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

Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray # 37

Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray was recommended to me by someone, and now I can't remember who. (Sorry whoever it was, I really need to start writing down who recommended what book to me.) It is an Amish love story which is always intriguing to me because let's face it, the Amish are different than anyone I have ever met. And throw in a love story? What could be better?

The book was a pretty quick and easy read. It follows three main characters as they struggle with different things and shows how they cope with the struggles. It was good and worth reading, although I felt like the struggles they were dealing with could (and should) have been resolved in 100 pages or less and it took about 250 pages.

Winter's Awakening gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Next up-The Last Child by John Hart

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins #36

Some of you may think I am cheating by reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and counting it towards my goal because I have already read it. I had to re-read it because the third, and final, book is coming out and I will be reading it soon. If you live under a rock and haven't heard of these books, they are part of the Hunger Games series. (#1-Hunger Games, #2-Catching Fire, #3-Mockingjay).

I LOVE Catching Fire. I didn't know if I would love it the second time or not, but I think I liked it more the second time. It makes me want to go back and read Hunger Games (which I may). I could not put it down, and I read the whole thing in less than 18 hours, which is rare for me when reading a book for the second time. After finishing it, I became that much more excited for Mockingjay. If you haven't read the series, you should. You need to start with the first one though. Also, I have heard they are making a movie out of it that should be coming out next year sometime, so if you want to read it before the movie be aware of that. Let's hope they find a way to keep it PG-13.

Catching Fire gets 5 out of 5 stars from me.

Next up-Winter's Awakening by Shelley Shepard Gray