"The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary" by Andrew Westoll is Fantastic

WOW and Double Wow! The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll is a fantastic book! Gloria Grow runs a sanctuary for chimps. The author goes there to observe and work too. I loved this book because the chimps are so fascinating! You will never feel the same way about them after you read this! It is a book filled with emotion. I highly recommend it. Read and enjoy.
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Murderer's Daughters" by Randy Susan Meyers

The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers is an interesting read about how a father ruined his daughters’ lives when he killed their mother. This story is about Merry and Lulu who were left without parents. Lulu felt responsible for her mother’s death and so always felt as though she had to take care of her younger sister. LuLu became a doctor and Merry became a probation officer. This book has some interesting family dynamics and deals with issues of grief, guilt, foster care and relationships.

I liked this book and found it interesting how both sisters reacted to their father when he was in prison. It was sad how their mother’s murder overtook their life for so long. I liked this book because it seemed realistic and had a pretty happy ending. I recommend it to anyone who likes books about families and interpersonal relationships. The author worked ten years with men who destroyed their families like the father did in this book.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Penguin Who Knew Too Much" by Donna Andrews

The best thing about The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews is the title and the cover. This is a cozy murder mystery that is somewhat humorous and very chaotic. Meg's father finds a dead body buried in the basement of his daughter's (Meg) house that she recently purchased. Her family comes over to help her move in, the zoo animals are dropped off there because the bank was foreclosing on the zoo. It is just a crazy story that I thought I would enjoy because I like animals and mysteries. This was just so unbelievable that there really was no suspense in it. Maybe it was meant to be a spoof on mysteries, but I was not captivated by this book at all. In fact, halfway through it, I switched to Divergent which was really good! Perhaps "cozy mysteries" just aren't my thing, but I did not like this one very much.
(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Until Tuesday" by Capt. Luis Carlos Montalvan

Until Tuesday tells the true story of Captain Luis, a highly decorated Captain who suffers from PTSD and whose life is a mess until one day he meets Tuesday, a service dog. It is a remarkable tale how a man and a dog bonded and helped each other overcome their fears. Thanks, Captain Luis, and give Tuesday a pet for me!

This book mentions the Wounded Warrior Project.  Maybe you would like to check it out.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth is Fantastic! (UPDATED)

We both read this one! I loved Divergent by Veronica Roth because it is thought provoking. I kept thinking, “What would I do if in Beatrice’s position?” and it was fun to try guessing the background of different characters. It is a futuristic science fiction novel about value, ethics, choices, friendship and community. Although Beatrice was born into the selfless faction, she didn’t feel that she was selfless enough to stay and at 16 left her family to choose to join the dauntless. Her brother chose education and the other two choices were honest and peaceful.

Divergent is about control and manipulation, friendship, love, character and survival. When Beatrice was tested, she discovered she had a secret she had to keep to stay alive—she was divergent!

This book drew me in very quickly and I even quit reading another book to read this one sooner. Once I started this, it was difficult to put it down because it has lots of action, interesting characters, romance and some mystery with twists and surprises along the way that make it both a fun and interesting read. I can definitely recommend this one!
(Karen's review)

Gerard's Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth is about a 16-yr.-old girl who must choose a faction to live in when she is in her 16th year. Her brother and her pick a faction, difficult ones, that their parents do not live in. The story is mostly about the girl, Beatrice, who you will love. I enjoyed this book for the following reasons:

1. It has a big "WOW" factor!

2. If you loved the Hunger Games, you will love this book too!

3. Lead character is awesome.

4. The story is good!

5. I really got into all the characters.

6. The ending is very, very good!

7. This left me wanting to read book two.

This is my favorite read for June and I read a lot of good books this month. This is a "must read." I highly recommend it!
(Gerard's Review)

Just for Fun:  If you are on Shelfari, there is a fun group for "Divergent."  There is also a page on Facebook for Divergent where you can take a faction aptitude test!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.