The Other Side of Quiet

Hallelujah for birthdays and Barnes and Noble gift cards! I was so excited to add to my collection this month and decided I would pull some books from my Goodreads "to read" list for books to purchase. It can be a gamble to buy books you have never read before at wholesale, but with a gift card I feel much safer in this decision, and so far so good.

The first book I read is called 'The Other Side of Quiet' by Tara C, Allred. Mrs. Childs is a ninth grade English teacher who teaches a special creative writing class to 10 students. One of the student's assignments is to write in a journal. Mrs. Childs promises to not read the children's journals, just look to see if the pages are filled in for their grade. However, she is forced to break her promise to her students when a high school senior is found dead, and the murder weapon is linked to Mrs. Child's creative writing class. The students feel betrayed that their journals will be read by the police as well as their beloved and trusted teacher. Mrs. Childs learns secrets about her students that she wishes she never knew, but the journals also help her to come to know and lover her students that much more.

I really enjoyed this novel. The author does an excellent job with character voice and I was eager to find out who the murderer was. It has a simple and sweet writing style which you come to expect from Mormon fiction. There are a few references to the LDS religion, but it is not over-powering and is used to add to the character of Mrs. Childs, and fortunately, does not distract from the plot line. I wouldn't classify this book as a thriller, as most murder-mystery books tend to be, but it was still very good and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a light, fun mystery.

Sheep's Clothing

I always say that I am not the biggest fan of Mormon fiction that is not historical fiction. However,  I have recently decided that I need to stop giving this genre such a bad rep simply because of the two authors who for some mystifying reason are the "Mormon fiction poster children"(Stansfield and Weyland) ugh. Anyway, for our book club this month we were asked to read something written by Josi Kilpack. When I first received this assignment I inwardly cringed a little, but my misgivings about this author, who I definitely thought was going to be another Stansfield in the making, were completely off base. I decided to read one of her stand alone books so that I wouldn't be stuck with an entire series to read. I scrolled through some of her books, she has a lot!, and decided to read 'Sheep's Clothing'.

'Sheep's Clothing' is about an online predator trying to find the perfect teenage girl to seduce. He poses as a teenager and slowly and patiently earns his victims trust by subtly manipulating them. The very first chapter of the book begins with him dumping the body of his last victim, so the fact that you already know what is going to happen to the next girl is terrifying and completely enthralling. I spent WAY too many late nights reading this book. It was such a page turner! The story is told from different points of view too so it kept it interesting. You see the predator, the victim, the victim's mother, and the murdered girl's families point of view.

I was completely caught up in this book because ohhhhh my freaking heck this kind of thing happens EVERY SINGLE DAY! This book scared the crap out of me. Not because it was intense or scary, but because it was REAL. And being a mother made it a little TOO REAL. As I closed the book I fretted over the conversations I would need to have with my children in the future--- I do not look forward to that day. This book helped me get a little more internet smart for my future children. If you are a parent- or will be- or know teenagers-  or ARE a teenager, then read this book!

The Actor and the Housewife

'The Actor and the Housewife' by Shannon Hale is a book that has been on my 'to read' list for ages but I have avoided reading. It is written by my favorite author, so of course I was going to read it, but I despise, DESPISE, anything to do with infidelity in books and movies, especially when that betrayal is portrayed as a positive. I started reading this book with full belief that that was exactly what I was getting myself into.

I was wrong.

It is actually a Mormon fiction book, something that I did not know going into it. I don't read a lot of Mormon fiction, unless it is historical fiction, because my small tasting of it (Annita Stansfield and Jack Weyland... ugh) has been dripping with cheese and a side of corny. This has both cheese and corniness, but the witty banter and hearty emotions kind of band aid that up for me. There were times I literally laughed out loud. There were moments where I had tears running down my cheeks with sadness. I may have even let out a little sigh of contentment once in a while. Any story that can make me feel that kind of emotion, is worth reading in my book. (No pun intended)

So here is the plot line. Becky Jack is a Mormon, wife, mother of four, and a screenwriter that has just sold her first script. When she is in LA signing the contract, she runs into her all time favorite heart throb actor, Felix Callahan. Through some misfortunes on Becky's part, Felix ends up driving her back to her hotel and buying her dinner. They dance, they laugh, and it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, one that her husband is fully aware of and approves of I might add. There are unexpected twists and turns along the way, some I predicted from the beginning (Mormon fiction remember?) and some that were completely unexpected.

I liked it. I don't know if I would necessarily own it, or even read it again, but it is a good one time kind of novel that leaves your heart happy at the end of it. And yes, I would recommend it.