Book Give-Away for August 18, 2007

In memory of Ben, I am giving away two brand new sets of E. B. White paperbacks. They are still in shrink-wrap and do not have BookCrossing labels. I wanted this give-away to be totally altruistic in honor of my little friend, who was a fine reader and will be deeply missed.

BOOK GIVE-AWAY FOR AUGUST 11, 2007

I'm giving another book away. Sorry for the delay in the first one--I spent a chunk of my weekend in the hospital to find out why the right side of my face is paralyzed. Turns out I have Bell's Palsy, which, as a diabetic, I was four times more likely than the general population to contract. Sigh. I should see some improvement by the end of the week, and there's an 80% chance of full recovery within three months. Let me just say, I look and feel like a freak.

So, because I'm really stressed about this, my give-away book for the week is INSIDE MY HEART: CHOOSING TO LIVE WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE by Robin McGraw (AKA Mrs. Dr. Phil). There are likely to be several copies of this available in hardcover. These books are brand-new, except that there is a BookCrossing label inside each cover. Winners, please make a journal entry at http://www.bookcrossing.com/ when you recieve your books. You don't have to join BookCrossing, and you can do an anonymous journal entry that simply says that you received the book. After that, I don't care what you do with the books, because they will be yours.

I will choose and announce the winners here on Saturday, August 11th, and mail the books on the following Monday.

I hope to see a lot of entries this time out. Just make a comment on this post, and you will be entered. Good luck, everyone!

Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris

LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS
Charlaine Harris
ISBN: 0-441-00923-9
Fantasy/Mystery
Book #07-061

Sookie Stackhouse is an ordinary young woman with an extraordinary "dis"ability: she can read minds. This ability has caused her grief throughout her life, particularly when it comes to romance, because as she says, how can you make love with someone when you know what they really think about you and your body? When Sookie meets Bill the Vampire and realizes that she can't hear his thoughts, the mental silence is very attractive to her, and before long, she's got a real, live (not) boyfriend.

Being involved with a vampire has its own special problems. When Bill's vampire colleagues save Sookie's life, she feels obligated to accomodate when asked for a favor, she agrees to read the minds of people involved in the case of a missing vampire. Sookie's only condition is that if her abilities reveal the culprits, they must be handed over to the authorities and dealt with through legal channels.

Once in Dallas, Sookie encounters the Fellowship of the Sun, a fanatical anti-vampire group. The resulting chaos and carnage make for fast, frantic reading as Charlaine Harris masterfully pits the vampires and their foes against each other, with the intrepid Sookie smack in the middle. In this second installment of Harris's Stackhouse series, readers get more of Sookie's scrupulously honest self-analysis and her amusingly pragmatic approach to life. Harris has created a detailed depiction of vampire politics, and Eric, Bill's supervisor, proves to be a formidable enemy and a seriously good kisser.

Charlaine Harris keeps the action and the angst coming in this completely delectable page-turner. Sookie is a heroine readers can identify with, and her wise-cracking sense of humor leavens many a tense moment. Harris gives her imagination free rein, and the resultant account of modern vampire life is a marvel of wit and wonder. LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is in high demand with readers, and that popularity shows no sign of declining any time soon. With Sookie Stackhouse, Charlaine Harris has earned her spot on the paranormal keepers shelf.

Mostly Paranormal Bookbox Going Out Soon

I've put together a box of paperback books that I no longer want, and I've made a list of people who would like to play bookswap with me. Basically, you get the box, take out the books you want and replace them with your own books that you no longer want, log the information on the list that you find in the box, then mail it off to the next person. When the box gets back to me, with any luck, I'll find books I haven't read, but more importantly, I've passed along books I've already read.

A few points of interest: all my books are logged at http://www.bookcrossing.com/, so I expect people to make a journal entry on any of my books that they choose from the box. Usually people wait to make entries once they've read a book, but I need instant gratification that I've actually passed a book along, so I ask that the entry be made when a book is taken.

Postage for these boxes can vary, but they generally go media mail with delivery confirmation.

This box contains mostly paranormal romances, but there are books of other genres in it, too. You don't have to match genres, it's simply a one-for-one trade.

I'll have other boxes going out soon. One will be trade paperbacks, and one will be audiobooks on cassette and CD.

