Adrienne's review of "Magic Hour"

We read the book "Magic Hour" by Kristin Hannah a couple of months ago for my book club and I loved it. It's the story of Dr. Julia Cates who has been forced out of her practice working with troubled children in California after one of her patients goes on a killing spree and then kills herself. Shortly after this happens, an abandoned, mute girl is found in her small hometown in Washington State by her sister, who is the town sheriff. Julia goes back to her hometown to work with this young girl and to try and help her sister figure out who she is and where she came from.

One of the things I loved about this book was the subject matter. The young girl has been living in the woods for several years and is what is referred to as a feral child. It isn't a subject that you really come across very often and it was very interesting to learn about these children and how living in the wild without other humans affects them. I give it 4.5 stars.

Adrienne's review of "Me and Mr. Darcy"

I had heard about this book from several people and it sounded like a cute, easy read. The story is about a girl who has decided she's through dating because all the guys she goes out with are jerks. She wishes she could find someone like Mr. Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice". She ends up going on a Jane Austin tour for a vacation with a group of older ladies and one guy who is going on the tour to write a story. While she is on her vacation she ends up meeting the real Mr. Darcy through some weird twist of fate, and he falls in love with her but she finds out in the end that Mr. Darcy isn't really as perfect as most women think. The story follows the same basic storyline as "Pride and Prejudice".

I have to say that I found this book very predictable given that it had the same plot line as "Pride and Prejudice". I also felt that having Mr. Darcy fall in love with the main character was very unbelievable. She is a modern day girl, who dresses in clothes that were considered very immodest in the time of Mr. Darcy and she swears several times when they're together. It made me wonder if the author had even read "Pride and Prejudice" because Mr. Darcy would never have even been attracted to someone like that, especially since he felt like proper Elizabeth Bennett was not high bred enough for him . The rest of the story, although predictable, was a cute little love story and I enjoyed it okay. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend this book and would give it only 2 stars.

Meghan's Review of Jurassic Park

Jay and I read this book together, which was fun. This book is a lot more action packed and exciting than the movie, and the book had so many intense parts that I think would've made the movie better. The story line is pretty much the same as the movie, but more developed. It was very exciting and interesting, and it was a quick read. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

Meghan's Review of My Sister's Keeper

This book is about a family that has three children, the middle child having a rare form of cancer. The couple decides to have a third child and pretty much have her genetically made to be a perfect donor match for her sister so she will always have blood, bone marrow, organs, etc. that can be used to save the ill daughter. The youngest daughter is 13 when her parents want her to donate a kidney to save her sister and she decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation so she can decide whether or not she wants to donate her blood or organs to her sister, not her parents. But the real reason she sues her parents comes out at the end of the book, and I won't share it so that I don't spoil the story line.

The family's whole life really revolves around the ill daughter and when she gets sick, the parents always focus on her and kind of ignore the other two children. It's really sad to think that if that family were real, that those two kids would feel so unloved and unimportant. But the relationship between the two daughters is really touching and sweet. The movie actually ends differently from the book (at least that's what I've heard) and I wish the author would've ended the book the same way they decided to end the movie.

It was an easy read, pretty interesting, but there is language and a few intimate scenes. I wouldn't mind seeing the movie just to compare the two.

Meghan's Review of The Glass Castle

My friend recommended this book to me so I picked it up from the library without really knowing what it was about. This book is a memoir of the author, Jeannette Walls' childhood. She grew up with two parents who were extremely smart and could do anything if they actually tried, but they moved from town to town, living in run down houses or in their car, or in the California desert. Her dad never wanted to keep a job because he was an "entrepreneur" and said he needed time to research and invent and keeping a real job stopped him from that. Whenever he looked for work, he found it, but he always got himself fired and then spent most of the money he made on alcohol and cigarettes anyway. Walls has three siblings and they always lived in squalor- not because that was the only option they had but because her parents always made decisions that led them to that. They owned a house and also owned some property in Texas, but her parents would never even consider selling it even though they never had food or clothes, or place to live. They lived in the house after their grandma died for a while, but the parents didn't like living in the city, so they just up and left it one day and moved to a town where they didn't have anything and ended up in a broken down house that didn't have any plumbing or even a bathroom. I was just amazed that two parents who had every opportunity to provide for their children didn't do it. They were so caught up in living their dreams (her mom wanted to be an artist, her dad an inventor) that they never provided for their children. And they never took charity from anyone. The parents wouldn't go on welfare because "they didn't need it", but they also wouldn't provide their kids clothes or even food because they were too busy squandering the little money they did make on art supplies or alcohol. Walls doesn't tell her story as a way to say how horrible her life was, but just as a way to remember her experiences. It was a touching story and has humorous moments and sentimental moments. But it also infuriated me that two parents could act the way hers did. The wonderful thing about the book is that three of the four children actually find a way to make it out of the slum that their parents put them in and have wonderful lives. And even though the kids always asked their parents what they could do to help (by the end the parents were completely homeless), all the mom would say was how sad she was that her daughter had lost sight of her values because she lived on Park Avenue. I just wonder what is going through a mind of someone like that, and how many people are on the streets that have similar thinking. I guess at the end of the book, I'm just baffled how anyone could want to live like that. I wish I understood a little more of why the parents acted the way they did. There is some language and some perverse moments Walls was subjected to, but I was very intrigued by the book.

P.S. sorry if this review is too long or gives too much away. I never quite know how much to say in a review, but if you want to read it at least you know what you're getting, right? :)

Erin read Deerskin

Just thought I would let you all know. Adrienne and Shannan already reviewed this book so I won't go into the content. I will say that it was a good book. I enjoyed the story line and the author's writing style although the extent of the king's infatuation with his daughter caught me off guard and kind of freaked me out. It was pretty predictable, but I didn't mind that. The last scene with her father was a little over the top but I am not use to reading fantasy so maybe that is typical. I tried to read The Blue Sword but I usually get a few books from the library at a time and I wasn't able to give it enough time to get into it. Maybe next time.

Shannan's Review of "The Star Garden"

This is the 3rd book after "These is My Words". It reminded me a lot of the second book, "Sarah's Quilt". It takes place in one year, after the 2nd book, and is written in more of a narrative format, as opposed to the diary format in the first book. It doesn't have as many trials as in the 2nd, and is equally interesting to continue the story of Sarah and her family. I think that "These is My Words" can easily stand on its own and is by far the best out of the 3. But if you are interested in the continuing story of Sarah, it is worth the read.