The Angel Experiment

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1) by James Patterson

"If you dare read this story you become part of the Experiment. I know it sounds a little mysterious- but it's all I can say for now," - Max.

Maximum Ride is a 14 year old girl who, as the oldest, leads a group of 5 other kids.  With the help of the only adult they've ever trusted (who they now believe is dead), they are kidnapped from the lab where they have spent their short lives as experiments.  98% human and 2% avian, these children are stronger than average human adults, have powers and abilities in constant development, and ... they have WINGS!

As if these children don't have enough enough problems, they are being hunted by more genetically altered children who are part human, part wolf.

The book follows Max and her "family" as the youngest of the group has been kidnapped and taken back to the lab.  In an effort to rescue her, the other members fight to stay ahead of their attackers and learn more about where they came from and why they are what they are.

I downloaded this book in December 2009 and just got around to reading it this week.  I think I have read James Patterson in the past, but I can't remember the title, so I went into this book not knowing what to expect.  I went into this blind - reading no descriptions or reviews - and was surprised that it was written for kids (recommended 7th grade and up).

The story was written well, the language clean and the violence and gore (fights between the bird like kids and the wolf like kids) were kept to a minimum.  I actually enjoyed the book and I am anxious to see what my daughter thinks of the story as well.

Little House in the Big Woods

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I have been waiting for what seems like half a lifetime to have daughters I could share the Little House books with. They were a truly beloved part of my childhood; I first read the series when I was eight or so, and so began my long love affair with Laura Ingalls. I spent many years of my childhood dreaming of actually being her one day, I was so enamored with her version of life on the American frontier.

My twin girls will soon be seven, and my youngest daughter is approaching five, so I thought this summer would be high time I introduced them to Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read a chapter at a time to them, and we finished Little House in the Big Woods tonight. It didn't disappoint. It's interesting that even in this age of high technology and childhoods jam-packed with enriching, educational, and organized activities, the story of a simpler time, when little girls had corn cobs for dolls and lived in little two-room log houses, can still so enthrall modern-day children. Even my nine-year old son and fourteen-year old son often came in to listen when I was reading to the girls!

Little House in the Big Woods covers about a year in the life of a little girl named Laura, who lives with her Ma and Pa and two sisters, Mary and Baby Carrie, in a log house in the woods of Wisconsin. It describes the hard work that was required of everyone in the family in order to contribute to the family's well-being, including frank accounts of hog butchering and deer hunting - festive events in those times! - the humble manner in which they lived, the expectation that children behave (including a number of references to one child or another having his hide tanned), and the love they had for each other.

The Little House books are based on the author's early life, but the stories are admittedly embellished and certain things fictionalized to make a better story. Still, from historical accounts of Laura's actual life, apparently the books she is famous for having written (which she didn't begin writing until she was in her sixties!) do capture the essence of the life she lived in late nineteenth-century mid-west America.

I can't wait to get started on Farmer Boy with the girls!

If you haven't read these books since your own childhood, go ahead, read them again. You'll love them just as much now as you did then.

The Story of Beautiful Girl (novel)

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

On a stormy night in 1968, a young woman and an older black man arrive at the door of an aging widow's farmhouse. With them is a very newly born baby. The young woman is intellectually disabled; she has escaped the institution in which she has lived since childhood, with the help of her companion, who is deaf, to give birth to this baby, the result of a brutal rape at the hands of an institution staff member. Before the night is over, police, searching for the two escaped residents of "The School" as the institution is known, raid the widow's home and haul Lynnie, the young woman, back to the institution, but not before she manages to hide her newborn daughter in the old woman's attic, and her companion manages to escape into the woods.

The story follows the next forty-plus years, during which the old woman raises the baby, hiding the child's parentage and heritage; Lynnie survives many more years at the institution before it is finally closed down, living constantly with a hole in her heart for her baby, and Homan, her companion of that fateful night, spends years on the run, but always hungering to find his way back to Lynnie - or "Beautiful Girl" as he has named her - and the baby, who, although he didn't father, he did help deliver on that rainy night in 1968.

I really, really wanted to like this book more than I actually did. The premise drew me in, but I found that the way the author chose to present each chapter from a different character's point of view, and with several years lapsing between each chapter, it was difficult to become attached to any of the characters. It felt like there were too many time-gaps; I think the story could have been much more engaging had it been told entirely from a third-person omniscient narrative perspective, with a smoother, more filled in time-line. I also found the overall story to be just plain hard to believe; at its heart, it's a feel-good story with happy endings, and I didn't find it to be realistic given the subject matter and general premise of the story. Overall, it's a very readable book, but I think it could have been so much more.

