The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty

This book shows the darker side of humanity. A quirky artistic group of friends who each have their own issues learn that one of them has done something very bad and will try to do it again. Just about all the characters, major and minor are weird but not in an endearing way. In a compelling way. I needed to finish the book but I don't know of I'd say it's a great one. Turned out to contain an element of magic which I just dislike and think is dumb. Wouldn't recommend. 

Brain on Fire

This book is stellar. One of the best memoirs I've read. Susannah wakes up in a hospital room strapped to a bed. She spent months in the hospital and has no memory of it.

She pieced together this book based on many different sources. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Find Me

This is about a girl who ends up in a lock down hospital because she showed she was immune to a disease that makes you forget things, then die. They did tests on her in order to find a cure. 

I heard about this book on NPR. Most of the time, their recs don't steer me wrong.

This one did. The writing was just okay. It had potential to be a great book, but was just ho hum. The characters were weird and not the quirky kind of weird that I think the author was going for. 

Plot had potential but either moved too fast or too slow. Not enough buildup of plot anticipation before revealing something. Almost like stream of consciousness. Over half way done and I wanted to quit. I ended up skimming the rest of the book to see if it got better and if the ending was worth plugging on. It wasn't.

I decided to look up the review on NPR and decided I think I will trust them again on their recs. 

Because You'll Never Meet Me

I thought this book was fantastic. It's about a kid who is allergic to electricity and how he develops a friendship with another kid who has a pacemaker, and thus is electric. Easy and quick read. It's a coming of age story that dark and humorous. I don't remember it being super inappropriate for kids, but I also don't remember passing it along to my 6th grader, so it's probably questionable.

How to Grow a School Garden

This is a great resource for parents who would like to see a school garden installed. From start to finish, it has great tips.

In Some Other World, Maybe

I read this book a month ago and am just now getting to review it. Here's the thing. I don't remember much of it. Even the Goodreads description didn't jog my memory much. I remember finishing it. I remember not loving it, not hating it. But because I don't remember enough to write in my own words, here's what Goodreads says it's about:


"In December 1992, three groups of teenagers head to the theater to see the movie version of the famed Eons & Empires comic books. For Adam it's a last ditch effort to connect with something (actually, someone, the girl he's had a crush on for years) in his sleepy Florida town before he leaves for good. Passionate fan Sharon skips school in Cincinnati so she can fully appreciate the flick without interruption from her vapid almost-friends—a seemingly silly indiscretion with shocking consequences. And in suburban Chicago, Phoebe and Ollie simply want to have a nice first date and maybe fool around in the dark, if everyone they know could just stop getting in the way.

Over the next two decades, these unforgettable characters criss-cross the globe, becoming entwined by friendship, sex, ambition, fame and tragedy. "

The Light of the World

I gave this book the old college try. It was terribly boring. Basically, it's her story of what places and things she and her husband liked to do together. Quit after 62 pages. 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and The Retribution of Mara Dyer

This is a YA series I picked up based on a Pinterest pin recommendation. I knew nothing about it, which was a mistake. Halfway through, I realized that it's supernatural genre. Once I found that out, I was able to shift my mindset and the books became more enjoyable.

Overall, it's a great series, if a little forced in book 2. If you like supernatural books, this is a good series. They are easy and quick reads and no thinking involved. These will make great movies, albeit very scary. It reminds me of the old tv show series, Heros.

Not at all appropriate for the very young adults though. Tons of language and sexual content.

My Heart and Other Black Holes

This book was on a "must read before it becomes a film" list I saw on Pinterest. I am a sucker for YA, so I've been working my way down the list.

For anyone reading this, that means you are friends with me and probably know that I am also a sucker for debut novels. I just think there is something about them. A spark. The fame and fortune hasn't touched them yet and their writing shows.

Aysel is a depressed teenager who want to commit suicide, but lacks the guts to do it on her own. She finds a website where you can find "suicide partners" and she decides to contact "FrozenRobot", the kid on the other end of the computer who also wants to kill himself.

The book is about how their relationship unfolds, why they both want to end their own lives, and the power of education, depression, and human connection.

I enjoyed the story, the writing, the characters, and the content. I love any book that spotlights a problem, this one being the depression and suicide in teenagers.

I highly recommend this book, but only for older teens and adults.

Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey

My daughter and I love Margaret Peterson Haddix. So this was another one of hers that I read in order to see if it's appropriate. It's borderline, but I did let her read it because of the redeeming qualities. There are some sexual innuendos, but they went over her head.

