Catch Me if You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

Author: Frank W. Abagnale with Stan Redding

Pages: 293

Rating: PG - I was pleasantly surprised at how clean this book is. I had been worried that it might go into detail about some of his sexual encounters, but it never ever did. The most detailed it gets was once he says "We stopped at a cabin for the night and in the morning she was no longer a virgin." That's it. Also there is almost no language that I can remember.

Summary:
Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was twenty-one.

Known by the police of twenty-six foreign countries and all fifty states as "The Skywayman," Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam--until the law caught up with him. Now recognized as the nation's leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades, and ingenious escapes-including one from an airplane-make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.

My Thoughts:  I devoured this book in just a couple of days! I have seen the movie several times and even still, the book was fascinating and held some surprises. Obviously, the movie embellished and changed a few things. A lot of it is very true to the actual story but some of it is different and there is also a lot MORE in the book. You can't cover everything in a 2 hour movie.

As I said above, I was pleasantly surprised by how clean this book is. There are no graphic sexual descriptions, and I don't remember encountering any language other than the occasional "damn".  This made the book incredibly addicting to read because I never got uncomfortable. There is also a neat little interview in the back where you learn even more inside information.

Not only was Abagnale smart, he was also incredibly lucky. He escaped more times than he should have done, flew under the radar for years, and just managed to always be in the right place at the right time. He even pulled off a bank robbery, completely alone, without guns or weapons of any kind, and without anyone even noticing until he was long gone.

Honestly I want to just start back at page one and read it again! Highly recommend this one.

And There Was Light

Author: Jaques Lusseyran

Pages: 282

Rating: PG (there is no language and he doesn't even ever get super descriptive about violence either. However, this is definitely an adult book because the writing is too...dense? for a younger audience. It's very deep and intense)

Summary:
When Jacques Lusseyran was an eight-year-old Parisian schoolboy, he was blinded in an accident. He finished his schooling determined to participate in the world around him. In 1941, when he was seventeen, that world was Nazi-occupied France. Lusseyran formed a resistance group with fifty-two boys and used his heightened senses to recruit the best. Eventually, Lusseyran was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp in a transport of two thousand resistance fighters. He was one of only thirty from the transport to survive. His gripping story is one of the most powerful and insightful descriptions of living and thriving with blindness, or indeed any challenge, ever published.

My Thoughts: I found this book...a little tough to get through. There is very little dialogue, and some of the philosophical ideas the author expounds upon went a bit over my head. The story was very interesting, that's for sure, but I felt like he spent way too much time on his childhood and very few pages on his work with the Resistance and subsequent imprisonment. I did enjoy the many reflections on how although he could not see with his eyes, he could still see in many other ways, and most of the time he did not consider himself handicapped at all. I think his general attitude about life is incredibly admirable and worth emulating. He also was one who survived the concentration camps by focusing on helping others instead of on his own difficulties. He fully believed in God the entire time, and realized the importance of just letting each moment of life be what it is and just accepting it.

I think in order to get the full effect of this book you have to pause a lot to reflect on what has just been said. It's not a book you can just read through quickly (like I did). It was definitely a different perspective than I have read before though and was very good!

The Bookshop on the Corner

Author: Jenny Colgan

Pages: 332

Rating: PG-13 (there is sex at the end but it is not graphically described. I think 3 instances of the F-word, and one or two other swear words, but they are rare.)

Summary:
Nina is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 
From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

My Thoughts: I highly enjoyed this book! Nina is a girl after my own soul. She loves to read, and basically has lived her life buried in books, until the library she works at closes, and she no longer has a job. So she follows what some feel is a ridiculous dream, and she moves up to Scotland with a big van full of books to sell. (She lived in England before). I have always wanted to visit Scotland, and the descriptions of the landscape, the people, and the view made me want it even more! There is quite a commentary going on about how living in a city we get too caught up in our own lives, in the screens in front of our faces, and fitting in. Out in the country, things are different. It makes one long for a visit!

At the bottom of it all, this book is really a romance, because as Nina learns more about herself and comes out of her shell, she does find love, but I won't give anything else away.

The one thing I don't like much about this book is the title. "The Bookshop on the Corner" makes me think of a little shop tucked away on a quiet corner of a busy street. But really she has a van and she calls it "The Little Shop of Happy Ever After" so...I'm not sure why that isn't the title of the book.

Also, so many other books are referenced in this one that it made me want to look all of them up! Although I did look up the most frequently referenced book, "Up on the Rooftops" and I don't think that's actually a real book. I think it was fabricated for the purpose of the story.

