"Danny's Mom" by Elaine Wolf

Danny's Mom by Elaine Wolf is about Beth Mauler, Danny's mom who is a guidance counselor at the high school. Danny dies in a car accident when Beth's husband lets him use the car against her wishes. After the accident, Beth's home life and her job are a mess! This book kept me turning pages. No "wow" factor, but worth your time reading.
(Gerard's review, rating 5 stars)

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!

Our Favorite Fiction Books Read in 2012

Karen's Top 12 Fiction Books for 2012:

I read 113 books in 2012 but managed to choose just 12 top fiction books; it wasn't easy!  Here are my finalists, but I feel bad I had to leave off others:

 1)  Legend by Marie Lu  (YA, Distopian) (Gerard liked this too!)

 2)  Into the Free by Julie Cantrell  (YA)

 3)  Lead For God's Sake by Todd G. Congwer  (reads like non-fiction about a losing coach)

 4)  Catch Me by Lisa Gardner (suspense) (Gerard liked this too!)

 5)  Defending Jacob by William Landay (murder mystery) [favorite of Gerard's too!]

 6)  Home Front by Kristin Hannah (contemporary fiction) [favorite of Gerard's too!]

 7)  One For the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly (YA)

 8)  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (childrens about a gorilla, really good!) [favorite of Gerard's too!]

 9)  Words by Ginny L. Yttrop (mystery)

10)  Unwind by Neal Shusterman (YA Futuristic) (Gerard liked this too!)

11)  Wings of the Morning by Murray Pura (historical romance)

12)  Unlocked by Karen Kingsbury (Christian fiction, Autism)

Use the search box to find our reviews for a particular book.

Gerard's Top 12 Fiction Books for 2012:

 1)  Defending Jacob by William Landay (murder mystery)

 2)  The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (murder mystery)

 3)  One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf (Karen almost put this on her list too) (mystery)

 4)  Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

 5)  Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen (suspense)

 6)  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (contemporary fiction) (Karen hated this one but most people love it.)

 7)  Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (YA)

 8)  Home Front by Kristin Hannah (contemporary fiction)

 9)  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (children's)

10)  Double Blind by Brandilyn Collins (mystery/science fiction) (Karen liked this too!)

11)  172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Horstad (YA) Karen liked this too!)

12)  Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers (paranormal)

I also loved Little Boy Blue, Catch Me and Heft but could only list 12.

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

Our Top 10 Non-Fiction Books Read in 2012

Gerard read 156 books this year so it's just too hard to choose only 10 favorites.  So this year, he will give you a list of his top 10 non-fiction reads and a separate list of his top 10 fiction reads.  Karen read 111 this year so will also give a non-fiction list of her seven favorites.  If you click on the links, it will take you to our reviews.  Notice Gerard's first two are also on Karen's favorite non-fiction list.

Gerard's Non-Fiction Top 10 Reads for 2012:

1) Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick (based on a true story)

2) Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell and John Bruning

3) January First by Michael Schofield

4) Show Dog by Josh Dean

5) Wild by Cheryl Strayed

6) Nothing to Envy--Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

7) The White Cascade--The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist

8) I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza

9) Sutton by J. R. Moehringer

10) Into the fire by Dakota Meyer and Bing West

Karen's 7 Favorite Non-Fiction Reads for 2012:

1)  Lead For God's Sake by Todd G. Congwer (revised list, this one is actually fiction.)

1)  One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard

2)  Animals Welcome by Peg Kehret

3)  All God's Creatures--Spiritual Lessons from Animals of the Bible by Gary Richmond

4)  Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell (link in Gerard's list)

5)  Never Fall Down by Pat McCormick (based on a true story) (link in Gerard's list)

6)  Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands--How to Help Others Change by Paul David Tripp (no review of this one, but it is a good Bible study on how to give solid Biblical counseling to help people with issues.)

7) James - Mercy Triumphs by Beth Moore

I would include The Power of a Positive Woman by Karol Ladd, but I'm not finished with it yet.

Do you have a different favorite non-fiction read?  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!

"Salvation of a Saint" by Keigo Higashino

In Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino, a husband is found dead in his kitchen. His wife is on a very short list of suspects but the problem is she was in another country at the time of his death. This is a really great tale of police trying to find the murderer with a definite "wow" factor at the end. I highly recommend you read this one if you like murder mysteries!
(Gerard's review, rating 5 stars)

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!

"Almost Home" by Joan Bauer

The girl, Sugar, has a rescue dog, Woof!  Woof!

First off, Almost Home by Joan Bauer is not a dog book in spite of the cover. It is a very good children's book about a young teen girl, Sugar Mae Cole, who finds herself homeless and put into foster care. I liked how it was written as well as the story. I loved Sugar and found myself cheering her on through her ordeal. This is a feel good book that I recommend.
(Gerard's review)

Almost Home by Joan Bauer is an inspirational story about how Sugar, her dog Shush and her mother, Reba lose their home and persevere to get their lives back to "normal."  Both are sweet people that are likeable characters.  Sugar expresses her feelings in poetry and thanks to some nice people who come into her life, finds herself in a good home.  I liked how the dog sort of parallels Sugar's growth as it gets braver throughout the book after having had a bad start.  The issue of trust is also addressed, especially trusting the right people. 

I enjoyed this book because it shows people can rise above bad circumstances and gives hope to kids who may be going through hard times.  I really liked how the mother instilled an attitude of gratitude in her daughter through a silly thank you card game and the challenge to "live bold." 
(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!