The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper follows two girsl, Willa and Paxton living in a small town of Walls of Water, North Carolina. Both girls grew up in town, Willa was the class joker (although she hid it until the very end) and Paxton was miss popularity. Willa's family was once part of the town's elite, however in her grandmother's day they moved out and she was working as a maid in her friends homes. Paxton is living in her parents house doing the social butterfly stuff her mom always wanted and restoring the Blue Ridge Madam, the Jackson family home. Willa owns a small store in town and is trying to fit her life into the box that she thinks her family would find appropriate. Neither woman is happy, then a body is unearthed at the Blue Ridge Madam and both girls find a way to break out of the shell's they are in and about their families pasts.

Just like other books by Sarah Addison Allen you get two watch two wonderful characters fall in love an come into their own. Actually three this time because Paxton's brother Colin also figures himself out.

I really liked getting to see Paxton and Waverly develop a friendship. I also liked hearing Paxton's grandmother tell them the story of her and Georgie's past. She did a good job with it. Sometimes when people tell and don't show in books it can get boring but I found the story just as captivating. (Although I did appreciate getting to be shown it too.)

There was less magic in this book then in previous books. There was also just something about the ambiance of this book that was a little different. The magic floating around was less helpful and a little bit more malicious.

I am something of a geek and I was super excited to see Claire Waverly from Garden Spells make an appearance. Just like every other book by Sarah Addison Allen, I thoroughly enjoyed it and found myself charmed by the characters and locale.

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

John has been living on Earth with his Cepan Henri since he was 5 years old. Him and Henri have lived moved all over the United States in an effort to stay hidden. His home planet Lorien was destroyed by the Mogadorians and Alex and eight other children are hidden all across the planet Earth until the powers they are supposed to be developing at puberty make an appearance and they can go after the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are also on Earth, hunting the nine in number order to get around a protective charm that was placed on the children and to gauge whether or not they can take over the Earth as well. At the opening of the book John has just had to move again and now knows that the first three are dead. They move to a little town called Paradise, Ohio where for the first time John starts making friends.

The best thing this book has going for it is that is action packed. The pace is quick and never stays in one place for long. It's all developing powers, fighting and giant battles. It definitely keeps you entertained.

The background on Lorien and the kind of planet it was and what society was like was interesting. The flashbacks of both the planets destruction and the scraps of John's life were really interesting. I also like learning about how the history of Lorien and the history of Earth have intersected. However I couldn't help but think that some of the things about the planet sounded familiar as if they had been pulled from other stories, books, televisions shows, movies etc.

My other source of contention was the relationship between Sarah and John. It was a sweet relationship, it really was, however we never get to know Sarah. All we know is she's a nice girl and she was on a bad path but straightened herself out via family and photography. Since we don't really get to know her well, it's hard to figure out exactly what it is that John see's in her.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

I'll admit that my review for this is not as thorough as it could be. Mainly because I read this for work and I know I will most likely have to read it at least two more times before the summer ends.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes is the sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts, a 2005 Newbery Honor book. Moose is still living on Alcatraz with his family but now his sister Natalie is finally attending a school that will help her. Moose feels the family's group dynamic changing and life feels just a little bit freer now. Unfortunately Moose gets drawn back into trouble again by Piper, the warden's daughter and by the favor he called in from prisoner #85 Al Capone to get Natalie into school. Will Moose go too far in effort to keep everyone happy?

This sequel was a lot of fun, as it was full of action and all the characters I loved from the previous book. Piper is just as much of a pain as ever using what little power she has to get everyone in trouble so she can get her way. This book we get a little more insight into Piper, we find out what makes her tick and why she feels like she needs to have so much power.

We also find out more about what makes Moose tick. Moose spends a lot of the book analyzing the kind of person he is and the what makes his friends tick. He thinks that there is a lot more gray area where the cons are concerned then there actually is. I was on the edge of my seat watching him and his friends deal with the outcomes caused by those feelings.

I did have to laugh a little bit at the appearance of a love triangle in this book. It seems like authors just can't help themselves anymore. I don't want to give any details because I don't want to spoil it for anyone but I definitely know what couple I want to end up together if Moose's adventures on Alcatraz continue.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

I read this right after I finished Mockingjay and I thought it was such a good pick to read after reading such a heavy serious series. It's light and sweet and just what I needed after reading a trilogy that in a lot of ways just scared the crap out of me. Lily's brother thinks she needs a boyfriend, so he sets up a red moleskin with some challenges at the Strand bookstore in NYC (if you haven't been there you should it's awesome.) Dash finds the notebook and takes the challenge. What ensues is a game of dares al over NYC, involving friends and family and an awesome puppet named Snarly. I really really loved Dash, and was kind of disgruntled with Lily which made this book kind of a mixed bag for me. However I loved Lily's family and how they interacted with each other so that balanced out my unhappiness with her character. Dash is a mellow relatable guy. His parents dragged him through an ugly divorce as a kid so he's looking forward to a nice quiet holiday alone. At the beginning of the book Lily just felt like a stereo type and a goody two shoes. She has no real friends at school but is the captain of the soccer team which keeps her from joining the loser pit. Her family is extremely close and she is not taking her parents being in Fiji over Christmas well. There are a ton of very fun and well developed minor characters including Boomer and Sofia on Dash's side and Lily's aunt, brother and cousins. The best parts of the book are watching how all of the characters affect Lily, how they make her become a fuller more developed person. The dares are funny and interesting and I think that are an interesting way to introduce lots of different characters and parts of the city but the best part is still watching Lily grow.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

In this book Katniss has struck a deal with District 13 to become the Mockingjay, the symbol for the rebels. Most of her job consists of doing propos, advertisements for the rebels to play on television throughout Panem. Katniss is reunited with Prim, her mother and Gale but many from her district are dead. Peeta is stuck in the capital and being held by President Snow in an attempt to break Katniss.

