By Luanne Rice Summer's Child begins in New England where a young pregnant woman, Mara Jameson, disappears without a trace from her grandmother's garden.Years later, people still remember her glowing smile and are still trying to figure out what actually happened. No body was found, though there were traces of blood at Mara's home. Her husband, Edward Hunter, was accused of killing her, but with no body and no proof, the case was unsolved. Police Detective Patrick Murphy was obsessed with solving the case, so much so he lost his wife in the process. He continued to look for clues after he retired. The book's chapters alternate between the town Mara disappeared from and the people left behind, and the people in a small fishing village in Nova Scotia. Though the book is well written, it is a little predictable. Early on, I had the feeling one of two women with nine-year-old girls in the Nova Scotia village was actually Mara in hiding, and the romance in the book was akin to the relationship between Novalee Nation and Forney in the movie "Where the Heart is." The circumstance and characters are a little different, but the relationship develops in a similar way. There … [Read more...]

By Dean Koontz Ever wonder how you would react if a loved one is kidnapped for ransom? “The Husband” takes the reader on a journey through a gardener's mind and heart after his wife is kidnapped. The confusion begins when the kidnappers ask for a $2 million or they will kill his wife, Holly, though they know Mitch Rafferty, the gardener, does not have that kind of money. “You'll find a way,” Mitch is told. The kidnappers shoot a man walking a dog just down the street from where Mitch is standing to prove their point. He is given two days to comply. As Mitch struggles to come up with the money, evidence is staged making it look like he murdered Holly so he would not go to the police. He also learns things about family members, and ends up doing things he never thought he had the strength to do. The plot creates an interesting story, and I love the way Dean Koontz uses words, but there are a lot of areas in the book that have too much detail, at times seeming redundant. The purpose appears to be putting the reader in Mitch's mind to feel his emotions, but that could have been achieved without working so hard. … [Read more...]

By Bill Holm This book is a collection of essays and letters written by Bill Holm describing his experiences while he was on an exchange program teaching English at a university in China. It speaks of the cultural differences between here and there, the frustrations of living in China, the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people, and the love-hate relationship Holm builds with China. When Holm talks about coming home crazy, he does not mean insane. An anthropologist who taught with Holm said, "In Asia, you either lose your inner moorings, start to sink, go some kind of crazy, and just let it happen, or you will leave sooner than you expected and not learn anything." A few months later, Holm knew exactly what his friend was talking about. He woke up crazy in the way his friend described. It is waking up knowing the day would be a good day, though nothing would work, the comforts of the United States would be unavailable, and everything would go wrong differently than would be imagined. Holm's writing is honest, down to earth and fun to read. He has an interesting sense of humor, and the descriptions draw one right into the scenes, as if sitting next to him. I really enjoyed … [Read more...]

By Garth Stein This book is a human drama told through the eyes of the family's dog, Enzo, named after a race car driver. The main character is Enzo's owner, Denny Swift, who is working at a BMW dealer and is working on his race car driving career. The book begins at the end of Enzo's life, when he is old and ready to release Denny of having to care for him. He has a unique understanding of the human and human emotions, and has learned, through watching TV, that when a dog dies, his next form human. He looks back to when Denny drives out to the farm and picks him out from a tangled litter of pups, and the story progresses from there to beyond Enzo's death. It looks at Enzo's relationship with Denny's wife, Eve, their daughter, Zoe, and Eve's parents, who Enzo calls “the twins,” and the complicated relationships between the family after Eve dies from a brain tumor. Throughout the book, Denny shares his love of racing and racing strategies with Enzo, and Enzo applies them to life. The title comes from Denny being one of the best drivers in the rain because he knows how to work with the rain instead of against it. I had to read the book because I love the title, and it was … [Read more...]

By Catherine Ryan Hyde In “Pay It Forward,” Catherine Ryan Hyde explores the idea of what this world would be like if instead of people paying back debt, everyone paid it forward using a 12-year-old boy as the instigator. Trevor McKinney and his mother, Arlene, live in the small California town where Reuben St. Clair transfers to teach. St. Clair, a scarred, bitter man, ends up in front of Trevor's classroom and challenges the students to change the world. As an extra credit assignment, students who choose to participate are to design a project to help others, follow through with the project and then present it to the class. Trevor designs a project to help three others in a big way with the catch that they each pay the debt forward to three others. If everyone followed through and helped three others, pretty soon, a multitude of people would be helped. Though Trevor thought his project was a total failure, he was unaware that it had really spread throughout the country. A reporter caught wind of what was being called a “movement” and tracked down Trevor. The book is well-written, hopping between believable characters in believable circumstances. It is a wonderful … [Read more...]

By Nien Cheng This book is an autobiography of Nien Cheng's life and imprisonment during the 10-year Cultural Revolution in China. The widow of a Shell Oil executive, Cheng served as a consultant to Shell for many years after her husbands death in 1957. She was able to preserve her way of life, living in a three-story home, filled with antiques and art, with her daughter until 1966, when she was evicted from her home and accused of being a spy. The Cultural Revolution was to set into motion by Mao Zedong, and was designed to further cement socialism in the country by removing capitalist elements from Chinese society. Red Guard groups were formed that raided homes and imprisoned people who were supposed to have capitalist ideas or were contradicting communism in some way. Cheng's home was raided, and was unjustly charged with being a spy at a neighborhood meeting. She was imprisoned for more than six years. The book details the years of torture and sickness because of her resolve to maintain her innocence. The interrogations she endured were a battle of wills in which she used silence and quotes from Zedong's little red book. She later learned the captors purpose was to use … [Read more...]