Twilight by Stina

Twilight

by Stephanie Meyer

ISBN-10: 0316015849

Twilight - the year's most recent craze that started a phenomenon sweeping the world over finally caught up with me a couple of months ago. While I'm not normally into fantasy, I am always a sucker for romance. Still, they generally lose me when things start morphing into the other side of reality and I move onto the more juicy realism of James Patterson or Kathy Reichs. But there is something about the Twilight saga that just draws you in...and it is so easy to be swept away and to lose yourself in the fantasy, the romance and the sheer magic that makes this book, and those that follow, unputdownable.

The story begins with Bella, from whose perspective the tale is written, moving to the small town of Forks in Washington State - where it is perpetually cold and rainy almost year round - to live with her father who is the local Police Chief. As a teenager she enrols in the local Forks High School where she instantly attracts male attention, most of which she's oblivious to much of the time. Forming friendships on her first day helps her to ease into the comfortable familiarity in which she loses herself.

Then she meets Edward Cullen. Something about him draws her to him and despite their first encounter in Biology class, she finds she cannot keep away from him. His indifference and rudeness does nothing to deter her, in fact she seeks him out with the intention of giving him a piece of her mind, and yet each day at every opportunity she finds herself searching the crowds for his face with the hope she'll see him once again. When she does the first thing she notices is his eyes - they are no longer the deep black they were that first day, but a pure liquid gold. So beautiful she finds herself melting in them almost losing her resolve to confront him. But then she discovers his eyes aren't the only thing different about him. When she takes her seat beside him in Biology he smiles and her heart flutters, then she almost faints when he speaks to her - when on their first encounter he almost growled at her.

She'd seen the Cullens at lunch on her first day and had noticed their exquisite beauty then, but wondered why they always sat at the far end of the cafeteria, their meals always untouched. Asking her friends about them they sniffed "Oh that's the Cullens. They don't talk to anyone". But Bella found them captivating, particularly Edward. Maybe that was why she was so taken aback by his rudeness that first day and then his turnaround a week later when he finally returned to school. She had never seen anyone so beautiful and within those first few moments of laying eyes on him she was completely captivated. Even though she thought him rude and distasteful that first day, she found she couldn't stop thinking about him. He even haunted her dreams...and continued to do so despite his hot and cold attitude toward her.

Edward was never far away - whether it be in dreams or reality. Bella is notorious for her clumsiness and aversion to trouble. So when one her classmates hits black ice in the school's parking lot and comes barrelling toward her, she doesn't have time to see her life flash before her - Edward, who had been on the other side of the lot beside his car, suddenly was at her side and the truck stops in its tracks just inches from her. Speechless she can only look at him before being carted off to hospital for a check-up. It was then she knew that Edward was different, though in what way she didn't know. She just knew there was something about him...and she was determined to find out. All Edward would tell her was that their being friends was not a good idea, which she found utterly confusing. One minute he said they couldn't be friends and the next he couldn't keep away from her. And his eyes always had that deep searching look as if he were trying to peer into her soul and tell her something that words could not convey. And despite the confusion she felt whenever she was around him, she also found him captivating as well as confusing - and even when he wasn't there he dominated her thoughts and she found she couldn't stop thinking about him.

There were other boys in Bella's life, most of whom vied for her attention and/or affections. A day at the beach brought Jacob to her and they became best friends. It was this visit with Jacob that brought up legends and myths which began to piece together for her the puzzle that was Edward. Upon returning home, she googled what Jacob had told her for further information, puzzling over what she discovered. It wasn't until she found herself in a potentially dangerous situation one night, when Edward appeared out of nowhere in his high-speed Volvo to come to her rescue, that the pieces suddenly fell into place. She wasn't afraid, though he didn't understand why because he thought himself extremely dangerous company for her to keep. Yet if he was so dangerous why is it he was always there? Because he found he couldn't keep away from her, he told her. And because of her perpetual clumsiness she always needed rescuing from whatever situation she found herself in - something which he joked was becoming a full-time occupation for him.

It was this encounter that was the turning point in their relationship. Bella gained a new understanding of the boy who captivated her every waking moment and haunted her every dream, and Edward gave into emotion to "break all the rules". He no longer cared because he could not live without Bella nor she without him.

Edward brought her into his world and she found herself learning about each of the Cullens and what brought them here - and how. Alice and Esme welcomed her with open arms as did Carlisle and Emmett. Jasper, though a little hesitant, followed suit. Only Rosalie sniffed and refused to accept her, claiming "she" was a danger to them now being privy to their secret. But this did not deter Edward nor Bella. Nothing could keep them apart for they were two halves of the same soul. In Edward Bella found herself, and in Bella Edward finally found his reason for being.