Anyway, it was a good read. Not too deep, but not boring, and how can you go wrong with a book about someone who loves books?

Trilogy: The Kingdom and the Crown

Author: Gerald N Lund
Books in Trilogy: Fishers of Men (639 pgs), Come Unto Me (570 pgs) Behold the Man (679 pgs)
Rating: PG


Summary: In an ancient land in a time foretold by prophets, a babe was born beneath a shining star. Thirty years later, Jesus of Nazareth began teaching a message of hope, peace, and love. He claimed to be the Son of God, and his words and his life - would change the world. In Fishers of Men, the first volume in the series The Kingdom and the Crown, best-selling author Gerald N. Lund transports us to the days of Christ's mortal ministry and invites us to experience the emotions and events of those extraordinary times. Reports of Jesus of Nazareth have reached the ears of David ben Joseph, a merchant in Capernaum, who has waited and watched for the Messiah ever since a special, starlit night thirty years ago. He and his family decide to see for themselves whether or not the rumors are true and journey to hear Jesus. Though David is quick to accept Jesus as the Messiah, the rest of his family is more cautious. His wife, Deborah, and his son, Simeon, leaders in the rebellious Zealot movement, look for a Messiah that will crush the Romans with power and the sword, not one preaching a message of love and forgiveness. Meanwhile, reports of Jesus have reached into the very heart of Jerusalem, and both the powerful Sadducee Mordechai ben Uzziel and the Pharisee Azariah are growing uneasy with the news. Though they hold opposing political views, both agree that something must be done to stop this man from Nazareth before he gets out of hand. However, in Mordechai's own household the influence of the carpenter from Nazareth begins to create conflict.

In Come Unto Me, volume 2 of the bestselling series The Kingdom and the Crown, Simeon of Capernaum wrestles with how to undo the damage wrought by his reluctant conversion to a man called Jesus of Nazareth. His determination to follow the teachings of the Master has cost the life of one friend and sent three others to a Roman prison to await execution. How can he stay true to the teachings of Jesus, which require that he love his enemies, and yet deliver the friends who face death because of him? A similar dilemma faces Miriam of Jerusalem. Her father, along with the other leaders of the powerful Sanhedrin, are determined to stamp out the growing popularity of this itinerant preacher from Nazareth. But Miriam too has found Jesus to be far more than a mere man, and this poses a terrible choice for her--will she follow family or faith?

In Behold the Man, Jesus of Nazareth has been preaching in Judea for three years and has gathered many followers with his teachings and miracles. But he has also made enemies among the rulers in Jerusalem, who fear his power and his influence and who have conspired to put an end to him by whatever means possible. Mordechai ben Uzziel's life couldn't be any worse. His daughter, Miriam, has vanished from Rome, spirited away by none other than his old nemesis - Simeon ben David. Meanwhile, Mordecha's credibility with the Sanhedrin is jeopardized when the council learns that his own daughter has become a disciple of this so-called Messiah. Simeon ben David's life could not be any better. After struggling to follow the Savior and to testify of his knowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, Simeon has found peace and joy in following the Master. More than that, he has found love; he and Miriam will be betrothed before the feast of Hanukkah. The family of David ben Joseph continues to follow Jesus, though the Savior's teachings now carry an undercurrent of sorrow and unsettling prophecy. And despite increasing danger, Jesus' ministry draws him inexorably toward Jerusalem. Along the way, Jesus performs miracles of astounding power; healing a woman afflicted for almost two decades, restoring sight to a man born blind, and raising Lazarus after four days in the grave. But not everyone is thrilled to hear Jesus declare, I am the light of the world; I am the bread of life during the Feast of the Tabernacles. As the end of Jesus' ministry and his life approaches, the lines are swiftly and solidly drawn between those who will stand for Jesus and those who will tear him down. The final volume of The Kingdom and the Crown series, Behold the Man details the last week of Jesus' life his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the spiritually fulfilling Last Supper, and the crowning achievement of the atonement that begins in the Garden of Gethsemane and culminates in the Garden Tomb.

My Thoughts:  These books were fantastic! I have always loved historical fiction because it's more interesting than reading straight history, but you learn all the same stuff, and the emotions and experiences of the fictional characters are so easy to relate to. I always feel like these things probably did happen to some family or another. This WAS the experience of SOMEONE who lived at the time the book is written about.

