"Nine Liars" by Maureen Johnson--A YA Contemporary Thriller

In Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson, nine friends are on a sightseeing trip to London.  They decide to play a night time game of hide and seek at an England country home.  The next morning, two of the nine are found dead, killed by an axe.  The other seven say they know nothing about it.  See if you can figure out who killed the two people.  I thought this was really good because of the characters and storyline.  It kept me turning pages.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

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Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey

Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey is a predictable romance set in England during the 19th century. I read this because I came across a teaser that was humorous and just wanted a change of pace. It is somewhat humorous, but for the most part just dragged along with lots of conversation and very little action. If you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice, you would probably like this one. I didn’t care for it all that much.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

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"After You" by Jojo Moyes

After You by Jojo Moyes is the sequel to Me Before You and picks up six months after Will killed himself.  Louisa is having a hard time dealing with that, but she has carved out a life for herself.  When someone from Will's past shows up, her life goes just a little bit crazy.

After You is not as good as Me Before You. That being said, I thought this book was pretty good.  Louisa is great and the new characters are pretty good as well.  The story line is just okay though, not great.  Still, if you liked the first book, you should read this one too!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"The Book of You" by Claire Kendal

The Book of You by Clair Kendal gives two stories and both are really good and interwoven with each other.  The main story is about a young lady who is stalked by a man.  She gets to be on a jury and sit in on a trial which is story two.  The main story gave me shivers up my spine when reading it!  The writing is that good.  This is a real page turner and I was happy with the ending.  For a first-time novel by this writer, this is exceptional!  
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Perfect" by Rachel Joyce

Perfect by Rachel Joyce tells two stories in the same book. Story one is told by an eleven-year-old boy whose mother got into a car accident and the consequences. The second is about a grown man who is slow learning and how he wants a relationship, but something is holding him back. I enjoyed both! It kept my interest as the story lines alternated.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls--Essays, Etc." by David Sedaris Is One I Should Have Passed Up

Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls Essays, Etc. by David Sedaris was disappointing to me. The title is very misleading because I thought I'd learn more about Diabetes and wondered what the owl connection was. Then in small print on the cover it said "Essays, Etc." which is really what is in this book. It's a collection of 25 short essays on topics from doctors, to his dad, politics, traveling, etc. There are some humorous lines and I did enjoy the ones about the dentist and not buying a cell phone. I also found his relationship with his dad to be sad but interesting. However, most of the essays did not interest me and I did not like how he put his dad down. I read most of it but finally got tired of plowing through this and switched to something else before I finished. This is the last book I'll read by this author and cannot recommend it.

If I had realized this was the same author who wrote Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, I would not have gotten it.
(I started Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk because I like animals and thought the title was funny, but gave up half way through and didn't want to waste any more time on it because it wasn't at all like I expected. The language was very rough and the animals were not portrayed in a good light at all. The "fables" seemed long to me. This book got so much hype but I did not see why. I liked Animal Farm much better!)

I do feel bad that the author's dad did not support or show him the love and acceptance every kid should have from his dad. However, I agree with his dad's opinion mentioned on page 39:

Number one on the Times list doesn't mean that your book is good--just that a lot of people bought it that week, people who were tricked, maybe, or were never too bright to begin with.

I am very thankful my dad was nothing like his and that is one of the reasons I wrote My Funny Dad, Harry in his memory shortly after his death. I think people would like reading about a happy family and a good family man once in awhile instead of about all the bad childhoods people had.

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"Some Kind of Fairy Tale" by Graham Joyce

I loved Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce! Tara has been missing for 20 year; then on Christmas morning, she shows up at her parents house. When she tells her story about where she has been, her parents and brother don't buy it. Her old boyfriend, who everyone figured did her in 20 years ago, is thrilled she still has feelings for him. When she goes for counseling at her brother's request, we get some answers . . . or do we? Is this girl really Tara or an imposter? Great writing, good page-turner. (Gerard's review, rating: 5 plus stars)

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