The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks ****

After U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman buried in the dirt during his tour of duty in Iraq, he experiences a sudden streak of luck -- winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph -- his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can't seem to get the woman in the photograph out of his mind and he sets out on a journey across the country to find her. But Thibault is caught off guard by the strong attraction he feels for the woman he encounters in North Carolina - Elizabeth, a divorced mother -- and he keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate love affair, his secret soon threatens to tear them apart -- destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

Filled with tender romance and terrific suspense, THE LUCKY ONE is an unforgettable story about the surprising paths our lives often take and the power of fate to guide us to true and everlasting love.

First, a tangent: You know what I would really like to see in a book? I'd like to see the main character have a dog that isn't so darned perfect. Maybe he's got no recall, or jumps like a pogo stick any time somebody new comes through the door. Maybe she stands on the back deck and barks like a fiend when a leaf so much as drops. Either way, I'd like to see a dog that - despite their owner's attempts to train them - can really be a pain in the ass. Show me a book with a dog like that, and I'll show you a book with some credibility.

Back to the book - I think it's generally accepted that Nicholas Sparks is escapism. His work isn't deep, but it's entertaining and makes you feel good in the end. This was exactly that. A quick easy read that took little to no thought, during or after I was reading it. I enjoyed it, but I generally prefer books with a little more substance... or dogs that get into the kitchen garbage.

Pray for Silence, by Linda Castillo *****

One family. One horrific murder. An entire town under suspicion…

The Planks moved from Lancaster County Pennsylvania to the small Amish community of Painters Mill, hoping to resume the comforts of the Plain Life in Ohio. Less than one year later, the family of seven is found dead—slaughtered on their own farm.

Police Chief Kate Burkholder and her small force have few clues, no motive, and no suspect. Formerly Amish herself, Kate is no stranger to the secrets the Amish keep from their “English” neighbors—and each other. When the diary belonging to the rebellious teenager Mary Plank turns up, Kate is surprised to find not only a kindred spirit but a murder suspect: the charismatic stranger who stole Mary’s heart.

Then there’s Mary’s brother, Aaron. Shunned by his family and the rest of the Amish community, could he have returned to seek revenge? Now it’s up to Kate to search for some dark truths about the Planks—and confront long-buried secrets of her own. As Kate’s obsession with the case grows so does her resolve to bring the killer to justice—even if it means putting herself into the line of fire . . .

This book is the follow up to "Sworn to Silence" by the same author, that I reviewed last spring. I thought this one was as good, if not better, than the first. They're both good mystery books with the same imperfect but relatable characters. Lots of suspense, some violence, but described in a way that I didn't find it too graphic.

Leaving Jack, by Gareth Crocker ***

After months in Vietnam, soldier Carson Fletcher has had enough. He's tired of the rain, the mud, the discomfort, the danger - and most of all he's tired of seeing his buddies killed. But when his platoon encounters a yellow Lab named Jack, something in Carson comes alive again. He knows that if he can help Jack survive, he can save himself.

A friend recommended this short story to me. She said she's read it over and over and loves it every time. I've looked, and am pretty sure it's out of print... an audio version of it is going for $63 on Amazon, so I figured it must be a great story. I thought it was good, but not spectacular. The story opened up as the main character stands over his families grave, after an accident. He's already tried to commit suicide once over their loss, and decides to enlist to go to Vietnam to ensure his death in a 'useful' manner. It's a story that's been told many times in various forms, but it has potential.

Being the dog lover that I am, it feels odd to say this, but the story lost credibility when the dog is introduced. Injuries and events are a little to severe to be survived - multiple times. If you suspend your disbelief, the story is based on good premise; I just found it a little too hard to believe to get truly involved.

Falling Home, by Karen White **

Cassie Madison has it all: a high-powered advertising career, a stylish Manhattan apartment, and a sophisticated, rich, and gorgeous fiance. It's a far cry from her childhood in Walton, Georgia, home of the annual Kudzu Festival and hot, sticky summers. And then there are all the bad memories, the heartache. When Cassie's estranged sister calls to say that her father is dying, Cassie knows it's time to set aside her feelings and go home and face the sister she hasn't seen in 15 years. When her father dies, he leaves the family home to Cassie, who can't wait to get rid of it and get back to New York, her job, and her fiance, even if it means having a developer tear down the house. But something keeps her in Walton, and she doesn't know if it's her mending relationship with her sister; the irresistible, aggravating Sam Parker, who wants her to preserve her house; or the feeling of finally being home. This sweet book is highly recommended.