Tish has to keep a journal for one of her high school classes. The teacher has promised not to read any entries with "do not read" on the top. So, Tish starts writing about her extremely dysfunctional life. That's all I should say since it's a delight to find out as she writes what happens.

Very redeeming book, very difficult book to read though. While nothing earth shattering, it is a better than average YA.

Can't Look Away

I'm on my continua quest for YA books appropriate for my 6th grader. This, thankfully, is one of them. However, it's shallow. Torrey is a high school fashion vlogger who moves states in the wake of her sisters death. And of course, there is a love interest who starts out as a perceived villain.

It's a fine YA book and one appropriate for a 6th grade girl, even though it teaches nothing of substance.

I Was Here

This book is on one of my "Must Read YA books of 2015" lists I found on Pinterest. I now trust that list. This book was fantastic. It's about a college student, Meg, who commits suicide and the aftermath of who is left. Her best friend, Cody, is devastated and spends the book trying to cope and figure out why she didn't know Meg was struggling.

The characters are complex and multi-dimensional (although it is a YA, so they are a little archetypal). I like that the book raises mental heath and suicide as an issue for young people and I highly recommend this book. It is, however, not for kids.

The Last Time I Saw You

I put this book down almost as quickly as I picked it up. I didn't even give it my 50 pages test. 

The characters were unbelievable, immature, and dumb. Fifty-five year olds still acting like they are in high school is not a good book.

Under the Egg

This is a Juvenile book, but kept my attention as we listened to it on vacation. It's about a girl who's grandfather died, leaving her with her absent minded mother and a riddle to solve. She discovers something of worth in the house and goes on a journey to figure out what to do and where it came from. This would be a great read aloud for elementary kids.

This is Where I Leave You

This was a waste of time book. Poor characters and boring plot. Basically, the patriarch of a family dies and his dying wish is for his family to sit Shiva for him. The catch is that his family is so messed up, they can't be in the same room with each other.

Yes, given that description, it sounds like the start of a great plot. However, the characters are so immature, it is annoying. I didn't like any of the characters and I didn't like his writing.

The Bees

The prologue and the epilogue are the only parts of this book that have humans in them. The rest is all about a bee colony. Please read this book. It is not only a fascinating way to learn about bees, but it is an endearing use of personification of the bees. You fall in love with the protagonist, even though she is a bee. Best read of 2015 thus far.

Salvage the Bones and The Good Lord Bird

This came highly recommended, but I couldn't get into it, so I put it down. More of a dude's book I think.

This also came highly recommended. And it was very well written, just not the material I am enjoying reading at the moment.

Although for a full disclaimer: these were both audio books. And I have a harder time getting into audio books than if I just pick up the book and read it myself.

Basically, while I won't be giving these another chance any time soon, I do think they are worth reading for some.

The Devil in the White City

This is one of my favorite books. It's about the creation and building of the World Fair complex in Chicago in 1893. It goes back and forth between the architect of the fair and a serial killer. It's nonfiction, which makes it even more interesting. I highly recommend this book to just about anyone.

Changling

I like Philippa Gregory, even though most of her books are so similar in style and material I can only handle about one every 2 years. When I saw that she had a YA novel out, I was intrigued and hoped it would be suitable for my 10 year old.

It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it. However, there was the following which I'm not ready for my 10 year old to read about:

1. Almost rape scene. But not graphic. 
2. Goose shit and damned. 
3. Graphic autopsy scene. 
4. Some inappropriate sexual innuendos. 

While I love a good book about a girl-guy relationship, I'd prefer her read more friendship based attraction and not so blatantly sexual.

So, if you like YA, this is a good book, but more for an adult or older kid.

The girl on the train

This is a good thriller with intricate relationships. The plot and twists while not fully expected, aren't NOT expected either. Which means it's not the best twists and turns. It's a great beach read, but just a middle of the road book. Nothing special and nothing to remember. But, a fun easy read.

Into Thin Air

Into Thin Air is a great book. It's a memoir about a tragedy on Everest in the late 1990s. I would highly recommend the book to any adult, male or female. It's compelling and interesting.

The Accidental Empress

Finally an adult book! With adult themes! And adult language! After all my YA reading, it's wonderful to read a book meant for adults. However, that's also my caveat. I think maybe my expectations of good literature have lessened with all the YA I'm reading.

It's so much easier to be entertained by a fun and easy story than to read good writing. Complex characters. Stellar thematic material.

