Missing by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen

A BYU-Idaho choir tour in British Columbia turns out to be anything but ordinary when soloist Stacie Cox spots a kidnapped child from Rexburg during a performance. Before Stacie can alert the authorities, the little girl disappears. Stacie vows to find and rescue her, a choice that forces her to deal with her guilt-ridden past and another little girl that haunts her dreams. When the handsome Matt Brennan helps Stacie in the search, she tries to resist the attraction she feels for him. Yet as he gains her friendship and trust, her resolve to never fall in love begins to crumble. And after a series of harrowing events, Stacie must decide if she is willing to sacrifice her life -- and a possible future with Matt -- to save a stranger.



Don't avoid this book just because it is by an LDS author. Yes, it does take some religious views on things, but so does any other religious novel.

The plot is intriguing, and the beginning definitely surprised me. I don't know what I would do if I were in Stacie Cox's place. It's an easy read, and definitely keeps you turning the pages.

It's probably geared more towards young adult, but don't let it exclude you from reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham



Roxanne: glamorous, self-confident, with a secret lover -- a married man

Maggie: capable and high-achieving, until she finds the one thing she can't cope with -- motherhood

Candice: honest, decent, or so she believes -- until a ghost from her past turns up

At the first of every month, when the office has reached its pinnacle of hysteria, Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice meet at London's swankiest bar for an evening of cocktails and gossip. Here, they chat about what's new at The Londoner, the glossy fashion magazine where they all work, and everything else that's going on in their lives. Or almost everything. Beneath the girl talk and the laughter, each of the three has a secret. And when a chance encounter at the cocktail bar sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events, each one will find her biggest secret revealed.

In Cocktails for Three, Madeleine Wickham combines her trademark humor with remarkable insight to create an edgy, romantic tale of secrets, strangers, and a splash of scandal.



All right. While the book may sound a little "edgy", it really isn't. It's actually fairly mild, as far as writing goes. This book was a quick read, and was definitely entertaining. It was a fun book to start the summer off with.

I would recommend this book to women for sure, because we all know how much men dislike anything feminine (just kidding, guys). It has a great plot and kept me turning pages. The ending was satisfactory, and it provided me with a different take on a lifestyle so unlike my own.

But I want to know what you all think of it, so go out and give it a read!

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.

He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.

Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.


This was a completely different take on WWII than I'd ever read or heard before. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and to be honest I'm dying to know some things -- I also wonder which parts of the story are true, and which are woven around the imagination. I do feel the ending was a little rushed though, but overall it was a really good book.

I recommend this to anyone who is a Jerry Spinelli lover, or is looking for something to read about WWII. Or just go read it if you don't have anything better to read. You won't be sorry.

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, okay, Twilight haters out there, don't freak out. Twilight lovers: listen in! I have found a book to beat even the guile and wisdom of romantic fantasy author Stephenie Meyer.

My good friend Hayleigh recommended this book to me, and gave the forewarning of maybe seeming a little Twilight-ish (this coming from the girl who loves making fun of that series with me; no offense). All forewarning ahead of me, I read it anyway! And I'm really glad I did. I loved this book, and I definitely think you should read it. It gives a practical personality for both Sam and Grace and I couldn't help falling in love with the story. I couldn't put the first book down and I immediately went to Hayleigh for the second one right after I finished it! And now I am in search for the rest of the series.

Anywho, I definitely recommend it to any fantasy or romance lovers out there, or even anyone in search of a new book to read!

Synopsis:

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

http://maggiestiefvater.com/shiver/books/

First book in the series: Shiver
Followed by: Linger
              and Forever

Don't be thrown off by the fact that there are wolves and even possibly werewolves -- it's not one of those weird animals talking romance kind of books I promise. I was a little weird-ed out by the synopsis on the book and the mention of a girl possibly falling in love with a wolf, but it turned out much better than I expected.

So go read it! Let me know what you think.

Peace Like A River,

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Earlier this summer, I read the book Stolen by Lucy Christopher. I need to return it to my English teacher, so I re-read it yesterday, and was reminded just why I loved this book. I really loved the whole idea behind this book; it was original and I've never read anything like it before. The story line was what intrigued me into picking up this book, though.

"Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops …but is this real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?"

This book has caused me to dream about Australia all summer. It's a situation so bizarre, so unheard of, and yet you don't want Gemma to leave, you don't want Ty to go jail. It really makes you think about the mysteries of life; what you treasure and cherish, what you wish to forget, what you wish to escape from. Lucy takes these ideas and weaves it into such a brilliant story. Ty kidnapped Gemma, and yet you like the guy. Why? 

There's very sparse swearing throughout the book, but if swearing offends you, I wouldn't read it. Nothing inappropriate; definitely a young adult novel. A very good read, probably more for entertainment's sake than literature. Although that may be debatable. I loved it, so let me know what you think. 

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Last night I read a book given to me by my good friend Kelsey, who I'm glad to say loves reading just as much as I do. Every book she's recommended to me, I've loved, honest to Betsy. I couldn't sleep, so I ended up staying up and reading this book all the way through, that's how good it was. It's A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.

I really loved this book because it had a really great plot line, the main character's situation was believable, and this story could have been someone's actual life. It's also a completely original idea, not another spin-off of vampires and werewolves (aren't we all sick of that?).

Here's they synopsis from the back of the book, since the one from Amazon gave too much away (at least, I felt like it did):

"The widely acclaimed, award-winning story of a young woman who finds her voice. 

Sixteen-year-old Mattie Gokey has big dreams but little hope of seeing them come true. Desperate for money, she takes a job at the Glenmore, where hotel guest Grace Brown asks her to burn a bundle of secret letters. But when Grace's drowned body is fished from the lake, Mattie discovers the letters reveal the grim truth behind a murder. 

Set in 1906 against the backdrop o f the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, this astonishing novel weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, real, and wholly original."

Now, if you're thinking you don't want to read this book because it's historical fiction, stop right there. This doesn't read like a text book, or like David McCullough's 1776, although that was a good book too. The writing is believable, the plotline is far from laughable, and there are good morals you can learn from this story too. All that aside, if you're just looking for a good read, or something to pass the time, definitely pick this book up. But if you're not into women standing up for themselves and finding themselves a place in this world alongside working men, this book probably isn't for you.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

--Sadie

Rating: 4/5 stars