Luckiest Girl Alive

Author: Jessica Knoll
Genre: Fiction / Thriller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2015
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School. Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiance, she's this close to living the perfect life she's worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There's something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won't see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive, explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to
"have it all" and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that's bigger than it first appears.

The question remains, will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for - or, will it at long last, set Ani free?

Rating: Even now I can't believe I'm giving this a "Recommend" rating. I hated (h.a.t.e.d) this book for the first 190 pages. I kept telling my husband that it had to get good at some point. It was compared to Gone Girl for heaven's sake, a book I had loved.

I don't know that any book has started out more slowly than Luckiest Girl Alive. It stayed slow, and then BAM. Never saw it coming. I flew through the second half of the book.

Yellow Crocus

Author: Laila Ibrahim
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2014
Pages: 248
Rating; Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Moments after Lisbeth is born, she’s taken from her mother and handed over to an enslaved wet nurse, Mattie, a young mother separated from her own infant son in order to care for her tiny charge. Thus begins an intense relationship that will shape both of their lives for decades to come. Though Lisbeth leads a life of privilege, she finds nothing but loneliness in the company of her overwhelmed mother and her distant, slave-owning father. As she grows older, Mattie becomes more like family to Lisbeth than her own kin and the girl’s visits to the slaves’ quarters—and their lively and loving community—bring them closer together than ever. But can two women in such disparate circumstances form a bond like theirs without consequence? This deeply moving tale of unlikely love traces the journey of these very different women as each searches for freedom and dignity.

Review: This novel has gotten rave reviews, and it lived up to the hype. It may have been predictable at times, but I was sucked into the characters' world. They felt very much alive to me. The ending was a neatly wrapped package and quite unlikely, I think, in real life, but sometimes you need a warm-fuzzy, feel-good book. All-in-all, I loved it.

One Minute After You Die

Author: Erwin W. Lutzer
Genre: Christian
Publisher: Moody Publishers, 2015
Pages: 208
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: One minute after you die, you will either be elated or terrified-and it will be too late to reroute your travel plans.

When you slip behind the parted curtain, your life will not be over.  Rather, it will be just beginning-in a place of unimaginable bliss or indescribable gloom. One Minute After You Die opens a window on eternity with a simple and moving explanation of what the Bible teaches about death.

Bestselling author Erwin Lutzer urges readers to study what the Bible says on this critical subject, bringing a biblical and pastoral perspective to such issues as:

• Channeling, reincarnation, and near-death experiences,
• What heaven will be like
• The justice of eternal punishment
• The death of a child
• Trusting in God's providence
• Preparing for your own final moment

Review: This wasn't at all what I was expecting, or what I was looking for when I thought it sounded interesting. I figured that out pretty early on, but decided to stick with it since it's a pretty short book.

After my son was born and I was in the hospital recovering I experienced an interlocution. At least that's what it was according to my mother. I requested this book in an attempt to learn more about that. I know, nothing in the synopsis says that that's what this book addresses, but the "parted curtain" got my attention.

At the end of the day, this wasn't a bad read. It just wasn't what I was looking for at the time. 

I had a hard time rating this. If this is a topic you're interested in, then you will probably find One Minute After You Die interesting. If you're not interested, that's okay too.

The Inner Circle

Author: Brad Meltzer
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2015
Pages: 640
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living.

Beecher White, a young archivist, spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government. He has always been the keeper of other people's stories, never a part of the story himself...

Until now.

When Clementine Kaye, Beecher's first childhood crush, shows up at the National Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the President of the United States privately reviews classified documents. After they accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact - a 200 hundred-year-old dictionary that once belonged to George Washington, hidden underneath a desk chair, Beecher and Clementine find themselves suddenly entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder.

Soon a man is dead, and Beecher is on the run as he races to learn the truth behind this mysterious national treasure. His search will lead him to discover a coded and ingenious puzzle that conceals a disturbing secret from the founding of our nation. It is a secret, Beecher soon discovers, that some believe is worth killing for.

Gripping, fast-paced, and filled with the fascinating historical detail for which he is famous, THE INNER CIRCLE is a thrilling novel that showcases a brilliant author writing at the height of his craft.

Review: A little bit of history. A little bit of mystery. What's not to like? This is a respectable work of fiction. I would have loved a bit more Revolutionary War history, but I still liked it, and already started the second book in the series.

Also by Brad Meltzer:
The First Conspiracy

In the Skin of a Jihadist

Author: Anna Erelle
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins, 2015
Pages: 240
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: A young French journalist’s riveting and unprecedented look at how today’s most ruthless terrorists use social media and technology to reach disaffected youth—witnessed through the undercover investigation that led to her deep involvement with a key member of ISIS.

On Facebook, “Melodie”—a twenty-year-old-convert to Islam living with her mother and sister in Toulouse—meets Bilel, a French-born, high-ranking militant for the Islamic State in Syria. Within days, Bilel falls in love with Melodie, Skypes her repeatedly, and adamantly urges her to come to Syria, marry him, and do jihad. The honey-tongued suitor promises the innocent, fatherless young girl a life of material comfort and spiritual purpose. 

But “Melodie” is actually Anna Erelle, a Parisian based journalist investigating the recruitment channels of the Islamic state, whose digital propaganda—Jihad 2.0—constitutes one of its most formidable and frightening weapons, successfully mobilizing increasing numbers of young Europeans.

In this taut and riveting true story, Erelle chronicles her intense, month-long relationship with Bilel—who turns out to be none other than the right hand man of Abou Bakr al-Baghadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of ISIS. Impatient for Melodie to join him, Bilel tells her that, according to an imam, they are already all but married, and will be officially when she arrives in Syria. As she embarks on the final, most dangerous stage of her investigation, Melodie leaves for Amsterdam to begin her journey to the Middle East. But things go terribly wrong.

A gripping and often harrowing inquiry into the factors that motivate young people to join extremist causes, and a shocking exploration of how technology and social media are spreading radicalism, The Mind of a Jihadist is a riveting page-turner that helps us better understand the appeal of extremism—and how an Islamic militant attempts to brainwash, seduce, and manipulate a vulnerable young woman.

Review: What a crazy read. I don't think I would have the guts to do what Anna did. What an important story to tell and to read.

The Girls of August

Author: Anne Rivers Siddons
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Grant Central Publishing, 2014
Pages: 240
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Every August, four women would gather together to spend a week at the beach, renting a new house each year. The ritual began when they were in their twenties and their husbands were in medical school, and became a mainstay of every summer thereafter. Their only criteria was oceanfront and isolation, their only desire to strengthen their far-flung friendships. They called themselves the Girls of August. But when one of the Girls dies tragically, the group slowly drifts apart and their vacations together are brought to a halt. Years later, a new marriage reunites them and they decide to come together once again on a remote barrier island off the South Carolina coast. There, far from civilization, the women make startling discoveries that will change them in ways they never expected.

Review: This might be the fluffiest and most pointless book I have ever read. The characters were flat, stereotyped, and uninspiring, and the plot cliche. However, somehow I got sucked into their little world. I actually liked The Girls of August. It took me about two hours to read so it's perfect for the beach.

I've also read King's Oak by Siddons, and didn't care for it.