The author wrote these books very carefully. He did not want to make Jesus into someone he was not, so in the Author's note at the beginning of the first book he explains that he tries to follow what is written in the New Testament accounts as closely as possible. Every time in the novels that Jesus is teaching the people or performing a miracle, the account comes directly from the Bible. The author fabricates some of the personal identities of the people the Savior heals, and he also fabricates the specific reaction of the witnesses, but the events and the words of the Savior himself come straight from one of the four Gospels. Obviously, what is written in the Bible isn't going to cover anything, so there are a few times when the author fabricates a conversation or an action of the Savior, BUT it is never anything of doctrinal consequence, and at the end of each chapter he includes the reasoning behind what he wrote and sometimes some historical context which I found fascinating.

I learned so much from reading these books! I have learned some things about the parables Christ taught and why the people were so unprepared for him. I've always wondered why the people in Jerusalem completely missed the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. I knew that the Jews were expecting the Second Coming Messiah, the one who would smite their enemies and deliver Jerusalem from bondage. But I didn't get WHY. I also didn't understand why the Pharisees had become so strict on their observance of the law. How come they got trapped by this law-worship instead of remembering that the true intent of the law was to lead them to Christ? Well, this book has helped me understand both of those, plus a lot more. At the time of Christ, the Jews had just been through a LOT of captivity. They had just been allowed to return to Jerusalem from being captive in Babylon, but now they were under Roman rule and they did not like it. The reason they fixated so much on the warrior Messiah was because they felt sure that He was what they were waiting for to deliver them from the Roman empire. There are so many amazing prophesies about Jerusalem being delivered from bondage, it is no wonder they focused on this and felt sure the Messiah would come and do just that. They were tired of being under someone else's rule. And the Romans weren't exactly nice either. AND I did some research...the Jews never did escape their bondage. After the Romans, it was just someone else. They didn't get their "land" back until after World War II when the Allied powers felt bad for the Jews and said, hey we need to give you your homeland back, this is not fair, so we just gave them Palestine. Only....there were already lots of other people living there who weren't too keen on the Jews taking over. A problem which is still going on today. It's no wonder they are still looking for the Messiah.

The other thing...the Pharisees were so strict about all aspects of the law of Moses because they had read carefully in the scriptures...when the people were not keeping the commandments well enough, the Lord chastened them and they were punished. So, they came to the conclusion that all these years of captivity were because they were not doing a good enough job of keeping the commandments with exactness. They thought that if they could just observe the law BETTER, then surely they would be blessed with deliverance, and the Messiah would come. Unfortunately, they got much too caught up in this theory. That made sense to me too. They were just feeling neglected by God, and thought that if they kept the commandments absolutely perfectly, there was no way he could withhold his blessings. They were so afraid to do anything that might be construed as against the Law of Moses, because they wanted so badly to find favor in the eyes of God. I can completely see how this happened to them. It also gives Jesus's comment "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" extra impact, because at the time, the people would have wondered how you could possibly be more righteous than these men who were so devoted to keeping the Law of Moses with exactness?

Other things I learned - when Jesus gave the sermon on the mount, there are several verses that we don't really give much thought to but which are actually quite significant. One is the phrase, " whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." In the book, it is pointed out that Jesus specified the right cheek. If a right handed person were to hit me on my right cheek, they would have to do it with the back of the hand. A backhanded slap was considered a great insult to a person's pride/reputation, and men killed each other over it. So Jesus was not necessarily saying that we should just let people rough us up and abuse us, but he was saying we should not let our pride get the better of us. Basically, if someone is trying to bait us, not to take the bait.

Another phrase, also from the sermon on the mount, that I've never thought twice about, "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." The book points out that one of the things any Roman could do at the time was stop ANY Jew, and force him to carry his pack for him for 1 mile. The Jews hated this, of course, so this statement from Jesus was really quite shocking! It is along the same lines as loving your enemies. So interesting.

Also, one of the parables Jesus told was discussed in the book. It's the parable of the unmerciful servant, found in Matthew 18:23-35. I had never really understood the gravity of this before. The one man owes his master 10,000 talents. Ok, big deal right? Well, apparently one talent would have been considered a LOT of money, 10 talents was a fortune. So 10,000 talents was an unimaginable sum. Probably similar to several billion dollars in today's money. So the fact that his master forgives him the debt when he asks for mercy is staggering. He doesn't just give the man more time, he completely forgives it. Then, that same man refuses to forgive the debt of one of HIS servants, which is a mere 100 pence. Hardly any money at all. If we're keeping with our earlier analogy of relating it to today's money, I'll just say the guy owed him $10. He has just been forgiven an unimaginable debt, and then he is unwilling to forgive the mere pittance owed to him. Christ is using this as an analogy for how we should forgive. We all sin in our lives. Thousands of little sins. Some big ones, but probably too many to count. And if we repent and ask for mercy, we will be forgiven. So what right have we to refuse to forgive one thing that another person has done to us? Even if it's a big thing? If we want to be forgiven of the thousands of things we have done wrong, we need to forgive all the things others do to us. It was a great new insight, one that was actually discussed in one of the general conference talks this past weekend. 

