Kara's bookshelf: all en-US Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:25:57 -0700 60 Kara's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Whistling In the Dark 6568222 Funny, wise and uplifting, Whistling in the Dark is the story of two tough and endearing little girls...and of a time not so long ago, when life was not as innocent as it appeared.It was the summer on Vliet Street when we all started locking our doors... Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said-actions speak louder than words. Now, during the summer of 1959, the girls' mother is hospitalized, their stepfather has abandoned them for a six pack, and their big sister, Nell, is too busy making out with her boyfriend to notice that Sally and Troo are on the Loose. And so is a murderer and molester. Highly imaginative Sally is pretty sure of two things. Who the killer is. And that she's next on his list. Now she has no choice but to protect herself and Troo as best she can, relying on her own courage and the kindness of her neighbors.]]> 324 Lesley Kagen 1440623627 Kara 0 currently-reading 4.18 2001 Whistling In the Dark
author: Lesley Kagen
name: Kara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/07/03
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Land of a Hundred Wonders 34845645
From New York Times bestselling author Lesley Kagen comes another poignant, funny, and unforgettable novel.

Brain damaged after a tragic car accident that took both her parents, Gibby McGraw is now NQR (Not Quite Right), a real challenge for a fledgling newspaper reporter. Especially when she stumbles upon the dead body of the next governor of Kentucky, Buster Malloy.

Armed with her trusty spiral notebook and accompanied by her dog, Keeper, Gibby figures that solving the murder of Buster Malloy might be her best chance to prove to her dearly departed mother, cantankerous grandfather, and everyone else in small town Shorewood that she can become Quite Right again. But she gets more than she bargained for when she uncovers a world of corruption, racism, and family secrets. Luckily, she's also about to discover that some things are far more important than all the brains in the world, that miracles occur in the most unexpected moments, and in the end . . . love really does conquer all.]]> 266 Lesley Kagen Kara 0 4.08 2008 Land of a Hundred Wonders
author: Lesley Kagen
name: Kara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2025/07/03
date added: 2025/07/03
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]]> The River Is Waiting 219323040
Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother's enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?]]> 480 Wally Lamb Kara 0 4.40 2025 The River Is Waiting
author: Wally Lamb
name: Kara
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/06/14
date added: 2025/06/14
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]]> Left Neglected 59019925 Still Alice is soon to be a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart—comes this New York Times bestselling novel of resilience in the face of a devastating diagnosis. A vibrant mother in her thirties learns what matters most in life when a car crash leaves her with a traumatic brain disorder called "left neglect."

Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus.

Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son's teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it's a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice.]]> 341 Lisa Genova Kara 0 currently-reading 4.15 2011 Left Neglected
author: Lisa Genova
name: Kara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/08
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Twin Sister (Raven Ledger Duet, #2)]]> 216173935 A high school shooting. An unforgiving community. Someone has to pay.

Raven Ledger is running from people who blame her for her brother’s crime. The city is grappling with the murders of twenty-one people at Allegheny High School. The news of the shooting is on every television station. The nation is talking about what happened . . . They’re also talking about the shooter’s twin sister who has disappeared.

Raven is being hunted by a gang that lost members in the massacre. Her nemesis, Blanco, the girl Raven saved at school that day, leads the chase. Blanco and the other gang members are out for blood and won’t give up until they get revenge.

Raven’s only priority is to find a safe place to live and move on with her life. She agrees to go to a secret shelter for women, but the women who live there are no strangers to violence. One woman in particular won’t rest until Raven pays the price of admittance.

Raven flees the shelter and finds herself alone again. Desperate, she takes a chance and calls an old acquaintance who sends her to see someone in South Philadelphia. With no friends and too many enemies, Raven bravely steps into the close-knit neighborhood that doesn’t welcome outsiders.

But no matter where she goes, cruel people cross Raven’s path, wanting her to be punished. Raven’s torment worsens until she is embraced by a man who is so powerful and deadly, that no one dares to cross him . . . except for one person.

**WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.]]> 435 Paige Dearth Kara 3 4.58 The Twin Sister (Raven Ledger Duet, #2)
author: Paige Dearth
name: Kara
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/06
date added: 2025/06/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Shooter's Sister (Raven Ledger Duet, #1)]]> 216158006 Everyone knows her brother's crime. Nobody knows her story.

For most of her life, Raven Ledger believed that no matter what happened, she and her twin brother Matthew would always have each other.

Born just two minutes apart, the twins shared the same difficult childhood—poverty, neglect, and years of instability. When they're separated and placed into different homes, Raven fights to hold on to the bond she once shared with her brother. But as they grow older, Matthew becomes increasingly distant, carrying pain no one seems to understand.

Then, during their senior year of high school, Matthew makes a choice that shatters countless lives.

Overnight, Raven is no longer seen as herself. She becomes known only as the shooter's sister.

A powerful story of family, loss, resilience, and identity, this novel follows one young woman as she struggles to reclaim her life after tragedy and answer a heartbreaking question: How well do we ever truly know the people we love?

**WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.]]> 437 Paige Dearth Kara 1 4.40 The Shooter's Sister (Raven Ledger Duet, #1)
author: Paige Dearth
name: Kara
average rating: 4.40
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2025/06/04
date added: 2025/06/04
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]]> The Crash 216188969 The nightmare she’s running from is nothing compared to where she’s headed.

Tegan is eight months pregnant, alone, and desperately wants to put her crumbling life in the rearview mirror. So she hits the road, planning to stay with her brother until she can figure out her next move. But she doesn’t realize she’s heading straight into a blizzard.

She never arrives at her destination.

Stranded in rural Maine with a dead car and broken ankle, Tegan worries she’s made a terrible mistake. Then a miracle she is rescued by a couple who offers her a room in their warm cabin until the snow clears.

But something isn’t right. Tegan believed she was waiting out the storm, but as time ticks by, she comes to realize she is in grave danger. This safe haven isn’t what she thought it was, and staying here may have been her most deadly mistake yet.

And now she must do whatever it takes to save herself—and her unborn child.

A gut-wrenching story of motherhood, survival, and twisted expectations, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden delivers a snowbound thriller that will chill you to the bone.]]> 388 Freida McFadden Kara 0 4.00 2025 The Crash
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at: 2025/05/28
date added: 2025/05/28
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]]> The Boyfriend 209950981 She's looking for the perfect man. He's looking for the perfect victim.

Sydney Shaw, like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She’s seen it all: men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers. But finally, she hits the jackpot.

Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet.

Then the brutal murder of a young woman―the latest in a string of deaths across the coast―confounds police. The primary suspect? A mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them.

Sydney should feel safe. After all, she is dating the guy of her dreams. But she can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn’t get to the truth, she’ll be the killer’s next victim...

A dark story about obsession and the things we’ll do for love, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden proves that crimes of passion are often the bloodiest…]]> 370 Freida McFadden Kara 4 4.22 2024 The Boyfriend
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2025/05/26
date added: 2025/05/26
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]]> Black and Blue 59039109
Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. And in this place she uses a name that isn't hers, and cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. And despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time...]]> 288 Anna Quindlen Kara 0 currently-reading 4.19 1998 Black and Blue
author: Anna Quindlen
name: Kara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/25
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]]> The Surrogate 59350074
But after years of failed infertility treatments and adoptions that have fallen through, it seems like motherhood is not in her future. That is, until her personal assistant Monica makes a generous offer that will make all of Abby's dreams come true.

Or all of her nightmares.

Because it turns out Monica isn't who she says she is. The woman now carrying Abby's child has dark, twisted secrets.

And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants.]]> 342 Freida McFadden Kara 3 4.12 2018 The Surrogate
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/25
date added: 2025/05/25
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]]> The Tenant 222564068 There’s no place like home…

Blake Porter is riding high, until he's not. Fired abruptly from his job as a VP of marketing and unable to make the mortgage payments on the new brownstone that he shares with his fiancee, he's desperate to make ends meet.

Enter Whitney. Beautiful, charming, down-to-earth, and looking for a room to rent. She's exactly what Blake's looking for. Or is she?

Because something isn't quite right. The neighbors start treating Blake differently. The smell of decay permeates his home, no matter how hard he scrubs. Strange noises jar him awake in the middle of the night. And soon Blake fears someone knows his darkest secrets...

Danger lives right at home, and by the time Blake realizes it, it'll be far too late. The trap is already set.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…]]> 372 Freida McFadden Kara 2 4.06 2025 The Tenant
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/05/24
date added: 2025/05/24
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]]> <![CDATA[The Angels Trilogy (Angels, #1-3)]]> 13392872 422 Lurlene McDaniel Kara 0 currently-reading 4.55 2002 The Angels Trilogy (Angels, #1-3)
author: Lurlene McDaniel
name: Kara
average rating: 4.55
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/11
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> The Perfect Son 52616342 Mrs. Cass, we were hoping your son could answer a few questions about the girl who disappeared last night...

Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening when two detectives show up at her front door.

A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive.

Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth--Liam may have done the unthinkable.

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?]]> 373 Freida McFadden Kara 4 3.99 2019 The Perfect Son
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves:
review:

]]> Comfort Zones: Ugly Me Book 4 221832414 She’s turned over a new leaf, but will she be able to grow?



Things have changed for Randi Lewis—for the better. New home, new friends, new social status.



A whole new life.



But even after turning over a new leaf, Randi finds that life is still full of challenges and stress that threaten to bring back her old self—the Ugly Me that almost destroyed her.



Because even though things are better now, she finds that sometimes it’s easier to fall back into an old comfort zone than it is to do what is necessary to grow—even if that comfort zone is a bad one.



But what Randi doesn’t know is that she’s about to face the most difficult challenge of her new life—one that threatens not only her, but the peace and safety of her entire school.

Will Randi be able to step outside of her comfort zone to confront these new trials, or will she revert back to the ways of her old self-destructive Ugly Me?]]> 115 J.E. Stamper Kara 0 4.58 Comfort Zones: Ugly Me Book 4
author: J.E. Stamper
name: Kara
average rating: 4.58
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
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]]> New Leaf: Ugly Me Book 3 203413990 She finally has a glimmer of hope, but will it be enough to save her?

After a long, traumatic ordeal, Randi Lewis has at last found peace and safety in the home of her once-hated teacher, Ms. Odum. But as she learns to adjust to her new life, old feelings and habits threaten to creep in and destroy everything. Because no matter how good things are now, some things never change.

And Randi knows that Ugly Me—and her old life—are just a heartbeat away.

On top of it all, Randi finds herself being forced uncomfortably close to an old enemy, one irrevocably connected to her painful past.

As challenges arise and pressures mount, Randi begins to worry that having a taste of true happiness and losing it may very well be worse than never having it at all.

Can Randi keep her Ugly Me locked away and learn to accept her new life, or will her terrible past come back to haunt her?

Find out today in the touching third book in the Ugly Me series!]]> 112 J.E. Stamper Kara 0 4.59 New Leaf: Ugly Me Book 3
author: J.E. Stamper
name: Kara
average rating: 4.59
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Perennial Girl: Ugly Me Book 2]]> 53710555 She's scared. She's hungry. She's exhausted.

How much longer can she hold on?

Randi Lewis is a month into seventh grade, and things definitely aren't going as planned. After a terrible sixth-grade year, she was hoping to really turn her life around.

But the same old problems are still haunting

Bullying, middle school girl drama, teachers who don't want her around, an incarcerated father, an abusive mother, acute poverty, a home with no food...

Just to name a few...

But after her life is threatened during a late-night home invasion, Randi is left with a

Finally open up and seek help or add one more thing to a long list of painful secrets.

As she struggles with the choice, she knows she can't take much more before she finally breaks...

Written by a public school educator, this book is a touching, entertaining, "I read it in one sitting"-worthy look at the issues of childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

Read the book series that readers tout as a "must read for all students, parents, and teachers."

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll emerge with a new perspective and a fresh empathy.

Get it today.

You'll be glad you did.]]> 83 J.E. Stamper Kara 2 4.48 Perennial Girl: Ugly Me Book 2
author: J.E. Stamper
name: Kara
average rating: 4.48
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/27
date added: 2025/03/27
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]]> Ugly Me 45329682 “A MUST read for ALL educators!” -Public School Teacher“This book has ignited a new passion for reading for our students and teachers!” -Instructional Coach"I can't ♥♥♥♥♥ this enough!!!" -Middle School Counselor"Excellent storytelling, compelling characters. These books will change how you look at your students..." -Public School Educator"If you want a perspective of trauma from the lens of the child, this is it." -Community Services Provider"This book is required reading for all of our teachers." -Superintendent of Schools"I usually skip my district's book studies, but not this one. I couldn't put it down." -Long-Time Teacher"I recommend this book everywhere I go!" -Becky Haas, World-Renowned Trauma-Informed Care Trainer Walk a mile in the shoes of an at-risk child with this book written by a middle school administrator serving a high-needs population. A stunningly written fictional tale based on the real-life experiences of real students, Ugly Me is an entertaining, touching, raw look at life through the eyes of one of our nation’s many suffering children. It’s a must-read for all middle and high school students, educators, parents, and social workers.

Get it today.]]> 85 J.E. Stamper Kara 0 4.15 Ugly Me
author: J.E. Stamper
name: Kara
average rating: 4.15
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/26
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]]> Allegedly 29640815 Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?]]> 400 Tiffany D. Jackson 0062422669 Kara 3 4.08 2017 Allegedly
author: Tiffany D. Jackson
name: Kara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/24
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Love, Mom 220838350 A best-selling author. A mother. A murderer…

Mackenzie Casper is a brilliant student. But she is best known for her mother, a best-selling author whose dark, twisted thrillers have a dedicated worldwide fanbase.

When her mother dies in an accident, fans across the world are left grieving, and the investigators are asking: Was that really an accident?

The day of the memorial service, Mackenzie gets the first mysterious envelope, signed,
From #1 fan. XOXO

Inside are the pages of her mother’s diary that start with the lines:
Want to know a secret?
Love, Mom.

What Mackenzie reads leaves her in shock.
But then comes the second letter.
And the third...

Mackenzie starts her own investigation and stumbles upon secrets that her family has lived with for years.
Quickly, she realizes that her mother's path to stardom was etched with sinister lies that might have caught up with her.

Sometimes fame is worth a murder. Or worse.
Soon, Mackenzie will come to find out that there are worse things than murder…]]> 372 Iliana Xander Kara 0 currently-reading 4.25 2024 Love, Mom
author: Iliana Xander
name: Kara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Beautiful Ugly 210993995 A gripping and deliciously dark thriller about marriage. . .
. . . and revenge.

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible — a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

Wives think their husbands will change but they don’t.
Husbands think their wives won’t change but they do.]]> 320 Alice Feeney 1250337798 Kara 3 3.74 2025 Beautiful Ugly
author: Alice Feeney
name: Kara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
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]]> Appetite for Innocence 59338335 Be careful what you post online. Your next check-in might lead him right to you...

A serial rapist is kidnapping teenage girls. But he’s not interested in just any teenage girls—only virgins. He hunts them by following their status updates and check-ins on social media. Once he’s captured them, they’re locked away in his sound-proof basement until they’re groomed and ready. He throws them away like pieces of trash after he’s stolen their innocence. Nobody escapes alive.

Until Ella.

Ella risks it all to escape, setting herself and the other girls free. But only Sarah—the girl whose been captive the longest—gets out with her. The girls are hospitalized and surrounded by FBI agents who will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Ella and Sarah are the key to their investigation, but Sarah’s hiding something and it isn’t long before Ella discovers her nightmare is far from over.

Fans of The Butterfly Garden and The Girl Before will devour Appetite for Innocence.

Warning: Contains sexual violence which may be a trigger for some readers.]]> 359 Lucinda Berry Kara 4 4.16 2017 Appetite for Innocence
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Kara
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/24
date added: 2025/02/24
shelves:
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]]> If He Had Been with Me 58960219 A New York Times Bestseller

If he had been with me everything would have been different...

I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know-the cause of the argument-is crucial.

So let me tell you...]]> 417 Laura Nowlin Kara 2 3.89 2013 If He Had Been with Me
author: Laura Nowlin
name: Kara
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves:
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]]> My Side 52445544 Crisp white walls: Check.
Breathtaking view of downtown Boston: Check.
Minutes from Northeastern School of Law: Check.


But home is not always where the heart is. Sometimes it’s where you find Mr. Random shacked up and sprawled out on what was supposed to be your new bed.
Between the bear spray and the handcuffs, she discovers a terrible mistake has been made.
Lochlan hasn't broken into her new home to sleep with a seedy barmaid...he owns half.


