Author: Karen White
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 edition (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451229215
ISBN-13: 978-0451229212

“Sometimes, just when we think we can see our lives on course and we can settle back and get comfortable, a new path opens. Some people just keep going, too scared to veer off the familiar path. But others, well, they step off into the unknown, and find that maybe that was where they were supposed to be all along”

After her husband’s death Emmy’s mother Paige tried to convince Emmy to start over again. That’s when the idea came about for Emmy to buy a store in Folly Beach, South Carolina called Folly’s Finds. It wasn’t her mother that convinced her to buy the store and move to Folly, it was the love notes she found in a box of old books her mother bought from Folly’s Finds.

A great man once wrote, “Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.”

If only I were as eloquent as Mr. de la Rochefoucauld… I miss you, I miss you, I miss you. And i want you. And i need your kiss. And your touch on my skin like a man needs water. Always

After buying Folly’s Finds and moving to Folly Beach, Emmy starts looking for more books to go through. She is rewarded when she meets a man named Heath who tells her about a collection of old books stored in the house she is renting from him. She then starts sifting through the books one by one looking for more notes from the two mysterious lovers. The more she finds the more confused she becomes and starts to ask around, That’s where a woman in her seventies named Lulu comes in.

Lulu is Heath’s aunt, she’s lived right on Folly her entire life and knows all about the love notes because she was there, but she is reluctant to tell anything about them. Her past is full of secrets she would rather not reveal and she doesn’t want Emmy bringing the past to the present. She’d rather just build her famous bottle trees, which are meant to keep bad spirits away. But what bad spirits is she trying to keep away? Both women are stuck in the past, refusing to let it go. All of that can change though…

Emmy: “How do you know when it’s been long enough?”
Paige: “When you realize that love doesn’t have a time span. Only pain does. I think sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the two, so we just hold on to both of them like they’re inseparable.”

On Folly Beach is a novel about the past,the secrets people hold onto, and letting go. It goes back and forth between the past and the present, giving you the chance to understand both points of view. You get an understanding of the events that unfolded in the past, and the events of the present that are unfolding the past. You would have to read the novel to understand what I’m talking about, which i recommend you do because it’s a great novel! Karen White holds a lot back, but she also gives you a lot to think about. You’ll be stuck wondering and thinking, but dying to keep reading to find out the truth. It’s definitely a page turner with a heart beat that beats a little faster with each page you turn. The characters were all interesting and chosen wisely. Karen White is a brilliant writer, I’m looking forward to reading more by her. Get the book, you won’t regret it!! Oh, and you can thank me later

Author: Cormac McCarthy
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (November 3, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307476308
ISBN-13: 978-0307476302

A man and his young son are on a journey south across the country in search of warmth. The world around them is burnt, all that’s left is ashes and remnants of what used to be. They are traveling along a road with nothing but what they can scavenge along the way. Food are shelter are scarce, leaving them to sleep out in the freezing cold snow with nothing but a tarp, a fire and some blankets. They have to be careful and be on the lookout at all times for lawless bands of people who want nothing but to murder them. Their only protection is a pistol with just two bullets, they have nothing but each other. Every step of the way along the road is a battle to survive.

I read The Road in one sitting, i didn’t get to sleep until well after four am. It was a very compelling novel with pure, raw, emotion. The writing was absolutely flawless making it seem real, putting down the book would be like abandoning them and i just couldn’t do it. It was scary, heart breaking, raw, disturbing, powerful, emotional and intense page after page. Here is a young boy who grew up in this world, he doesn’t know about movies, tv, soda, all he knows is horror. What was worse though, is the father, he knows the past, he knows how it used to be and has to live with the memories of a world, a life that no longer exists.

There was no break with this book, it flowed on and on with a powerful grip on the reader. You did not know their names, you did not really understand what happened but i don’t think it mattered, what mattered was surviving and that’s it. From the very first page, McCarthy, grabbed you and held you in suspense until the very last page. I would have to say that this was one of the best books i have ever read. Go out and buy it, don’t even think twice, you’ll love it i promise.

As you may already know, this novel is now a movie. It comes out very soon in theaters. Here is the trailer

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (August 11, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446698342
ISBN-13: 978-0446698344

While on tour in Iraq, Us Marine, Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a woman buried in the dirt. Thinking it might be important to someone he takes it and tacks it up on a message board for the owner to find. After ten days of no one claiming the photograph, he puts it in his pocket. Later that evening after multiple wins in poker, he tells his friend Victor about the photograph. Victor, a believer in omens, tells him to keep it with him at all times because it’s his lucky charm. While war raged on around them, and through several near death experiences, Thibault kept the photograph in his pocket, further proving to Victor he was right about it being lucky.. he whole heartily believes they survived because of it.

Now back from Iraq and at his home in Colorado, Thibault can’t get the woman in the photograph off his mind. Victor again tries to convince him of his beliefs and finally Thibault listens. With his dog Zeus at his side, Thibault embarks on a journey across the country to find the woman in the photograph. He knows only two things, that she lives in Hampton, North Carolina and that her first initial begins with the letter E.

