"Nineteen Minutes"

I hadn't intended to blog about Nineteen Minutes, but I found that the plot of this book has been on my mind lately. In Picoult's novel, 19 minutes is how long it takes for Peter Houghton to lay siege on his high school with four guns and to kill 10 people in a school shooting. Peter's story is a story we've heard before--a social outcast, obsessed with heavy metal music and video games, can't handle being bullied any longer, so he fights back the only way he thinks he can--with guns. The characters consist of the stereotypical jocks, nerds, beauty queens, ignorant teachers, and busy parents, but they are well defined; we come to understand each one's point of view. As in most of her novels, Picoult gives equal treatment to all sides, and I felt sympathy for the shooter as well as for his victims.

I think this story has been on my mind because of the many hours I've spent lately as a substitute teacher. As I watch the kids at school, I wonder how they feel about their peers and what they will become in the future. I, myself, have not witnessed any repeated bullying of one particular child, but I can't help but ask myself, "What am I not seeing?" Bullying must go on at my children's school, but I don't know if I can do anything to help if I never see it.

I enjoy Jodi Picoult's exploration of controversial social issues in her novels. A few of my friends have said that her books are too sad to read, and I must agree that her books can be sad. I appreciate how the books make me think about changes I can make in my life and how they always seem to offer a glimmer of hope for the future. I still think that My Sister's Keeper is my favorite Picoult novel, but I would definitely recommend this one as well.

"Eclipse"

I just finished "Eclipse" today (voraciously devouring it in the past 24 hours) after waiting several months for it to be published. This is the third in a series of books by Stephenie Meyer about the love between vampire Edward and mortal Bella. Meyer said that her first book ("Twilight") was about finding true love, her second ("New Moon") was about losing true love, and this book is about choosing true love.

I truly enjoyed this book--couldn't put it down--but I was a little disappointed in the plot development. Edward and Bella have found and nearly lost each other. Reunited, they await graduation and soon after, the possible turning of Bella into a vampire. Of course there is conflict, and a series of murders need to be solved first before anything can happen. More importantly, Bella must deal with her feelings for both Edward and Jacob.

The good in the book:
How can a story about werewolves and vampires seem so real?
More character development for Rosalie and Jasper.
More back story on the wolves and their history.
Bella begins to see true ramifications of becoming a vampire
How do you choose between gorgeous, considerate Edward and happy, fun Jacob?! Their rivalry was great and humorous.

The bad in the book:
When did Bella become so whiny and indecisive? Get some backbone!
I could see the "Victoria thing" coming a mile away--a very predictable ending.
Not much plot development. Nothing really changed.

Despite my complaints, I really did enjoy this book! Bella became weaker, to the point where I barely even liked her anymore, but I have high hopes for the next installment. Meyer has promised that the next book, "Breaking Dawn," will resolve the Edward and Bella's story--we just have to wait for another year. I love Edward, Bella, and Jacob enough that I know it will be worth it!

Hawaiian Holiday

David and I returned from our vacation to Maui and Oahu on August 1st, and I'm just now finding time to post! (It takes too long to play catch-up.) I made it through only four books in the 10 days I was gone, so obviously I did too much sightseeing and not enough reading!

(An example of the sights--maybe it's a good thing that I wasn't reading!)

Our flight left at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, July 21, so my fantastic friend Jenni bought the Harry Potter book for me at midnight on Friday at Ralph's and left it on my doorstep so I could take it on the plane in the morning. I was one of many people reading the book on the plane. I read most of it on Saturday and managed to finish it by noon on Sunday. Although I cried numerous times, I loved it! I thought J.K. Rowling did a great job of tying in to all of her previous books, yet she still managed to work in a new story about the three "deathly hallows." The book dragged a little while Harry, Ron, and Hermione wandered in the wilderness, but the last 200 pages or so were thrilling. A few predictions came to pass (spoiler: I knew Snape couldn't be all bad), and a few surprises knocked me off of my feet! My tears at the end of the book came because I knew there would be no new adventures for Harry--I'll miss him. Thanks to Rowling for such a fantastic series of books!