If this is something you'd like to do, please go to Bartered_Book@yahoogroups.com and sign up. Once I approve your membership, you will need to send me your mailing address so I can put you on the flight list. This box was supposed to go out a few weeks ago, but I'm notoriously poky about getting my boxes started. I will be sending it out next Thursday, the 9th of August.

Hope to see you there!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Ordinarily, I have a format for my book reviews, and I follow it closely. I don't write in the first person, most of the time, and I try to give a summary of the book, followed by my reaction to it. This book is so big and so unique that I've chosen not to review it here because I don't want to spoil it for anyone, and because this is the final book in a series that has forever changed the landscape of children's literature. I don't think a review can truly do justice to the impact that J. K. Rowling and the Boy Who Lived have had on our culture.

That being acknowledged, I have to admit that I wolfed this book down in one day. We were on the second day of our road trip home to Georgia from Massachusetts, so I pulled out the book and hunkered down for a long day of travel. I didn't finish it before we got home, but I finished it before I went to bed, and I have been mulling it over ever since.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was everything I'd hoped it would be, and I closed the book feeling satisfied, wistful that it was over, and sorry to say goodbye to characters who have come to mean so much to me over the years. I cried several times over the course of the day, and especially at the end, but they were cleansing tears of genuine emotion. Death came fast and furious in the final volume of this series, but various characters were vindicated, others got their just desserts, and some discovered things about themselves that we, the readers already knew.

We had just seen the new movie on Saturday, so the visuals of the characters was fresh in my mind, and I must say, everyone in films has been perfectly cast all the way along. Generally, when I read a book, I have vague images of what the characters look like, but reading the Potters has been enhanced by the spot-on performances of the actors chosen for each role. (I have one qualification--Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. He has grown on me, and I've come to appreciate him, but he has never had the requisite twinkle that is so inherently characteristic of Dumbledore, and I miss Richard Harris desperately.)

J.K. Rowling has said she's very proud that the cast is British, with no stunt-casting of Americans for box-office bonuses, and I have to agree that this has been part of the magic of this series. Honestly, could you imagine someone like Macaulay Culkin or Lindsay Lohan in this movie? I shudder to think how such casting would have compromised not only the integrity of the films, but also the very Britishness of the story. What makes this story so attractive to Americans is the combination of familiarity and foreignness, and I rejoice that Ms. Rowling has had the wherewithal to be true to her characters and her vision.

As sad as I was to close the book upon reading the final page, the thing that has kept my sorrow at bay is the knowledge that we still have a couple of films to go before it's well and truly over. I will likely reread the books someday, and I will listen to the audiobooks featuring the amazingly versatile Jim Dale, but I know that my time with these people is nearly over, and soon they will be fond memories from a place where I was happy for a time.

I look forward to Rowling's Harry Potter Encyclopedia, and I will gladly pick up anything else she writes, but I will miss Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, the Hogwarts staff, and the rest of the characters.

BOOK GIVE-AWAY FOR AUGUST 4, 2007

I'm trying to get more traffic on my blog, so I've decided to do a give-away every week for the rest of the year. Everyone who leaves a comment here this week (after this blog entry!) will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong. I will choose the winner on Saturday, August 4th, and will post again to announce the title for the next drawing. I will be giving away a variety of books and genres over the next several months, so check back every week, and please browse my posts! Good luck!

Playing with Fire, by Gena Showalter

PLAYING WITH FIRE
Gena Showalter
ISBN: 0-373-77129-0
Paranormal Romance

Belle Jamison is an ordinary woman, albeit an underachiever and something of a slacker, with a cute figure and a bad attitude. Little does she know that she is one grande mocha latte away from being able to back up her attitude with a whole new set of skills. A stranger in a labcoat races into the coffee shop where Belle works, frantically begging for help, then disappears in the melee that follows, leaving everyone else in the shop to be interrogated by the three men who were chasing him. With the shop in a shambles, Belle is let go to attend a job interview, where a sudden illness prevents her from making a good impression.

