December ~ 2011

163. Explosive Eighteen...Janet Evanovich

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Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.
Only one other person has seen the missing photo—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can.

These books are starting to become disappointing let downs. The earlier books used to actually make me laugh out loud, but now they are almost boring. I swear it is like a whole other person is writing them.



164. Among the Hidden...Margaret Peterson Haddix
165. Among the Imposters...Margaret Peterson Haddix
166. Among the Betrayed...Margaret Peterson Haddix
167. Among the Barons...Margaret Peterson Haddix
168. Among the Brave...Margaret Peterson Haddix
169. Among the Enemy...Margaret Peterson Haddix
170. Among the Free...Margaret Peterson Haddix

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The Shadow Children series is a series of seven books about a dystopian country which suffers food shortages due to a drought and the effects of the government's totalitarian attempts to control resources as a way to solidify its power. The Population Police enforce the government's Population Law, killing or imprisoning "shadow children," any third, fourth, fifth, etc. child.

This was a good series. After the famine, laws were made where you could only have two children. Any children after that were killed, so many families would hide them. These books followed several of these "shadow children" as they tried to survive and fight for the right to exist.


171. A Taste of Cuba...Beatriz Llamas

Neat little cookbook with cool side stories.          

172. Gideon's Sword...Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston

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At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world-class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down.

At twenty-four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: His father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. With her last breath, she begged her son to avenge him.

Now, with a new purpose in his life, Gideon crafts a one-time mission of vengeance, aimed at the perpetrator of his father's destruction. His plan is meticulous, spectacular, and successful.

But from the shadows, someone is watching. A very powerful someone, who is impressed by Gideon's special skills. Someone who has need of just such a renegade.

For Gideon, this operation may be only the beginning . . .

Great beginning to a new series by a couple of my favorite authors!


173. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever...Jeff Kinney
Newest book by DS1's favorite author. It was cute!

174. Maus I: My Father Bleeds History...Art Spiegelman
175. Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began...Art Spiegelman

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A story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe and his son, a cartoonist who tries to come to terms with his father's story and history itself.

I'm not usually a fan of graphic novels, but I'm really glad I read these two. I got them for my brother for xmas and ended up reading them before we came home. They were very sad and thought-provoking. I am definitely buying a set for my sons to read.


176. The Habana Cafe Cookbook...Josefa Gonzalez-Hastings
177. Cooking the Cuban Way...Alison Behnke and Victor M. Valens

Just a couple of yummy cookbooks to round out the year.          
178. You Bake 'Em: Dog Biscuit Cookbook...Janine Adams
Cute little cookbook, but not really anything you couldn't just find online.