But their relationship is not welcomed by all with Jacob's father continually frowned on their "fraternisation", his words conveying veiled warnings whenever they spoke. He even dupes Jacob into paying Bella a visit at her Prom with a final warning, which isn't delivered with the fervour in which it is meant, and Jake laughs it off. They share a dance together before Edward cuts back in and they lose themselves together in each other's arms once again. Edward dazzles Bella in every way that she dreams about being with him forever. He says "I will stay with you - isn't that enough?" She says "I love you more than anything else in the world combined - isn't that enough?" to which he responds, "Yes it is enough - enough for forever."

However Edward blames himself when Bella is inadvertently placed in danger when three Nomads cross their paths one night. One of them takes in her scent and sets his sights on her and Edward immediately reads the danger and breaks up the gathering. A plan is set in motion to move Bella out of harm's way, with Jasper and Alice accompanying her to safety while Edward seeks out the danger in the hope he will stop it. But their plans are thwarted and Bella is lured into danger, where she faces death and the realisation she may never see Edward again. Can Edward save her in time?

© Christina aka Stina

28th August, 2009

The Joy Luck Club by Debra

The Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 21, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0143038095

I fell in love with The Joy Luck Club on the very first page; it resonated with me on many levels. For one, it cried out deep truths that touched my woman's soul.

In The Joy Luck Club four mothers and daughters are profiled. Each mother’s life story is told, as a lesson, in reference to her daughter’s current life.

"Yesterday my daughter said to me, ‘My marriage is falling apart.’

“And now all she can do is watch it falling. She lies down on a psychiatrist couch, squeezing tears out about this shame. And, I think, she will lie there until there is nothing more to fall, nothing left to cry about, everything dry.

“She cried, ‘No Choice! No Choice!’ She doesn't know. If she doesn't speak, she is making a choice. If she doesn't try, she can lose her chance forever.

“I know this, because I was raised the Chinese way: I was taught to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat my own bitterness."

How true for women, and sometimes men, everywhere. But especially women who are taught, "The woman is the soul of the home. She is the creator of harmony," and "Apply your lip liner so that the ends of your mouth appear to go up and you are always wearing a smile." Translation, "Remember to desire nothing, to take responsibility for other's troubles, to never voice your own disappointments."

But then, she teaches us her lesson: she teaches us that we do not have to desire nothing, to swallow other people's misery, to eat our own bitterness, in this passage from the day her mother died:

"And on that day, I showed Second Wife the fake pearl necklace she had given me and crushed it under my foot.

“And on that day, Second Wife's hair began to turn white.

“And on that day, I learned to shout."

This passage moved me profoundly in a way few books have. "I learned to Shout!"

Each of the mother's in this novel teach their daughters truths to live by. "Do not undervalue your love and assume that it is less worthy than another's," "Trust in yourself and your worth," "Demand that you be treated with respect" and "Do not crush your own desires, do not take responsibility for others misery, do not eat your own bitterness. Speak up - shout if you must!"

Not only did this novel reach me on the level of profound truth and soul-enriching lessons, but the sheer poetry of the writing was a delight to my inner ear. So much so that I found myself reading passages out loud:

"A psychiatrist does not want you to wake up. He tells you to dream some more, to find the pond and pour more tears into it. And really, he is just another bird drinking from your misery."

It actually scans:

A psychiatrist does not want

You to wake up.

He tells you to dream some more,

To find the pond and pour

More tears into it.

And really, he

Is just another bird,

Drinking from

Your misery.

And another:

"I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. The pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back, my golden side, my black side. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter's tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because that is the nature of two tigers. But I will win and give her my spirit, because that is the way a mother loves her Daughter.

"I hear my daughter speaking to her husband downstairs. They say words that mean nothing. They sit in a room with no life in it.

"I know a thing before it happens. She will hear the vase and table crashing to the floor. She will come up the stairs and into my room. Her eyes will see nothing in the darkness, where I am waiting between the trees.”

How incredibly beautiful the last passage is - my favorite in the book. The imagery, the magic of the words, the poetry. This passage is literally saturated with a mother's love for her daughter to a point where it is almost unbearable to read! As translated in the movie The Joy Luck Club, "I am waiting like a tiger in the trees, ready to leap out and cut my daughter's spirit loose."