This book I though was interesting. What I love about historical fiction is the education aspect of it. I know nothing of Austria/Hungarian royalty, so it was lovely learning about it in an entertaining way.

That being said, I need to put on my critical literature glasses instead of just my "was it a fun read" glasses.

When I compare The Accidental Empress to something such as The Other Boleyn Girl, I have to be disappointed. The characters were flat. The story predictable (yes, I know it's historical fiction but if you don't know the story, it still should be unpredictable). The writing was just fine. Historical fiction should transport the reader to the time and place and this one just didn't. I still felt just like a reader and not a participator.

Overall, a 7 out of 10. Good enough to read, captivating story, even as it dragged on. Have low expectations and you'll love it.

Book of a Thousand Days

Okay. So I know I'm on my "trying out YA novels to make sure it's appropriate" kick. Well, Morgan read this one first and told me I should read it. And she was correct. What a great little YA book! This is a Brothers Grimm lesser known story retold. It's about Lady Saren and her ladies maid who are both shut in a tower for 7 years because Lady Saren would not consent to marry a cruel man.

While this book is a great one for mature 10 year olds (it has some violence), it's also a beach read book if you like YA books. It's more like a YA-Juvenile book. A little cheesy at times, but overall a good book.

The Rosie Effect

I absolutely loved The Rosie Project. The Rosie Effect is just as good. Rosie and Don are doing great as a married couple, until the news of pregnancy throws a wrench in Don's highly organized life.

These characters are absolutely adorable. Quirky and lovable and maddening. There are multiple side stories going on at the same time as the questioning of Rosie and Don's marriage survival, which gives the book depth.

Graeme Simsion gets into Don's head in a remarkable way and I love the story line and characters. I highly recommend book of the Rosie books to anyone who wants a smart, interesting, debatable beach read.

Split Second

This is the sequel to Pivot Point. Which I thought was a great book, just not quite appropriate for my 10 year old. I'm still on my "reading through the YA section for appropriate modern fiction" thing.

Split Second is all about Addie's best friend, Laila leaving the compound to help Addie with some troubling stuff happening outside the abilities community. Unfortunately, it's one of those books where if you didn't read Pivot Point, this one won't make much sense. Even more unfortunately, is that it's appropriate for my 10 year old. 

I felt like literary speaking, this book was more of a stretch and a little more forced that Pivot Point. I loved the characters less and while I somewhat cared about them, I didn't fully care. So, it was not as good of a book as the first. That being said, if you want a really quick and easy beach read that's clean, this is a good book for you. 

Pivot Point

I am officially in trouble. For the past 10 years, I haven't really had to read everything my kids read. They have stuck to Juvenile and for the most part, that's been fine. There is of course, the occasional outlier.

When at the library this past week with my girls, my eldest perused the Juvenile section and with frustrated angst, asked me if she could look at the YA section. Her words exactly. "The YA section". My life reading adult books is now over.

I've read a lot of YA. I think it's a pretty great genre. Much of it is not, however, appropriate for 10 year olds.

Pivot Point is one of those books that's ALMOST appropriate, but not. Maybe in another 2-3 years.

It is, however, a good YA novel. I loved the concept and the writing was also great. It could (and should) have actually been turned into a series.

It's about a secret city in the mountains near Texas where people lived who have special abilities. Telepathic, telekinetic, time manipulators, etc. Norms (those normal people living outside this community who don't have any abilities) don't know about this place and don't know about special abilities. Pivot Point is about a high school girl, Addison, who comes into her own as it relates to her ability. When her parents tell her about some big changes coming up in her life, she uses her ability to see which choice she should make. Most of the book is about what Addie's optional futures are.

Overall, it's a great book and I have very little to complain about. And what critics I do have, are still pretty benign and positive. While this book does have a sequel, Split Second, this first book should have been made into a series. I would have loved more explanation on the abilities. More details of their lives living inside the compound.

But that's it. The characters were great, the plot was not anticipated, and the writing was interesting. Overall, a great book for mature 12 year olds, due to some sexual language and innuendos. However, the kids in general were respectful of their parents, kind to others, and there is no language in the book.

Because of Anya

Because of Anya is a great little find of a book. It's about a girl who has Alopecia Areata and doesn't want her classmates to know. It's a great book for elementary aged girls of any age to read.

