Paco's Story and Close Quarters

Paco's Story and Close Quarters by Larry Heinemann

I am going to write about these books together. Why? They are both by the same author and they are both about the Vietnam War, although two very different stories. Larry Heinemann is a Vietnam War Veteran who served with the 25th Division and even though the books are both fiction you have to wonder how much of himself and his experiences did he put in them.

Paco’s Story is unique, it is told by the ghost of soldier who died when Fire Base Harriette was attacked by the Vietcong. Paco Sullivan was the only survivor. He lay in the mud for days before he is rescued. His wounds are infected and covered with maggots. His body burned and shattered. Paco is taken to the states where his healing begins, both physically and mentally. This is his journey.

Close Quarters is the story of Philip Dosier. You follow Philip from his first days with the 25th Division in Vietnam to his returning back home to Chicago and all the brutally in between. If you liked The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien you will like this book. Be warned it is not for the faint of heart.

Teeth

 Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz
This has to be one of the strangest books I have read and believe me I have read a few. When I first started to read it  I was skeptical, a story about a fish boy and magical fish, come on. I kept reading and I have to say I liked it. The story is dark at times but it is also about family, friends and choice. How far would you go to save the one you love? It is not always easy doing the right thing, sometimes someone gets hurt.

The story is told by Rudy. A lonely boy whose family has moved him and his younger brother, Dylan, to an isolated island where the fish have magical healing powers. Dylan is dying from cystic fibrosis and the fish could heal him. Rudy is the only teenage boy on the island and is feeling very lonely and isolated that is until he meets beautiful Diana and sullen Teeth. Both have secrets but Teeth's could kill.

Butter

Butter by Erin Jade Lange
We all know that high school can be a painful place but for Butter it was a prison he could not escape. Butter was obese and relentlessly bullied. He was going to put an end to all of his torment. After one particularly bad day at school, he went home and built a website, ButtersLastmeal.com. People could watch him eat himself to death, in fact they could even choose his meal. As his webcast goes live something unexpected happens, Butter becomes popular. He creates an online alter ego P.J. who is everything he is not, cool. P.J. even starts chatting with Anna, a girl Butter has had a crush on for along time, but the problem with secrets are they are eventually uncovered and the results this time a devastating.

 Butter deals with some tough subjects. bullying, suicidal thoughts, obesity and over eating but Lange handles them beautifully. I think this is a must read.

Meet Me At The River

Meet Me At The River by Nina De Gramont
Plain and simple this is a love story with one heck of a twist. If you read any of my other reviews you  know that I do not do warm and fuzzy. Meet Me At The River is anything but warm and fuzzy.

Luke and Tressa are teenager lovers with a twist, Tressa's mom married Luke's dad so that makes them step brother and sister. Their relationship is frowned upon. Despite the disapproval of everyone around them their loves grows. Luke is always by Tressa's side, even after his death. Tressa is trying to move on but Luke is always there. At first his is a welcome sight and she looks forward to his visits but now she wants to move on but he won't let her....

Good Behavior a memoir

Good Behavior a memoir by Nathan L. Henry
Distrubing. I think this book does for juvenile crime what Go Ask Alice did for drugs only Nathan L. Henry is alive at the end. Good Behavior is about the year 16 year Nathan spent in jail for armed robbery and how he got there. The chapters alternate between his childhood and the year he spends in jail. This a tough read but one worth reading.

Enon

Enon by Paul Harding
This is the story of a father, Charlie Crosby, who has to come to terms with the death of his daughter and the end of his marriage. Charlie is lost in "what could of been" and starts drinking and taking drugs to cope or just forget.

I thought this was a beautifully written book. You feel his grief and at times you just want to shake him. This is not a feel good book but it is one I would recommend.

Sex & Violence

Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian
Evan is a 17 year old high school student who thinks of girls in only one way and are here for only one thing. But his world is rocked when he becomes the victim of a violent attack. Evan and his father retreat to their lake house where Evan has to heal both emotionally and physically.  

 The characters are strong and flawed, especially Evan. This is his story told in his words and it will grab you from the start.

Johnny Cash The Life

Johnny Cash The Life by Robert Hilburn
I grew up listening to Johnny Cash and have always been interested in the man and his life. We all know the story of Johnny Cash, The Man in Black, but Hilburn was a friend and had a more personal look into his life, love and addictions. He divides the book into 5 parts. It starts with his humble beginnings in Arkansas and ends with his recording of "Hurt" in 2002 and the death of his wife June Carter Cash in 2003.

If you are a fan of Johnny Cash you will not be able to put this book down, if you are not, you will be by the time you finish.

Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier

Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia
This is a hard review to write because there is so much I want to say about this book. First let me say I loved this book, although I will admit there were parts that were hard to read. Papa Pilgrim is a horrible human being and his family suffers terribly under his tyranny. I use the word tyranny because Papa Pilgrim considers himself the supreme leader. There is only one way and it is his way, the law do not apply to him.

We first meet Papa Pilgrim aka Robert Hale in Texas. He meets and marries his sweetheart 16 year old Kathrine. Six weeks later she kills herself with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The only one home at the time is Robert but he is never charged. Jump ahead several years and several wives and Papa meets and marries his fourth wife, 16 year old Kurana Rose. He is 33 at the time. This is when he finds religion or at least his interpretation of it. They settle in New Mexico until gets into trouble with the law. This is when he decides to move to  Alaska. The family lives in Fairbanks for awhile but Papa can not stay out of trouble, so he moves his wife and 13 children to Macarthy. The sleepy little town has no idea what is heading its way.
                                           

Picture Me Gone

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff
After my last couple of books I needed a break from the dark and creepy so I decided to read Picture Me Gone. I was not disappointed. Don't get me wrong this is not a warm and fuzzy story but a complicated mystery.

Mila is 12 years old but wise beyond her young years. She has this ability to read a room and everyone in it. She gathers details that no one else sees. This is a skill that will come in very handy. Mila and her family live in England and are planning a trip to New York to visit her father's best friend but just before their trip he disappears. There is no note, nothing. He's just gone leaving behind his wife, baby and beloved dog. As soon as Mila arrives in New York she knows something is not right and what she finds out will rock her world right off its axis.

Velveteen

Velveteen by Daniel Marks
Velveteen Munroe is 16 and dead. She has been tortured and killed by a serial killer named Bonesaw. She is now in Purgatory, trapped with other souls who have unresolved issues that are preventing them from crossing over. In the City of the Dead aka Purgatory, everyone has a job. Her job is to rescue souls trapped in the living world but Velveteen has other ideas. She is bent on vengeance. Velveteen is determined to keep Bonesaw from killing any more young girls. Each time she crosses over to the living world she rocks the very foundation of the City of the Dead but nothing can deter Velveteen from her vengeance, this includes her partner Nick. 

Velveteen is a strong character. She is dark and sarcastic. I really liked her and her story. But be warned Velveteen is not for the squeamish. The descriptions of Bonesaw's murders can be a bit gruesome.  If you are a fan of horror than you will not be disappointed.

Riders of the Apocalypse Series

Riders of the Apocalypse by Jackie Kessler
I read this series awhile ago and just reread it. I forgot how  much I enjoyed it. The story is about issues that teenagers face each day but with a twist. It is fast paced, edgy and brutally honest.

Each book and there are 4 in total deals with some tough subjects, here comes the twist, Death decides to make each one of the main characters one of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. In the first book, Hunger, 17 year old Lisabeth is Famine. She suffers from anorexia and is given a scale and  rides out to dish out her own idea of justice.The second book, Rage, 16 year old Missy cuts herself to relieve all the rage she feels inside, so Death makes her War. She is armed with a sword and payback is on her mind. The third book, Loss, it is Pestilence. Billy is 15 years old and is his school's punching bad. He is bullied by everyone, armed with a bow Billy gets to exact his vengeance. In the fourth and final book, Breath, Death becomes so depressed that he is thinking about suicide. The other riders must help him find his way, if they don't the world will end.

                                                                         
                              This is only one of the books. They will all leave you breathless.
                                                                         

Asylum

Asylum by Madeleine Roux
This is a creepy story, throw in some creepy photographs and you're going to want to read it with the lights on!

Dan Crawford is 16 and about to spend his summer at a college in NH taking a 5 week college prep course. He is excited for the program to start. Dan is a loner and somewhat of an outcast at his high school and hopes to make some new friends. It doesn't take him long. He hits it off immediately with his dorm mates, Abby and Jordan and together they dig into the history of their creepy dorm. They learn that the school was once an asylum for the criminally insane and their dorm housed some of the most dangerous patients. The three dig deeper into the shady past of their school and learn it is no coincidence the three of them ended up together. They also learn that some secrets should remain locked away.

                                                                              

The Murmurings

The Murmurings by Carly Anne West
Sophie's older sister Nell hears voices and sees shadows. This causes her to be institutionalized at Oakside Behavioral Institution. A few weeks later Nell is found hanging by her toe from a tree. It is ruled suicide. Sophie doesn't buy it. She decides to investigate her sister's death. Armed with her sister's journal and her one friend Evan, they try to solve the puzzle of her death and the secrets of Oakside. Time is of the essence. Sophie is starting to hear voices and see things out the corner of her eye. She soon realizes things are not what they seem at Oakside.

This is a first class supernatural thriller. You will not look gaze into mirrors quite as long after reading this book. Just in case you couldn't tell I really liked this book. It is fast paced and creepy!