"Baby Teeth" by Zoje Stage (We Both Liked This One)

Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is the story of a dysfunctional family, Crone's disease, and a little girl who wants her mother gone.  Hannah feels as though her mother, Suzette, doesn't really love her and is constantly trying to come between her and her father!  Suzette, on the other hand, feels as though Hannah is coming between her and her husband.  The little bratty girl behaves nicely towards her father, so he doesn't see her evil side and thinks teachers exaggerate when reporting behavior problems with his precious little Hannah.

Some chapters are written from Hannah's perspective while others are from the mother's perspective which makes for a very interesting read!  Hannah is manipulative, sneaky, smart, devious, mean, and mentally ill.  She can talk, but refuses to do so except for when it serves her purpose of scaring her mother by things she says.  Hannah is determined not to go to school because she can cause more problems for her mother at home.  She has figured out that if she acts up and is bad enough, the school will kick her out and she wins! 

This book kept my interest all the way through because I had to see if the mother was actually going to get killed and what was going to happen to Hannah.  I didn't like Hannah because she was so mean to her mother for no reason.  If you like stories about dysfunctional families, this is a wild one for you!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 5++ stars:
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage is told by Suzette, a stay-at-home mom and Hanna, her 7-yr.-old daughter!  They do not get along at all; in fact, Hanna has not spoken to her mom her whole life!  She acts better toward her dad, so much so that Alex does not believe his wife when she tells him how Hanna acts toward her.  Can this become a happy family?

I thought this book was very good!  I enjoyed Suzette and Hanna very much!  I liked how the author kept adding new things one after another and hope there is a second book--job well done!


Teaser from page 7:  Suzette felt her face reddening, as if her hands had moved to her throat, squeezing the life from her.  "I--we--don't know what to do.  We can't go on like this."

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"The Last Time I Lied" by Riley Sager--We Both Liked This Mystery

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager is a mystery about missing girls that takes place at Camp Nightingale.  It is an all-girls camp for mostly rich girls.  This story centers around Emma who at 28 is still trying to find out what happened to her three cabin mates, Vivian, Natalie and Allison. Emma is an artist but can't get the girls out of her head and they are all she paints, hiding them in pictures of forests.  Sometimes she even still sees Vivian and keeps telling herself she isn't crazy.  The camp closed down for years after the girls went missing and were never found, but is re-opening 15 years later and Emma has accepted the opportunity to go back as an art instructor to teach girls to paint.  The only reason she accepts is to snoop around to see if she can find clues to what happened when she was a camper there.  There is a lot of suspicion and people still think she must have had something to do with it.

This book kept me guessing and I felt bad for Emma and the camp owner, Franny.  There are lots of questions that came up as I read this:  What happened to the three girls 15 years ago?  Is Emma hallucinating seeing Vivian all over or could Vivian still be alive?  Who is after Emma now?  What happened to her current cabin mates?  Is Theo telling the truth or not when he finds Emma in the woods with the girls?  This book jumped from present to past throughout, but it was written well so was easy to follow.  I liked it and was eager to finish to find out what actually happened.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)     

(Gerard's review, 5++ stars) 
In The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager, Emma is a first-time camper.  She gets put in a cabin with three older girls who are long-time friends.  They befriend her and things are going along good until tragedy happens!  Fifteen years later, Emma gets a chance to go back to this camp.  She reluctantly winds up going to find out answers to what really happened on that night years ago!

I thought this book was really good!  Emma is a really good character and the pacing of this book is so good, you do not know the outcome till just about the last page!  This was the author's second book so I order her first one to read as well.


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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"The Sun Does Shine--How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row" by Anthony Ray Hinton

This book tells the true story of Ray Hinton, who found himself on death row for a crime he did not commit!  Most of this book is very depressing.  He even had evidence that he did not do it, but it was ignored.  No one paid any attention to that.  The last part of this book is uplifting!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review:
The Sun Does Shine—How I found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton is the sad true, but inspirational story of his life. He was wrongfully convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. This book shows his journey of appeals and his imprisonment. It made me more appreciative of my freedom and certainly made me more aware of the injustices that happen in our nation. It is an emotional read, making me feel both sadness and anger. I even cried at one point when he received news that his mother had died. He lost 30 years of his life because of prejudice and he’s not the only one! This is horrible! 

The afterward was especially sobering.  It listed the names of all those who are sitting on death row as of March 2017 by state so the reader can pray for them!  It said that "Statistically, one out of every ten sentenced to death is innocent. This was a shocking statistic to me and one that should put an end to the death penalty." 

This was hard to read because it is a true story of injustice but I’m glad I read it. It speaks to the issue of capital punishment and I think it’s good that people be made aware of how inhumane life on death row is. It was sort of funny how Ray kept his sanity and sense of humor while locked up wrongly all those years by using his imagination. I recommend adults and teens read this book.  (5 stars)


Teaser from first page of the forward:

He resisted mightily the notion that he was arrested, charged, and wrongly convicted because of his race, but he ultimately couldn’t accept any other explanation. He was a poor man in a criminal justice system that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.

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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Serafina and the Black Cloak" by Robert Beatty (#1 in series)

In Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty, Serafina and her pa live in the basement of the Biltmore Estate.  Her pa works for the owners and Serafina is told to stay hidden and never go in the nearby forest.  But when strange events begin to happen, Serafina takes it upon herself to find out why and who are causing these events!

I thought this children's book was pretty good!  There is good action throughout and I liked Serafina and Gidean, the dog.  I will read book 2 of this series soon.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from pg. 19:  Serafina suddenly realized that she'd made a dreadful mistake.  This was far more than she could handle.

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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Final Girls" by Riley Sager

There were three "final girls" in Final Girls by Riley Sager.  You will have to read the book to understand what the final girls means. Quincy has started a new life for herself.  She has moved on, but one of the final girls is found dead.  When the other final girl comes to be with Quincy, her life will never be the same again. 

This is the first book this author wrote.  I read the second one and liked that one better--The Last Time I Lied.  This one did hold my interest though.  I was not invested in all the characters like I was in the other book.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from pg. 33:  "Of course it does.  What happened to you was abnormal.  But one of the things I love about you is how you haven't let it define you."

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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!