Forgive Me (Xanadu Marx #2) ~ By Joshua Corin – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Police Procedural

Thanks to NetGalley and Alibi for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

245 Pages

Synopsis: They call themselves the Serendipity Group, a charitable organization that helps victims take revenge on those who have wronged them. But when the group’s hit list leaks, the hunters become the hunted–and two innocents are caught in the crossfire.

A pair of newlyweds are waylaid in Atlanta after a bad storm disrupts their flight to Paris. They are stuck in a dingy airport hotel room–until a stranger insists the happy couple take his lavish suite. But the man’s kindness is a ruse: They’re being used as bait, and soon find themselves prisoners of a maniac with a hacksaw–all because of a list of thirteen people marked for execution.

Ex-FBI agent Xanadu Marx doesn’t know how her name ended up on the list, but she knows she’ll be toast if she doesn’t take herself off it. Now a civilian on parole after a career-killing mistake, Xanadu Marx supposedly has three days to live, and the question isn’t whether she has an enemy gunning for her, it’s which one. But when two wide-eyed newlyweds may have become collateral damage, Xana realizes that there are some sins that can’t be forgiven.

Starting with a honeymoon from hell for an innocent young couple, the action starts on the first page and never lets up! Forgive Me is the follow-up to Cost of Life. This is where I ran into a little trouble having not read the first book particularly in regards to character development. So, if this sounds like the book for you, don’t make the same mistake I did. That said, I still enjoyed this book. Xana is a likable but flawed heroine, who is dealing with the aftermath of what happened in the previous story. She’s a recovering alcoholic who also has many positive qualities that will have readers rooting for. She’s got plenty of courage, brains and snark to go with it. Her struggle to overcome her past adds some much needed depth to this story. I found the plot itself to be a little predictable but I still enjoyed the story. There’s quite a few twists that all lead up to an ending that managed to take me by surprise. Overall, I think Forgive Me is an entertaining police procedural and it has me looking forward to the third book. In the meantime though, I need to go back and read the first book!

The Light Fantastic ~ By Sarah Combs – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, School Shootings, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 13th, 2016

320 Pages

Synopsis:

Seven tightly woven narratives. Three harrowing hours. One fateful day that changes everything.

Delaware, the morning of April 19. Senior Skip Day, and April Donovan’s eighteenth birthday. Four days after the Boston Marathon bombing, the country is still reeling, and April’s rare memory condition has her recounting all the tragedies that have cursed her birth month. And just what was that mysterious gathering under the bleachers about? Meanwhile, in Nebraska, Lincoln Evans struggles to pay attention in Honors English, distracted by the enigmatic presence of Laura Echols, capturer of his heart. His teacher tries to hold her class’s interest, but she can’t keep her mind off what Adrian George told her earlier. Over in Idaho, Phoebe is having second thoughts about the Plan mere hours before the start of a cross-country ploy led by an Internet savant known as the Mastermind. Is all her heartache worth the cost of the Assassins’ machinations?

While The Light Fantastic tackles the subject of school shootings, There’s no bloodshed and very little violence depicted. Instead, it looks at the lives of these teens in a mostly 2 1/2 hour period and what leads up to individual moments of decision, or “light fantastic”. Two of the characters have nothing to do with Mastermind’s deadly plot, yet they cross the paths of two of the Assassins, and because of this, changes their course. Also included is the perspective of a teacher which winds up having a profound effect. Because there are so many different perspectives, it was difficult at times to keep track of everyone at times. But I have to say that Sarah Combs is positively brilliant at creating her characters personalities. Each has their own distinct voice, and I found myself caring about all of them, even the Assassins. Reading this reminded me of some of my own unpleasant experiences in high school and I understood how certain events could lead these teens to even contemplate something so horrible. Of course today’s world is even more dangerous then when I was in high school (1979-1983). Now there’s the Internet where teens can join online communities with complete anonymity which in turn gives them a sense of power over their situations. All of this and more is thoughtfully explored in a manner of writing that is almost a stream of consciousness from each character. The story isn’t action packed but that doesn’t make it any less compelling. The Light Fantastic lets its readers peek into the minds of teens that are teetering on the edge of a precipice.The kids in this book aren’t evil. They’re not sociopaths, or psychopaths. Each has undergone something that has made them hate themselves and are unable to see a way to change their desperately unhappy lives. It also looks at how love and compassion can truly make a difference. This is a great book for teen book discussion groups, as well as anyone who works with this age group.

 

9/11 ~ United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Tags

9/11, Inspirational quotes

Remember the hours after September 11th when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran upstairs and risked their lives so that others might live; when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon; when the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol; when flags were hanging from front porches across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.

~ Then Senator, John Kerry ~