murder
In the Time of the Butterflies
The novel begins with the recollections of Dede, the fourth and surviving sister, who fears abandoning her routines and her husband to join the movement. Alvarez also offers the perspectives of the other sisters: brave and outspoken Minerva, the family's political ringleader; pious Patria, who forsakes her faith to join her sisters after witnessing the atrocities of the tyranny; and the baby sister, sensitive Maria Teresa, who, in a series of diaries, chronicles her allegiance to Minerva and the physical and spiritual anguish of prison life. I absolutely love this books, it's one of my favorites, and I actually found it accidentally when I was walking through the library. It's based on the real Butterflies, but the story is pretty much all fiction. 5/5 Stars, just because it's exciting, sad, and funny, and it really makes you think about how easy we all have it.
Never Put it Down!
Mattie is just trying to make it all work. Her mom died, her older brother ran away, and she has four younger sisters to take care of. Set in 1906, her sisters and her father live on a farm, trying to make ends meet. She aspires to be a writer, and when she is accepted to college with a full scholarship, it seems like her dream will come true. The only problem is her father. He doesn't want her to be a big, fancy writer, he needs her to stay at home and be another set of hands on the farm. When her teacher Miss Wilcox persists in her going to college, she still dreams of it. The only thing in the way is Royal Loomis, a beautiful farm boy that is being sweet on Mattie. Will she stay with him and give up her dreams? Will money problems drive her to stay at home? Or will she make it to college?
This book is full of unexpected twists. It is especially interesting with the change of plot (going from her memories of life on the farm to her current life as a hotel worker). Another intriguing aspect is the murder that happens at the hotel that gives her a new view on life.
This is a fun, heart-warming, maddening, happy, sad, exciting, cannot-put-it-down book. I give it 5/5 stars and would recommend it to anyone looking for an exciting read!!!
Could the Phantom really have existed??
Okay, so who hasn't heard of the Phantom of the Opera? It's a story about an opera house that is haunted by a man, a genius, a mad genius, a mad genius that happened to a monster, but he was quite human, though, still a monster. He has the face of "Death's head", four dark holes in his face. Two holes instead of eyes, he had no nose, and for a mouth, well...you'll have to figure that one out for your self. He also did some terrible things, including murder, kidnapping, torturing...the list goes on. It is also a story of a young girl named Christine Daae, who lost her father at a young age. Before he died he told her that when he was in heaven, he would send her the Angel of Music, and she has been visited by the angel. Then one day she comes forth on the stage and enchants every one with a voice like...an angel's. In the crowd there is a young man who recognizes her from their child-hood years. But when they meet each other again, Christine seems distant.
Read more»Murder at the Lake
When I first started this book, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Once I got past the first few chapters and the real action started, I was drawn in quickly. The main character, a teenage girl by the name of Amanda, was off in Texas to be a part of a cousin's reunion, which was set up to get the family closer together, while her parents were on vacation. The first few chapters are pretty much everyone getting to know each other. A few chapters later, a big storm hits and everything takes a weird and scary turn. Accidents start to happen, people suddenly disappear, bodies are found. The story keeps you wondering until the very end. Who's the cause of all the chaos? Marty, the mean-spirited one? Chris, the nice, caring tag-along who fell in love with Amanda? You'll just have to read it to find out!
Solving a 40 Year Old Mystery?
