Terri's bookshelf: 2015-reading-challenge en-US Wed, 08 Feb 2017 10:29:15 -0800 60 Terri's bookshelf: 2015-reading-challenge 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Pride and Prejudice 1885 Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book the most superb comedy of manners of Regency England.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268]]> 279 Jane Austen 1441341706 Terri 5 4.28 1813 Pride and Prejudice
author: Jane Austen
name: Terri
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1813
rating: 5
read at: 2015/02/28
date added: 2017/02/08
shelves: 2013-diamond-reading-challenge, 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> Between the World and Me 25489625 “This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.�
Ěý
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,� a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
Ěý
Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.]]> 152 Ta-Nehisi Coates Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.40 2015 Between the World and Me
author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
name: Terri
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/06
date added: 2016/01/03
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Reckless Faith: Embracing a Life without Limits]]> 13789099 In this energizing book, he challenges readers to count the cost, take a chance, and live a reckless faith for the entire world to see. With a focus on "responsible recklessness," Harney shows readers how to develop a faith that others notice, always supported by prayer, wisdom, the direction of Scripture, and insightful counsel from other believers. He outlines how to be reckless in our love, generosity, service, relationships, prayers, and speech.
Perfect for pastors, small groups, or anyone who is tired of feeling domesticated and docile, this book will lead readers into a fresh devotion and dynamism in their faith.]]> 208 Kevin G. Harney 0801014689 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.11 2012 Reckless Faith: Embracing a Life without Limits
author: Kevin G. Harney
name: Terri
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/30
date added: 2015/12/30
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> Masterminds (Masterminds, #1) 22249695 The first book in the action-packed trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and James Patterson.

Eli Frieden has never left Serenity, New Mexico...why would he ever want to? Then one day, he bikes to the edge of the city limits and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything.

Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking discovery, connecting their ideal crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known.

The kids realize they can trust no one—least of all their own parents.]]> 336 Gordon Korman 0062299964 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.28 2015 Masterminds (Masterminds, #1)
author: Gordon Korman
name: Terri
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/27
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I really enjoyed this book. Good character development and the mystery and plot twist was nicely done.
]]> Sense and Sensibility 14935 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141439662

'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

This edition includes explanatory notes, textual variants between the first and second editions, and Tony Tanner's introduction to the original Penguin Classic edition.]]> 409 Jane Austen 0141439661 Terri 5 4.10 1811 Sense and Sensibility
author: Jane Austen
name: Terri
average rating: 4.10
book published: 1811
rating: 5
read at: 2015/05/08
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2014readingchallenge, 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Worthy Pursuit (A Worthy Pursuit, #1)]]> 23411536
Charlotte Atherton, former headmistress of Sullivan’s Academy for Exceptional Youths, will do anything to keep her charges safe, especially the orphaned girl entrusted to her care. Charlotte promised Lily’s mother she’d keep the girl away from her unscrupulous grandfather, and nothing will stop Charlotte from fulfilling that pledge. Not even the handsome bounty hunter with surprisingly honest eyes who comes looking for them.

When Miss Atherton produces documentation that shows her to be Lily’s legal guardian, Stone must reevaluate everything he’s been led to believe. Is she villain or victim? Then a new danger forces Charlotte to trust the man sent to destroy her. Stone vows to protect what he once sought to tear apart. Besides, he’s ready to start a new pursuit: winning Charlotte’s heart.]]> 341 Karen Witemeyer 076421280X Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.20 2015 A Worthy Pursuit (A Worthy Pursuit, #1)
author: Karen Witemeyer
name: Terri
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/01
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Heiress of Winterwood (Whispers on the Moors, #1)]]> 15760508 Pride goes before the fall . . . but what comes after?

Darbury, England, 1814

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s infant baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father, Graham, a sea captain she’s never met.

Tragedy strikes when the child vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts. Fear for the child’s safety drives Amelia and Graham to test the boundaries of their love for this infant.

Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.

Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.

Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them.]]> 320 Sarah E. Ladd 1401688357 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.76 2013 The Heiress of Winterwood (Whispers on the Moors, #1)
author: Sarah E. Ladd
name: Terri
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/07
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs, #3)]]> 1753709 Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone. Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe. Every once in a while, a detective bursts on the scene who captures readers' hearts--and imaginations--and doesn't let go. And so it was with Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs, who made her debut just two years ago in the eponymously titled first book of the series, and is already on her way to becoming a household name.

