Resonance Book One: Birds of Passage by Ben White

I won this book from the Member Giveaways on LibraryThing.

This is the second book I've read in the recent past about dystopian society set in the future.  As with the previous book, I really enjoyed reading this one!

This is a book about a "talented" group of people who all have abilities that are supernatural.  They are shepharded by "Fin" who is an middle-late aged gentleman who has powers to seek out people of his "kind".  The book consists of stories of each person's past and present, some who are aware of their special powers, and others who just know that they are different.  Mr Fin rescues each of them from their modern-day "witch-hunt", as many of these young people have had their powers found out about and are not too much different in their opinions as our historical witch hunts. They agree to go with Mr Fin after hearing of a place that he knows of that will be safe for them all to live in peace.

Each town that they travel to, they end up picking up another "talented" person and Mr Fin convinces them to go along.  It becomes apparent that they are being followed by another group of "talents" who are trying to sabotage thier plight and steal from them an item that Mr Fin is trying to recover.

The detail and imagination in this story is very interesting, as well as very compassionate and feeling.  This was a very well written book.  I was confused a little at the end, however, I am sure that I will think about this ending and figure it out in a day or two.

I would recommend this book to people who like adventure, the supernatural and basically great, imaginative books. Four stars!

Pie Town by Lynne Hinton

I won this wonderful book from the Early Reviewers on Library Thing.

This is definitely the type of "feel good" book that I love to read.  A book with a message and a wonderful, uplifting story.

There are a few pivotal characters in this book, three of whom stick out the most.  There is the new priest, Father George, who is assigned to Pie Town (which has not a pie sold in the whole town!) after finishing his seminary work. Father George picks up Trina, a hitch-hiking young woman, escaping an abusive relationship.  Once in Pie Town, the two of them stop at the local diner and meet up with Alex, the town's sweet child who was born with spina bifida.

What enfolds is a story that will tug at your heart strings, as well as re-affirming your belief in God and all things just.  Even if you are not a very religious person, there are many uplifting lessons about life in general in this book. It is wonderful to read about a town who rallies around it's weakest soul, Alex, making him the reason for the community to join together.

This was a wonderful book, one that I had a hard time putting down.  I recommend this to anyone, as it is appropriate for anyone of any faith. I am looking forward to seeking out other books written by this author.

The Guardian of Eden by Leslie DuBois

I won this book from the Member Giveaways on Library Thing.

I was compelled to enter to win this book from it's description on Library Thing.  I was not sorry that I had entered and I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to read this book.  I read it in one day - that is how good it was!

This is a story of Garrett, born of a white mother and an African-American father. He is the older brother of his half-sister, Eden; they have the same mother but different fathers. Garrett and Eden's mother is unfortunately an alcoholic and drug abuser who seems to be neglectful of her children, causing Garrett to become the "parent" of Eden.  He is a very gentle, sweet, and very intelligent young man, who loves his sister more than anything in the world, however, he has a dark side from the years of neglect he has received by his parents.

The novel starts out with an event that takes place involving Eden being rushed to the hospital.  It then goes into the story of how things went about resulting in that outcome. This is a very well written, interesting and realistic book, one that I very much enjoyed.  I would recommend this to most anyone, although it does involve a little violence and does touch upon incest from past encounters of the mother. Very good book!

Entangled in Darkness by Lindsay Webster

Wow. What an interesting and intense novel this is.  This is a book about a young woman, who comes from an intense family situation, embarking on her adult life journey.  She leaves home to attend University and goes to live with her best friend and another friend in an apartment.  She has very high hopes for herself and her future and is very excited to start this chapter in her life.  She leaves behind a little sister, who means the world to her and is very close with her. An event happens that starts her downward spiral into Bipolar Disorder.

I do not know much about Bipolar Disorder, other than the high's and low's associated with it.  This book goes into detail about how the person with the disorder thinks and feels and shows how this disorder affects everyone around them. I don't want to give away the details of the book, as it would reveal the various things that happen within the book. All I can say is that this book reveals the troubling symptoms of this disease in detail and is not for everyone.

I did have a few problems with the way the book flowed, but I understand that it is a proof copy and it has not been completed.  The conversations within the book could be depicted a bit clearer, as it became very confusing at times.  I do applaud the author for the detail of the emotions that were extreme throughout this book, however.

