Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer MacMahon

I read and really enjoyed Ms. MacMahon's first book, Promise Not To Tell, and when I heard that she had written a new book, decided to put it on hold. This was a chilling, and in some ways, depressing read that I still enjoyed. I give it a B+.

From Amazon:
While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.
From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.

I found that this book was somewhat predicitable, but there were some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. The story was somewhat depressing, and I think it had a lot to do with the author's voice and her way of telling the story. With every chapter, we switch times to either present day or the past which I thought was handled well. I guess you could call the story a mystery, but it was much more than that. It deals with a lot of the characters and things that happened in their own lives and how it has shaped them to be the people they are now. I was kind of disappointed with the ending because I felt like the main character, Rhonda, doesn't get a happy ending, but I guess that isn't always what happens in real life. I think that is part of what is bothering me and I think part of it is because I am in somewhat of a funk in my own life, and the other part because I use reading as a means of escape. That all being said, I would recommend this book to others. I probably will read more in the future by this author, should she write anymore.

Well, we had to go buy a new fridge. It is so frustrating and seems like every month it is another unexpected expense. I am trying to not get upset, and repeating my mantra to not worry about things that I can't change. I am looking at the positive that we got a great deal, and while it does stretch our money and make things a bit tighter, we will not be in debt and we could be a lot worse off. I think that in these days with all of the economic crises, it is easy to get swept up with worry and I don't want to do that. Michigan has been in a one state recession for the longest time, so I think I am becoming more immune to everything. I am looking for the positives, one being that gas is down more than $1.00 from a month and half ago, and it helps me get through it. Our fridge had a mini fire which wrecked it, and I am thankful that it wasn't more serious and we could have lost much more. All right, enough with my ramblings... just trying to relieve some of my anxiety before I go to bed. I am not sure what I am going to read next, but it will be something off of my shelves. Happy Reading!

Slightly Suburban by Wendy Markham

I fell in love with Tracey and her crazy antics with the first book, Slightly Single, over four years ago. I remember laughing out loud and even discussed part of the book with the author about how wonderful and crazy the characters were. While I still do enjoy the books, the humor has toned down and there are fewer crazy antics. However, I felt that Slightly Suburban was heartwarming and I give it a B.

From Amazon:
It seemed exciting at first, but after two and a half years in New York, Tracey has to admit her life…well, sucks. Sure, she makes a decent living as a copywriter, but Blaire Barnett Advertising is a cutthroat world that basically swallows her life. If she does manage to get home before nine, she's usually greeted by husband Jack's best bud, an almost—permanent fixture in their tiny, unaffordable apartment. Add the circus freaks stomping around upstairs, and Tracey decides it's time to move.
After quitting her job, she and Jack take the plunge into the nearby suburbs of Westchester and quickly discover they're in way over their heads. Their fixer-upper is unfixable, the stay-at-home yoga moms are a bore and Tracey yearns for her old friends—she even misses work!
So which life does she really want? Other than Jack's wife, who is she? If Tracey merely has to find her own Slightly Suburban niche, it had better be just around the corner, because there're no subways here!

The book was fairly predictiable, but it was an easy read and perfect for those five minute intervals I had to sneak a bit in. This product description is wrong, however, because Tracey does not quit her job and this plays a part in the story. I think the biggest difference between this book and the previous ones is that Tracey has grown up quite a bit and the focus is more on her and not her and her friends. Her friends were a great sense of humor, and I think that played out a bit of my not total love for the book. However, I am not disappointed and am glad that I read the book.

Up next is Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner. I always enjoy her books and am kind of in the mood for a creepy thriller. It is raining and the weather has turned a bit chilly. Fall is definitely here and I have been feeling a bit down and I am sure it is directly related to the weather. I hate the change of the seasons and have struggled with depression for the past year and a half. I know my moods fluctuate due to the colder weather, staying inside and the less time of sunlight. I feel a bit hopeless and helpless as I look towards the long cold winters Detroit always has and it really gets me down. I really need to move south where I can get warmer weather year round. Well, I don't mean to get everyone else down, so I will say goodnight and get to reading. Happy Reading!

