The Appeal - John Grisham

John Grisham and I have a love hate relationship. He brought me to my favorite genera...mystery/thriller. He avoids graphic descriptions of sex. His main characters are exceptionally likable. They are deeply flawed but at the core are good and when push comes to shove they make the right choice. That being said, his endings are always rubbish as if he ran out of steam and just went for the safe ending and his last few books just haven't done it for me. Surprisingly this latest was one of my favorites. It follows a supreme court campaign, bought by big business trying to have an torte legal case overthrown. There was enough here that was believable that I just couldn't help but think, are we honestly allowing people to vote for supreme court judges, people who can and often are swayed by money, money that the supreme court has voted can still be poured into campaigns. It seems like it would be to easy to manipulate, but it turns out it is fairly common, 22 states: Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin. Not the best book I've ever read but probably worth it for the crazy conspiracy theories it got going.

How To Ditch Your Fairy - Justine Larbalestier

I loved this story. Charlie is 14, in a sports centered middle school, and has an "always find a great parking spot fairy." What she really covets is "find great clothes fairy" or an "all the boys like you fairy". Charlie hates cars and a life time of being dragged along on trips hasn't improved her opinion. She decides to wait her fairy out to get a new fairy and mayhem ensues. This story was short and sweet and filled with tons of totally cute Australian sayings. ADORABLE!!!!

Ape House - Sara Gruen

Sometimes you read a book and think, "Hello Brilliant. How did they think of that?" That's how I felt about Water for Elephants. I was hoping to feel that magic again. Ape House just didn't have it. Ironically a portion of the book is dedicated to a character who is an author and is struggling with book sales. Self fulfilling prophecy? Who knows. Basic story line...a reporter visits a monkey facility, connects with the monkeys and their scientist keeper, facility is blown up, monkeys get sold to a reality show guy, scientist tries to get monkeys back with reporters help. It was slow, the character's were unlikable, the plot was unbelievable but two boring to make me want to look past that. Water for Elephants is the more enjoyable choice.

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

When the movie came out of this book I watched it along with millions of other people. The movie follows the book remarkable well. Young orphan girl lives in a male college under the protection of the scholars. It is a world very much like or own but one substantial difference is that souls exist outside the body in the form of an animal companion that can converse. The girl is restless and when a glamerous woman comes to the college and ask her to be her personal assistant she jumps at the chance. She finds herself looking for her best friend, running from her mother, hanging out with a talking bear, and looking for dust, a mysterious substance that covers most adults. I really enjoyed this book.