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war--one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton.

Following on the heels of the triumphant Birds of a Feather, PARDONABLE LIES is the most compelling installment yet in the chronicles of Maisie Dobbs, "a heroine to cherish" (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review).]]> 9 Jacqueline Winspear 1593978146 Terri 5 2015-reading-challenge 3.89 2005 Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs, #3)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2015/03/01
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18]]> 23647114 The untold story of how the First World War shaped the lives, faith, and writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis

The First World War laid waste to a continent and permanently altered the political and religious landscape of the West. For a generation of men and women, it brought the end of innocence—and the end of faith. Yet for J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, the Great War deepened their spiritual quest. Both men served as soldiers on the Western Front, survived the trenches, and used the experience of that conflict to ignite their Christian imagination. Had there been no Great War, there would have been no Hobbit, noĚýLord of the Rings, noĚýNarnia, and perhaps no conversion to Christianity by C. S. Lewis.

Unlike a generation of young writers who lost faith in the God of the Bible, Tolkien and Lewis produced epic stories infused with the themes of guilt and grace, sorrow and consolation. Giving an unabashedly Christian vision of hope in a world tortured by doubt and disillusionment, the two writers created works that changed the course of literature and shaped the faith of millions. This is the first book to explore their work in light of the spiritual crisis sparked by the conflict.]]> 201 Joseph Loconte 0718021762 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.05 2015 A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War: How J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis Rediscovered Faith, Friendship, and Heroism in the Cataclysm of 1914-18
author: Joseph Loconte
name: Terri
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/01
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[An Incomplete Revenge (Maisie Dobbs, #5)]]> 1468706
With the country in the grip of economic malaise, and worried about her business, Maisie Dobbs is relieved to accept an apparently straightforward assignment from an old friend to investigate certain matters concerning a potential land purchase. Her inquiries take her to a picturesque village in Kent during the hop-picking season, but beneath its pastoral surface she finds evidence that something is amiss. Mysterious fires erupt in the village with alarming regularity, and a series of petty crimes suggests a darker criminal element at work. As Maisie discovers, the villagers are bitterly prejudiced against outsiders who flock to Kent at harvest time—even more troubling, they seem possessed by the legacy of a wartime Zeppelin raid. Maisie grows increasingly suspicious of a peculiar secrecy that shrouds the village, and ultimately she must draw on all her finely honed skills of detection to solve one of her most intriguing cases.]]> 288 Jacqueline Winspear 0719569516 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.08 2008 An Incomplete Revenge (Maisie Dobbs, #5)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/01
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Moriarty (Horowitz's Holmes, #2)]]> 22535533
Days after Holmes and Moriarty disappear into the waterfall's churning depths, Frederick Chase, a senior investigator at New York's infamous Pinkerton Detective Agency, arrives in Switzerland. Chase brings with him a dire warning: Moriarty's death has left a convenient vacancy in London's criminal underworld. There is no shortage of candidates to take his place—including one particularly fiendish criminal mastermind.

Chase is assisted by Inspector Athelney Jones, a Scotland Yard detective and devoted student of Holmes's methods of deduction, whom Conan Doyle introduced in The Sign of Four. The two men join forces and fight their way through the sinuous streets of Victorian London—from the elegant squares of Mayfair to the shadowy wharfs and alleyways of the Docks—in pursuit of this sinister figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, who is determined to stake his claim as Moriarty's successor.

Riveting and deeply atmospheric, Moriarty is the first Sherlock Holmes novel sanctioned by the author's estate since Horowitz's House of Silk. This tale of murder and menace breathes life into Holmes's fascinating world, again proving that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however im- probable, must be the truth.]]> 285 Anthony Horowitz 0062377183 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 3.75 2014 Moriarty (Horowitz's Holmes, #2)
author: Anthony Horowitz
name: Terri
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/01/13
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I gave this book 3 stars because it uses a plot device that I hate. I will not say what for the sake of spoilers. The writing, however, was full of imagery and engaging. The body count was pretty high, too.
]]> <![CDATA[A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford, #1)]]> 6093438
England, 1916. Independent-minded Bess Crawford's upbringing was far different from that of the usual upper-middle class British gentlewoman. Growing up in India, she learned the importance of responsibility, honor, and duty from her officer father. At the outbreak of World War I, Bess volunteered for the nursing corps, serving from the battlefields of France to the doomed hospital ship Britannic.