I also learned more about some of the other miracles Christ performed, why they were so important, and why he did it. There's the time he curses the fig tree...always seemed a little bit of an odd thing to do. These books go over that. Of course, most of these interpretations are largely the author's thoughts and feelings on the subject and it doesn't mean it's the only way these things should be interpreted, but I felt like I was enlightened some. I loved these books!

The only thing that could have made it better is if there were more! It ends with the resurrection, and I know the lives of the early Christians were not at all easy. I would have loved to keep reading to see how all the character's lives were affected by the religion they chose to accept. 

Orphan Train

Author: Christina Baker Kline
Pages: 273
Rating: PG-13 at LEAST. The F-word occured about 10 times, on one occasion a couple is making out and the boy touches the girl's breasts under her shirt (the makeout session is not the real point of the scene, there's dialogue that is totally unrelated) and one character is sexually assaulted. The book is not FILLED with inappropriate conduct, but I did want to mention that those scenes are in there. Other than what I mentioned, it's really quite clean overall. Interestingly enough, there is another version of this book "Orphan Train Girl" that was adapted for a younger audience.

Summary:Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck. Would they be adopted by a kind and loving family, or would they face a childhood and adolescence of hard labor and servitude? As a young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future a world away. Returning east later in life, Vivian leads a quiet, peaceful existence on the coast of Maine, the memories of her upbringing rendered a hazy blur. But in her attic, hidden in trunks, are vestiges of a turbulent past. Seventeen-year-old Molly Ayer knows that a community-service position helping an elderly widow clean out her attic is the only thing keeping her out of juvenile hall. But as Molly helps Vivian sort through her keepsakes and possessions, she discovers that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they appear. A Penobscot Indian who has spent her youth in and out of foster homes, Molly is also an outsider being raised by strangers, and she, too, has unanswered questions about the past. Moving between contemporary Maine and Depression-era Minnesota, Orphan Train is a powerful tale of upheaval and resilience, second chances, and unexpected friendship.

My Thoughts: I love historical fiction. Especially when the book is about a part of history that I'm unfamiliar with. I loved that this book connected the experiences of a girl who rode one of the orphan trains with a modern day story of a girl who had been in and out of foster homes most of her life. The stories were both so easy to connect with, and all the choices that each girl makes are so clear and easy to understand. I feel like I do this a lot lately, but I don't know what else to say about this book without giving too much away. Super interesting, worth the read. =)

Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card
Pages: 368
Rating: PG, some mild language, some violence.

Summary:
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.

My Thoughts: I have NOT seen the movie, but I know they changed it quite a bit. This is just my review of the book. I really enjoyed reading it. I got sucked in right away and wanted to know what was happening next and how everything connected. The only thing that was difficult for me was that Ender is supposed to be 6 at the beginning, and although he does age throughout the book, for most of it, he's still under the age of 12. He is supposed to be a child genius, but I still struggled imagining him and his companions that young. I mainly imagined teenagers. I guess just because child warfare is so difficult to imagine.

Since I feel like I'm behind the 8-ball in reading this book, I don't know what else to say about it, only that it was original and different, and I think the argument was there for allowing children to be children, no matter how brilliant they may be. 

The Continuous Conversion

Author: Brad Wilcox
Pages: 216
Rating: Awesome - in all seriousness, I feel it's odd to give a faith based book a movie type rating, so I'm not going to.

Summary: (From the Author)
I wrote this book because I know too many people who are giving up! One discouraged friend said, I can't do this Mormon thing. I've tried, and the expectations are just way too high. ... I know returned missionaries who spent their entire missions teaching about the Atonement, but now they have made some mistakes and feel like the Atonement won't work for them. I know people who have gone to the temple to be sealed and then never returned. I know others who are feeling burned out in their callings. Too many Latter-day Saints feel like they will never measure up.

I wanted to write something that will provide hope and motivation next time we or those we love are tempted to toss in the towel. I wanted to write something that would remind people why we do what we do and that it's worth it--not because of all we are earning, but because of all we are learning. Instead of just going through the motions, I wanted people to read this book and once again feel the emotions of discipleship. That's what they are missing. Whether the challenge is getting more out of the temple endowment or dealing with callings or juggling the many aspects of our lives and feeling like we are dropping too many balls, I wanted to provide a shot in the arm.

