The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

I’ve noticed that Stieg Larsson’s novels are currently all the rage. Yet, I actually met someone yesterday who had never heard of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. If you also have never heard of the story of Lisbeth Salander, I urge you to give this series a chance.

I first read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2008, before the book was published in the U.S. I loved it. When The Girl Who Played with Fire was released, I immediately bought it and devoured it. And finally, when The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest was released this year, I bought it. But, I didn’t read it right away.

I decided the only way to do the series justice was to read all three consecutively. I admit, it took me over a month to read all three, due to spending time on other obligations. Yet, I’m very glad I gave the books a chance to read as a series.

Tattoo is an exciting read. It introduces the world to Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, two very different characters who embark on a life-changing investigation together. They spend months searching for the truth behind a woman’s disappearance, only to find that the truth is worse than anyone could have imagined.

Fire brings the main characters to the forefront with a new mystery to solve. Yet, this mystery directly involves Salander. As her haunting past catches up to her, she attempts to expose the truth once and for all. This novel ends with a cliffhanger leading the reader directly to the next novel.

Hornet’s Nest brings a variety of characters together in the interest of one person—Lisbeth Salander. Unfortunately, not everyone has her best interests in mind. While some look for the truth, others risk their lives to cover it up. Halfway through the novel, the meaning of the title becomes very clear.

Throughout all three novels, the relationship between Blomkvist and Salander fluctuates between love and hate—at least in Salander’s view. Yet, what never changes is the loyalty they show each other. They each risk their lives for the other, and they keep each other’s secrets as though they were locked away in a vault.

I highly recommend this series as a whole to anyone who likes to read mystery, suspense, and crime novels. You will not be sorry.

My Ratings:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: A

The Girl Who Played with Fire: A

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest: A-

Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert’s life is anything but typical. How many people do you know who get to travel the world and write about it?

Gilbert’s memoir is about her struggle to find peace and happiness in her life and in herself. She embarks on a journey through three different countries with the desire to experience life on her own terms.

Italy gives Gilbert the chance to love food, which is something that women are discouraged from doing. She also begins to find a new love in Italy—love of self and love of friends.

Gilbert’s trip to India could be a book in itself. The spiritual search that she embarks on is a powerful and motivating journey. She meets some life-changing friends, and finds a calm within herself that she didn’t know she had. I wanted to stay in India with her forever.

As Gilbert moves on to Bali, her story evolves. She is no longer just on a journey to find herself. Now, she is actively participating in her life and making changes for the better. In Bali, as the title suggests, she finds love. She finally realizes that she does not have to be afraid to love another person as long as she keeps her eyes and her heart open. She also learns that you can love another person and still love yourself.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes to be moved by what they read. If you can keep an open mind, it may just give you ideas on how to make positive changes to your own life.

My Rating: A

On a side note: The movie was just as moving, with settings more amazing that I could have imagined. Movie Rating: A

Dead in the Family

I’ll apologize now for the short review.  I read this book weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to catch up on my blog. So, here’s what I know.

1. I love Charlaine Harris.

2. I love Sookie Stackhouse.

3. This book does not show either one of them at their best, but it still proves to be entertaining.

4. If it’s been awhile since you read the last Sookie book, you may need a refresher course. Dead in the Family often references the previous book, Dead and Gone,  and it’s slightly difficult to recall the mentioned scenes.

5. If you haven’t read Charlaine Harris yet, I once again urge you to give her a chance.

My Rating: B+

To the Power of Three

This is probably the third or fourth book I’ve read by Laura Lippman, and you’d think I would have noticed a pattern by now.

Summary (from back cover):

Josie, Perri, and Kat have been inseparable best friends since third grade—the athlete, the brilliant, acerbic drama queen, and the popular beauty with a heart that is open to all around her. They live in an affluent suburb of Baltimore and enjoy privileges many teenagers are denied.

But on the final day of school, one of them brings a gun with her.      And when the police break down the door of the high school girls’ bathroom, locked from the inside, they find two of the friends wounded, one of them critically—and the third girl is dead.

My Thoughts:

Like other suspense novels, To the Power of Three begins with the crime and attempts to bring the story full circle. Unfortunately, this novel never manages to stay on track. As storylines are pulled in different directions, the conclusion ends up being odd and unbelievable.

One of the main issues that I had with this novel was the number of characters introduced throughout the story. Even though I read this book in just a few days, I still couldn’t keep track of who everyone was or why they were important. It felt like the story was being padded to seem more complex, which was unnecessary.

I can understand how someone would see Lippman’s writing as creative and different, yet I keep struggling to enjoy her books. Therefore, I would not recommend this novel.

My Rating: D

The 9th Judgment

I’ve always been on the fence when it comes to James Patterson. Sometimes I’ll read a book by him that I love, but I’ll hate the next one. It’s a coin toss. Yet, I hold an entirely different outlook when it comes to his Women’s Murder Club series. These books are in a category of their own—a good one.

