Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

My humble opinion: This book was sweet, fluffy, airy, and simple. It was lighthearted and warm and reminded me of drinking a vanilla latte hold the espresso and triple the vanilla syrup.

The story: Cecelia Honeycutt loses her mother to an accident/mental illness and goes to live with her great Aunt in Savannah. No longer a lonely outcast she grows to love the many charming women who become her family.

Bad: Overuse of the word dappled- everything was dappled! Sun dappled, shade dappled, dappled dappled dappled. Her mother's mental illness was not believable- not at all, just wasn't. I would have done further research on what psychotic people actually act like. Since that part wasn't believable I didn't hurt with CeeCee the way I should have.

Good: The book was so predictable that it was comforting. The characters were cheerful and aside from some overused words the setting was described richly and realistically.

Bottom line: This will appeal to readers of Jan Karon, but those who are comparing this to Gone With the Wind and To Kill A Mockingbird have had too much Southern heat.

The Jazz Bird by Craig Holden

The Jazz Bird takes place in the 1920's in the midst of the prohibition. The story starts of with the murder of Imogene Remus, the wife of a convicted bootlegger. Her husband, George Remus, confesses as the killer but he seems like an unlikely suspect as he's always been deeply in love with his wife...

During the trial their story unfolds a twisted and complex tale of betrayal and manipulation...until the end when you find out the truth about what happened to their relationship and the day of Imogene's murder.

The characters are colorful enough to keep you reading but the ending goes no where. Entertaining but not dazzling.

A tragic love story and a fascinating insight into bootlegging. I gave it 3 stars because it was worth listening to (I did the audio tape version).

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz

I had never read a Dean Koontz novel but the attractive cover of this one got a hold of me and I checked it out. Yes, the monk in the brown robe proved to be irresistible to me. The contents didn't disappoint me.

Brother Odd is one in the "Odd Thomas" novel series, featuring a young man who has suffered untold loss and who is a sage at the tender age of 21, Odd Thomas. In this installment of the series, Thomas' paranormal abilities - he can see dead people as well as a kind of "demon" that congregates in places that are about to witness death in a massive scale, not exactly a happy ability - take him to a Catholic monastery that is also home to an eccentric, world-famous physicist. This physicist, also a monk, has discovered a way to create things and even living beings out of nothing, utilizing a machine that amplifies his thoughts. But, in a plot element reminiscent of the 50's cult-classic SciFi movie, Forbidden Planet, the scientist wasn't counting on "the monsters of the id". Havoc ensues.

This is a breezy, easy read. The characters are simple and uncomplicated, but not shallow. You can read this in a rainy weekend. I do find Odd Thomas, however, a little "odd" in terms of his character and maturity, but maybe that's why he's named "Odd". The monastic life is presented in very general terms as a background for Odd's sleuthing and the scientist's deconstruction. The setup for the monastic characters is positive and respectful, but mostly impressionistic.

Oh, and there's also a "holy dog". I truly like how he paints dogs and captures their different moods and reactions.

Elvis and Frank Sinatra also appear - literally. The paranormal appears in right quantities without becoming occultic, or just for effect. In fact, I wonder if this kind of perceptions really exist and if actual people are endowed with them.

Odd Thomas is not religious, but he's somehow "spiritual". Catholicism is in the background but you don't get a real sense that Odd Thomas is Catholic.

I recommend the book. Great read, instructive, exciting, and peaceful.

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder

This is the story of Deo, a survivor of the Tutsi-Hutu genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and how he fared after escaping to America. Even though he was a medical student in Burundi, he started life in America as a homeless person living in New York's Central Park, who made a subsistence living delivering groceries. Through a series of almost miraculous encounters, he was able to lift himself up, graduate from Columbia University, and build a medical clinic in his native Burundi. Deo's is a life still in progress, and although his clinic is a triumph, we know he still has great things ahead of him.

Kidder's writing is very vivid and immediate, and is told from Deo's point of view, so you feel as if you are traveling and experiencing all this with Deo. In particular you feel that he's not much better off as a homeless person in America than he was on the run in Africa, except that in America no one is trying to kill him.

