GuideReviews Index

'Best Friends Forever' by Jennifer Weiner - Book Review
Best Friends Forever, a new novel written by bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, is a charming and deeply satisfying read about the unexpected reunion of two estranged best friends. Like Weiner’s other novels, Best Friends Forever is an absorbing novel that’s perfect for beach reading, but it’s also emotionally resonant and takes unexpected turns.

'The Angel's Game' by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - Book Review
'The Angel's Game' is Carlos Ruiz Zafon's exercise in spinning the reader through a Faustian labyrinth filled with gothic mystery and tragic romance. This is sumptuous and dark fairy tale writing, with some serious thoughts on good and evil and the search for the human soul.

Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton - Book Review
Laura Rider's Masterpiece by Jane Hamilton is a short, comic novel about a woman who arranges for her husband to have an affair with her personal hero so that she can observe the relationship and write a romance novel.

'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult - Book Review
My Sister's Keeper is the story of a girl who sues her parents for a right to make her own medical decisions. Anna was conceived after her older sister was diagnosed with leukemia. She is a perfect match for her sister, and spends her life in the hospital donating blood, marrow and whatever else her sister needs to live. As a teenager, she sues so that she will not have to give her sister a kidney. My Sister's Keeper covers the life of this family during the trial.

'The Strain' by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan - Book Review
Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro have concocted something ancient, scientific and terrifying. 'The Strain' is the first of a new trilogy for readers to sink their teeth into; and it promises to give a ferocious bite back.

'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown - Book Review
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is Brown's third Robert Langdon thriller. In Brown's first two Langdon books -- Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code -- Langdon uncovered conspiracies within the Catholic church that involved art and science. Find out whether Dan Brown's latest book lives up to The Da Vinci Code.

'A Fortunate Age' by Joanna Smith Rakoff - Book Review
Joanna Smith Rakoff’s debut novel, A Fortunate Age, tells the story of a group of friends from college who move to New York City together and find their life paths diverging and their friendships changing. The story of A Fortunate Age is closely tied to the time and place it portrays—trendy New York City neighborhoods in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

'Brooklyn' by Colm Tóibín - Book Review
Brooklyn, a novel written by Colm Tóibín, a critically acclaimed Irish novelist, tells the story of a young woman from a small town in Ireland who leaves the world she’s known and moves to Brooklyn in the 1950s. Brooklyn is a compelling and poignant story of identity, transformation and family ties.

'Cutting for Stone' by Abraham Verghese - Book Review
Don't judge this book by its cover. 'Cutting for Stone' is a masterful first work of fiction by Abraham Verghese. Not since Khaled Housseini debuted with 'The Kite Runner' has their been a novel that could and should capture the hearts of people around the world.

'Room of Marvels' by James Bryan Smith - Book Review
Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith is a small novel that explores life after death. One man gets a glimpse of heaven in the midst of grieving three tragic deaths.

1942 by Robert Conroy - Book Review
1942 by Robert Conroy is an alternative history novel that considers the implications of a “third strike” on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

'One Second After' by William Forstchen - Book Review
One Second After is a riveting and chilling tale of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the United States. It is a thrilling page turner, but is also so much more. The danger it illustrates is so great and so real that leaders in our government are now reading this book. Let's hope they take it seriously.

'Picking Cotton' by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton and Erin Torneo
Picking Cotton is the true story of how Jennifer Thompson-Cannino picked Ronald Cotton out of a line-up as the man who raped her. Cotton was convicted and spent 11 years in prison before DNA evidence showed he was innocent. Picking Cotton is told in Thompson-Cannino and Cotton's alternating voices.

' Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown - Book Review
Angels and Demons is Dan's Brown first Robert Langdon thriller. Angels takes place chronologically before The Da Vinci Code and also involves a conspiracy within the Catholic church.

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - Book Review
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown has swept the world. Is this bestseller worth your time? Find out here.

'Dead Until Dark' by Charlaine Harris - Book Review
Dead Until Dark is the first book in Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series. The HBO TV series True Blood is based on Dead Until Dark.

'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga - Book Review
The White Tiger, Aravind Adiga’s debut novel, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize and has received much critical acclaim. The White Tiger tells the story of a young entrepreneur in India whose childhood nickname was the white tiger. This novel is an original and compelling story about modern India.

'Dewey' by Vicki Myron and Brett Witter - Book Review
Dewey by Vicki Myron is the story of Spencer, Iowa's library cat.

'Drood' by Dan Simmons - Book Review
A daunting task creates a haunting tale. Only a writer with the expertise and perception of Dan Simmons could possibly attempt to rewrite the history and personality of not one, but two world-wide acclaimed authors, and nearly deconstruct their work into something new.

'The Man with the Iron Heart' by Harry Turtledove - Book Review
The Man with the Iron Heart is an alternative history novel in which Reinhard Heydrich leads a violent Nazi uprising in a chaotic post-war Germany. It is an enjoyable page-turner with intriguing parallels to our modern wars and politics. I came to the book skeptical of the idea of a major uprising in war weary and defeated Germany, but finished the book with many of my doubts allayed. The Man with the Iron Heart seems to be the start of a new Turtledove series. This reviewer can't wait.

'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
'Three Cups of Tea' by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is the true story of Mortenson's work building schools in remote villages in Pakistan. Mortenson moves from a lost climber who promises a school to one small village to a major player in promoting peace through education in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

'Handle with Care' by Jodi Picoult - Book Review
Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult raises controversial ethical issues through the story of parents who are suing for "wrongful birth," claiming that the doctor should have caught their daughter's medical condition before she was born so that they would have been able to terminate the pregnancy.

'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' by M.Shaffer and A. Barrows
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a charming book about reading, letters and life on a small island during and after World War II.

'Beat the Reaper' by Josh Bazell - Book Review
Beat the Reaper is Josh Bazell's debut novel about an ex-mafia hit man who is now an Emergency Room doctor.

'The Reader' by Bernhard Schlink - Book Review
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink is the story of a 15-year-old boy who has an affair with a woman more than twice his age. Years later, he finds out a secret about her.