#12 -- The Voyage of the Continental by Katherine Kirkpatrick

After three years at a Lowell, MA mill, 16 year old Emeline McCullough can no longer stand the grueling work.  In 1865, an orphan has few choices.  So when Asa Mercer announces his plan to resettle Civil War orphans and widows in the new Settlement of Seattle, WA Emeline is one of them.

Being one of the Mercer Girls is not exactly what Emeline expected.  Not only is the journey all the way around the tip of South America far more perilous than Emeline imagined, but someone is trying to murder her closest companion.  Despite all this, the voyage of the Continental proves to be the adventure of a lifetime, filled with mystery, excitement, friendship, romance and untold beauty.

I admit that this book was a bit more difficult to get into.  It seemed like it just dragged on and that I could predict what would happen next.  Even though it only took me a few days to get through it, it started out slow.  This would be a good book for a younger reader and someone who enjoys historical fiction.

#11 -- The Wedding Letters by Jason Wright

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wednesday Letters comes the completion of one family's journey to survive their past and forge their own future. With no more secrets . . .

When Noah Cooper bumps into Rachel, it's love at first sight, at least for Noah. Rachel isn't so sure. But Noah's charm pays off, and he introduces his bride-to-be to a special Cooper family tradition &mdash the wedding letters. Family and friends of the happy couple are invited to send letters of advice on love, life, and happiness.

However, when a dark secret from Rachel's past surfaces, will Noah and his parents, Malcolm and Rain, be able to help save the wedding from disaster? And what about the scrapbook of wedding letters that have already been gathered? Could a single letter really provide the answer that will bring Rachel back?

Set against the backdrop of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, The Wedding Letters will remind you that sometimes, no matter the secrets of years past, two hearts can still be one. And by the final page, you might just want to create your own book of wedding letters for someone you love.  http://deseretbook.com/Wedding-Letters-Jason-F-Wright/i/5057488

     I was so excited to read this second book in the series.  This one started out a bit slow, but it just keep progressing and I felt like I had know these characters for years.  I was able to read it quickly and it had a few surprises that I didn't see coming.  As I was reading I would try to tell my husband about the story so I could talk to him about it.  At first, he wasn't all that interested, but with all the reading I'm doing I think he is realizing how important it is to me.   

     I would totally recommend both the Wednesday Letters and the Wedding Letters to anyone looking for a good read.  The series is inspiring and I now view life a bit differently because of some of the letters in these books.

#10 -- Fever by Lauren DeStephano

Before giving my review of this novel (Fever) I feel like I should add a description to the first book in The Chemical Garden Series

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither

In the sequel the story continues from where it left off and it is just as thrilling as the first book.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ring mistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

I am excited to see what the third one holds so I can conclude this series and see what happens to Rhine.

Here are little videos to give you a little more feeling for the books.

#9 -- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

This was the final book I read for guided reading during my student teaching. I had read other Pippi stories but never this one. I had heard about Pippi from my mother and I even had a collection of stories about her.

Pippi is a nine year old who is very unconventional, assertive and even has superhuman strength, being able to lift her house one-handed without difficulty. In this book she has many adventures with adults like police officers and burglars, she also goes on a picnic, tries out school and even to the circus. Pippi is a very unusual girl, but that doesn't stop her. She, like Peter Pan doesn't ever want to grow up.

This is an interesting read for sure and she is quite the little character.

#8 -- Banana Split by Josi S. Kilpack

"A tropical paradise seems like the ideal place for amateur detective Sadie Hofmiller to relax and unwind from the panic attacks that have begun to control her life. But when Sadie accepts the offer to stay at a friend’s condo on the island of K’auai, her perfect vacation turns into a nightmare. On a snorkeling trip with the Blue Muumuus, a community group of adventurous older women, Sadie finds herself entangled, quite literally, with the dead body of Noelani Pouha, a local drug addict. The police are convinced they know exactly what happened to Noelani. Reeling from the shock of her own near-drowning, Sadie has no interest in looking for any other possible answers until

Noelani’s son appears on her doorstep, presenting her with a reason to gather her inner strength, rally her investigative powers, and use what she’s learned from her past cases to try and find closure . . . for both of them"

This was the description for this book and it is the 7th book in this series by this author. I have loved each and every one of them so far. One fantastic aspect is the recipes that are included in the books. I have tried several and they are definite keepers. This one was just the same. It had a little bit of a different feel than the other novels but I just wanted to keep on reading and never put it down. I finished this book in under a week.