The Joy Luck Club is a mandatory read for any woman. I've now read it six times, and will do so again.

© Debra Shiveley Welch

The Mermaids Singing Review by Christina

"The Mermaids Singing" by Val McDermid

ISBN: 0007143125

You always remember the first time. Isn't that what they say about sex? How much more true it is of murder...Up till now, the only serial killers Tony Hill had encountered were safely behind bars. This one's different -- this one's on the loose. In the northern UK town of Bradfield four men have been found mutilated and tortured. Fear grips the city; no man feels safe. Clinical psychologist Tony Hill is brought in to profile the killer. A man with more than enough sexual problems of his own, Tony himself becomes the unsuspecting target in a battle of wits and wills where he has to use every ounce of his professional nerve to survive. A tense, brilliantly written psychological thriller, The Mermaids Singing explores the tormented mind of a serial killer unlike any the world of fiction has ever seen.

The first book adapted into TV's popular "Wire in the Blood" series featuring clinical pyschologist Tony Hill and DI Carol Jordan. If anyone has seen this first episode on TV - reading the book is far far better! It is a real page-turner from beginning to end, as Val McDermid has the ability to get inside the mind of a sick and twisted killer. Unputdownable by far! And if you enjoy this one, then I recommend the following three in the same series - "The Wire in the Blood", "The Last Temptation" and "The Torment of Others". McDermid also has stand-alone thrillers of the same calibre always worth a read.

Submitted by Christina aka Stina

Young Blood Review by Christina

"Young Blood - the Story of the Family Murders" by Bob O'Brien

ISBN: 073226913x

Not usually one for Non Fiction books, I tend to find them too factual to the point of droning and I fall asleep *g*. However I was recently leant a copy (thanks Linda) of a one which covered an horrific crime, or rather several, over the spate of around five years from the late 70s to early 80s in Australia's southern city of Adelaide. As it turned out I didn't fall asleep whilst reading the book - in fact I couldn't put it down! 

Written by Bob O'Brien, one of the investigators on the case, it begins with the first documented crime which when linked to the ones that followed as "the family murders". Not made "big news" until the 15 year old son of a prominent Adelaide news reader disappeared just 50 metres from his home, investigators then compared the evidence and similarities in the previous four murders, and the horrific way in which each man died. All men, or rather boys, were in their teens to early twenties, with the oldest being twenty-five and the youngest just fourteen. 

Author and co-investigator of this book titled "Young Blood", detailed every thought, hypothesis and theory into the disappearance/abductions, torture, rape and murder of these young men. Although they were given leads and names of various suspects, one name kept popping up - and all roads lead to Bevan Spencer Von Einem, a known homosexual and deviant. The book describes in detail some of that which he was known to be capable of, and the lengths to which mankind will go for one's own gratification is barbaric. 

Whilst I enjoyed the book, my eyes were opened to an even more distasteful disrespect of the deviant criminal mind. This was not only clever in the way Von Einem appeared to be coated with teflon, but it was completely unjust. He was found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of the fifth and final boy, who was just 15, but charges against him for another two that were very closely linked were dropped and cases dismissed. So while Von Einem has sat in prison for the last 14 years for the one murder, many South Australians have their own views on just what part he played in each of these young men's torture and death. 

Von Einem himself has said that he will tell all only after his mother passes, and as nothing has been revealed as yet one can only assume that at 98 the woman is still very much alive. Whether his revelations will disclose the true nature of his involvement or expose other higher and more affluent members of Adelaide's community is unknown - only Von Einem knows the truth, and so far he has said nothing. 

When the book went to publication he was eligible to apply for parole in 2009, when he will be in his mid-sixties. However the prosecution still fights to keep him locked up and out of harm's way - that of the innocent victims, not Von Einem. 

"Young Blood" is the story of what is infamously known to Adelaideans as "the family murders", not because of any familial involvement, but the closed net that always tightened around Von Einem and caused his to slip through the investigators' fingers. It is believed "the family" comprises of many affluent and public identities, though to what extent no one knows. Again, only Von Einem has that knowledge. And the public? Well, we may never truly know.

Submitted by Christina aka Stina

Kisscut Review by Christina

"Kisscut" by Karin Slaughter

ISBN: 0-09-942178-X

This is the second in the Grant County series by this new author who has proved herself a match for the likes of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs.

