"The Secret Place" by Tana French

This novel is about a young teen boy found dead on the grounds of an exclusive all-girls school.  One day someone puts up a card on the school bulletin board that they know who killed him.  Do they really or is it just a plot to get some excitement going?

This book is told in two parts:  (1) the action that led up to him being killed, and (2) the two lady detectives trying to figure out if any of the girls know who did it.  Both parts kept my interest and were told very well.  I would have rated it higher if it didn't have so much foul language in it.  The plot is very good though and worth reading.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars--no pluses due to bad language)

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!

"Above" by Isla Morley is a Page Turner! (UPDATED)

Above by Isla Morley is a book that is about a scary time and a girl, Blythe, who hangs on to hope to help her survive a terrible situation she is in.  She is kidnapped at age 16 by a man she trusted, held prisoner in a silo underground for 15 years!   Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they do!  This book really had me feeling sorry for Blythe and brought up emotions of sadness, anger, disgust and finally relief.  It has a twist I did not expect at all and really caught me by surprise.  It is written from the girl’s perspective so the reader only gets to see what the girl sees, feels and thinks.   If you like novels about survival in tough situations with surprises along the way, I recommend this one.  This is a page turner that kept me reading because I had no clue what would happen next and wanted to see how it was going to end.  It reminded me a little of In the After.
(Karen's review 11/1/14, 4 stars)

Above by Isla Morley is about a young teen girl named Blythe.  She is taken captive and held by a man in a silo for 15 years.  What happens in that silo makes for very interesting reading.  When she finally escapes, she finds that lots of things have changed.  This is a real page turner.  The first part of the book was my favorite but the second part, although not as good, kept me reading to find out how it will all turn out.  Worth reading for sure!  

(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Similar reads:  Room 

                        Life in the After

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!

"Children of The Day" by Beth Moore is an Interesting Bible Study

I enjoyed Beth Moore's Children of the DAY Bible study on I and II Thessalonians very much.  I learned some new things and love how she applies the scripture to modern times.  I also like how she brings in scripture from other books related to the same topic.  This study seemed a bit less time consuming than some of her other ones because there are fewer fill-ins and questions to answer.  Much is just reading her commentary about the book.  I loved it!

I highly recommend that you also get the DVD that goes along with the study.  I did this with a group at church and the DVD enhances the experience--she's pretty funny at times.   
(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!

3 Tuesday Teasers

Gerard's:
  
He surprised all of us that week, actually.  It really was a remarkable buildup to an amazing moment. 

From page 3 of The Remaining by Travis Thrasher. (Just finished this Saturday, click link to see my review)

At one point just after Daisy pulled me off balance in her eagerness to become best friends with a placid black Lab across the room, I looked around at the other dogs sitting peacefully at their handlers' feet, and realized that Daisy was the worst behaved in the class, which is to say I was the student least in control of my dog.  It was humiliating, but a small part of me felt kind of proud of Daisy's fearless socializing.

From page 99 of Weekends with Daisy by Sharron Kahn Luttrell.

Karen's:

I am about to make the next turn when he grabs me around the neck.  He drags me down, whistling happily.

From page 35 of Above by Isla Morley.



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 pick two sentences from the book you are reading.

Happy Reading!

"The Remaining: After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death"

The Remaining:  After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death by Travis Thrasher is a thriller.  The first part of the book sets the scene--a picture perfect day with an outside wedding that goes according to plan, but . . . then a trumpet sounds, the sky goes black and people begin to die.  Is it the rapture as predicted in the Bible or something else?  Soon only a few members of the wedding party are left.  Will they find a way out?  Do they have long kept secrets to tell before the world ends?  Once that trumpet sounds, this book gets very good! 

I loved the ending and the message it sends.  This book is a movie too!  So do both or just one but give it a chance.
(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!