11-22-63: A Novel

Author:  Stephen King

Year: 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Narrator: Craig Wesson

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and the world changes. King's novel begins nearly 50 years after Kennedy's assassination with Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Maine. To earn extra money, Jake teaches GED classes. He gives his class an assignment to write about the day that changed their lives. One of his students writes about the night that his father murdered his mother and siblings and left Harry handicapped. 

Then, one of Jake's friends, Al Templeton, shows Jake the "rabbit hole" a portal that leads back to 1958. Al recruits Jake to handle his dying mission - stop the JFK assassination. But, Jake also sees a way to save Harry's family. So he sets off back to 1958 where he must wait out five years until 1963 to stop the Kennedy assassination. In those years, he follows Oswald to try and prove that Oswald was the lone gunman. He also makes friends, falls in love and learns what life is all about.

In 11/22/63, Stephen King does what King does best - he tells a story that captivates and ensnares the reader. While I was listening to this book, I wanted nothing more than to continue listening to find out what was going to happen to Jake and the rest of the residents of Jodie, Texas. Would he be able to stop the Kennedy assassination? And, if he did, what changes would it make in the world? Craig Wesson did a wonderful job narrating the book. 

Across the Universe

Author:  Beth Revis

Year:  2011

Publisher:  Razorbill

Amy is cryogenically frozen and put onboard the spaceship Godspeed. She and her parents are part of a team going to terraform and establish a colony on a new planet. She's supposed to sleep for 300 years (until she reaches the new planet); however, 50 years too early, Amy is awakened and it soon becomes obvious that someone tried to murder her. Now Amy is stuck on a ship with a bunch of complete strangers and has now clue who to trust. 

I read this entire book in one sitting. I liked both Amy and Elder and found their plights enthralling and believable. I loved the world that Revis created (even if it was all on board a spaceship). This is a cute fun read.

Shadow Bound

Author: Rachel Vincent

Year: 2012

Publisher:  Mira/Harlequin

Kori Daniels can use shadows to move instantly from one place to another which sounds like the ultimate definition of freedom but Kori is bound to Jake Tower which means that she can't do anything without his permission. And now, after a recent failure, Tower has a job for Kori and if she doesn't succeed not only  her life but her sister's life is at stake. Tower wants Kori to recruit and sign Ian Holt. But Ian's got other plans for getting involved with Tower. He wants to kill Kori's sister. 

For some reason, I had thought this book was going to continue the story of Liv and Cam from Blood Bound but it wasn't. Once I got past that, I loved the book. Rachel Vincent's writing is always fast paced and fun. Her characters are terrific and lovable. 

The Last Werewolf

Author:  Glen Duncan

Year: 2011

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Jacob Marlowe is the last living werewolf on earth and it seems that everybody is out to kill him. He's on the run and he's thinking about suicide. This was a very interesting story that took me ages to read. It didn't take so long because it was a bad or boring book because it was neither. It was fast-paced, gritty and unique. Duncan definitely knows how to craft a sentence. I recommend reading this book if you want something different in the paranormal spectrum or just something different altogether. But be forewarned that there is both rough killing and rough sex (sometimes at the same time). It is not a children's book or one for the weak of stomach.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Author:  Betty Smith

Year: 1943

Publisher:  Harper Collins

This is the coming of age story of Frances Nolan. Francie lives in Brooklyn in the early 1900s. Her family is poor. They scrape by for food and make up games to make their meager rations seem like more. Her father is an alcoholic. Francie's mother, a very hard worker, has one goal and that is that her children have a better life than she did. Francie loves school and reading but is a bit of a loner. 

I'm not sure what I expected when I started this book but it wasn't what I got. There is no goal or mission for Francie except for growing up and surviving in the slums of Brooklyn. Yet, the book was engrossing. It was like Betty Smith shot a film of life in Brooklyn during this time period and then translated it to a book. I felt what it was like to be Francie. She is strong, beautiful, smart and thoughtful. She might just be one of my favorite heroines in literature. 

On top of that, Betty Smith had some of the most beautiful writing I've seen anywhere. More than once, there were paragraphs that I had to reread just because they are so beautiful and that there is so much said that I was afraid I missing parts. If you're in the mood to read a classic, then pick this book up and give it a try.

The Hunt

Author:  Andrew Fukoa

Year:  2012

Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin

Gene is a human living in a world of vampires. Every day he has to work constantly at just keeping focus and not doing anything that will give away his secret and lead to his death. One day, he's chosen in a lottery to participate in a Hunt. It's a hunt for hepers (humans). He is expected to train and then go out into the "wild" to hunt down the other humans. The vampire that consumes the most humans wins. 

This story was definitely interesting and nerve wracking. It's The Immortal Rules in reverse but a whole lot more tense. At times I wondered why I was reading the book and at other times, I couldn't put it down. But even though I am on the fence on this book, after that ending, I can't wait to read the next book.

The Lost Hero: The Heroes of Olympus, Book One

Author: Rick Riordan

Year:  2010

Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books

Jason, Piper and Leo are all students at a Wilderness School for problem kids when monsters attack and they end up at Camp Half-Blood and learn that they're all three demigods. Leo's great with mechanical things and can control fire, Piper's smart and beautiful and can talk anybody into anything (literally - it's one of her gifts) and Jason, well, Jason doesn't remember who he is. Then the three of them must go out on a quest to rescue Hera.

I liked the way that Riordan tied this this story line in with the Percy Jackson series (and it looks like I'm going to get to see more of Percy in the next book -yay!) but kept it on it's on. I liked Jason a lot - maybe even a bit more than Percy. He's definitely up there with him. I like tying the Roman and Greek gods together. Plus, I'm a sucker for mythology stories and interpretations. Most definitely looking forward to the rest of the series.