"Calico Joe" by John Grisham (UPDATED)

Calico Joe by John Grisham is really, really good!  It's about a relationship between a son and his dad off the field as well as on it.  The gist of the story is the dad, a major league pitcher, hits his son's favorite player with a ball on purpose, knocking him out of the game.  I liked the dialog between the son and the dad.  The ending was sort of predictable, but I liked it anyway.  I think you would have to be a major league baseball fan to appreciate this book, but it's a quick read and entertaining!  Enjoy and play ball!
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:

Calico Joe by John Grisham is not one of his better books.  It’s about a pitcher to beaned an outstanding rookie, Joe, permanently ending his career.  This book shows baseball at its worst.    The most disturbing part of this book was when the pitcher was actually teaching his 11-yr-old son the fine art of throwing at a hitter’s head.  The highlight of the book was Joe’s willingness to forgive the pitcher.  It does address the issue of dying and it was said how many regrets the pitcher had. 

 

I thought this book was okay but liked other books he wrote much better.  This is not a baseball book I would recommend.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

 We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Must Read but read Divergent first!

Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second book in the Divergent series. It took me a few pages to get back up to speed with the story line and characters, but once I did, WOW! This book is awesome, as good as the first, if not better. There is action galore, we find out more about Tris and Tobias. It's another page turner that I didn't want to put down—finished it in two days. Book three comes out in October and a movie is in the works--can't wait! 
(Gerard's review)

Karen's review:
"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth is the second book in the Divergent series.  Tris a/k/a Beatrice and Four a/k/a Tobias deepen their relationship and we get to see inside the headquarters of Amity, Candor, and Erudite, visit the home of Four’s parents in Abnegation and Four’s mother in the factionless area.  I really liked when the Dauntless were staying at Candor headquarters and Tris and Four were given the truth serum.  Life in Amity was pretty funny but when the Dauntless decided to return to their own headquarters, I felt things get more interesting.  From that point on I was into it and had a hard time putting it down.  This book has lots of action and intense moments which kept my interest as well as some funny parts.  I was glad to see Tris and Four’s relationship develop too and how they both struggle to trust each other.

I liked the first book better but this one was good too.  However, was confused by some things such as (1) why there were so many dauntless traitors everywhere.  It didn’t seem as though they were still controlled by a simulation and if they were, why then were there any dauntless left normal that were not divergent?  (2)  for Tris to forget to bring the gadget that paralyzes people with her when entering Erudite headquarters through the window was hard to swallow.  (3) Why would dauntless want to completely destroy everything in Erudite—including the hospital?  (4) Why would the dauntless just give their guns over to the factionless during the attack at Erudite headquarters?  The ending with the video, I really didn’t understand at all.  I look forward to reading the next book in this series and finding out more how everything will change.     

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"City of Scoundrels" by Gary Krist

City of Scoundrels--12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth To Modern Chicago by Gary Krist is non-fiction that reads like a novel. WOW--Awesome book, way better than I expected! You want action, how about this: an election that splits the city, a blimp crashes into a bank, killing 13, a kidnapping of a child and then a public hanging of the person who did it, race riots, a transit strike, a judge commits suicide by jumping from the 13th floor. Wow, that's plenty for me! I loved this book and highly recommend it!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"The Returning" by Ann Tatlock

The Returning by Ann Tatlock is contemporary fiction about a family of five:  Andrea and John who have three children:  Phoebe-5, “Rebellious” Rebekah-16 and Billy-17 with Down Syndrome.  The story starts with John returning from prison after being gone five years for manslaughter.  At first, he feels like a stranger in his own home and is frustrated with himself for not being able to find a decent job to support his family and accepts a busboy job from his brother-in-law.  His son, Billy, is really the only one who gives him a good welcome and encourages the others to accept him too.  Phoebe is afraid of her dad and Rebekah hates him.  Andrea hopes they can put their family back together again and longs for his love but John holds back and falls into adultery once again.  I liked how John didn’t give up on his family and worked at rebuilding his relationship with each of them. 

I liked this book a lot because I found myself caring for all the characters and was glad it has a happy ending.  Second chances and forgiveness is the theme of this novel.  I’d say this is Christian fiction at its best!  I highly recommend this one if you like stories about realistic family struggles with happy endings.

(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.

"The Vanishing Game" by Kate Kae Myers

The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers is her first book telling the story of twins, Jocelyn and Jack who were both bullied in a foster home.  When Jack dies, Jocelyn is distraught until she starts to receive messages from Jack in code.  But how can this be; Jack is dead, or is he?  She turns to the one friend they had, Noah, to find the answer.

For a first book, this is really good!  There is lots of action and I never knew what was going to happen.  I loved the surprise ending too--GREAT!  I’ll be looking for more books by this author.

(Gerard's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during May to Joni and Friends for Camp Scholarships for families with special needs children.