With her debut novel "BLINDSIGHTED", Slaughter introduced her characters of Grant County, Dr Sara Linton, local paediatrician and medical examiner and Chief Jeffrey Tolliver, Sara's ex-husband and chief of police, as the main characters. There are support characters in Detective Lena Adams, Sara's family and other members of the small police department. While "BLINDSIGHTED" was a heartstopping thriller, "KISSCUT" is an explosive read from its first pages to the very end.

It begins with a night on the town for Sara and Jeffrey when they find themselves caught in a situation that will begin to haunt them forever. Jeffrey stumbles upon a teenage quarrel which explodes into a deadly shoot-out, while Sara makes her own grim discovery in the ladies' bathroom. What then proceeds is a web of mystery and intrigue, as one of them battles with their own guilt, and what appeared to be an individual tragedy becomes something more dark and more sinister in this small town of Heartsdale, Georgia. And when Sara performs the autopsy, both her and Jeffrey are horrified when it reveals evidence of long-term abuse and self mutilation.

What is happening to the children of this town? And when Sara and Jeffrey start to investigate, everyone, including the children surrounding the victim, becomes tight-lipped. Then boys at school tell a different tale of the young victim, painting an explicit picture of something that should not exist in the minds and lives of a thirteen year old. Then a young girl is abducted. And so Sara and Jeffrey begin their journey to uncover the tragic truth that surrounds the victim, her family and friends.

I have one word to describe this book when I turned the final page last night - WOW! What a read! It is fast-paced, thrilling, compelling and even unsettling, but above all, it is unputdownable. Karin Slaughter delves into the heart of an unspeakable crime and speaks for those who cannot in her unstoppable heartpounding and explosive thriller. Her plotting is relentless, with many twists to leave you guessing to the end. One critic claimed "KISSCUT should come with a psychological health warning", but I guarantee if you are a thriller or mystery fan, if you pick this book up you will not be able to put it down again until that final page.

Karin Slaughter continues to surprise with her writing ability and enthralling plots delving into the darker side of crime with her "not for the sqeamish" forensics leading us to a compelling climax.

KISSCUT is chilling, but thrilling!

Submitted by Christina aka Stina

Thursday's Child Review by Selena

Thursday's ChildBy Sandra Brown

I borrowed this book from the library and instantly got involved in the characters and the plot. There are identical twin girls Annie and Allison Leamon. Annie asks her sister Allison to play her while Annie goes in for a boob job. Relucantly Allison agrees while Annie is in the hospital Allison plays Annie, however Annie's fiance Davis brings his friend Spencer into town. Spencer falls in love with Annie and tells her that he would be a better husband than Davis would. 

Allison keeps trying to tell Spencer that she is not Annie but she keeps getting interupted whenever Davis walks in. Allison tells Annie everything that has happened and asks her when she is coming home to prove to Spencer that there are two of the girls that he is in love with. Annie says I will be in here just for a few more days. I don't want to tell you the whole book but you must read it to find out what happens. This book is great if you have not read it I suggest that you find it somewhere. Once I borrowed it from the library,

I had to order it from Walmart.com. It is a real shocker at the end.

The info is below.

Thursday's Child

Author Sandra Brown

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Bantam Books

Publication Date: 1985, 2001, 2002

ISBN-13: 978-0553576030

Submitted by Selena

Tell Me How the Wind Sounds Review by Selena

Tell Me How The Wind Sounds 

By Leslie Davis Guccione

When her family decides to spend their summer on a small island off New England. Fifteen year old Amanda Alden feels really trapped. Cut off from everything important, what about her plans for the summer? Her friends? Her boyfriend?

When she meets Jake, the son of a local fisherman she is confused and frightened by his unyielding silence,by the way he looks at her. And yet she cannot stop thinking about him, the truth is that Jake is in a trap of his own. He is deaf and he wants nothing to do with a world he is sure will mock him.

But when Amanda finds out she is determined they will be friends. In spite of Jake's brusque responces she begins to seek him out, to learn sign language so she can talk to him on his ground as well as on hers. As Amanda and Jake make the tentative steps towards friendship, they learn to accept one another's limitations and admires each others strengths.

Then they relize that what they feel for each other is more than friendship. Now they must come to terms not only with their feelings toward each other, but also with the way the world  will reguard them as a couple.They will have to decide wheather the obstacles between them are simply too great to overcome.

Reading level: Young Adult

by Leslie Davis Guccione

Paperback: 196 pages 

Publisher: Scholastic (July 1992) 

Language: English 

ISBN-10: 0590417142 

ISBN-13: 978-0590417143

Submitted by Selena