don't like reviews that reveal too much about the book, so all I am going to say is that if you like engaging mysteries with surprises, you will like She's Not There.

Grade: B+

Adult Mystery: Suitable for older teens

2016-03-14T12:38:00.002-07:00

What I Saw and How I Lied

by Judy Blundell

Evie is excited when her stepfather, Joe, returns home from World War II. It is 1947 and Evie and her beautiful mother, Bev, have been living with Joe’s mother while he was in the army. Now that he is home, the family is trying to get back to normal. Suddenly Joe decides that they should leave Brooklyn and head to Florida for a vacation, even though it is the off season and most of the hotels are closed. Once there, they meet Arlene and Tom Grayson who are staying at their hotel. They convince Joe and Bev to come in with them on a possibly shady business deal. Arlene lavishes attention on fifteen year old Evie by taking her shopping and helping her develop a sense of style. Evie is desperate to grow up but her overly protective mother doesn’t seem to want her to grow up. When twenty-three year old Peter, an army buddy of Joe’s, shows up at the hotel, Evie is smitten with his good looks and charm. However, Joe isn’t happy to see him. Will Peter reveal secrets that Joe doesn’t want revealed? Peter’s appearance at the hotel is no accident and what happens will change their lives, forever. As a hurricane descends on them, there is a murder, or was it murder?

This coming of age story has lies, betrayals, courtroom drama and a mystery with twists and turns. There is a lot going on in this book and the author deftly weaves the plot threads together. Evie is a wonderful character who slowly begins to realize that growing up is harder than she thought it would be, that adults can have flaws, even your own parents, and things aren’t always as they seem. What I Saw and How I Lied is the 2008 winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Filled with period detail, well defined characters and an ending that is open to discussion, this book will keep you reading!

Grade: A

Teen/Young Adult Fiction

Recommended for Grades 9-up

2016-03-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tricky Twenty-Two: A Stephanie Plum Novel

by Janet Evanovich

I have listened to all of the Stephanie Plum books on audio. The first reader was C.J. Critt and she was wonderful. They later changed narrators to Lorelei King. Apparently Janet Evanovich loves her narration of her books but I don't care for it. Some of her voices are okay but her Grandma Mazer one is grating.

Aside from that, this series is getting tired and a little too crude. The humor often seems forced and Lula is now too over the top for my taste. Stephanie needs to decide if she wants Joe or Ranger and stick to her decision.Yes, there were some funny moments in this book: Lula with the flea collars and Stephanie's mom going after the perp, It ended on a cliffhanger, so I will probably check out the new one, when it is published, but I don't enjoy this series like I once did.

Adult Mystery
Grade; B-

2016-03-06T19:47:00.005-08:00

How To Be a Victorian: A Dawn-To-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life

by Ruth Goodman

This is a fun, informative book about Victorian life. The author, Ruth Goodman, is a British historian and an expert on this time period.. She was involved with a program on PBS where she lived for one year on a re-created Victorian farm. She wore a corset and lived as many working class Victorians did. This book leads us through a day in the life of these people. You find out how the lower class started their day compared to the upper class. You will learn about their daily grooming habits, fashions of the time, meals, leisure time and their sex lives. It is a fascinating book and fans of period dramas will love it. She has a new book out now named How To Be A Tudor and I am sure that it will be a fascinating read, too.

Adult Non- Fiction

Grade: A

High School +

2016-03-06T17:32:00.003-08:00

June: A Novel

by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

I love the old classic Hollywood movies so when I read a description of June, I knew that I would like it. And I did! The story begins with Cassie Danvers moving to St Jude, Ohio to the crumbling mansion that her grandmother, June, has left her. June raised Cassie after the death of her parents.. Cassie has left her life in New York to move into this once spectacular house that is falling down around her. She has been having vivid dreams about June and she almost feels like the house is alive. Although she was left some money by her grandmother, she is wondering how she will be able to repair the roof and fix all of the things that are broken to bring the house back to its former glory. After a drunken night of dreams, she hears a knock at the door and a young man named Nick is there to tell her that he works for Tate Montgomery. He says that Jack Montgomery the legendary, handsome, movie star has died and left his entire fortune of 37 million dollars to her. Nick also tells her that Jack's famous movie star daughter Tate Montgomery is challenging this and wants Cassie to submit to DNA tests. Cassie is confused. She doesn't know Jack Montgomery and her grandmother never mentioned him. Soon Tate Montgomery shows up with her entourage and the story gets very interesting.

The book alternates between 2015 and 1955 when a film crew comes to St. Jude, Ohio to film scenes for their movie. The town becomes involved with the movie by working as extras and we learn about June, her younger neighbor, Lyndie, who maybe loves June too much, Jack Montgomery and his glamorous co-star Diane who wants Jack for herself. and will do anything to get and keep him. A lot is going on in the little rural town of St. Jude and readers will be swept up in the action. Cassie searches for answers beginning to think that she really didn't know her grandmother at all. Was her grandmother involved with a movie star? Was Cassie's dad actually Jack Montgomery's son?

I liked the character of Cassie. She is struggling with her life after losing her grandmother and she feels that she let her grandmother down. She also begins to bond with Tate and Tate's sister and the entourage. Even though she doesn't t know if she is actually related to them she begins to feel like she has a family and is no longer an orphan. When the results of the DNA tests do come in there are lots of surprises in store for everyone. Murder, deception, family drama and Hollywood glamour combine to make a great story.

I was fortunate to be given an ARC from NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an honest review. I loved this book but don't want to write too much and add spoilers. It will be published in May, so get it as soon as it is available. You won't be sorry!

