Frindle by Andrew Clements, Brian Selznick

Frindle by Andrew Clements


Is Nick Allen a troublemaker?

He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Totally enjoyed reading this book with my 5th grade book group.



When Nick decides to create a new word for a pen his idea takes off with a life of it's own. He gets into a battle with his Language Arts teacher and the work Frindle is born. Great story.



Also a nice reminder to those of us who work with kids that kids who think outside the box are not always trouble makers, they are often the ones who are going to grow up and make a difference in the world that we live in.


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Better Read Than Dead (Psychic Eye Mystery, Book 2) by Victoria Laurie

Better Read Than Dead by Victoria Laurie


Word of Abby's talents reading tarot cards has reached a mob boss who wants her help in some business matters and he doesn't take no for an answer. When the police seek out her psychic intuition to shed light on a masked man who's been attacking women, Abby finds herself working both sides of the law on her own, leading her to wonder, why didn't I see this coming?

My review

Another excellent book in the Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye series.


When Abby inadvertently gets mixed up with the local Greek Mob she is tormented until she finally agrees to help the Don find his long lost wife. Her relationship with Dutch gets very rocky when Dutch comes home form FBI training with a sexy new female partner who does not hesitate to let Abby know that she is interested in more than a working relationship with Dutch. To add to her seemingly cursed life she is helping the local police try to capture a serial rapist.

Things are very dark for Abby in this second book of the Psychic Eye series. But Abby manages to survive and eventually save the day.

Looking forward to reading the next in this wonderful series,

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Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mystery, Book 1) by Victoria Laurie

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie


You'd think being clairvoyant would give Abigail Cooper the ability to avoid danger.

But being psychic doesn't necessarily allow you to sidestep murder and mayhem---it just lets you know that they're coming...

In Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit, thirtysomething Abby Cooper lives a life that's kind of like vanilla ice cream--good enough, but a little bland. Her work as a P. I.--Psychic Intuitive--can be rewarding, but she feels like somehow she's missing out on the hot-fudge topping...

Now she's getting what she wished for--when a client winds up dead and the clues start pointing in Abby's direction. Turns out she knows too many details about the murder for her own good. To make matters worse, the hot blind date she just met is the lead investigator on the case. And gorgeous Detective Dutch Rivers is convinced she's a fraud.

No matter how great her psychic abilities, Abby deosn't know if she can solve this case. Unfortunately for her, though, the killer thinks she can...

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Very good start of a cozy mystery series. I love the main character Abby Cooper and her psychic ability. The mystery was a little more involved and a little darker than some cozies that I have read and I liked it that way. Looking forward to reading more of this series, which I conveniently have sitting her on my TBR mountain.






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Trouble in High Heels (Fortune Hunter, Book 1) by Christina Dodd

Trouble in High Heels by Christina Dodd


Trouble follows this "Master"* of romance-right onto the bestseller lists. Now the New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd makes her NAL debut When Brandi Michaels discovers her fiancé has hopped a flight to Vegas to marry someone else, she spends a sultry night in the arms of a gorgeous Italian stranger named Roberto Bartolini, convinced she's found the perfect revenge, she then goes home to find that her apartment's been ransacked, she's become the mark for a killer, and somehow her new lover is more of a stranger than she thought. As the web of danger around her tightens, Brandi has no choice but to turn to Roberto. One thing's for sure...she's not going down without a fight.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Very good read. I had trouble putting it down this weekend and finished it in a couple days. I guess I was in need of a little old fashioned romance. lol

When Brandi Michaels uproots her life to move to Chicago to be with her fiance Alan she never suspects that her life is about to change in the way that it is. The day she moves into her new apartment during one of Chicago's coldest winters she gets a phone call from Alan telling her that he has flown off to Las Vegas to marry his pregnant girlfriend. She decides to pawn Alan's engagement ring and goes out on a mission to find the perfect stranger to have a one night stand with to help her forget Alan. What she finds in Count Roberto Bartolini, a notorious Italian jewel thief. After a passionate night like nothing she has ever experienced before, Roberto convinces Brandi to stay the weekend. Since she starts a new job on Monday at a prestigious law firm she agrees to this last fling.

When she is introduced to her first client Monday morning, imagine he shock when she discovers that it is Count Roberto Bartloni whom she will be defending. Being thrown back together ignites the flames and both Brandi and Roberto find themselves consumed by their desire for each other. Getting involved with this notorious jewel thief is not what Brandi had in mind but she is drawn further and further into the danger of his world.

A wonderful read with just the right amount of heated romance, humor, and intrigue. I am ordering the other books in the Fortune Hunter series since this one was so much fun.

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Half Life by Hal Clement

Half Life by Hal Clement


In about two hundred years, the human race on Earth is perhaps facing extinction due to the rapid evolution of disease. A crew of young men and women travel to the moons of Saturn, to Titan, to investigate the biochemistry of the pre-life conditions there in the slim hope of discovering something that might save Earth. The whole story runs at high-speed, as they race to find answers across the surface of an alien landscape with death close behind . . . and gaining.

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I am not a huge fan of hard sci-fi and this book would definitely be classified as such. A lot of scientific jargon that went way over my head and made the plot hard to follow. The characters were not very well developed. I had no idea who was who. I stuck with it but did think about giving it up a couple times. Just not my kind of sci-fi.

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Key to Conspiracy (Gillian Key, ParaDoc, Book 2) by Talia Gryphon

Key to Conspiracy by Talia Gryphon



In northern Russia after a devastating earthquake, paramortal psychologist and Marine Special Forces operative Gillian Key helps break up a ring of child traffickers preying on newly orphaned children. But away from Count Aleksei Rachlav, the irresistible vampire she left behind, Gillian is vulnerable to the Dark Prince himself, Dracula, who would like nothing more than to use her as a pawn in his escalating war with Rachlav.

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was an okay read. I really like the characters of this series, but I find that the author really does not do a very good job of moving the story along. The events in the story have no transition. One minute we are fighting goblins and the next we are in the middle of a treaty signing. One minute we are rescuing children in Russia and the next we are fighting Jack the Ripper. Lots of action but really does not have any transition between events. Almost like the author is trying to cram way too much into the short 250 pages of book.



That being said I will read the next in the series, because I do like the characters and the basic storyline. There is a lot of action and just enough heated romance to keep me reading.


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Mark of the Lion: A Jade Del Cameron Mystery #1 by Suzanne Arruda

Mark of the Lion: A Jade Del Cameron Mystery by Suzanne Arruda


In 1919, when most women only dream of adventure, Jade del Cameron lives it. After driving an ambulance along the front lines of World War I, she can fire a rifle with deadly precision. Still suffering trauma from the Great War, she sets off for Africa determined to fulfill a man's dying wish...never expecting to become involved in murder.

Rich with romance, mystery, and adventure, Mark of the Lion introduces a fascinating new heroine and explores the elusive heart of a compelling and exotic world.

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Good read. I really like the main character, Jade del Cameron as well as the supporting characters. I did figure out that mystery fairly easily but the author writes in a very descriptive style and I loved reading about Africa. I will be reading more in the series as soon as I can get my hands on them.


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