Books, Books, Books

I have been meaning to post about the books I've been reading and each time I try to start I am reading another one and I think, "Oh I'll just wait until I'm done." So I'm finally doing it. A list of books, brief synopsis, and opinions of the book.

First, "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Alot of you have already read this, and although I don't usually read these kinds of book this was amazingly, shocking. So much so, I was intrigued to keep reading although I didn't want to. It was like a car accident, you don't want to look, but you can't help but not look just to make sure it isn't anyone you know. It has sucked me in and I have to read the second (comes out Sept. 1st) just to make sure the end happens as I have envisioned it. I need closure for the sake of the characters and their families. This is so thought- provoking on so many levels and it's definitely an ethically, morally, psychologically bound book. This is a book about survival of children. An all-out physical fight for life among 24 randomly chosen kids to represent their part of the country. I don't want to spoil anything so that's all I'm going to say about the plot; if you want more details visit the website.

The rest are all light, easy reads:

"Lemon Tart" by Josi S. Kilpack. This is a classic "Who Done It?" involving a Martha Stewart/Relief Society President wanna-be. In the fact, the main character is trying to figure out the how's and why's of her dear neighbor's murder by sticking her nose into every aspect of the investigation. She gets away with it by concoting culinary delights to entice information from neighbors and the police. There is a little romance, slight action, and of course a twist. This book made me laugh just because we all can envision a certain person or neighbor who would act this way in just a time.

"Her Good Name" by Josi S. Kilpack. What would you do if your identity was stolen and the person who stole it reported it to the authorities first? This is what happened to the main character, so when she eventually approached the right authorities they suspected her of lying because the identity theft had already been reported else where. Sound confusing? It's really a "What would I do if this happened to me?" thought provoking story. It actually becomes an interesting plot when she takes it upon herself to find the culprit and solve the problem. It has action, some violence, and a little romance.

"The Dark Divine" by Bree Despain- We have an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) version so it's not officially in stores yet, but the author gave Frank a copy and wanted me to try it out. It's a very captivating, easy read. It does have a Stephanie Meyers feel to it, but don't compare because they are completely different. This style is fresh and exciting full of supernatural twists and turns. It's about a girl, Grace, who knew something terrible happened three years ago between her brother and her best friend Daniel. Daniel disappeared. Suddenly, he returns full of mystery and secrets. As she uncovers the truth she has to make a very hard decision that will affect her life and her brother's forever.

"The Actor and the Housewife" by Shannon Hale. This is not a typical Shannon Hale novel. Imagine if you will your "list". You know "the list" that you have with actors on it. The one that by-chance if you were to ever meet you get a free ticket to go on a date or something like that with no judgement or guilt from your spouse. Actually, I haven't ever imagined what I would do if I got the opportunity to actually meet my number 1 on my list, who by the way would probably be Christain Bale, at least not until I read this book. It's about an LDS mom of four, who by coincidence, did get to meet her #1 actor on the "list". And they became friends. Best-friends. This is about how the world, her family, her husband, even the ward members all judged (or not-judged) her strictly platonic relationship with someone of the opposite sex. It does put things into perspective. Are we commanded not to have "male" friends, do we give up that friendship as soon as we get married, etc. You see where I'm headed with this. It definitely made me think throughout the whole book, how would Frank handle this if Christain and I were buddies? Or opposite, how would I handle it if Frank and Kate Beckinsale were chums?

BTW- If you want to borrow any of these books I would love to loan them to you!