Svetlana's Reads and Views

Name of Book:   It's Murder, My Son Author: Lauren Carr ISBN:  B003TU1ZIO Publisher: Acorn Services Part of a Series: Mac Faraday Mysteries Type of book: Spencer Maryland, heritage, wealth, money, murder, mystery, twists, clues, pets, disappearances, false identities Year it was published: 2010 Summary: What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life would end up being a new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see was another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer wore the expression of a child bursting to tell his secret. This covert would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes, and lead him to the birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery and an investigation that will unfold like one of her famous mystery novels. Soon after she moves to her new lakefront home in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. For some unknown reason, a str...

General Information: Name of Book: The Little Restaurant ISBN: 978-1-60220-225-2 Publisher : Tuttle Publishing Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Wang Anyi's short stories in The Little Restaurant illuminat the emotional and intellectual complexity of the lives of the multiple generations caught up in China. Some of her short stories describe the lives of young students caught in the Cultural Revolution who were sent away to rural communities across China to be educated and tempered in a hardscrabble existence; other stories revolve around the seemingly quiet lives of ordinary citizens in the city of Shanghai. In simple language and with an eye for detail, she describes their simple physical existence and their complex nterior lives. Her descriptions are often realistic, affectionate and vivid yet somehow they remain evocative and haunting. Creating poetry out of the ordinary and the mundane, her stories are at once both stark and deeply poetic. Author: Wang A...

Name of Book: The Cadence of Gypsies Author: Barbara Casey ISBN: 978-0-9820812-8-0 Publisher: Gauthier Publications Type of book: Gypsies, adoption, discovering self, new life, geniuses, Italy, travel, teaching, brilliance, Voynich Manuscript, friendships, new beginnings Year it was published: 2011 Summary: On her 18th birthday Carolina Lovel learned that she was adopted and was given a letter written by her birth mother in an unknown language. After years of research she travels to Italy on a mission to find the truth about her past. Carolina is accompanied by three extremely gifted but mischievous students the FIGs from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women. In an effort to help their favorite teacher, the FIGs will have to use their special abilities to decipher the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world, and the one thing that is strangely similar to what Carolina was given. Their search will take them into the mystical world of ...

Name of Book: Dissipation Author: Tang Ying ISBN: 978-1-60220-213-9 Publisher: Better Link Press Type of book: China, Malaysia, modern times, long lost love, reunions, friendships, motives, marriage, changes, reflections, Shanghai, 1990s? money, greed, finances Year it was published: 2010 Summary: This short novel by one of China's leading female writers is an intimate portrait of a woman's life, caught up in a rapidly shifting world. Dissipation is the story of Su Xiaohui, a young woman desperate to create a better life for herself. Leaving behind her friends and family in Shanghai, she travels to Malaysia, where her wealthy aunt and seemingly ideal husband offer her a chance to fulfill her dreams. But when her mother is taken ill ten years later, Xiaohui finally returns home. She finds herself in a bewildering city, infused with the images of a life she thought she had left behind. When loneliness leads her back to her former lover, her tenuous relatio...

General Information: Name of Book: Goodbye, Xu Hu! ISBN: 978-1-60220-219-1 Publisher: Better Link Press Year it was published: 2010 Summary: This collection of Chinese novellas presents two stories by the president of the Shanghai Writing Association address the question of how we must live with the past: Goodbye, Xu Hu! Twenty years ago, a man serving in the PeopleAEs Liberation Army met his first love, the energetic and charming Xu Hu. In those two decades both their paths diverged until a chance meeting in a restaurant in Shanghai. As the man recalls his time as a young soldier he wonders whether he and Xu Hu can rekindle the flame of their past. No Explanation Is Necessary Lao Wei on the surface appeared to be an ordinary hospital janitor. However, after a chance sighting at a subway station a writer learns that this simple janitor is much more than he appears to be. After returning to the hospital the writer learns of Lao WeiAEs past, his triumphs and failu...