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

This is an amazing book. I love the hard topics discussed like race, education, poverty, and community. Coming from an early childhood background, I appreciate any book that shows how your childhood affects you in ways you could never imagine. I love all the race relations and observations throughout. Jeff Hobbs isn't scared to make the difficult statements that could come across as racist at first. But once dug into deeper, you see it differently.

The biography is the best bio I've ever read. Hobbs does a great job in putting in facts and figures that matter to the overall story in such a way as to not be overwhelming. I didn't know anything about the book when it was recommended to me. And while it wouldn't have ruined anything to know details, I was glad I didn't know. It was a great surprise to see the connection between the author and Robert Peace.

I highly recommend this book to any and everyone 18 years and older.

Palace of Lies

This is the third book in Margaret Peterson Haddix's Palace Chronicles series. I've reviewed the first and second books.

So, the 13 princesses are ruling together when their enemy strikes again. Desmia is the main character in this book and she is having a hard time determining who is telling lies and who is on her side. This book in the series is good, but a little forced and not as good as the other two in the series. Very little violence and appropriate with adult themes, language, and sexual content for an elementary aged student.

Hacker

I loved this book. It's a YA novel about a girl, Nyah who is a prodigy hacker and in order to get hired by a big corporation, she hacks into their system. Once she presents the CEO with their own info, they hire her to fix their problems.

She and her friend hacked into Blakbox system and end up in a heap of trouble. The files they hacked ended up being illegal, so they sent a henchman to kill the girl.

At the same time, one her good friends, who also happens to be a genius, has advanced brain cancer and is trying to invent a machine to hack into his brain in hopes of changing the hard wire in there to fix the cancer. I know, this sounds a little dumb. Trust me, it's not.

It has very technical medical terminology and hacking terminology, so I got a little lost in that. But, that's part of what makes it a great book. The science fiction is believable because of all the details.

It's appropriate except, there is some violence. Nothing that a mature 4th grader can't handle.

Overall, a great book and I highly recommend this quick read.

This is Where We Live

This was an interesting book. I didn't like it at first, but then it got interesting and better as it went along. It's a good commentary on love and commitment, as the world sees it and how it should be; love as emotion versus love as commitment.

Claudia and Jeremy are a young married couple who are seeking their dreams in art and film in LA. Jeremy's past girlfriend, Aoki comes back into the picture and Jeremy has a choice to make. At first, I thought this was your typical run of the mill story of temptation. The kind that makes you want the affair to happen. The bad kind. But the book has more layers than that. It's not just a story of "do what feels right and good". It's about the definition of love and what it means to make sacrifices for someone else. It's about how people react when life doesn't go the way you foresaw it.

Best quote of the book was on page 308:

"Everyone pretends that their lives exist in a vacuum, she thought, but the truth is that our individual lives exist in an intimate relationship to the rest of the world.  Our actions have consequences in place we are too willfully blind to imagine. Everyone was interconnected after all and only now was the world waking up to that fact and realizing that this collectively self centered state of perpetual adolescence - the gimme gimme era- might actually be ethically flawed." 

I didn't enjoy the ending though. usually, I think books with question marks are great. This one, felt rushed and almost like the author just didn't have a good ending so she left it off. But overall, this is a good book.

Austenland

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Stupid book. But, I will admit that I wasn't tempted to put it down; I did want to finish it and see what happened.

It's about a woman who loves Darcy from Pride and prejudice so much that all other men fall short. She ends up going on a 3 week trip to Austenland - a resort where the women pretend to be in Austen's England. It was a weird book. But, sweet ending.

Fail by Shannon Hail. She should stick to YA.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Yes, yes. I know. I'm really late reading this. Most people read this book 4 years ago when it came out. My list of books to read is about that long, so if I ever read a book the year it came out, it's a miracle. By the way, that happened with All the Bright Places. Which means it's a great book and you should read it.

Mindy Kaling is really funny and I like her a lot. She is real and approachable in this book, unlike the last memoir I read, Yes Please by Amy Phoeler.

Mindy comes across as an actually real person. Making mistakes and laughing at them. The format of the book is fantastic and this was well worth the read. Another miracle will occur if I can find time to get to Tiny Fay's book.

River Secrets

This is another YA novel in one of Shannon Hale's series. Once again, I read it to make sure it's appropriate for my 4th grader. Although there is lots of talk about violence and some romance, there's nothing I deemed inappropriate for her. I was on the fence about it though since the themes are more mature. Ultimately, one of the reasons I love Hale is that her books are an in between of traditional YA and Juvenile Fiction. It's not as graphic and mature as The Hunger Games, but it's no Percy Jackson either.

