Sunday Synopsis

Frozen Past by Richard C. Hale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was an adolescent novel. It's not. The characters were kids, and the writing was very child-like and stagnant. The main characters are supposed to be Jaxon Jennings, a detective, and his ex-wife, an FBI agent. But the 13-14 year old kids are more prominent in the story, and I really didn't care about them. Much of the story is about their "love story" as if a 14 year old knows what love is.

Someone is watching Luke and Eliana. It appears he is trying to scare them and even frame them for a murder. The kids think it would be funny to put a dummy in the pool and see if it freezes and fools anyone, but someone replaces the dummy with a real kid. The stalker contacts Luke and Eliana through Facebook, and claims to know Elaina's father, so there is a whole backstory about her family. And of course the stalker threatens that if they go to the police, they will both die.

When the murdered boy in the pool is found, enter Jaxon Jennings and his partner. They believe they have a lead on the swimming pool murder, albeit in a different state, thus the FBI, and jaxon's ex-wife, become involved. The kids are having more luck finding the murderer than the police are.

It was actually a VERY predictable story. You will know what is going to happen before it happens, and you will be correct. There really are no surprises. It was like watching one of the Friday the 13th movies, minus the music. You're telling the characters, "No, don't go in there! Get out!" But they go in anyway. It was also rather gruesome like a horror movie what with chopping off the heads of both people and animals, among other things.

I also don't appreciate when authors who aren't familiar with teenagers and youth try to write dialogue for them. I don't know any teenager who uses the description "epic" over and over again. The dialogue was disingenuous. I also didn't enjoy the love story between the teenagers, expressing their everlasting love for one another, thinking they can protect each other better than the police. And what kid has better tracking and hacking software than the FBI? Also, I don't know any parent who would allow his or her 13 year old daughter to move in with the boyfriend's family, much less when there is a murderer on the loose.

This book lacked suspense, believability, compelling dialogue, and character motivation. I don't recommend it.

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Happy National Pi Day!

Here are some fun facts about National Pi Day (3.14) 

1.  Pi Day is a relatively new celebration in the U. S.  In 1988, Larry Shaw of the San Francisco Exploratorim started the first large-scale celebration in one of their circular rooms.  They have plenty of events "circled" up for today.

2.  In 2009, the U. S. House of Representatives designated March 14 as National Pi Day.

3.  In case you've forgotten, in mathematical terms, Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, or 3.14.

4.  Whole Foods is offering select pies (of the dessert variety) at $3.14 off.  Kroger and Publix also have deals on select pies.  I guess the key word is "select)

5. You can also get deals on pizza pies.  Check out this site. Who doesn't love pizza?

6.  March 14 is also Albert Einstein's birthday.

7.  Steven Hawking passed away on March 14.

8.  Pi Day has its own organization.

9.  The math teachers at the school in which I teach made shirts that they always wear on pi day, but this year, they won't get to since it falls during spring break.

10. Pi Day is not to be confused with National Pie Day, an actual food holiday celebrated on January 23.  National Pie Day was created by Charlie Papazian in the 1970's to commemorate his own birthday.  Papazian, in case you're wondering, is a nuclear engineer, a craft beer brewer, and an author.

11. Pi was originally calculated by Archimedes of Syracuse who lived from 287-212 BC.

12. For an interesting Pi Day activity, try having your friends try to recite Pi, and see who can remember up to the farthest decimal, then reward them with a pie! 3.1415926535897932384626433...

13.  The most important thing about Pi Day, March 14, is that it was my father's birthday.  He's been in Heaven for 14 and a half years, and I miss him every. single. day. 

Sources:  Valley News, Wikipedia, Thrillist, National Today.

Link up at Thursday 13 for more fun!

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Random Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!  I'm linking up with Stacy!

Is anyone else still suffering from time change syndrome?  I dislike very much when we spring back.  I would like to see us stay with the same time all the time.  Thankfully, ours fell on spring break this year.  St. Patrick's Day falls the day before we return, too.  Nice work, district!  Next, please consider canceling school on April Fool's Day!  And Halloween!

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Has anyone else been watching The Bachelor?  I admit I've watched it the last couple of seasons.   It's one of my guilty pleasures along with Say Yes to the Dress (and all its counterparts).    I don't have any spoilers here if you haven't caught up with either of them.  If you still need to watch the SYTTD finale', may I suggest some tissues?  And I don't usually feel that way!  What is your guilty pleasure?

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I'm also still dealing with the stress fracture in my foot.  It's healing  v e r y s l o w l y.  I also think that because I'm not in my boot, people don't realize I'm still dealing with it, especially at work where people can be so judgmental.  So, I will have to ask the doctor for a "note" to give the people who don't trust the honor system.  I'm only allowed to wear my running shoes (ironic, huh?) with an insert in the right one.  People can't see that I'm still hurting even though I'm out of the boot.

Two weeks ago, I got a shot in my foot.  It was one the most painful thing I have experienced. Thank goodness it lasts only a minute or two.  I was unprepared for the pain.  I get shots in my shoulders a couple of times a year, but this was excruciating, kind of like the shot I had to get in my hand once (and may eventually have to do again).

Have you seen the video of the dancing camel?  He belongs to a group of Shriners from Florida, and he lives at Tanner Ranch.  His name is Sir Gus, Jr.  (Gus, Sr. passed away).  He even has a Facebook page!  They take him to events and teach people about camels while raising money for the good work they do through Shriners' Hospitals.  We have one near me.  Anyway - A man was driving down an Orlando highway, and his kids said they say a camel that looked to be doing the Carlton.  The dad didn't believe them at first, but lo and behold, that's exactly what they saw.  Here's the news story.

You can watch him here, but mute your sound.  You'll mostly hear the sound of wind.


And now, more funnies...

Truth!

This is a poke at myself!

This cracked me up!

My son has had this song stuck in my head all week, so I'm passing it on!



Have a great week!

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Sunday Synopsis

Marker by Robin Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was surprised by this Robin Cook thriller. I usually think of Coma when I think of Robin Cook. This one, however, was not freaky at all. Marker is #5 in a series about medical examiners Jack Stapleton and Laurie Montgomery, and although I didn't read the first 4 in the series, I had no trouble identifying with the characters or picking up where they are in their lives.

Laurie starts seeing a series of similar deaths in post-operative patients who are otherwise healthy. She begins to suspect there is a serial killer at work at the neighboring hospital. Jack is not so sure. So Laurie takes her concern to the hospital director, who she then begins to date since Jack won't commit to start a family. Laurie also faces some difficult news: Her mother has just had a mastectomy, and Laurie carries the gene that indicates she may be predisposed to develop the same type of cancer, thus the title marker.

As Laurie gets closer to linking the deaths, she puts herself in danger. Robin Cook will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way until the end with his blend of suspense, medicine, and mystery.

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Friday Fun!

Welcome to Fun Friday!

Tomorrow is the last day before spring break, and I'm just barely hanging on!

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Have a fun weekend!

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