Bookworm! Fall Edition

Alas, I have not been reading as much in the past couple of months, but it also took me some time to make it through a couple of these books!

The Chosen One  Carol Lynch Williams
      I found this book fascinating. According to my mom, it's quite timely, as it's reminiscent of the Warren Jeffs case. It takes place in a Fundamentalist Mormon polygamist compound, but the environment is like a cult, not modern like "Sister Wives." The protagonist of the story is a young girl who has been promised to her uncle as a bride and conveys her struggle to escape. Yes, it's uncomfortable at times, but it's a compelling story, and so hard to put down! I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Gray Baby  Scott Loring Sanders
     I was excited by this book at first, as I expected lots of dialogue about race relations. I was somewhat disappointed. The beginning chapters moved along quite nicely, as they described the circumstances surrounding the story. However, the next few chapters were quite s-l-o-w, with little action taking place. Finally though, a little beyond halfway through the story, a completely unexpected event takes place and the rest of the book picks up magnificently. My thought is that this book would make a great movie. They could quickly move through those slow chapters as a montage. If that happens, this is one case where I would say skip the book and wait for the movie.

The Firm  John Grisham
     This is only the second John Grisham book I have read, but I have loved them both. As I began the book, I wondered how it could possibly be worth the hundreds of pages it contained. My wondering soon ceased. This book had me hooked quickly! I've read reviews that thought it dragged a bit near the end, but I didn't think so at all. I was always eager to see what happened next; it was definitely a "page turner." The movie was on TV a couple of weeks after I finished the book, and having remembered nothing about it after watching it years ago, I decided to see it again. It was SO different from the book! I actually thought it was a horrible movie compared to the book. I don't know how a person even follows the action in the movie without having read the book. They also changed quite a few details from the book to the movie, which I always have a problem with. End rant. Definitely read the book, but definitely don't want the movie!
Afterthought: The other book I've read is "The Pelican Brief" and I recommend both the book AND the movie :-)

Enter Three Witches  Caroline B. Cooney
     This is pegged as 'A Story of Macbeth.' I actually expected it to be more about the witches, but it really wasn't. It was about Lady Mary, who I honestly don't remember if she was in Shakespeare's version or not. Anyway, it told the rise and fall of Macbeth, through the view and life of Lady Mary. It was fairly interesting, slow in parts, but an easy read. I think this would be a really good comparison piece for high school teachers to read after Macbeth to analyze how the events were told in each case. That's really the way I thought throughout this book, as a teacher. It's obviously much easier to understand, as it's written in modern English for the most parts, with Shakespeare scattered throughout. I love Cooney as an author though, so I thought it was a valiant effort. I could take or leave this book.

The Shack  William Paul Young
     I know I'm pretty late to the party on this one, as it was 'all the rage' a few years ago. I still don't know how I feel about this book. First of all, it took me a looooong time to get through this book, almost a month. I read all the reviews about how people cried the whole time, rededicated their life to Christ, and the whole shebang, so I expected to be a bumbling wreck while reading it. Eh, not so much. There were definitely touching moments, and I can probably see how some that weren't quite 'living right' might be rightly convicted. Now please know, I'm not saying that I, or my relationship with Christ is perfect, but I feel that it's in quite a good place. Maybe that is why I wasn't quite as affected. Or maybe it's because this was really my first venture into Christian fiction, and I was just expecting something different. Whatever the case, I think this is probably one that you will have to decide upon yourself. It seems to be a love- it or hate- it book, so you might love it.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What are you reading these days?