Swallowing Stones by Joyce MacDonald (245 pages)
It’s a perfect Fourth of July for Michael MacKenzie. He is celebrating his 17th birthday with a huge party, full of family and friends. Firecrackers are being lit, and everyone is having a great time. Michael’s grandfather gives him a rifle for his birthday and Michael takes his best friend into the woods behind his house to show it off. He shoots once into the air, loving this amazing gift. One mile away, Jenna Ward is telling her father it’s time to come in for lunch. He’s on the roof patching a leak. Suddenly, a bullet rips through Charlie Ward’s body, killing him. Michael, just having a good time on his birthday, is now a murderer. This book takes you inside both Michael’s and Jenna’s minds as they attempt to deal with the tragedy of this day. Michael promises himself he won’t tell anyone because he really doesn’t want to get into trouble, and Jenna promises herself she won’t rest until she finds the person responsible.
Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
After my hiatus of reading books due to my obsession with watching the Olympics, I had the pleasure of reading this outstanding murder mystery by the late, great Agatha Christie. Ten people are invited to Indian Island to stay for a short vacation. What the guests don’t know is that there is someone on the island with plans to murder them all! Each guest has committed a crime during their lifetime for which they have not had to face any consequences… until now. The mysterious murderer knows about their crimes and is intent on making them pay. Using the child’s nursery rhyme about Ten Little Indians as a guide, the murderer takes care of each victim, one at a time. With twists and turns until the very end, this novel will keep the reader guessing as to “Who dunnit???”
Twilight - Book One - 498 pages - Miss Simer’s Rating: ***1/2
New Moon - Book Two - 563 pages - Miss Simer’s Rating: ***1/2
Eclipse - Book Three - 629 pages - Miss Simer’s Rating: ***
Breaking Dawn - Book Four - 756 pages - Miss Simer’s Rating: ***1/2
Case One in the Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars Series
In a not-so-distant future, the battle between pro-life and pro-choice has finally been won. Abortions are illegal and mothers of newborn babies have the opportunity to “stork” their baby by leaving it on anyone’s doorstep. The person that finds the baby legally becomes its parent. Another option given to parents in this society is to have their child “unwound.” Unwinding is a process in which all of a person’s body parts are harvested and given to the highest bidder. The pro-life leaders believe this ensures the person still lives on, just in pieces. Sentenced to be unwound are sixteen-year-old Connor, whose temper tantrums and fighting led his parents to their decision, and fifteen-year-old Risa, who is part of a “teen cleanout” at the state home for orphans. The two manage to escape the juvy cops assigned to take them to harvest camp and soon find themselves being passed from safe home to safe home along with several other runaway Unwinds. Both creepy and thought-provoking, this novel gives the reader a look into a bleak future, and it will definitely please fans of Shusterman’s Everlost or Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series.
What would you do if you witnessed a horrible accident that resulted in someone’s death, especially if that accident may have been partially your fault? Would you immediately call the police? Would you tell a friend or family member? Or, like the narrator in Paranoid Park, would you bottle it up inside and let guilt and fear control your life? He knew he shouldn’t go to Paranoid Park, not alone, not at night. He couldn’t stop himself though. He wanted to see what the true skateboarders could do. He wanted to watch and learn. He had no way of knowing that night would end with someone’s death. Told with frankness that is definitely too mature for many readers, the novel tells a compelling tale of what guilt can do to a person.
After nearly drowning in a lake, sixteen-year-old Sarah begins having psychic premonitions. Her family makes a drastic move across the country to Houston, Texas, and as soon as Sarah steps into their new house, she feels the presence of a ghost. The feeling overwhelms her and the family soon learns that a murder took place in the house a few years earlier. Sarah begins seeing the ghost of the murdered woman and she begs Sarah to help her. Sarah investigates the woman’s history and becomes entangled in a murder mystery that will leave you breathless until the last page.
Taken by surprise, frightened, and confused, you are forced from your home - forced to leave with only the clothes you are wearing and taken to a strange place, perhaps separated from your family, never to see them again… These and other atrocities actually happened to millions of European Jews during World War II, and are described in heart-wrenching detail by Elie Wiesel. He recounts the day-to-day existence of those held prisoner, bringing to life their helplessness while also depicting their strength and deliberate will to live. Although sometimes emotionally challenging to read, the book emphasizes the basic theme of preserving the memory of the past. Read this book with the knowledge that you will be horrified and saddened, yet determined to do all you can to protect all human rights - whatever it requires.
In a distant, bleak future, El Patron rules the empire of Opium, the land that separates the United States and Aztlan (formerly Mexico). A feared and powerful dictator, El Patron has had a clone of himself made so that he will have someone to take his place upon his death. This clone, named Matt, lives as an outcast and is thought of as inhuman by most people. Cared for by a loving maid named Celia and his bodyguard Tamlyn, Matt is given the best education and musical training. When El Patron falls ill, Matt uncovers all the lies El Patron has been telling him and he realizes he must escape Opium to save his own life. Fans of Lowry’s The Giver will enjoy this look at a possible futuristic society and how one person can make a difference.
Working in the Toronto subway system’s lost and found room is less than a thrill for seventeen-year-old Duncan. He’s several floors below ground and stuck in a room with endless boxes full of useless and forgotten items. Bored and looking for something to read, Duncan happens upon a leather-bound book with no title. Curious, he opens it and begins to read. It’s someone’s personal journal, and judging by the entries, the person is seriously deranged. Duncan discovers some entries that discuss torturing animals, starting fires, even murder. Horrified, he notices at the end of the journal, before the maniac lost it on the subway, the entries are all about three women who seem to be the targets of future crimes. Wanting to protect the women and stop the madman, Duncan enlists the help of his friends to track down the killer before it’s too late.