This is the story of a group of classics students at a small New England liberal arts school. The main character is Richard, who has a difficult relationship with his parents for suburban California. He joins a small group of other students under the tutelage of the Classics professor, Julian, and they take almost all...
Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts is the story about Delia, her daughter, her father and mother, and her friends. Delia was raised by her father and since her mother died he did everything he could to give her a good childhood. She is engaged to Eric, one of her childhood friends, and the two of them...
I really liked Wildlife by Fiona Wood. It is about two 16 year old girls, Sib and Lou, whose school has a "term in the woods" program. Lou is new. She just transferred in. Her boyfriend died in an accident and she is trying to cope with her grief. Lou is no-nonsense, understandably withdrawn, and...
Camino Island by John Grisham is an easy to read book. The characters are interesting and the story has a lot of promise. After the rather long beginning, the story draws the reader in and it is a light, fun read. That earns the story 3 stars, but I expect more from Grisham. Spoiler alert....
The Thing about Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin is the poignant story of Suzy Swanson and her attempts to comprehend a world that doesn’t always seem to make sense. Suzy has always been a bit of a nerd and maybe a bit awkward, but she’s always been able to rely on her best friend, Franny Jackson. ...
Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk’s debut novel, takes place in rural Pennsylvania in late 1943. The story is told by Annabelle as she looks back in time to the year she turned 12 and “learned to lie”. This ominous start lets the reader know that there is going to be big trouble developing, and so it...
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo is a bighearted tale told by 10-year-old Raymie Clarke whose world has just been turned upside down by her father who left her and her mother in the middle of the night for another woman. Like many kids in similar situations, Raymie thinks it is up to her to win...