Finished audio 12-12-11, rating 4/5, pub. 2004

Unabridged audio.  6 hours.  Read by Dick Hill.

An orphan and a bastard, Jamie grew up tough enough to handle almost anything. He survived foreign prisons, smugglers, pirates, gunrunners, and shark attacks. But what he finds in the quote town of Hawkes Harbor, Delaware, was enough to drive him almost insane—and change his life forever.

This is a shortened overview from the paperback version of the book and it is bland enough to be true.  I wish I could include the one from the audio version because then you’d understand the few issues I had while listening to this one, but I can’t because I already returned it to the library.

Jamie was orphaned at 8, and on his own for a long while, having only his friend, Kell, to watch his back.  He was crude and always looking for the easy way, for the big payoff.  When Jamie ended up in Hawkes Harbor he found the shock of his life, and that’s saying a lot given all that Jamie had been through.  He ends up staying in Hawkes Hall, working for Grenville Hawke.  Until he gets sent to state hospital for the mentally ill.

The book is supposed to have a bit of mystery attached to it, I guess, since none of the descriptions really give Jamie’s shock away, so I won’t either.  I was surprised that by the end of the book I found it to be a rather charming story of an unlikely friendship.

I assumed that a book by SE Hinton would be teen friendly, but I was wrong.  This is definitely an adult book, with frank and bawdy sex talk and situations, but it does have the popular teen themes of the day.  I liked it quite a bit, but wouldn’t have read it if I’d known what happened to Jamie.  Are you curious yet?

I checked this audio out from the library.  Thanks for the recommendation, Jill.

Finished 12-1-11, rating 5/5, YA, 213 pages, pub. 2009

Okay. It’s not just the planning to kill Prophet Childs. There’s more.  There’s lots more.

Squished between my sisters I try not to think of my sins but they are all in me.  I know they are here.

First, there are the books.

Section One

Kyra is a 13-year-old girl living on a compound in Utah among the Chosen.  She has 20 siblings with two more on the way and three mothers.  Her father is a good man who treats his wives and children strictly but with moderate punishment.  That’s not so among the other men on the compound.  When Kyra’s family was visited by the Prophet Childs they were all stunned to discover that Kyra was a Chosen One, scheduled to marry Apostle Hyrum, her uncle, and become his 7th wife.

Father kisses both of us on the tops of our heads.  He holds us secure.  But his holding me like this is a lie.  He can’t do anything to save me.  And he’s my father.

Aren’t fathers supposed to save their daughters?

Section 3

Kyra loves her family and can’t imagine life without them, but she does manage to escape the compound once a week to hop on the book mobile.  In books she discovers new worlds, worlds that lead her to believe that escape is possible, but not without a terrible cost.  She is also in love with a boy her age and the two of them try to convince the Prophet to change his mind with disastrous results.

This book blew me away.  I was angry, horrified, sad, scared and enlightened.  I was shocked by the violence, it took me by surprise.  I don’t read a lot of YA and this may be my first book about polygamy and I’m glad that the States challenge made me pick this one up, because I never would have otherwise.  This was a short read and I wish it had been longer to address what happened after the end of the novel.  I was amazed at how the thoughts of this teen were so close to the thoughts of any teen.  Williams captured Kyra’s voice perfectly.    I hope to check out more by Williams even though it’s not my normal genre.

There were some unbelievable scenes but none of them took away from my overall enjoyment of the book.  It was compelling  and I loved it.

I checked this book out of the library (Thanks for the suggestion, Sheree)

Finished 11-27-11, rating 4/5, fiction, 295 pages, pub. 2011

Toni owns her own business planning celebrations, but on the night she expects a wedding proposal, she is disappointed.  To make the night worse she also receives news that her mother has had a stroke and is in a coma back in Blue Hills, Missouri.  Toni heads home to be with her emotionally distant mother and finds questions about her mother and family she’s never known.

The chapters alternate between Toni and her mother’s life.  Anna grew up with family drama of her own, drama that led to the discovery of a little black dress that showed visions of the future.  When Toni finds the dress and discovers its magic she needs her mother’s counsel.

I loved Anna’s story.  It unfolded at just the right pace and there was enough mystery there to keep me interested.  The dress itself was an interesting character- showing up in various scenes, mysterious and sexy.  I actually found the dress a more compelling character than Toni, who was fine, but a bit bland compared to Anna and the dress.

I thought this was a fun read.

I won this during October’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon 🙂

So, if you had a little black dress that gave you visions of the future would you keep it in your closet or get the temptatation out of your house?