On one voyage, Bess grows fond of the young, gravely wounded Lieutenant Arthur Graham. Something rests heavily on his conscience, and to give him a bit of peace as he dies, she promises to deliver a message to his brother. It is some months before she can carry out this duty, and when she's next in England, she herself is recovering from a wound.

When Bess arrives at the Graham house in Kent, Jonathan Graham listens to his brother's last wishes with surprising indifference. Neither his mother nor his brother Timothy seems to think it has any significance, either. Unsettled by this, Bess is about to take her leave when sudden tragedy envelops her. She quickly discovers that fulfilling this duty to the dead has thrust her into a maelstrom of intrigue and murder that will endanger her own life and test her courage as not even war has.]]> 336 Charles Todd 0061791768 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.90 2009 A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford, #1)
author: Charles Todd
name: Terri
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/30
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I'm really enjoying this series.
]]> The Hope Quotient 19825319 What’s at the heart of every thriving person, every thriving marriage, kid, and business?

Hope!

The Hope Quotient is a revolutionary new method for measuring—and dramatically increasing—your level of hope. Hope is more than a feeling; it’s the by-product of seven key factors. When these are present in your life, they cause hope to thrive.

Factor 1: Recharge Your Batteries Nobody does well running on empty.

Factor 2: Raise Your Expectations You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you expect.

Factor 3: Refocus on the Future It’s time to throw away your rearview mirror. No one goes forward well when they are looking back.

Factor 4: Play to Your Strengths Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Factor 5: Refuse to Go It Alone Never underestimate the power of support. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

Factor 6: Replace Burnout with Balance Burning the candle at both ends isn’t as bright as you think.

Factor 7: Play Great Defense Avoid these five toxic hope killers that can threaten your future.

Using seven years of research, powerful biblical illustrations, and compelling human-interest stories, Ray Johnston explains how these seven essential factors will support, sustain, and strengthen your hope. And when consciously built into your life, how they will unleash hope in your marriage, your kids, your career, your church, your community, and the world.

Discover your HQ level, the most important contributor to your overall success, and then learn how to improve it. Because when hope rises—everything changes.

FLAP

It’s the one thing that can change everything!

When you have hope, eleven things are unleashed in your

You have more satisfying relationships.You’re more productive.You’re less affected by stress.You’re more successful.You’re more satisfied.You’re more compassionate.You’re more willing to help people in need.You’re physically healthier.You hold yourself to higher moral and ethical standards.You’re more likely to assume leadership.You’re more likely to see God as loving, caring, and forgiving.This book will help you discover your HQ level and learn the seven key factors that, when built into your life, unleash hope. When you have genuine hope—not trite, pious platitudes but authentic hope that produces inner strength and confidence—anything is possible.]]> 224 Ray Johnston Terri 5 2015-reading-challenge 4.03 2014 The Hope Quotient
author: Ray Johnston
name: Terri
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2015/03/03
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, #6)]]> 3690427

In the thrilling new novel by the New York Times bestselling author of An Incomplete Revenge, Maisie Dobbs must catch a madman before he commits murder on an unimaginable scale

It’s Christmas Eve 1931. On the way to see a client, Maisie Dobbs witnesses a man commit suicide on a busy London street. The following day, the prime minister’s office receives a letter threatening a massive loss of life if certain demands are not met—and the writer mentions Maisie by name. After being questioned and cleared by Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane of Scotland Yard’s elite Special Branch, she is drawn into MacFarlane’s personal fiefdom as a special adviser on the case. Meanwhile, Billy Beale, Maisie’s trusted assistant, is once again facing tragedy as his wife, who has never recovered from the death of their young daughter, slips further into melancholia’s abyss. Soon Maisie becomes involved in a race against time to find a man who proves he has the knowledge and will to inflict death and destruction on thousands of innocent people. And before this harrowing case is over, Maisie must navigate a darkness not encountered since she was a nurse in wards filled with shell-shocked men.

In Among the Mad, Jacqueline Winspear combines a heart-stopping story with a rich evocation of a fascinating period to create her most compelling and satisfying novel yet.

