a YA nonfiction

Ghost Boy: The Miraculous Escape of a Misdiagnosed Boy Trapped Inside His Own Body

By: Martin Pistorius

Genre YA nonfiction

Pages: 286

Published: 2013

Read: January

4 out of 5

When I started this book, I didn’t realize it was nonfiction. So that took me for a surprise. As heartbreaking as the story is I appreciated it more knowing it was all true. I can’t imagine what happened to Martin happening to one of my children or myself. The most mystifying and terrifying aspect (to family, doctors, and the readers) was Martin was not born with the degenerative disease. When he was 12, Martin woke up feeling sick and continual worsened until he couldn’t feed himself, talk or walk.  This should be read by anyone who enjoys nonfiction or enjoyed the fictional novels, Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper or Petey by Ben Michaelsen.  

The best decade!!

The Eighties: A Bitchen Time to be a Teenager!

By: Tom Harvey

Genre: memoir

Pages: 256

Published: 2012

Read: December

2 out of 5

I was excited to read this book because I have always considered myself to be a  child of the 80's - even if my high school years was more in the 90's.  This book was not nearly as funny as I expected - my favorite part was the pictures - how could one forgot the ridiculously fabulous clothes and hairstyles of the 80's.  Even though I could relate to some of the stories and memories - the Cabbage Patch and Garbage Pail kid phase, music - ghetto blasters, etc - I felt most of the stories would only be memorable to Tom himself - or his friends. This book was a case of "You had to be there" or it just wasn't as funny. Although I did appreciate a memoir about an ordinary person of the 80's versus someone famous, unearthly rich, or so successful he didn't need the book deal. Another great aspect of the book were the appendixes at the end - what great memories!

Harvey has written another book, Don't Fight with the Garden Hose and Other Lessons I've Learned Along the Way - visit his website at www.authortomharvey.com

An Advanced Reader's Copy - ARC

Bellman & Black

By: Diane Setterfield

Genre: Historical fiction/Paranormal

Pages: 336

Published: 2013

Read: September

2 out of 5

I was very excited to read this ARC since I loved Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.  I felt that premise of the novel was confusing or at least needed more explanation.  There were a lot of characters introduced and the relationships between them were difficult to keep straight.  After I slowed down and grasped all the intricacies; it did get interesting.  I was finally engrossed, but then the story started dragging and didn’t stop.  While I desired a slower pace at the beginning, and I’m a “prolific” reader, the middle portion needed some weeding.  I loved the characters and family relationships and would have enjoyed more details on the Bellman family history.  Instead the entire middle was dedicated to describing dyes and threads for hundreds of pages.  While necessary for the plot, I would have enjoyed more of a connection to the characters and more appearances from Black to keep the story from putting me to sleep.

Romance Suspense E-book

Slip Into the Night

 By: Tracie Ingersoll Loy

Genre: Romance Suspense

Pages: E-book

Published: 2011

Read: May

2 out of 5 stars 

I enjoyed this book because it was more mystery than romance, but the mystery wasn’t very suspense. The aspect of the story I enjoyed the most was the description of the Washington area.  The author does a great job illustrating the surroundings and definitely allows the reader to fall in love with Kip.  I would have enjoyed similar depth in the mystery of the book as I felt it fell flat. The pieces just did not fit together for me, however if the reader is more into the romance novels they may find the story a great read.  Be forewarned, if dieting or hungry you may not want to read at the time. I have been craving a big, warm cinnamon bun since the beginning of the book. It is a good first novel for the author.

Tracie’s website is www.tracieloy.com