With emotions running on high, Erin is determined to tough it out until a solution can be found.
The tight quarters seem smaller with his accumulated clutter and bizarre sleeping schedule. It also doesn't help that he's the new lead singer for Thin Ice, an indie band on its rise to fame.
What happens when a quiet bookworm gets stuck with a relentless rocker?
What happens when the things you see are not the things you get?]]> 398 Tara Brown Kara 0 currently-reading 3.73 2013 My Side
author: Tara Brown
name: Kara
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> The Stillwater Girls 40258215
Αγνοώντας τον πολιτισμό και σε καθεστώς διαρκούς εκφοβισμού για τα δεινά που φέρει μαζί του, η δεκαεννιάχρονη Ρεν και οι δύο αδερφές της, η Σέιτζ και η Ίβι, μεγάλωσαν σε απομόνωση, εντελώς εκτός πολιτισμού σε μια πρωτόγονη καλύβα στα βόρεια της Νέας Υόρκης. Όταν η μικρότερη αρρωσταίνει βαριά, η μητέρα τους φεύγει μαζί με το παιδί για να ζητήσει βοήθεια από μια κοντινή πόλη. Και δεν επιστρέφουν ποτέ.
Καθώς περνούν οι μήνες η ελπίδα εξαφανίζεται. Οι προμήθειες μειώνονται. Τα ζώα πεθαίνουν. Ένας άγριος χειμώνας είναι προ των πυλών. Και τότε, εμφανίζεται ένας ξένος. Λέει πως ψάχνει τη μητέρα των κοριτσιών και δεν δείχνει διατεθειμένος να φύγει αν δεν τις πάρει μαζί του.
Για να του ξεφύγουν, η Ρεν και η αδερφή της θα πρέπει να σπάσουν τον κανόνα με τον οποίο μεγάλωσαν: δεν βγαίνουμε ποτέ έξω από το δάσος.
Καθώς διασχίζουν, σε καθεστώς τρόμου, το πυκνό δάσος βρίσκουν μπροστά τους ένα σπίτι στην άλλη πλευρά των πεύκων, Εδώ, η Ρεν και η Σέιτζ θα αντιμετωπίσουν κάτι πιο ανατριχιαστικό από το άγνωστο. Θα ανακαλύψουν τι τους έχουν κρύψει όλα αυτά τα χρόνια, από τι τρέχουν να γλιτώσουν και ποια είναι όλα αυτά τα μυστικά που τις έχουν αφήσει στο σκοτάδι σε όλη τους τη ζωή,]]> 273 Minka Kent 1542090105 Kara 0 currently-reading 4.13 2019 The Stillwater Girls
author: Minka Kent
name: Kara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> Fifteen Minutes 16130311 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a dramatic story about fame, true love, and the cost of having it all.

Zack Dylan made a promise to God and his college sweetheart as he left his family's horse farm in Kentucky to compete on the popular reality television show Fifteen Minutes: If he makes it, the fame won't change him.

Overnight, Zack is the nation’s most popular contestant, a country singer with the looks and voice of a young Elvis. As his star rises, Zack is asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs, and also something more. Something Zack could never have imagined. Just as America is falling in love with Zack, just as he’s on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster.

At the same time, Reese Weatherly, a therapeutic horse instructor, is no longer sure about her relationship with Zack, or the wedding they had dreamed about. While Zack advances from one round of the competition to the next, an offer comes to Reese—one that will take her to a home halfway around the world.

Then Chandra Olson—reigning diva pop star and one of the Fifteen Minutes judges—intervenes. Chandra has suffered so much public pain and private agony since her days as a Fifteen Minutes contestant. Now she wants just one thing: meaning.

Can Chandra's private losses help Zack find his way, or will his fifteen minutes of fame cause him to lose the life he once loved? Fifteen Minutes is a story of character, compromise, and the cost of having it all. A story that raises the question: Who are the real winners?]]> 353 Karen Kingsbury 1451647050 Kara 4 3.97 2013 Fifteen Minutes
author: Karen Kingsbury
name: Kara
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/16
date added: 2024/12/16
shelves:
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]]> Only One Life 42491882 A reunion between an estranged mother and daughter opens a world of secrets in a poignant novel by the bestselling author of Magnolia Nights.

Julia Martin grew up wealthy, but it wasn’t until she met her husband, Jack, that she knew true happiness. He made her feel worthy and loved. Their marriage was also an escape from her sister’s bullying, her father’s scrutiny, and her chilly and enigmatic mother. But when tragedy strikes on the night she gives birth, Julia’s happiness is shattered. She has no choice but to return home to her family’s South Carolina mansion, where the grief and guilt buried in her mother’s past await her.

As a young woman trapped in a bitter marriage, Julia’s mother, Iris, once needed her own means of escape. In Lily, she found a best friend. In the flower shop they opened, she discovered independence. Then came a transgression—unforgivable, unforgettable, and unresolved—that changed Iris’s life forever.

Now, in Iris’s most desperate hour, her only hope is to regain the trust of the daughter she loves—and to share the secrets of the heart that could rebuild a family’s broken bonds.]]> 289 Ashley Farley 1542093856 Kara 2 4.24 2019 Only One Life
author: Ashley Farley
name: Kara
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/15
date added: 2024/12/15
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]]> Saving Noah 58635745 259 Lucinda Berry Kara 3 4.06 2017 Saving Noah
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Kara
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/11
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2)]]> 62848145 As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can't risk losing this job – not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .

It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I'm doing laundry. And one day I can't help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything...

That's when I make a promise. After all, I've done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It's simply a question of how far I'm willing to go...]]> 311 Freida McFadden 1837901317 Kara 0 4.16 2023 The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid, #2)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/07
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]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid is Watching (The Housemaid, #3)]]> 199228303 “You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…

The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here?

I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?]]> 402 Freida McFadden 183525229X Kara 2 4.07 2024 The Housemaid is Watching (The Housemaid, #3)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
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]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)]]> 60556912
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…]]> 338 Freida McFadden 1803144378 Kara 0 4.27 2022 The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/07
date added: 2024/12/07
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]]> <![CDATA[The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5)]]> 220921867 The Housemaid’s Wedding is a winter-themed short story meant to fill in the long gap between Book 2 of the Housemaid series (The Housemaid’s Secret) and Book 3 (The Housemaid is Watching). It can be read either between Book 2 and Book 3, or after Book 3.

Today is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

I'm engaged to the man of my dreams, and in a few short hours, I'm going to stand before a judge, who will declare us husband and wife, till death does us part. Despite some bumps in the road, this day is everything I dreamed it would be.

There's only one problem:

Someone out there doesn't want me to live long enough to say my vows.

And if I'm not careful, they may very well get their wish.]]> 76 Freida McFadden Kara 0 3.32 2024 The Housemaid's Wedding (The Housemaid, #2.5)
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at: 2024/12/04
date added: 2024/12/04
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]]> The Best of Friends 52149789
Reeling from the worst night of their lives, the three mothers plunge into a desperate investigation of the bizarre incident. How could something so horrible happen in their wealthy Southern California suburb?

They soon discover that the accident was just the beginning, and troubling discoveries lead to chilling questions: Do they really know their children? Do they even know each other? As more secrets surface, a fog of doubt and suspicion threatens to poison their families, their friendships, and the whole community.

With the illusion of happiness and safety long gone, these women must now confront the hazards of heartbreak, the consequences of jealousy, and the dangers of living double lives.]]> 285 Lucinda Berry 1542022134 Kara 3 3.96 2020 The Best of Friends
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Kara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/15
date added: 2024/10/15
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]]> Keep Your Friends Close 80924632
Accusations fly, and three mothers find themselves at the center of the investigation. Whitney, Brooke, and Jade all have heavy secrets to bear…and possible motives for their friend’s murder. But as the police look closer, more secrets, betrayals, and sinister plots are revealed than the women could ever imagine.

With everything at stake, deceit threatens to shatter their illusions of the perfect life. West Hollywood will never be the same.]]> 287 Lucinda Berry 1662512597 Kara 5 3.74 2023 Keep Your Friends Close
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Kara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/10/11
date added: 2024/10/11
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]]> Never Lie 62080187
But when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace four years earlier, a violent winter storm traps them at the estate… with no chance of escape until the blizzard comes to an end.

In search of a book to keep her entertained until the snow abates, Tricia happens upon a secret room. One that contains audio transcripts from every single patient Dr. Hale has ever interviewed. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to Dr. Hale’s mysterious disappearance.

Tricia plays the tapes one by one, late into the night. With each one, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and Dr. Adrienne Hale’s web of lies slowly unravels.

And then Tricia reaches the final cassette.

The one that reveals the entire horrifying truth.]]> 286 Freida McFadden Kara 4 4.08 2022 Never Lie
author: Freida McFadden
name: Kara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/10
date added: 2024/10/10
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]]> A Welcome Reunion 174670409 From the bestselling author of The Perfect Child comes a short thriller about a couple faced with the terrifying return of a girl they once called their own who threatens everything they hold dear.

Janie is the last person Hannah and Christopher Bauer want to see again.

But Janie’s moved back to Clarksville. She’s no longer the frail child Hannah and Christopher adopted over eleven years ago. The child who destroyed their lives. Now Janie is out of juvenile detention—a beautiful, confident young adult—and publicly promoting her new tell-all memoir.

At just eighteen, Janie has a violent and tragic story to share, brimming with grisly details. Details the public can’t get enough of…and that the Bauers can’t bear to relive. Janie has taken a new name and claims to have reformed her sociopathic ways. She’s ready to make amends. But when the Bauers refuse to meet with her, she takes matters into her own hands.

