Sunday Synopsis

Blood Work by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know how I missed this Michael Connelly book. I've read all of them, or so I thought. Perhaps I read this one and forgot, but probably not. This is the first in the Terry McCaleb series. McCaleb is a former FBI agent who previously worked on solving serial murders. When his heart fails, he must retire from the Bureau. Terry is one of the lucky men who receives a heart before his time is up.

Two months later, McCaleb is working on restoring his boat when he receives a visit from a young woman asking for his assistance in finding the man who murdered her sister. As it turns out, her sister was the donor of the heart now beating in Terry's chest.

McCaleb is no longer an agent, and is neither a police officer or a private detective, but he still has connections and agrees to look into the case. Thus ensues a complex chain of events leading him to believe that the woman's murder was not a random act of violence. He finds that the blood work is the key to solving the crime and puts himself at personal risk to get to the bottom of things.

This book, like other Connelly novels, is well-written and action packed. Just when you think things are starting to come together, there is another surprise. It is a clever plot with believable, likable characters (except for two or three you're not supposed to like).

I also found out that this book was made into a movie and released in 2002 starring Clint Eastwood.

I'm going to have to watch it!

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Happy 4th of July

copyright 2012 DLA New York City

Wordless Wednesday
Image-in-ing

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Random Tuesday

I'm linking up with Stacy for some random fun!

It's almost the 4th of July!  Do you have plans?  I plan to stay inside as much as I can with temperatures reaching 100 or more!  I used to enjoy going to see the fireworks display, but with mosquitos that are as big as my hand, plus the heat, I will most likely watch them on TV.  I'm such a party pooper!

If you know me, you know I HATE, DETEST, CAN'T STAND snakes, not even grass snakes!  So why, all of a sudden, am I seeing posts about snakes all over the place?  One here and there - I could understand that.  But seriously?  So many!  A friend posted about a rattlesnake den with literally hundreds of the foul creatures.  Another post was about a dog who saved her owner from being bitten.  Another was about a man who opened the hood of his truck only to find a snake in his engine.  Another showed a snake hiding between the saddle and horse.  One was about a baby who got bit in the face and was hospitalized. And still another said that snakes hide in noodles (pool toys, not pasta!).  And yet one more was about a python in India who swallowed a woman whole! Why? Why? Why?  Too much snake stuff!  I despise them so much that I'm definitely not posting a picture of a snake here.

But I do like other animals.  An example is the cute little Corgi puppy our daughter and her husband adopted last weekend.  I can't wait to meet her!  She is so so so cute!  We used to have a dog, until he passed in 2010, and we never got another one.  Part of the reason is that I don't want to train a dog.  Another reason is that you can't just "get up and go" when you have a dog.  We have a cat.  Leave their box with cat litter, a bowl of food, and water, and the cat doesn't mind being left alone for a day or two.  Dogs require more planning.  They're cute!  And loyal!  But I'm lazy!

As a teacher, I'm just floored by how...?  people can be.  What word am I looking for?  Not smart?  Can you imagine picking up this cake from the bakery?  Or how about this one?

Funny!  What do you think of this pun?  I think it's hilarious!

And some more funnies:

And I learned a little something about myself this week:

I must be really intelligent!  Haha!
Have a happy fourth of July and a great rest-of-the-week!

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Sunday Synopsis

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a page-turner. Let me start by saying I was a little skeptical at first. So many dystopian novels have cookie-cutter plots and characters. This one was somewhat different.

The main character is Nadia. It never says exactly how old she is, but I would guess about 15 or 16. She has a mother and two sisters. They live in Canaan, a very structured city surrounded by stone walls where everyone, except the Lost, has their place, their job, in sustaining the community. The city is run by a council who oversee the well-being of the citizens and make sure the rules are being followed.

Their motto is, "What isn't written, isn't remembered." Every day, they must write their memories in their book. The book stays tethered to them. If you have no book, you are Lost. You don't exist. Because every twelve years, the Forgetting comes, and all memories are lost. If your memories are not written in your book, you will wake up from the Forgetting and have no idea who you are, where you should go, what you should do. Except... Nadia remembers. And Nadia has also gone over the wall, an offense punishable by flogging. Nadia makes a discovery in the jungle outside the wall that may be the key to the Forgetting.

As I was reading, there were several instances where I was reminded of other works such as The Giver. Nadia, as well as the community of Canaan, reminded me of Jonas and his society. The part of the novel where Nadia makes a discovery in the jungle reminded me so much of the TV show Lost. I was actually quite disappointed in that part because it was unoriginal. The descriptions and a few other details reminded me of the story "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that story inspired the novel.

On first starting this book, I was confused. It was difficult to sort things out and put the pieces together, so I feel like a young adult who is not a strong reader would get discouraged. The relationships among characters are unclear at first. However, once I was about a fourth of the way into the book, it was difficult to put down. Once you reach what you think is the climax, you realize it wasn't, and there's another, and another. It almost went on a little too long.

Overall, this was a clever take on a dystopian world. Well done, Ms Cameron!

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