On the other hand, because events are presented out of sequence, the vivid writing does not build much tension--the narrative starts in 2006 with Deo's return to Burundi, so we know that he has survived all the events that are detailed later and has prospered in his new country.

Unfortunately about 2/3 through the book something happened. The author changed his writing style from third-person (from Deo's perspective) to first-person, and in my opinion, the story lost its fizzle.

That being said, I would recommend the book simply for the first 2/3 - I enjoyed it that much. Just be warned that you may leave the book feeling... fragmented.

Summerland by Michael Chabon

I found this book to be mediocre. The writing itself was beautiful at times. Chabon's knowledge of various folklore and legend was impressive, although I found his mix of them sometimes confusing. The four worlds was an interesting element, particularly given how Chabon used them to explain phenomena in our own. And of course, Chabon's love of baseball shone through brightly. Not being a baseball fan myself, I didn't find those parts particularly compelling, but the passion in them was undeniable.

The story, however, is why I hesitate rating this book higher. Many of the characters were fun and memorable - Ethan, Jennifer T., Cutbelly - but the "bad guys" were rather one-dimensional. Many of his minions, too, were much too black-and-white for my taste. The progression of the story chiefly annoyed me. The characters often seemed to advance more thanks to a series of fortunate circumstances than through any action of their own (Thor just happens to be a shadowtail, Pettipaw conveniently shows up at the right moment, the stick Ethan finds happens to be magical). It seemed heavy-handed.

All in all, I'd say that this book is probably pure magic to a baseball fan, but in terms of fantasy, it's nothing to write home about.

Book Review: The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

This is a must for lovers of reading anything and everything Tudor. A fascinating look at two of Henry's little known queens, Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard. This book might be difficult to get into at first if you have no prior knowledge of Henry VIII and his wives, but it's worth sticking with it.

I loved the way the author told the story from the viewpoint of Anne, Katherine and Jane Boleyn (who was married to George Boleyn, the first Anne's brother). The characters were brilliantly portrayed and came alive before my eyes. Anne, just trying to stay alive in a court riddled with intrigue, Jane scheming with her uncle to put another Howard on the throne, and Katherine (LOL) the not too bright but very beautiful 15 year old who just wanted to look pretty and have pretty things and be admired by handsome men. There were times I was laughing out loud at Kitty's comments, and the chapters that repeatedly started with another accounting of "what do I have now?", as she counted her jewels and clothes.

Through these three women we see Anne and Kitty caught up in something they are helpless to stop, Henry's lusting after young Kitty and his determination to put Anne aside at any cost to have Kitty. Most fascinating of all is the way Henry is portrayed through all three women, and he is terrifying indeed. An absolute ruler, with complete power over all around him and mad as a hatter. And wonderful to see that of all of them, Anne was able to come through the terror unscathed and a free, independent woman.

Capital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellermann

Jonathan and Faye Kellerman are novelists, and in Capital Crimes, they have teamed up to write together again. Their first team effort was Double Homicide.

Capital Crimes is really two suspense novellas set in two different cities and feature cameos of characters from their popular suspense novels.

My Sister's Keeper is set in Berkeley where Peter Decker makes an appearance. California state representative, Davida Grayson is a lesbian and activist. She has also been murdered. Grayson had been threatened for her support for stem-cell research. Was it her politics or her personal relationships that resulted in her death by a gunshot?

Music City Breakdown is set in Nashville and features Alex Delaware. Jack Jeffries is a rock legend who left retirement to perform for charity. His body was found in a ditch, his throat slashed. The detectives on the case have their own connection to the music industry and are determined to solve the murder.

This book is not up to the 'hype' the Kellermans normally receive when they have a novel published. It feels like they had an idea, 'slapped' it together and said, "It's a good little money maker." The stories don't have much of a plot, seem hurried and forced. Only true, die-hard fans will appreciate this book. Then again, maybe not.