The war between Tira and Bayern is over and in an effort at promoting peace, ambassadors were exchanged from both countries. Tira did not accept the Bayern as well as hoped for and there is an attempt at a coop and a restart of the war. Each one of Hale's novels has most of the same main characters in them, but they all focus on one of the characters in depth. This one is about Razo and why he is valuable to the Bayern army when he's so physically weak and small.

The story was great and believable. I enjoyed this one as much as the others.

All the Bright Places

Oh my word. This is a fantastic book. Beautiful and tragic. Sweet and funny. And Important. 

You shouldn't know a thing about it until you read it so don't try to know what it's about beforehand. Then you can deliciously discover the lives of Finch and Violet, two teenagers in high school. Violet is a popular girl and Finch is on the fringe. He's the musician who's a little odd.

You will feel many things throughout this book. It's lovely and difficult. It's full of heaviness, so its not a light read but it is an important one. I'm hesitant to say what the book is about for fear of 1. Ruining the surprise ending of a good well written important book. And 2. You won't want to read it anymore.

This is a favorite of mine now not just for the story or the writing, both of which are suburb. But also for the content. It's a piercing, funny, frustrating, sad book that is also a call to action. I highly recommend this book especially if you like messy endings. But even if you like happy endings because there is a bigger picture I this book than just the book. A bigger message that everyone should be aware of.

It's a YA, but it definitely not appropriate for elementary aged kids. Think along the lines of Me Before You and The Fault in Our Stars.

Palace of Mirrors

Cecilia is a normal village girl, but she has an important secret. She's actually the true princess. In order to keep her safe, the queen kid her before she and the king were murdered by power-hungry enemies.

She decides to spill her secret to her best friend, Harper. When danger comes to their village and her life is in danger, she and Harper decide to make their way to the city and go to the castle to tell the fake princess who she really is.

This book is a great follow up to Just Ella and I think it's a great series for young girls to read mainly because it's well written, creative, and not boy-centric.

Just Ella

Just Ella is the first book in The Palace Chronicles from Haddix. It's a modern, feminist take on the story of Cinderella. Prince Charming turns out to be shallow and Ella does not want to marry him. The book is about her trying to find her own life in the midst of the danger of trying to live in a palace of royalty who only cares about themselves. It's a great book for elementary girls. And 36-year-old moms.

The Forgotten Sisters

I didn't read The Princess Academy though its supposed to be great. I picked this up to make sure the series is still appropriate for my 10 year old and just to get a pulse for the kind of books she likes (she loved The Princess Academy). Apparently she and I have similar tastes. This was a really cute story and I love the feminist theme running throughout all her novels. I appreciate that the female characters in here are smart but without making the male characters dumb. They are empowered. And they can do things men can do and sometimes better. I love that they are strong role models yet have soft hearts and are honorable. Great book and I highly recommend for upper elementary girls.

This is about Miri having to leave to be a tutor to the King's cousins, Astrid, Felissa, and Sus. They live in a swamp and have learned to fend for themselves, even though they are royalty. It's a well written and creative book.

The Visibles

This book is good. Not great-read-it-right-away. But good. It's about Summer, a girl who loves science in high school and wants to follow in her dad's footsteps and become a medical researcher. However, her life falls apart and that shapes her future. Her mom leaves the dad and Summer. The dad gets diagnosed with depression and it's severe. Summer decides to drop out of college and move back in with her father so she can help him with ECT treatments he's going to try.

This is a good book for book clubs since it's full of life lessons. Our childhood affects our adulthood. Our parents are flawed. Our dreams sometimes don't get fulfilled. I enjoyed the book a lot.

Yes Please

I had big expectations from this book. I kept seeing lots of my trusted reading friends read it. Whew. It got old half through. I got extremely tired of the name dropping (98% of which I have no idea who they are). Some parts were really funny. Some were really crass (those parts were 59% funny). I put it down 75% of the way in. The book is over rated.

A Simple Change

A Simple Change is a cheesy christian novel about a young woman who moved to a German closed colony in the late 1800s from a big city to be with her dying mother. It;s over reaching. Mediocre writing. Okay story line in general, but a little daft. Hallmark movie material. Don't recommend unless you like cheesy Christian fiction.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Susan Cain hits a home run with this book. The title of the book is perfect. Introverts around the USA can tell you that the country is set up more and more for extroverts. We can tell you that we are being told to change ourselves. Be more outgoing. Be more social. Work in teams instead of on our own. Etc. Etc. Etc.

