"Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder is a children’s fantasy book about nine kids who live on an island. Once a year, a boat comes with a new young child and the oldest on the island leaves in the boat so there are always only nine on the island. The island is safe, the children happy. Things change though when it is Jinny’s time to leave. Loo arrives but instead of Jinny leaving since she is the oldest, she decides to stay. Then things change!

I liked reading this okay, but didn’t like the ending because left me with lots of questions. It is a fable about growing up, but much didn’t make sense to me.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

Teaser from page 2:  Deen had lifted the bell and rung it to summon the others.  Deen had been alone, briefly, with the knowledge that it was time again for a Changing.

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"The Family Lawyer" by James Patterson

This book has contains three stories. The first is The Family Lawyer by James Patterson with Robert Rotstein. Defense lawyer, Matt Hovanes, finds himself and his partner defending Haley, his own high school daughter for bullying another student who committed suicide. This is really good about cyberbullying and parents going to great lengths to protect their child! (5 stars)

Teaser from page 17: The lawyer in me suspects she’s hiding something. The father in me wants nothing more than to believe in her innocence.

The second story is Night Sniper by James Patterson with Christopher Charles. Practically right off the bat the reader finds out who the night sniper is and the story is all about the cops trying to catch him. He kills from a distance, shoots at the heart and kills in the early morning hours. I thought this one was okay, but liked the first story much more. (4 stars)

Teaser from page 184: He spends the ride out to Queens studying the photo behind tonight’s mission. He holds the image frozen in his mind like a slide on a stalled viewfinder.

The third story is The Good Sister by James Patterson with Rachel Howzell Hall. This one is a murder mystery about two sisters. Melissa’s alcoholic, druggie, cheating husband is shot dead in her living room and the cops naturally suspect her. When she can’t revive him, she calls her sister, Dani, to come over to help her clean up some before calling the police. I did not care much for this one because I did not like any of the characters except for the little boy. (3 stars)

Teaser from page 333: Melissa shoved her hand into Kirk’s right pocket. This time, she pulled out his cell phone. “He was texting her,” she said, “even while he was fighting with me, he was texting her.”


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"Belichick" by Ian O'Connor

Belichick by Ian O'Connor details the football career of coaching of Bill Belichick.  I really enjoyed this book a lot, especially since I'm a fan of the New England Patriots!  There is lots of interesting behind-the-scenes stuff that I already knew about but gained more insight into.  I am so glad Belichick coaches the Patriots and Tom Brady who Belichick chose in the 6th round draft as QB! 
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Teaser from page 170:  "I know the last three weeks have probably been trying for all of you," the new coach continued, "but that's all behind me.  I'm tremendously excited to be here and to be a part of the New England Patriots organization."

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"The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise" by Dan Gemeinhart

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart is a heartwarming children’s story about a father and daughter on a road trip. They just bought a bus and drove all over together for five years after the wife and other two daughters were killed in a car accident when Coyote was 7. The father tries to forget by changing their names—he Rodeo Sunrise and the girl Coyote Sunrise. At 12 years old, Coyote gets talks on the phone to her grandmother and finds out the park is being torn down in a few days. Coyote is determined to get there to dig up the box her and her sisters and mom buried just before they died but needs to get her father to go somehow. As her and her dad travel from Florida back home to Washington State, they pick up some travel companions along the way: a cat she named Ivan, a boy and his mother, a musician, the boy’s aunt, a runaway girl, and a goat!

This book is a fun read with lots of touching moments and some wild, fun times. I liked both the dad and his daughter and her best friend, Salvador. As soon as Coyote got a kitten, I was hooked! This book has a good lesson: don’t judge people by how they look and most people want to help others if they can. Although this is a children’s book, it kept my interest all the way. It is a quick read I enjoyed! (Karen's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 26:  Ivan, superstar kitten that he was, managed to keep his grip on Rodeo's neck through all the screeching and the leaping.  Once Rodeo had shot to an upright position, Ivan decided he'd rather not be attached to a screaming, vertical hippie.


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"Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens -- WOW!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is the coming of age story of Kya, a lonely, abandoned, abused girl who lived in a Marsh in North Carolina. It is a murder mystery and a love story as well. This is an amazing emotional read that starts out slow but picks up as it goes along. It has much sadness but some high points are mixed in. In a way, it is a rags to riches story. There were a lot of heartbreaking events and yet Kya proved to be very strong, overcoming great obstacles with very little help from others. She was definitely a “lone wolf” until as a teenager, the loneliness caused her to make some poor choices.

All I can say is WOW, what a book! This is well written and reminded me of To Kill a Mocking Bird. It includes lots of information about nature and is a remarkable story about how a girl who only attended school one day in her whole life, became a well-recognized author. I especially liked the courthouse cat, Sunday Justice, who befriended Kya. I would recommend this as a book club read because of the many issues it raises.
(Karen’s review 2/15/19, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 2/18/19:
In Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Kya is the last one left of her family.  First her mom left, then her brother and sisters left.  Her pa was the last to leave, but she found a way to survive in their shack in the marsh.  Two young men came into her life during her teen years.  When an incident happens though, Kya is once again all alone and her fate is in other people's hands.

This is a pretty good book!  Kya is a great character and I enjoyed how she got along so well by herself.  More action though would have been nice, but the pacing of this book made up for that.  (5 stars)

Teaser from page 16: “If anybody comes, don’t go in the house. They can get ya there. Run deep in the marsh, hide in the bushes. Always cover yo’ tracks; I learned ya how. And ya can hide from Pa, too.”

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