The Program by Gregg Hurwitz

It took me forever to read this book, but it wasn't anything wrong with the book. On Friday, my father-in-law had a major heart attack and went into complete cardiac arrest. He was gone for about 5 minutes before he was brought back to life and it is still a waiting game. Things have been tough around here and reading or doing anything that requires concentration has been very hard. This will probably be evident by my crappy review of the book. I do rate The Program a B.

From Amazon:
Leah Henning is a cult member, but mother and stepfather want her back. They can't penetrate the Program's secrecy through conventional means, so they turn to fired deputy sheriff Tim Rackley. Rackley, who killed the serial predator who dismembered his own child (Kill Clause, 2003), agrees to become a Program recruit in order to extract the Hennings' daughter. The Program is initially subtle in luring recruits, then very sophisticated in using peer pressure, temperature variations, diet, and intimidation to keep its new members and secure their assets. Leading the Program is TD, a charismatic charlatan able to stay ahead of the law by convincing people to surrender their assets willingly. Hurwitz has obviously done his cult homework: the initiation seminars are presented in chilling, very disturbing detail. Even if Rackley does rescue Leah, he wants to bring the Program to an end and put TD in jail. The legal wedge he finds to do it is extraordinarily satisfying. A gripping read from start to finish.

It was a really good book and while not all that suspensful, all of the tricks that the cult members and leaders do to trick people is amazing. I do have to believe that the author did a ton of research before writing this book. This was the second book in the series, and I think I would have really enjoyed the first one. I am going to keep this author's name in my memory and check out what other books he has written.

Up next is the Curse of the Spellmans. Since this is a humorous series, I am hoping that I can get it read pretty quickly and that it won't require so much concentration. I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and Happy Reading!

Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank by Celia Rivenbark

I got this book from the library after seeing the title and getting a recommendation from Amazon based on the books that I looked at. I was interested in reading it since I assumed I could relate to a lot of the topics and ended up reading it in a couple of hours. I would rate it a B-.

From Amazon:


Celia Rivenbark is an intrepid explorer and acid commentator on the land south of the Mason-Dixon Line. In this collection of screamingly funny essays, you’ll discover: *How to get your kid into a character breakfast at Disney World (or run the risk of eating chicken out of a bucket with Sneezy)
*Secrets of Celebrity Moms (don’t hate them because they’re beautiful when there are so many other reasons)
*ebay addiction and why “It ain’t worth having if it ain’t on ebay”
*Why today’s children’s clothes make six-year-olds look like Vegas showgirls with an abundance of anger issues
*And so much more!
Celia Rivenbark’s essays about life in today’s South are like caramel popcorn---sweet, salty, and utterly irresistible.

Like I said, I read this pretty quickly. It was a light read and Ms. Rivenbark was dead on in some of her writings. I was often nodding along with her and did enjoy it. I believe part of the reason why I marked it down, however, was because in one paragraph she would be talking about something and then just rattle off in a totally different topic. Part of it could have been me, however, because I am very anxious and nervous. Today was my last day of student teaching and tomorrow morning I have my portfolio presentation which will allow for the college to recommend me for certification. I don't feel prepared enough and I am just so nervous. I have to be there by 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning and it is in downtown Detroit and of course they are predicting snow right in time for rush hour.

Oops, there I go. I just rattled off into a totally different topic.

I suffered from a pretty bad depression and anxiety problems this summer and got them under control pretty well. However, the past month it has been rearing it's ugly head and I am having a really tough time tonight. I can't sit still and would love to go work some of this energy off on the treadmill, but unfortunetly I have a bad migraine and I don't think that will work. My kids today threw me a party and there were tears shedded, but I am not too upset because I know I will see them when I sub and next week at the Christmas party. Ugh, that's another thing I am stressing about because I am not done with my shopping and have wrapped exactly zero presents.

All right, enough. I know this sucks as a book review, but to sum it up, it was a fun book to read, though I doubt I will go out and look for more by her. Up next is a book by M.J. Rose named The Venus Fix. I have read many of her other books including the Morgan Snow series, and I think this one is the second one. I have already read the third one but am pretty sure it doesn't matter what order I read the books and it has been a long time. Hopefully I will get to read a bit before I attempt to sleep, but I am not sure. I want to study my portfolio and what I am going to discuss and I need to pick out my clothes tomorrow morning.

All right, sorry for putting anyone to sleep. I guess I just needed to vent a bit. Happy reading!