I also made a new find while in Maui--a series of books by the author Charlaine Harris. She writes fiction that she bills as "Southern Vampire Mysteries," and I would add "humorous" to the description. I chanced into Club Dead, the 3rd in the series, and was intrigued by the concept. They are set in the current time in a world where the vampires existing side by side with us mere mortals have decided to "come out" and announce their existence due to the invention of a realistic synthetic blood that allows them to no longer have to feed on humans. The werewolves and shape shifters are watching in the wings to see how this stunt will work for the vampires before they come out! The books are about Sookie Stackhouse, a mind-reading waitress who falls in love with Bill the vampire, and about how she feels torn between human society and vampire society. Quirky is a good description for these books, which means I know they won't appeal to everyone, but for this vampire-loving reader, I find them to be a fun read! (P.S. Did you know that Elvis isn't really dead--he was just turned into a vampire!!!!)

"The Bourne Identity"

I thought I would wait to post on this book until we had our Book Club discussion last night. We were pretty much agreed. All of us who had read this book before (it was first published in 1980) remembered it as a gripping thriller. I've read it three times; first in 1986, then about 10 years later, and now last week. I would have to say that this book has definitely lost some of its lustre. Robert Ludlum didn't pioneer the spy genre, but he certainly brought it to new heights in early '80s. His books were exciting and different; I had never read anything like them before.

Recently, authors have raised the bar on spy thrillers with books like "The DaVinci Code" and authors like Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, and David Baldacci--the action never stops. I had some trouble getting through "The Bourne Identity" because it moved so slowly. It was easy to get lost in the middle of the plot because it seemed to go in circles without progressing.

Some of the good things about the book were that I still cared about the characters, and wanted to know what would happen to them. The plot still worked and was only slightly affected by dealing with the old-fashioned technology. (It was funny to read about these high-level spies and assassins all needing to use pay phones!) I appreciated the toned-down sex and violence that are so graphic in modern books.

I enjoyed revisiting this spy classic, but I mourned the fact that it did not live up to my memory.

Bite into a Good Book!

I don't know why I'm fascinated by vampire books, but I simply can't get enough of them lately. Knowing that a vampire is in a book is usually enough to get me to pick it up and give it a chance. Most often the vampire is the villain, but in the best books, the vampire is a hero. How can a vampire be a hero? It's the struggle he has against their own nature that makes him so fascinating. Here are a few of my recent vampire favorites!

The Vampire Plagues by Sebastian Rook -- This is a trilogy written for kids--yes, kids--in which children battle an evil vampire and his minions who were released from ruins during an expedition to Mexico in 1850. The books take place in London, Paris, and then Mexico. Very suspenseful for 4th to 7th graders. My daughter and I really enjoyed them. (Villain)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova -- In this novel, a daughter inherits her father's research about Vlad the Impaler from the 15th century and discovers that her father thinks that Vlad (Count Dracula) is still alive. The book runs three different storylines about people all over Eastern Europe, trying to hunt down Vlad. I found all of the historical detail fascinating, but some of you may not (some parts read like a dissertation). The book is long but fantastic! (Villain)

Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy) by Nora Roberts -- This trilogy is way out there, but I couldn't put these books down. The story is about a witch, a wizard, a vampire, a scholar, a warrior, and a shape-shifter who lead the battle to save the world from a blood-thirsty group of vampires . The heroes time travel and go from real locales to a fantasy land. It sounds like crazy fluff--and it is! But the personal relationships were enough to make me read all three books. (Hero and Villain)

Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer -- These are the first two in a continuing Young Adult series, and I'm heavily promoting these books since I enjoyed them so much! They are the love story between Edward (a vampire) and Bella (an average teenage girl). They are character-driven books about severely star-crossed lovers and how difficult it is to love a vampire. (I'm sure you can all relate!) The idea seems far out there, but I found myself believing every word. I'd recommend these to any teen girls or women. (Gotta support a fellow BYU grad, and I can't wait for Eclipse!) (Hero and Villain)

I've never read Anne Rice because the movie Interview with a Vampire was too disgusting, but I'd love to hear any vampire recommendations you might have!

"The Secret Pearl"

One of my confessions is that I really enjoy a good regency romance--the key word in that sentence being good. Unfortunately this book did not meet that qualification. But there is something about Mary Balogh's romances that I enjoy. She seems to write her books about fairly ordinary people. Most romances seem to be about feisty beautiful women with quick comebacks ready on their tongues. The men all seem to be extraordinarily handsome and either unusually sensitive or devil-may-care rough. Mary Balogh usually writes about quiet people who act with morals--a pleasant surprise. A good Mary Balogh book would be "Simply Magic."

Night of the Blackbird

I usually enjoy Heather Graham's books--they're full of intrigue--but this one from a few years ago was blah. It dealt with the reunification of Ireland and was pretty predictable. Not one of her best, in my opinion.