I started writing The Continuous Atonement when I was serving as the bishop of a young single adult ward.... I realized that there was an aspect of the Atonement they didn't get. They knew about how the Atonement could cleanse and console us, but they didn't grasp how it can transform us and how Christ offers us His enabling power however long that transformation process takes--even continuously. This book picks up that same theme and answers the question, How?;How do I apply the Atonement and feel it's transforming power on a continuous basis?; True conversion is not a onetime event, but a process that takes time. Most people accept that in theory, but we still beat ourselves up when we fall short. My message is; Be patient. You are doing better than you realize. Hang in there! We are not paying our way into heaven. We're practicing for it!

My Thoughts: I LOVED this book. Seriously, now that I've finished it I actually intend to read the entire thing again, immediately! But this time, writing down thoughts and impressions I have. It was really that good. Our perspectives really need a change sometimes. I loved the chapter that talks about callings in the church - it's not a ladder that we climb, it's more of a train track that we just move around on. When you go from being Primary President to nursery leader, it's not a "step down" because callings are not placed on a ladder! It's just a move to a different place, a different opportunity for growth and development. It's just a new place on the train track.

I also appreciated the final chapter that talks about how difficult it can be to juggle all of our responsibilities, commitments, and service opportunities. We are constantly being told to simplify, prioritize, and give more attention to the most important things. But even when we've cut unnecessary things out of our lives, it can still feel overwhelming. Wilcox suggests that we make our relationship with Christ our number one priority, and then after that, the Spirit will help us know what to put second. And what comes second will change depending on the day, the hour, even the minute. Family history work may be something I need to prioritize this week, but next week another matter may take precedence, and that's ok! As long as we are letting the spirit dictate what we spend our time on, it will all work out and we should not feel any guilt for the things that we did not do.

Anyway, this book is highly recommended!

The Inner Game of Music

Author: Barry Green with W. Timothy Gallwey
Pages: 221
Rating: Non-fiction - G

Summary:
The Inner Game of Music is that which takes place in the mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt, and fear of failure. Using the same principles of “natural learning” Timothy Gallwey developed so successfully for tennis, golf and skiing and applying them to his own field, noted musician Barry Green shows how to acknowledge and overcome these internal obstacles in order to bring a new quality to the experience and learning of music. And for those who don’t play an instrument but who feel their appreciation of music will be enhanced if they understand more about the process of playing, this book is ideal.

In precise, easy to understand language, Green and Gallwey explain how natural skills can be nurtured and enhanced, and through a series of special exercises they demonstrate the ways in which musicians can achieve exact intonation, artistic phrasing, and improved technique.

There are also chapters on ensemble playing, improvisation, composition and creativity. All of these along with listening skills – an essential part of the Inner Game – are discussed throughout.
A methodology with a proven track record, The Inner Game of Music will be invaluable to anyone seriously interested in music, whether professional or amateur, composer, performer, or simply an appreciative listener.

My Thoughts: I found this book to be fascinating, both as a musician and a music teacher. It's been around for about 30 years so as I was reading it, I recognized several of the ideas and suggestions as things I've heard before in music lessons and ensembles, which was awesome! Reading this book also helped me realize WHY I hated my flute teacher so much. I started with him, then went to several other teachers, and when my mom sent me back to him, I bawled for like an hour. The reason? He was no fun at ALL! I didn't enjoy my lessons, I didn't understand what was wrong with how I played something, only that he would make me play it again and again until I "got it right" even though I still never could tell the difference. This book reminds us that first and foremost, music should be enjoyable, and there are lots of things you can do to make it more fun. Also, teaching works best when the student is led to their own discoveries, instead of being told "Do this, do that, that was wrong, that was right."

I particularly enjoyed the way the book encourages you to let feeling come into your music, to kind of let go and let your body take over, shove your mind to the side. I definitely need improvement in that area. There were so many awesome ideas on how to overcome nervousness, difficult musical challenges, etc. There's too much to even summarize!

There is one quote I really loved. In a chapter on improving the quality of musical experience, the author discusses the difficult of getting stuck in a rehearsal that is not challenging you. This has happened to most of us at one time or another. Here's what he said "I can always choose to find challenge in what would otherwise seem boring circumstances." For example, if your part is not interesting, memorize it, listen more carefully to the other parts and how yours fits in, etc. 

