Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

Title: Plain Truth
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publication Date: 2003
Blurb: The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn's mother, took the child's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide -- and for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within -- to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life.

My Thoughts: Katie is a young Amish girl who is charged with murdering her newborn baby. The problem is that Katie claims that she’s never been pregnant and never given birth despite all the evidence that says otherwise. Ellie, a distant relation of the family decides, reluctantly, to defend Katie but the catch is that in order to make sure Katie doesn’t skip bail Ellie must live with her and her family for the entirety of the court case. Slowly over the course of the novel the truth starts to come out, but could Katie, a gentle young Amish girl be guilty of murdering her own baby?


I’ve been wanting to read Plain Truth for a while now as I’m interested in finding out more about the Amish. I finally got around to reading it recently and I must say it didn’t disappoint! This was another very interesting and compelling read from Jodi Picoult. I usually get bored reading about court cases, but Picoult somehow manages to keep them interesting and wanting you to read on. I also really enjoyed reading about the Amish people, how they live and the ideals that they live by.

This is definitely one of my favourite Picoult books!

Rating: ****

New to my 'to read pile'

These are a few books that I've recently added to my 'to read pile'. There's not as many this time around as I haven't been book buying as much (am refraining from visiting the Book Depository website - too addictive!) recently so I've been taking advantage of my local public library.

Bought:

Title: The Carrie Diaries
Author: Candace Bushnell
Publication Date: 2010

Blurb: Before Carrie Bradshaw became the queen of the New York City social scene, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation? The Carrie Diaries opens in Carrie's senior year of high school. She and her best friends are inseparable - and then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy - older, intriguing and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school - until a friends betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realise it?s finally time to go after everything she ever wanted. Fans of Sex and the City will love seeing Carrie Bradshaw evolve from a regular girl into a sharp, insightful writer. And we'll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where the next Carrie Diaries book will take place.

Borrowed:

Title: Ambition
Author: Kate Brian
Release Date: 2008

Blurb: The higher you climb, the farther you have to fall....Reed Brennan knew being elected president of exclusive Billings Hall would change her life. What she didn't count on was being dumped by her boyfriend, Josh Hollis, or being held responsible for a fire that destroyed Easton Academy's oldest building.And now the administration wants to shut Billings down. Forever. As president, it's up to Reed to save Billings Hall. What better way to win over the head-master than to host a glam fund-raising event in New York City? Everyone needs a date, and the newly single Reed is the most eligible girl on campus. All of Easton's hottest boys are angling to take her out, and for once, Reed's biggest problem is which one to choose.Reed has never felt so popular or powerful -- until the police start asking questions about Cheyenne Martin's death. Excited party buzz quickly turns to whispered rumors and dark moods, and one thing becomes clear: There is someone who wants to see Billings, and Reed, go down. And they will do anything to make it happen.

Title: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella (Twilight Saga)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Release Date: 2010
Blurb: Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood....life before she became a vampire.
All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself and, above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out. Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they know only as her. As they come to realise that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
Author: Steve Hockensmith
Release Date: 2010
Blurb: Journey Back to Regency England-Land of the Undead! Readers will witness the birth of a heroine in Dawn of the Dreadfuls a thrilling prequel set four years before the horrific events of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As our story opens, the Bennet sisters are enjoying a peaceful life in the English country side. They idle away the days reading, gardening, and daydreaming about future husbands until a funeral at the local parish goes strangely and horribly awry. Suddenly corpses are springing from the soft earth and only one family can stop them. As the bodies pile up, we watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. Along the way, two men vie for her affections: Master Hawksworth is a powerful warrior who trains her to kill, while thoughtful Dr. Keckilpenny seeks to conquer the walking dead using science instead of strength. Will either man win the prize of Elizabeth's heart? Or will their hearts be feasted upon by hordes of marauding zombies? Complete with romance, action, comedy, and an army of shambling corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls will have Jane Austen rolling in her grave and just might inspire her to crawl out of it!

Inner Circle and Legacy by Kate Brian (Private novels)

                          

Title: Inner Circle & Legacy (Private, Book 6)
Author: Kate Brian
Series: Private
Other books in the series:
Private
Invitation Only
Untouchable
Confessions

Blurb - Inner Circle:
Reed Brennan arrived at Easton Academy expecting to find an idyllic private school experience -- challenging classes, adorably preppy boys, and a chance to create a new life for herself. Instead, she discovered lies, deception, blackmail, and...murder. But, thankfully, the killers were caught and the nightmare is finally over. Now, with a new school year ahead of her, Reed steps back on Easton's ivy-covered campus ready to start over. So when the headmaster announces that billings is forbidden from holding their traditional, secretive initiation, Reed is relieved. She champions the new rules and the six new girls the administration has picked to live in Billings Hall: Constance, Missy, Lorna, Kiki, Astrid, and newcomer Sabine. But Reed's fellow Billings resident and new nemesis, Cheyenne Martin, believes the changes are a mockery of Billings history. Despite the new rules, Cheyenne vows to keep the old ways alive, no matter what -- or who -- stands in her way...