]]> 0 Jacqueline Winspear 1427206058 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.09 2009 Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs, #6)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/23
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Small-Town Fireman (Gordon Falls, #6)]]> 22885351 The Catch of a Lifetime

Karla Kennedy doesn't belong in Gordon Falls. The aspiring restaurateur has far loftier goals than running her grandfather's quaint coffee shop. The only person who seems to relate is handsome volunteer firefighter Dylan McDonald. Dylan understands dreams—he risked everything to start his fishing charter business. Now he needs Karla's help to make it succeed. As they work together, Karla and Dylan quickly discover that while their timing may be bad, their chemistry is undeniable. Karla always thought of Gordon Falls as a layover on her way to a big-city career, but could it be where her heart truly belongs?



Gordon Falls: Hearts ablaze in a small town]]> 224 Allie Pleiter 0373879326 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.06 2014 Small-Town Fireman (Gordon Falls, #6)
author: Allie Pleiter
name: Terri
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/30
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I've had this book on the shelf for a long time. Glad I finally got to read it. It was sweet but well written.
]]> <![CDATA[Whisper on the Wind (The Great War, #2)]]> 7924488 407 Maureen Lang 1414324367 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 3.93 2010 Whisper on the Wind (The Great War, #2)
author: Maureen Lang
name: Terri
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2015/12/27
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Lesson in Secrets (Maisie Dobbs, #8)]]> 6553732 When the college’s controversial pacifist founder and principal, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie is directed to stand back as Detective Chief Superintendent Robert MacFarlane and Detective Chief Inspector Richard Stratton spearhead the investigation. She soon discovers, however, that the circumstances of Liddicote’s death appear inextricably linked to the suspicious comings and goings of faculty and students under her surveillance.
To unravel this web, Maisie must overcome a reluctant Secret Service, discover shameful hidden truths about Britain’s conduct during the Great War, and face off against the rising powers of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei—the Nazi Party—in Britain.
As the storm clouds of World War II gather on the horizon, this pivotal chapter in the life of Maisie Dobbs foreshadows new challenges and powerful enemies facing the psychologist and investigator.]]> 321 Jacqueline Winspear 0061727679 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.01 2011 A Lesson in Secrets (Maisie Dobbs, #8)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/16
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford, #5)]]> 17331392 New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd, World War I nurse and amateur sleuth Bess Crawford investigates an old murder that occurred during her childhood in India, and begins a search for the truth that will transform her and leave her pondering a troubling question: How can facts lie?

In 1908, when a young Bess Crawford lived in India, an unforgettable incident darkened the otherwise happy time. Her father's regiment discovered it had a murderer in its ranks, an officer who killed five people yet was never brought to trial.

A decade later, tending to the wounded on the battlefields of France during World War I, Bess learns from a dying man that the alleged murderer, Lieutenant Wade, is alive and serving at the Front. According to reliable reports, he'd died years before, so how did Wade escape India? What drove a good man to murder in cold blood? Bess uses her leave to investigate. But when she stumbles on the horrific truth, she is shaken to her very core. The facts reveal a reality that could have been her own fate.]]> 336 Charles Todd 0062237179 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.93 2013 A Question of Honor (Bess Crawford, #5)
author: Charles Todd
name: Terri
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/09
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist]]> 7601381
Former Christian Atheist Craig Groeschel knows his subject all too well. After over a decade of successful ministry, he had to make a painful self admission: although he believed in God, he was leading his church like God didn’t exist.

To Christians and non-Christians alike, to the churched and the unchurched, the journey leading up to Groeschel’s admission and the journey that follows—from his family and his upbringing to the lackluster and even diametrically opposed expressions of faith he encountered—will look and sound like the story of their own lives.

Now the founding and senior pastor of the multicampus, pace-setting LifeChurch.tv, Groeschel's personal journey toward a more authentic God-honoring life is more relevant than ever.

Christians and Christian Atheists everywhere will be nodding their heads as they are challenged to take their own honest moment and ask the question: am I putting my whole faith in God but still living as if everything was up to me?]]> 256 Craig Groeschel 031032789X Terri 5 2015-reading-challenge ]]> 4.04 2010 The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn't Exist
author: Craig Groeschel
name: Terri
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2015/12/02
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I thought I had read this book and I put it aside. So glad i picked it up again. Although the chapters are short, they are packed with thought provoking passages.

]]> <![CDATA[Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel, #1)]]> 24983
But a crisis strangely linking past and future strands Kivrin in a bygone age as her fellows try desperately to rescue her. In a time of superstition and fear, Kivrin--barely of age herself--finds she has become an unlikely angel of hope during one of history's darkest hours.