Historical Fiction
Grade: A

2016-03-04T12:23:00.002-08:00

The Silk Merchant's Daughter

by Dinah Jefferies

I had never read any books by by Dinah Jefferies so it is always fun to discover a new author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC for an honest review.

The Silk Merchant's Daughter is set in Hanoi in the early 1950s. It focuses on two sisters, beautiful, Sylvie who takes after their handsome French father and her younger sister, Nicole, who resembles their Vietnamese mother. Eighteen year old Nicole has always felt inferior to her older beautiful sister. Their mother died giving birth to Nicole so that adds to her feeling of unworthiness .When Sylvie is given control of the family silk business, Nicole is given a run down silk shop in the Vietnamese section of Hanoi. It is a dangerous area because rebels are trying to break away from French rule and will do anything they can to make it happen. It looks like war might break out. Nicole's father and sister don't believe that there is any danger but soon family secrets are revealed. Nicole meets two men, an American silk merchant and a Vietnamese rebel who want to help her, but can they be trusted? As war seems imminent, Nicole doesn't know whether she belongs to the French side or the Vietnamese side.

One of the things I love about reading historical fiction is that I learn new things about different customs, cultures, time periods and people. This time period in Vietnam was unfamiliar to me but the author pulls the reader into the story and you feel like yo are on the streets of Hanoi during this dangerous time. If you enjoy books with period detail, political unrest, family secrets, sibling rivalry and romance, you will enjoy The Slk Merchant's Daughter.

Historical Fiction
Grade: A-

2016-03-01T09:45:00.000-08:00

These Shallow Graves

by Jennifer Donnelly

I have been a fan of Jennufer Donnelly since 2003 when I read her fantastic Young Adult novel,

A Northern Light. It is based on a real-life murder of a young woman by her fiance in 1906. This same murder was also written about in An American Tragedy by Theodor Dreiser and in the movie

A Place in the Sun starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Cliff. I also love her adult Tea Rose Series. She writes books for children, too. Jennifer Donnelly is one of those remarkable authors who can write for all ages. Her newest teen book, These Shallow Graves is another great book.

In 1890 Jo (Josephine} Montfort is a student at Miss Sparkwell's School for Young Ladies. Like all wealthy women, Jo is expected to finish school and marry a wealthy young bachelor. Her family has Bram Aldrich, a likable and very wealthy bachelor picked out for her. However, Jo doesn't want to get married right away. She wants to be a newspaper reporter and investigate social injustices like her idol, Nellie Bly. Her father, Charles Montfort, owns a newspaper and a shipping line and is one of the wealthiest men in New York City. Jo's life is suddenly turned upside down when she receives word that her father has died and she leaves school to go home. They said that he accidentally killed himself while cleaning his gun. Jo doesn't believes this and then overhears talk that he committed suicide. This can't be true, either. Soon she is partnering with Eddie Gallagher, a handsome but poor newspaper reporter who works at her father's paper, to uncover the truth about his death.

Jo is practically engaged to Bram but it is the unsuitable Eddie who makes her heart race. Bribing her maid to help her, Jo begins sneaking out of the house at night, with Eddie, searching for answers. Eddie thinks that he will get the scoop of a lifetime but Jo just wants the truth about her father's death. Soon they are investigating the dangerous slums and docks of New York City and a naive Jo has her eyes opened about life and her family's own dark secrets. But sometimes secrets are better off staying buried and readers will be anxious to see how much she is willing to risk and lose in order to learn the truth.

Jo is a smart, strong female character who is straining against the constants of her wealthy , controlled life. This is a fast paced mystery/thriller with an atmospheric setting, great period detail, a love triangle and great characters, both good and evil.

Grade: A

Young Adult/Teen Fiction- Recommended for grades 9-up

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I grew up with Nancy Drew and I loved her! Nancy could do anything. She had a flat tire, no problem, Nancy changed it. A giant tree fell across the road blocking it? Not to worry because Nancy found a way around it. I loved reading about her and her sleuthing adventures. I especially like the original version of the books with the Russell Tandy illustrations.. Although the original 1930's books are no longer "politically correct" I loved it that she drove a roadster, wore frocks and had chums. By the time I was in fourth grade, I had read all of the books more than once. When I was sick, my mother would read them to me. I love that memory. Nancy was a great role model for young women even though I didn't know what that was at the time. Nancy will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Secret of The Old Clock was the first title published in 1930. I have this edition and it has been fun to re-read it.

Juvenile Fiction
Grade: A
Love the nostalgic value.

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Lilac Girls

by Marthat Hall Kelly

I love historical fiction! Often, after reading a great historical fiction novel, I want more information and that will leads me to finding non-fiction books and articles on the same subject. That is what happened with this well written novel. I recently received an ARC of the book Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly. It is a wonderful book that will be published later this spring. l. I also reviewed this book on Goodreads and Facebook.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Lilac Girls is an amazing book that will draw you in immediately. It focuses on three women, Caroline, Herta and Kasia, during WWII. Caroline is a New York socialite with French ties who works for the French Consulate to provide care packages for French orphans. Kasia is a Polish teenager whose work with the underground resistance gets her sent to Ravensbruck, the Nazi concentration camp for women. Herta is a woman doctor who finds that Germany isn't ready for women doctors so she can't find a job. When she sees an ad for a doctor at the Ravensbruck camp, she jumps at the opportunity, not realizing the horrors she will soon be facing. But Herta is a true German dedicated to the Reich and she soon becomes involved with medical experiments on Polish teenagers. The book's chapters alternate between the three women and each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. The reader must keep reading to find out what has happened to each character. I thought this was a great literary device because it kept me reading. I had to find out what was going to happen to each character! Meticulously researched and based on true characters and events, this book was almost impossible for me to put down.

Adult book that would be appropriate for older teens.

Grade: A+