House Rules by Jodi Picoult

When your son can't look you in the eye . . . does that mean he's guilty?

Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject--forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.

But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob's mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.

And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

OK guys, I really loved this book. It was definitely a page turner, one that you stay up until two in the morning reading (literally) because you don't want to put it down. Or maybe I'm the only one that does insane things like that.

The plot was brilliant, and I love all the rhetorical strategies and ironies strewn throughout its pages. Jodi Picoult really is a genius of an author. My goal in life is to read all her books someday. (Although if we're being realistic, most of them will be read this summer.)

Not only do you understand Asperger's better, but you gain an appreciation for the kind of things Jacob's family has to put up with. You don't judge them, you don't judge Jacob -- it's hard to imagine anyone really treating him like an outcast. I find it hard to believe that people are cruel enough to ignore him or anyone with Asperger's really -- it just doesn't seem realistic to me.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone. If you love mysteries, it's for you. If you love books that give you insight to something you may never have experienced before or is hard for neurotypical people to comprehend, it's for you. If you love crime dramas (which I definitely do), it's for you. And if you just love a good book, it's for you.

So go find a copy and start reading! Check your library, your friend's house, your grandmother's, your parents', a bookstore, or even a thrifty book exchange. And have fun reading!

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

As Picture Perfect begins, it is daybreak in downtown L.A. A woman suffering from amnesia is taken in by an officer new to the L.A. police force, after he finds her wandering aimlessly near a graveyard. Days later, when her husband comes to claim her at the police station, no one is more stunned than Cassie Barrett to learn that not only is she a renowned anthropologist, but she is married to Hollywood's leading man, Alex Rivers.

As Alex helps Cassie become reaccustomed to her fairy-tale existence, fragments of memory return: the whirlwind romance on location in Africa, her major anthropological discovery, the trajectory of Alex's career. Yet as Cassie settles into her glamour-filled life, uneasiness nags at her. She senses there is something troubling and wild that would alter the picture of her perfect marriage. When she finds a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom, she is flooded with dark memories. Trying to piece together her past, she runs to the other person she trusts to keep her hidden-- Will Flying Horse, the policeman who had initially harbored her.
Out of loyalty he cannot fully understand, Will spirits Cassie away to stay with his parents on the reservation where he grew up-- and to which he never wanted to return-- for the duration of her pregancy. Safe in South Dakota, Cassie contemplates her future. She weighs the ominous pattern of her marriage against her compassion for her husband. Cassie knows of the fear and self-loathing Alex harbors-- and of his hard-won transformation to the skilled actor he has become.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Alex's life is falling apart. Nominated for Best Actor for his most recent film, he can no longer conceal from the press the fact that his wife is gone. Lies beget lies, and soon his career is rocked by scandal.
When Cassie agrees to return to Hollywood with her son, it is with a conditional promise from Alex. But it is a promise he cannot keep. In order to free them both, Cassie holds a press conference and tells the world the secret about Alex it never knew-- and never would have believed.
Moving from the sweltering African grasslands to the desolate plains of the reservation to the claustrophobic glitz of Hollywood, Jodi Picoult's story is one rich in detail, breadth, and emotion.

I definitely recommend this book, just because it's so interesting. You can't help but love Alex Rivers, yet hate him at the same time. You want nothing more but for their relationship to work out. It accurately portrays the complexities of human relationships. It's very thought-provoking, and makes me wonder about some things. It's definitely a psychological book.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

Morrie Schwartz was the kind of man who always had something insightful and true to say about life. Even as he lay dying from muscular dystrophy.

Mitch Albom captures the story of his college professor's death so beautifully, and in a way that everyone can't help but connect with. Everyone has something to learn from this book, and from Morrie's life. The lessons he gives Mitch are incredibly valuable and something we all need to learn at some point.

Do you believe in reincarnation? I ask.

"Perhaps."

What would you come back as?

"If I had my choice, a gazelle."

A gazelle?

"Yes. So graceful. So fast."

A gazelle?

