Lost in Las Vegas

I finished the fifth book in the Carter House Girls series, Lost in Las Vegas, by Melody Carlson. It was a book that taught me more about the main characters, but was not exactly a fast-paced or action-filled book. It was mainly centered on the unreadable Taylor. She invites DJ to spend Christmas with her, and DJ, lonely with all of the other girls gone, agrees. She is nervous however; Taylor apparently has big party plans-and Taylor's parties involve drinking. When DJ arrives, she discovers her worries were real. Taylor, behind her singer mom's back, is sneaking into bars underage with a fake id. She drags reluctant DJ with her into one, but DJ excuses herself and returns to the hotel, waking up to find Taylor with a hangover. This same scene repeats itself over and over again, until DJ wearily tells Taylor's mother the truth about her daughter's drinking habits. Taylor reveals the reasons as well- and they explain many things in Taylor's complicated moods, actions, and life. Taylor signs up for rehab, but leaves on her own to fly over to the clinic, but DJ is worried. Did Taylor actually go to the clinic? There is no way of knowing for now...

Size 12 is Not Fat

I just completed the book Size 12 is Not Fat, by Meg Cabot. I really enjoyed the unique portrayal of the heroine of the book. Generally in action books, the heroine is slim, strong, pretty, and fit. This books heroine wears a size 12, but that isn't fat...is it? It is actually the average size for the American women, but the main character, Heather Wells still struggles with her weight. She had everything a girl would dream of, she was a rock star, her boyfriend was the guy every girl admired, and she had a great singing contract. But dreams don't last forever, and the big money Heather made from her albums is taken from her account, because she was under 18 at the time, and her mother rushes away with the money to Argentina. To make matters worse, when Heather suggests composing her own songs to sing (not just using the ones written for her), she is automatically rejected. She walks in on her boyfriend and another girl, shattering that security, and she is forced to leave her singing career. To cope with the difficulties of life, Heather begins something most girls experience when anxious- stress eating. She gains weight and reaches a size 12. Her glamor days complete, she now works as an assistant at a college. She rents an apartment from her landlord, the guy of her dreams, who is actually the older brother of her recent boyfriend. Her life seems stuck as it is until deaths begin occurring at the college, and while the police write them off as accidents, Heather is not so sure...so she takes up a little detective work of her own. This is a suspenseful book that does not follow the general status in the world of action novels, and liked this new twist, so I would recommend it, because in real life, not every heroine wears a size 2.

Sophie's Heart

I found the novel Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick to be a credible modern fiction book. It is written about a young Chzec who moves to America to make a living, painfully departing from her grandmother, who has been her only parent for many years. She arrives unsure of herself, but determined to make the best of the situation. She begins work at a restaurant, and although her English has some flaws, she is a hard-worker. When at church, she meets a woman who hooks her up to become a housekeeper for a family. The family is that of the woman's brother, who recently lost their mother in a car accident, devastating the father. He depends on his teenage daughter to most of the household chores, because he works for long hours. The death in the family left a workaholic father, a too much depended on 16-year-old daughter, an angry mid-teen son, and a young girl striving for attention. When Sophie becomes their housekeeper, she recognizes these problems, as well as the fact that the family does not have good meals or clean rooms. She takes it upon herself to first clean the house, and then begins on the people themselves. She makes an immediate impact on Tori, the attention-starved youngest, who latches on to her. They become quick friends, and Rita, the oldest, although a bit slower to warm to Sophie, soon finds herself liking the woman as well. The son Craig is a challenge, however. His mother's death and his father's absence has left him feeling bitter. He seems grumpy all the time, but Sophie is patient, and she gently helps him through life by doing even little things, like taking him with her to talk to his classmates in an effort to keep him more social. But despite his gratitude, Sophie still notices something is wrong. Craig finally reveals his secret to her on a car ride home: he feels it was his fault his mother died because he prayed she would die that day after she made him wear pants he hated to school. After this conversation with Sophie, she advises him on how to handle it and assures him it was not his fault. Craig is now a normal, loving person again. The last person to deal with in the family is...the father. Sophie helps him overcome his addiction to work, and they soon become friends...and perhaps something more, but you'll have to read to find out. I enjoyed this book, although I do find some of Lori Wick's books to be predictable and sometimes unrealistic. It was a good read.