Another thing I liked about this series is that my mother also reads them and it gives us something to talk about and we can relate to each other. I can't wait until the next one comes out!!

All the books in the series are listed in the order of which they came out: Lemon Tart, English Trifle, Devil's Food Cake, Key Lime Pie, Blackberry Crumble, Pumpkin Roll, Banana Split.....and the next one is Tres Leches Cupcakes

#7 -- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

This was another book that I had for student teaching. I had never heard of this book but my cooperating teacher suggested that I use for this group of students. It was an interesting read and it was a pretty quick one at that.

Here is a brief summary of the book:

The prologue is a letter from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, "To my lawyer, Saxonberg", accompanied by a drawing of her writing at her office desk. It is the cover letter for the 158-page narrative, which provides background for changes to her last will and testament."

Eleven-year-old Claudia Kincaid decides to run away from home comfortably, because she thinks her parents do not appreciate her and she doesn't like discomfort. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with nine-year-old brother Jamie as companion partly because he has saved all his money.er, "To my lawyer, Saxonberg", accompanied by a drawing of her writing at her office desk. It is the cover letter for the 158-page narrative, which provides background for changes to her last will and testament.

While at the museum they set up a routine of hiding in the bathroom at closing time from staff on circuit to see that all the patrons have departed; blending with school groups on tour, to learn more about the museum exhibits; bathing in the fountain, whose "wishing coins" provide income and sleeping in an antique bed.

A new exhibit draws sensational crowds and fascinates the children: the marble statue of an angel, sculptor unknown but suspected to be Michelangelo. It was purchased at auction from Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a collector who recently closed her showcase Manhattan residence. They research it on site and at the a library, and give their findings to the museum staff anonymously.

After learning they have been naive, the children spend the last of their money on travel to Mrs. Frankweiler's home in Connecticut. She recognizes them as runaways but sets them briefly to the task of researching the angel in her long bank of file cabinets. Despite the idiosyncratic organization of her files, they do discover the angel's secret. In exchange for a full account of their adventure, she will leave the crucial file to them in her will, and send them home in her Rolls-Royce. It's a deal.

Claudia learns her deep motive for persisting in the crazy search: she wanted a secret of her own to treasure and keep. Mrs. Frankweiler may get "grandchildren" who delight her. Her lawyer gets a luncheon date at the Met, to revise her will, surely not for the first time.

I would recommend this book for children who like adventure and a bit of mystery.

#6 -- Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

This book is a total classic. I read this book for the first time because I used it as a guided reading book during my student teaching. When I first introduced the book to the students they all thought it would be boring because of the movie that they had all seen. So I knew that I had to go a bit deeper into the meaning of the book. This idea worked and my students really seemed to get into it and wanted to read ahead.

I had gotten my own copy of "Charlotte's Web" when I was nine years old from my Aunt Mildred but had never read it. But now that I had the real opportunity to read it I wish I had read it before. I loved being able to read this book and follow along with this adventure and read about the friendship between Fern and Wilbur and then Wilbur and Charlotte.

I know that I will keep this book in my collection and will use to read it to my future children and hopefully they will love it just as much as I did.

#5 -- The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion

So I admit that I am a Twilight fan and I found this book at the library and just wanted to read it. This is the official book that goes through the movie and talks about how they did certain special effects, make-up, and filming locations. It was an interesting book to read and I found it fun as a bedtime read. It was a quick read and I even shared some of it with my husband.

I would definitely recommend this book to any other Twilight fans and the next time you watch the movie you will see things differently.