Morrie smiles at me. "You think that's strange?"

I study his shrunken frame, the loose clothes, the socks-wrapped feet that rest stiffly on foam rubber cushions, unable to move, like a prisoner in leg irons. I picture a gazelle racing across the desert.

No, I say. I don't think that's strange at all.

Even though I'm still young and in the prime of my life, I learned a lot from this spunky old man and his gifted writer of a student. I suggest that everyone read this book at least once in their lifetime, and let me know what you think of it.

What does it teach you?

What do you learn?

What things do you realize you need to value more? Less?

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin

A sleepy rural town in South Carolina. The end of summer and a baby about to be born. But in the midst of hope and celebration comes unexpected tragedy, and Dylan Styles must come to terms with how much he's lost. Will the music of his heart be stilled forever--or will he choose to dance with life once more, in spite of sorrow and heartbreak?

The Dead Don't Dance is a bittersweet yet triumphant love story--a tale of one man's spiritual journey through the darkness of despair and into the light of hope.

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Dont-Dance-Awakening-Series/dp/B002MAQSN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330721799&sr=8-1

I really enjoyed reading this book.  The cover and the title sounded a little strange at first glance, but the book is nothing like it might appear (or sound). This is one of those times where judging a book by its cover is no bueno.

I loved how real the characters were, how there wasn't anything inappropriate (except maybe some mild swearing), the plot-line, and over-all reality of the book. I finished it in one day, and went and checked out the second one the moment I got back to school. It kept me flipping its pages, wanting to know what would happen, how the problem would be solved and IF it would be.

I definitely recommend this book to both guys and girls -- the main character is a man (and so is the author), and it's not too cheesy -- I wouldn't characterize it as a "chick-flick."

So go out there and read it! And let me know what you think.

"For you, a thousand times over." - The Kite Runner

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

http://www.kathrynstockett.com/stockett-synopsis.htm

Read this book. It really helped me imagine just how horrible it must have been to live in those times when African-Americans never got a break from racial oppression. I can't imagine having lived in those times -- it makes no sense to me why they should be treated as if they're animals just because their skin isn't white. There's a reason I didn't live back then.

This book really touched me -- yes, it made me cry. I also recommend that you watch the movie, because both the book and the movie are amazing. The movie made me cry as well.

The movie is at redbox and probably on Netflix too for all you movie lovers out there. So go read the book and then watch the movie! You're in for an incredible journey.

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars

The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum

"The finale of the award-winning Hourglass Door trilogy!

"What is your name?" he asked, but not like he wanted to know. More like it was a test. 

"What kind of question is that?" I laughed. "It's . . ." I started. "My name is . . ." And then my mind went blank. Or rather, it went black, the darkness creeping in from the edges of my consciousness. Terror followed, slipping in behind the shadows. How could I not know my own name? 

The only way to rescue the future is to alter the past.

When Abby stepped through the hourglass door, leaving her beloved Dante blind and bleeding on the other side, it was in full faith that she could find a way to repair the damage to the river or time and restore him -- as well as her family. It was a desperate chance that seemed worth taking.

But Zo had other plans.

Now Abby is trapped in a full-fledged battle for her own mind and life and heart. Even worse, Zo's evil intent reaches beyond simple revenge against her and Dante. The whole world is in danger of collapsing unless Abby can summon her courage and undertake a journey that will lead her beyond the origins of the hourglass door."

I must say, this last book was the perfect ending to a series I will always treasure. Lisa Mangum lives in Utah, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at my school in September, as well as introducing her, having a nice chat with her, and having her sign my books. It was an experience I will never forget.

If you haven't read The Hourglass Door or The Golden Spiral, the first two books in this trilogy, I highly recommend that you do -- even if you're a guy. Yes, it is a romance, but the plot is so intriguing and original that even the male species will enjoy it. I recommend it to everyone, especially if you love to read. So go and pick up a copy at the nearest library or bookstore! You won't regret it.

--Sadie

Rating: 5/5 stars