#17 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It takes a lot to make me cry, even with the craziness that is going on in my life right now.  For a book to make me cry, it has to hit every note.  The characters have to be incredibly written, the plot has to be believable, it has to feel real.  The Book Thief made me cry so much that I had to stop reading, wipe my tears, and calm down (chanting it's not real, it's not real) before I could pick it up again.  This is not a spoiler.  The book is set during WWII Germany and is narrated by Death, so you know upfront that there are going to be some depressing moments.  Even though it made me cry like a baby, I absolutely loved this book.

The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl who Death has seen on a few occasions.  Death finds her story abandoned on the ground and decides to keep it with him and relate it to us.  The first time Death sees Liesel, she is on a train with her mother and younger brother, who unexpectedly dies.  The family gets off the train to bury the boy and one of the gravediggers drops The Gravedigger's Handbook.  Liesel snatches the book, even though she can't read, before getting back onto the train.  Her mother drops her off with a foster family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, who both love Liesel but show their affection in dramatically different ways.  It's Hans who teaches Liesel to read and becomes the greatest influence on her.  In her new home Liesel meets a variety of new people, some opposed but afraid of the Nazi's, and some fervent supporters.  Her best friend Rudy Steiner is probably my favorite character.  He is known in town as an oddball-- he once used charcoal to paint himself black and ran around the track to be like his hero Jesse Owens.  This wasn't the best way to blend in.  Over the course of a few years, Liesel steals more books and becomes aware of the power of words, what they can do to people.  She lives in Nazi Germany but grows to hate it and tries to find ways to defy the injustices that she sees.

Again, this book was incredible.  The writing was terrific, the characters were realistic, every part of it was engrossing.  The only thing that I can say against it is kind of nit picky-- when Death is telling the story sometimes he would bring up a topic and then say that he is not going to discuss it until later.  This got on my nerves a bit.  But aside from that very small annoyance, I loved this book and will definitely be reading it again.

#16 In the Woods by Tana French

After reading a few reviews for this book, I figured that it was just the type for me.  Detective stories, Ireland, moodiness, what could go wrong?  When I picked it up from the library though, the librarian shook her head and warned me about a possible disappointment.  She said that she was with it until the end, and after finishing the book I too was left feeling just as disappointed.

In the Woods starts in 1984 Knocknaree, Ireland, a suburb outside of Dublin.  Three best friends, Adam, Peter, and Jamie, go off to play a summer afternoon and two are never seen again.  The third kid is found later clutching to a tree and soaked in someone else's blood.  That kid, Adam Robert Ryan, grows up to be a murder detective in Dublin.  Ryan was never able to remember what happened to him and his friends, and has tried to distance himself from those events as much as possible.  One day though he and his partner Cassie Maddox are called to Knocknaree to investigate the murder of 12 year old Katy Devlin who is found by the woods that Ryan and his friends disappeared into.  There are a few similarities between the two cases so Ryan and Maddox investigate both.

This book is well written, I was instantly hooked and had a hard time putting it down.  The characters are great and a lot more realistic then you get with most detective stories.  We are taken through Ryan's relationship with Maddox and his phycological breakdown, both of which felt genuine.  I really was completely engrossed until the end, when I was left feeling like I did after the Lost finale: That's it?

Spoilers from here to the end

For those of you who have read the book could you please answer some questions for me?  First, I'm fine that we don't know what happened to Jamie and Peter, but why was Jamie's hair clip found by Katy's body if they weren't connected?  And why did Cassie and Rob's relationship dissolve so easily?  They were shown to be incredibly close, I just don't believe that what happened between them would be the end of their relationship.  It seemed like French just wanted to get rid of Ryan's character so she could focus on Cassie for her next book.

#15 Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

I decided to read this book after reading effcubed's review.  How could I resist a novel that includes flow charts?

Vera Dietz is a high school senior just trying to get by without anyone noticing her.  This has been her goal since she found out at a fairly young age that her mom was a stripper for a brief time, before eventually leaving Vera and her dad for Las Vegas when Vera was 12.  She works hard in school and at her job as a pizza delivery technician, but has been haunted for the past few months by the two dimensional ghosts of her best friend Charlie.  Charlie died under circumstances that are only suspicious to Vera, and she knows that he wasn't what people thought he was.  Vera refuses to clear his name though because she is still hurt by his defection to the 'detention heads' in the months before he died.  Despite what she proclaims, Vera has not gotten over Charlie's death or her mother's abandonment.  Her dad's well intentioned advice on the dangers of alcohol (he is a recovering alcoholic) does nothing to stop her from drinking any chance she gets.

The story is told by Vera in the present and in flashbacks, by Charlie, Vera's dad (the one who loves flow charts), and the Pagoda, which I'm pretty sure is a failed restaurant, but it's a little unclear.  All the narrators were fantastic, especially the snarky Pagoda and Mr. Dietz, who is frustrated that his daughter is making the same mistakes that he did.  I highly recommend this book to anyone; this is not the typical book that I go for but I'm really glad that I gave it a shot.

#14 A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris

A Touch of Dead contains 5 Sookie Stackhouse short stories and is another fun and quick read.  I love the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and while I await the next one I thought that I should catch up a bit.  For those that don't know about the series, Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath waitress living in northern Louisiana who gets involved in all kinds of supernatural mischief, usually involving vampires or weres.  These stories are set in between the other books, but it is best to read them after finishing at least book 9.  

