THE HUNGER GAMES by SUZANNE COLLINS

From the back of the book:
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

I was told a few months ago, by 2 different people this was a must read, and the best book ever.
I am glad I read it, but I would have to disagree that it is the best book ever
There was a lot of action and drama, with Katniss thumbing her nose a the Capitol whenever she got the chance. It was sometimes hard to remember that Katniss was only 16.
This book was a little dark, I'm not sold on the idea of putting 24 children in an arena and forcing them to kill each other in horible ways. Nor an I sold on the idea that someone outside of the arena can control the elements, to force the children  to get closer to each other so the fight will be more exciting.
One other thing that bothered me about the book was an over use of adverbs. Some of them felt like they were just thrown in,at the end of a sentence where they really weren't needed or the thought could be competed better with a few more words. Since I listened to this book on CD I don't have any examples of specific instances, but if you read it, you will find them.
Even though this is classified as Young Adult fiction,I would hesitate to let my teens read it. I would recommend it to adult readers
The Hunger Games is available at any bookstore,and the library.

PURSUED A Maggie Mckenzie Mystery by LYNN GARDNER

From the bck of the book:
In an attempt to discover the truth about what really happened to her two brothers who were declared dead at birth, newspaper editor Maggie McKenzie has signed on for more of an adventure than she bargained for. What begins as a much-anticipated fact-finding trip to England quickly turns into a dangerous escapade as Maggie is forced to run for her life after she inadvertently gains possession of an innocent-looking flash drive. The tiny device contains details of a terrorist plot to destroy major London landmarks. When she realizes that someone she knows is involved with the malevolent plot, it becomes time to make her solo mission a family affair-even though it seems that most of the family members she has met in England would like to see her gone. Hold on tight with sleuth Maggie McKenzie in a pulse-pounding thrill ride through the United Kingdom as she discovers that when it comes to long-lost relatives, what you see isn't always what you get.
This book was filled with adventure, danger and mystery. It was set in England. A lot of the story took place in an old castle, with secret passage ways, dungeons and turrets. Its the perfect place to set a mystery novel.
I didn't figure out who the evil person was until just before the end, there were so many people that could have the evil mastermind.
The first Maggie McKenzie Mystery was called Vanished, and while it help to know who the characters are to read it, this is a stand alone book.
I recommend this book to anyone that likes mystery and intrigue.
It is available at http://www.deseretbook.com/ & http://www.seagull.com/ and inter library loan.

This is Lynn Gardner and I at her book signing in Mesa last year.

HOMETOWN GIRL by Michele Ashman Bell

From the back of the book:
Jocelyn Rogers's life is in a rut. Maybe she should step outside her comfort zone and move to Milford Falls, where she has inherited her grandmother's house. With the encouragement of the other Butterfly Girls, Jocelyn musters her courage and starts a new life.

However, when she arrives in the small town that holds both good and bad memories for her, she discovers the house in worse shape than she expected, and getting repairs done is anything but easy-especially when it comes to dealing with Jack Emerson, a man who seems to be agitated by Jocelyn and everyone else within a fifty-mile radius.
To make matters worse, she has begun to worry that moving back to the place where she once spent a troubled summer will expose the deep personal secret she has kept hidden for fourteen years. But Jack also has a hidden secret that has prevented him from getting close to anyone in a long time. And now it seems that interfering neighbors may prevent both Jack and Jocelyn from moving forward with their lives.
Join the Butterfly Girls in this charmingly romantic story that shows sometimes it takes a leap of faith to land on your feet.

This is the long awaited second book in the Butterfly Box series. It was worth the wait.
This book centers mostly on Jocelyn and her life. Jocelyn recieves a call from the mayor of the small Washington town where she has inherited her grandmother's home. She doesn't want to sell it and doesn't want to move to Washington.
With the help of the Butterfly Girls Jocelyn decides to quit her job in ST. George, UT and moves to Washington.
In her first week in town, she gets  speeding ticket & a parkng ticket, pipes in her bathroom break and the water causes the kitchen ceiling to collapse and her car breaks down. She decides she wants to sell the house and go home, but finds she has no job in Utah. Over the course of the week she meets a lot of good people, icluding Jack, the handsome handyman.
I found Jocelyn to be a very resiliant character. Even though she let the trials in her life get her down temporarily, she always faught back. She has the support of good friends in the Butterfly Girls. It is a friendship most of us only dream about.
I had the pleasure of meeting the author and having her sign my book while I was in Salt Lake City in August.

I would recommend this book to anyone young and old alike, but I would recommend reading A Modest Proposal, the first part of this story, so you know who the characters are and why they are important to each other.

Both Hometown Girl and A Modest Proposal are available at Deseret Book, Seagull Book or inter library loan.