After the social worker formerly assigned to the case makes disturbing revelations about Janie’s calculated behavior, the Bauers brace for Janie’s next move, determined to protect their family—at any cost.]]> 81 Lucinda Berry 1662516681 Kara 4 3.52 2023 A Welcome Reunion
author: Lucinda Berry
name: Kara
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/09/23
date added: 2024/09/23
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]]> Daisy Jones & The Six 40597810 Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.]]> 368 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1524798622 Kara 5 4.19 2019 Daisy Jones & The Six
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: Kara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/16
date added: 2024/07/16
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]]> Bright Young Women 101124639 A Richard & Judy Book Club Pick
New York Times Bestseller
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist

Bright Young Women is an unflinching thriller based on Ted Bundy's heinous crimes, as two women search for justice in the wake of his brutal murders. From Jessica Knoll, author of the New York Times bestseller and #1 Netflix movie Luckiest Girl Alive.

'A compelling, almost hypnotic read' - Lisa Jewell, bestselling author of None of This is True

Tallahassee, 1978. Sorority president Pamela Schumacher wakes to a shocking scene of implausible violence and death, and is drawn into a mystifying crime that grips the nation for decades . . .

In Seattle, Tina Cannon connects her best friend's disappearance to the Tallahassee tragedy, and is convinced that a single man is responsible.

Determined to find justice, the two join forces as their search for answers leads to a final, shocking confrontation . . .

'Knoll deconstructs the myth of a criminal mastermind, revealing the women he seeks to destroy as the truly brilliant ones' – Flynn Berry, author of Northern Spy

'A sharp examination of our culture's obsession with serial killers and true crime' – Harper's Bazaar, Best Books of the Year

'Knoll sets about dismantling every last Bundy myth with a controlled but palpable rage' – Catherine Ryan Howard, author of Run Time]]> 384 Jessica Knoll 1501153226 Kara 0 3.97 2023 Bright Young Women
author: Jessica Knoll
name: Kara
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/29
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]]> Handle with Care 3720975 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

When Willow is born with severe osteogenesis imperfecta, her parents are devastated—she will suffer hundreds of broken bones as she grows, a lifetime of pain. Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health.

Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte had known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life?]]> 477 Jodi Picoult 0743296419 Kara 0 4.00 2009 Handle with Care
author: Jodi Picoult
name: Kara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at: 2024/06/29
date added: 2024/06/29
shelves:
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]]> Harriet the Spy 19596738
Using her keen observation skills, 11-year-old Harriet M. Welsch writes down in her notebook what she considers the truth about everyone in and around her New York City neighborhood. When she loses track of her notebook, it ends up in the wrong hands, and before she can stop them, her friends read the sometimes awful things she's observed and written about each of them. How can Harriet find a way to keep her integrity and also put her life and her friendships back together?
--randomhouse.com]]> 312 Louise Fitzhugh 0385376650 Kara 5 4.28 1964 Harriet the Spy
author: Louise Fitzhugh
name: Kara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1964
rating: 5
read at: 2023/12/16
date added: 2023/12/16
shelves:
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]]> Secret Daughter 6905012
The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away. It is a decision that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.

Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha's journey of self-discovery leads her back to India.

Compulsively readable and deeply touching, SECRET DAUGHTER is a story of the unforeseen ways in which our choices and families affect our lives, and the indelible power of love in all its many forms.]]> 339 Shilpi Somaya Gowda 0061922315 Kara 5 3.99 2010 Secret Daughter
author: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
name: Kara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2013/02/23
date added: 2023/10/17
shelves:
review:

]]> Hurricane Season 35559279 Written in Lauren Denton's signature Southern style, Hurricane Season tells the story of one couple's unconventional journey to a full life and the relationships that must be mended along the way.

Betsy and Ty Franklin, owners of Franklin Dairy Farm in southern Alabama, have decided to put life's disappointments behind them. At least in theory. Ty manages their herd of dairy cows, while Betsy busies herself with the farm's day-to-day operations and tries to forget the longing for motherhood set deep in her heart. But when Betsy's free-spirited younger sister Jenna drops her young daughters off at the farm to attend a two-week art retreat in Florida, Betsy's carefully constructed wall of self-protection begins to crumble.

As those two weeks stretch much farther into the hot Alabama summer, Betsy and Ty learn to navigate the new additions in their world and revel in a home that's suddenly filled with the sound of laughter and life. Meanwhile, record heat promises to usher in the most active hurricane season in decades.

Four hundred miles away, Jenna is fighting her own battles. She'd once been free to travel and pursue a career in photography, but all that changed with the appearance of two pink lines on a plastic stick and a boyfriend who hit the road. At Halcyon art retreat, she finally has the time and energy to focus on her photography. As the summer continues, she wonders how her rediscovered passion can fit in with the life she's made back home with her two children.

When Hurricane Ingrid aims her steady eye at the Alabama coast, Jenna must make a decision that could affect both her and her children's futures, and Betsy and Ty find themselves protecting their beloved farm as well as their own hearts.]]> 398 Lauren K. Denton 0718084268 Kara 5 4.12 2018 Hurricane Season
author: Lauren K. Denton
name: Kara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2023/08/17
date added: 2023/08/17
shelves:
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]]> Call the Canaries Home 62589532 Three estranged sisters reconnect in their Louisiana hometown to face an unresolved past in a heartfelt novel about family, grief, secrets, and forgiveness.

Savannah was four years old when her twin sister, Georgia, went missing from their small Louisiana town, fracturing their family. Twenty-eight years later, Savannah convinces her estranged older sisters, Rayanne and Sue Ellen, to honor the pact they made as children and retrieve the time capsule they buried in their old backyard. But coming home means confronting old ghosts…and their stubborn grandmother, Meemaw.

Sifting through the artifacts, they come across a photograph taken on the day Georgia disappeared and spot a familiar woman lingering in the background. While Sue Ellen and Rayanne want to move on with their lives, Savannah is determined to find the woman—and perhaps a clue to the past.

When old tensions, rivalries, and memories resurface, the sisters must reconsider what they thought they knew about that fateful day, about each other, and about themselves. On their search to uncover what happened to Georgia, each of them will discover what Meemaw has known all along: family is everything.]]> 299 Laura Barrow 166251025X Kara 4 4.02 2023 Call the Canaries Home
author: Laura Barrow
name: Kara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/12
date added: 2023/08/12
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]]> The Quarry Girls 57836903
Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.

Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can’t stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger.

She also knows she’s next.]]> 335 Jess Lourey 1542034302 Kara 4 4.01 2022 The Quarry Girls
author: Jess Lourey
name: Kara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/08/04
date added: 2023/08/04
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]]> I'll Take You There 30363103 New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life—Felix Funicello, introduced in Wishin’ and Hopin’—and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it, in this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women.

I’ll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit—and in some cases relive—scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen.

In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There’s his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.

Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face.]]> 0 Wally Lamb 0062656295 Kara 1 3.20 2016 I'll Take You There
author: Wally Lamb
name: Kara
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2016
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2023/06/21
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)]]> 53450790 Would you defend your husband if he was accused of killing his mistress?
Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington D.C. At 33 years old, she is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned.
The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.
Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers.
Then, one morning everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder. She had been found stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s second home. Sarah soon finds herself playing the defender for her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress.
But is Adam guilty or is he innocent?]]> 337 Jeneva Rose 1913419657 Kara 3
The negatives: The writing was sort of sloppy; there are gaping plot holes, and anyone who’s watched even one Law & Order episode could point out the myriad of ways that the whole scenario is completely unrealistic. Some of the word choices were nauseatingly simplistic and repetitive.

Ultimately, I was entertained by the story, and that’s really all I was going for in the first place with this choice, so I reviewed generously. If you’re looking for something contemplative and stimulating, this isn’t it. Most days, I would probably roll my eyes and chuck it to the DNF pile within a few chapters, but today my tired brain loved it!]]> 3.90 2020 The Perfect Marriage (Perfect, #1)
author: Jeneva Rose
name: Kara
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/29
date added: 2023/05/29
shelves:
review:
First, the positives: I got invested… so much so that I neglected my family by reading it in a day. 😂 It was a great choice for a lazy “Mom’s busy right now, go play” day. The ending was somewhat predictable- at least the culprit- but I liked the way it played out.

The negatives: The writing was sort of sloppy; there are gaping plot holes, and anyone who’s watched even one Law & Order episode could point out the myriad of ways that the whole scenario is completely unrealistic. Some of the word choices were nauseatingly simplistic and repetitive.

