25. House Rules by Jodi Piccoult

I've been a fan of Ms. Piccoult's for awhile, but nothing really stood out to me like Nineteen Minutes. I was really intrigued to read House Rules because it deals with autism, something I find fascinating since I work daily with children who live with autism and I really would like to get my Master's in it. House Rules gets an A-.

From Amazon:
They tell me I'm lucky to have a son who's so verbal, who is blisteringly intelligent, who can take apart the broken microwave and have it working again an hour later. They think there is no greater hell than having a son who is locked in his own world, unaware that there's a wider one to explore. But try having a son who is locked in his own world, and still wants to make a connection. A son who tries to be like everyone else, but truly doesn't know how.
Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject -- in his case, forensic analysis. He's always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do...and he's usually right. But then his town is rocked by a terrible murder and, for a change, the police come to Jacob with questions. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger's -- not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, flat affect -- can look a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel. Suddenly, Jacob and his family, who only want to fit in, feel the spotlight shining directly on them. For his mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication of why nothing is normal because of Jacob. And over this small family the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

This was a long book, but it really didn't take me long to read it. I was fascinated with the story and would sneak in pages whenever I can. I probably spent too much time blow-drying my hair because of it, but it was worth it. I loved this book, and it now has me dying to check out more fiction books where autism plays a role in the plot. I thought the ending was a bit weak, however, and that left me grading the book an A- instead of an A. I thought the author did an excellent job in explaining autism and how it effects everyone involved. It's obvious Ms. Picoult did her research. I found myself reading passages aloud to my husband so he could get a better understanding of what autism is and what it looks like since I often talk about my autistic students, but he's never had any experience. I would recommend this book to you if you like family dramas, or ever wondered what the story is behind autistic children and adults, for that matter.

No One You Know by Michelle Richmond

Towards the end of last year, probably in November or December, I read The Year of Fog by Ms. Richmond after reading a ton of reviews about it. Last week during one of my trips to the library I saw No One You Know and decided to try it. It was o.k. and I rate it a B-.

From Amazon:
All her life Ellie Enderlin had been known as Lila’s sister. Until one day, without warning, the shape of their family changed forever. Twenty years ago, Lila, a top math student at Stanford, was murdered in a crime that was never solved. In the aftermath of her sister’s death, Ellie entrusted her most intimate feelings to a man who turned the story into a bestselling true crime book—a book that both devastated her family and identified one of Lila’s professors as the killer.Decades later, two Americans meet in a remote village in Nicaragua. Ellie is now a professional coffee buyer, an inveterate traveler and incapable of trust. Peter is a ruined academic. And their meeting is not by chance. As rain beats down on the steaming rooftops of the village, Peter leaves Ellie with a gift—the notebook that Lila carried everywhere, a piece of evidence not found with her body. Stunned, Ellie will return home to San Francisco to explore the mysteries of Lila’s notebook, filled with mathematical equations, and begin a search that has been waiting for her all these years. It will lead her to a hundred-year-old mathematical puzzle, to a lover no one knew Lila had, to the motives and fate of the man who profited from their family’s anguish—and to the deepest secrets even sisters keep from each other. As she connects with people whose lives unknowingly swirled around her own, Ellie will confront a series of startling revelations—from the eloquent truths of numbers to confessions of love, pain and loss.

At times while reading this book I was smiling to myself. While Lila was obsessed with her math, Ellie was much more interested in being immersed in a book. I thought that sounds like a perfect mix of me... I am a math major, yet always have my nose in a book. Besides that, the book was sort of ho-hum and a little slow to me. It was an easy book to read, or maybe it just seemed like that to me because perhaps I was skimming a bit. I didn't really get all that engrossed in the book but I think it was me and my mood wanting something a bit more meaty. I did come across something that I noticed in The Year of Fog as well, and that was I really didn't form a connection with any of the characters. I just really didn't care all that much about what happened to them and I am sure that impacted my grade.

Up next is yet another library book. I went yesterday as well because one of my holds came in. In addition to the books I picked up on Tuesday, I know have The Likeness by Tana French and a Meg Gardiner book. I have heard a lot about Meg Gardiner and when I saw this one the shelves I decided to pick it up. I also got an email notice telling me that another hold has come in, so I better sign off and get started reading! Have a great weekend and Happy Reading!

Testimony by Anita Shreve

I actually didn't pick anything up for two days after finishing off The Abortionist's Daughter. I grabbed a Jackie Collins' book and put it in my purse for work but I have been very busy week and just didn't make the time to read it. I went to my library and saw Testimony and I remembered reading so many reviews about it, so I grabbed it. I am not sure what to say about the book, except that I liked it. I give it a B.

From Amazon:
At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in TESTIMONY a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellinglyexplores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

I really enjoyed how the book was written and how the story was told. You get to meet so many characters who all have a different perception of what happened and how it happened, which I think was a very creative way of setting the book up. I will admit that I had a bit of difficultly keeping everyone straight, but the more I read, the easier it was. This was a page turner and a pretty easy read. I feel like anything else I have to say about the book may be considered a spoiler, and I would not want to ruin the book for anyone. This was my first novel authored by Ms. Shreve and I probably will not go and seek out more books by her. I wasn't overly impressed and I have so many other books and authors I love and so little time.

Up next is one of the other library books I picked up on my last run. Why is it when I feel like I can never decide from my own library of 600+ books to read I always find a ton at the library? Oh well, it is better than having nothing to read! Happy Reading everyone and stay warm!

The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde

I have had The Abortionist's Daughter on my shelves for probably close to two years now. I won it in a contest on an old blog I used to read and was eager to read it, but as things happen, it got shelved on the bottom and I forgot about it. I am not sure what reminded me of this book, but I decided to uncover it and read it for the Suspense and Thriller Challenge in the category of suspense drama. I am so glad that I did because I loved this book. I am going to give it a rare A.

From Amazon:
Two weeks before Christmas, Diana Duprey, an outspoken abortion doctor, is found dead in her swimming pool. A national figure, Diana inspired passion and ignited tempers, but never more so than the day of her death. Her husband Frank, a longtime attorney in the DA’s office; her daughter Megan, a freshman in college; the Reverend Stephen O’Connell, founder of the town’s pro-life coalition: all of them quarreled with Diana that day and each one has something to lose in revealing the truth. Meanwhile the detective on the case struggles for the answers — and finds himself more intimately involved than he ever could have imagined.

Everything was great about this book. The mystery was really compelling and even though I thought I had it figured out, things kept making me doubt myself. The characters were really well developed and we were allowed to get inside the heads of quite a few of them. I could relate with all of them which is usually not true in reading. The writing was really done and I kept turning the pages. I probably could have finished this book in one sitting if that little pesky thing called work didn't get in the way. I was worried about how I might react to some of the things discussed in the book and was hoping that the details of the abortions wouldn't get too graphic, and once I was a bit uncomfortable but I felt it was necessary to the story. I am now afraid the next book I read will not hold up if I keep compariing it to this one!

On that note, I have no idea what I am going to read next. Should I go for something totally opposite and pick a light romantic comedy... or perhaps a gory thriller? I am not sure, but I do know that The Abortionist's Daughter will stay with me for quite a bit. Happy Reading!