If you are a musician or music teacher, I highly recommend picking up this book and giving it a glance-through. You may learn something!

Moloka'i

Author: Alan Brennert
Pages: 384
Rating: PG-13 (There is no foul language, but there is some sex. The descriptions, however, are very short and sweet, usually only lasting a few sentences.)

Summary:
This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A good historical fiction novel is written in such a way that you forget the characters aren't actually real people, and this book certainly fit the bill.I just love that you can imagine that someone just like Rachel really did exist and a lot of those same things probably happened to someone. The book basically covers Rachel's entire life. I feel like I can't accurately describe it without giving too much away. All I guess I can say is that there really was a leprosy colony on the island of Moloka'i during the late 19th century and into the 20th. I was fascinated to learn about it and also a little of the history of Hawaii and their relationship with the US as well. I found Rachel's life to be an amazing reflection of the thought "Bloom where you're planted" and after I read the book I did a bit of research about Kalaupapa and found that the people there truly had a spirit of kindness and family. In their exile, they made a paradise. This book is definitely worth reading at least once in your life.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World

Author: Shannon and Dean Hale
Pages:  324
Rating: PG - there's no language but there is some violence, mostly against robots, and two baby kidnappings.

Summary:
WHO RUNS THE WORLD? SQUIRRELS! Fourteen-year-old Doreen Green moved from sunny California to the suburbs of New Jersey. She must start at a new school, make new friends, and continue to hide her tail. Yep, Doreen has the powers of . . . a squirrel! After failing at several attempts to find her new BFF, Doreen feels lonely and trapped, liked a caged animal. Then one day Doreen uses her extraordinary powers to stop a group of troublemakers from causing mischief in the neighborhood, and her whole life changes. Everyone at school is talking about it! Doreen contemplates becoming a full-fledged Super Hero. And thus, Squirrel Girl is born! She saves cats from trees, keeps the sidewalks clean, and dissuades vandalism. All is well until a real-life Super Villain steps out of the shadows and declares Squirrel Girl his archenemy. Can Doreen balance being a teenager and a Super Hero? Or will she go . . . NUTS?

My Thoughts: This book is geared toward late elementary/early middle schoolers, but it was sure a fun little read. Doreen is hilarious - she not only has squirrel powers, but she's hyperactive and thinks/speaks a mile a minute, like I imagine squirrels do. If you like squirrels, you'll enjoy this book immensely, that's all I'm saying! It's so random - you wouldn't think squirrel powers would be the base of a super hero, but here ya go! One of my favorite parts is when someone says "squirrel-proof bird feeder" and all the squirrels just bust up laughing cuz that's one of their favorite jokes. Ha!

The one thing I had an issue with in this book is when squirrel girl saves a baby from a car that's been stolen. The way that whole scene is written, Squirrel Girl is playing peek-a-boo with the baby (about 6 months old) through the front windshield which makes no sense because everyone knows a baby that little shouldn't be facing forward. But that's just me being annoyed about a technicality.

Room

Author:Emma Donoghue
Pages: 321
Rating: PG (although the subject matter is quite mature, since it is told through Jack's eyes, there's an innocence to it. There is no language, and the only mentions of sex are when Jack tells you he counts the bed squeaks when Old Nick comes in.)

Summary: To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . . It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack's curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating--a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

My Thoughts: I found this book to be completely riveting. I read it in 2 days! I think the fact that this book is written from Jack's perspective is genius. It manages to soften the entire thing so a scaredy cat person like me can read it without getting nightmares.

So the book begins with Jack just describing what life is like in Room. He and Ma have a very close relationship - they usually sleep together in the bed, and although he is 5 years old, Jack is still breastfeeding. Later in the book Ma explains that there was just really no reason to stop, which makes sense. Although they do have a TV in Room, Ma tries hard to make sure that Jack doesn't watch too much of it. She makes up a million other activities for them to do together to keep his brain working and his body active.

Jack believes that Room is the only place that exists. He knows that Old Nick comes from outside, but he has no concept of what outside is like. He thinks that everything he sees on TV is just made up. Other people don't exist, animals aren't real, etc.

Eventually Ma decides it's time to escape. The second half of the book deals with their adjustment to the outside world. It is just so fascinating and interesting. I highly recommend this book!
It was so interesting to me how Jack and Ma react differently to being on the outside. Everyone seems to expect Jack to be happy and excited, but he just wants to go back to Room because it's all he knows. For him it wasn't a harrowing nightmare, it was just life, and he was happy.

