Monday, September 12, 2011

The Shattering, by Karen Healey

What can I say about The Shattering by Karen Healey other than I love this book. I love how Ms. Healey writes using the voices of each of the main characters, and I love all three of them, Keri, Janna, and Sione.

Keri and Janna are friends who had grown apart (like a lot of friends do), but they reconnect when Keri's older brother commits suicide, just as Janna's had years ago.  They meet up with Sione, who's older brother had also taken his own life and they come to believe that there is a pattern and that their brothers were, in fact, murdered.

As they embark on their journey to try and find the murderer, they realize that there might be something more sinister at foot.  The Shattering captivated me from the first page... it is full of suspense, with well written characters who I found myself rooting for until the end.

I would definitely recommend this book and I give it four and a half out of five.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

I was pleasantly surprised by Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin. This book is about promises, family, friendship, loss, betrayal and, ultimately, self discovery and love.

When Phoebe Rothschild starts the new school year late due to a severe asthma attack, she finally gets to see Mallory Tolliver, the new girl in school everyone has been bad-mouthing.  Phoebe is immediately taken with the disheveled, improperly dressed Mallory, and risks losing all of her friends to take the strange new girl under her wing.


Phoebe and Mallory's friendship blossoms... until Mallory's brother Ryland moves back home and turns everything upside down.

Again, I don't want to say too much and run the risk of ruining the surprising twists and turns of Extraordinary.  When I first started reading the book and it went from Phoebe and her friend Mallory, to Mallory and her true life, I was put off a little bit.  But as the story progressed I wanted to find out more - find out what was truly going on.  I was pleasantly surprised by this heartwarming story of friendship and love, and would give it a three and a half out of five.