Skin

Just a couple of days I ago, I finished reading the book Skin, by Ted Dekker. I now have it ranked among my favorite books. I found it to be suspenseful and exciting, and although it had a plot that was sometimes hard to follow and might leave a reader behind if they were not paying attention, it was enjoyable. The story begins with one of the main characters, Wendy, struggling to arrive at a town before three raging tornadoes hit her. She is traveling to answer a call from her mother. Her mother is part of a cult that Wendy escaped from at the age of 18. The leader was cruel, and claimed her for his own. She received a beating each time she made contact with any person outside of the tribe. She is still mentally scarred, and afraid of touching men after the leader broke her fingers for touching another boy. As she drives through the tormenting storm, she sees a car with bullet holes. Worried, she get out to investigate. She finds not the shot person, but a woman with a snake bite and her anxious brother. She brings them to town in hope of finding a doctor, but apparently everyone has gone into hiding from the storm. She stops a cop and get him to take them with him to the doctor's home. The cop, Colt, is in pursuit of a gruesome killer named Red. The doctor is not home, but the manage to break the woman, Nicole's, fever. Once the storm ends, strange things happen. The town mysteriously vanishes, replaced by sand. A man named Jerry Pinkus shows up as well, with a finger severed by Red. All five of them are forced to remain in the house, threatened by Red, who seems like a maniac determined to kill the ugliest of the group. Outwardly, that would be Colt, but inside...who knows? Tensions begin to run high as Nicole plays with Colt's heart and Wendy herself likes him, because she is not afraid of him. Also, Colt is the only man in the group with a loaded gun and the knowledge to use it. They play with the idea of killing the ugliest, because Red says that is the only way they will live. However, time runs out, and Red kidnaps Nicole and permanently brands her beautiful face. Although Colt says he still will love her, something inside Nicole has changed as well, or maybe, as wise Wendy sees it, it has always been that way...In the end, the ugliest is killed, and another, and Red does not stop there. Everything pieces into place as Jerry and Wendy discover they are in a virtual reality game along with the others, and Red is the son of the director, but he turned against them. Who died? Did Wendy overcome her fears? Did Colt love her back, or did he still love Nicole? Do they all make it out, or does death in the game mean death in real life? Read, and you will find out!

I, Robot

I recently finished reading the science-fiction book I, Robot. I enjoyed the interesting view it was written in, as if being written like an article by a person who interviewed the main character, Dr. Susan Calvin. The book began in the past, reviewing how some robots functioned and lived, and then the meat of the story was in the section where Dr. Calvin and her colleagues were working on how to solve a problem with robots, since they were the heads of that department. The problem was this: There are three laws robots are designed to follow, and the First Law is the "No robot shall ever harm a human being". Robots have been made with these laws for years, until Dr. Calvin realizes a mistake. The robot she works with, Herbie, can read minds. When Dr. Calvin confides in him that she secretly loves one of the men she works with, Milton Ashe, he reads her mind and tells her Ashe loves her back, even though she is not attractive, but because she is smart he likes her. Dr. Calvin believes him, but the next time she has a meeting with Ashe, he tells her he is going to get married to another woman. Devastated and furious, Dr. Calvin confronts the cowering Herbie. He tells her this is all just a dream, because that is what she wants it to be. However, despite being on the verge of hysteria, Dr. Calvin realizes the truth- Herbie cannot tell her the truth she does not want to hear. This is because of the First Law. No robot shall ever harm a human being. In the creation of these laws, it was not ever considered that a mind reading robot might not be able to tell his master the truth, because he would be hurting her feelings. The First Law never specified whether a robot could not harm humans physically or internally. For the remainder of the book, bitter Dr. Calvin and her colleagues work to try to change this, and attempt to stop a rogue robot from messing with other robots. It is very different from other books I have read, and I enjoyed its difference.