All in all, it was a good read. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in mental illness and who don't mind depressing story lines.

Inviolate by Michael Link

I won this book from Library Thing's Member Giveaways.

This book is very dark at times, but also very interesting.  It delves into pedophilia from both the victim's aspect as well as from the pedophiliac's point of view.

There are two characters who are depicted as pedophiliacs in this book and the history of the events leading to their crimes are explained, from innocent encounters to rape itself.  The first evolved pedophilac is a high school teenage boy who at first innocently explores sex with a girl much younger than himself, which evolves into him raping one girl and one woman. This book does not go into detail of the rapes, which I was very glad of, but does give a picture of what transpires in the victim's mind during the rapes.  The second character who is depicted as a pedophiliac is a 21 year old college student, who innocently falls for a very precocious twelve year old girl in his apartment building.  At first he sees himself as a friend and mentor to this girl, but soon realizes that he has feelings for this girl who seems much older for her age.  This girl takes liberties at seducing him and succeeds in kissing him and asks him to take her picture in the nude in a tasteful way.  He knows this is wrong, but cannot stop himself from doing this. Soon after, the girl and her mother move away and he doesn't see her again until years later.

This book depicts pedophilia from two opposite ends of the spectrum and goes into the victim's lives and shows the years of recovery that takes place after a violent rape in the first scenario and also looks at the "pedophiliac's" recovery of his own guilt, knowing that what he did crossed moral boundaries and how it affected his own life.

This is a good book, interesting and thought provoking and I would recommend it to those who don't mind reading about dark subject material and looking at pedophilia from a developmental aspect and how it affects all parties involved.

Zero Day by Mark Russinovich

I won this First Reads book from Goodreads.

This was a very good book, one that could be realistic in many ways!  At first I had trouble understanding the various computer terminology, as I am not very computer-savvy, however, Mr. Russinovich did a very good job explaining the terminology as the general public would understand it. As the book went on, it became a very enjoyable read!

This is a story about a terrorist attack by computer virus.  In this stressful day and age, the reality of this kind of attack is very possible in our society.  This made the book even more interesting, knowing that it could very well go from fiction to non-fiction at any time.  The main character, Jeff, is a computer expert who has worked for the US government but who now has his own company fixing computer issues from many prestigious companies.  He is called to do some work at a law firm, who had lost data presumably from a computer virus.  What follows is a very intense, detailed account of how this virus attack has been masterminded as well as how Jeff and his associates have tried to fix this virus before it takes over the US and European computer systems. There is some romance, some intrigue and a large amount of action in this book. 

I would recommend this book to just about anyone.  It has a bit of everything for everyone and is a very smooth and enjoyable read.  Very good book!

Afterlives of the Rich and Famous by Sylvia Browne

I am on the fence about whether I believe in the afterlife or not, but I thought this book would at least be entertaining.  Not only do I hope that what Sylvia Browne is telling us about "The Other Side" is true, I also am kind of looking forward to going there when my life is through!  Now, I'm not saying that I want to die, only stating that it's nice to believe and hope that there really is a paradise waiting for us when this life is ended.

The beginning of this book was a description of what the "Other Side" is like, going from the minute your spirit leaves your body, continuing through the various "healing" phases and looking back to your life, and on to how people live out their spirit lives.  Like I said before, I'm not sure that I believe in this, but after reading this book, the idea of an afterlife seems very appealing to me and it makes me hope that when I die, there is something to look forward to.  I see that alot of people have very negative reviews of this book, and I can understand that, but of those who doubt this book, how many of them actually know for a fact what happens to us when we die.  Nobody can know what it's like, therefore, this book offers a suggestion or alternative to what happens when we leave this world.

This book also covers many celebrities that have passed on.  While it was interesting to read the short biographies of each of the said celebrities, the "Other Side" portion of their lives was hard to relate to, as it is portrayed that they are back to their "true forms" and these are not described as the way we are used to viewing them.

All in all it was an interesting and quick read, that kept my interest throughout the book.  I would recommend this book to people who have open minds concerning religion, faith and the afterlife. A definite "Feel Good" book!