Mikael Blomkvist is journalist who finds himself convicted in a libel case and facing the potential demise of his magazine along with a jail sentence. So when Henrik Vanger, an aging businessman, offers Mikael a job to uncover the mystery of young Harriet Vanger’s disappearance, he decides to take it. Harriet (Henrik’s niece) disappeared in the 1960s, when she was just 16 years old and now (forty years later) no trace of her has ever been uncovered. Henrik Vanger is convinced someone in the Vanger family murdered the young girl, and he wants to know how and who. In an effort to solve the mystery, Mikael begins to research the dysfunctional Vanger family and eventually seeks the help of a research assistant named Lisbeth Salander – an odd, antisocial 24 year old whose primary skill is hacking into seemingly secure computer systems and unearthing information about just about anyone. This book was extremely long and uninteresting until about half way though, it was so boring that i was just about ready to give up on it and call it quits. Thank god i didn't because this book was amazing despite the extremely think plot, the need for knowledge about the legal system, and a good memory. I would gove this book 4 1/2 stars, and overall i enjoyed it :)
Immortal
Evie johnson is sent to Wydlcliffe Abbey School for young ladies, nestled in the moors. Her Grandmother, is on her deathbad,and with her father in the military, her life is pretty bleak. Arriving A Wydlcliife, a sries of strange events occurs, first, a run in with a mysterious handsome stranger haunts her thoughs, and the death of a former student,remains still unsolved.The only escape she has is the mysteruios boy, Sebastien, as she sneaks out to meet him every night, she begins to love him. But she senses that all isn't right with her true love either. Evie realizes something isn't right a Wyldcliffe, and enlists the help of her friends Sarah and Helen, to uncover it's dark secrets. In a story of true love, suspenseful secrets, and hidden powers, this book is a beautifully woven tale of history and magic. And the dire consequences that can happen if we make the wrong choice, as in Sebastiens case. I highly reccomend this series. Book two is called Betrayal and i can not wait to get my hands on it!
Book Review by: Murtaza S.
“My hand's on the door knob. My fingers won't move. I keep my ear pressed to the wood, waiting...praying. A tear trickles from my left eye it dries on my cheek from the heat. Inside the room somebody giggles. Low, throaty,sadistic. Not Mom, Dad, or Gret. There's a riplling sound followed by snaps and crunches. My hand turns. The door opens. Hell is revealed.”
Have you ever thought of demons? And if they were real or not? Have you ever felt so alone. Well, Grubbs Grady has been through Hell. First, he's been the eyewitness of the murder of his mom, dad, and sister. Two, secrets are revealed. The world is cruel, and Magic is as real as your presence.
Read more»Mind blowing book
Wow! This book just blew me away. The content is mind blowing. Two seemingly content and adjusted adults, Rachel/mom/artist and Eric/dad/psychologist have a marriage that is disintegrating until the horrible fateful day when Eric kills Rachel by two bullets to the head in front of a coffee shop in broad daylight. The story is told in turns by their two children Jenna and Jeremy who are about at the age of adolescence. Subsequently, Jenna and Jeremy have to make some very adult decisions. Among them, will they testify in favor of their dad in court? Who will they choose to live with out of relatives and friends? Where will they live? You read the headlines in the paper about such acts of violence but it is only after having read this book that I realize how many complicated (& sad) layers there are to such a story. There are distinct sexual threads in this book and some language. I would recommend this book to mature Young Adults. It is definitely haunting.
History, Mystery, Noses and Gourmet Food! (And how they are related...)
When was the last time you read a hilarious thriller that prepared you for your quiz on Italian explorers, while making you immensely hungry? Neil Flambé is fourteen, a culinary prodigy, and a stuck up brat. Sure, he's the cockiest of the braggarts ("I can cook better than anyone in the world!"), but he may actually be right. He's got a hippie cousin, who's much older than him, that knows more than you'd think. And Neil's got his nose. His marvelous, brilliant nose, the nose that allowed him his status as (possibly) the best chef ever. His nose has even solved mysteries! (Beat that!) But what happens when some of the best chefs in town turn of dead of a poison Neil can't identify? And...wait! Are those mysterious notes actually linked to Marco Polo? We're not sure...yet. Isabella is another story. Or is she? "Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders" is a book well worth anyone's time. It is a mystery, a history, cook book (well, not actually) and a grand old time! Check it out as soon as you can!
Great Book
Quincie is an orphan who is being raised by her uncle who now runs her parent's Italian resturant. To get more customers, her uncle desides to turn it into a vampire-theamed one. This works, but soon murders that look like werewolf marks on the bodies are spreading across Texas. Quincie's best friend and cruch, Kieren, is the only suspect, but Quince doesn't want to believe that it is him (he is also a werewolf.) Soon after their chef's murder, Uncle D hires Johnson, a vampire, to be their chef. Johnson, who Quince now calls "Brad", is a smart and quick-witted friend, who tries to pull her away from Kieren. Kieren, however, thinks the murderers are Brad and Ruby, Ruby being Uncle D.'s vamp GF. The murders are getting worse and soon Quince finds that the ones who have been killing are right under her nose.