Summary (from book jacket):

A young mother and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down while returning to their car in the garage of a shopping mall. There are no witnesses, and Detective Lindsay Boxer is left with only one shred of evidence: a cryptic message scrawled across the windshield in blood red lipstick.

The same night, the wife of A-list actor Marcus Dowling is woken by a cat burglar who is about to steal millions of dollars’ worth of precious jewels. In just seconds there is a nearly empty safe, a lifeless body, and another mystery that throws San Francisco into hysteria.

Lindsay spends every waking hour working with her partner, Rich—and her desire for him threatens to tear apart both her engagement and the Women’s Murder Club. Before Lindsay and her friends can piece together another case, one of the killers forces Lindsay to put her own life on the line—but is it enough to save the city?

**You may have noticed that I have switched to using the summary from the book instead of writing my own. I do this to ensure that nothing is left out, and that the information comes across as it’s meant to. **

My Thoughts:

I have been reading this series since 1st To Die was published nearly a decade ago. And, I honestly think that the series gets better with each book.

The criminals in The 9th Judgment are more developed characters than one would normally find in a suspense novel. That’s the beauty of this series. The criminal doesn’t always have to be kept a secret to create suspense.

This is the first time in this series where I literally shivered when I read about the crimes committed. Though some descriptions are unpleasant, they certainly get the point across.

In this book, Lindsay Boxer is once again the hero of the day. She is one of my favorite female characters. I just wish Patterson and his cowriters—this time, Maxine Paetro—would stop trying to create a complicated love life for Lindsay. It’s really not necessary.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense novels. These books work well as a series, and also as individual books. So, don’t feel like you have to read all of them before giving this one a chance.

My Rating: A-

The Double Comfort Safari Club

I don’t know why I avoided The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series for so long.  What I do know is that once I picked up the first book, I was hooked.

Summary (from book jacket):

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi head to a safari camp to carry out a delicate mission on behalf of a former guest who has left one of the guides a large sum of money. But once they find their man, Precious begins to sense that something is not right.

To make matters worse, shortly before their departure Mma Makutsi’s fiancé, Phuti Radiphuti, suffers a debilitating accident, and when his aunt moves in to take care of him, she also pushes Mma Makutsi out of the picture. Could she be trying to break up the relationship?

Finally, a local priest and his wife independently approach Mma Ramotswe with concerns of infidelity, creating a rather unusual and tricky situation. Nevertheless, Precious is confident that with a little patience, kindness and good sense things will work out for the best, something that will delight her many fans.

My Thoughts:

With eleven novels in the series, one would think that Alexander McCall Smith would be running short on ideas for crimes to solve in Botswana. So far, that does not seem to be the case.

The Double Comfort Safari Club has some very interesting cases to solve. My favorite involves a devious character from Mma Makutsi’s past who tries to swindle a respectable man.

Precious Ramotswe is a wonderful character. She is an intelligent, perceptive, and well-mannered woman. After reading so many books about her, I feel like I know her personally.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. A lot of time was spent on Mma Makutsi and her situation. Though I like Mma Makutsi, she can get on my nerves over time.

So, if you’ve read this series, I  recommend you continue. If you haven’t read the series, then I recommend you do. Not only are the characters and the cases interesting, but the vivid descriptions make me feel like I’m actually in Botswana.

My Rating: A-

This One Is Mine

After a week of reading about nothing but nutrition and food, I really needed to read something different. This book was the perfect choice.

Summary (from back cover):

Violet Parry has a picture-perfect life: a beautiful house, a successful husband, a darling daughter. Violet can speak French, quote Sondheim, and whip up dinner from the vegetables in her garden. She has everything under control—except her own happiness.

All it takes is a chance encounter with Teddy Reyes, a roguish small-time bass player with a highly evolved sexuality, to open Violet’s eyes to what she’s missing and upend her life completely.

My Thoughts:

This One Is Mine reads like many other chick lit novels, but on a higher level. The book is not just fun and fluff. Maria Semple puts her characters into some very shocking situations, and sees them through to the end.

As a reader, I saw Violet Parry as an everywoman. She represents those women who feel like they’re missing something in life. When that “something” presents itself, Violet holds on tight. At first, I found Violet’s actions to be ridiculous. But, by the end, I could see some of the reality involved.

Sally Parry, Violet’s sister-in-law, is another main character in the novel. I found myself disliking Sally more and more with each chapter. She is devious and selfish in everything she does, and she’ll do anything to get her way. Surprisingly, her chaotic life really tied the novel together.

I would recommend this book to adult women who like a good novel. I must warn you, though, that this novel has some graphic sexual language and graphic sex scenes in a few of the chapters.

Maria Semple wrote for television shows, which is pretty obvious by her writing. Just when you think you know what’s going on, she throws in a surprise that you never saw coming.