Name of Book: When a Baby is Born... Author: Cheng Naishan ISBN: 978-1-60220-215-3 Publisher: Better Link Press Type of book: Beauty, Cultural Revolution, wealth, abandonment, first love, deep love, crush, 1960s, 1980s, Gobi Desert, China, travel, life, marriage, mining Year it was published: 2010 Summary: This fascinating novel by one of contemporary China's most prolific writers offers insight into a chaotic period in modern Chinese history. The early sixties of the last century saw the exodus of Shanghai's educated youth to the wilderness of Northwestern China. They were mainly engaged in farming there, working in appalling conditions. Tang Dawei, a high school student from a wealthy family, volunteers to go in order to flee the merciless criticism and unbearable social pressure that follow an "incident." Dawei settles down in the Gobi Desert, where he goes through countless hardships and ordeals to transform himself into a "tough guy....

Name of Book: The Cost of Courage Author: Joseph Cordaro ISBN: 978-1456339951 Publisher: Self-published Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Emily Courtland is a strong and determined woman. But, she will need all of her strength and courage when her husband returns from war. Naval hero, Lieutenant Commander Charles Courtland, is tormented by terrifying memories of battle and is being destroyed by the severe psychological aftereffects of battle. The ugly wounds to his body are healing. But the uglier scars on his mind are forcing him to fight the nightmarish demons he cannot speak of. Emily sees her family being crushed by her husband's erratic and delusional behavior. Most especially, and mysteriously, it is their young son Brent who bears the brunt of his father’s irrational treatment. For the boy it has reached the point of physical abuse. Emily is forced to choose between standing by the ill husband she loves, and protecting their child from him. To ...

Name of Book: Vicissitudes of Life Author: Wang Xiaoying ISBN: 978-1-60220-221-4 Publisher: Tuttle Type of book: China, Shanghai, 1980s, economy, old China vs modern China vs new China, decisions, keeping face, international student Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Vicissitudes of Life tells the story of Xiaoyi, a post-graduate studying in America during the early years of China's opening up. Xiaoyi has opportunities in AMerica, but pining for his wife and determined to contribute to the building of the "new China" he decides to return home. Before he leaves a former lover reads his fortune using a traditional book of divination. She warns him that a dire fate awaits him in China. Xiaoyi ignores the warning and returns home. Back in Shanghai, he is reunited with his wife Fanfan, a singer in a local chorus, and is offered a job at his former university. However, it quickly becomes apparent that not everyone is happy about Xiaoyi's appointment...

Name of Book: Boy in a Band Author: Lisa Loomis ISBN: 9781478147855 Publisher: Createspace Type of book: sex, drugs, rock and roll, parasitic love relationship, broken heart, 1973-2000s? friendship, friendship with benefits, growing up, coming of age, worship, erotica, adult, mature, California, dreams, secret crush, broken heart Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Excerpt My heart was racing, my body melting into his. The sound of gulls squawking overhead, the children laughing in the distance, playing in the surf all faded away as I lost myself to him. The sound of the waves crashing in time with my emotions as we stood kissing, the water lapping at our feet, ignoring the outside world, aware only of each other. His hands moved to my hips, his fingers digging slightly into my skin as he held me against him. I pressed my pelvis forward, unable to deny the desire, and could feel his hardness. "Whoa, kid," he said, pulling away slowly. I gradually opened m...

Name of Book: Promises to Keep Author: Jane Green ISBN:  9780670021796 Publisher: Viking Type of book: Cancer, romance, discovery, summer read, misleading summary Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Callie Perry is a successful family photographer living in upstate New York. She adores her two daughters, has great friends, and actually doesn't mind that her workaholic husband gets home at 9 p.m. every night-that is, when he's not traveling six months out of the year. Callie's younger sister, Steff, on the other hand, has never grown up. She's a free spirit, living in downtown Manhattan and bouncing between jobs and boyfriends. Lately, she's been working as a vegan chef, even though she can't cook. Lila Grossman is Callie's best friend and has finally met the man of her dreams. Eddie has two wonderful children, but also a drama queen ex-wife who hates Lila. And then there are Callie and Steff's parents, Walter Cutler and Honor Pitm...

Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings us the first new Dear America diary in years, taking readers through the attack on Pearl Harbor, the start of World War II, and the Japanese incarceration.  With this sweeping tale of life on the World War II homefront, Newbery Honor author Kirby Larson brings her incredible talent to the Dear America series. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, America is finally unable to ignore the wars raging in Europe and Asia any longer. And one girl's entire life is about to change when everything she knows is turned on its head. After the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, where her brother, a navy sailor, is stationed, Piper Davis begins chronicling her compelling journey through one of history's most tragic and unforgettable eras. For my take on the book, click here COMING UP 2 out of 5 (0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it,...

General Information: Name of Book: Aphanasian Stories ISBN: 9781481249478 Publisher: Createspace Summary: Three of Rhonda Parrish's beloved Aphanasian stories brought together in one collection for the first time! A Love Story: Z'thandra, a swamp elf living with the Reptar, discovers a human near the village. When she falls in love with him, she faces the most difficult choice of her life, a decision that will affect the Reptar for generations. Lost and Found: Xavier, the escaped subject of a madman's experiments, and Colby, a young lady on a mission to save her brother, must combine their efforts to elude capture and recover the magical artifact that will save Colby's brother before it's too late. Sister Margaret: A vampire hunter and a half-incubus swordsman are hired by a priestess to kill the undead pimp that is extorting, torturing and murdering vulnerable girls. Author: Rhonda Parrish (from goodreads.com) url http://www.goodreads.com...

Name of Book: Francesca of Lost Nation Author: Lucinda Sue Crosby ISBN: 978-104507-0167-9 Publisher: Luckycinda Type of book: 1947, Iowa, adventures, summer, romance, secrets, past, relationship between sisters, grandmother-granddaughter relationship Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Winner of Four Literary Prizes / Author selected as one of “50 Authors You Should be Reading” by The Authors Show online media outlet “Funny at times and filled with little pearls of everyday wisdom, this book is as much a romantic thriller as it is a perfect little capsule of a time gone by. It is a book about love of all kinds - between grandmother and child, between child and dog, between man and woman.” Romantic Adventure Book suitable for all ages This book is about an unconventional 59-year old woman, Francesca, and her resourceful 10-year old granddaughter, Sarah, who share the adventures of a lifetime over the summer of 1947 in Lost Nation, Iowa. Together, they enchant...

Name of Book: The Intruders Author: Olive Peart ISBN: 9780982307724 Publisher: Demarche Publishing LLC Type of book: science fiction, time travel to future, primitive, disease, relationships, race, New York, 2200s? Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Six teenagers from the Bronx set out to explore a cave in their neighborhood and end up three centuries into the future. After saving the life of one member of a tribe, the Bronx teens are accepted. Within weeks, however, they find themselves in the middle of a fight for survival. Another tribe living in Manhattan is bent on wiping out the tribe in the Bronx. These teenagers have a unique advantage in this war—they know the land. For the six, this becomes a true adventure. However, all too soon their adventure becomes very real. Their dog dies, and now both friends and enemies are getting killed. This was no longer fun—this was war! Characters: The characters might as well have been cut out of cardboard, both men an...

Name of Book: Claimed! Author: Vicki Lewis Thompson ISBN: 9780373795604 Publisher: Harlequin Part of a Series: Sons of Chance Type of book: 1946, 2010, Cowboys, ranch, second chances, guilt, Shoshone, Wyoming, Year it was published: 2010 Summary: Following a dream brought Josie Keller to Shoshone, Wyoming. Following her heart brought her plenty of great sex with good-time cowboy Jack Chance She was head over heels for him... until he left her.Stay with one woman? Not a chance Then why does Jack miss Josie like crazy? Had their relationship been more than just incredible sex? Little do Josie and Jack know that a plan's afoot to get them back in the saddle...together. And once there, it's not long before they're burning up the bedsheets again But the past is never far away. Before it catches up with them, Jack has to decide if he's going to stake his claim on Josie, or lose her forever.... Characters: At the core the characters remained the sa...