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Terri Blackstock's suspenseful novel, Intervention, is a peek into the life of Barbara Covington's attempts to bring her daughter back from a drug addiction. She staged an intervention with the first Christian based company that popped up on her Internet search, and because she was desperate, she didn't put any research into them. Big mistake. But people at the end of their ropes do things like that. Her daughter Emily has been spiralling out of control with drug abuse and the wrong friends and lifestyle since her dad died of cancer. She blames so much on her mother- for trying to put on a smile and try to keep life going as smoothly as possible for her and her brother Lance. Emily doesn't realize that her mother was doing it for them- not because she didn't care. Barbara hired Trish to take Emily away to the drug rehabilitation center, and soon Emily was flown to another city enroute to the center. But she and Trish never arrived. Trish's body was found in the airport parking, and there was no sign of Emily. Blame was instantly put on Emily, that she panicked and attacked Trish, but Barbara knew her daughter, and knew it wasn't possible, even under the drugs, for her to kill someone else. Clues are discovered here and there, and Barbara and Lance go to find Emily. What happened? The detectives are working the case, and Kent Harlan is working hard with his team to find the addict that he believes killed Trish. But things aren't adding up. I found the book suspenseful, and a book I didn't want to put down. At the end of the novel, the author, Terri Blackstock had a special and surprising note about the bondage of addiction, and admitted that her own daughter has gone through the horrible ordeal, and the author's own painful journey as a mother who had put her own daughter, even though she was raised in her Christian home, through intervention for drug abuse is shocking and very touching. Her final words after her jubilant praise that her daughter was free of her addiction and now a bond-servant of the Lord are "When the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36) | | |
| I just finished The Name of the Wind, The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day One, (author Patrick Rothfuss). This is is first novel- but it is amazing. It is a fantasy that was such a pleasure to read- Rothfuss' writing style was great. The only problem is that his sequal (The Wise Man's Fear) has not come out yet- and it is unclear when it will be released. Hopefully soon! 
It starts out mysteriously, and keeps building on mysteries within the life of Kvothe (pronounced quoth). He appears to be just a young barkeeper- the village knows him as Kote. But, of course, there's way more to him than just being a barkeeper. The town has no idea who he is, but they have all heard of the legends of him. His story starts out sweetly, but his childhood is extinguished early and abruptly- and that is part of the story. At 722 pages, it is not a book to read overnight. But it was great to delve into and enjoy what was happening as Kvothe was allowing a man named the Chronicler to write down his life's story as he recited it with just himself, Bast and the scriv there. I was curious about the book because of the great reviews it had received from other fantasy authors like Tad Williams, Orson Scott Card, Anne McCaffrey, and Ursala Le Guin. The media has compared it to a book that will stand alongside The Lord of the Ring by Tolkien. Of course, a lot of fantasy books have been compared to that, and with good reason. But I do think this one will stand well in its own light once people have become familiar with it. If you enjoy a good fantasy- I highly recommend it. | | |
| Somebody Else's Daughter, by Elizabeth Brundage, is about the relationships and the intricacies of two vastly different fathers. The first, Nate Gallagher is the biological father of Willa. He and Cat were hooked on drugs when Cat gave birth to Willa. And Cat was dying of AIDS. The decided that the best thing to do was give Willa up for adoption, and they insisted that they drive Willa up to meet the new parents. Cat died in their parking lot after signing the adoption papers in the driveway. She had wanted her baby to have a good life and to be well provided for- and the new mother and father looked perfect. His daughter would have everything, including horses (and Cat had loved horses). Nate always wondered how his Willa's family life would be, and would he be able to see himself or Cat in the girl. Seventeen years later he compulsively sends an application and resume off for a writing teacher position at the prestigious Pioneer School, in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachussetts. He ends up with the position, knowing he will be able to see his daughter, and even be her teacher. Nobody would need to find out he was her biological father, he just wanted to see how she had turned out. The other father in question, is Willa's adoptive father, Joe Golding. He and his wife lived a very sophisticated life in a beautiful house. He provided everything she could have wanted. Unknown to the community was where his money had come from. Joe and his brother had teamed up early in life and become very successful in the porn industry. Making scuzzy movies and marketing sex toys was extremely lucrative. And Willa had no idea. During the course of the book, naturally, she would find out. Things like that somehow eventually come out into the light. But the Head Master, Jack Heath, of the school is the one to watch out for- his secrets are much nastier than porn. He and his wife Maggie appear to be the perfect couple to be in charge of Pioneer School. Looks can be deceiving. Willa comes to find out a little about him on a car ride over to the Sunrise Shelter where she is helping out for the school year. The other characters in the book are well written as well, and add so much depth to the book. Of course Willa. And her friend Ada, the school Head's spoiled teenaged daughter, and Teddy, and Claire (Teddy's sculptor mom). The subjects tackled by the author are not frivolous- and she does an excellent job at exploring the dimensions of so many issues- including dyslexia (Nate had it and still became a writing instructor, and he recognized it in Teddy. Prostitution, dog fights, drugs, affairs, love, lust, fidelity, the porn industry, the victims of domestic violence, mistakes and cleaning up one's life, not to mention parenting and youth. The writing was beautifully done, the characters were realistic, and the plot kept all of it tied together well. It was a great psychologically mesmerizing book, and a very compelling page turner. | | |
