Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

Oh my god.  This book was awesome.  It's definitely in my top 3 Jodi books.  It dives right into the story, right into the good part, which I love, because it captivated me from the beginning.  It's about a school shooting and it jumps back and forth in time as it goes through the story which makes it interesting.  You want to know what happens but you have to wait to the get to the point in time in the present when it makes sense to go back into the past to explain what happened there.  Does that sound confusing? 

Anyway, it goes through the story of the shooter and what his life was like in high school, what led him to the day of the shooting, and then there is another twist at the end.  Which I can't believe I didn't figure out until they were explaining it at the end.  I should have seen it coming.  It wraps everything up at the end too.  Which rarely happens in the books I read. 

I would recommend this book, unless you aren't interested in the subject matter.  It's completely 100% based around the shooting.  And of course there is a trial and a side love story that just happens...classic inclusions in Jodi's books.

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

I just finished this book yesterday.  It's a book club book.  It's about a man who is convicted for raping a teenage girl (he is a teacher).  He spends eight months in jail and then tries to settle into a small town called Salem Falls.  He picked the wrong town.  It's small, picture perfect, with no trouble.  Pretty soon the whole town discovers his previous conviction.  And one thing leads to another before he is being accused of rape from another teenage girl.  A girl who has a group of three friends, and all of them are witches.  There is a twist at the end.  One I had figured out this time by the middle of the book.  But it is written to make you question whether or not the twist you think you've figured out is the right one.  I won't give any more away.  It was pretty good.

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

I love Jodi.  I've run out of things to say about her books.  They follow the same general pattern but it's always a different story.  This one is about a little girl who thinks she can see and talk to god.  But god is a woman.  It goes through the life of her mother, who gets a divorce, and then has to deal with the media attention Faith receives.  There is a custody battle, a side love story, and a bitter sweet ending.  I enjoy all her books but this one doesn't spring out as a favorite.

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

Just finished this on my lunch break.  Will write more later...
Ok so it is much later.  This was a pretty good book.  It's about a woman who has been married for 10 years and has been trying to have kids with her husband for most of those years.  She has major complications and doesn't carry to term...eventually her husband walks away and cannot take going through everything they try anymore.  The main character then goes into a downward spiral of depression only to be saved by another woman, who she falls in love with.  The story gets interesting from there.  It has another ending I'm satisfied with. 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This was this months book club book.  I haven't seen the movie but I really loved this book.  I didn't want to put it down.  Skeeter quickly became my favorite character.  Along with Aibileen.  This probably wouldn't have been a book I'd have read on my own (choosing), and now I'm curious about the movie and how well it follows the book.  I will have to see it sometime.  I don't really have a lot to say about the book...so much happened, many surprises...and it was just really interesting. 

Trust Me by Lesley Pearse

This was a book a co-worker lent me and recommended a long time ago.  It took me forever to get around to it, I'm pretty sure it was over a year.  I just finished it today and I can't believe I didn't find time to read it sooner.  It captivated me from the very beginning.  I didn't want to stop reading, I picked it up every chance I got, and pages would fly by without me realizing I had read 100+ pages since I last looked at the bottom to track my progress.

Trust Me is about two little girls who lose their mother, their father goes to jail, and their grandmother is too old to be able to keep looking after them...so they get sent to an orphanage.  Their life is horrible.  The things they endure is incredible.  Then they're given an opportunity to go to Australia, and it looks like their life will be so much better, so they take it.  Luckily the girls are sent to the same orphanage upon their arrival, so they stay together, but this place is far worse than the one they left in England.  It goes on telling their story.  The older sister turns 15 and can leave the orphanage, but she has to work for three years at a place arranged for by the orphanage.  It surprisingly gets even worse...until finally she gets a break and events change her circumstances.  But by now the two sisters have drifted...due more so to the people running the orphanage than anything else.  Then when the younger sister turns 15 and goes out to work, they eventually re-unite.  I can't go into more detail.  A lot of unfortunate things happen.  But the older sister is painted in such a way you can't help but love her.  Things eventually get better for her too (although she has a great place to work at her second job, falls in love and gets married, there is still a major problem).  The ending is happy for her, but there is still a sad element.

It's neat to read about the different places they go to in Australia.  Perth, Esperance, King's Cross, Kalgoorlie, and Sydney.  This story is incredible.  Please read it!

A Painted House by John Grisham

This is September's book club book.  It's about a family who lives on a cotton farm.  The main character is a little boy who is seven years old, he is also the narrator.  However, the way it is written, it's easy to quickly forget his age.  Some wild events happen and the ending of the book was disappointing for me.  It left a lot of open ends, so that the reader can choose their own conclusions.  I didn't like that, but it is a good story.  And short-ish; about 300 pages.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

This was August's book club book.  I wasn't sure I was going to like it, because it again involved politics, but it wasn't a main focus and quickly got away from that side of things into the Mother's life.  The mother gets very interested in all kinds of recipes and starts cooking many delicious dishes.  I love when food gets involved in any book, described so that you can see it and hate that you can't taste it.  Anyway, the story is written so that each new chapter switches to a different character like Jodi does.  It was a good book to read, although I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. 