Blurb - Legacy:
The price of power...After Cheyenne Martin's death, everyone at Easton Academy is struggling to recover from yet another tragedy--especially the girls of Billings Hall. With Cheyenne gone, they need to elect a new leader. And who better than Reed Brennan, the ultimate Billings Girls? As the new Billings president, Reed suddenly has access to power she never imagined. Gossip is reported to her immediately, she has first dibs on everything from dining tables to dorm rooms, and Billings's most powerful alumnae are at her beck and call. So when Easton's students discover they're the only prep school on the East Coast not invited to this year's all-inclusive Legacy party, everyone turns to Reed to get them back on the list. Reed is the most powerful girl at Easton. She revels in her newfound status, but knows better than anyone that the Bilings leaders have a tainted legacy: Ariana was institutionalized, Noelle was expelled, and Cheyenne just died. History has a way of repeating itself at Easton, and now that Reed has everything she's ever wanted, she has everything to lose.


My Thoughts:
These books are my guilty pleasure at the moment. They’re part of the Private series by Kate Brian and are about a young girl Reed Brennan. In the first books Reed has just arrived at the prestigious Easton Academy and is trying to work her way into the elite world of a group called The Billings Girls. In Inner Circle Reed is recovering from a horrifying experience that happened in the previous books (I’m trying not to give anything away!) and Billings House is being run by a girl called Cheyenne who is taking all the power to her head. Against the wishes of the new principal, and against Reed’s conscience, Cheyenne and the rest of the girls in the house have decided to go ahead with the usual initiations for the new Billings girls.


It’s interesting to see what life in a private boarding school is like, especially with girls that are that rich. I also kind of enjoyed (even though I don’t condone it) the initiations that the girls had to go through and the level of bitchiness that was in the house. I think it was the level of juiciness that was in the story! lol It was nice to see Reed sticking up for herself and the other girls though especially in a world of high school peer pressure and bullying.

In Legacy, the students at Easton are looking forward to the yearly Legacy Ball. This is an event that only third generation Easton students can attend, however they’re crushed to find out that nobody has received their invites for the year. So Reed and her friends decide that they have to find out what’s going on and find a way to get into the ball.

I really enjoyed the touch of mystery that was in Legacy. This was probably a little lighter than Inner Circle, with a new coffee shop opening at the school (yes please!) and the big issue being that the students might not have been able to attend a dance and that their dress purchases would have gone to waste. But of course like all the books in the Private series, it ends with a cliff hanger that made me reserve the next book in the series.

Ratings: Both get ****

Book Trailer - Uglies & The Host

This is a Book Trailer that I made up for a couple of books. The first is for Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and the second is for The Host: A Novel by Stephenie Meyer. They're very basic book trailers, so don't expect too much! lol I had made them to be displayed in the Library that I work in, so unfortunately we couldn't have any sound.
I'm very happy to note too that the Uglies trailer has been shown by library designer Kevin Hennah in his talks around Australia and Asia so that's a bit of an ego boost :)

I'll be hopefully posting more of my own and other people's book trailers in the future for you to look at. Publishers have started making up their own trailers and there's some great ones out there.

more about "Book Trailer - Uglies & The Host", posted with vodpod

Read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner for free!

If you head on over to http://www.breetanner.com/ you'll be able to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner for free until July 5 2010. I know I'm curious to see what Stephenie Meyer's new book will be like, but I think I'll wait for the actual book to read it. Has anyone else read it yet? What did you think? 

Thanks to Skerricks for posting about this on her blog.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Review: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Title: House Rules
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publication Date: March 2010

Blurb: House Rules is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder.

My Thoughts: Jacob Hunt is a teenage boy with Aspegers Syndrome. He can't look people in the eye, can't relate to other people's feelings, often says innappropriate things, has ticks and twitches he can't control especially when he's upset, can only wear and eat certain colours on certain days and needs to take breaks in a special room to calm himself down, amongst other things. Jacob is also obsessed with forensics, and often shows up at crime scenes to help the police. All of these things are characteristics of a person with Aspergers. However, when Jacob's tutor, Jess is found dead the police come to the conclusion that these characteristics also point towards Jacob being guilty of her murder.