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Lisa Scottoline's Mistaken Identity has an interesting angle on a courtroom fiction. Bennie Rosata is the head of a law firm in Philadelphia, specializing in criminal law. Her newest case throws her for a loop though when she meets her prospective client, Alice Connolly, in the maximum security prison. Rosata is struck by the similarity of their looks as she meets her client, and Connolly's first words to her are "Surprised? Pleased to meet you. I'm you twin. Your indentical twin." Connolly had Rosata's broad cheekbones, full lips and was as tall as her sister, nearly six feet- except thinner, and her eyes looked like Rosato's exactly. Connolly liked her makeup, and Rosato didn't wear much, if any. Connolly's hair was a brassy red from a bottle cut in layers, whereas Rosato's was a dark blonde, but the similarities were uncanny. Especially considering the fact that Rosato had grown up as an only child living with her mom. Now almost forty, she had never even imagined she could have a sister, not to mention a twin. Connally's father had visited her and introduced himself to her and told her about her sister. He had said to call Rosata because she was "the only lawyer who could win my case." Connolly's case is a tricky one. She is accused of viciously murdering her boyfriend, a police detective. Conspiracy within the police department and the justice system are hinted at. Rosato and her office start researching and investigating fast since the trial is next week, and they find out some disturbing information on the client and on the police system too. There is boxing and a dying mother and plenty of interesting quirks about whether Connolly is actually Rosata's twin or not to keep the story interesting, as well as plenty of excitement and danger. And the judge won't give them any extra time. People magazine has dubbed Lisa Scottoline as "The Female John Grisham", but besides the fact that they both are legal thrillers, I didn't totally agree. Scottoline does have a different voice in her writing, and it was not Grisham's. But I did enjoy the book, and looked forward to the DNA results to verify the twin claim or not... as well as whether Rosata would win the case, of course. And all the interesting little facts that would help or hinder the case as they were discovered. Twins raised separately are an interesting curiosity- the heredity vs. genetics arguments. In her acknowledgments, the writer admits that "It wasn't until I was in my thirties that I found out about my sister. Technically she's a half-sister, but when we first met she struck me instantly as a twin--close in age and very much alike in looks, temperament, and manner. I am only now starting to know her and come to know her and come to admire the journey she took to make her way to me. She is obviously not the twin depicted in Mistaken Identity --that much must be crystal clear-- but it should come as no surprise that authors often cannibalize their own lives for the truth that makes fiction." | | |
| Marked, A House of Night novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast caught my attention as a mother/daughter writing duo. I thought it would be interesting to see how it went (one of my daughters has wanted to do a book together, so someday maybe we will). Anyway, this book is about a sixteen year old girl named Zoey who gets marked as a fledgling vampyre. Her parents are simply humiliated to have a daughter chosen to be a vampyre because of their faith- which Cast refers to as "People of Faith". Her grandma, a Cherokee lady, is much more accepting, and helps get Zoey to the House of Night. It is at the House of Night where all of the teenage kids who are marked to become vampyres go to receive their schooling. Some of the aspects of the book were fun and teen vampyre type stuff. Other aspects were a bit raunchy. The elements which were negative to me were the sexual crap with the wrong attitude- skanky. One of the vamps, Aphrodite, was drop dead gorgeous and a definite slut. I was surprised to see that in the story considering that it was a mom/daughter writing team, but- oh well. There was a scattering a bad language through the pages. Quite a few irresponsible actions by various characters in the book. Another disturbing element was the very negative attitude toward Christianity- or at least the "People of Faith" movement- which was based on a segment of Christians who look down on other people who aren't exactly like they are. Then there was the teen cliques and teen romance and stuff. The Negative spiritual aspects included ancestor worship, calling of the Goddess and other powers as well as carelessly calling ungodly forces. Of course, there was a bit of blood lust- but any vampire story is giong to have that forbidden undertone. Now for the positive elements in the book. I loved reading the familiar landmarks from Oklahoma and the area- that was really fun to see the local places described and used in the settings. Another positive aspect were the friendships made at the House of Night, and loyalty to friends. Of course, Marked is a coming of age type book with plenty of trials due to the main character, Zoey Redbird, going through plenty of changes as she is turning into a vampyre a lot faster than normal. Adult figures played a positive role in the characers of Neferet and her grandmother. Her parents were unsupportive and unloving- explained as the fact that her mother had remarried three years ago and her stepfather was a domineering People of the Faith guy. The story line was interesting and kept a fast pace. Anyway, it was an interesting story, and I'll probably pick up the next book- Betrayed- out of curiosity on what will happen next. | | |
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