Loved "Innocence" by Dean Koontz - A Must Read!

Innocence by Dean Koontz is about a young girl and a young boy who live away from people as much as they can because they both have issues with their appearance.  You will have to read the book to find out what they are.  When they come together one night, the story really takes off.  Wow, oh wow!  This is an amazing read!  I was into it from the get-go with plenty of action and characters I cared about.  It has a really , really good ending too!  I LOVED it!  This is my first "must read" book of 2014! 
(Gerard's review, 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!

"Zlata's Diary--A Child's Life in Sarajevo" by Zlata Filipovic

Zlata's Diary--A Child's Life in Sarajevo by Zlata Filipovic is her diary over a two year period of war in Sarajevo. She is 11 years old at the beginning and I was surprised to read how her life was much like that of American children. The book is pretty sad and depressing, day after day pretty much the same thing. It shows how terrible war is, how innocent people are impacted, and how very basic things made her so happy.

It made me thankful for all I have was a reminder to me that I have nothing to complain about! It goes fast but gives great insight into what it's like to live in a war zone.
(Karen's review, 3 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!

"Thank You For Your Service" by David Finkel

Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel is non-fiction focusing on the men and women who fight our country's wars and the toll it takes on them and their loved ones.  It contains very interesting stories and reads like a novel.  It kept my interest throughout.  I can't say it was an enjoyable read, but you should read it if you get a chance to get a glimpse of the sacrifices made and the tragic outcomes in some cases.  
(Gerard's review, 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!

"A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton" by Michael Phillips (Book 2 of Shenandoah Sisters Series)

Image source:  Goodreads (Read on Kindle)

A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton by Michael Phillips picks up right where Angels Watching Over Me left off and is just as good!  This series is about two white girls and two black girls all working together to run a plantation by themselves during the post-Civil war days when racism in the south was rampant.  Katie, the orphan of the plantation owners, has a warm heart and even though she is barely managing, takes in yet another young white girl to care for whose mother died and whose father is mean to her since being back from the war. 

The story is told by both a plantation owner's daughter and her former slave girl friend, but mostly from the slave girl's point of view.    This second book is about courage to survive and has both happy and sad parts to it.  Although it is the second of a series, it could also stand alone.  I loved it and can't wait to read the next one of this Shenendoah Sisters series.  It has interesting character development, excitement, suspense and a very good plot.  It's hard to put down and I highly recommend it!(Karen's review, 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!

Tuesday Teasers: Four Today

Gerard's:

She fills a drink container with enough water to weigh about as much as the baby, and as Adam continues driving and considering the gun, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet, she rolls that off the edge, too.

From page 9 of Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel.

 He'll be back again and again and again until he finds you.  He'll never leave those wood for good until you're dead.  And then I'll be dragged into it.

From page 34 of Innocence by Dean Koontz.

Karen's: 

"Somebody came an' she had ter go wiff dem an' she put us down here so nuthin' would happen ter us or nobody fin' me."
"Who came, Emmas...who was it?"

From page 83 (Loc. 1158 on Kindle) of A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton by Michael Phillips.  See review of the 1st book in this series here.  My review of this one will be up tomorrow.

"The day before you give Jenna away," she had said, her hands and voice trembling as she handed me the heirloom, "give this to her for the gift."

I was puzzled by her choice of words.

From page 21 of Timepiece by Richard Paul Evans (my review posted yesterday.)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page (well, we cheat and choose specific ones)
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser.   

Happy Reading!