Ultimately, I was entertained by the story, and that’s really all I was going for in the first place with this choice, so I reviewed generously. If you’re looking for something contemplative and stimulating, this isn’t it. Most days, I would probably roll my eyes and chuck it to the DNF pile within a few chapters, but today my tired brain loved it!
]]> <![CDATA[All the Ugly and Wonderful Things]]> 29480865 As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. It's safer to keep her mouth shut and stay out of sight. Struggling to raise her little brother, Donal, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold.

By the time Wavy is a teenager, her relationship with Kellen is the only tender thing in a brutal world of addicts and debauchery. When tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, a well-meaning aunt steps in, and what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. Kellen may not be innocent, but he is the fixed point in Wavy and Donal's chaotic universe. Instead of playing it safe, Wavy has to learn to fight for Kellen, for her brother, and for herself.

]]> 421 Bryn Greenwood Kara 5 4.04 2016 All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
author: Bryn Greenwood
name: Kara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/26
date added: 2023/03/26
shelves:
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]]> Good Girls Stay Quiet 40944503 Stay silent...To stay alive.Fifteen-year-old Cora Snow has a dark secret she only shares with her journal and her best friend, Noah, who happens to be her talking stuffed elephant. Well, and Sally, a wrench and trusted confidant for when Cora's locked in the basement after breaking one of "Daddy's" rules.House Keep hair neatly braided. Prepare Daddy's favorite meals. Keep the house perfect. Stay locked in room when Daddy isn't home. Call Daddy "Daddy."School Get good grades. No friends. No boys. Don't EVER attract attention.And the most important rule of Never, ever make Daddy angry.Cora follows all of the rules to avoid suffering the painful consequences until one day her journal goes missing. A note appears in her locker saying, "I know your secret," and its followed by a series of blackmail demands that take Cora far out of her comfort zone.For most girls, losing your diary might be embarrassing, but for Cora? Finding the missing journal could be a matter of life and death - and uncovering who took it requires breaking all the rules.Question is, how far is Cora Snow willing to go to protect her and "Daddy"?An intense psychological thriller for fans of Natasha Preston, Good Girls Stay Quiet will take you on an emotional journey and help you uncover the importance of finding your voice in dangerous situations.]]> 340 Jo Cassidy Kara 3 4.28 2018 Good Girls Stay Quiet
author: Jo Cassidy
name: Kara
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/24
date added: 2023/03/24
shelves:
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]]> Les Misérables 24280 1488 Victor Hugo 0451525264 Kara 0 dnf 4.19 1862 Les Misérables
author: Victor Hugo
name: Kara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1862
rating: 0
read at: 2023/02/25
date added: 2023/02/25
shelves: dnf
review:

]]> In the Unlikely Event 23899174 New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events.

In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life.

Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, Judy Blume imagines and weaves together a haunting story of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by these disasters. She paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place — Nat King Cole singing “Unforgettable,” Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.

In the Unlikely Event is a gripping novel with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume's unparalleled storytelling.]]> 402 Judy Blume 1101875046 Kara 4 3.52 2015 In the Unlikely Event
author: Judy Blume
name: Kara
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/25
date added: 2023/02/25
shelves:
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]]> The Education of Dixie Dupree 28814312
Though Dixie is learning that the family she once believed was happy has deep fractures, even her vivid imagination couldn’t concoct the events about to unfold. Dixie records everything in her diary—her parents’ fights, her father’s drinking and his unexplained departure, and the arrival of Uncle Ray. Only when Dixie desperately needs help and is met with disbelief does she realize how much damage her past lies have done. But she has courage and a spirit that may yet prevail, forcing secrets into the open and allowing her to forgive and become whole again.

Narrated by her young heroine in a voice as sure and resonant as The Secret Life of Bees’ Lily or Bastard Out of Carolina’s Bone, Donna Everhart’s remarkable debut is a story about mothers and daughters, the guilt and pain that pass between generations, and the truths that are impossible to hide, especially from ourselves.]]> 352 Donna Everhart 1496705521 Kara 0 currently-reading 3.83 2016 The Education of Dixie Dupree
author: Donna Everhart
name: Kara
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/24
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> My Last Innocent Year 60741808 An incisive, deeply resonant debut novel about a nonconsensual sexual encounter that propels one woman’s final semester at an elite New England college into controversy and chaos—and into an ill-advised affair with a married professor.

It’s 1998 and Isabel Rosen, the only daughter of a Lower East Side appetizing store owner, has one semester left at Wilder College, a prestigious school in New Hampshire. Desperate to shed her working-class roots and still mourning the death of her mother four years earlier, Isabel has always felt like an outsider at Wilder but now, in her final semester, she believes she has found her place—until a nonconsensual sexual encounter with one of the only other Jewish students on campus leaves her reeling.

Enter R. H. Connelly, a once-famous poet and Isabel’s writing professor, a man with secrets of his own. Connelly makes Isabel feel seen, beautiful, talented: the woman she longs to become. His belief in her ignites a belief in herself, and the two begin an affair that shakes the foundation of who Isabel thinks she is, for better and worse. As the lives of the adults around her slowly come apart, Isabel discovers that the line between youth and adulthood is less defined than she thought.

A coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal, Daisy Alpert Florin's My Last Innocent Year is a timely and wise portrait of a young woman learning to trust her voice and move toward independence while recognizing the beauty and grit of where she came from.]]> 304 Daisy Alpert Florin 1250857031 Kara 0 to-read 3.68 2023 My Last Innocent Year
author: Daisy Alpert Florin
name: Kara
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Firefly Cloak 70115
Seven years later, when word arrives that her mother has been spotted working at a tourist trap on a seaside boardwalk not far from where Tessa Lee lives, she sets off on a dangerous journey to try to recover what has been taken from her.

Steeped in the rich Southern atmosphere for which Sheri Reynolds has long been hailed, Firefly Cloak is a vivid coming-of-age novel of family, loss, and redemption.]]> 304 Sheri Reynolds 0609610082 Kara 4 3.47 2006 Firefly Cloak
author: Sheri Reynolds
name: Kara
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/23
date added: 2023/02/23
shelves:
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Heartbreaking and tender, in that unique Sheri Reynolds way.
]]> The Perfect Family 55711715
Until one morning, when they wake up to find their porch has been pelted with eggs. It’s a prank, Thomas insists; the work of a few out-of-control kids. But when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and their car’s tires are punctured, the family begins to worry. Surveillance cameras show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. And the police dismiss the attacks, insisting they’re just the work of bored teenagers. Unable to identify the perpetrators, the Adlers are helpless as the assaults escalate into violence, and worse. And each new violation brings with it a growing fear. Because everyone in the Adler family is keeping a secret—not just from the outside world, but from each other. And secrets can be very dangerous….

This twisty, addictively page-turning suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending.]]> 352 Robyn Harding 1982169397 Kara 4
My money’s on Sam. We never find out who the second creeper was on Tarryn’s cam site, but we do know that he was the one that told Georgia about it in the first place. And he rekindled his friendship with Eli, so he would have intimate knowledge of the attacks from him. Or… Derek and Arianna broke up because he was cheating on her with “someone online.” Either way, I feel like the second round of attacks was Tarryn motivated, for sure.

I kind of love that the reader will never really know. I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhanger endings!]]> 3.48 2021 The Perfect Family
author: Robyn Harding
name: Kara
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/19
date added: 2023/02/19
shelves:
review:
That last sentence. Just when you think everything’s been wrapped up in a neat little package, BAM! Another egg.

My money’s on Sam. We never find out who the second creeper was on Tarryn’s cam site, but we do know that he was the one that told Georgia about it in the first place. And he rekindled his friendship with Eli, so he would have intimate knowledge of the attacks from him. Or… Derek and Arianna broke up because he was cheating on her with “someone online.” Either way, I feel like the second round of attacks was Tarryn motivated, for sure.

I kind of love that the reader will never really know. I have a love/hate relationship with cliffhanger endings!
]]> <![CDATA[Here's to You, Rachel Robinson]]> 19007899 210 Judy Blume Kara 3 4.26 1993 Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
author: Judy Blume
name: Kara
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/16
date added: 2023/02/16
shelves:
review:

]]> Fly Away (Firefly Lane #2) 51851511
Tully Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate-- to be there for Kate’s children-- but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.

Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother’s death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.

Dorothy Hart-- the woman who once called herself Cloud-- is at the center of Tully’s tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter’s side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs.

A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another-- and maybe a miracle-- to transform their lives.

An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.]]> 413 Kristin Hannah Kara 3 4.33 2013 Fly Away (Firefly Lane #2)
author: Kristin Hannah
name: Kara
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/07
date added: 2023/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> The Night of Many Endings 57131930 From Melissa Payne, bestselling author of Memories in the Drift, comes an emotionally rich, feel-good novel about hope, second chances, and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

Orphaned at a young age and witness to her brother’s decline into addiction, Nora Martinez has every excuse to question the fairness of life. Instead, the openhearted librarian in the small Colorado community of Silver Ridge sees only promise. She holds on to the hope that she’ll be reunited with her missing brother and does what she can at the town library. It’s her home away from home, but it’s also a sanctuary for others who, like her brother, could use a second chance.