Elizabeth, a young divorced mother, is uneasy about the new guy her Nana hired to work at the kennel. Thibault showed up at their house with his dog Zeus and a crazy story about him walking across the country, he did not however tell her about the photograph. He claimed he saw the help wanted sign in the window of the kennel and needed a job. Elizabeth found his story a little odd but most of all it was the way he stared at her that made her the most uncomfortable.

Thibault begins his job and proves to both Nana and Elizabeth that he is trust worthy. Elizabeth’s son Ben takes a real liking to Thibault and soon he is spending more and more time with mother and son. This is where the story really begins to unfold. The more time they spend together the closer they become, eventually they even start to date. Their relationship intensifies and their love blooms, but Elizabeth’s ex husband won’t have it. Deputy Keith Clayton is a jealous, spoiled man who is used to getting what he wants and what he wants right now is to ruin Thibault and Elizabeth’s relationship and run Thibault out of town for good. If dealing with a crazy ex isn’t enough, Thibault still has his secret about the photograph just waiting to be discovered. Thibault and Elizabeth’s relationship hinges on the photograph, his secrets may be his ultimate downfall.

The Lucky One was so many things all wrapped up into one. You have love, war, relationships, secrets, destiny and fate. From the very first page until the last, Sparks keeps the story flowing. His characters were well thought out and his plot was put together with only the perfection a great story teller like him could do. While i have to admit it’s not my favorite Sparks book, i can say however, that it is definitely one of his best written novels. This book will not disappoint you, it’s very engaging with a few twists and turns that will keep you reading well into the night.

In some ways it reminded me of the Alchemist. In the Alchemist a young boy named Santiago travels across a desert in search of his destiny and along the way he learns about omens. In the Lucky One a man travels across the country after his friends tale of omens and destiny in search of a woman, who happens to be tied to the photograph that his friend believes was a omen and a good luck charm. I have to wonder if Sparks got his inspiration from the Alchemist?

I enjoy a nice, light, love story every once in awhile, which is why i love Nicholas Sparks. In my opinion he writes the best love stories. His novels are always well balanced without the overload of romance. While it was predictable, like most love stories, it had enough in it to keep it interesting. Like many of his other novels this one is being made into a movie. You can find more information about it at this website.

http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/rss/article/781085

On a hot August morning in Iowa, two little girls are found missing from their beds. Martin Gregory awakes to find his daughters bed completely empty, in a panic he searches the house thinking she just woke early and went down stairs to watch television. Coming to the conclusion that his daughter is nowhere in the house he wakes his wife Fielda and calls the police. Fielda suggests they check Calli’s house, but when they arrive they discover that Calli is missing as well.

Seven year old Calli Clark has not spoken a word in nearly three years. When Calli was just four years old, she witnessed her pregnant mother, Antonia, fall down the stairs and lose her baby. Since that tragic day Calli has been a selective mute. At first her mother tried to get her to speak but she wouldn’t, eventually her mother just figured she would speak when she was ready. Her father Griff on the other hand, was not so kind. Griff Clark was an alcoholic with a mean streak. When he got drunk he would pick on Calli for not speaking, he went as far as making fun of her, calling her a retard and putting her down. Calli knew to stay away from him when she could, she knew what he was capable of even at seven years old.

Petra Gregory, a sweet seven year old girl, is Calli’s best friend and neighbor. However, they didn’t become friends by living next door to each other , they met in school after Petra learned Calli did not speak. Curious she went to Calli’s lunch table and sat down next to her and began to talk to her, the two formed a friendship over a peanut butter fluff sandwich. With Petra around, Calli doesn’t need to utter a word, she knows what Calli wants to say and therefore is her voice in the world. No one understands their special friendship but the girls don’t really care, they have each other and that’s all that matters.

The Weight of Silence is a novel full of suspense and secrets. It is told in alternating viewpoints by each person involved in the story, it is so well written however that it never becomes confusing. The story has a very nice flow to it and chapter after chapter you will just want more. Gudenkauf has written a debut novel that has a thumping heart beat. I didn’t want to put it down, it was addicting and intriguing. There is so much to think about in this novel. Gudenkauf really touches on a few important issues in society today. From the effects of alcoholism and abuse, to the abduction of these two sweet little girls. These are real issues that need more attention.

Every forty seconds a child is abducted in the United States. Every forty seconds Forty-nine percent of cases a family member is involved, twenty-seven percent are by an acquaintance, twenty-four percent are by a stranger. In eighty percent of abductions by strangers, the first contact between the child and the abductor occurs within a quarter mile of the child’s home. Most potential abductors grab their victims on the street or try to lure them into their vehicles. About seventy-four percent of the victims of non family child abduction are girls. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are ultimately murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction. One in five children ten to seventeen years old receive unwanted sexual solicitations online.

child abduction facts

book written by Heather Gudenkauf