The next thing Belle knows, she's waking up to a sexy stranger who tells her that she accidentally drank a formula that has given her supernatural powers, so she has to be neutralized. As Belle looks around the charred, water-damaged remains of her bedroom, she realizes that what she thought were dreams of fire, snow, and rain actually happened. The stranger, whose name is Rome, is regretful but determined to carry out his orders. In terror for her life, Belle manages to escape, and thus begins a merry chase, jam-packed with danger, adventure, and romance.

Gena Showalter has written a true sizzler, drawing readers in with the very first page and juggling an action-packed plot with ease. As Belle schemes to convince Rome to spare her life, the two are drawn closer in an attraction as irresistible as it is combustible. Belle's insecurities about Rome's feeling for her are funny and realistic, particularly after she meets the near-perfect Lexis, Rome's ex-wife and current partner. Belle befriends Tanner, the proverbial poor little rich boy who has some unusual abilities of his own, and before long, this group of diverse individuals begins to turn into a family. Even as the plot hurtles toward its climax, Ms. Showalter keeps readers guessing about Rome's intentions, Belle's dilemma, and everyone's survival.

The true magic of PLAYING WITH FIRE is in its blend of snappy dialogue, humor, and sexual tension. Nearly every character is keeping a secret or two, and the reveals are timed perfectly to keep the momentum building. Belle's interaction with Tanner provides much of the humor, and the "super-hero" names with which Belle, Rome, and Tanner dub each other provide a constant source of amusement. PLAYING WITH FIRE is a snappy, snarky sizzler of a read, perfect for a cold winter night or a scorching summer day.

The Chick and the Dead, by Casey Daniels

THE CHICK AND THE DEAD
Casey Daniels
ISBN: 978-0-06-082147-0
Mystery
Book #07-030


When Pepper Martin hit her head on the gravestone of mob boss Gus Scarpetti, she didn't just see stars, she began to see dead people. Gus needed Pepper to help him solve the mystery of his murder before he could succumb to his eternal rest. Once Pepper got the answer, she figured life would go back to normal, but Didi Bowman, a gum-chewing ghost in a poodle skirt and saddle shoes, has other ideas.


Didi claims to have written So Far the Dawn, a Gone with the Wind-type historical blockbuster that was made into a movie beloved by millions. The problem is, Didi died 50 years ago, before the book was published, and her sister Merilee, librarian and noted historian, has been lauded for decades as the author of the bestseller. When Merilee comes to town to donate the Bowman family home for a SFTD museum, Didi demands Pepper's help to reveal the truth. Caught between a rock and a hard place (reveal the truth and break the hearts of the nation, or refuse to help Didi and be haunted forever), Pepper reluctantly gives in.


Laid off from her job at the cemetery where the Bowmans are buried, Pepper finagles a job as Merilee's secretary. This gives her an insider's view of life with the diva, but it also keeps her in close contact with a weirdly unsettling cast of characters, including Elizabeth and Kurt, the spectral stars of the So Far the Dawn film, and Bob, the taciturn caretaker of the Bowman homestead. As Pepper unearths the details of Didi's short life, she discovers that there were several people who might have wanted the blonde bombshell dead: any of her numerous lovers, her granddaughter by her illegitimate (and now deceased) daughter, and, of course, her script-stealing sister. Is Pepper finally in over her head?

Casey Daniels has written a charmer of a mystery, with laugh-out-loud moments and plot twists aplenty. With two mysterious men popping in and out of her life and her penchant for poking her nose in where it doesn't belong, Pepper Martin may remind readers of Janet Evanovich's wildly popular Stephanie Plum. Pepper has all of Stephanie's wry spunkiness, and Daniels keeps the action and the comedy coming without ever hurtling over the top and straight into slapstick. Given the current popularity of paranormal plots, readers may pick up THE CHICK AND THE DEAD out of simple curiosity, but Daniels' skillful writing and delightful heroine will leave them quoting author Emilie Richards: "Write faster, Casey Daniels."

Bad Reading Year So Far

This has not been the best reading year for me. I've been distracted and unfocused, and have not felt the need to write about what little reading I've done. By this point in the year, I'm usually closing in on 100 books read, but this year, I barely have 40. It's been better this month, but the apathy continues to be a problem. I hope this improves soon.