I don't recommend this book. It had a few good parts, but you've got to slog through a bunch of junk to get to it. I really didn't like the main character. She came across as a prissy snob with a chip on her shoulder and magically transformed to a considerate and loving family woman through the book. I'm beyond believing that people change that much over a period of a few weeks. Actually, I found too many of the characters to be over the top and predictable. In fact, I had to check the cover a few times to make sure I wasn't reading a Harlequin romance.

Arranged, by Catherine Mckenzie ****

Anne Blythe is lucky. She’s got a brand new book contract, a great newspaper job and a steadfast best friend, and she can land just about any man she sets her sights on—and the ones that appeal are typically tall, dark and handsome. Problem is, the men she chooses never last. Shortly after yet another relationship goes down in flames, Anne comes across a card for what she believes is a dating service, and pockets it just in case. If she’s so unlucky in love, maybe she could use a little assistance. Then her best friend announces she’s engaged, and envy gets the better of Anne. Now’s the time, she decides, to give the service a try—and she is shocked to discover that what the company specializes in are exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriages. After learning of the company’s success rate, however, she overcomes her reluctance and signs on. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, and she’s not done so well selecting a mate on her own. So why not use a professional service that claims it can produce the perfect match?
Some time later, Anne is travelling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack, the man they have chosen for her. And against all odds, it seems to be working out, until Anne learns that Jack and the company who arranged their marriage are not what they seem at all.

There's a quote on the front cover of this book that says "Just when you think you've got Arranged figured out, time and again, Catherine McKenzie delivers the flawless, unexpected twist that keeps you glued to the book." That, and the description on the back of the book lead me to believe that there was going to be some mystery. I bought this book because I thought it was going to be a thriller of sorts. It wasn't.

This was a very predictable, formulated love story. It wasn't a bad book - I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. It was probably the perfect intellectual level for my anesthesia brain - but I felt like there was some false advertising in the description.

Left Neglected, by Lisa Genova ***

Sarah Nickerson is like any other career-driven supermom in Welmont, the affluent Boston suburb where she leads a hectic but charmed life with her husband Bob, faithful nanny, and three children—Lucy, Charlie, and nine-month-old Linus.
Between recruiting the best and brightest minds as the vice president of human resources at Berkley Consulting; shuttling the kids to soccer, day care, and piano lessons; convincing her son’s teacher that he may not, in fact, have ADD; and making it home in time for dinner, it’s a wonder this over-scheduled, over-achieving Harvard graduate has time to breathe.

A self-confessed balloon about to burst, Sarah miraculously manages every minute of her life like an air traffic controller. Until one fateful day, while driving to work and trying to make a phone call, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In the blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her jam-packed life come to a screeching halt.

A traumatic brain injury completely erases the left side of her world, and for once, Sarah relinquishes control to those around her, including her formerly absent mother. Without the ability to even floss her own teeth, she struggles to find answers about her past and her uncertain future.

Now, as she wills herself to regain her independence and heal, Sarah must learn that her real destiny—her new, true life—may in fact lie far from the world of conference calls and spreadsheets. And that a happiness and peace greater than all the success in the world is close within reach, if only she slows down long enough to notice.

I thought this book was good, but not great. The first few chapters drew me in. I liked the main character and could relate to her life; but it went down hill from there. I wasn't as fond of the dream sequences, where each chapter started with a description of a weird dream that the main character had... I knew those dreams were a way to show how her life was spinning out of control, and that they'd stop after the accident, but I didn't like them. Fortunately, they were written in italics, and I could flip past them and get straight to the 'real' story.

Full disclosure - I picked up this book because I've had a traumatic brain injury, and it's about a similar injury to mine, stemming from the same sort of accident. I read that the author has her PhD in neuroscience from Harvard, and I wondered how accurate the book would be. I was a bit disappointed that she didn't touch on any of the other issues that stem from a right hemisphere brain injury - it focused entirely on Left Neglect (when the brain doesn't recognize the left side) and left out everything else - that made it harder for me to buy into the story. Luckily for me, I did not experience left neglect; but I did (do) deal with a whole host of other issues stemming from the brain injury that weren't even mentioned in the book. I found it unrealistic that she only had that one (major) problem to deal with. That left the story feeling incomplete to me.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak ****

Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel's story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.

This is an excellent book. It's a story narrated by Death, who tells about a young girl who is left with a German foster family during WWII. Her communist parents are unable to care for her and her brother, and her brother dies en route to the foster family's home. Her foster family teaches her to read and embraces her in their life as they live through air raids, food rationing and hiding a Jew in their basement. Every chapter is a little story of its own - very well done, and not nearly as dark as you'd expect.