Take Me with You by Catherine Ryan Hyde My rating: 4 of 5 stars Early on, I was thinking this was going to be a 5-star book. But the second half just didn’t hold up to the promise of the beginning. That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy the story despite some issues with it.…

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I came across A Man Called Ove while browsing Audible.com, not looking for anything in particular. The reviews were good, so I gave it a try. I’m glad I did. There’s nothing groundbreaking here, but it’s a strong character study about an…

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes My rating: 5 of 5 stars Somewhere, sometime, somebody failed me. How is it I had never read Flowers for Algernon until now? Even my youngest kids say they read it in eighth grade, and they almost never read anything. I make my AP Literature seniors do a tapestry…

West Texas Kill by Johnny D. Boggs My rating: 3 of 5 stars West Texas Kill was pretty good, but certainly isn’t Johnny D. Boggs’ best novel. The structure is well done, with most chapters ending in a cliffhanger. The pace is non-stop action. The characters, though, were just lacking. The only one I really…

14 by Peter Clines My rating: 4 of 5 stars Once upon a time, for many years, all I read was horror fiction. These days, my reading tastes vary pretty widely, with horror popping up … rarely. You read too much in one genre, you get burned out. That’s how it was for me, anyway.…

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’d never heard of this book or author until I saw a preview for the movie based on the novel that will be out soon. The movie trailer intrigued me, so I searched out the book. I’m very glad I did, as it was…

Unteachable by Leah Raeder My rating: 3 of 5 stars I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this book. The author was new to me, the “new adult” category was new to me. And the subject matter was … edgy. Maize is an 18-year-old high school student who meets (and has sex with) an…