The High Rocks, by Loren Estleman

THE HIGH ROCKS
Loren Estleman
ISBN: 0-812-53566-9
Western
Book #07-017

After three years of harsh winters, the people of Staghorn, Montana, have their work cut out for them in recovering from the depradations of severe weather. As bad as they have it, however, that Bear Anderson has it worse. Bear lives alone in the heights of the Bitterroot Mountains, where he works as a trapper when he's not busy hunting down and scalping Flathead Indians in revenge for their massacre of his family. Unfortunately, Bear's quest for vengeance has created a political impasse: the US government wants to negotiate a peace treaty, but the Indians won't cooperate until Bear is brought to justice.

Enter Page Murdock, US Deputy and childhood friend of one Bear Anderson. Murdock agrees to try to bring Bear down from the mountain, but it's going to take a lot of skill and even more luck. There's a trio of bounty hunters trying to beat Murdock up the mountain, and the Flatheads have decided to take matters into their own hands and bring the big man down themselves.

Loren Estleman has written a cunningly convoluted story that twists and turns like the narrow passages in the mountains he writes about. Murdock is a likeable protagonist, and Estleman makes Bear sympathetic and scary at the same time. As in the best caper yarns, the upper hand changes frequently, and Estleman keeps the action coming relentlessly. THE HIGH ROCKS is a hard-charging story in which the protagonist faces danger from every direction: the bounty hunters, their prey, the Indians, his former friend, and a pack of ravening wolves that shadow him on the trail. Readers will want to read more about Page Murdock.

The Stone Prince, by Gena Showalter

THE STONE PRINCE
Gena Showalter
ISBN: 0-373-77007-3
Paranormal Romance
Book #07-16

Katie James has five older brothers and a father who has very decided ideas about what a woman's place is. At six feet tall and in great shape, however, Katie is hardly a frail, wilting flower of a woman. She makes her living buying and restoring houses, then reselling them for profit. Her current project, a Victorian home, comes complete with a pleasure garden which features nude statues in various poses of self-gratification.

One of those statues holds an irresistible allure for Katie, and she daydreams about it constantly. When she finally gives in to her fantasy and kisses the statue, it comes to life in her arms. Jorlan en Sarr was encased in marble through a curse by his brother. Jorlan has two weeks to make Katie fall in love with him or he'll turn back into marble, and this time, the transformation will be irrevocable. Katie is definitely attracted to this warrior from another world, but his domineering masculinity is all too reminiscent of the James family males, and Katie is determined not to fall for a man who cannot recognize her as his equal in all things.

THE STONE PRINCE is a funny, frisky fable that many readers will find completely enjoyable. Its biggest weakness is the repetition of the same arguments about whether or not Katie will obey Jorlan. Katie's rules and Jorlan's counter-rules are amusing, and Jorlan's weapon of choice is truly giggle-worthy. The secondary characters are not fully developed and are mostly given short shrift(particularly Jorlan's mother), a flaw which could be remedied in a future book since this is first in a series. (The preview of Showalter's next book doesn't seem to leave that possibility open.) However, readers who wanted to know more about Jorlan's home planet of Imperia are likely to enjoy THE PLEASURE SLAVE, Showalter's follow-up to THE STONE PRINCE. Katie and Jorlan were fun to read about, but THE STONE PRINCE left this reader wanting more, and not in a good way.

Natural Born Charmer, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

NATURAL BORN CHARMER
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
ISBN: 0-06-073457-4
Romance
Book #07-014

When Dean Robillard, star of the Chicago Stars football team, first encounters Blue Bailey, she is dressed in a beaver costume and intent on killing Monty, her ex-lover. Unfortunately for Blue, her bank account has been wiped clean and kicking Monty's butt just isn't satisfying. Dean, who's on his way to his farm in Tennessee, takes advantage of the diversion Blue presents and allows her to ride along with him since she has nowhere else to go, anyway. Blue pretends not to recognize the famous athlete. Her refusal to swoon over him as other women do both amuses and annoys Dean, but adds humor and snappy dialogue to the already sparkling plot.

Dean's farm is being renovated, but he's been unable to get in touch with his housekeeper. Upon arrival in Tennessee, he discovers why: his estranged mother has been doing the job under a made-up name. Riley, Dean's half sister, shows up in the middle of the night after running away from home, she is soon followed by the father Dean has never acknowledged. To complicate matters, Blue offends the matriarch of Dean's new hometown, and the old woman has Blue arrested and strongarms the workers into boycotting construction on Dean's house.

