Book #5- Gilda Joyce Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. It's about a fabulous 13 yr. old named Gilda Joyce who is always interested in something going on in her neighborhood. On the last day of school, she realizes her bf, Wendy Choy is going away to summer camp and she will be all alone in the summer. Gilda writes her long lost uncle who resides in San Francisco a letter inviting herself there for the summer. His assistant writes her back notifying her that she can come to San Francisco.

When she arrives, she realizes that there is a spooky tower on her uncle's property which no one is allowed to go into. Gilda also finds out a few other things: his house is supposedly haunted, his sister jumped off that tower and she has a cousin her own age that lives there.

What I liked about the book:

1. Gilda is an unforgettable heroine! She has so many disguises and costumes. Needless to say, in my opinion, Gilda puts Harriet the Spy to shame. She's extremely witty and very intelligent.
2. There was a hint of the paranormal in the book.
3. She brought her cousin out of her doldrums.

What I disliked about the book:

1. I really can't think of anything I disliked. I'm trying to find something and I really can't.
   

Book #4 Ex-libris by Anne Fadiman

I am a huge fan of reading. I first heard of Anne Fadiman on NPR. She was talking about her newest book of essays. Now I have to stop here and tell you that I'm not a big essay person. Generally, SMUT is what I read and I'm really not ashamed to tell anyone. What I really liked about Fadiman is that her essays are not lofty. When I heard her on NPR, I could actually picture what she was describing and understand what she was talking about. I decided to look into her work and found that she wrote essays on books. Joy!! Rapture!!

Her first essay discusses marrying two libraries. I still keep my husband's library separate from mine. He likes his manga and graphic novels, while I prefer books with no pictures. In another essay, she discusses things you should never do to a book. I also enjoyed You Are There which discusses reading books about certain landscapes within those landscapes. For example, I would read a book describing Ecuador, while I am in Ecuador.

Things I liked:

• I could understand what she wrote. I didn't feel like her ideas went above my head.
• This is easily a book I would want to come back to later in life. It will be a part of my shelf.

Things I didn't like:

• It ended.
  

Book #3- Night Life by Ray Garton

Martin Burgess, horror writer with a lot of money, decides to hire two of the best private investigators to see if vampires actually exist. While Karen Moffett and Gavin Keoph begin their investigation, they uncover information that would best be left alone.

What I liked about this book:

1. It gave a creepy genre to vamps.
2. It creeped me out to the point I couldn't read it before going to bed at night.
3. Places vamps into two categories- vamps and brutals.
4. Tied in with the first book Live Girls.

What I didn't like:

1. I didn't read Live Girls. I wish I would have. Many references were made to the Live Girls book throughout.
2. Did I mention this book creeped me out? Well done Mr. Garton!!
   

Book #2- Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach

This story is about a girl named Hero Netherfield. Her family is quite enamored with Shakespeare so they named her Hero after one of the characters in his play, Much Ado about Nothing. Hero moves into a new neighborhood with her family (mom, dad, and older sis). She meets her neighbor Mrs. Roth who informs her about a secret diamond hidden in Hero's house. In her quest to find the diamond, Hero discovers a lot about Shakespeare and English history in addition to making new friends.
What I liked about this book:

1. It was a page turner from the beginner. I think kids can relate to Hero because she is an outcast. I'm sure many people feel that they have been put in that position.
2. I liked the English history portion.
3. There's really nothing I didn't like.
   

Book #1- Dark Desire by Christine Feehan

Ever since I read some of Laurell K. Hamilton's books last summer, I've been drawn to paranormal fiction. So I continue my love for unlikely heroes in Christine Feehan's Dark Desire. Shea O'Halloran continually feels someone in her thoughts. Each year that passes, the thoughts get stronger and physical feelings are attached with them. Jacques is a Carpathian male on the brink of insanity. He was tortured and buried alive. While it pains him to try and communicate telepathically with Shea, he still does for seven years. Shea finally goes to the mountains, finds where Jacques is buried underground, pulls him up and tries to not only repair his physical wounds, but his mental ones as well. Feehan distinguishes between vampires and Carpathians. From what I gather (which may not be much, I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch), Carpathians are night walkers (they can walk during dawn), drink blood, live an extremely long time, have emotions, can shape shift, control animals and have one lifemate. If a Carpathian male does not find his lifemate, he will eventually turn into a vampire. Vampires kill just for the thrill of killing, so they can feel something. They walk at night and cannot during dawn. They obviously drink blood and kick around for a long time. What I liked:

1. Feehan roped me in and I couldn't put the book down. I constantly wanted to know what was going to happen.
2. Her twist on how Carpathians differ from vampires.

What I didn't like:

1. Some of the love scenes seemed forced.
2. I didn't always like the way Jacques treated Shea. Half the time, I wondered if Shea was a weak minded woman. I guess it's all personal opinion.

Overall Feehan's writing has intrigued me and I'm interested in reading another one of her books.