May 2011 book list

Books-May 2011
1. 13 little blue envelopes by Maureen Johnson
2. The puzzle lady vs. the sudoku lady by Parnell Hall
3. Grounded by Kate Klise
4. How to be an American housewife by Margaret Dilloway
5. The heart of memory by Alison Strobel
6. Shoe addicts anonymous by Beth Harbison
7. I'll walk alone by Mary Higgins Clark
8. This is your brain on music by Daniel Levitan
9. Declaring spinsterhood by Jamie Lynn Braziel
10. Two of the deadliest by Elizabeth George
11. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
12. All unquiet things by Anna Jarzab
13. Wicked prey by John Sandford (audio book)
14. Medical error by Richard Mabry, M.D.
15. The summer of hammers and angels by Shannon Wiersbitzky (SLJ review)
16. Russell's world by Charles Amenta III (SLJ review)
17. twelve rooms with a view by Theresa Rebeck
18. The ninth wife by Amy Stollis

1. A young adult novel about a girl whose aunt sends (from the grave) envelopes with directions to be followed; seemed fairly believable, except the girl was only 16 or 17 and traipsed all over the world by herself.
2. A silly mystery by Hall, he writes with a breezy style and his characters are somewhat contrived, but fairly amusing.
3. A wonderful tale for intermediate children, but why do so many authors for kids write about death?
4. Told in two voices, this looks at the difficult relationship between mothers and daughters particularly when they are not only struggling with a generation gap, but with a cultural gap as well, the mother was a Japanese war bride. Well told.
5. Savannah, a Christian motivational speaker, finds her faith in Christ has disappeared when she wakes up from a heart transplant. Interesting theme based on cellular memory.
6. Recommended by my sister, Katie, a little bit of a romance, along with the bonding of friendship around the love of shoes.
7. The latest Clark mystery, I’d say she is getting better again, it helps when she stays away from paranormal themes.
8. Maybe the hardest book I read this month. A little deep and I didn’t really need all the technical mumbo-jumbo, but came away with some new understanding of music. I liked learning about the way notes are measured and the distance on the sound meters between notes.
9. A quick read, free on Kindle. Of course, she falls in love with the guy next door and tries to eschew romance. Cute and perky.
10. Short stories by female mystery writers, runs the gamut from serious, gruesome to silly and nonsensical. All based on lust or greed.
11. Our book club choice of the month, very heavy reading. Hard to reconcile how we choose to treat other human beings. Written about females slaves in the 1850s, the reader knows they will be free in a few years, but the characters do not know this.
12. Nick’s girlfriend was killed, after a year, he and her cousin try to discover who the killer was. A surprise ending that was foreshadowed slightly. Well-done young adult novel.
13. The only way to go with John Sandford. Lots of plot lines, numerous characters, but a fun way to pass the time when in the car or working around the house.
14. Thumbs down on this one, billed as a medical mystery, the characters are not well developed and too much time is taken up with medical details. Who cares if the author is a medical doctor and knows all the right terms?
15. A story for intermediate readers about a young girl who overcomes the adversity of poverty to help her mother save their home. Lots of heart, predictable characters, okay story.
16. A picture book for kids about a boy who is autistic. Good book for siblings of an autistic child.
17. Maybe my favorite of the month. Well told, sassy voice, and characters that you have to like or hate.
18. Bess is a great character, 35, successful professionally, but still looking for love. She finally finds it only to learn that her beloved has been married 8 times. Will she dare to become the 9th? Love it!