NATURAL BORN CHARMER is full of SEP's trademark sizzle and snap. Dean and Blue are lovers of the more adventurous sort, and Phillips conveys that without going into too much detail. Blue's constant snarkiness toward elderly Nita is hilarious in a hands over mouth, Oh-no-she-did-NOT! fashion. The adults in the story deal with Riley's painful pre-pubescent angst in ways that are true to their individual characters, and while everything turns out much as epxected, Phillips makes the journey worthwhile.

The biggest problem with NATURAL BORN CHARMER is Dean's behavior during an impromptu visit from his Chicago friends. Dean is incredibly unkind to Blue during that interlude, and the requisite grovel is glossed over far too quickly and perfunctorily to provide the emotional payoff readers have come to expect from Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Further, the Annabelle readers met in MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is not the same Annabelle who shows up in a cameo in NATURAL BORN CHARMER, to the detriment of all concerned. More time to develop the climax of this story and give the characters their due would have resulted in a more emotionally fulfilling novel. As it is, the traces of saccharine at the end of an otherwise wonderful book leave a bittersweet aftertaste of artificiality. NATURAL BORN CHARMER doesn't quite satisfy.

Mind Game, by Christine Feehan

MIND GAME
Christine Feehan
ISBN: 0-515-13809-6
Paranormal Romance
Book #07-010

Dahlia LeBlanc has the amazing ability to manipulate energy, which allows her to perform such feats as "walking" on the ceiling. Her gift comes with a high price, because Dahlia is unable to spend more than a few minutes at a time with other people, whose emotional energy inflicts psychic pain. Dahlia has been able to use her talents to help the government recover lost or stolen items, and has created a relatively satisfying, if lonely, life for herself.

When her latest mission goes wrong and Dahlia and her partner are nearly assassinated, Dahlia has nowhere to turn, except to Nicolas Trevane. Nicolas is a GhostWalker, with some of the same talents Dahlia possesses, and others she can only imagine. Nicolas shares his past with Dahlia and reveals that they were both at the mercy of Dr. Whitney, who started his experiments on children and graduated to soldiers in an attempt to engineer and enhance his subjects' psychic abilities. Whitney's daughter, Lily, had no idea what her father was doing, but when she discovered his research tapes, she vowed to track his subjects and help them cope with the side effects of their talents. It is Lily who sends Nicolas and his warrior team to Dahlia's rescue.

As a romantic couple, Nicolas and Dahlia generate a lot of heat, in more ways than one. MIND GAME, however, is a bit stilted in places, and some of the dialogue seems forced. Feehan is at her best when writing about the rapport between the male GhostWalkers. When Nicolas and his buddies are exchanging barbs or teasing each other, the action flows fast and furious. Feehan is masterful with love scenes, as well. It's the rest of the story that doesn't quite work in this novel. Dahlia comes off a bit whiny and sorry for herself, despite Feehans' attempts to make readers emapthize with her, and Feehan too often resorts to telling readers things they should be shown. Dahlia's reluctance to talk to Lily when Nicolas has her on the phone is a contrivance that strains credulity. Her capitulation to desire is also a bit awkward, and her reunion with Lily is disappointing. Readers will enjoy the GhostWalkers and want their favorites to have their own stories, but they should hope that the next installment of this series flows more smoothly than MIND GAME does.

Front Porch Princess, by Kathryn Springer

FRONT PORCH PRINCESS
Kathryn Springer
ISBN: 0-373-78558-5
Women's Fiction
Book #07-009

Elise Penny has spent much of her life dreaming of getting away from small-town Prichett, Wisconsin. Falling for Sam and giving birth to Breanna before their first wedding anniversary has effectively tied Elise to the life she wanted so much to escape. Now that Bree is a teenager and has set her sights on a local boy, Elise is terrified that her daughter will waste her potential and end up stuck in Prichett, too.