Snakehead

Recently I finished Snakehead, so far the last book in the Alex Rider series. I liked these books because they were a different genre for me, with lots of adventure and interesting characters. This book however, bought a new development to the series. Alex, whose parents were killed in a plane crash caused by his dad's spy work, has a godfather named Ash. He did not know of this until then, and he was eager to meet him. However, Ash is not as ready to tell Alex his father's story as Alex is to hear it. Yet still, they work together to try to infiltrate the infamous snakehead, which is made up of some Scorpia members. Scorpia is Alex's foes grouped together. He thought he had heard the last of them, but suddenly-here hey are! Their plot, concocted by old, feeble Major Yu, is to create a tidal wave that will destroy the island, and the people on it, that is set aside to help solve world hunger and poverty. Eight famous people are on the island, working for good, and Scorpia intends to kill them all. Also, along the way, the tsunami will probably end up killing thousands more than just those eight- a minor number to the Scorpia group. Alex and Ash partner up against the, but Alex is captured. The in my mind personally disturbed Major Yu sends Alex to a hospital of sorts, to have his organs taken out one by one, including his eyes, while he is still alive, and given to others. Disgusting. The doctors there assure Alex there is no means of escape- which proves to be false, along with the help of a few gadgets. Will Alex get to the bomb intended to create the tsunami in time to stop it? He meets up with some friends from his past, and they join in the fray. However, in one final battle between Scorpia and Alex, Alex discovers that Ash is not who he says he is. And yes, he does stop the bomb and save lives. This surprising twist on Ash made a good situational irony in the story, which I thought was a well written page-turner.

The Phantom of the Opera

After someone recommended this book to me I finally decided to check it out. It was a very well written book, and aside from being a horror/romance classical book, I found it to be a page-turner. It was written by Gaston Leroux and inspired the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", which was a play that Champlin Park put on at one point in time. The book is about three main characters: The beautiful, gentle, lovable opera understudy Christine Daae who seems to have lost her musical talent after the death of her father, but still is the back-up for the opera singer Carlotta. Then, there is the young M de Changy, who is Raoul. He is 21 and was Christine's play date when they were younger, and now he has fallen in love with her. Christine loves Raoul, but there is one person, if he may be called that, who is preventing an eminent announcement of their engagement. This being is known as the "Phantom of the Opera". At first, most dancers and audience members believe him to be a ghost, because he wears a white mask and is "as thin as death". However, he has a captivating voice and speaks to Christine without letting her see him. She believes that he is the "Angel of Music" that has come to help her regain her talents. Despite all of these identities given to him, the "Opera Ghost" is really a human by the name of Eric. He wears the mask to conceal a horrible dis figuration from birth. He lives on a lake under the Opera House where he sings and plays his organ, composing. He is an amazing singer, but despite all of his musical talent, not even his mother really loved him because of his face deformation. He falls for Christine as well, and takes her down to his house and plays the organ as she sings, inspiring her to redevelop some of her evasive talents. Eric then arranges for Carlotta to be "sick" to let Christine sing. She does, receiving a thunderous encore for her incredible singing. She becomes an illustrious opera singer. Eric, however, is driven mad with jealousy that she loves Raoul and kidnaps her. She has already seen his face; she tore off his mask while he had captivated her with his music, and he wants her to love him. When Raoul and a mysterious Persian come to save her, they are locked in a torture chamber of sorts, with hallucinations in a deadly hot desert forest mirage. Also, when Raoul's brother comes to try to save them, he dies "accidentally". Eric, with his cunning mind, set up rigged scorpion and grasshopper figurines- the scorpion symbolizing yes, the grasshopper no, for whether or not Christine would marry him. If she turned the grasshopper, the Opera House, with them in it, would blow up. She turns the scorpion to save everyone. However, Eric falls into remorse, and lets Christine go to marry Raoul. Sobbing, Eric watches her go after she cried with him in pity for him. He had one request: that she would take his dead body and bury it by the Opera House; he would die of a broken heart. And he did, within weeks. I felt so sad for him, despite the murders he committed, because no one ever really loved him. I found that to be something that would drive a person mad, which probably explains most of his actions. Although it is an old read, it is extremely well written (better than I described it), and I have heard some of the songs from the play and they are pretty awesome as well! I would recommend this book to anyone who does not mind a more challenging, classical read...or sad endings.