In "Fairy Dust" Sookie is visited by her fairy friend Claudine, whose sister Claudette has just been murdered.  Claudine and her brother Claude ask Sookie to help them solve her murder.  In "Dracula Night" Sookie is invited by Eric to Fangtasia for a party in honor of Dracula's birthday, whom Eric is convinced will make an appearance.  In "One Word Answer"  Sookie is informed of her cousin Hadley's death and must fulfill her duties as executor of Hadley's estate.  In "Lucky" Sookie and Amelia are visited by a local insurance agent who is worried that someone is trying to sabotage his business.  Together they try to solve the mystery will Sookie's telepathy and Amelia's witchcraft.  The final story, "Gift Wrap"  is takes place on Christmas Eve, with Sookie all by herself.  She finds a wounded werewolf on her property, helps him recover, and tries to keep him safe.

I enjoyed each story but I was appalled that Eric was only featured in one.  It was nice to get more information about Claudine and Claude, as well as Hadley's murder.  My favorite story out of this set was "Gift Wrap" because it just sums up Sookie so well.  I definitely recommend this to anyone that already enjoys these mysteries because it is a nice addition to the books.

#13 Fractured Fairy Tales by A.J. Jacobs

I have already professed my love for Rocky and Bullwinkle.  Their show was hilarious and probably the reason that my siblings and I enjoy bad puns.  So when I noticed this book on my sister's shelf the other day I couldn't resist.  As soon as I saw the cover I could hear the opening music and see the little fairy kick the giant.  Fractured Fairy Tales was my favorite part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle show and I needed to be cheered up a little.

There really isn't much to say about the book.  For anyone unfamiliar with the show, Fractured Fairy Tales were short cartoons that retold children's stories and myths with irony and puns.  Those glorious puns.  There are 25 stories included in it and most, if not all of them, are from the show.  I can't be certain that they all were because I have not seen every episode, but even if they aren't they have the same spirit and humor.  This book takes an hour at the most to read and is a nice diversion from the annoyances of real life.

#12 Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell

So Sarah Vowell is a bit morbid, and it is highly entertaining.  In this book, Vowell goes all over the country to sites involved in the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley.  She is obsessed with the US and its history, it's like a replacement to religion, and her insightful and witty take on our history makes for a really fun book about some really horrible events.

A good portion of the book is devoted to the Lincoln assassination, but this is hardly surprising.  Lincoln contributed more to this country than either Garfield or McKinley and his death has been studied more.  She talks about the facts and the conspiracies surrounding his death, most notably about Dr. Mudd, who fixed Booth's leg.  All of it was very interesting but I found myself enjoying the sections on Garfield and McKinley the most, probably because they aren't discussed as much in history books.

Garfield really didn't get a chance to do anything, his presidency lasted less than a year and more people followed his slow death than anything he did while in office.  His assassin, Charles Guiteau, was certifiable and went to the rope truly believing that god would punish those that didn't appreciate what he did for them.  His trial was ridiculous and apparently he couldn't even get laid in a free love community (Oneida, the people that now bring us quality silverware).

Vowell compares McKinley often to George W. Bush, which makes him much less sympathetic.  Of course this was the president that got us into the Spanish American war and took over Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Hawaii, trying to civilize them, so I'm not sure if there can be any sympathy for him.  His assassination by anarchist Leon Czolgosz leads to a lot less colorful trial than Guiteau's, because while both were insane, Czolgosz at least had the decency to be serious about his actions.

The book is more than just history, all though that's enough for me.  Vowell puts in anecdotes about her assassination pilgrimage and is so clearly excited about the subject that it is a pleasure to read.  There are so many connections made to people that I wouldn't have even thought of when researching this material.  All the while, Vowell keeps things light and funny in way that few people can.

#11 The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

The Red Pyramid is another of Rick Riordan's young adult adventure stories, much like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but with ancient Egyptian lore instead of Greek.  I enjoyed the book and plowed through it pretty quick, although I didn't think it wasn't as much fun as Percy Jackson.  But this is probably just because I enjoy Greek mythology more.  

The book is narrated by Carter and Sadie Kane, siblings that have been kept almost completely separated since the death of their mother six years earlier.  Carter travels around the world with his famous Egyptologist dad, Julius, while Sadie lives in England with her mother's parents after a nasty custody dispute.  While visiting Sadie on Christmas day, Julius brings the kids to the British Museum and proceeds to blow up the Rosetta Stone.  The explosion releases five Egyptian gods, one of whom, Set, is intent on destroying the world.  Their father is imprisoned by Set, so Carter and Sadie are whisked off by their uncle Amos and learn that not only are the ancient gods real, but that their family is from a long line of magicians that are supposed to keep the gods in check.  The siblings are thrust into the magical world and must use their newfound powers to stop Set and save the world.

Admittedly this book is set up almost identical to Percy Jackson, but I don't mind a repetitive formula if it's entertaining.  Roirdan again packs the story full of ancient mythology, so much so that I miss references until I reread the old stories.  He also alludes to Percy Jackson a bit-- they can't go to Manhattan because of other forces.  He definitely keeps things interesting and fun, so my only real problem was Sadie.  She annoyed me, but then I was always annoyed by 12 year old girls, even when I was one.  Anyways, if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or are just looking for an interesting and quick read, this book is worth checking out.