EDGE OF APOCALYPSE by TIM LAHAYE & CRAIG PARSHALL

Edge of Apocalypse pulls you into an adrenaline-fueled political thriller laced with End Times prophecy. From Tim LaHaye, creator and co-author of the world-renowned Left Behind series---the most successful adult fiction series ever written---and Craig Parshall comes an epic story ripped from the headlines of world events and filtered through Scriptural prophecy. Set in the near future, Edge of Apocalypse chronicles the beginning of The End---the earth-shattering events leading up to the Apocalypse foretold in Revelation. Joshua Jordan, former U.S. spy-plane hero turned weapons designer, creates the world's most sophisticated missile defense system, a laser shield code-named Return to Sender. Even as Jordan hopes to secure America against a brazen array of new enemies, he finds himself trapped between international as well as domestic assailants. Global forces conspire to steal the defense weapon even as U.S. government leaders will do anything to stop the nation's impending economic catastrophe---including selling-out Jordan and his weapon. With help from a group of powerfully connected Christian leaders known as The Patriots, Jordan works to save the nation from economic and moral collapse---and to clear his name. As world events begin setting the stage for the 'end of days' foretold in Revelation, Jordan must consider not only the biblical prophecies preached by his wife's pastor, but the personal price he must pay if he is to save the nation he loves.
This was a scary book. Not scary, with ghosts and other critters jumping out yelling Boo, scary because it could happen.
In Tim Lahaye's previous series Left Behind, I felt he took the Book of Revelations too literally.
Edge of Apocalypse includes clearly recognizable current events, and events that we are moving toward in our country. In the book, North Korea launches a nuclear attack on NYC, which is foiled by super Patriot Joshua Jordan, who has invented a weapon that repels nuclear missiles and returns them to where they came from. A corrupt Congress & VP want to get the plans so they can sell it to our enemies.
The media has been taken over by the government. In our time all TVs had to become digital, in the not too distant future of the story, all TV becomes Internet. No one is allowed to run a story that paints the President in a bad light.
In the book anyone who speaks up for Christianity or says anything against the Muslims is immediately arrested.
The economy has finished tanking, and corrupt people are trying to get the USA to switch to using international currency.
So you don't think the whole book is a total downer, there are good things. Joshua Jordan has a group of super patriots, who work to preserve the constitution and our liberties.
Even though the story gave me some nightmares, because we are quickly heading toward some of the events described, I really enjoyed listening to it and rooting for the patriots.
If you are into political thrillers and end times fiction, you will like this story. You can find it in any bookstore, http://www.amazon.com/ or inter library loan.

SUMMER IN PARIS by Michele Ashman Bell

Kenzie Williams feels like she has it all; wealth, friends, popularity and talent. But when her father tells her that he has declared bankruptcy, her whole world in New York City turns upside down. Her parents' solution while they sort through their financial and marital problems is to send Kenzie to live with her relatives in Paris . . . Idaho!

Feeling like she's been sentenced to three months in Hickville Prison, Kenzie arrives in Idaho feeling like a square peg, with name brand clothes, in a round, horribly podunk, hole.
Leaving everything she loves behind, Kenzie is forced to get up at the crack of dawn, do chores, and hang out with her cousin's loser friends. She feels like she's about to die until she meets Adam White, the town outcast, whose been accused of killing his best friend and is being blamed for some trouble that's been happening around town.
Not only is Adam the best-looking guy she's ever seen, but he's also the most fascinating guy she's ever met and Kenzie is determined to get to know him and find out his secret. But, the longer she stays in Paris, the more she realizes, Adam isn't the only one keeping secrets.
This was a fun book. I liked that the spoiled rich girl got sent to small town Idaho. It was good to see her have to learn to work,and do things for herself.
Kenzie grew up a lot during her stay in Paris, although she managed to gt into plenty of trouble with her cousin an his friends.
I would recommend this book to anyone from 11 or 12 to adult.
This book is available from http://valorpublishinggroup.com/ in paperback and e-book. As always check with your library for inter library loan.
To learn more about Michele Ashman Bell CLICK HERE.

DANGEROUS CONNECTIONS by Julie Coulter Bellon

From the back of the book:
Having just finished a tour of duty in Iraq, Dr. Tyler Winthrop is ready to join his father, Craig, for a little downtime in Paris. But when Craig is kidnapped, Tyler is yanked back into the brutal realm of international terrorism, and his fate quickly becomes entwined with attractive French counterintelligence agent Isabella Floret. Risk escalates and trust dwindles as the pair uncovers ties between Tyler's father and a plot to poison American troops in the Middle East, a scheme masterminded by the diabolical rogue agent Devigny. As lines separating enemy and ally increasingly blur, Devigny's master stroke sends Tyler and Isabella on a pulse-pounding race through Paris while the security of nations hangs in the balance-and dangerous connections are the only aid to be found. "

I waited anxiously for Dangerous Connections to get to Deseret Book and it was worth the wait. I couldn't put it down and really hoped that work would be slow so I could read more.
I liked the character of Tyler, and that despite the danger he was in he never left Isabella, who seemed to need someone with some common sense to keep her alive. Even with him, they managed to find a lot of danger.
I loved that I didn't know for sure who were the good guy and who were the bad guys until the end.
If you like intrigue and adventure this is a book you will love. I would recommend it to everyone.
You can find Dangerous Connections at Deseret Book, Seagull Book, Amazon.com and as always Inter library loan.
To learn more about Julie Coulter Bellon CLICK HERE

SECRET SISTERS By Tristi Pinkston

From the back of the book:
Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?

With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society.

This was a fun book. I loved their adventures and it made me laugh to picture them bugging a house in one breath and then baking cookies or knitting stockings in the next.
As I read I pictured a Relief Society President we had in our ward  few years ago. I could so see her in Ida Mae's place.
If you want a fun quick read, I would recommend Secret Sisters by Tristi Pinkston. I am looking forward to the next volume of this series.
You can find it at Deseret Book, Seagull Book and http://valorpublishinggroup.com/ , you can also check inter library loan.
To learn more out Tristi Pinkston and her other books
CLICK HERE