Be the Miracle by Regina Brett. Finished 5-22-12, rating 4/5, 267 pages, pub. 2012

Regina Brett is a popular Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist where she was a finalist in 2008 and 2009 for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary and has her own call-in talk show.  Her breast cancer journey inspired her first book, God Never Blinks:50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours.  This book follows in the same vein, so that we see everyday opportunities to be a miracle, not only for ourselves but more importantly, others.  Regina was born just south of where I live and has spent her life in the Cleveland/Akron area and is the first stop on my Ohioana author tour.  I met Regina in February at a book signing.

Each of these lessons is short enough to read on a daily basis for a jump-start to your day which is how I approached it.  Since it’s been awhile since I started it I don’t remember all of the lessons and, to be honest, as much as I loved some of them others were equally as forgettable.

There were a few standouts.  Lesson 40 is titled Aim Higher and it’s about Bonnie St. John, the first African American to win Olympic medals in ski racing.  Oh, and she did it with one leg.

Bonnie often goes to hospitals to visit patients and give talks to people who are facing obstacles that seem insurmountable like hers once did.  She met one mother whose 13-year-old son had been horribly burned on his face and arms.  The mother turned to Bonnie and asked, “Will my son ever live a normal life?”

I expected Bonnie to promise, “Of course he will.”  She shocked me with her answer.

“No,” Bonnie said.  “He should aim higher.”

That’s what she did. 

And the last two chapters were the strongest.  Leave a legacy time can’t erase and If you woke up today, God isn’t through with you yet are both about taking time to reflect on life’s end game and living life to the fullest every moment of every day.

This book definitely had a Christian slant, but I didn’t feel it was preachy, just what’s important in Brett’s life.  I liked most of it and might give her first book, God Never Blinks a try.

I bought this one at the book signing in February.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Finished audio 5-17-12, rating 4/5, YA, pub. 2012

Book 1 of The Lunar Chronicles

Unabridged audio 10 hours. Read by Rebecca Soler

Cinder is 16, New Beijing’s best mechanic, and a cyborg.  After the 4th World War the Earth divided itself into peaceful provinces and the real threat is from the moon, where the Lunars are ruled by the evil Queen Levana.  For Cinder there is evil at home too as she is owned by her guardian, Adri, who resents her very presence.  Cinder has two “step-sisters” and is lucky to call one a friend.  Unfortunately, that one friend is stricken with the plague, an epidemic that no one in New Bejing survives.

I remember reading reviews for this when it came out in January and actually won a copy (forgive me for not remembering where) of the audio.  It sat on my shelf until I was caught without an audio book for the car (Gage is going to be a very well read little man :))  I knew it was a Cinderella retelling and that everyone seemed to like it, but didn’t remember much else and that’s probably a good thing.

For someone like me who doesn’t read a lot about cyborgs I needed to check the definition, which was embarrassingly simple.  A bionic human.  Okay.  So, then it made sense when Cinder found out she was 36% cyborg, limbs and all.  In New Beijing cyborgs are essentially slaves so Cinder is mistreated by her guardian.  Imagine Cinder’s luck then, when Prince Kai shows up at her mehanic booth at the weekly market and needs her help.  Sparks fly and Cinder is relieved when Kai doesn’t realize she was cyborg.

I was surprised that I enjoyed this so much.  I loved the audio, Rebecca Soler did a fabulous job.  As much as I liked it, the big reveal was fairly obvious from early on, but Soler’s performance and a few turns here and there made it a very fun story.  I will seek out the audio when the next book comes out.  Which leads me to my big complaint…

The non-ending ending.  I dislike when books do this, even series books.  I was probably more mad at myself that I had forgotten it was a series, but still!

This book was a fun, exciting and very modern retelling of the Cinderella story and I loved it, obviousness and all.  I’m looking forward to the next one (stupid cliffhanger).

Finished 4-22-12, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2011

I started this on audio, read by Peter Berkrot (12 hours 39 minutes) and finished with the print version after the discs turned faulty halfway through.

Charles Giles is successful, arrogant, and trying to distance himself from his family when he is fired from his job due to some questionable actions that Charlie cannot explain.  He is accused on espionage, an absurd thought to a company man like Charlie.  When co-workers and medical personnel tell him he’s going crazy, Charlie thinks he may believe them.  After all, his brother Joe is schizophrenic and his dad had his own mental health issues.  Locked up with crazy people will make even a sane man nuts and Charlie isn’t sure he’s a sane man, he did write that Kill List and one person on it had already died.

I liked this fast paced thriller.  Was Charlie crazy or could the circumstances of his firing have been manipulated?  His mother was in a coma and this led to a reconnection with the brother who he was trying to forget.  I liked the very real relationship between the two.  Charlie harbored a lot of bad feelings toward his brother that stole most of their mother’s attention.  Add into the mix that Charlie really felt like he was going crazy and could identify with his brother and the typical thriller becomes laced with a reality that leaves the reader satisfied.

Is Charlie paranoid or is he being set up?  Both choices are plausible and the book had me guessing til the reveal.  One minute I’d think Charlie was mentally unstable and the next I was sure he was bring set up.  This is an excellent debut and I look forward to more by Palmer!

I checked the audio out of the library and had an autographed book on my shelf.  Both were very good.