"Gone" by Michael Grant

Gone by Michael Grant has lots of conflict and mystery in it which made for an interesting read; however, the ending was a huge let down.  I felt like I lots of questions were left unanswered and nothing was really resolved in the end.  Just to give you a taste of how far out this book is, some normal kids had super powers but not all, two brothers (one evil and one good) were against each other throughout the book, coyotes talked, there was a hot wall all around a 10-mile radius of a power plant, and nothing made any sense.  One day out of the blue all 15-yr.-olds and older just went poof and disappeared.  I liked Albert, the kid who took over McDonalds and cooked.  It certainly had some funny parts and lots of action, it just didn’t make any sense.  It even had a cat that could teleport itself!  I must say though, that it kept my interest and found it hard to put down. 
(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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.

Tuesday Teasers: "Home Front" and "Gone"

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
• 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.   

Gerard's:

Betsy looked up at him, her gaze sharp and assessing. "Maybe it's because of that fight you had. When you said you didn't love her anymore."

From page 247 of Home Front by Kristin Hannah.

Karen's:

"Something weird is happening. My math study group . . . there were just three of us, plus the teacher. They all just disappeared."

From page 3 of Gone by Michael Grant.


Happy Reading! We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.

The Hunger Games Movie Does Not Disapppoint

source:  Amazon.com

We went to see "The Hunger Games" movie today and both of us thought it was very good!  It followed the book really closely and my favorite scenes in the book were all in the movie too.  It cut out a bit of the beginning so the relationship between Katniss and Gale didn't seem as close as it was in the book.  Other than that, it moved along as I pictured it and was captivated throughout.  Gerard was on the edge of his seat and didn't get bored for 2 1/2 hours!


I couldn't imagine how the movie was going to capture the awesomeness of the fire costumes for District 12 but it did!  It really was fun to watch the book actually come to life. I felt sorry for him when he said he had no chance to win it.  The actors and actresses were all excellent!  We absolutely LOVED watching this!

I don't know if it would be better to see the movie before reading the book or not.  I'd love to hear from someone's thoughts on the movie who hasn't read the book.


The biggest plus for the books I think over the movie is that in the movie, we don't really know Katniss's thoughts like we do in the book, but the movie is GREAT!  If you want a peek, here is the link to the Official Hunger Games Movie Trailer.  We, of course, look forward to seeing the next movie of this series based on Catching Fire.

Please share your thoughts about the movie in the comments; we'd like to know what you thought about it.

Our review of the book.

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.

"Deceit" by Brandilyn Collins

Deceit by Brandilyn Collins starts out good and gets better and better as it goes!  Baxter Jackson, a widower who lost both his wives in "accidents," is highly respected and a great guy in the community with some dark secrets.

 The story goes back and forth between the present and the past when his foster daughter lived with him and his wife. Melissa is a 15-yr.-old daughter of alcoholic parents who goes into foster care when her mom dies, leaving her all alone.  She feels like she hit the jackpot when she first sees her new home that looks like a mansion and the two nice people, the Jacksons, who are taking her in.  The church friends of the Jacksons are eager to meet her but she has very low self-esteem and doesn't think anyone would ever want to be her friend.  All the main characters in this book, Jackson and his wife, Linda, her friend Joanne, and Melissa are all deceitful, but Melissa is the only one of them who does not profess to be a Christian. 

I loved this book because of the suspense, the interesting story line of Joanne trying to get justice for her friend, Linda, who she believed was killed by her own husband, the elder in her church.  Melissa was the biggest surprise to me and actually was the biggest deceiver of all who I at first felt sorry for.  This book certainly doesn't show Christians in a positive light, but is thought-provoking and shows actions speak louder than words and non-believers do watch the way Christians live their lives.  This is a page turner I won't soon forget and had a hard time putting down.  See my teaser from this one.
(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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.

"Animals and the Kids Who Love Them"

Animals and The Kids Who Love Them by Allen and Linda Anderson shares many stories of special needs children and the animals who gave them hope and comfort, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and even a turtle! If this book doesn't put a smile on your face and touch your heart, I don't know what will! Read it and you'll feel better about life!
(Gerard'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!

We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during March to the American Cancer Society.