Peter And The Starcatchers

Peter and The Starcatchers
by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

A huge fan of the Peter Pan stories, and a sort of fan of humorist, Dave Barry, I loved these books! Quickwitted and suspenseful, it is definitely a series I will keep on my shelf to be read again and again. I can't think of another book that has earned that honor (yet). I also really appreciate that I can read them to my kids - unusual for the "juvenile fiction" genre that I have had experience with. At the risk of spoiling, I will admit that the pirates, avoid a squeaky clean image by using words like "idjit" and flying a giant black braziere for a sail, but as I once heard a very intelligent mother say, "Pirates are bad. They do bad things. How else would we know they are pirates?"

A sort of prequel to the Peter Pan stories that I am familiar with, the series explains how Peter became Peter Pan, how Captain Hook became Captain Hook, how Tinkerbell became Tinkerbell, and how they all ended up in Neverland. My favorite by far is, as usual, the first in the series which includes:

Peter and The Starcatchers
Peter and The Shadow Thieves
Peter and The Secret of Rundoon

This is the complete series, however Dave Barry and suspense/thriller author Ridley Pearson have written other Never Land adventures, such as Escape From Carnivale and Cave of The Dark Wind, which include some of the characters in the trilogy. I have not yet read those.

Twilight

Twilight

by Stephenie Meyer

Intoxicating. This book took my breath away. It was like having a crush. So well written and intense. Intense without sex and without violence. I thought it was a great read. Unfortunately, it is part of a series. The other two books available now are New Moon and Eclipse and there is a fourth - but not final - book slated to come out somewhere around December 2008. I did find New Moon and Eclipse to be as intense as Twilight, but rather less entertaining. As is the danger with any series, the novelty wore off after Twilight and the story tended to drag on, and while I couldn't put the book down for fear of missing the climax on the next page, I grew increasingly frustrated at the elusive climax. I am left now obsessed with learning the end of the story, but not wanting to waste the days on the emotional roller coaster that is each book. I have some minimal moral reservations too, as far as age recommendations. I would recommend Twilight for high school graduates and up.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

by Kim Edwards

Fantastic! Stunning! Never in my life have I read a book that articulated so many of my feelings so perfectly. I stayed up all night reading, feeling that even with a story so different than my own, the ending must surely be the same. And I love the cover. I would call it a perfect book club selection.

'Til the Boys Come Home

Another series! I suppose I talk a lot and if I were going to write a book, I would probably say all I could and spread the story out too.

This is a series of war novels by Jerry Borrowman, including (so far):

'Til the Boys Come Home: A World War I Novel

I'll Be Seeing You: A World War II Novel

As Time Goes By: A World War II Novel - Battle of Britain

I think Dave got the first one for Christmas last year, and then the second for Father's Day, and his Dad brought the third one on our trip this summer, so I have read all three. I enjoyed each of them. I will admit the banter in some of the romantic conversations is way too "chick flicky", but their are plenty of war scenes to balance it out. The author's knowledge of machinery is astounding, and no matter the war vessel, from submarines to motorcycles, his details provide an experience worth reading. He also provides plenty of background as well as maps and a glossary, so it is still easy to read if you are not a "war buff". I think it is a captivating, well-rounded story, and I would like to see these made into a movie(s).

Fablehaven

While away from our home, we did not have a crib for our barely two year old son, so we decided it would be as good a time as any to make the transition into a big boy bed. Along with this transition came the responsibility for someone to sit in his room at nap time until he fell asleep. This responsibility required a quiet activity for my husband or me while we waited - for me: reading. After our family had left and taken their "beach books", I had scoured all of our tourist pamphlets and returned our library books, I was left with no other choice than one of my husband's birthday gifts: Fablehaven or book two of the new series: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull.

I chose to read Rise of the Evening Star for two reasons: a friend was borrowing Fablehaven and Rise of the Evening Star had a slightly less scary cover. I don't find myself attracted to fantasy novels, so I was not interested in the least in this book, but once I began reading, I was easily drawn in to the story. I found it very similar to Harry Potter with young children involved in a magical world of creatures and spells (without the wands) - the goal being, yet again to find a way that fantasy and reality can coexist and offering a new and different explanation of this secret world (hint: butterflies are fairies). Good versus evil abounds (as well as a little suspense), the story is easy to follow, and the characters are very likeable. I would imagine it is very close to the earlier Harry Potter books (which of course, I haven't read) - ideal for middle school, but entertaining still for adults. I hope that this author keeps the series young.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Superbly entertaining! (Do I sound like a professional critic?)

So, I am not a Harry Potter person. I have seen two (well, now three) of the movies, and listened to one or two of the books on CD (the library has a limited selection of novels on CD, so we listened to this and Lemony Snicket through all of our road travels around the country last year). Dave on the other hand enjoys the story immensely and picked up Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book the day it came out and read it the next day. We were on a sort of vacation, so I needed something to read. It was the only thing around after returning my library books, so I picked it up.

I was completely immersed. It was entertaining, well written, and super easy to follow. The detective in me was able to predict many sections of the book, but I wasn't bored, and by no means was my intelligence insulted (that could be just my intelligence though). I felt some of the subject content was a little mature and a few parts a little graphic for younger readers, who I think I remember to be the original intended audience of the series, but maybe I just don't know younger readers. All in all, I give it two thumbs up for a great vacation read (a little bulky for a beach book, but that didn't stop some people out here).

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

"It occurred to Mma Ramotswe that such behaviour was no more than ignorance; an inability to understand the hopes and aspirations of others. That understanding, thought Mma Ramotswe, was the beginning of all morality. If you knew how a person was feeling, if you could imagine yourself in her position, then surely it would be impossible to inflict further pain. Inflicting pain in such circumstances would be like hurting oneself."-Alexander McCall Smith
Morality For Beautiful Girls

So, I haven't finished many books recently, and I forgot that I am supposed to be writing about the ones that I do. Last year sometime (or was it two years ago?), I read The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency for a book club meeting that I never went to. The book was actually pretty entertaining. At the time I read the book, I was only aware of one other book by the same author with the same characters, etc. Now, I guess there are seven in the "series", and since I have been in Hawaii, I have read three of them - one that Cher brought with her and two because they happened to be the most easily accessible thing I could think of while I was chasing Owen down and trying to keep him reasonably quiet at the local library. So, that makes four:
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Morality for Beautiful Girls
The Kalahari Typing School for Men
The Full Cupboard of Life
These are listed in the order they were written, however it does skip one, and I didn't read them in this order anyway. The books are written, like most good series books, so that each story is all-inclusive, but linked with the others. I also didn't read any of these books because I saw them and thought they looked interesting, but was easily entertained by each of them -entertained enough that I couldn't put them down (except for the occasional diaper change and meal).
As a basic overview, the stories are about Precious Ramotswe, a traditionally built woman raised in Botswana, Africa, who opens Botswana's first and only detective agency. Each book (so far) introduces new cases for her detective agency, as well as following more personal events in an Africa that has and is evolving so drastically to meet a more modern world.
I love the prose in these stories (is that right?). It is poetic in a way and gives me an even better appreciation for literature. I love it. And, I don't know if this is the prose or what, but these books make me want to visit Botswana. I think it's a pretty current setting, but it could be forty years ago. Either way, I want to go. Anyone want to come? Maybe read the books and then let me know.
So, for entertainment, I give it two thumbs up. Unless of course, you have something else you want to get done.