Connie Willis draws upon her understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering, and the indomitable will of the human spirit.]]> 578 Connie Willis 0553562738 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.02 1992 Doomsday Book (Oxford Time Travel, #1)
author: Connie Willis
name: Terri
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/29
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I really wish I could find the customer who recommended this book! It was good. I can understand why some of the reviews said it takes a while to get started. It does, but that's not a bad thing, Willis does a great job of building the suspense. Also, some parts of the plot were predictable but it actually worked for the story. Good book and looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.
]]> Into the Wild (Warriors, #1) 111332 288 Erin Hunter 0061284203 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 4.33 2003 Into the Wild (Warriors, #1)
author: Erin Hunter
name: Terri
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2015/07/09
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
These books sell really well at my job and I've always wondered at the appeal. Children, both boys and girls, would come in super excited to get the next installation of the series. Now I understand why. Despite my serious bias in my dislike of cats, the story was pretty good. They were engaging and well written. It also deals with issues that 7-12 year olds face, but in cat form. Another bonus was that these aren't fickle housecoats. They were very primal and more like big cats instead of toms and turtlebacks. I would recommend these books for a 7-12 year old, but now that the mystery is solved, I don't think I need to read anymore of the series.
]]> <![CDATA[The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)]]> 20912424 An exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War 2, from the acclaimed author of Jefferson’s Sons and for fans of Number the Stars.
Ěý
Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
Ěý
So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?
Ěý
This masterful work of historical fiction is equal parts adventure and a moving tale of family and identity—a classic in the making.]]> 316 Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 0803740816 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.47 2015 The War That Saved My Life (The War That Saved My Life, #1)
author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
name: Terri
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/31
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
This was a great book to be a children's book. I read it in 24 hours!
]]> Emma: A Modern Retelling 23395733 Emma is wise, witty, and totally enchanting, and will appeal equally to Alexander McCall Smith's multitude of fans and to the enormous community of wildly enthusiastic Austen aficionados.]]> 361 Alexander McCall Smith 0804197954 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 3.01 2014 Emma: A Modern Retelling
author: Alexander McCall Smith
name: Terri
average rating: 3.01
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/05/17
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
Alexander McCall Smith is a great writer, but this retelling of Emma was a bit of a disappointment. Smith spends a good deal of time on Mr. Woodhouse's anxiety, which was laugh out loud funny, but the development of the romance between Emma and Mr. Knightley felt rushed. Also, I didn't like Emma for most of the book. I think my love for Jane Austen drove me to finish the book, but if someone doesn't love Jane Austen, he or she may not like this retelling.
]]> The Phantom of the Opera 8572459 8 Gaston Leroux 1441700269 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.57 1910 The Phantom of the Opera
author: Gaston Leroux
name: Terri
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1910
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/15
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I am so glad I finally read this book. It is well written and quite good.
]]> Rebel Queen 22609433
When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.

Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies - one male and one female - and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although her soldiers may not appear at first to be formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from the empire that is determined to take away the land she loves.

Told from the unexpected perspective of Sita - Queen Lakshmi's most favored companion and most trusted soldier in the all-female army - Rebel Queen shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction. In the tradition of her best-selling novel, Nefertiti ,and through her strong, independent heroines fighting to make their ways in a male-dominated world, Michelle Moran brings nineteenth-century India to rich, vibrant life.]]> 355 Michelle Moran 1476716358 Terri 4 Over the past few years, I've fallen in love with Bollywood movies and the Indian culture. This book was very good at giving insight into that culture even though the author admits rearranging the timeline of the British invasion. I may have to pick up some of Moran's other books. ]]> 4.03 2015 Rebel Queen
author: Michelle Moran
name: Terri
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/05
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge, arc-april
review:
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book not having read anything by this author before. The first few pages sucked me in. Amazing since I normally don't like historical fiction based on a real person.
Over the past few years, I've fallen in love with Bollywood movies and the Indian culture. This book was very good at giving insight into that culture even though the author admits rearranging the timeline of the British invasion. I may have to pick up some of Moran's other books.
]]> <![CDATA[Sister Eve, Private Eye (A Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery #1)]]> 21556065
Two decades into her calling at a New Mexico monastery, Sister Evangeline Divine breaks her daily routine when a police officer appears, carrying a message from her father. Sister Eve is no stranger to the law, having grown up with a police captain turned private detective. She's seen her fair share of crime--and knows a thing or two about solving mysteries.

