Heartbeat

The book Heartbeat, by Shannon Creech, holds a variety of different poems by the main character. She deals with the struggles of her life by running and drawing. She always runs barefoot, sometimes with one of her friends. However, although she is fast, she refuses to join track, much to the chagrin of the coach and her friend. The book is a composition of all of the poems she writes to express her complicated feelings. Creech is the author of many books that include poetry. One example of these is the book Love That Dog. That is one of my brother's favorite books. It is about a boy who is sad that his dog died, and when his class has a poetry unit, he uses poems to show his emotions. Throughout the book, the boy comes out of his shell and tries new types of poetry, thanks to his role model, poet Walter Dean Meyers. In the end, the boy, who was so confident that he would never get another pet, receives a kitten and welcomes it into his family. These books often are bitter-sweet, with sad memories but bright futures. They are well written and enjoyable.

Size 14 is Not Fat Either

This book is the sequel to the book Size 12 is Not Fat, by Meg Cabot. Former pop singer Heather Wells seems to settle into her ordinary life, until a cheerleader, the most popular girl in school, is found dead...Her dream guy, her landlord, warns her to stay out of things, as does her dad, who suddenly shows up out of nowhere after being released from jail. Still, despite their chiding, Heather can't resist a little sleuthing, which leads to more and more detective work, which lead to...the discovery of the girl's murderer. While juggling the problems of her life, Heather seeks out the killers, and meets them, unfortunately, alone...and there is more than just one killer. There is in her college, as well as many others throughout the USA and the world, a cult. One of those secret ones that, like in real life, are very dangerous and involve drugs. Trapped with no escape, the cult members become increasingly agitated as violence occurs, but the ring-leader will not tolerate any cowards. Through confessions, Heather learns the reason for the girl's death, but it is not as anyone would have expected from a seemingly perfect girl...

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.