nomadreader

Handle With Care , Jodi Picoult's latest novel, is the story of the O'Keefe family: Sean, a police officer; Charlotte, a former pastry chef turned full-time mother and caretaker; Amelia , a 13-year-old yearning for independence and control over her life; and Willow, a 5-year-old struggling with OI, brittle bone disease. Day-to-day life is stressful enough for this struggling family, but a trip to Disney World turns disastrous. Willow falls and breaks a bone, and they're rushed to the hospital, seemingly at the relief of park employees. Willow's x-rays raise red flags of abuse, and Amelia spends the night in a foster home, while the parents are separated and interrogated. It's gut-wrenching , and the reader understands the caution from the police and hospital while knowing these parents are loving. From there, the story spirals out of control. Sean wants to sue for what they went through in Florida, but the lawyer says that's not a case. A wrongful birth suit ...

Georgia's Greatness is the third in the Sisters 8 series. This book takes place in March (seeing a trend here?), and it's Georgia's month to discover her gift and talent. For some reason, this book incorporates fantasy, and I love it, while I took a little fault with the second one. I won't spoil the surprise of Georgia's talent, although I will tell you it's even cooler than Durinda's . The highlight of this book is seeing the eights truly come together to figure things out and get themselves out of a jam. They seem to be getting smarter, more sensible and more self-confident, and it makes them that much more enjoyable to read. I realize I'm not the target audience, but the there is a two-page soliloquy (if you will) about The Waltons that had me laughing for hours (even nomadreaderboy loved it). Georgia's Greatness is at least as good, if not better than Annie's Adventures . This series is a true delight to read. Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

I have only read one Jodi Picoult novel, Keeping Faith , which I loved. I've always meant to read more, but my list of books and authors to read passed the ridiculous length months ago. When I assessed the summer movies based on books , this novel moved to the top of my list. My Sister's Keeper is mostly the story of two sisters: Anna, who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was two, and Kate, who was conceived so her umbilical cord could be transplanted to save Anna. Kate is now thirteen, and she has decided to sue her parents for medical emancipation because every time Anna is sick, Kate must offer pieces of her body up to save her. It's a harrowing tale told from the point of view of Kate, her mom (via flashbacks dating back to Anna's first diagnosis), her dad, her brother (a juvenile delinquent), her attorney, and her guardian ad litum . While the story is told through multiple voices, I found myself identifying (and enjoying) Kate's parts best. She truly wres...

The Night Tourist is a mesmerizing tale of Jack Perdu , a fourteen-year-old Classics prodigy (seriously, he's helping a Yale professor translate Ovid's Metamorphosis ) who takes a mysterious trip into New York City's underworld. Jack isn't initially sure if he's live or dead, but he meets Yuri, a definitely dead young girl who becomes his tour guide. Jack's goal is to find his mother, who died years ago. The novel is part adventure, part ode to New York (perhaps my favorite city in the entire world), and part reinvention of a classical myth. It is a beautiful, engaging tale of friendship and the level of magic Marsh creates rivals the Harry Potter universe. While it is not rare for me to delight and enjoy a children's book, it is rare for me to forget I'm reading a children's book. The Night Tourist is so thoroughly engaging, any adult reader (especially sci- fi and fantasy fans) would love it. Despite being filled with intrigue, humor and fun, it...

Durinda's Dangers is the second book in the Sisters 8 series. I must confess, it's endearing, but I did not love it as much as the first book . The story picks up in February, and this round seems more fantastical than the first, which combined reality and fantasy. There is love drama between the talking refrigerator, Carl, and the robot maid, Betty. Durinda discovers her magic gift, which is the awesomely cool ability to freeze people. Even cooler is that her cat can do the same thing to the other cats. It's a nice continuation of the story, but it felt a little too tied into Valentine's Day. Granted, I read it in May, so I was a little removed the festive occasion. It's still delightful, and I'm still excited for the third book.

Stories from Candyland is one of those books that's really hard to review for a simple reason: it's not good, but I absolutely loved it. I don't think it's a coincidence the reviewers at Amazon are equally divided between 5 stars and 1 star ratings. I am a huge fan of Tori Spelling's faux reality show So NoTorious , and I read STori Telling and enjoyed it. I've seen a lot of Beverly Hills, 90210 episodes in my time, and I am pretty well-versed in the Spelling universe. I can't say I had much of an opinion of Candy going into the book. From Tori's stories in her first autobiography and the hilarious anecdotes from the show (brilliantly played by Loni Anderson), I gathered she was a little cooky. Stories from Candyland is a completely bizarre autobiography because it's not even remotely chronological. I imagine her writing it, appearing at the computer, and deciding what to write that day, and keeping the book in the same order. There are ridicu...

Gayle Forman's young adult novel, If I Stay, is tremendous. It's the story of a lovely family in Oregon: punk rockers turned cool parents and their two children Mia, a gifted cellist and high school senior and Teddy. The bulk of the story is told by Mia through flashbacks after the family is in a car accident. She tries to figure out if she's alive, and if so, should she stay when her family is gone. What could easily become schlocky or depressing is ultimately uplifting in the deft hands of Forman . The characters are a family I want to have over for dinner. The book is a mere two hundred pages, but Forman manages to have not just one, but a multitude of well-formed, likeable characters. Yes, it's a young adult novel, but I would recommend it to adult readers as well. It's a timeless tale, and it's the second-best book I've read this year (the best is The Lost Witness by Robert Ellis, but read his City of Fire first). Rating: 5 stars out of 5