Recent Reads by Muir

Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini

Round Robin is the 2nd in the Elm Creek Quilt Series. This one focuses a lot more equally on all the ladies from the first novel but it's just as good as the first...maybe even better.

At the end of The Quilter's Apprentice, Sarah McClure and Sylvia Compson have come together to start a quilting camp at Sylvia's estate. They enlist the help of their friends as well to help teach classes. In this novel, the quilters decide to surprise Sylvia with a round robin, and in passing the work-in-progress to one another, their stories unfold. Sarah is struggling with her relationship with her mother and a mid-life crisis her husband Matt seems to be going through. Gwen must accept that her daughter wants to work at the quilt store rather than attend graduate school. Diane is trying to cope with her teen-aged sons, one of whom seems to be on the road to delinquency. Bonnie finds out her husband is about to embark on an affair and she struggles on how to deal with that. Judy is confronted with a family she never knew she had. Finally, Sylvia, whose health is deteriorating discovers hope in new love.

The Elm Creek Quilt Novels have the potential of being too sweet to stand but the writing is really very good and the characters are - as I've said in my review of the first novel - so real and so flawed that you can't help but love them and root for them despite their trips, falls and mess-ups. I completely recommend this series but start at the beginning so you don't miss a step.

The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini

Here's another book from an author I've never read. This author has been recommended to me by my mom forever. This one is the first in the "Elm Creek Quilts Novels".

From Library Journal: "Sarah McClure and her husband, Matt, have just moved to Waterford, PA. While Matt finds work with a landscape company, Sarah, an accountant, wants to try something new. With no leads and no offers, she is depressed and frustrated. When elderly Sylvia Compson asks Sarah to help prepare her family estate for sale, Sarah finds new friends, and Sylvia, a master craftswoman, agrees to teach Sarah how to quilt. Sarah's new relationship inspires an exchange of confidences; she learns about Sylvia's "family skeletons" while facing her own difficult relationship with her mother. Patiently piecing scraps of material, the quilters explore both women's lives, stitching details and solutions together slowly but with courage and strength."

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick, easy read with characters that were well-written and real. I hate when main characters are perfect and flawless (a flaw in itself) - people with whom you can't identify. Chiaverini didn't do that with her characters. They all had issues that they were all trying to deal with and the realness of them made you root for them. I look forward to reading the rest of this series and see where their lives have taken them. (Next in the series is Round Robin.)

Master of the Delta by Thomas H. Cook

My latest read is from an author I've never read...although from the number of best selling novels he's written, I'm surprised I've never come across him until now.

The premise of Master of the Delta: Jack Branch grew up in the Plantation section of a small Mississippi town. In 1954, he returns to his hometown at 24, to teach high school literature at his alma mater. While conducting a class on evil throughout history, Jack discovers that one of his students is the son of the "Coed Killer" a notorious and local killer whose crime occurred a dozen years back. Jack feels drawn to this boy and feels compelled to mentor and encourage Eddie's discovery and truth of his fathers crime. Jacks decision to do this ends up having deadly consequences and more than one persons truth is revealed.

This was quite a page-turner. I have to say, I didn't know what to expect while reading and was forever on the edge of my seat. Cook has a way of writing that gives amazing detail and life to his descriptions of nature, the south and his characters. I really, really liked this book and look forward to reading another by Thomas H. Cook. Read it - you won't be disappointed.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

My mom told me about this author long ago but I knew it was a series so I've never read her until now because I had to wait until the first was available at Half Price. My lucky day came the last time I went shopping there.

Big Stone Gap centers on the main character - Ave Maria Mulligan. She is the self-proclaimed "town spinster" - although she is only 36. Her life has recently taken a turn because her beloved mother passed away after a long illness and so she is now reexamining her path. And then on a fateful day in 1978 (yes it takes place then), she discovers that her mother kept a secret about her that would change things forever. Before she knows what's happening, the town is abuzz about her business, men are asking to marry her left and right and greedy relatives are claiming a stake in her inheritance. All of this is slightly too much for Ave and so she starts carving her way through the muck in a not so graceful way.

Big Stone Gap is full of hilarious and lovable characters. It's one of those novels you will read when you want to feel good. It has it's moments of sappiness but who can't do with a little sappiness now and then. A great and easy read...highly recommended...and the 2nd in the series that I will be hunting down is called Big Cherry Holler.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...how excited am I when I find an AMAZING series to read?! Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Twilight!? Well, thank you Jesus (or better yet, Veronica Roth) for A) this new series and B) bringing my attention to it.

So the premise - the world (which is the futuristic and much changed city of Chicago) has been re-shaped into five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). At the age of 16, children choose (based on the results of testing) the faction in which they will spend the rest of their lives. When Beatrice Prior is given unclear results on the best faction for her, she is torn between choosing family or where she believes her talent really lies. In the end, she surprises herself in her choice and from there moves on to a training that will challenge her physically, mentally and emotionally.

Loved, loved, loved this book. Loved "Tris"...loved the turmoil she went through, loved how she was true to herself more than anything or anyone else. Can't wait to read Insurgent (the next in the trilogy) and can't WAIT to see the movie (which also stars Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd and Tony Goldwyn). If you read nothing else of my recommendations - read this one. You won't be sorry.

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

My most recent read is teen fiction but don't let that stop you from reading.

Here's the scenario: Clary Fray is a normal 16-year old New Yorker. She lives, in Brooklyn, with her single mother (father died before she was born) and spends most of her time with her best friend Simon. When they head out to the all-age club Pandemonium, she never expects to be witness to a murder. And more than that - the murderers are three teens covered in tattoos and wielding strange weapons. When the body vanishes before her eyes, she knows there's something strange going on. Then, Clary's mother is kidnapped and Clary is nearly killed by what appears to be a giant scorpion. From there she's drawn into a world she's never known - a world of Shadowhunters: Warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons. Why is she just now being made aware of this world? What is the connection it has with her mother? What is the connection to her?

I read this book in record time...it was quite enjoyable. Completely supernatural and strange but the great writing kept the thrills coming. I gave it only 4 stars because there were some things that weren't explained completely. In a world where things are new and different with strange names, the reader isn't always given a complete explanation for what they are supposed to be imagining. Didn't take away from the enjoyment but I can imagine some people having a hard time. By the way - this book has been made into a movie, coming out in August (Lily Collins - Phil Collins daughter - plays Clary)...I certainly look forward to that. Read it - you'll be swept away in a world you've never imagined.

The Confession by John Grisham

My latest listen on CD is The Confession by John Grisham. It's been a while since I've read a John Grisham (even though this was actually a "listen) and I'm not sure why I haven't read him. He's always enjoyable.

The synopsis (from Amazon): In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, Travis Boyette abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Donté Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row. Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Donté is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do what’s right and confess. But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they’re about to execute an innocent man?

This was a really enjoyable book. If you plan on listening to it, it was fairly short (9 CDs) and the narrator did a good job. I gave it 4 stars because there were some contrived parts and sometimes John Grisham can get a bit redundant in his lawyer mumbo jumbo. Basically, this was a book delving into the debate of the death penalty. And if you are for the death penalty, by the end of this book, I guarantee, you will either be against it or certainly on the fence. A definite recommendation. Read it.