My Rating: B+

Eat This, Not That! For Kids!

Normally I wouldn’t review a book like this because I consider it one of my “research” books. When I find a topic that interests me, I read everything that I can find on the subject. My newest obsession is health and fitness.

Please note that this book is not just for kids. I have many of the reviewed products in my own adult cupboard.

The reason I’m reviewing this book is because I actually read the entire thing instead of just browsing through it. The information contained within is somewhat surprising.

For me, if I think something is healthy, then it must be healthy. But, I don’t actually do anything to confirm it. This book proved me wrong on many things. Generally, I read the nutritional information on products for the calories, fiber, and protein counts. Rarely do I look at how much fat or sugar is included. Having fewer calories does not make something healthy if it also has 70 grams of sugar per serving.

If you’ve never read one of these books, I urge you to check one out and become more informed about what you are eating. Obviously, the best part of this book is that it doesn’t just tell you what’s bad for you, it gives you a better alternative for each product.

My Rating: A

Bread Givers

This book made me very angry, which just shows how good of a story it is.

Summary (from back cover):

Sara Smolinsky, the youngest daughter of an Orthodox rabbi, watches as her father marries off her sisters to men they don’t love. “It says in the Torah, only through a man has a woman an existence,” he proclaims. But Sara rejects this conception of Jewish womanhood. She wants to live for herself and to marry for love. “My will is as strong as yours,” she replies. “Nobody can stop me. I’m not from the old country. I’m American!” Sara takes a job as an ironer and rents a room with a door. “This door was life . . . the bottom starting point of becoming a person.”

Set during the 1920s on New York’s Lower East Side, the story of Sara’s struggle toward independence and self-fulfillment—through education, work, and love—is universal and resonates with a passionate intensity that all can share.

My Thoughts:

This novel makes me grateful that I didn’t live in the early 1900s. I knew that life was very restrictive for American women, but I had no idea how tough it was for women of different religions and traditions.

Sara Smolinsky is a fictional representation of the author, Anzia Yezierska. Yezierska saw the suffering and poverty going on in New York and wrote it down to share with the world. She gives a very clear picture of what women went through.

As the youngest of four girls, Sara has opportunities that her sisters didn’t have. She saw what her sisters were put through and knew that she was destined for the same path if she didn’t stand up for herself. She goes against her father and his traditions and follows her own dreams.

Sara’s father is a very well-written and very unlikeable character. Nearly everything that he says or does is upsetting. He disrespects his daughters and berates them for disrespecting him. In his culture, the children are supposed to support the parents. If one of them is unable to do so, he considers her a burden. He is a foolish, cruel man who actually had me shouting out loud in anger.

The story of the Smolinskys is just an example of what life was like for immigrant families in the early 1900s. After reading Bread Givers, I am grateful for the world as it is today—bad economy and all.

This book was the April pick for the library book discussion. I never would have found this book on my own, so I’m glad it was chosen. I would definitely recommend this book to others. It’s a powerful story that proves that people can change their lives if they work hard and see it through.

My Rating: B+

House Rules

Jodi Picoult amazes me. She manages to rise higher and higher on my favorite-authors list with nearly every one of her books that I read. House Rules has easily secured her a spot in my top five.

Summary:

Jacob Hunt is a son, a brother, a senior in high school, and a very intelligent guy. He also suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. A form of autism, Asperger’s affects nearly everything in Jacob’s life. If things aren’t the way that Jacob expects them, the change in routine can cause him to have a breakdown.

Jacob is fascinated with forensic science. He watches a crime show every day and records what happens throughout the show. He uses his police scanner to find crime scenes and see if he can figure out what happened before the police do.

When Jacob’s tutor, Jess, is found murdered, Jacob is charged with the crime. His mother does everything she can to help him stay out of prison, whether he’s guilty or not.

As the trial progresses, Jacob’s lawyer tries to convince the jury that Jacob’s Asperger’s allows him the insanity defense. No one knows for sure if Jacob murdered Jess, but because of his Asperger’s and his love of crime scenes, everyone assumes that he’s guilty.

My Thoughts:

Picoult is great at putting controversial subjects on paper and carrying the reader through the tough parts.

House Rules had my attention early on, and managed to keep me engaged all the way through. The book is a combination of a mystery, drama, romance, and crime novel all rolled into one.

The characters are very well written. Emma, Jacob’s mom, wears many hats as the single mother of a special-needs child. Her other son, Theo, unfortunately fades into the background at times.

Theo is a great character. He explains the downside of his family’s life—the part that no one is supposed to talk about. By the end, though, he will see just how important he is to his family.

Jacob is very interesting. The reader is able to see what goes through his mind instead of just getting a description of his diagnosis. Reading from the point of view of someone with Asperger’s is what makes the novel work so well.

I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a reminder that even though some of us are different, we’re all still the same.

My Rating: A

I Also Recommend:

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult