"The Pale-Faced Lie" by David Crow (True Story)

The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow is about his terrible childhood, his abusive parents, and his struggle to be free from his father’s control and the guilt and shame he felt most of his life. He also had an older sister and a younger brother and sister. This is a sad story and one that is hard to believe families like his actually exist. It sheds light about life on an Indian reservation and how much damage can be caused by abusive parents. His dad was an ex-con who got away with murder and expected David to help him in his criminal activities. The only times David’s father was pleased with David was when he did mean things to people that his father thought was hilarious. Although David had a lot of obstacles to overcome, including his upbringing, hearing loss, poverty and dyslexia, he had a lot of determination and mental toughness. He barely graduated high school and went on to graduate college, majoring in political science. This book made me want to keep reading to see what was going to happen next and how he succeeded (I knew he did since he wrote the book). This was heartbreaking, but at the same time, extremely interesting.
 (Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 9/25/19:
The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow is the true story about his family.  He had three siblings and they idolized their dad who told them stories about his World War II feats.  But, there was another side to Thurston Crow, the dad.  David tells the story of growing up with his dad and his mentally ill mother including plenty of action!What I enjoyed most about this book is that I really never knew what was going to happen next.
(5++ stars)

Teaser from page 8:  Other days, Dad tied me to the pine tree in our front yard.  He'd wrap a thick, scratchy rope around my chest and ankles and tug on it hard to make a tight know.

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"You Owe Me a Murder" by Eileen Cook

In You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook, Kim is headed to London on a class trip.  Good time for it because her life is not going very well.  She really needs this!  She meets a stranger on the plane and they have an instant connection.  In London, things go south in a hurry and Kim finds her life is at a crossroad!

I enjoyed this book!  Kim is a great character.  The pacing of the book is okay and I especially liked the last part of this book.  If you liked "Stranger on the Train," you will also like this!
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Teaser from page 15:  I was a walking black cloud of doom.  I hadn't bothered to get to know anyone else coming on the trip and now I was going to be miserable and alone.

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"Just After Midnight" by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Just After Midnight by Catherine Ryan Hyde centers on two women--Faith and Sarah.  Faith escapes her abusive husband, for now.  While at her friend's beach house, she befriends a young girl, Sarah.  Sarah is going through a rough time.  Her mom just died unexpectedly but the death is suspicious.  Also, her dad sold her house without saying anything to Sarah.

This book was pretty good.  I enjoyed Faith and especially Sarah.  I would have liked a little more action though.  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 17:  "Faith.  What if it works this time?  What if I ride her and make her look really good, and it works, and somebody buys her?  Then what?"

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"The Hive" by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden

The Hive by Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden tells the story of Cassie, a young teen girl who knows all about "The Hive."  It is social media that hands out punishment if need be on people who post what they consider to be "out of bounds."  One day Cassie makes a joke and is smack in the middle of Hive justice!

This book was pretty good.  I enjoyed Cassie, but the other characters were not brought out very well.  That being said, I still give this book a solid 4 because it had some good action.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 39:  "But it's a joke," Sarah added.  "Only the popular people ever trend positive.  Each week, a certain crowd decides who will be the targets, and everyone just follows along.  It's not even real justice.

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"Outlaw" by Ted Dekker

Outlaw by Ted Dekker is a novel that takes place in the jungle of Irian Jaya. It is about how Julian Carter and her 2-yr.-old son Stephen left America because she felt called to go to New Guinea to be a missionary through a reoccurring dream. She found herself shipwrecked on the way and captured by an unknown tribe of cannibals, the Tulim people who lived in the jungle in 1963 and obviously had a very different culture than she was used to and did not know their language.

I was looking for a change of pace and this book gave it to me. I enjoyed learning about the culture of cannibals and jungle tribes. This book is packed with adventure and is written by a man who was born and raised by missionaries in the jungles of Irian Jaya. This is a pretty amazing story and although some parts didn’t quite make sense to me, I still enjoyed it. This is a wild book! (Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 5: I cried out and frantically searched the foaming water but there was no sign of the captain. The ocean had swallowed him whole and shoved the boat far from where he’d gone overboard.


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