#22 Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult ****

After reading My Sister's Keeper by Picoult I just had to read more by this Author!

Plain Truth Philadelphia defense lawyer Ellie Hathaway retreats to her great Aunt Leda's home in Paradise, PA, to get a break from her high-pressure job. Almost at the same time that she arrives, a dead baby is discovered in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation reveals that the mother is an 18-year-old unmarried Amish girl, Katie Fisher, and that the infant apparently did not die of natural causes. Even in the face of medical proof that she recently gave birth, Katie denies the murder charge. Ellie reluctantly agrees to defend her, even though she does not want to be defended. To better understand her client, Ellie moves into the farmhouse with the Fisher family where she begins to see firsthand the pressures and sacrifices of those who live "plain." As she searches for evidence in this case, she calls upon a friend from her past, Dr. John Cooper, a psychiatrist. As Coop and Ellie work together to unravel fact and fiction, they also work to resolve issues in their relationship.

06/02/06 I wasn't disappointed! Great read.

#21 Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay****

From Amazon: Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.

Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.

Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art?" Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?

05/22/06 Loved this fun read. I did have to remind myself not to take this too seriously once or twice in the beginning but once I got the feel for this author and Dexter I enjoyed this book a lot. Lood forward to reading Dearly Devoted Dexter.

#20 Towelhead by Alicia Erian *****

My first 5 star read of the year! This book may not be for everyone. Very sexually charged and deals with the issue of child abuse. Rather dark, however, the main character 13 year old Jarisa walks you through her story in away that is unsettling yet she seems very capable of dealing with these harsh issues in her life.

She has horrible parents! Turning to adult men for the attention she is in great need of, who take in turn take advantage. She is a stronger girl than she gives herself credit for. It was very hard not to get wrapped up in this story on an emotional level. I carried the feelings the book created in me after I had put the book down. Towelhead was very well written the author does a wonderful job of balancing the awful circumstances with honesty and humanity.

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Jasira wants what every girl wants: love and acceptance and the undivided attention of whoever she's with. And if she can¹t get that from her parents, then why not from her mother's boyfriend, or her father's muscle-bound neighbor, Mr. Vuoso? Alicia Erian¹s incandescent debut novel, Towelhead, will ring true for readers who remember the rarely poetic transition from childhood to young adulthood. Jasira is a creature of contradiction: both innocent (reading romantic intentions into the grossest displays of lust) and oddly clear-sighted, especially when it comes to the imbalance of power, and the things we do for love. When her mother exiles her to Houston to live with Jasira's strict, quick-to-anger Lebanese father, she quickly learns what aspects of herself to suppress in front of him. In private, however, she conducts her sexual awakening with all the false confidence that pop culture and her neighbor's Playboy magazines have provided.

#19 Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg ****

From Amazon: In Berg's understated and promising fiction debut, a 12-year-old "army brat" comes to epitomize the quality that her father prizes: emotional durability. Narrator Katie lives on a Texas Army base with her 18-year-old sister and volatile father, an officer of unidentified rank. The girls' mother has died of cancer, although Katie never discusses how much time has passed since the loss. Accustomed to a military lifestyle, suspecting that her home will be only a temporary one, Katie leads a fairly ordinary existence. She and her best friend go swimming, talk about puberty and meet boys. When the inevitable happens and the family learns they're being transferred to Missouri, Katie tries to accept the impending change, but her sister, who can no longer tolerate her father's abuse, rebels.

05/11/06 Loved this story. I had read Open House ages ago and hadn't picked up anything else by Berg since. However, I'm glad I took the opportunity to read this and look forward to the follow up book Joy School.

#18 Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt ***

From Amazon: The four Tillerman children finally have a home at their grandmother's rundown farm on the Maryland shore. It's what Dicey has dreamed of for her three younger siblings, but after watching over the others for so long, it's hard to let go. Who is Dicey, if she's no longer the caretaker for her family?

Dicey finds herself in new friends, in a growing relationship with her grandmother, and in the satisfaction of refinishing the old boat she found in the barn. Then, as Dicey experiences the trials and pleasures of making a new life, the past comes back with devastating force, and Dicey learns just how necessary -- and painful -- letting go can be.

05/19/06 This was a nice follow up to Homecoming. Wrapped up some loose ends. I hope to read the rest of the Tillerman Series but no rush.

#17 The Persian Pickle Club by S. Dallas ***

From Amazon: A story of loyalty and friendship in a women's quilting circle. Young farm wife Queenie Bean tells about the brief membership of a city girl named Rita, whose boredom with country living and aspirations to be an investigative reporter lead her to unearth secrets in the close-knit group, called the Persian Pickle Club after a coveted paisley print. Queenie's desire to win Rita's friendship ("We were chickens... and Rita was a hummingbird") clashes with her loyalty to the Pickles when Rita tries to solve the murder of a member's husband, in the process unearthing complicated relationships among the women who meet each week to quilt and read aloud to each other.

05/09/06 This was a sweet read and do recommend it.

#16 The Finishing School by Muriel Spark **

From Amazon: College Sunrise, founded by would-be novelist Rowland Mahler and his practical wife, Nina Parker, is a mobile institution (currently situated in Lausanne) at which very little of use is taught. Rowland does preside over a popular creative writing class (with five students, it boasts more than half the school's enrollment), while Nina takes care of the office business and dispenses delicious advice in her informal etiquette seminars.

Trouble arrives in the form of redheaded, 18-year-old Chris Wiley, who has come to College Sunrise to work on his novel about Mary, Queen of Scots. Chris's authorial insouciance—he is supremely confident of his talents and rather dismissive of historical fact—infuriates Rowland, whose ego was inflated by minor early successes and who has a terrible case of writer's block. Rowland becomes obsessed with the novel and its creator, and their struggle—" 'I could kill him,' thought Rowland. 'But would that be enough?'

05/09/06 This was just okay. Not recommending it. In fact worst read so far this year.

Another challenge for myself

I saw this challenge mentioned at iVillage and then went to check it our on bookcrossing.com. Just trying to give credit where credit is do. Not going to be formal about it but here is the basic idea.

I have over 145 books in my possession that need to be read. I do not take any new books for the next month. If I do get a book I need to get rid of two. Not saying that I won't put them right back on my wish list but at least I'll feel like I'm putting a dent into this terribly self indulgent habit. Starting today May 2, 2006