When Bree enters Elise in a Christian beauty pageant, Elise does her best to get out of it, b ut soon realizes that the whole town is invested in the competition. Elise is the only one who seems to be avoiding preparations for the pageant as she helps her friend Bernice through a family crisis, becomes friends with (and mentor to) the new pastor's wife, and finds herself up to her ears in local events. Meanwhile, Sam is feeling hurt that even after all their years together, Elise still hasn't given up on her belief that rural life is inferior to the life she thinks she gave up to marry him. Bree is angry that Elise is pushing her so hard to go to college and shake the dust of Prichett off her feet. And Elise is bewildered that the town's view of her is so different from her own view of herself. The more Elise learns about the Proverbs 31 Woman, the less qualified she feels to compete for the title.

Kathryn Springer has written an engaging, funny, and ultimately heartwarming story about the power of dreams and faith to shape our lives. Elise's reaction to Annie, the pastor's wife, is wry and touching as she deals with the younger woman's conviction that they are friends. Bernice, the town hairdresser, is a bit brash, but her larger-than-life personality is masking a grief that adds a level of realism to the story. Readers will be pleased to learn that Bernice gets her own book, as author Springer leaves plenty of tantalizing business unfinished at the end of FRONT PORCH PRINCESS. Sam is a husband to die for, and Elise's adventures as the pageant draws near will leave readers smiling, if not laughing outright.

FRONT PORCH PRINCESS is a down-home treasure, sure to be savored for its easy-going approach to everyday faith.

The Truth About Sparrows, by Marian Hale

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPARROWS
Marian Hale
ISBN: 0-8050-7584-4
Young Adult
Book #07-008

Sadie Wynn is very happy with her life in Missouri. When she learns that her father is planning to move the whole family to Texas to find better opportunities in the midst of the Great Depression, Sadie immediately begins scheming to find a way back to her old home. She misses her best friend Wilma, whose family moved to California for the same reasons the Wynns moved, and is upset that her letters to Wilma have gone unanswered. Meanwhile, Sadie begins to see her family in a new light.

Marian Hale gifts young readers with a family that is strong and loving. Although Sadie's father's faith may not be conventional, Sadie marvels that he can always find a Bible verse for her to study that applies directly to whatever is happening in her life. Sadie's mother is fond of saying that people can see what is on the inside of others, and Sadie wonders if that means they can see her doubts and selfishness. Sadie's father is clever and ingenious, able to build things out of wood with very little scrap left over, and coming up with a way to drive the family car. The bond between Mr. and Mrs. Wynn is truly special, particularly as readers learn more about Sadie's father and his personal challenges.

In terms of Depression era history, the Wynns fall somewhere in the middle of experiences. They give up their relatively nice home and furniture to seek a better life somewhere more promising. Although their diet is rather unvaried, they never seem to be truly hungry. Sadie witnesses firsthand the depths to which deprivation has taken others she encounters through the course of the novel, and their misfortune opens her eyes to the bounty within her own life, while simultaneously strengthening her resolve to work her way back to Missouri.

Sadie's new friend Dollie, a cheerful redhead, guides her through life on the Texas coast, helping her to get a job in the shrimp factory and showing her the ropes in Sadie's new school. Unfortunately, Sadie is so focused on her promise that she and Wilma will always be best friends that she is unable to make room for Dollie. Dollie's elder brother, Davis, shows some interest in Sadie until Sadie says something so cruel that she realizes she's as bad as the girl at school who's been tormenting Sadie and Dollie. Sadie's concern for a homeless man (whom she calls Mr. Sparrow) eventually is the key to Sadie's epiphany about friendship and love for one's fellow man.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPARROWS is a lovely book by first-time author Hale. Young readers will find it easy to relate to Sadie and her concerns. Although this book features a female protagonist, the boys in Sadie's life will keep young men engrossed in the story. THE TRUTH ABOUT SPARROWS is a new classic.

Monkeewrench, by P.J. Tracy

MONKEEWRENCH
P.J. Tracy
ISBN: 0-451-21157-x
Mystery/Thriller
Book #07-008

Grace McBride and her partners in Monkeewrench are a group of computer whizzes who have created the game, Serial Killer Detective, despite the objections of one of their members. The game is in limited release, allowing players the chance to try it out and giving the Monkeewrench crew a last chance to tinker with it. When a couple of murders make the headlines, Grace realizes that someone is using her game as a prototype in real life. Now the Monkeewrench group must make a decision: Do they tell the police what they know and risk being put at the top of the suspects list, or do they keep their suspicions to themselves and take the chance that the killer won't finish the other eighteen scenarios?