It's exhausting to constantly be told to be someone you are not. To feel like you are not whole, good, or living life correctly unless you are (or act like) an extrovert. Introverts are under-valued. And over-looked. And Susan Cain tells how America got to where it is today. Why extroversion has become such a highly valued personality trait. And also why America is getting it wrong. She sites research after research. She gives her own antidotes. She tells stories.

This is not just a book for introverts to feel validated, although it is that. It is a book for extroverts as well. So that they can understand introverts better, but more than that. It's a book about how America can perhaps get back some of its technological, mathematical, business, and economical edge on the world.

Read this book. And I will read it over again and this time, with a pen and highlighter.

Age of Opportunity

I have decided that I need to get better at reading non-fiction. I decided to start with this book, Age of Opportunity. It's a book about biblically parenting teenagers. And no, I don't have teenagers yet. My eldest child is 10. However, my third child is 5 and very much a teenager. I picked up this book on a recommendation from a friend and read it hoping to glean some good things about my kindergartner. And my emotional and dramatic 10 year old.

The title says it all - so many in our culture disdain the teenage years. I've even said it time and time again: "I'm not looking forward to the teenagers years. I mean, I have four girls." What a fallacy. I read the introduction and it shifted my view on any years of a child's life, but mostly on the teenage years. They have more potential for opportunities than for dismay.

This is a great book for all parents and it's about sanctifying the parents just as much as training the kids. I highly recommend.

Enna Burning

Enna Burning is the second book in Shannon Hales Books of Bayern series. So far, this is the only book of hers I've not let Morgan read. It's extremely violent and has graphic descriptions of people being on fire and burning to death. And there is an almost rape scene.

That being said, it's a good book. You do have to read this one in order to follow the book after it, Forest Born. But I just explained what happened to my daughter and she was fine.

This book is about a girl named Enna, who's brother finds a vellum which contains written instructions on how to learn the gift of fire speak. He learns and ends up burning to death in a war, saving the day. Enna then decides to learn and thinks she can better control it. We find out she cannot.

Enna Burning brings back the sweet characters from The Goose Girl with a focus on Enna instead of Isi.  The whole book is basically war scene after war scene. So, it's a bit graphic and intense. But I enjoyed it and loved seeing the characters again.

Forest Born

This is another Shannon Hale YA fantasy novel. I am really enjoying these even though they are pretty shallow compared to other YA novels. It's more like an in between of YA and Juvenile. But this one was also appropriate for my 4th grader, so there's that. It's the fourth book in the Bayern Series.

It's about a girl, Rin, who doesn't know who she is. In the emotional and self-realized sense. She's grown up in the forest and had a special connection to trees. Her brother is Razo, who we've seen in the other Bayern books, Enna Burning and The Goose Girl and River Secrets (I will read this one soon).

So Rin goes to the city with Razo in hopes of fixing what feels wrong in her. She ends up working in the palace with Isi and the others from Enna Burning. There is more war on the horizon, so she travels with the Queen to go try to stop it. Selia is back in this book (she got away in The Goose Girl, which we don't find out until this book). And of course, Rin saves the day.

Overall a great book and I'm enjoying the series. It's nice to have a series both me and my daughter like.

The Goose Girl

Guilty Pleasure confession: I love fairy tales. Brothers Grimm are some of my favorite people.

The Goose Girl is about a Queen who sends her princess daughter off to the surrounding village to marry the prince there. As a gesture of friendliness and political peace. She is sent on the 3 month journey with soldiers and her lady-in-waiting. All did not go as planned though and by the end of the journey, the princess is on the run for her life. She ends up as a Goose Girl, taking care of the kings geese.

As far as fairy tales go, this one is excellent and I would highly recommend this book. I let my 4th grader read it and she loved it. There is some violence in it, so beware of that.

The story was great (I guess we can thank the Brothers Grimm and not Hale for that), the writing was great (thanks Hale), and it's a great retelling of the original.

The Good Nurse

This is a compelling, crazy, make you angry at the system story of Charles Cullen. He is the serial killer nurse thought to have murdered hundreds of people in the hospitals in which he worked.

I now have a hatred for "risk management" in large institutions. Because of that department of many hospitals, hundreds of people died. I also have a larger understanding of how complex people can be and how deep rooted hurt can manifest itself later in life.

This is an eye opening biography and one that changed my view of hospitals and those that may be working in them.