The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson # 45

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo By Stieg Larsson is a book that I have heard a lot about in the last little while. I guess it has become quite popular. I requested it at the library and was #443. It took me about a month to get my hands on it. Stieg Larsson is a Swedish writer who wrote a this book and two sequels, delivered them to be printed in 2004, and died a short time later from a heart attack. The books were later translated into English. The original Swedish title translates to "Men who Hate Women", if I would have known that I might not have read it, but I only learned that after reading it.

There were two main problems I had with this book. First is that there was a lot of sexual violence against women, and other types of violence. The other problem I had was that I did not like the main male character at all. I don't want to spoil anything for those that haven't read it and might want to, but this guy sleeps with several different women throughout the book, and it's the women seducing him. I doubt this guy was that irresistible if you know what I mean.

The story was okay. It was interesting and intriguing and I found myself caring what happened and wanting to know the ending. The ending was both surprising and predictable. I know that doesn't make sense but I had pegged someone as being the "bad guy" and I was right, but the crime and motive were different than I thought.

Now my problem is trying to figure out if I should read the other two books. This one leaves off at a good part and I think the second one could be quite different, but it could be the same. I think I will pick it up and try it out, but if it continues with all the sexual violence I'm going to put it down. There are too many good books out there for me to be wasting my time on that kind of trash.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-I'm not sure yet (what?!?) I have 4 books requested at the library so whichever one comes in next will be my "Next up".

Saving Sammy by Beth Maloney # 44

Saving Sammy by Beth Maloney is a book that I read about in a magazine. I can't even remember which magazine but it sounded interesting. It is written by a mother/lawyer about her real life son. He was a perfectly normal boy until one day when he was 12 years old starting showing signs of OCD and Tourette's. Within a week he was already dealing with severe symptoms of both OCD and Tourettes. The book centers around the struggles the family had while trying to deal with his sickness and the lengths his mother went to "cure" him.

I loved this book. It was heartbreaking to read about all the different things this poor boy struggles with. I almost always love books about real life stories. Beth Maloney is quite a mother. She managed to remain strong for her children during times that are way harder than I can even imagine.

She figured out that his particular problems were triggered by a strep infection. She always goes on to say that other mental illnesses have been linked to different infections. I was happy when she added that she does not think that all mental illnesses are linked to infections, but some of them may be, and be cured once the real culprit is found. I learned a lot from her book and hopefully it is something that I will not have to deal with in my life, but I won't soon forget the lessons I learned from her.

Saving Sammy gets 5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock #43

Princess Ben was a book that I found on Amazon. I have read similar books this year. It reminds me a lot of Graceling and Fire, only a little less believable. This book has magic and imaginary creatures, which I don't mind in books, but it didn't work as well in this book as it does in other books. I'm not sure why, but it just doesn't.

The main character bugged me at times and I thought was immature throughout most of the book, but she is young so it worked. The other problem I had with the book is that I found it a little too easy to predict. I didn't have very many surprises throughout the book.

After saying all that you will all probably think I am crazy when I say that I liked the book. It was interesting to watch the main character grow up and mature, and the story itself wasn't that bad even if it was predictable.

Princess Ben gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Saving Sammy by Beth Maloney

You Can't Stop Me by Max Allan Collins #42

You Can't Stop Me by Max Allan Collins is another book that reminds me of my dad. I can't remember how it got on my list, but I have a feeling that my dad recommended it to me. It is a murder mystery involving a serial killer. The main character of the book is a former police officer who turned into a host of a TV show similar to America's Most Wanted after his wife and son are shot and killed in their own home. He puts a team together to find the killer.

It is a pretty typical murder mystery story, but it did a good job of scaring me at times, I knew this because there were a couple of nights that I became scared of the dark a little bit. When I am reading a thriller I know it is doing its job when I develop a fear of the dark. It is a good book, nothing super spectacular, but good and I got through it pretty quickly even if it is a good size.

You Can't Stop Me gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins #41

Mockingjay. Oh boy, here we go. I am a little sad that the Hunger Games trilogy is now over. But I guess there is only so many times you can send someone in to the Hunger Games without it being overkill. Which is what I liked about Mockingjay, it was different than the first two, just like everyone knew it would be. It was a lot darker than the first two, which is weird to say if you know the first two at all, but I felt like there were more light-hearted parts in the first two and the last one was really dark almost the whole way through, but that is how it had to be. If Katniss had arrived at District 13 and been as happy as can be it wouldn't feel real.

The only thing I would like to have seen different is that I would've liked it if Katniss would have been involved in the rescue of Peeta. I think they should have had her storm the Capital just like she did, but rescue Peeta at the same time.

Overall, I loved Mockingjay. I still think Catching Fire was my favorite of the three, but it all ended well, and I felt like it didn't leave any loose strings at the end.

Mockingjay gets 5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-You Can't Stop Me by Max Allan Collins

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale #40

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale was another interesting book. It is about a Mormon housewife/mother of soon to be 4. who meets and becomes best friends with a Hollywood actor/hunk. Since I am also a Mormon housewife and a mother of 3 I thought it could be an interesting book since I am similar enough to the main character.

The book was entertaining. It made me laugh at points, and yes, I'll admit, I cried at one point too. But overall, I didn't really get the book. I didn't find it believable at all, and I just didn't really like the storyline. While reading it, I barely put it down, but overall I just didn't like it.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale gets 2 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult # 39

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult was # 39 on my list (I'm getting so close I can almost see it). It was a different book than most. The question is, Is that a good thing or a bad? The answer is, I haven't decided yet. I finished this one a while ago and have read several more since, but I still can't decide how I really feel about it.

The story is about a young girl whose parents have just recently been divorced. All the sudden she starts talking to God, a female God. It becomes quite the controversy for all the different characters in the book, and I am sure Jodi Picoult got some of that as well when the book first came out. Now, I have my own beliefs about God (one of which is that he is male) so while it was a good story, it felt like a story than a real-life account. The other controversy throughout the book centered around the question "Why would God choose to talk to an 8 year old child?" I kept thinking throughout the book, Well, I believe he talked to this 14 year old boy, so if he wanted to, than yes, he could talk to this 8 year old girl. Although throughout the whole book we never really hear of any specific message that God is giving to the girl, and I would think if he is going to talk, he is going to have something to say.

The story told in Keeping Faith was an okay story. Nothing spectacular or too exciting.

Keeping Faith gets 3 out of 5 stars from me.

Next up-The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

The Last Child by John Hart #38

The Last Child by John Hart is a book that I saw in Costco and it looked interesting so I wrote down the title and author and found it at the library. I rarely buy books because I read them so fast and rarely re-read books so it becomes a waste of money.

The story is about a young boy whose little sister has been missing for a while. He is determined to find out who took her and where she is. Other parts of his life have fallen apart. His dad left him and his mom, and his mom is having a hard time dealing with all the blows life has dealt her.

It was a good book that had quite a few surprises in it. It took me a while to figure out some of the questions in the book and who was involved in what. I like it when the book I am reading aren't too predictable. This book made me think of my dad because this is the type of book he would like.

The Last Child gets 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Next up-Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult