A young boy deals with the death of his friend who was stung by a bee and had an allergic reaction to it. Boy, that is a poorly written sentence! A very short book, 94 pages, but good.
Good books, not "staggeringly brilliant" if you ask me. Five story lines take place in Newport Rhode Island, during five timelines ranging from the 1600s to the 2000s.
Lots of good recipes and information, with a special chapter about soda fountain treats you can make. Now I know what a phosphate is! If only I can retain the information!
The American Blair looks for a missing cleric in a coal mining town in Victiorian England. Sort of a romantic mystery. Not really action filled, but interesting. Three maps!! 364 p.
Arkady helps a fifteen-year-old prostitute to find her stolen baby. He brings a woman back from the dead, and (later) has sex with her. Near the end of the book he guts a guy.
Teen returns to Burma to live on his father's logging plantation, only to have the Japanese invade. Oh, yeah, it's World War II, kids. Very good story, learned a bit about elephants, too.
I saw the movie, now I've read the book. It reads a bit slow at first, but picks up after while. I need to slow down and appreciate stuff more. I need a Japanese garden. I need a tea ceremony!
Words I Had To Look Up:
highbinders (pg. 241) -- Since they aren't professional Chinese killers, it must mean swindlers.
Lucille is a student and works in the college library. She observes someone stealing a book, and gets caught up in finding who and what and why. Pretty good story.
A woman returns to her hometown to take care of her ailing mother, and must reassess her life choices and decide what is important. A nice story, but there is way too much mention of coffeemakers! As the genre is Christian women's fiction (romantic), there is no cussing, just a bit of good-night kissing. I read the Advance Uncorrected Proof edition.