Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner

In Vaclav and Lena, Vaclav, who's 10 years old, wants to be a world famous magician. He enlists the help of his friend, Lena, to be his assistant. Together they hatch a plan to one day perform on Coney Island. One day, however, Lena disappears without so much as a goodbye to Vaclav. Years later when they are reunited, Yaclav discovers the ugly truth behind Lena's disappearance, while the two of them try to pick up where they left off.

I really enjoyed this book. This story about the Russian immigrant experience, through the eyes of children, was extremely fascinating. I think there's more to this book than what first appears on the surface. The story was presented in a light and fun manner, but the situation for Lena at home with her Aunt was anything but. My heart broke for Lena and her situation as well as for Vaclav, who lost his best friend with no warning or explanation.

I love short chapters, so the ones in this book were perfect for me. I especially liked the names of them. It was almost like Vaclav himself titled them. They definitely made the book fun to read.

Both Vaclav and Lena were wonderful main characters. Vaclav loves magic, lists and Lena. His enthusiasm was infectious. I was silently cheering him on. Lena is an orphan, who's home life is very troubled. I didn't get a sense that magic was that important to her, but she went along with it because she cased for Vaclav and wanted to appease him. 

Recommended. I'd love to read another book by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author, please visit Haley Tanner's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner, The Dial Press (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780679603870(Advance Reader's Edition), 285p.

Wordless Wednesday - Watery

More Wordless Wednesday.

Photo Friday - Slick

Super Lube - a slick business

For more "Slick" photos, visit the Photo Friday website.
For more of my submissions, please see my PhotoFriday set on my Flickr page.

You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz

In You're Next, Mike Wingate seems to have it all; a wife, Annabel, a daughter, Kat and a construction company that is on its way to completing a green community. He hasn't always had it good, though. His childhood was very rough. Now that things are finally going his way, a part of his past that he barely remembers comes back to haunt him. He knows things are bad when he contacts the police and they are more interested in him and his past than they are in the people who've been creating havoc in his life. Mike then turns to the one person he can depend on, his old childhood friend Shep, who's not exactly been an upstanding citizen. Together, they do everything they can to keep the family safe.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was extremely suspenseful, scary and intense. It starts off alternating between the past and the present, giving the reader the much needed background information on Mike's childhood. The book was easy to read, but parts of the writing were a bit too clipped for my liking. I know the author was going for a particular effect, but it didn't work for me. Fortunately, those sections were few and far between, so it really wasn't that bad and didn't stop me from enjoying the story.

I've read a bunch of thrillers this year, but for some reason, this one scared me the most. I don't scare that easily, especially when I'm reading. I can usually keep a little distance between myself and the characters, but this one got under my skin. Even though it scared me, I didn't want to put the book down even for a second. I had to know how it turned out in the end. I was not disappointed.

All of the characters were well written and believable. I really liked Mike. He had such a rough go of things in his early life that it was nice to see he was finally turning things around. When it all started to go bad, it was unsettling. Shep was okay, but he scared me. He was like a loose cannon that could go off at any minute. Maybe Mike trusted him, but I didn't...not totally anyway. The "bad guys" were very well written. They, too, scared me. I just wanted them to leave Mike and his family alone.

New words:
atavistic (page 122): uncivilized
suppurating (page 192): ooze pus
insentient (page 269): unconscious
paucity (page 330): rareness

Highly recommended. I'll definitely be looking for more books by this author.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit the St. Martin's Press website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Gregg Hurwitz's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at The Book Reporter for this review copy.

You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz, St. Martin's Press, ©2011. ISBN 9780312534912(Hardcover), 406p.

Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman

In Mystery, Milo Sturgis, a police detective, asks Alex Delaware, forensic psychologist, for his thoughts on a brutal homicide. The body has been mutilated and with no DNA match or ID on the body, her identity is a mystery. Stranger still, Alex has seen this striking young woman before. Two nights previous, she caught his attention at the Fauboug Hotel in Beverly Hills, where she had been sitting all alone obviously waiting for someone. As they try to determine her identity and solve this crime, Alex and Milo stumble upon some sleazy information about the victim and the world in which she lives.

I mostly enjoyed this book. It kept me entertained and I really wanted to see this mystery through to the end. The storyline was a bit complex, though, so it was a little hard to follow at times. It was complicated even further by the fact that the victim had many aliases, which made it difficult for the police to determine her real identity. Part of the story dragged as it seemed to take an extraordinary amount of time to get to the truth. I found myself hoping for a speedier conclusion. However, I realize that this is probably more like real police work than other books I've read. I can appreciate that. 

Kellerman has written many books, but this is the first one of his that I've read. Alex Delaware was likeable enough. He's featured in a number of books going back all the way to 1985, so he definitely has some appeal. I really like Detective Sturgis and liked that he was portrayed as a police detective, who just happened to be gay and not the other way around. The fact that he was gay was a mundane tidbit, as it should be, in my opinion. I also really liked Gretchen and the part she played in the story.

While I enjoyed the book, it wasn't my favourite. I've read other reviews by fans who've said that this isn't the best one in the series.  Perhaps I started with the wrong one. Therefore, I'm not going to write off Kellerman just yet. I have a few more of his books on my to-be-read shelf and I'm going to give one of those a try.

For more information about this book, please visit the Random House website.

For more information about the author, please visit Jonathan Kellerman's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Random House for this review copy.

Mystery by Jonathan Kellerman, Ballantine Books (Random House), ©2011. ISBN 9780345505699(Hardcover), 320p.

101 Uses for an Old Sandbag...or Two by Jason Howell

101 Uses for an Old Sandbag...or two was written just after the Flood of the Century in 1997. Using humour, it illustrates the various ways to use sandbags that are no longer needed for holding back flood waters. At the time, the net proceeds were donated to Manitoba Flood Relief.

This is a really cute book. The illustrations are pretty simple, but they are nicely done. The only bad thing I can say about the book is that it's somewhat dated now. The material is still mostly relevant, but the specific politicians mentioned are no longer in office. I'm pretty sure, though, it's the same old politicians with the same old politics, just with different faces. *sigh*

My favourites uses for an old sandbag:

7. Host flood re-enactment dramas in your backyard, and encourage the audience to take home the "props" after each show.
13. Just lay them out in a circle in the nearest field and call the media.
28.Dike your driveway to minimize the effect of snow drifts.
49. Drink a few beer and see if you can move the bags with your mind (it make take a "few" dozen).
67. Be a prankster and dike a neighbour's home when he's out. He'll get a kick out of it.

I really like the cover.   It's funny, but also very real for us.  Personally, I was very close to waving that white flag several times during the flood and sandbagging operations. 

If you've been through a flood (like we recently have) and have a sense of humour, I'm sure you'll get a kick out of some of these suggestions.

I picked up this book at a used book sale sometime ago.   It remained packed away in a box until recently.  Since some of my neighbours are still dealing with leftover sandbags, I thought it was a good time to review the book. 

101 Uses for an Old Sandbag...or Two by Jason Howell and Pete McCullough (Illustrator), Permanent Press, ©1997. ISBN 096929720X(Soft cover), 101p.

Photo Friday - Animal

I've taken so many photos of animals in my backyard and on vacations that we've taken that for this challenge I really wanted to do something different. Besides I have a cold and didn't feel like staking out an animal to get the right shot.

For more "Animal" photos, visit the Photo Friday website.
For more of my submissions, please see my PhotoFriday set on my Flickr page.