Book Reviews

Without Mercy Lisa Jackson This is a murder mystery suspense book. Jules Faratino's little sister Shaylee has had some problems with the law and is sent to Blue Rock boarding school. Jules has some serious issues with the school and so she ends up getting hired as a teacher in order to investigate undercover. As it turns out, Jules first love Cooper Trent (or Trent Cooper, I kept getting confused) is also there undercover, having been hired by parents of a student who has gone missing. Clumsy crime solving ensues. This book was 500 pages and I liked it eh, ok. I finished it, but there were too many "coincidences" to make it seem believable. I never bought into Jules gut feeling that something was just "wrong" at the school. She seemed remarkably neurotic and flaky to have any gut feelings. Yes there is some evil at the school, but it all seemed too contrived to make complete sense. This book rates an "I finished it."

The Wave Susan Casey I haven't read much non-fiction this summer and this was a welcome distraction from crime novels. This is the true story of rogue or freak waves. The history, the myths, the reality, the science and the "big wave" surfers who ride them. If you're not sure what a rogue wave is just put Laird Hamilton into YouTube. These waves are so big you have to be towed out with a jet ski. What I learned from this book is that I never ever ever want to go on the ocean because you could be on a nice cruise and BAM a rogue wave could hit you and you would get eaten by a shark in the middle of freaking nowhere. If you like adventure and have an interest in science then you'll like this book. I had to skim over the paragraphs about the physics of the waves because it was way above my head.

The Uncoupling Meg Wolitzer Suddenly in a New Jersey town, women start not wanting to have sex with their partners. Havoc is wreaked all over the city as couples try to live their new sexless lives. This sexless spell coincides with the school's production of Lysistra, a Greek play about women who withhold sex in order to stop a war. I started out really interested in this book, but by page 90 I was bored. Once again, a book with a premise/gimick where the story takes second place. I want a book where the characters and plot are interesting. I guess if you have recently found yourself repulsed by your lover and can't figure out why you might be interested in reading this book, or maybe you might just want to see if anyone is producing Lysistra around you.