But when Captain Jackson Divine needs her to return home and help him recover from surgery, Sister Eve finds herself taking on his latest case.

A Hollywood director has disappeared, and the sultry starlet he's been running around with isn't talking. When the missing man turns up dead, Captain Divine's case escalates into a full-blown murder case, and Sister Eve's crime-solving instincts kick in with an almost God-given grace.

Soon Sister Eve finds herself soul-searching every step of the way: How can she choose between the vocation in her heart and the job in her blood?]]> 336 Lynne Hinton 1401691455 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 3.42 2014 Sister Eve, Private Eye (A Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery #1)
author: Lynne Hinton
name: Terri
average rating: 3.42
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/02/16
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I wish I could give this book 3 1/2 stars. Three stars suggests that it's not worth the read, but it is. I liked the fact that there was no romance in it and it dealt with family relationships. I also loved the concept of Eve being a nun. It is a good read.
]]> <![CDATA[Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs, #2)]]> 16369016 11 Jacqueline Winspear 0792740947 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.75 2004 Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs, #2)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2015/01/02
date added: 2015/12/27
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mapping of Love and Death (Maisie Dobbs, #7)]]> 6553733 In the spring of 1932, after Michael’s remains are discovered in France, his wealthy parents hire Maisie Dobbs to find the woman—identified only as “The English Nurse”—who wrote a series of love letters discovered among Michael’s belongings.
The investigation takes Maisie from London’s most exclusive drawing rooms to its most downtrodden neighborhoods, forcing her to wrestle with memories of serving as a nurse in the Great War and of the passionate wartime romance that ended in tragedy. But as she delves into what she discovers to be a long-hidden crime, the investigator realizes unearthing buried secrets can lead to present-day danger.]]> 338 Jacqueline Winspear 0061727660 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.20 2010 The Mapping of Love and Death (Maisie Dobbs, #7)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2015/12/05
date added: 2015/12/06
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
I love this series! I'm really trying to ration them off because I'm reading faster than Jaqueline Winspear is writing. I love the way each book progresses Maisie's character arc but still has the case she solves. This book broke my heart, though.
]]> <![CDATA[Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)]]> 13206900
When Winter develops feelings for the handsome palace guard, Jacin, she fears the evil Queen will crush their romance before it has a chance to begin.

But there are stirrings against the Queen across the land. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even find the power to launch a revolution and win a war that's been raging for far too long.

Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter claim their happily ever afters by defeating Levana once and for all?]]> 827 Marissa Meyer 0312642989 Terri 5 2015-reading-challenge 4.42 2015 Winter (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)
author: Marissa Meyer
name: Terri
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/11/16
date added: 2015/11/23
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories, #1)]]> 11607446 The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, they leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they come face-to-face with the fairy tale characters they grew up reading about.

But after a series of encounters with witches, wolves, goblins, and trolls alike, getting back home is going to be harder than they thought.]]> 438 Chris Colfer 031620157X Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 4.25 2012 The Wishing Spell (The Land of Stories, #1)
author: Chris Colfer
name: Terri
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2015/07/28
date added: 2015/08/04
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
This book is very popular in at my job so I decided to pick it up. Given that I'm a grown woman, I can say that this is a good book for it's age range. So books cross age, but this one doesn't. Not that tit's a bad story. I would have thought it was fantastic if I was 9. I believe it would be fantastic for 9-12 year olds.
]]> Lizzy and Jane 19167656 Lizzy and Jane never saw eye to eye. But when illness brings them together, they discover they may be more like Austen’s famous sisters after all.

Lizzy was only a teenager when her mother died of cancer. Shortly after, Lizzy fled from her home, her family, and her cherished nickname. After working tirelessly to hone her gift of creating magic in the kitchen, Elizabeth has climbed the culinary ladder to become the head chef of her own New York restaurant, Feast. But as her magic begins to elude her, Paul, Feast’s financial backer, brings in someone to share her responsibilities and her kitchen. So Elizabeth flees again.

In a desperate attempt to reconnect with her gift, Elizabeth returns home. But her plans are derailed when she learns that her estranged sister, Jane, is battling cancer. Elizabeth surprises everyone—including herself—when she decides to stay in Seattle and work to prepare healthy, sustaining meals for Jane as she undergoes chemotherapy. She also meets Nick and his winsome son, Matt, who, like Elizabeth, are trying to heal from the wounds of the past.