My hardcover is up for grabs.

The Likeness (Crime/Mystery/Thriller)

The Likeness by Tana French

Following up In The Woods, Ms. French brings us a new murder to solve from the perspective of Det. Cassie Maddox. A young woman, bearing not only an eerie resemblance to Det. Maddox, but also the name of an alias Det. Maddox used while working undercover, is found dead in an abandoned cottage. To solve this bizarre case, Det. Maddox goes undercover once again, slipping into the shoes and the life of the murdered woman in an attempt to solve the murder from the inside out. Lots of twists and turns develop; I was very much on the edge of my seat and left guessing to the end.

Though I was disappointed that some unresolved issues from In The Woods were not actually resolved in this follow-up novel - this isn't a sequel in the sense that it continues the story from the previous book; rather, it's an entirely new case with some of the same characters from the previous book - this was another book I could sink my teeth into and that had me turning pages late into the night.

Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys mystery/thrillers.

In the Woods (Crime/Mystery/Thriller)

In the Woods by Tana French

Until I read the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy last year, it had been years since I had read anything from the thriller/mystery genre, and I was reminded how much I enjoy it.

In the Woods takes us to modern day Dublin, Ireland, where Detectives Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox, both rookies on the Murder Squad, take on the investigation of the brutal murder of a young girl. Twenty years before, Detective Ryan had ventured into the woods with his two best friends, and only he came out alive, his friends gone without a trace, and his memory wiped clean. Can the two events be related? In trying to solve the murder of the young girl, Det. Ryan attempts to delve into his own past and struggle to resurrect his memory of the day his friends disappeared - and the process takes a great toll on him.

Although I found the relationship between the two detectives unlikely, and aspects of the story somewhat unsatisfying, all in all, this was a book that I could sink my teeth into. The author has a gift for luscious descriptions and creating scenes that come alive. Full of suspense, it had me on the edge of my seat. I've always been extremely fascinated by forensic science, and this story is full of it. Much of it is disturbing; a lot of people talk about Alice Siebold's The Lovely Bones and the graphic nature of the young protagonist's murder and how repelling it is; if one is familiar with that book and has steered clear of it because of the content, this may be a book to steer clear of as well. However, if you like a good mystery/thriller, I highly recommend this one.

Life, Sex and Ideas: The Good Life Without God (Philosophy)

Life, Sex and Ideas: The Good Life Without God by A.C. Grayling

Despite the title, this book is not an atheist manifesto, nor is it largely about sex. The author, a professor of philosophy at Oxford University, does devote a chapter to sex, and touches on religion throughout the book, but really, more than anything, it is a book about thinking and ideas. Grayling is a gifted essayist, and each chapter is actually an essay - most only two or three pages long - covering such topics as marriage, guns, utopia, suicide, nature, and dozens more. Although he makes clear to the reader where he stands, each chapter is a nugget of wisdom and delectable food for thought.

This is my first foray into philosophy and I loved it. Very stimulating and thought-provoking; I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in opening their mind, or those who value open-mindedness, insightfulness, and introspection.

I'm keeping my copy - I liked it that much.

An Object of Beauty (novel)

An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

I am a huge fan of the multi-talented Steve Martin. There was a time when I knew him as only a comedian/comedic actor. Over time I discovered that he's also an accomplished musician and writer, among other things. When I came across Shopgirl, a novella by Steve Martin I gobbled it up and found one more reason to love him. Likewise, I loved The Pleasure of My Company.

An Object of Beauty centers around Lacey Yeager, a young, beautiful, ambitious woman who takes the art world of New York by storm, starting out at the bottom of the art-world food chain working in "the bins" at Sotheby's, and climbing her way up the ladder, not always honestly, until she opens a gallery of her own. She charms, sleeps, steals, and works her way to the top.

Of the three novels by Steve Martin that I've now read, this is my least favorite, partly because I felt out of my element, being extremely un-knowledgeable about art or the art world, and partly because I didn't find the main character likeable. She's shallow and crass and insensitive, and it was just hard to care what happened to her. I'm not even sure the story has a point - it kind of trails off into an unsatisfying ending, and I turned the final page thinking only, "Huh."

I'll still read more of his writing though!

This one's on my iPad, so I can't pass it along.