Leo Magozzi is the primary detective on the Monkeewrench murders. All evidence to the contrary, he believes Grace is not the killer, but his frustration mounts as more people are murdered and the Monkeewrench gang protect their firewall of silence. When a pair of homicides in Wisconsin seems to tie in with the murders in Minneapolis, and everything traces back to long-forgotten records, Magozzi turns to the most unikely source of help in cracking the paperwork logjam: the Monkeewrench gang themselves.

Grace's partners are an interesting group, whose loyalty to McBride is unwavering. There's Roadrunner, a lycra-clad pencil of a man; Mitch, married to an up-and-coming artist; Harley Davidson, the bearded biker; and Annie, two hundred pounds of glamour and sex appeal on the hoof. P.J. Tracy juggles the characters deftly, honoring their individuality without ever losing sight of the fact that Grace is the cog of the Monkeewrench wheel. As the story hurtles toward its climax, readers are treated to a bravura demonstration of literary sleight-of-hand in which the possible killer's identity seems to shift as rapidly as images in a hall of mirrors.

MONKEEWRENCH is the first novel by mother-daughter writing team P. J. Tracy, but its taut, sleek writing indicates superb mastery. Tracy handles the large cast of characters with assurance, maintaining a tantalizing balance of humor and suspense that keeps pages turning in rapid abandon. The premise of the novel is deeply original in its execution, and the suspects are just as interesting as the detectives. As the reveals come quick and fast in the latter half of the book, readers will find it utterly impossible to put the book down and will resent anything that comes between them and the solution to this convoluted roller-coaster of a thriller.

Spy Goddess: Live and Let Shop, by Michael P. Spradlin

SPY GODDESS: LIVE AND LET SHOP
Michael P. Spradlin
ISBN: 0-06-059407-1
Young Adult
Book #07-005

Rachel Buchanan is the ultimate California princess: wealthy and spoiled in everything except her parents' time and attention, she has made a career of getting in trouble to get attention. Unfortunately, her parents' solution to the problem is to sic their lawyer at her, so when Rachel gets arrested for grand theft auto (she simply happened to be in the car when it was stolen and was the only one who got caught), naturally the lawyer is left to handle the legalities. Unfortunately for Rachel, her smart mouth draws the judge's ire, and she is sentenced to a year at Blackthorn Academy. The Pennsylvania boarding school is under the direct supervision of headmaster Jonathon Kim, a former special forces agent who is universally admired by his students. Except, of course, for Rachel, who is completely focused on escaping Blackthorn and getting back to her friends in California.

Rachel's misfortune proves to be the making of her, however. Her protests are met with Mr. Kim's quietly dignified reasoning, and her outbursts are ignored. As she finds herself outwitted at every turn, Rachel reluctantly concedes her admiration for Mr. Kim. Her innate curiosity leads to the discovery that Mr. Kim is running a covert spy operation, and when the headmaster disappears mysteriously, it is Rachel who convinces the other students that their leader is in trouble and it is up to them to save him.

SPY GODDESS: LIVE AND LET SHOP is first in a series that promises to be very successful. Rachel is an appealing amalgam of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sidney Bristow. (Adult readers may find Rachel rather similar to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum.) Her smart mouth and self-consciousness will appeal to girls of all ages, but the martial arts and mystery subplot will draw in male readers, as well. The mystery was a bit skimpy and incoherent, but the action and dialogue make up for that, and the relationships between the characters are far more interesting, anyway. Reluctant readers will find the brisk pace captivating. All in all, SPY GODDESS: LIVE AND LET SHOP is an appealing story that will leave readers wanting more.

Here Today, by Ann M. Martin

HERE TODAY
Ann M. Martin
ISBN: 0-439-57944-9
Children's
Book #07-004

Eleanor Roosevelt Dingman lives with her family on Witch Tree Lane, which is her town's version of the wrong side of the tracks. In 1962, it's not normal to have a mother whose focus in life is to be a star, but Ellie loves her beautiful mother even as she's embarrassed by her too-tight clothing and her endless quest to thrust herself into the spotlight. As Ellie struggles to survive the bullying and harrassment inflicted on the denizens of Witch Tree Lane, she must also try to hold her family together as her father passively accepts his wife's defection and her younger siblings cope in their own ways.