As she tends to Jane's needs, Elizabeth's powers begin to return to her, along with the family she left behind so long ago. Then Paul tries to entice her back to New York, and she is faced with a hard decision: stay and become Lizzy to her sister’s Jane, or return to New York and the life she worked so hard to create?]]> 352 Katherine Reay 1401689736 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 3.84 2014 Lizzy and Jane
author: Katherine Reay
name: Terri
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/07/03
date added: 2015/07/09
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
This second book by Reay wasn't quite as enjoyable as the first one, Dear Mr. Knightly. The book seemed to have all the elements of a great book, a heart wrenching health issue, a need for change and tense family relations. Unfortunately, I struggled with liking the characters. They were realistic and having lived through the heart-wrenching health issue like they did, I couldn't connect. I wanted to like Lizzy, she was named after my favorite character after all, but I found her confusing and sometimes very selfish. Will I read Reay's next book? Yes. Her characters are compelling enough to make me try again. I just wish I enjoyed this one more.
]]> I Am Princess X 17408897
Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.

Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.

Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window.

Princess X?

When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon---her best friend, Libby, who lives.]]> 256 Cherie Priest 0545642744 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 4.07 2015 I Am Princess X
author: Cherie Priest
name: Terri
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/30
date added: 2015/06/30
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
This book started off a little slow but the premise was strong enough to keep me hooked. I thought the writing was more appropriate for younger children, but the subject matter made up for it. And the artwork was fantastic. A good combination of graphic novel and story.
]]> <![CDATA[Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs, #4)]]> 7433
The case soon takes Maisie to the desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, as well as the sinister underbelly of the city's art world. And while navigating her way into the heart of the aristocratic yet bohemian Bassington-Hopes, Maisie is deeply troubled by the tragedy of another, quite different family in need.

In Messenger of Truth, Maisie Dobbs again uncovers the dark legacy of the Great War in a society struggling to recollect itself in difficult times. But to solve the mystery of the artist's death, she will have to remain steady as the forces behind his death come out of the shadows to silence her.

Following on the bestselling Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear delivers another vivid, thrilling, and utterly unique episode in the life of Maisie Dobbs.]]> 322 Jacqueline Winspear 0805078983 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.97 2006 Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs, #4)
author: Jacqueline Winspear
name: Terri
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/04
date added: 2015/06/04
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
Love Maisie as a character but in this book she seemed a little not like herself. Still good though.
]]> Illusionarium 22840398 Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.

Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own.]]> 361 Heather Dixon Wallwork 0062001051 Terri 4 2015-reading-challenge 3.36 2015 Illusionarium
author: Heather Dixon Wallwork
name: Terri
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2015/05/06
date added: 2015/05/07
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
A few years ago I was convinced that steampunk was going to be the next big trend in teen fiction. I was wrong and post apocalyptic dystopian won out. This book, however, gives me hope that steampunk is coming back. It is a well written, mind-binding, dimension jumping story of a seemingly ordinary boy. I also like the fact that Jonathan's power wasn't supernatural. He was truly ordinary in the truest sense. It is also clean, no profanity and no teenagers making out. It also has a strong thread of morality and the impact of choices in the book, which was quite refreshing. The only thing that kept it from getting five stars was the light description. Dixon sets up the world of Arthurise very well, but I would have like more description at the beginning. Another think I would have like is more resolution to a few of the minor plotlines. But a sequel might be the reason they were left unfinished. I hoping I'm right because I would love to read more from this writer.
]]> Red Queen (Red Queen, #1) 17878931
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare's potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance - Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart...]]> 383 Victoria Aveyard 1409151174 Terri 3 2015-reading-challenge 4.04 2015 Red Queen (Red Queen, #1)
author: Victoria Aveyard
name: Terri
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2015/04/02
date added: 2015/04/02
shelves: 2015-reading-challenge
review:
This book was so close to being fantastic. It read like a mash-up of every YA fantasy book popular right now. I so wanted it to be better. I didn't have a hard time finishing it. The prose is smooth enough to keep you going. Also, the author gives plenty of glimmers of hope that the book will be amazing, but the hope is not fulfilled. Mare's internal dialogue starts to grate by the end. Not horrible, just not great. I will, however, read the next book in the series if there is one.
]]>