This is a very exciting book. I understand why other people like it, but truthfully it just wasn't for me. The last quarter of the book just felt like horrible violent death after horrible violent death. One of the death's particularly bothered me because it almost made me feel like the whole series was for nothing. Katniss had one goal from the very beginning and it felt like too much that she shouldn't achieve it.

I think part of my problem with this book is that it scares me. It reminds me that there are people out there that value life so little that this kind of violence is not impossible.

I did like the ending though because Katniss returns to being the person she always was. She doesn't go on to rule Panem or do anything else crazy. She settles back into obscurity and it's implied that she leads a good life.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

So apparently it has been almost exactly a year since I read the first book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. I really didn't like the first book so I wasn't planning on reading the rest of the trilogy. However my kids at the library kept asking me if I'd read them and what did I think along with other people I know so I finally caved and decided to read the next one. I'm glad I did because I did enjoy it considerably more. In Catching Fire Katniss and Peeta have returned home however their problems are far from over. Katniss' actions have made her a symbol for many people who are unhappy with their lives in Panem. Her actions are the catalyst for an uprising. As punishment her and Peeta along with other previous Games winners are sent back into the ring.

I think the reason I was able to enjoy this book more was because this time at the very least the deaths kind of seemed to serve a greater purpose in the end, which made them a little bit easier to bear. Additionally many of the more brutal deaths in the arena happened out of range of Katniss and her allies and we were spared many of the kinds of details that the last book seemed to thrive on. This made it easier for me to pay more attention to other factors of the book that I weren't enough to carry me through the last book.

Katniss is a strong female character with a deep moral streak which I find gratifying considering the threats and harsh living conditions she has survived through. While I don't always agree with every decision she makes and at times she is a little slow to get to what I consider the important point she is a character that I most definitely respect.

President Snow is definitely a horrifying villain. Seeing the lengths he is willing to go to is the stuff of nightmares; giving people the power to kill or maim for miniscule infractions and punishing as many people as possible in extreme forms. The cat and mouse game he plays with Katniss is the utmost cruelty, especially since uncertainty makes it difficult for her to function in many ways.

The book ends on a cliff hanger however the upside to waiting so long to read it is that I immediately get to start the next book.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Diana Bishop is a witch, but when she was a child her parents were killed and Diana associated it with being a witch so she has tried her best to cut witch craft and magic out of her life. Unfortunately Diana is a powerful witch so magic is not willing to leave her alone. As a historian working on a paper in Oxford, she one day calls up a Ashmole 782, an alchemical text hidden with spells for centuries that may hold the key to any number of things depending on what witch, vampire or daemon you talk to. It's drawing her all kinds of attention from the witches, daemons and vampires she has been trying to avoid; including one Matthew Clairmont, a powerful vampire that she finds herself developing a relationship with.

I really loved this book so much. It was recommended by a friend and even though it took me almost a week to read, I was thrilled with the outcome. The book is sooo rich in detail. Historical details and figures have been intricately woven into an amazing world populated with paranormal creatures. There are references to famous playwrights, musicians, monarchs and popes. It was kind of wonderful to see find out who was human and who wasn't and how the creatures traits were woven into the existing historical figures behaviors.

I also really loved the interplay of genetics in this book. Science can be kind of a turn off because it's not my strong suit and sometimes it just confuses me enough that I can no longer follow the story. However all of the science here makes sense and the explanations are basic enough that I don't feel like I'm lost in it. The science part of the plot was enough to even make my fiance interested in the story. (Not a big paranormal fiction reader). I especially like the idea of science and magic being tied together in such a strong way. I've always thought that the best kinds of magic were probably science that hasn't been explained yet and this book subscribes to that theory in a strong way.

I loved getting to know the characters in this book as well, from Diana and Matthew to Ysabeau and Sophie. While not everyone is obviously likable initially they are all interesting. Reading about them opening up to each other and their origins or even just the long lives they have had the opportunities to lead was one of the things that really kept me going.

Matthew and Diana's relationship at the moment does leave something to be desired, mainly because Matthew is kind of stuck with many of the sensibilities he developed during his life and because of his predatory instinct. Right now Diana is walking a very thin line, trying not to become subservient but being more flexible then she would normally be to accommodate for him. One of the things I love about Diana is how strong and independent she is and I don't want to see her lose that. I also like Matthew chivalrous nature but these habits of his to dominate make me wonder if I am going to continue to like him. I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy and see what happens and learn more about the world the author has created. (Of course with my luck that wont be for forever.