Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Just Finished...
Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Sáenz--Sammy and Juliana are seniors in high school in a neighborhood in New Mexico called Hollywood during the late 1960s. Hollywood is a poor neighborhood primarily made up of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Sáenz tells the story of Sammy and his friends; the discrimination they face as a minority, the poverty, losing friends to drugs and the war. The characters face tragedy around every corner, some survive while others give in to the challenges they face.

I like the story and it was very well written, however, at times it was hard to understand because the characters used a lot of Spanish that the reader couldn't figure out within in the context of the word or sentence. I would definitely recommend this one to others, but I also would recommend a Spanish-English dictionary to be checked-out with it, unless you know Spanish :) Rating: 4Q 2P

Airframe by Michael Crichton--A large airplane suffers an unusual accident while in air. More than three people are killed and more than fifty are injured. Crichton allows the reader a peak into what happens when something unusual occurs on an aircraft. The main character, Casey Singleton, is part of the team investigating the accident. There is more to the accident then what is on the surface, but she can't quite put her finger it on it.

This is definitely a page turner (or in my case a CD switcher, I listened to it). At times Crichton used a little too much detail when describing the airframe or other technical parts. I have noticed this about Crichton in the past on other books, like Timeline, but it is still definitely worth the read. Rating: 3Q 3P

Currently reading...
The Wish List by Eion Colfer (Audio)
Meg Finn is in trouble. She's dead, but not at peace--she's in limbo, her good deeds perfectly balanced against her bad deeds; Heaven or Hell wait, a tip of the scale away. So she's back on Earth trying to tip the scale to the good by helping her last victim, and her former "partner" is also back, trying to force her to tip the scale to the bad.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis (Audio)
Deeply involved in his cold and manipulative mother's shady business dealings in Flint, Michigan, fourteen-year-old Luther keeps a sense of humor while running the Happy Neighbor Group Home For Men, all the while dreaming of going to college and becoming a philosopher.

In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Twenty-eight-year-old Maggie Feller, who goes from job to job on the fringes of show business, and her older sister Rose, a lawyer, have had no contact with their grandmother, Ella, since their mother's death years ago, but all three need to find each other to reach happiness.

What to read next...
Wicked by Gregory McGuire (re-read for book group)
God Went to Beauty School by Cynthia Rylant (recommended by a friend)
The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon (This one is a true story)

Oh by the way the rating system I used is from VOYA http://www.voya.com/WhatsInVoya/reviews.shtml#bookreviewcodes