Alex

Author:  Pierre Lemaitre

Series:  Verhoeven Trilogy, Book 2

Year:  2011

Publisher:  Albin Michel

Pages:  400

Amazon Summary:

Upon winning the prestigious 2013 Crime Writers Association International Dagger Award, the judges praised Alex by saying, "An original and absorbing ability to leash incredulity in the name of the fictional contract between author and reader... A police procedural, a thriller against time, a race between hunted and hunter, and a whydunnit, written from multiple points of view that explore several apparently parallel stories which finally meet."

Alex Prevost--kidnapped, savagely beaten, suspended from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse in a tiny wooden cage--is running out of time. Her abductor appears to want only to watch her die. Will hunger, thirst, or the rats get her first?

Apart from a shaky eyewitness report of the abduction, Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven has nothing to go on: no suspect, no leads, and no family or friends anxious to find a missing loved one. The diminutive and brilliant detective knows from bitter experience the urgency of finding the missing woman as quickly as possible--but first he must understand more about her.

 

So this was one heck of a mystery/thriller. I found it impossible to put down even when it got really creepy and crawly in places. I had to know what was going to happen to Alex, who the kidnapper was, what was with all the killing and murders. And then with the other story. What was with that? I definitely did not expect this to go there when I started it. I really hope to reach more of this author's work. 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Author:  Jenny Han

Series:  To All the Boys I've Loved Before, Book 1

Year: 2014

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster

Pages: 288

Goodreads Summary:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

This book is absolutely adorable. Laura Jean was an adorable protagonist. I loved following her relationship with Peter and with her previous loves. Watching Laura Jean deal with taking care of her family, adjusting to her older sister's move, and falling in love was a joy. To All the Boys I've Loved Before was my first experience with Jenny Han but I am definitely interested in reading more of her stories.

Flat-Out Celeste

Author:  Jessica Park

Year:  2014

Publisher:  CreateSpace

Pages:  336

Goodreads Summary:

For high-school senior Celeste Watkins, every day is a brutal test of bravery. And Celeste is scared. Alienated because she’s too smart, her speech too affected, her social skills too far outside the norm, she seems to have no choice but to retreat into isolation.

But college could set her free, right? If she can make it through this grueling senior year, then maybe. If she can just find that one person to throw her a lifeline, then maybe, just maybe.

Justin Milano, a college sophomore with his own set of quirks, could be that person to pull her from a world of solitude. To rescue her—that is, if she’ll let him.

Together, they may work. Together, they may save each other. And together they may also save another couple—two people Celeste knows are absolutely, positively flat-out in love.

Whether you were charmed by Celeste in Flat-Out Love or are meeting her for the first time, this book is a joyous celebration of differences, about battling private wars that rage in our heads and in our hearts, and—very much so— this is a story about first love.

I was so excited to see this book available. I absolutely loved Flat-Out Love and Flat-Out Matt. I thought these were terrific books and was so excited to get to Celeste's story. And it did not disappoint. This story had so many feelings attached to it and I just could not believe how connected I became to Celeste. I highly recommend this series to any one that loves a good romantic story.

Sleep Donation

Author:  Karen Russell

Year: 2014

Publisher:  Atavist Books

Pages: 110

Goodreads Summary:

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Swamplandia!, and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, an imaginative and haunting novella about an insomnia epidemic set in the near future.

A crisis has swept America. Hundreds of thousands have lost the ability to sleep. Enter the Slumber Corps, an organization that urges healthy dreamers to donate sleep to an insomniac. Under the wealthy and enigmatic Storch brothers the Corps' reach has grown, with outposts in every major US city. Trish Edgewater, whose sister Dori was one of the first victims of the lethal insomnia, has spent the past seven years recruiting for the Corps. But Trish’s faith in the organization and in her own motives begins to falter when she is confronted by “Baby A,” the first universal sleep donor, and the mysterious "Donor Y."

Sleep Donation explores a world facing the end of sleep as we know it, where “Night Worlds” offer black market remedies to the desperate and sleep deprived, and where even the act of making a gift is not as simple as it appears.

This was a very interesting and enjoyable novella. I find it intriguing that there's a possibility of people dying from insomnia especially since I am a sufferer of insomnia. I loved the idea of donating sleep and found myself wishing that there was a way for me to get a sleep donation.