There’s Marlene, an elderly loner who believes that, apart from her husband, there’s little good left in the world; Jasmine, a troubled teen; Lewis, a homeless man with lost hope and one last wish; and Vlado, the security guard who loves a good book and, from afar, Nora.

As a winter storm buries Silver Ridge, this collection of lonely hearts takes shelter in the library. They’ll discover more about each other, and themselves, than they ever knew—and Nora will be forced to question her brother’s disappearance in ways she never could have imagined. No matter how stranded in life they feel, this fateful night could be the new beginning they didn’t think was possible.]]> 299 Melissa Payne 1542029244 Kara 4
Oh, and I had the privilege of reading this while stuck inside due to a winter storm, which was perfect!]]> 4.13 2021 The Night of Many Endings
author: Melissa Payne
name: Kara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/04
date added: 2023/02/04
shelves:
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This book was a pleasant surprise to stumble upon! The only reason I rated it 4/5 was that I felt like it was a little longer than it needed to be to get the story told. However, that might be just because I took longer than usual to read it. 😏 I loved the premise of the book- kind of like "The Breakfast Club" but geared more toward the maturity of the demographic for which the movie was made. As I delved into it, I prepared myself for a highly predictable ending. In some ways, it was, but I appreciate that it wasn't wrapped up in a perfectly neat bow; that some things are left to the imagination of the reader. It left me wanting to know more, which I love in a good book ending!

Oh, and I had the privilege of reading this while stuck inside due to a winter storm, which was perfect!
]]> <![CDATA[A Little High (Rainey Paxton, #2)]]> 61480896
First came the shocking story of Rainey Paxton being born addicted to heroin, and the sacrifices she made to accommodate her parents’ reckless lifestyle. Now comes the terrifying, extraordinary novel that picks up after Rainey’s release from juvenile detention.

With no money, and lost in a section of North Philadelphia dominated by gangs and violence, Rainey won’t accept that it may be too late to save Ivy. Instead, she pushes all limits to fight for her sister, surrendering herself to keep her vow.

When Rainey finds her eight-year-old sister Ivy, she is neglected by her parents and ravaged by her circumstances.

Against the odds, Rainey presses forward to create a different life. The pain of her childhood and the realization that her parents are more in love with heroin than their children are reminders of the lessons her aunt Sophie taught her when she was young.

Rainey Paxton attracts people from the wrong side of the tracks—some who love to hate her, and others who live to be loved by her. But nothing comes between her and fate—not even her willingness to die to save her sister.

**WARNING** 18+ Readers Only. Graphic content and subject matter.]]> 491 Paige Dearth Kara 2
This one fell a little flat for me. I was disappointed with the ending, for one thing; it felt rushed. And there were characters that just got lost in the story. What happened to Winnie? Tootsie? I needed more. ]]> 4.49 A Little High (Rainey Paxton, #2)
author: Paige Dearth
name: Kara
average rating: 4.49
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2022/08/08
shelves:
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It was… okay. As a foster parent, Paige’s books fascinate me because they give me a glimpse into the bleak realities of a traumatic childhood.

This one fell a little flat for me. I was disappointed with the ending, for one thing; it felt rushed. And there were characters that just got lost in the story. What happened to Winnie? Tootsie? I needed more.
]]> <![CDATA[Wildflower: A Tale of Transcendence]]> 56637197 "A gripping account of triumph over adversity that may inspire you to 'dream an impossible dream!'” -Martha Quinn, original MTV VJ, host of the Martha Quinn Morning Show on iHeart80s @ 103.7, San Francisco
"Everyone who loves great literature should read this heart wrenching memoir." - Sean McNamara: Director, Producer: Soul Surfer, The Miracle Season, Spare Parts, Reagan
Spending the night in Juvie wasn't the worst thing to happen to seven year old Teresa that summer. When her much-anticipated cross-country vacation turns to abduction, Teresa is forced to care for her mother, sister and twin brothers. Homeless, abused, and afraid in the slums of San Francisco's Tenderloin district, Teresa finds joy in her adventures while fantasizing of a better life. Keeping this dream alive throughout her childhood is what drives her to end the cycle of abuse and poverty.]]> 386 Teresa Van Woy Kara 4 4.55 Wildflower: A Tale of Transcendence
author: Teresa Van Woy
name: Kara
average rating: 4.55
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/30
date added: 2022/07/30
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]]> Bossypants 9418327
She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.]]> 283 Tina Fey Kara 4 3.97 2011 Bossypants
author: Tina Fey
name: Kara
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/26
date added: 2022/07/26
shelves:
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]]> Room 7937843
Told in the inventive, funny, and poignant voice of Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience—and a powerful story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible.

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough ... not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.]]> 321 Emma Donoghue Kara 5 4.04 2010 Room
author: Emma Donoghue
name: Kara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/07/26
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]]> The Thirteenth Tale 40440
The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.]]> 406 Diane Setterfield 0743298020 Kara 5 3.96 2006 The Thirteenth Tale
author: Diane Setterfield
name: Kara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/07/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America]]> 1869
Millions of Americans work for poverty-level wages, and one day Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join them. She was inspired in part by the rhetoric surrounding welfare reform, which promised that any job equals a better life. But how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour? To find out, Ehrenreich moved from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, taking the cheapest lodgings available and accepting work as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing-home aide, and Wal-Mart salesperson. She soon discovered that even the "lowliest" occupations require exhausting mental and physical efforts. And one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

Nickel and Dimed reveals low-wage America in all its tenacity, anxiety, and surprising generosity -- a land of Big Boxes, fast food, and a thousand desperate strategies for survival. Instantly acclaimed for its insight, humor, and passion, this book is changing the way America perceives its working poor.]]> 240 Barbara Ehrenreich 0805063897 Kara 0 3.65 2001 Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
author: Barbara Ehrenreich
name: Kara
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/26
shelves:
review:

]]> The Alchemist 865 197 Paulo Coelho 0061122416 Kara 0 3.85 1988 The Alchemist
author: Paulo Coelho
name: Kara
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/07/26
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)]]> 10428902
마치 실재했던 것 같은 기억을 환기시키는 장치로써 옛날 앨범을 연상시키는 독특한 외관과 기괴한 사진으로 첫눈에 시선을 사로잡고, 책을 펼치면 주인공이 보는 사진을 그대로 독자가 볼 수 있게 한 신개념 편집 디자인으로 흥미를 증폭시킨다. 기괴한 아이들과 오래된 풍경을 담은 흑백사진들은 작가가 모은 실제 사진들이다.

16세 소년 제이콥이 동경하던 괴짜 할아버지의 의문사를 마주하고, 할아버지가 어린 시절에 괴력소년과 공중부양 소녀와 투명인간 등 이상한 능력을 가진 아이들과 살았다던 어린이집을 찾아가 할아버지의 과거와 비밀을 파헤치는 이야기이다. 작품에는 할아버지의 의문사를 둘러싼 미스터리, 진실을 추적하는 과정의 스릴, 기이한 괴물과 쫓고 쫓기는 공포, 할아버지의 과거와 정체에 숨은 신비롭고 동화 같은 진실, 소년의 성장과 첫사랑 등 다양한 요소가 들어 있다.]]> 352 Ransom Riggs Kara 1 3.96 2011 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)
author: Ransom Riggs
name: Kara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2011
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2015/05/15
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions]]> 788091 405 Arthur Bennett 0851518214 Kara 5 4.74 1975 The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions
author: Arthur Bennett
name: Kara
average rating: 4.74
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Kara 5 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Kara
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/29
shelves:
review:

]]> Under the Dome 6320534
When food, electricity and water run short, the normal rules of society are changed. A new and more sinister social order develops, Dale Barbara, a young Iraq veteran, teams up with a handful of intrepid citizens to fight against the corruption that is sweeping through the town and to try to discover the source of the Dome before it is too late...]]> 1074 Stephen King 1439148503 Kara 3 3.92 2009 Under the Dome
author: Stephen King
name: Kara
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2013/06/30
date added: 2013/06/30
shelves:
review:

]]> 11/22/63 13547452 Dallas, 11/22/63: Three shots ring out.
President John F. Kennedy is dead.

Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in a Maine town. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away . . . but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke. . . . Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten . . . and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.
(back cover)

------------------------------------------------------------

The following is the Library of Congress Summary

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? The author's new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination. In this novel that is a tribute to a simpler era, he sweeps readers back in time to another moment, a real life moment, when everything went wrong: the JFK assassination. And he introduces readers to a character who has the power to change the course of history. Jake Epping is a thirty-five-year-old high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching adults in the GED program. He receives an essay from one of the students, a gruesome, harrowing first person story about the night fifty years ago when Harry Dunning's father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a hammer. Harry escaped with a smashed leg, as evidenced by his crooked walk. Not much later, Jake's friend Al, who runs the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane, and insanely possible, mission to try to prevent the Kennedy assassination. So begins Jake's new life as George Amberson and his new world of Elvis and JFK, of big American cars and sock hops, of a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and a beautiful high school librarian named Sadie Dunhill, who becomes the love of Jake's life, a life that transgresses all the normal rules of time.

------------------------------------------------------------

This is the full sized trade paperback, nearly identical to the first hardback edition. The back of the dust jacket from the hardcover edition, became page one on this full sized trade paperback.

~]]> 849 Stephen King 1451627297 Kara 4 4.45 2011 11/22/63
author: Stephen King
name: Kara
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/07
date added: 2013/04/07
shelves:
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]]> The Light Between Oceans 13158800 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day's journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

M. L. Stedman's mesmerizing, beautifully written debut novel seduces us into accommodating Isabel's decision to keep this "gift from God." And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer, where justice for one person is another's tragic loss.]]> 362 M.L. Stedman 1451681739 Kara 0 4.02 2012 The Light Between Oceans
author: M.L. Stedman
name: Kara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at: 2013/03/18
date added: 2013/03/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society]]> 4666058 291 Mary Ann Shaffer 0385341008 Kara 0 4.19 2008 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
author: Mary Ann Shaffer
name: Kara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at: 2012/08/24
date added: 2013/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together]]> 104189 A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.

An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.

A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.

A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.

It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, inside the heart of God. It unfolds at a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.

Gritty with betrayal, pain, and brutality, it also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

Bonus material in this special movie edition includes:
 ]]> 237 Ron Hall 0849900417 Kara 5 4.19 2006 Same Kind of Different as Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together
author: Ron Hall
name: Kara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet]]> 3367956 290 Jamie Ford 0345505336 Kara 0 to-read 4.04 2009 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
author: Jamie Ford
name: Kara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks]]> 6493208 370 Rebecca Skloot 1400052173 Kara 0 to-read 4.13 2010 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
author: Rebecca Skloot
name: Kara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain 3153910
Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it.]]> 336 Garth Stein 1554681723 Kara 0 to-read 4.23 2008 The Art of Racing in the Rain
author: Garth Stein
name: Kara
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)]]> 5043 Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.

Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

For the TV tie-in edition with the same ISBN go to this Alternate Cover Edition
]]> 976 Ken Follett 045122213X Kara 4 4.35 1989 The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
author: Ken Follett
name: Kara
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption]]> 8664353
The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he'd been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.]]> 475 Laura Hillenbrand 1400064163 Kara 0 to-read 4.38 2010 Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption
author: Laura Hillenbrand
name: Kara
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail]]> 9791 A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in).]]> 397 Bill Bryson 0307279464 Kara 0 to-read 4.07 1998 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
author: Bill Bryson
name: Kara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/02/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Dovekeepers 10950924
In 70 C.E., nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman's novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael's mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker's wife, watched the horrifically brutal murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior's daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and an expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power.

The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets - about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.]]> 504 Alice Hoffman 145161747X Kara 4 4.05 2011 The Dovekeepers
author: Alice Hoffman
name: Kara
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2013/02/17
date added: 2013/02/17
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]]> Their Eyes Were Watching God 37415 238 Zora Neale Hurston 0061120065 Kara 0 3.99 1937 Their Eyes Were Watching God
author: Zora Neale Hurston
name: Kara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1937
rating: 0
read at: 2013/01/23
date added: 2013/01/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Addiction: A Banquet in the Grave-Disscussion Guide]]> 3835381 0 Edward T. Welch 1934885703 Kara 0 4.33 2001 Addiction: A Banquet in the Grave-Disscussion Guide
author: Edward T. Welch
name: Kara
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at: 2013/01/23
date added: 2013/01/23
shelves:
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]]> Mrs. Mike (Mrs. Mike, #1) 155712 Mrs. Mike is a classic tale that has enchanted millions of readers worldwide. It brings the fierce, stunning landscape of the Great North to life—and tenderly evokes the love that blossoms between Sergeant Mike Flannigan and beautiful young Katherine Mary O'Fallon.]]> 320 Benedict Freedman 0425183238 Kara 0 to-read 4.15 1947 Mrs. Mike (Mrs. Mike, #1)
author: Benedict Freedman
name: Kara
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1947
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts]]> 128435 239 Jerry Bridges 0891096175 Kara 4 4.41 1988 Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts
author: Jerry Bridges
name: Kara
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 2012/04/22
date added: 2012/04/22
shelves:
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]]> The 19th Wife 2586771
Soon after Ann Eliza’s story begins, a second exquisite narrative unfolds, a tale of murder involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was expelled from his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside to discover the truth behind his father’s death. As Ann Eliza’s narrative intertwines with that of Jordan’s search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love, family, and faith.]]> 514 David Ebershoff 1400063973 Kara 2 3.64 2008 The 19th Wife
author: David Ebershoff
name: Kara
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/04/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Best American Short Stories 2011]]> 10601203 First, Best, and Best-Selling

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.
The Best American Short Stories 2011 includes

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Jennifer Egan,
Nathan Englander, Allegra Goodman,
Ehud Havazelet, Rebecca Makkai, Steven Millhauser,
George Saunders, Mark Slouka, and others
]]> 363 Geraldine Brooks 0547242166 Kara 4 3.86 2011 The Best American Short Stories 2011
author: Geraldine Brooks
name: Kara
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/03/16
shelves:
review:

]]> The Solitude of Prime Numbers 6613956
A prime number can only be divided by itself or by one—it never truly fits with another. Alice and Mattia, both "primes," are misfits who seem destined to be alone. Haunted by childhood tragedies that mark their lives, they cannot reach out to anyone else. When Alice and Mattia meet as teenagers, they recognize in each other a kindred, damaged spirit.

But the mathematically gifted Mattia accepts a research position that takes him thousands of miles away, and the two are forced to separate. Then a chance occurrence reunites them and forces a lifetime of concealed emotion to the surface.

Like Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this is a stunning meditation on loneliness, love, and the weight of childhood experience that is set to become a universal classic.]]> 271 Paolo Giordano 0670021482 Kara 2 3.67 2008 The Solitude of Prime Numbers
author: Paolo Giordano
name: Kara
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2011/12/03
date added: 2011/12/03
shelves:
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]]> The Screwtape Letters 11149 The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.^]]> 209 C.S. Lewis Kara 5 4.17 1942 The Screwtape Letters
author: C.S. Lewis
name: Kara
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1942
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Suffering and the Sovereignty of God]]> 45350 256 John Piper 1581348096 Kara 5 4.32 2006 Suffering and the Sovereignty of God
author: John Piper
name: Kara
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> Leaves of Grass 27494 624 Walt Whitman Kara 5 4.12 1855 Leaves of Grass
author: Walt Whitman
name: Kara
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1855
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> My Name Is Memory 7135858
Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. But just when young Sophia (now "Lucy" in the present) finally begins to awaken to the secret of their shared past, to understand the true reason for the strength of their attraction, the mysterious force that has always torn them apart reappears. Ultimately, they must come to understand what stands in the way of their love if they are ever to spend a lifetime together.]]> 324 Ann Brashares 1594487588 Kara 2 3.73 2010 My Name Is Memory
author: Ann Brashares
name: Kara
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
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review:

]]> The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 37380 359 Carson McCullers 0618084746 Kara 5 4.00 1940 The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
author: Carson McCullers
name: Kara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1940
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
shelves:
review:

]]> The Princess Bride 21787
As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad's recitation, and only the "good parts" reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He's reconstructed the "Good Parts Version" to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What's it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it's about everything.]]> 429 William Goldman 0345418263 Kara 4 4.27 1973 The Princess Bride
author: William Goldman
name: Kara
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 4
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date added: 2011/12/03
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]]> The Lovely Bones 12232938
So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.]]> 372 Alice Sebold 0316166685 Kara 4 3.87 2002 The Lovely Bones
author: Alice Sebold
name: Kara
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/08/09
shelves:
review:

]]> The Blackberry Bush 10584221 208 David Housholder 1609361164 Kara 0 to-read 3.27 2011 The Blackberry Bush
author: David Housholder
name: Kara
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Texas Gothic (Goodnight Family, #1)]]> 9535352
Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that. Good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren't alone. There's someone in the house with them—and it's not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door.

It's a ghost, and it's more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back.