Ellie is an admirable heroine, plucky and intelligent, but not overly precocious or cloyingly precious. Ann M. Martin's skill as a writer of hundreds of books serves her well. Through Ellie's eyes, readers will experience the horror of anti-Semitism and gay-bashing (although the latter is not explicitly identified--younger readers may not actually understand why the spinster couple's mailbox is constantly being destroyed). Readers facing the pain of divorce will identify with Ellie's desperate search to find her mother in the city and force her to make the Dingman family whole again.

Martin brings the turbulent 1960s to life with vivid accuracy, especially the nationwide grief after President Kennedy's assassination. The games that Ellie makes up for her siblings and their friends to play are amusing, and readers will appreciate Ellie's desire to fit in with the popular kids. Mr. Dingman is a quiet presence in the book, and Ellie's frustration at his response to his flamboyant wife is understandable, though eventually tempered by the realization that we cannot compel those we love to be what we want them to be, no matter how hard we try. Ultimately, Martin has penned a poignant coming-of-age tale that is destined to become a classic.

Measle and the Wrathmonk, by Ian Ogilvy

MEASLE AND THE WRATHMONK
Ian Ogilvy
ISBN: 0-06-058686-9
Children's
Book #07-003

Measle Stubbs is an orphan who lives with his guardian, the scarily dreary Basil Tramplebone. Basil's hobby is his train set, which he keeps in the attic and forbids Measle to touch. When Basil catches Measle playing with the trains, he unleashes some very powerful magic on the boy, leaving Measle in horrible straits, indeed. As Measle learns how clever one small (make that one-half of an inch) boy can be, he bands together with Basil's other victims to thwart the Wrathmonk and win back their freedom.

Fans of the Lemony Snicket books will undoubtedly enjoy this rather macabre tale, particularly as it ends on a better note. Basil is a deliciously repellent villain whose diet of donuts and lemonade may put young readers off sweets for a while. Basil's other victims are a well-rounded cast: the capable Kip, high-strung Lady Grant and her precious Manolos, nimble Kitty, Frank the electrician, William the encyclopedia salesman, and the redoubtable Prudence and her dog, Tinker. In their eyes, Measle grows to his full potential, proving himself both intelligent and resourceful. Trapped in an artificial world on a tabletop, the group must avoid Basil during the day, and Cuddlebug, Basil's horrible pet, at night, all the while looking for a way out of their predicament.

Ian Ogilvy has written a charming book that will appeal to young readers of both sexes. Boys will especially enjoy Measle's hygiene issues, and all children will likely appreciate the horrors of trying to escape from giant cockroaches and other creepy things. MEASLE AND THE WRATHMONK is a delight from start to finish, but readers can look forward to the next Measle book, MEASLE AND THE DRAGODON.

The Prophecy of the Stones, by Flavia Bujor

THE PROPHECY OF THE STONES
Flavia Bujor
Translated by Linda Coverdale
ISBN: 078681835-2
Fantasy
Book #06-152

On their fourteenth birthday, three girls, strangers to each other, are sent on a quest to save the land of Fairytale. Each bearing the stone she is named for, Jade, Opal, and Amber form an uneasy alliance as they try to discover exactly what it is they are meant to do. Meanwhile, in a world much more like our own, a young girl lies comatose in a hospital bed, dreaming uneasy dreams about three girls whose success or failure will mean life or death to her.

Flavia Bujor was thirteen when she wrote this book, and fifteen when it was published. THE PROPHECY OF THE STONES wants to be a lovely fairy tale imbued with serious thoughts about the state of the world, but it never quite hits the mark. It's difficult to tell if this is due to the translation from the original French, or to the author's youth and inexperience. Long descriptive passages contradict themselves, and are filled with words that often fail to be coherent. Bujor fails to tie her two worlds together, except through characters' names: the modern story gets short shrift and is left hanging, while the fairy tale resolves itself in a string of cliches. There is no doubt that young Ms. Bujor has a great deal of talent, but she needs to do a lot more reading and writing to help it mature, and spend some time with a judicious editor who will help her sharpen her plotting and imagery.