Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a lovely, enjoyable, uplifting story. I could imagine this story being a movie of the week on the Lifetime Channel.

Living in the school bus her mother drives as a part-time job, Amber Appleton is an upbeat Catholic who spreads joy and happiness while keeping her own difficulties at home very quiet. Amber is irrepressible, always adopting the underdog: a group of needy students; a group of shy Korean women; a Vietnam veteran and haiku specialist; and a nursing home full of old grumps.
Amber's unending optimism in the face of difficult circumstances is well depicted with snappy dialogue and inner musings. When real tragedy hits and Amber is unable to cope, the stark difference between the Amber of the past and the present is effectively delivered in white space and short paragraphs. Amber feels blank. So, can she reemerge as her old exuberant self; can her bunch of misfit friends help? How?
Hugely enjoyable




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The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I started this book with the intention of skimming, but got hooked. From the get-go you know there has been a double murder ... but that's all you know. Bit by bit, like peeling the layers of an onion, pieces of the mystery are revealed through Gabe's questioning by the police. You know there has been a crime but you don't know the who, why, where, or how ... and that keeps you reading.



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Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Fast, witty dialog and comic-book plotting distinguish this novel. A quick and easy mystery featuring the paranormal has cupcake baker Lizzy Tucker searching for special stones which can cause havoc to the world if found by the wrong people. She has special skills that help find the stones and help from a couple of questionably “normal” people. Diesel is sent to protect Lizzy as bad guy Gerwulf Grimoire is hunting for clues to find the stones. The ancient stones are tied to the Seven Deadly Sins; consequently, clues take the form of pride, greed, lust, envy, wrath, sloth and gluttony. This is book one on this Unmentionable series and focused on Greed, the subsequent books I guess will focus on the other sins.



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Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This novel not only tells a story of a family concealing secrets, failing to communicate and not willing to forgive; it is a story for all families - as what family is perfect. We can all learn from Delilah's story. Delilah’s grandmother has died so she and her mother make the trip back to Vermont. This is the first time in 8 years that the pair have been in Vermont since Dlilah's grandfather’s funeral. The funeral that stopped Delilah’s yearly summertime visits, the funeral that changed everything. Delilah has no idea what happened that day. She begins to see that she is not the only one with secrets and actions that need to be explained. Her family is hiding a generation of Hannaford secrets, secrets that would fill in the missing links of her life. Secrets that are too painful to be retold.



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The Cardturner :a novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar.
The Cardturner : A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a book about bridge, and it is for teens. Bridge the card game – know it?



Alton Richard’s great-uncle Lester Trapp is rich and ailing, a combo that leads Alton’s parents to hatch a plan for the teen to cozy up to the old man and carve out a chunk of inheritance. Though blind, Trapp is a brilliant, world-class bridge player and needs someone to read him his cards and make his plays. Enter Alton, who gets roped into serving as a card turner. He withstands the constant barbs from his uncle and grows more intrigued by the game (in no small part due to the cute, girl who also plays). The pages are filled with detailed commentary on the basics and then nuances of the game, and a little whale image appears when the bridge talk is about to get deep so readers can skip right ahead to a wrap-up. But don’t be fooled: it is astonishing how Sachar can make blow-by-blow accounts of bridge not only interesting but exciting, treating each play like a clue to unravel the riddle of each hand. It is also a book full of understated humor and shows the many and varied funny foibles of humankind.







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Dark Song by Gail Giles

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Creepy..... and all too possible.
The book describes the implosion of a family who has it all one day... and loses it all too quickly. Ames sees her life crumble before her as her dad loses his job, gambles away all their assets and leaves them destitute. The situation is made more intolerable as her mother turns into the mother-from-hell. The family has to relocate where Ames meets Marc. And then things really get creepy. What a mess. You have to read this to really get the full eerily-real feel to this tale.

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Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Looking for love in all the wrong places!
Fast paced with short chapters, this novel follows the lives of 4 narrators, Ellie, Josh, Corinne (Ellie's best friend) and Caleb (Josh's best friend) describing how each is affected by the Ellie's unplanned-unwanted pregnancy.
Promiscuous Ellie sleeps around under the erroneous assumption that this equates with love and the guys will stick around. She is constantly disappointed.
Josh gets her pregnant. So the stage is set for the drama which unfolds.

What will Ellie do? Which choice is best or least painful or less wrong? Will Corinne and Caleb's relationship with each other and with Ellie withstand the pressure?

Josh feels awful; he treated Ellie horribly; he is a screw-up; but can he change?

Get the tissues out. (AP)

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