Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Published: 2009, Audiobook

Source: Library

Review: 2.5/5 stars

I've read a lot of Mary Higgins Clark and there was a time when I would have said that she was one of my favorite authors. I don't know if she doesn't have "it" quite like she used to or if I'm the one who doesn't "get it" anymore. Just Take My Heart is Clark's latest bestseller in which a much loved star of the stage is murdered and her husband is blamed. Emily Wallace is the Assistant DA whose job it is to get a conviction. This is more of a courtroom drama than the usual Mary Higgins Clark fare so I'll give her credit for branching out but it just wasn't that compelling. The audiobook kept my attention and I was interested in the story but it fell a little flat. The ending was pretty predictable and even cheesy. If you want to read any of Clark's books I would try some of her earlier works. I remember them as being smart, suspenseful, and unpredictable. This one doesn't quite measure up.

Rating: 1.2.2

Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

Genre: Historical fiction
Published: 2007, 320 pgs.
Source: Personal library
Book club selection

Review: 4/5 stars

Ellis is a small fictional town in Colorado that has some big changes coming to it as Sandra Dallas begins her novel Tallgrass. It's 1942 and after the devastation at Pearl Harbor the United States government is rounding up all Japanese Americans living on the west coast and relocating them to internment camps situated more inland. It's a dark time in American history and we see the darkness in some of the characters of this novel as well as the goodness and enlightenment of others. The story is told in the voice of 13-year-old Rennie and she describes how she is affected by the Tallgrass internment camp that is built near her family's farm on the outskirts of Ellis.

We read this book for book club last month and everyone really liked it. The characters are wonderful; you feel like you know them and one book club member said that she missed them when the book was over. That is high praise indeed.

If you're looking for a book to learn more about conditions in the internment camps then this isn't the book you'd want. The camp is definitely a major part of the story but it's more about how it affects the people on the outside rather than the inside.

Rating: 2.2.2 Tallgrass includes some mature themes but I didn't find anything offensive. There is some violence and a little barnyard language (if I remember right). Sex is an issue but is not described.

While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Published: Feb. 2009, Audiobook (5 cd's)

Source: Library

Review: 3/5 stars

This is another of the many audiobooks I pick up at the library. I like to listen to audiobooks while I'm cleaning and doing other mundane jobs around the house but, unfortunately, there isn't always a lot to choose from at the library. As I started listening to While My Sister Sleeps, I thought to myself that maybe I should be reading more of these mass market books because I was really enjoying this one. The story is mainly about family relationships, especially between mother and daughter, and what happens in this particular family when tragedy strikes. One of the sisters is a world-class marathon runner so I especially liked that aspect since I really like to run and have run a couple of marathons myself.

The book started out pretty good and I was really enjoying it but by the end there was just too much. Too many issues, too many side stories, too much crammed into one book that just seemed unnecessary. Even with it's problems, though, I did enjoy this as an audiobook. Easy listening with an engaging story. I would definitely try another Barbara Delinsky audiobook.

Rating: 2.1.2 I don't really remember anything objectionable, just some mature themes. I'm sure there was some profanity but I don't remember noticing it much.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Genre: YA fiction, fantasy

Published: 2007

Audiobook

Review: 3.5/5 stars

Wildwood Dancing is a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Jena is the second of 5 sisters who live with their father in a castle in Transylvania. Each full moon the sisters pass through a portal to go dancing with creatures of the Other Kingdom.

I enjoyed this book but thought it was a little too predictable and a little too long but this could be because I listened to the audiobook version. The narrator drove me a little crazy because she spoke in a little girl's voice. Maybe because of the voice, Jena seemed a little whiny; and for being such a smart girl, she could be a little clueless. Overall, the story was interesting and enjoyable. I know a lot of people loved this book. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it. Maybe I'll try it again in a few years.

Rating: 1.2.1 Includes a little violence.