"When You See Me" by Lisa Gardner (Both Liked This One!)

When you See Me by Lisa Gardner is about how a small town is a center for evil.  This book focuses on the good guys following up on old murder cases when they keep finding skeletons of dead bodies buried in shallow graves in the Appalachian Mountains and stumbling on something even more complex.  One of the main characters is a young teenage girl who watched a bad man kill her mother with a bullet when she was just six that went through her throat and also hit the girl, taking away her ability to talk.  She is a big help to the task force working on solving these crimes.

This book is well written in that in spite of all the different characters, I was able to keep them all straight and never once felt confused.  I felt sad for the little girl (Bonita).  I liked that the task force included a couple civilians as well, one a computer analyst and the other a survivor of rape and kidnapping by a serial killer (Keith and Flora).  This book kept my interest from start to finish. 

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 7/20/20

In When You See Me by Lisa Gardner, bodies are starting to pile up in the hills of a small town in Georgia.  Now it's up to detective D.D. Warren and her crew to find answers and put an end to it.  There are lots of characters in this book and lots of action!  It flows well with an exciting final part.

(5 stars)

Teaser from page 9:  I fly like the wind, I want to believe.  I hurtle myself into her arms.

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"Where the Forest Meets the Stars" by Glendy Vanderah

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah, is an interesting story about love.  A very smart little girl claiming to be an alien shows up at Jo's cottage with a wild story, no shoes and dirty clothes.  Jo tries to find out her name, but the girl refuses to say.  After searching missing person websites with no success, she grows attached to the child.  Gabe, a neighbor, allows the girl to visit his farm animals and she also becomes attached to Gabe.

This is a good story but moved a bit slow for my taste.  I liked the girl though and it kept my interest because I wanted to see how things would turn out.  I liked the ending.  It's more than just the mystery about the girl though.  It's also about walls people put up and how even adults are sometimes afraid to let people in.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

In Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah, Joanna is doing graduate research in the forest alone, the way she likes it!  One day a young girl shows up.  Who is she?  Joanna goes to the police, but gets no help.  Looks at missing children files and finds nothing!  Joanna lets her stay until she finds out who she is.

I thought this book was very good!  I was into it the whole way and really cared about the characters.  It moved right along.  (Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Teaser from page 3:  Jo could see her eyes now.  The intelligent glint in her gaze was oddly shrewd for her baby face, and Jo took that as a sign that she knew it was all in fun.  "If you're an alien, why do you look human?"

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"Finding Chika" by Mitch Albom

Finding Chika by Mitch Albom is a true story about a little girl, an earthquake, and the making of a family.  Chika was born in Haiti.  At age 5, she is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.  Mitch and his wife, Janine, bring her to America in hope of finding a cure.  I thought this book was pretty good.  I fell in love with Chika quickly.  The story flowed well.  This book will tug at your heart strings.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

 Teaser from page 21:  To be honest, Chika, for my first few years, I didn't understand a great deal about Haiti, or the orphanage, or how I was supposed to make the place work.  The power would go off every day, the water would run out, deliveries of rice and bulgur would start and stop, and we never had enough medicine.

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"The Orphan's Tale" by Pam Jenoff (We Both Recommend This One)

The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff is a gripping historical fiction book about two women protected in Germany by joining a circus during the 1940s when Hitler took over and rounded up Jews for execution.  Noa rescued a little Jewish baby that was among many dead on a railcar and Astrid was a Jew whose German officer husband kicked her out when ordered to do so.  Astrid was from a circus family and the competing circus took her in.  Noa had no circus background, but the circus owner took in her and the baby to protect them and told Astrid to train Noa for the trapeze act.

This book was very good!  I really liked the circus aspect of this book and enjoyed seeing Astrid and Noa's relationship develop.  In this book, it showed how some were able to find happiness amid the terribly things going on.  There is a lot of sadness in this but also light parts too to keep it from being too depressing.  It is one I don't think I'll forget!  I had to wait to write my review to give me some time to recover from the sad ending.  I highly recommend this one!  My favorite character in this was Astrid, who was yours?
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Gerard's review, 3-1-17, 5++ stars:
In The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff is set in the early 1940s in Germany when Hitler and the Third Reich ruled., 16-year-old Noa has been thrown out of her parents’ house. Her husband leaves her and her newborn baby is taken from her. Now she is on the run and is not alone. She carries a secret that if found out will mean death for her and her companion. Astrid knows the circus life very well. She is one of the stars of the show, but every day she lives in fear that her secret will come out.

I enjoyed both Noa and Astrid. I found this book very hard to put down as the tension builds throughout. Loved it! It is now my book of the month for February!


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"Train I Ride" by Paul Mosier is Uplifting! (Updated)

Train I Ride by Paul Mosier is a children's story about Rydr, a little girl on an Amtrak train.  This book tells the story of the people she meets on the train as well as the back story on Rydr.

Every so often I need a book that I can relax with that doesn't have somebody getting hurt or killed so I read this book.  Rydr is a great character who will surprise you with her antics.  I think people of all ages would enjoy this debut book.  Job well done, Paul Mosier!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review, 3 stars:  I read Train I Ride by Paul Mosier because my husband liked it so much and it is short and quick.  I liked Rydr, the main orphan girl who is on her way from Los Angeles to Chicago to live with some old uncle she never even met because her mom died and probably her father and her grandma who she was living with.  On the train, she meets several people who she really likes.  Although her money runs out, she is quite resourceful in finding ways to get some.  I especially liked her invisible monkey act but felt bad when she didn't even take the money she got from people.  I thought this was a pretty sad story but enjoyed the funny parts.  

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!

"All The Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr is Fantastic

This novel is actually two stories and both are excellent!  Story one is about a blind young girl living in Paris.  When the Germans come to take control of their city, her father and her escape.  Story two is about a young German orphan boy who is an expert in putting together and fixing radios.  He is soon enlisted in the German army.  When the two stories collide near the end, I could hardly put this book down!  It's a fantastic read and my book of the month so far.  It sort of reminded me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
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!

"Mind of Winter" by Laura Kasischke is Fantastic!

Mind of Winter by Laura Kasischke takes place on Christmas day!  Due to a blizzard, a family Christmas does not come off.  At home is just the mom and her teenage daughter.  What makes this book so good is the writing.  Mind of Winter hooked me from page one and did not let me go with a shocking ending I did not see coming at all.  This is a fantastic read I highly recommend! 
(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!