The Girl Who Played With Fire

By: Stieg Larrson
Genre: Crime Fiction
Stars: 5 out of 5
A year after the Wennerstrom affair we find Lisbeth Salander in the Caribbean; after a year of traveling she returns to find that people are after her. Mikael Blomkvist is working on a special issue of Millennium about Sweden’s sex trafficking and he has hired a man and his partner to write pieces for it. A few weeks before the issue and the book is supposed to be published the couple are found dead in their apartment. And they find Lisbeth’s fingerprints on the murder weapon. Now Mikael must pursue his own investigation of the murders and the sex trafficking to not only find out the killer but clear Lisbeth’s name. All the while Lisbeth is being hunted down for the murders. Therefore, she must undergo her own investigation and finish something she started when she was twelve.
The second installment of the Millennium Trilogy is certainly a page turner. You have three investigations and therefore many perspectives of the same story being pursued at the same time and a lot of dirty secrets being exposed. We learn a lot more about Larrson’s protagonist Lisbeth Salander and her past that she has tried to avoid all of her life. Instead of explaining a lot of Swedish financial things in the first hundred pages, Larrson jumps right into his story; from the end of the prologue I was hooked. And he keeps you hooked throughout the rest of the novel, until the cliffhanger at the end. I really recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Someone on the bus saw me reading this book and I strongly recommended it to him! I am usually a skeptic when it comes to mainstream fiction but Stieg Larrson is a terrific writer and has an intriguing story line. Seriously readers of this blog, if you haven’t already read these books, read them!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

By: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Teen Fiction
Stars: 4 out of 5
Bree Tanner – a newborn vampire – makes a brief appearance in the third Twilight Saga book Eclipse. We are introduced to her momentarily after the battle between Victoria’s newborn vampire army and the Cullen’s where she surrenders and meets her inevitable fate. Now this is her short story about the events taking place up to the point where she is murdered. We learn that Bree is not a normal newborn vampire, she is smart and cunning. She figures out the lies the vampire named Riley tells the twenty-two of them to fight and she meets and begins to fall for Diego – an older (older for newborns) vampire who takes her under his wing. Unfortunately, all this knowledge comes too late when she realizes that going into this battle is truly not how she wants to live this new life and all she wants to do is runaway. But the need for blood and the hunt for Bella overpower her true wishes and unfortunate Bree Tanner comes to an awful end.
Being a literary fan of the Twilight Saga, I was curious to read this book. I really did not remember who Bree Tanner was but I was intrigued to find out what her story. Although written well, I wanted more about Bree’s first three months of life. This novel only takes place within the last week of Bree’s life and I wanted more. Plus you know those movies and books such as Romeo and Juliet or The Other Boleyn Girl where you know the characters are going to die but you want them to live despite the information you already know? That’s exactly how this book ended. You have learned about Bree and realize she is different and you want her to live so badly, but sadly Bree Tanner does not fit into the ending we want for her. All in all even if you are the slightest closet fan of Twilight, this was a fun read.

The Search

By: Nora Roberts
Genre: Romance
Stars: 2 out of 5
Eight years after being a victim of the Red Scarf Killer – and the only survivor – Fiona Bristow has made a new life for herself. Running her own dog training school and volunteering as a canine search-and-rescue, Fiona has no time for relationships – or the danger that is about to find her. A new wood artist has moved into town with a terrible puppy, who seeks Fiona out to train. Simon definitely intrigues Fiona and the two become fast lovers until a red scarf shows up at her house. Although the killer is behind bars, someone is still killing women and is now after Fiona! Will she survive a second time and manage to keep the man she loves alive?
Okay I must admit that once every few months, Nora Roberts is a guilty pleasure of mine. Yes it is all cheesy romance but what girl usually doesn’t like to read about a love story every now and then? Although, I must admit I was a little disappointed with this story; it wasn’t one of Roberts’ usual love stories where the couple fight then make love then fight again. She put a lot of emphasis on the murdering man aspect, switching back and forth from his mind into Fiona’s story. I don’t know maybe it’s just me but when I pick up a romance novel I want good raw romance; so this story was a little disappointing to me, as well as long for a romance novel and rushed at the end.

Tinkers

By: Paul Harding
Genre: Fiction
Stars: 5 out 5
George Washington Crosby is dying. As he lies dying, his mind starts reeling with the memories of his childhood in New England and his father. Going back between present day and then into George’s childhood and Howard’s (George’s father) childhood and life, this story is about the relationship between a father and a son who’s story never really ends. And until George’s last moments, you are still gripped with this philosophical and touching tale.
Paul Harding’s novel has won this year’s 2010 Pulitzer Prize – and for good reason. His writing style is absolutely phenomenal and I love how he adds little tinker (clock) quotes into his story. Here is a sample of just how detailed and fantastic his writing is: “When the blood left, it was as if it had evaporated; it was as if the blood had turned to some fumy spirit too thin to carry its own minerals. And so, it evaporated and had left a residue of salt and metal along the passages of his dry veins” (Harding 182). That language is just beautiful and paints such a wonderful image. I certainly recommend this novel to anyone looking for a touching story about a parent-child relationship and some philosophical aspects as well.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson
Genre: Crime Fiction
Stars: 5 out of 5
After being sentenced for libel and defaming a huge Swedish financer in his magazine The Millennium, Mikael Blomkvist decides to take a break. However after being summoned by Henrik Vanger to write his family’s biography and investigate the disappearance of his niece over forty years ago, Mikael gets thrown into a world of corruption and violence. With the help of Lisbeth Salander, a pierced punk who is a sneaky investigator, Mikael and Lisbeth unlock a mystery that will shock more than Henrik Vanger’s world.
It is really too bad that Stieg Larsson is no longer around to see how his novel has become such a major hit. This is really a fascinating and intriguing read. A little slow going at first because Larsson explains the Swedish financial system and also provides a lot of family history and background about the Vanger’s. But once you read past the first hundred pages, you are flung into a mystery that shocks you. I only picked this book up because so many customers at work were buying it – and now I know why. I cannot wait to read the second and third installments.

Beatrice and Virgil

By: Yann Martel
Genre: Fiction
Stars: 4 out of 5
A writer spends five years writing what he considers his greatest masterpiece. But after it is rejected from his editor, in defeat he moves with his wife to start a new life. In his pursuit of something different, Henry receives a strange fan mail. It’s a scene from a play by an old author as well as a scene from the fan’s own play. In curiosity, Henry goes to pay the fan a visit. He finds out the fan is actually an old taxidermist and has been writing this play about a monkey and a donkey for years. Henry then becomes involved in editing and listening to this odd man’s play and finds out the play may be more than he expected.
This book was interesting to me. I have not read Yann Martel’s bestselling novel “Life of Pi” so I did not know how his writing style was. But I do like his writing style. It is different from mainstream fiction writers and so it was entertaining to read and see what happens next with this man’s play. However, it was a little slow going at first, but overall a great and different read.

Little Nuggets of Wisdom

By: Chuy Bravo with Tom Brunelle
Genre: Humor
Stars: 3 out of 5
This little book is advice from Chelsea Handler’s little nugget Chuy. It’s nothing literal just little quotations of advice that Chuy thinks we should take to heart. He has advice for different categories such as when it comes to friends, families, technology, and entertainment. One of my favorite pieces of advice is: “Never sit in the front row of a theater unless you have a bloody nose and you’re trying to stop the bleeding.” See really good advice from such a little guy.