"From the Ashes" by Jesse Thistle - A memoir of a life surviving the streets

From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle is a true story, and what a story it is!  Jesse tells how he grew up and it was far from the ideal childhood.  In his teen years and beyond, he made some wrong choices and suffered the consequences.  It is inspirational because he turned his life around.  This was a very honest book and I enjoyed it.  He told his story very well and I think anyone would like this book!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Litigators" by John Grisham is About Different Types of Attorneys

The Litigators by John Grisham was a very amusing and entertaining read for me.  This book gives insight into a variety of different types of lawyers.  David Zinc is the main character, an attorney in a huge prestigious law firm who is stuck in a very boring job and decides to just quit and go somewhere else.  He just leaves one day, no notice and no message, goes to a bar where he drinks all day and finally stumbles into a small 2-partner ambulance chasing law firm, Finley & Figg.  They hire him that day and he finds he enjoys the work.  He actually gets to help clients!  Plus, a dog lives at the office and there is Rochelle, the receptionist who actually runs the place.  The lawyers are sleezy and located in a bad part of town, but David likes his new job and has no regrets.

I really enjoyed the second half of this book when David gets to be part of a trial in Federal Court against lawyers from his old firm.  This trial is hilarious, had me laughing out loud in some parts. I liked David Zinc right from the start.  He was a nice guy and proved that as the book moved along.  The ending was great! I think anyone who enjoys Grisham books about attorneys would enjoy this one.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review of 5/31/20:
In The Litigators by John Grisham, David Zinc works in a big-time law firm.  One day the stress of his job--long hours and plenty of work gets to him and he just quits!  He joins a small law firm run by just two guys.  Will David find peace of mind again and will he be happy?

This is not the author's best work, but there was just enough that I had to stay with it and see how it all turned out.  I give it 4 stars on the strength of David and parts of the story line I really enjoyed.
(4 stars)

Teaser from page 8:  "Sure," David mumbled as he managed to move forward.  The door slid open, the bell chimed again.  He was out of the elevator, looking around nervously as if he'd never before seen the place.  In fact, he'd left it only ten hours earlier.

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"Heroine" by Mindy McGinnis

In Heroine by Mindy McGinnis, Mickey is a young teen girl.  She has had a rough life to this point in her young life.  She is a bit of a loner.  There is one place where she feels good:  being the catcher on her high school girls' softball team.  Her best friend is the pitcher.  But when they both get into a car accident, all of a sudden Mickey's spot on the team is in danger.  To make matters worse, it is her senior season!  She will do and take anything to make sure she is ready to play!

This book is fiction but it rings true to life for me.  It goes fast and the story moves along at a good pace.  Give it a try, you will be glad you did!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 9:  Carolina wipes a tear from her face as she looks down at me.  She takes a deep breath and it hitches, stuck in her lungs, refusing to release.

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!

"Cathy--Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Book 11" by Rachel Wesson

Cathy, Book 11 of the Colorado Springs Mail Order Bride series by Rachel Wesson is about drug addiction in the 1800s. When Cathy’s adoptive parents died in a boating accident, the doc gave her some medicine to which she became addicted. Her cousin, Archibald, was appointed her guardian and her father suggested they marry. No love between them though. With the help of Cathy’s maid, she ran off to Clover Springs to find her long lost sister, Mary. Cathy was afraid Archibald was poisoning her and he threatened to put her in an asylum! Shortly after arriving in Clover Springs, she fainted in the street which was how Abe O’Malley met her when he carried her over to the doctor’s office.

This book started out a bit slow and at first, I felt sort of bombarded with a bunch of new characters. I would have liked more of Cathy’s married life with Abe. I thought there should have been more catching up with the sisters. This book seemed to end abruptly. Wilma and her girls were just like a little distraction in this book which focused almost completely on Cathy and Abe. I liked it, but not as much as the others in this series.
(Karen’s review, 3 stars)

Teaser from Loc. 570-71 on Kindle: “My parents, the people who adopted me, hid them from me. My letters to Mary are in the bag.”


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 Big Picture" by Jenny B. Jones (Great Series!)

The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones is the third book of A Katie Parker Production series that I enjoyed just as much as the first two in the series. This series is shows how a high school girl, Katie, finds hope for her future in spite of having a mother in prison for drug dealing and being put into foster care. Katie is such a well-developed and believable character that I couldn’t help but pull for her. In this final book, she gets reunited with her natural mom but struggles with mixed feelings about it.

This book is Christian fiction that really didn’t have the ending I anticipated for a change. I really found the support Katie got from her church friends to be realistic and liked how this book shows girls and guys can be good friends. . One of the things that makes this book stand out from other teen Christian fiction is that it’s realistic and includes elderly people as well. The romance between the grandmother and her friend added to the story. The grandmother added so much humor to this book, she was such a character! This whole series was entertaining, touching, amusing and heartwarming! Great YA contemporary fiction that I highly recommend!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Previous books in this series I reviewed were:
In Between (book 1)
On the Loose  (book 2)


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!

