Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards

First sentence:

"On the outskirts of a pretty country village called St. Martin's Green, there stands a large, white house called St. Martin's Orphanage."

Description:

A home of her own. For ten-year-old Mandy, the old stone orphanage was the only home she remembered. Matron Bridie was kind to her, but there were thirty children to look after, and sometimes Mandy felt there was something missing. One day Mandy climbed over the high orphanage wall and found a tiny, deserted cottage in the woods. Here at last was her very own home. All through the spring, summer, and fall, Mandy worked to make it truly hers. Sometimes she "borrowed" things she needed from the orphanage. Sometimes to guard her secret, she even lied. Then one stormy night at the cottage, Mandy got sick, and no one knew how to find her -- except a special friend she didn't know she had. -- from Amazon.com

My thoughts:

I enjoyed re-reading this book as it was one of my favorite books growing up. As I read, I smiled at remembering Mandy's climbing over the wall, and even though I knew how it would end, I still worried when she was in the cottage while she was sick.

Date read: 4/13/2009
Book #: 27
Challenge: Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Children's Literature

Publisher: Harper & Row
Year: 1971
# of Pages: 188
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

999 Challenge - V. Thriller

To see my complete 999 Challenge list, go here.

1. Charles Atkins. The Cadaver's Ball -- finished 2/10/2009
2. Mark Nykanen. Hush -- finished 2/20/2009
   
3. Chris Mooney. Deviant Ways -- finished 3/11/2009
4. Jennifer Lee Carrell. Interred With Their Bones -- finished 4/12/2009
   
5. Stan Pottinger. Final Procedure
6. Greg Iles. Footprints of God
7. Sophie Hannah. Hurting Distance
8. Ron Cutler. Ice Man
9. Mo Hayder. Pig Island

Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell

First sentence:

"From the river, it looked as if two suns were setting over London."

Description:

"A long-lost work of Shakespeare, newly found. . .a killer who stages the Bard's extravagant murders as flesh-and-blood realities. . .a desperate race to find literary gold, and just to stay alive. . .

On the eve of the Globes production of Hamlet, Shakespeare scholar Kate Stanley's eccentric mentor gives her a mysterious box, claiming to have made a groundbreaking discovery. Before she can reveal it to Kate, however, terrifying echoes of the past break through to the present: The Globe burns, and a body is found inside -- murdered in the strange manner of Hamlet's father. Opening the box, Kate finds the first piece in a Shakespearean puzzle that sets her off on a deadly, high-stakes treasure hunt, racing from England to Spain to America.

An expert in occult Shakespeare, Kate knows better than anyone the many secrets, half-truths, codes, and curses surrounding his life and work. On the trail of a four-hundred-year-old mystery, she soon realizes that the prize at the end promises to unlock literary history's greatest secret.

But Kate is not alone in his hunt, and the buried truth threatens to come at the ultimate cost. . . ." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

This was a very good literary thriller set in London, Harvard and the American southwest. I liked the mix of literary clues set in archives and libraries.

Date read: 4/12/2009
Book #: 26
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Thriller

ISBN-10: 0525949704
ISBN-13: 9780525949701
Publisher: Dutton
Year: 2007
# of Pages: 405
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing Page

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

First sentence:

"The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like slightly sticky plaster-dust."

Description:

"All the creatures of forest and field and riverbank knew the infant was special. She was the princess, spirited away from the evil fairy Pernicia on her name-day. But the curse was cast: Rosie was fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a poisoned sleep -- a slumber from which no one would be able to rouse her. . . ."

My thoughts:

Robin McKinley does a wonderful job portraying the Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose fairy tale in a fresh light. By delving into the people's attempt to thwart the evil fairy Pernicia, she expands the story so that when I got to the inevitable confrontation, I was rooting for Rosie and her friends, both human and animal.

Date read: 4/11/2009
Book #: 25
Challenge: 999 Challenge, Spring Reading Thing Challenge 2009
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0441008658
ISBN-13: 9780441008650
Publisher: Ace
Year: 2000
# of Pages: 354
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Mailbox Monday - April 13th

Every Monday on The Printed Page, people list the books that arrived the previous week. Here's what arrived at my doorstep:

Jody Lynn Nye. Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear (via BookObsessed swap)
Karen Chance. Touch the Dark (via PaperBackSwap)
Jonathan Crowley. Daemonomania (via BookMooch)

Mailbox Monday - April 6th

Every Monday on The Printed Page, people list the books that arrived the previous week. Here's what arrived at my doorstep:

C.J. Cherryh. The Faded Sun Trilogy: Kesrith, Shon'jir and Kutath (via What's on My Bookshelf)

Carved in Bone by Jefferson Bass

First sentence:

"I picked up the hunting knife with my left hand and tested its heft, then shifted it to my right hand to compare."

Description:

Renowned anthropologist Dr. Bill Brockton has spent his career surrounded by death at the Body Farm. Now he's being called upon to help solve a baffling puzzle in a remote mountain community. The mummified corpse of a young woman dead for thirty years has been discovered in a cave, the body bizarrely preserved and transformed by the environment's unique chemistry. But Brockton's investigation is threatening to open old wounds among an insular people who won't forget or forgive. And a long buried secret prematurely exposed could inflame Brockton's own guilt -- and the dangerous hostility of bitter enemies determined to see him fail. . .by any means necessary." -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

I liked this mystery set at the "Body Farm" and in the Appalachian mountains. I especially liked the interactions between Brockton and police officer Art Bohanan as they work together to solve the murder of the woman in the cave. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Flesh and Bone.

Date read: 4/2/2009
Book #: 24
Challenge: 999 Challenge
Series: Body Farm, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0060759828
ISBN-13: 9780060759827
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2006
# of Pages: 317
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
LibraryThing Page

Stuart Little by E.B. White

First sentence:

"When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's second son arrived, everybody noticed that he was not much bigger than a mouse."

Description:

"How terribly surprised the Little family must have been when their second child turned out to be a small mouse. Apparently familiar with the axiom that "when in New York City, anything can happen," the Littles accept young Stuart into their family unquestioningly--with the exception of Snowbell the cat who is unable to overcome his instinctive dislike for the little mouse. They build him a bed from a matchbox, and supply him with all of the accoutrements a young mouse could need. Mrs. Little even fashions him a suit, because baby clothes would obviously be unsuitable for such a sophisticated mouse. In return, Stuart helps his tall family with errant Ping-Pong balls that roll outside of their reach.

E. B. White takes Stuart on a hero's quest across the American countryside, introducing the mouse--and the reader--to a myriad of delightful characters. Little finds himself embroiled in one adventure after another from the excitement of racing sailboats to the unseen horrors of substitute teaching. This is a story of leaving home for the first time, of growing up, and ultimately of discovering oneself. At times, doesn't everyone feel like the sole mouse in a family--and a world--of extremely tall people? " -- from Amazon.com

My thoughts:

I don't know how many times I've read this book, but reading it again for the Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge was a joy. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still laughed when I read about Stuart inside the piano, and I felt sad when his friend Margalo the bird left home.

Date read: 4/2/2009
Book #: 23
Challenge: Childhood Favourites Reading Challenge
Rating: 5*/5
Genre: Children's Literature

Publisher: Harper & Row
Year: 1945
# of Pages: 131
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page