 I also love Jack's observation towards the end of the book that a lot of the parents don't seem to like their children. They take a picture when they do something cute but most of the time they're more interested in their friends or their phones. How true is that?

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Author: Daniel James Brown
Pages: 370
Rating: G - no language or sex.

Summary:
It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler. The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world. Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest.

My Thoughts: I have to be honest, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I actually liked rowing as a sport. That being said, this book is written in a way that by the end of it, you totally DO care about rowing! Not that I would probably watch it on purpose but I definitely cared about these boys from Washington and how things were going for them. I loved that this book mainly focuses on Joe Rantz, and the difficulties he had to go through growing up, and how that translated into his rowing success. I think it's amazing to read books like these because Americans today mostly don't have that stamina. They aren't willing to work so hard. There was a lot of background history in the book too on the Depression and what was going on in Germany at the time. I find history to be very interesting, so I found this book fascinating because of the history aspect, and I was never bored. It's a true underdog story too, so that's always fun. By the time the boys got to their gold medal race, even though as a reader you already know the outcome, you find yourself wondering how in the world they manage to pull this off? It seems highly unlikely given the circumstances they boys find themselves in by race time. Give this one a read. It's educational, interesting, and inspiring.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Author: J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, Jack Thorne
Pages: 308
Rating: PG

Summary:
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.
While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

My Thoughts: I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, and it took me entirely too long to get around to reading this. But I'm glad I finally picked it up. I thought it was actually pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of reading plays, since plays are meant to be watched, not read, so you don't really get the same thing out of it when you just read it. I definitely think I would have enjoyed it more if I was actually watching it. I felt like some of it was kind of unrealistic and far-fetched, but I was still entertained and wanted to continue reading. As an HP fan, I was excited to read more about that world and the familiar characters I love so much. In case you haven't read it yet, this book centers around Harry's son Albus, who gets sorted into Slytherin house and becomes best friends with Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. Desperate to prove himself to the world, Albus decides to use a stolen time turner to go back in time and prevent the death of Cedric Diggory. The results are disastrous. If you enjoy a good time-traveling story, you'll like this play. If it were to ever come to town, I'd probably want to go see it.

Series: The Tapestry

Author: Henry H. Neff
Rating: PG - some violent moments and some scary moments

 Book 1 - The Hound of Rowan - 414 pages: Max McDaniels lives a quiet life in the suburbs of Chicago until the day he stumbles upon a mysterious Celtic tapestry. Many strange people are interested in Max and his tapestry, and his discovery will lead him to Rowan Academy, a secret school where great things await him.

But dark things are waiting, too. When Max learns that priceless artworks and other gifted children are disappearing from around the globe, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ancient struggle between good and evil.

Book 2 - The Second Siege - 476 pages: In this second book of the series, grave forces are converging to seize control of the Book of Thoth, a hidden artifact whose pages hold the key to creating—or unraveling—the very threads of existence. Max McDaniels and David Menlo embark on a quest to protect the book from the demon Astaroth, who would exploit its secrets with dire consequence. And with Astaroth free after centuries of imprisonment, the world outside Rowan’s gates has already become hostile.

Far from home, cut off behind enemy lines, Max and his allies must journey across Europe, descend into the fabled Frankfurt Workshop, brave the tangled corners of the Black Forest . . . and cross beyond the veils of our very world.

Book 3 - The Fiend and the Forge
Rowan has lost the war, and while the Academy works to rebuild, outside its protected walls everything has changed. Astaroth, using the Book of Thoth, has created a world where demons rule, chaos reigns, and humans toil like slaves . . . and worse.

Outraged by Rowan's seeming complacency with the new order and reeling from personal tragedy, Max McDaniels sets out on his own for escape, for information, and for revenge.

In his travels, he will be forced to become many things: prisoner, gladiator, assassin. But can he become the one thing mankind needs most—a hero?

Book 4 - The Maelstrom:  The world is at the brink of ruin . . . or is it salvation? Astaroth has been weakened, and the demon Prusias is taking full advantage of the situation to create an empire of his own. His formidable armies are on the move, and Rowan is in their sights.

Rowan must rely on Max McDaniels and David Menlo and hope that their combined powers can stop Prusias's war machine before it's too late.

But even as perils loom, danger stalks their every move. Someone has marked Max for death and no one is above suspicion. Should the assassins succeed, Rowan's fate may depend on little Mina whose abilities are prodigious but largely untested.

And where is Astaroth? Has he fled this world or is he biding his time, awaiting his next opportunity?

Book 5 - The Red Winter: Rowan has won a battle, but not the war. With proper allies, Rowan’s armies could storm the demon stronghold, capture its ruler, and end the reign of demonkind. But while nations clash, a greater struggle lies elsewhere. In his desperate pursuit of Astaroth, Elias Bram scours the world for clues to the fiend’s true origins, identity, and purpose. His horrifying discoveries hint that not only is humanity at risk, but the earth itself. Its fate may depend upon three children. With their unmatchable skills, it’s up to Max McDaniels, David Menlo, and little Mina to tip the balance!

My Thoughts: If you're on goodreads, you'll notice nearly every review of this series is comparing it to Harry Potter. And I would have to agree. It is very reminiscent of HP. Young boy finds out he has magical powers, gets to go to a special, secret school to learn more about them, learns he is extra special, more so than his peers, there's a dark force out there that was defeated years ago but may still be alive...it's all so familiar. HOWEVER, it was different enough that I still enjoyed it, still wanted to see what would happen, etc. I think children who loved Harry Potter would be enthralled with this story. My only complaint was how quickly so many things were glossed over. For example, they never really delve deep into many of the classes Max takes at his school, or what exactly he is learning. Suddenly he just knows how to do things and you're left wondering when he learned it! I'm interested to see where this goes!  Just a tip, the books are loosely based on the old Irish legend of Cuchulain, which is briefly summarized in the first book, but I felt like the author did a terrible job of his summary. I didn't really understand it, and I didn't understand how it related to Max. I ended up looking it up on the internet, and found an easier to understand summary and now I feel much less confused. I would recommend you do the same.

Book 2 is where this series takes a sharp turn from the Harry Potter comparison. Harry Potter gradually gets darker and more intense with each book. This series jumps straight for intensity and darkness. If you want to continue the comparison, I would compare the first book with HP 4 and the second book with HP 7 in terms of intensity and action. I honestly would be wary of reading these books with too young of a child, I think middle school is honestly the earliest a kid could handle it. They are very dark. Max and his friends are fighting a very huge evil and it basically seems like they can't win, they can't get ahead. Oh, and a LOT of people die. I'm still intrigued enough to find out what happens in the next books though. 

When I went to start book 3, I got a few chapters in and decided to give this one up. So no, I did not actually end up finishing the series. I thought it was intriguing and interesting, but overall so incredibly dark and depressing and just so much evil, that I didn't really enjoy reading it. I would rather read something a bit more uplifting. So, I would say if you think this series sounds interesting go ahead and give it a try, it just wasn't for me. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Author: Kate DiCamillo
Pages: 200
Rating: G  - This is a very short book, and is entirely suitable for children

Summary:
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . . .
Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle – that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story. It only took me a few hours to read, and although it is technically a children's book I felt it had some very thought-provoking themes. Edward is a very self-centered, prideful, and selfish rabbit. He does not really care for anyone but himself. Although he is deeply loved by Abilene, he does not really love her back. And then one day, as the summary states, he is lost. Over a period of many years, Edward has several owners, all who love him deeply, and he learns to love them back. It's extremely touching to watch Edward change over the course of the book. I felt that the overall theme of the book is that love is the entire point of existence. In fact, there is a quote towards the end that really encapsulates the whole thing, "If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless." How true that is! 

This is Your Brain on Music

Author: Daniel J. Levitin
Pages: 261
Rating: G

Summary:
What can music teach us about the brain? What can the brain teach us about music? And what can both teach us about ourselves?
 In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin (The World in Six Songs and The Organized Mind) explores the connection between music - its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it - and the human brain. Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, Levitin reveals:

• How composers produce some of the most pleasurable effects of listening to music by exploiting the way our brains make sense of the world
• Why we are so emotionally attached to the music we listened to as teenagers, whether it was Fleetwood Mac, U2, or Dr. Dre
• That practice, rather than talent, is the driving force behind musical expertise
• How those insidious little jingles (called earworms) get stuck in our head

Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language.

My Thoughts: I felt that parts of this book were very interesting (basically the parts that expounded on the bullet points above) but a lot of it was very sciency and technical and I ended up skimming through it. Levitin does a nice job of putting everything into laymans' terms, it's still a rather complicated subject with a lot to explain. I had a hard time with all of that. One of my favorite parts was learning about how the songs that we like the most are also the ones that most surprise our brains and do things that we aren't expecting. Because they are at just the right balance between predictable and unpredictable, we end up enjoying those songs for years. The Beatles were able to find this balance, and that's why everyone still listens to their music. That chapter was really fun to read. All in all, this book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still interesting, and I felt good because I was learning something.