This is the summer when the wall between Amy's worlds is going to come crashing down.]]> 416 Rosemary Clement-Moore 0385736932 Kara 0 to-read 3.81 2011 Texas Gothic (Goodnight Family, #1)
author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
name: Kara
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive]]> 9861642
In 1963, ten years after Hank's death, Doc himself is wracked by addiction. Having lost his license to practice medicine, his morphine habit isn't as easy to support as it used to be. So he lives in a rented room in the red-light district on the south side of San Antonio, performing abortions and patching up the odd knife or gunshot wound. But when Graciela, a young Mexican immigrant, appears in the neighborhood in search of Doc's services, miraculous things begin to happen. Graciela sustains a wound on her wrist that never heals, yet she heals others with the touch of her hand. Everyone she meets is transformed for the better, except, maybe, for Hank's angry ghost—who isn't at all pleased to see Doc doing well. 

A brilliant excavation of an obscure piece of music history, Steve Earle's I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is also a marvelous novel in its own right, a ballad of regret and redemption, and of the ways in which we remake ourselves and our world through the smallest of miracles.]]> 243 Steve Earle 0618820965 Kara 3 3.66 2011 I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive
author: Steve Earle
name: Kara
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2011
rating: 3
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date added: 2011/07/19
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]]> The Prince of Tides 16735 Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister Savannah, and the dark and violent past of the extraordinary family into which they were born.]]> 679 Pat Conroy 0553381547 Kara 4 4.25 1986 The Prince of Tides
author: Pat Conroy
name: Kara
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1986
rating: 4
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date added: 2011/07/19
shelves:
review:

]]> Just David 1000752 Pollyanna. Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916. We felt a story this good shouldn’t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year. Now it’s in a longer-lasting hardcover.

It is the story of David, a charming little boy of 10 who is suddenly transplanted from a world of music (he plays the violin) in the mountains with his father, to the provincialism of a workaday small town. But even more, it is the story of how David transplants his own character, courage and happiness into the lives of the people he meets, and wins their love and respect. Here’s what we say in the preface to the new edition:

Just David is a quiet, unassuming children’s novel about an orphaned young boy with a mysterious past. David, not the typical boy found in most stories of his day, is a mixture of simplicity and complexity whose disarming innocence has a profound effect on the people he encounters. Unlike the “good bad boy” often encountered in children’s literature, David is a “good good” boy. He is not in any way “goody-goody” in the moralistic sense, but simply and purely good. David’s goodness is not a mysterious quality that defies logic and imagination, but rather a quality cultivated in him by the intentional efforts of a wise and loving father. During David’s formative years, his father secluded him from the influences of the outside world, creating a private world in the mountains filled with simple pleasures, purposeful study, and beautiful music. David’s touching story is well within the scope of the imagination, and David’s endearing innocence, engaging personality, and natural character are unforgettable.

Just David struck a resonant chord in our family for several reasons. First, David’s life affirms the biblical principle expressed in the proverb, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm”. David walked with his father and became wise. Also, his story reminds us of the importance of creating the right “appetite” early in our children’s lives. David’s love of music, nature and beauty were intentionally cultivated in him by his father. Finally, there is a refreshing balance in David’s life and character that provides a literary model to emulate, especially for the more artistically-inclined boy often overlooked in literature. David is artistic, yet he knows when to be realistic. He is slight of stature, yet able to handily defend himself when necessary. He is trained and mannerly, yet he is also manly. He is sensitive, yet sensible. Whatever limitations he discovers, he meets them with strength of character.

This is truly one of those books that everyone in your family will like, and will likely want to hear or read more than once. We’re on our fourth reading! It has even inspired us to have Just David days for our children when we focus on the beautiful and lovely things God has given us to enjoy. Just David is just great. Includes family discussion questions at the end of the book.

--Whole Heart Ministries]]> 240 Eleanor Hodgman Porter 1888692057 Kara 3 4.13 1916 Just David
author: Eleanor Hodgman Porter
name: Kara
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1916
rating: 3
read at: 2011/07/18
date added: 2011/07/19
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Good in Bed (Cannie Shapiro, #1)]]> 14748
קני שפירו, כתבת התרבות השנונה והלא - כל - כך - רזה של ה"פילדלפיה אקזמינר", שמחה מאוד לכתוב על חייהם של אנשים אחרים. עד שבוקר אחד היא דפדפה בעיתון נשים, וגילתה לתדהמתה שהחבר שלה לשעבר החליט לתעד את חיי המין שלהם, ולתאר את חוויותיו כמאהבה של אישה שמנה.

"לאהוב אישה גדולה זה מעשה אמיץ בעולמנו," כתב ברוס, וקני - שמעולם לא ידעה שברוס חושב שהיא "גדולה" או "שופעת" - צוללת אל תוך תהליך מרתק של גילוי עצמי, ונכנסת לתקופה הסוערת ביותר בחייה. לעזרתה היא מגייסת את שנינותה ואת ההומור הכובש שלה. זהו הומור מתוק - מריר, שופע הפתעות וחודר ללב, שפורץ מתוכה גם ברגעים הכי הקשים, והופך את "טוב במיטה" לחוויית קריאה מרגשת במיוחד.]]> 376 Jennifer Weiner 0743418174 Kara 3
The set-up for this story is an eye-rolling cliche. It's been done and redone and overdone... sassy twenty-something ambitious journalist (they're always journalists!) working for a trendy publication, making her way in the big city, feeling insecure and lamenting the absence of Mr. Right. Very Mary Tyler Moore meets Carrie Bradshaw. ::yawn:: We get it already.

However.

I couldn't help really liking our heroine Cannie. For one thing, she's not some tiny little waif whining about her weight; she's a bona-fide, size-sixteen, full figured gal, and the insecurities that come with it are very real and very relatable to, let's face it, a fairly significant chunk of the U.S. female population. Her defense mechanism for combatting those insecurities? Humor. Gotta love it. I think she and I would be friends in real life. (lol) I also enjoyed her merry band of misfit supporting characters.

All in all, while parts of the plot were a bit too cutesy and idealistic for my taste, it got 'real' in the end, and wrapped up nicely but not TOO perfectly. I think the author's work warrants a second chance, at least, next time I'm in the mood for a good 'beach read.' :)]]> 3.76 2002 Good in Bed (Cannie Shapiro, #1)
author: Jennifer Weiner
name: Kara
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at: 2011/06/23
date added: 2011/06/24
shelves:
review:
Okay, I admit it, very reluctantly... I like chick-lit. Scratch that, I like well written chick-lit- sometimes. (As you can probably tell, I'm NOT a huge fan of the stigma of being a chick-lit reader.) This falls into the well-written category, though. I went out of town for the weekend and, horror of horrors, left my book at home. A friend had given me this to read with her endorsement, and it was still in my car, so what the heck?

The set-up for this story is an eye-rolling cliche. It's been done and redone and overdone... sassy twenty-something ambitious journalist (they're always journalists!) working for a trendy publication, making her way in the big city, feeling insecure and lamenting the absence of Mr. Right. Very Mary Tyler Moore meets Carrie Bradshaw. ::yawn:: We get it already.

However.

I couldn't help really liking our heroine Cannie. For one thing, she's not some tiny little waif whining about her weight; she's a bona-fide, size-sixteen, full figured gal, and the insecurities that come with it are very real and very relatable to, let's face it, a fairly significant chunk of the U.S. female population. Her defense mechanism for combatting those insecurities? Humor. Gotta love it. I think she and I would be friends in real life. (lol) I also enjoyed her merry band of misfit supporting characters.

All in all, while parts of the plot were a bit too cutesy and idealistic for my taste, it got 'real' in the end, and wrapped up nicely but not TOO perfectly. I think the author's work warrants a second chance, at least, next time I'm in the mood for a good 'beach read.' :)
]]> The Violent Bear It Away 48468 The Violent Bear It Away is now a landmark in American literature. It is a dark and absorbing example of the Gothic sensibility and bracing satirical voice that are united in Flannery O'Conner's work. In it, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousins, the schoolteacher Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle--that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. A series of struggles ensues: Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and the voices calling him to be a prophet while Rayber tries to draw Tarwater into a more "reasonable" modern world. Both wrestle with the legacy of their dead relatives and lay claim to Bishop's soul.

O'Connor observes all this with an astonishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos, resulting in a novel where range and depth reveal a brilliant and innovative writers acutely alert to where the sacred lives and to where it does not.]]> 256 Flannery O'Connor 0374505241 Kara 4 4.08 1960 The Violent Bear It Away
author: Flannery O'Connor
name: Kara
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1960
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/06/12
shelves:
review:

]]> I Know This Much Is True 227711
One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.]]> 897 Wally Lamb 0060987561 Kara 0 4.21 1998 I Know This Much Is True
author: Wally Lamb
name: Kara
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/06/09
shelves:
review:

]]>