After a couple of disappointing releases Jodi Picoult is back to her usual fantastic work with House Rules. I literally flew through this book just because I didn't want to put it down. I found all the details about the court case and Aspergers Syndrome really interesting and I now know a lot more about both of these topics than I did before. What I liked most about House Rules was how Picoult made Jacob a character I could empathise with and grow to like. I have read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night and didn't have this experience with that book at all. I also liked how you got to see each person's point of view as Picoult had her chapters from various people's point of view. So you got to see the impact Jacob's Aspergers and his court case have on his mother, Emma and his brother, Theo and also get the story from the point of view of Jacob's lawyer, Oliver and the police officer that arrested him. The ending was a little predictable, I had solved the case before I was halfway through the book, but I still enjoyed reading on to see if I was right and to see how exactly the story would end up.

I would definitely recommend this book!

Rating: ****

Recommended Blogs

I know I’m always looking for good blogs to subscribe to, because there are so many that offer interesting information, book recommendations or just great reading. I thought that I’d list the ones that I follow every now and then and there might be some amongst them that you guys would like to follow too.

The Story Siren is a blog run by a lady from the United States. She has a great love of reading, especially Young Adult Fiction and so that’s what her blog is about. She has some great reviews and recommendations, and posts many upcoming titles, competitions and author interviews.

Windowpane Memoirs is very similar to The Story Siren, as it’s also a blog dedicated to Young Adult Fiction. I love this quote from the blog’s author, Michelle, “When I think about a writer creating worlds beyond reach I imagine their faces reflecting upon a windowpane; observing all that can be printed in words only with an artist’s heart. Windowpane Memoirs is also full of great reviews and recommendations of Young Adult Fiction. Michelle also posts upcoming releases, author interviews and chats and some competitions (although these are for US residents only, unfortunately)

Tanzanite’s Shelf and Stuff feeds my love of Historical Fiction. It’s a blog run my Daphne who shares her love of history and historical fiction with her readers. She not only reviews new fiction and non fiction books but also some older titles too. She runs some great competitions, and posts about upcoming new releases (both fiction and non fiction) as well as news and information about Historical Fiction. If you like Historical Fiction then this is definitely the blog for you (although beware, your wish list will grow every time you read it!)

Skerricks is one of the blogs I read for my work, and which I get lots of great library related news, and website and resource recommendations that I can then pass on to the students and teachers who work at the school I work at. It’s run by Ruth who is a Teacher Librarian at a school in New South Wales. My favourite part about the Skerricks blog is the Good Ideas for School Libraries entries, which show the changes Ruth has made to her library and the great ideas that she’s introduced.

Review: The Thistle and the Rose by Jean Plaidy

Title: The Thistle and the Rose
Author: Jean Plaidy
Publication Date: January 2004

Blurb: Princess Margaret Tudor is the greatest prize when her father, Henry VII, negotiates the Treaty of Perpetual Peace with neighboring Scotland. The betrothal is meant to end decades of bloody border wars, but it becomes a love match: To Margaret's surprise, she finds joy in her marriage to the dashing James IV of Scotland, a man sixteen years her senior. But the marriage, and the peace it brings to both nations, does not last. When King James is struck down by the armies of Henry VIII, Margaret - Princess of England, but Queen of Scotland - finds herself torn between loyalty to the land and family of her birth and to that of her baby son, now King of the Scots. She decides to remain in Scotland and carve out her own destiny, surviving a scandalous second marriage and battling with both her son and her brother to the very end. Like all the Tudors, Margaret's life would be one of turmoil and controversy, but through her descendants, England and Scotland would unite as one nation, under one rule, and find peace.

My Thoughts: Whenever I read about the Tudor family it’s usually about Henry, his wives and children or the Grey sisters, so this is the first book that I’ve read that has been solely about Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII. The story starts off when Margaret is 12 years old and is betrothed to King James IV of Scotland. I found this part very interesting, as it showed a little of Margaret’s relationship with Henry, her fears about marriage and all the festivities that went on because of it. Margaret falls in love with James as soon as she meets him, and theirs is a loving marriage, despite his many mistresses and illegitimate children. However, James dies young and Margaret is left a young widow, and mother to an infant king.

Like her brother, Margaret was ruled by passion and spontaneity which led to her next two marriages. She seemed to fall in love very quickly which caused great scandal and unhappiness for her. She spent the rest of her life trying to fight for control over her son and torn between her loyalty to England, her brother’s country and her home, and Scotland, her son’s country and the country she married into.

I love that Jean Plaidy writes about the more obscure and less written about characters in history. As I said before though, I haven’t read a lot about Margaret Tudor so I can’t say for sure how historically accurate it was. I did find it very interesting and entertaining though, although I find that I generally enjoy historical fiction by Allison Weir and Philippa Gregory just that little bit more. I think that those interested in history and the Tudor period will very much enjoy this book by Jean Plaidy.

Rating: ***

New to my 'to read pile'

I've got a few 'new' books that have been added to the top of my 'to read pile' in the past week so I thought I'd share them with you. I'm looking forward to digging into these, some young adult, some adult and some non fiction. I've bought a couple of them, won one of them through Good Reads and the rest I've gotten through my local public library.

Won:

Title:[Refuge]e

Author: Adnan Mahmutovic

Publication Date: October 2005

Blurb: Mahmutović's work does not wallow in self-pity, nor do his characters. Inside the plain cover holds stories and poetry that speak truths, those that may cause one to feel discomfort, pity, and anger, yet Mahmutović does not ask the reader to feel this way, does not use his words to soothe or affect some change, instead, he says, "[RUFUGE]E is not a comfort. It is not a real shelter [...] whatever you, the reader, immerse yourself in here, whatever you find here to lift you up as being, be my guest.

Bought:

Title: The Secret Bride: In The Court of Henry VIII

Author: Diane Haeger
Publication Date: 2008
Blurb: Mary Tudor, the headstrong younger sister of the ruthless King Henry VII, has always been her brother's favorite-but now she is also an important political bargaining chip. When she is promised to the elderly, ailing King Louis of France, a heartbroken Mary accepts her fate, but not before extracting a promise from her brother: When the old king dies, her next marriage shall be solely of her choosing. For Mary has a forbidden passion, and is determined, through her own cunning, courage, and boldness, to forge her own destiny. The Secret Bride is the triumphant tale of one extraordinary woman who meant to stay true to her heart and live her life just as her royal brother did-by her own rules...

Title: The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey
Author: Leanda De Lisle
Publication Date: September 2008
Blurb: Mary, Katherine, and Jane Grey–sisters whose mere existence nearly toppled a kingdom and altered a nation’s destiny–are the captivating subjects of Leanda de Lisle’s new book. The Sisters Who Would Be Queen breathes fresh life into these three young women, who were victimized in the notoriously vicious Tudor power struggle and whose heirs would otherwise probably be ruling England today.

 
 
 
Borrowed:

Title: House Rules: A Novel
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publication Date: March 2010
Blurb: House Rules is about Jacob Hunt, a teenage boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. He’s hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, and like many kids with AS, Jacob has a special focus on one subject – in his case, forensic analysis. He’s always showing up at crime scenes, thanks to the police scanner he keeps in his room, and telling the cops what they need to do…and he’s usually right. But then one day his tutor is found dead, and the police come to question him. All of the hallmark behaviors of Asperger’s – not looking someone in the eye, stimulatory tics and twitches, inappropriate affect – can look a heck of a lot like guilt to law enforcement personnel -- and suddenly, Jacob finds himself accused of murder.

Title: Inner Circle (Private, Book 5)
Author: Kate Brian
Publication Date: August 2007

Blurb: Reed Brennan arrived at Easton Academy expecting to find an idyllic private school experience -- challenging classes, adorably preppy boys, and a chance to create a new life for herself. Instead, she discovered lies, deception, blackmail, and...murder. But, thankfully, the killers were caught and the nightmare is finally over. Now, with a new school year ahead of her, Reed steps back on Easton's ivy-covered campus ready to start over. So when the headmaster announces that billings is forbidden from holding their traditional, secretive initiation, Reed is relieved. She champions the new rules and the six new girls the administration has picked to live in Billings Hall: Constance, Missy, Lorna, Kiki, Astrid, and newcomer Sabine. But Reed's fellow Billings resident and new nemesis, Cheyenne Martin, believes the changes are a mockery of Billings history. Despite the new rules, Cheyenne vows to keep the old ways alive, no matter what -- or who -- stands in her way...

Title: Legacy (Private, Book 6)
Author: Kate Brian
Publication Date: February 2008
Blurb: The price of power...After Cheyenne Martin's death, everyone at Easton Academy is struggling to recover from yet another tragedy--especially the girls of Billings Hall. With Cheyenne gone, they need to elect a new leader. And who better than Reed Brennan, the ultimate Billings Girls? As the new Billings president, Reed suddenly has access to power she never imagined. Gossip is reported to her immediately, she has first dibs on everything from dining tables to dorm rooms, and Billings's most powerful alumnae are at her beck and call. So when Easton's students discover they're the only prep school on the East Coast not invited to this year's all-inclusive Legacy party, everyone turns to Reed to get them back on the list. Reed is the most powerful girl at Easton. She revels in her newfound status, but knows better than anyone that the Bilings leaders have a tainted legacy: Ariana was institutionalized, Noelle was expelled, and Cheyenne just died. History has a way of repeating itself at Easton, and now that Reed has everything she's ever wanted, she has everything to lose.

Title: Plain Truth
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publication Date: November 2004
Blurb: The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-year-old Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn's mother, took the child's life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned big-city attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide -- and for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live "plain," Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within -- to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past reenters her life.

Wish List

The following are some books, which haven't been released yet, that I've added to my ever growing wish list. I know they're a little random, but I do like different genres and I do read both young adult and adult fiction.

Claire de Lune
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

The Wedding Planner
For the King's Favor
The Red Queen: A Novel