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

I didn't think I was going to like this book, based on it surrounding politics.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The Old guy, Angus, is at times a hoot, and very lovable.  His character made me enjoy the book.  This was July's book club book. 

Escape from the Holocaust by William & Paul Ruben

This book made me nauseous.  It was interesting, and eye opening; horrific.  Not for the faint of heart. 

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Ok, I've been reading this book since I finished the Outlander book, in between the other books I've had to read for book club.  This book was another amazing story.  Not disappointing.  Again, filled with history, romance and fighting.  She is so good at describing things, it's easy to forget where you are and escape while you submerge yourself into the pages and unveil the tale.  The end of this book sets the reader up for her next book, which I will definitely be reading.  I have so many books I want to read though, so I'm not sure when I'll pick up the next in this series...but it will be on my mind until then!

Her Mother's Daughter by Lesley Crewe

This was June's book club book.  I loved it.  I read it in a weekend.  It had an unexpected twist.  The main characters best friend was very loveable.  It didn't turn out how I thought it would, but the ending wasn't disappointing. 

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

This was May's book club book.  It was weird.  In places it was boring and hard to get through.  But I still wanted to know what was going to happen.  I don't know if I'd reccomend this book.  I didn't like the way it turned out...and again, it was weird. 

Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Another Jodi Picoult book.  This is the book I am currently reading.  I had started another book but couldn't take it on my trip with me, so it got interrupted by Marley & Me, and then this one.  I'm close to being finished.  This book is different from her other books in the sense that it is following chapter by chapter as opposed to her usual character style.  I find all her books the same in that they always contain lawyers and a case and then some kind of family problem.  It is still interesting and she has still captivated me to want to know the outcome.  I have my own theory, but won't know if I'm correct until I get to the end.  I don't think this is one of her best.  But it won't stop me from reading her life works.

Ok, update - I finished this a while ago...it did NOT end how I thought it was going to.  Totally caught me by surprise.  I couldn't believe it, Jodi totally led me in a different direction thinking the crime was committed by someone, who ended up being entirely innocent, and then the kicker; someone I thought was innocent, wasn't!  I stand by my previous statement, this bood was ok, but Jodi's written way better.

Marley & Me by John Grogan

My friend bought me this book for my birthday because I fell asleep during part of the movie.  From what I can recall, the book isn't an exact replica of the movie.  As always, I believe the book is better.  And it is a cute story.

A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett

Again, another very good book.  This was our book club book for March.  I read it in a week.  I couldn't put it down.  It's about slaves who work in the coal mines.  The main character doesn't agree with how they are treated, and it tell of his journey.  Too many things have been happening in my reading world for me to recall more than that.  It left a great impression though, I recommend this book.

Remember Me by Lesley Pearse

I've gotten very behind again.  I'm just going to give a quick blurb for each book.  I loved this book.  I found it a little slow to start, but the main character gets caught stealing in the olden days, and she is then shipped off to a secluded spot with a bunch of other prisoners and they have to start a new life, build what they need and survive off the land.  The hardships this woman goes through again and again is unimaginable.  Great story line.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Oh my god it's been TOO long since I've posted.  But here is why:  I started this book on January 6th and just finished it last week.  It was a BIG book.  850 pages big.  It still shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to read.  I just have to accept that I don't have as much time as I used to or as I'd like to, to read.  But if you haven't read this book yet, you have to go get it right now.  It's AMAZING.  Every woman is going to want a James Fraser.  He is firey hot and everything a woman could want in a man!  If you don't fall for him, let me know, because every lady in my book club melted for him! 

Ok, a little bit about the book.  It's set in Scotland (YES, James is Scottish!), and starts in modern time....but Claire (the main character) accidentally time travels and is set back to some time in the 1700s.  It continues about her journey and has a lot of accurate history in the storyline as well.  There is battle, there is romance, there is a bit of humor, there is pain, there is absolute brutality...disturbingly so.  But it is SO good.  I can't tell you how good, you just HAVE to read it.  I myself will go on to read at least the second book.  This book is the first in a series of eight.  Only seven are available right now, I think the eighth is set to come out next year.  I could give you a summary, but seriously, you need to read the book.  And then we'll chat about it because SOMEONE in my book club gave away something from book two that I was lead to believe wasn't so, and now I'm enraged.  But so hooked ;)

GO TO THE LIBRARY RIGHT NOW AND GET THIS BOOK!

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