Breaking the Rules

If you’ve never read Suzanne Brockmann novels, you should try one out!  I haven’t read too many of her books, but that will soon change. The latest I’ve read is one called Breaking the Rules. It has romance, action and suspense all rolled into one great read!  Navy Seal Izzy Zanella and his estranged wife, Eden Gillman, are set on saving her abused teenaged brother even if that means reconciling with each other to prove to a court that they can give him better care than anyone else. But just as their hearts begin to mend, the makeshift family gets caught up in saving another youth from a crime ring in Las Vegas and ends up with a group of dangerous men on their trail.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Beauty: a retelling of the story of Beauty & the beast

I’ve always loved fairy tales.  One of my favorite books growing up was a collection of folk and fairy tales from around the world.  So, I suppose it’s no surprise that when I found Beauty: a retelling of the story of Beauty & the beast, a children’s/YA novel by first-time Warren, Ohio author Robin McKinley, I decided to give it a try.  That was back in the early 1980s and since then I’ve probably reread it at least 3-4 times.  McKinley has a way of making her world completely believable and she has a way with words that totally draws me in to her character’s lives.   In McKinley’s version of the tale, Beauty (her real name is Honour) is the youngest of three daughters of a widowed merchant.  When his shipping business goes belly-up they must leave the city and venture inland to a country village where magic is still to be found.  Those who know the story can guess that she will meet up with The Beast and break the spell that binds him.  If you enjoy a well-written old-fashioned romance with a touch of magic, give this a try.  By the way, McKinley went on to write a Newbery Medal winner, The Hero and the Crown. I could have told you she was destined for greatness!

-Janet M

The King’s Speech (DVD)

In The King’s Speech , a scandal within the royal family has propelled Prince Albert to the throne in the tumultuous days leading up to World War II.  A debilitating speech impediment has crippled the Prince since childhood– and now his country is counting on him to lead in this new world of the “wireless” (national radio). This thoughtful movie, based on the true story of England’s King George VI, showcases Colin Firth (Oscar winner, Best Actor) as King George in what can only be described as a triumph of a lifetime.

-Penny

Friendship Bread

If you’re looking for a good read, you might try Friendship Bread by Darien Gee. This is a really sweet (and sad at times) novel about friendship. 

A book “about life and loss, friendship and community, food and family, Friendship Bread tells the uplifting story of what endures when even the unthinkable happens.”

One of the main characters (Julia) and her daughter (Gracie) arrive home to find a homemade loaf of Amish friendship bread on the front porch. She offers the starter mix of the bread to a couple of women who are new in town. This sparks a friendship between them. There are other things that take place throughout the book, in the lives of Julia and her new friends. That’s all I’m going to give away, as I want you to read the book for yourself and enjoy it!

I thought it started out a bit slow. But when you get further into it, it’s a good book.

-Amanda

Heads You Lose

I stumbled upon Lisa Lutz a few years ago when I read the first of her Spellman Files– and what a stumble that was!  She writes a fun, white-bread kind of mystery where her quirky characters drive the development of the plot as much as the actually case they are trying to solve.  

And she has done it again in Heads You Lose, a collaborative effort with her former romantic partner, David Hayward.  This tag-team novel is interspersed with comments by the authors about the direction (or lack thereof ) of the plot line and characters.  The writing is laugh-out-loud funny… and leaves you want for more!

-Penny

Moon over Manifest

I’ve just finished reading the latest Newbery winner: Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.  This excellent and readable novel toggles back and forth between the years 1918 and 1936.  It relates the stories of Abilene Tucker and her father, Gideon and how Abilene learns more about her father’s life as a young man in Manifest, Kansas during World War I.  Times are tough in 1936 when Abilene is twelve. Gideon is a good man, but also a drifter and a con man, using his wits to survive very tough times.  He and his daughter struggle to survive during the Depression so in the summer of 1936 he sends her off to the town and people he knows best.  She meets up with those who knew him best and since he never talked to Abilene about his growing up years, so she longs to find a connection to him through the people she meets in Manifest.

The quirky but believable characters are wonderfully fleshed out.  They are so well described that you would recognize them if they walked up to you and said “hi”.  The storyline is well-plotted and well-told.  Vanderpool presents the characters’ stories in such a way that you find out just a little about them each time as if the author is slowly unwinding their lives for view.  This would appeal to both boys and girls – it takes historical fiction, adventure and mystery and rolls them all up into one wonderful yarn.  It would make a wonderful family read-aloud. I highly recommend it.

-Janet M

Made in Dagenham (DVD)

Made in Dagenham (a BBC production)

It’s 1968 in Dagenham, Great Britian and the 157 female workers at the Ford automobile plant have been forced into a decision to strike for fair wages.  What begins as a desire to have their jobs classified as “skilled” rather than “unskilled”, with corresponding compensation, transpires into a fight for equal pay for equal work. 

Rooting for the underdog has never felt so good!

-Penny

Tuesdays with Morrie

Think of a person who has helped you,  gave you advice, understood you when it seemed as if no one else could… maybe it’s a parent, grandparent, teacher, boss. How did that person shape you?  I can think of  a couple of people who played this role in my own life. Tuesdays with Morrie  is a chronicle of that relationship for the author Mitch Albom. For Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years before. He had lost touch with Morrie, and had a second chance to reconnect during the last months of his old professor’s life. Albom would visit Morrie every Tuesday. These visits turned into Albom’s final “class”: lessons in how to live.

Need some inspiration?  Having a rough time and need uplifted?Wondering about your life and need some direction? This is a wonderful book. I’ve read it more than 20 times. Literally. Give it a try!

-Amanda

Blood Oath

    

   If you like a good action tale, and a vampire that doesn’t drink the blood of  humans, you’ll love this book. It involves a vampire that takes a blood oath to always follow the orders of the President of the United States. He is a secret service agent with supernatural strength, tremendous eyesight, and is tireless. He has a handler who is at first very afraid to work with him and then gets fed up fast with the vampire’s odd tendencies. Nate the vampire and Zack the handler go after the bad guys with zest, even if the bad guys could be from “The Other Side”.

Blood Oath Janetas

A Man for All Seasons (DVD)

A Man for All Seasons is one of my all-time favorite movies based on the play by Robert Bolt.  It is about Sir Thomas More and how he stood up to King Henry VIII who wanted More to give consent to his divorce and re-marriage which was opposed by the Catholic church.  Stars Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw.

-Pat