Something Rotten by Alan M. Gratz


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Something Rotten
by
Alan Gratz
________________________________________
Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark – namely the Copenhagen River which is so polluted that it smells. This is the first of many clever tie-ins to Shakespeare in this loose contemporary retelling of Hamlet. If you’re not a Shakespeare fan, don’t worry, the story carries itself.
This charming, witty novel opens with the death (perhaps murder) of Rex Prince head of the Elsinore Paper Plant. Hamilton Prince, the heir apparent to the Prince family fortune, has gone a little crazy since his father's death and his mother's remarriage to his uncle. Enter Horatio, Hamilton’s best friend who is tasked with finding out who murdered his father.
Horatio has a cocky way about him and a barbed tongue reminiscent of many teens. You will love him; he will soon become your favorite protagonist.
The many parallels to Hamlet are interesting, but Gratz wisely avoids producing a carbon copy of the tragedy. So enjoy and see if you can figure out the mystery.



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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A Swedish suspense story. Stieg Larsson was a journalist and agitator. He lectured on right-wing extremism and racism. He lived with the love-of-his life, Eva Gabrielsson, for over 30 years. They never married because marriage required registering and they feared this would lead to them being found and attacked by his right-wing enemies.
As a form of relaxation Stieg took to writing. He finished three novels and was taking these manuscripts, packed in WalMart bags, to a publisher. He never made it; on the stairs outside the publisher he had a heart attack and died.
The publisher read the manuscripts anyway, liked them and published the Millennium trilogy, as the books were called. They were an instant and huge success of international proportions.
Now the plot thickens, Stieg left no written will, so according to Swedish law, Stieg's estate was inherited by his father and brother. His partner of 32 years got nothing! This sparked a dispute between Eva Gabrielsson and Stieg's relatives. She claims that they "were never a part of our lives" and that they are not the right persons handling Stieg's estate.
A fact complicating the matter is that Eva has the laptop with the partly finished script for the fourth book in the Millennium series. And she will not publish the script unless she is given the full rights to manage the other three novels in the series, the novels which she and Stieg worked with together. However, Stieg's father and brother have not been willing to agree, and this has resulted in a stalemate. So what will happen next?
But wait, you think this is a plot line for a novel…… think again. This is the truth surrounding Stieg Larsson and his world acclaimed books that will soon be made into movies.
You can read the whole true life story in Time Magazine, May 24, 2010
And you can read the 3 Millennium books at the library
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo

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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Thirty-three times. That's how many times she called me as she was dying alone in a motel room. Thirty-three times that I didn't answer the phone.
Disturbing, harrowing, sad…. The story of two girls, each enabling the other’s own eating disorder. Cassie is now dead and haunting Lia; Lia feels guilt over her friend’s death which causes her self-destructive behaviors to accelerate. As Lia's weight plummets, her parents, step-mother, and therapist all seem powerless to help. Wintergirls is a gripping tale of one girl's struggle with body image.

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Interred with Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I love Shakespeare and all his works. I was excited to find this book and see it touted as a best seller. But, it didn't live up to my expectations. References to 1600 characters left me addled, I couldn't enjoy the book with all the names and relationships I had to keep straight. Also, how does the protagonist just happen to buddy-up with someone who has the means ($) and expertise to get her back and forth over the Atlantic while eluding the police on both sides of the ocean! Come on!!

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The Photographer: Into War-Torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders by Emmanuel Guibert


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Photographer Didier Lefevre travelled on a 3-month mission to Afghanistan in 1986 when the Soviet-Afghan War was raging. This mixture of photographs and illustrations tells of his journey from Pakistan to the mission site in Afghanistan, his stay and his journey back to Pakistan that almost cost him his life.

A very unique combination of cartooning and photographs have been combined to portray so much on the journey: the beauty of the land, the terror of illegally crossing the border, traveling under cover of night, watching for Soviet planes. Then at the medical camp it chronicles horrific war wounds as well as sickness and accident victims. The photographs, the text, the illustrations capture the spirit, the agony, the willpower, the drive of the doctors who come to work here.

The political situation is explained at the beginning of the book to give the reader a reference point, but concentrates on human relations and interactions without getting too political. The reader is given a vision of the Afghani way of life, the ravages of war, the innocents and the opportunists.

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was reluctant to start this book. I prefer trillers, adventure stories where there is a lot of action and I thought this would be too slow for me. Well, I couldn't put it down. The suspense built right from the start - would Abilene be found out? would Minny lose her job? would Skeeter get her man?.......
Set in 60s Mississippi, the book chronicals the work and escapades of 3 women as they attempt to write a book about black maids and their experiences in Jackson Mississippi. It brings segregation to full light, how actions can be misconstrued and a host of other themes. Truely a great read.

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Cowgirl at Heart by Christine Lynxwiler


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a solid mixture of romance and suspense. The romance is wholesome and fulfilling while the intrigue, mystery and twists in the plot line keep your riveted to the page. This is a book I can recommend to many and diverse ages as it encapsulates family values, ethics, and plain goodness. Elyse McCord, a dog whisperer, goes to the aid of an abused animal only to find herself in a situation. Along comes Andrew Stone to the rescue. Andrew carries emotional baggage of his own after the tragic death of his young wife. Together they end up in developing situations.

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