Annual Reading Goal Challenge for 2016 - Come and join us!

[NHdisneylover]

Posting a reminder to myself to add Nightingale and Unstoppable to my list---hopefully I can find at least my own post.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#13/50: Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (4.5/5) (based on actual events early 1900s)
I especially enjoyed this as I was familiar with the area.

#14/50: Boys in the Trees: A Memoir by Carly Simon (3/5)

 

[Kirby]

#11/80 - Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner.

From the author of Jerusalem Maiden comes a mesmerizing, thought-provoking novel that tells the riveting story of an American woman - the daughter of Holocaust survivors - who travels to Russia shortly after the fall of communism, and finds herself embroiled in a perilous mafia conspiracy that could irrevocably destroy her life.

Brooke Fielding, a thirty-eight year old New York investment manager and daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors, finds her life suddenly upended in late September 1993 when her job is unexpectedly put in jeopardy. Brooke accepts an invitation to join a friend on a mission to Moscow to teach entrepreneurial skills to Russian business women, which will also give her a chance to gain expertise in the new, vast emerging Russian market. Though excited by the opportunity to save her job and be one of the first Americans to visit Russia after the fall of communism, she also wonders what awaits her in the country that persecuted her mother just a generation ago.

Inspired by the women she meets, Brooke becomes committed to helping them investigate the crime that threatens their businesses. But as the uprising of the Russian parliament against President Boris Yeltsin turns Moscow into a volatile war zone, Brooke will find that her involvement comes at a high cost. For in a city where "capitalism" is still a dirty word, where neighbors spy on neighbors and the new economy is in the hands of a few dangerous men, nothing Brooke does goes unnoticed - and a mistake in her past may now compromise her future.

A moving, poignant, and rich novel, Hotel Moscow is an eye-opening portrait of post-communist Russia and a profound exploration of faith, family, and heritage.

This is my book club's pick for this month. The author was actually in Russia during the time period that the book covers. I can't imagine living in Russia during that time. Women were not treated well at all.

 

[miksilver]

12/35 Alaskan Fire (Guardians of the First Realm Book 1) by Sara King – (from the Amazon Kindle website) For lovers of Contemporary Fiction and Romance, Werewolves & Shifters, Mythological Fantasy, Paranormal & Urban Fantasy, and Adventure Fantasy, Alaskan Fire is a groundbreaking leap into the myths and monsters of old. This book is long -- too long. It really needs to be edited down. Every time I thought I was at the last chapter there were another 2 or 3 to go, but I managed to finish it (and not hate read it to the end). I enjoyed reading about the Alaskan off-the-grid lifestyle, and some of the paranormal elements of the book were unique. I tried to read the sequel to the book Alaskan Fury but I couldn’t do it. It changed focus onto different characters and just lost me.

13/35 Blood Magic – Ella Summers Book 2 of the Alex side of the Dragon Born series that I have been reading this year. I really do like this series and am waiting for the next installments to come out.

 

[Kewz1]

#3/12 The Churchill Factor - How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson. The point of this "sorta" biography is that one man can make a difference. In this case the one man is Winston Churchill. