Read-a-Ton - Week 2

Last week of work and than I am FREE until the end of August. The days just don't seem to be moving fast enough.

As I stated last week, I am participating in the Read-a-ton group that is taking place over at Bubbles in my Head: a literature and writing resource. It's been a great excuse to read and so far it's been fun finding out what everyone else is reading. You can pick up some great book ideas this way.

So on to this week's list of last week's reads. (Sorry - No pictures this week. Had trouble uploading them through Blogger) :

1) Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - A bitter eighty-three-year-old war veteran who believes his life is meaningless dies while trying to save a little girl's life and finds himself in heaven, where five people from his past--some loved ones, some strangers--explain what his years on Earth really meant, and whether or not he succeeded in saving the child. I know this was popular when it was published but I never really got around to reading it. It's been on my "TO READ" pile for a long time. I figured now was as good a time as any and it left me. . .Sad. It's an emotional book. I don't think it should be one of those books you pick up for a good time. This is definitely a thinking book - thought provoking and at times difficult to read.

2) The House of The Scorpion by Nancy Farmer - In a future where humans despise clones, Matt enjoys special status as the young clone of El Patron, the 142-year-old leader of a corrupt drug empire nestled between Mexico and the United States. Let's just say I started the week out with a bang as this is another deeply thought provoking book. Great read and it's a multiple award winner as well. Clones have little rights in the world of this novel, then again they aren't suppose to be allowed to grow and think either. This book brings up a number of ethics questions while encasing them in a great sci-fi book.

3)Briar Rose by Jane Yolen - The tale of Sleeping Beauty and the dark tale of the Holocaust twined together in a story of darkness and redemption. Well the hit's just kept on coming! This book is a classic member of the "Fairy Tale Series" - I'll be reviewing a few of the other stories in the series in the upcoming weeks. For anyone who loves fairytales told with a twist, this is the series to read. It's been around for years and had some big named authors pen the tales. Briar Rose doesn't disappoint. Again, an emotional read. Rebecca Berlin has grown up listening to her grandmother's horrific version of Sleeping Beauty. When her grandmother dies, Rebecca uses the "story" to trace her grandmother's life and finds the Holocaust. Wonderful book and a great fantasy.

4) Beauty by Robin McKinley - Kind Beauty grows to love the Beast at whose castle she is compelled to stay and through her love releases him from the spell which had turned him from a handsome prince into an ugly beast. From one twisted fairytale to another, at least I got to end my week with a lighter book. Beauty is more of a straight forward telling of Beauty and the Beast. If you know the fairytale than you know this book. This has to be one of the best retellings I've ever read. McKinley does an amazing job of creating the fantasy world. Beauty and her Beast feel real and you get to know them. Great way to end a week of heavilyy emotional reading!