Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks 216 pages

Ravi has just moved to the US from India.  In India, he was a bit of a star at his school.  He was an exceptional student and gifted athlete.  He has high expectations for how brightly he will shine in his new school.  However, his teacher can't understand him.  And his classmates laugh at him.  He is still confident that all he really needs is a friend.  He's sure that the coolest kid in class, also Indian, but born in America, will see his worth and everything will be fine.  Unfortunately, there's more to the cool kid than first meets the eye.

Joe has gone to the same school since Kindergarten.  For most of that, he's been pretty miserable.  He has been picked on and struggled with a learning/hearing difference.  Fifth grade is looking even less promising than any other now that his mother has taken a job as lunch monitor.  As if this wasn't all bad enough, his only two friends moved away.  The coolest kid in class finds delight in tormenting Joe.

This story spans just the first week of school for these two boys.  If they recognize they have a common enemy and learn to appreciate one another, it might work out.

This was such an amazing story.  I loved the two main characters and really enjoyed listening to it on audiobook.  Chapters alternated between the two boys' perspectives and handled both of them wonderfully.  I highly recommend this for anyone who likes real life stories.

Restart by Gordon Korman 243 pages

How much of who we are is by design and how much is by influence?  We may never really know.  This book was an interesting look at that very subject.  A boy who has literally terrorized a school, so much so that one of his classmates had to move to a boarding school to escape the torment, takes a serious tumble and ends up with amnesia.  He doesn't know his parents or his friends.  He also doesn't know himself.  He doesn't remember the terrible things he's done, he doesn't understand why people at school give him lots of space when they see him coming.  Slowly he learns about some of the horrible things he's done and can't square that Chase with the Chase he has become.  Worse, there are people who would rather he returned to being the brutish thug he'd been.  A new circle of friends (former victims) and his family hope he can hold on to who he is at his core, this new Chase who hates the things he did in his old life.  As his memories start to return and his friends try to rope him into misdeeds, it becomes difficult to know how to steer himself through his new existence.  This was such a fascinating story.  It brings the nature vs. nurture question to the forefront and also makes one wonder what makes a bully.  I recommend this for all ages and think it would be a great book for a classroom discussion.

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor 335 pages

St. Mary's is full of historians.  Sounds drab to some, I'm sure.  However, these historians aren't your stuffed shirt, elbow patch stereotypes.  In fact, they are a highly trained, physically powerful crew who put themselves in danger with every research project they are assigned.  Why?  Because they use time travel to study history.  Max is new to the facility, but she's well suited to it.  Right up until sabotage and double crossing can make the whole thing fall apart.  This book was so well written.  The dialogue was fast and smart, and the story itself was highly engaging.  I recommend this to folks who love science fiction with humor.  History buffs might like it, too...but don't get hung up on the accuracy!  It's great if you just want to jump on and enjoy the ride.

The Alphabet Sisters by Monica McInerney, 437 pages

The "Alphabet Sisters" is the story of three estranged sisters and their grandmother who finagles them back in the same room again by demanding they attend her 80th birthday party.

Set in Australia, it is the story of the sisters relationship with each other and the men in their lives.  It is also the story of the sisters being on their own for the three years they didn't speak and how that changed them.

This book was okay but I would have been happier if it ended 100 pages earlier than it did.  

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett 389 pages

If you've ever read any Pratchett, I don't need to tell you that you'll enjoy this book.  With his usual wit and vivid writing, he tells the story of Polly.  Polly is a young woman who lives in a war torn country.  Not many people are left to join the army, Polly's brother joined up some time ago and has never returned.  Many of the men who do return, don't come back whole.  It's a real mess and Polly is very worried about her brother.  There's nothing for it but to pretend to be a man and join the army herself.  Remarkably, there's a whole set of new recruits lining up the day she goes to sign up.  It becomes less surprising how there were so many young "men" still around to join pretty soon, though.  If you liked Mulan, you'll love this!  Pratchett does an excellent job of writing female characters with depth and range, too.  It's so refreshing!  

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 194 pages

This Agatha Christie title is quite unusual.  For one thing, there is no detective.  It was a one-off.  A group of people are invited to an island for a weekend under different pretexts.  They don't know one another, or their hosts, for that matter.  Upon arrival, they find that their hosts are mysteriously absent, with a message mentioning a delay.  After dinner, a record is placed upon a gramophone, the voice booming out a list of charges against everyone in attendance.  Every one of them in the group is accused of murder in one form or another.  Then a dangerous game begins as one after another is mysteriously killed.  At first, it is suspected to be an accident or suicide, but soon enough, they realize they are sharing the island with a ruthless killer, bent on meting out a sort of revenge or justice against them all.  This book ends significantly differently from the movie and in many ways is more satisfying for it.  It is amazing how many other movies and books have used this set up.  I highly recommend it.  I listened to it on audio read by Hugh Fraser, who always does such a great job with Christie titles.

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie 220 pages

I listened to this classic read by the ever exceptional David Suchet.  Poirot is staying on an island for holiday.  Of course a range of characters abound, dropping hints and suggestions all along.  In this story, the lovely victim is envied by many, reviled by more and there is no shortage to suspects.  Rest assured, the incomparable Hercule Poirot will be able to sort it out, using only his little grey cells.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman 162 pages

In preparation for a cosplay of Other Mother, I listened to Coraline read by Neil Gaiman.  What a treat!  Coraline is an average girl, she enjoys wandering around outside and watching nature, she likes exploring inside, too.  In her new home, she finds a door that covers a brick wall, but is always locked.  Not one to leave a mystery unchecked...and hearing mysterious noises from beyond the door, she steals the key and opens the door.  The brick wall is gone, replaced by a hallway, incredibly old and pulsing with magic.  This hall leads to her "other" home, with her other mother, and other father and other neighbors and other resident animals.  Nothing is quite the same, some is quite distressing and all Coraline wants is to return to her real mother and father.  Other Mother won't hear of such nonsense and punishes Coraline.  In her temporary prison, she discovers ghosts of other children.  Coraline is determined to not only return home, but to rescue the ghost children and her parents all at once.  I highly recommend this story. It's just creepy enough and I love listening to Neil Gaiman read his own stuff.  By the way, the cosplay turned out great!

The Fix by David Baldacci, 432 pages

"The Fix" is book #3 in Baldacci's Amos Decker series.  Amos and his FBI crew are back.  This time, instead of working on a cold case, they work to solve a murder that happened right in front of Amos.  The team ends up in an uneasy alliance with an agent from the Defense Intelligence Agency as they all work together to solve the crime, or do they?

I enjoyed listening to this book.  It was a thriller that kept me entertained throughout.

Camino Island by John Grisham, 290 pages

Camino Island is off the Florida coast and home to a charismatic book store owner who may also deal in stolen rare books a bit on the side.

This is a slight departure for John Grisham in that this is not a legal thriller, though it is still a thriller. 

This is a great summer read.  It's pretty light, has a story that clips along and there is an ending the wraps up the story nicely.  Not Grisham's most thrilling, but it is fun.