"Survive the Night" by Danielle Vega

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega is a YA novel that centers on a young girl named Casey.  Just out of rehab, she goes to a sleepover with her friends from the soccer team.  Once there she blows it off to go to hang out with a group of girls that have a different life style than her soccer friends.

This book goes very fast and kept me interested.  I thought the characters were realistic but the ending was not all that great.  Overall, I liked it and thought it was pretty good.

Here's a teaser from page 111:

"Is that what she's telling you?  That you don't have a problem?"

(Gerard's review, 4 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. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Crazy Love You" by Lisa Unger

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger is about Ian, a writer of comic books.  He has a real good series called "Fatboy and Priss."  Ian is a bit of a loner, but then he gets his act together and finds the love of his life.  One problem with that is that Priss is not happy about it, and when Priss is not happy, bad things happen.  This a a very good psychological book.  It kept me turning pages and I really loved the ending chapter.  It even had the name of one of our cats in it--Spunky Doodle (the tuxedo cat) even though it didn't have much of a role.  How cool is that! 
(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!

"Find Me" by Laura Van Den Berg

Find Me is about a young girl named Joy.  She has no one to confide in at all.  What she does have is a troubled past and an addiction to cough syrup.  When a sickness spreads through the land, Joy is immune to it and that gains her admission to a hospital.  There she goes through tests and then she breaks out of the hospital to find her mom who abandoned her as a baby.

I found this to be pretty good.  I am not sure I would call this a page turner, but it did keep my interest.  The way it ends leaves open to a second book I would probably read.
(Gerard's review, 4 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!

"Cat Daddy" by Jackson Galaxy

His cat Benny looks like Spunky Doodle so Spunky liked it.

Cat Daddy--What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me about Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy was both eye-opening and disappointing to me. It is about Jackson Galaxy more than it is about cats, although it does have some suggestions for relating to cats and has a touching story about the cat he rescued, Benny. Jackson is a cat consultant who seeks to help people solve problems they have with their cats instead of having them euthanized. I was surprised to learn about all of Jackson's addictions. I thought it would be more like his TV show, “My Cat From Hell,” telling about the different cat owners he consulted with about their cats but it's not that at all.  The bad language in this book really was a turn off for me.
(Karen's review)

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!

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"Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins is Fantastic!

WOW! "Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins is a fantastic read! Tony Connor and Vanessa each have their own demons to deal with. They all wind up at Aspen Springs, a place that helps teens deal with their issues. How they deal with them and their own stories is just remarkable! To say I enjoyed this book would be putting it mildly. I LOVED "Impulse"!

Although it is over 600 pages, it is in verse and I was so caught up in it that it did not seem that long. This is for sure going to be my favorite read this month and will be in my 12 favorites for 2012. This is one you will not soon forget--what an ending! I highly recommend it! (Gerard's Review:  My rating: 5 of 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!

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"Come a Little Closer" by Dorothy Garlock

Come a Little Closer by Dorothy Garlock is a historical romance set in the 1940s.  Christina was an army nurse who decides to switch gears by leaving Minnesota to be a nurse in the small Wisconsin town.  She finds herself in a love triangle with two brothers who both are attracted to her but very different.  Both the Doctor she assists and one of the brothers have issues that she helps them overcome.  She finds herself being attacked by a jealous obsessive woman and chased by an alcoholic out for revenge for his brother’s death.  She chooses one of the brothers and lives happily ever after. 

This book is about taking risks and making changes to improve your life.  It reminded me of a fairy tale but was an enjoyable read.  I was surprised at the brother she decided to marry—thought she would have picked the other one.  Although basically a romance novel, it had enough action in it to keep my interest.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

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"Joseph" by Shelia Moses

I did not care for Joseph by Shelia Moses.  It is teen fiction about Joseph, a high school boy who was a good student but had a tough home life.  His mom was a drug addict who only wanted him to get the child support checks to pay for her wine and drugs.  His dad was a soldier in Iraq who wanted to be there for Joseph.  Joseph was ashamed of his mother and the fact that they lived at a shelter, but felt he had to stay with her to take care of her.  His aunt took him and his mother in, but his mother left with some guy. 

This was sort of a depressing book without any closure.  I was very disappointed in the ending because nothing was really resolved except Joseph I guess came to the conclusion that he was not responsible for his mother and just prayed for God to help her.  The only thing I liked about this book was that Joseph was on the school tennis team and he felt good when he saw people come out to watch his match and support him.
(Karen's Review)

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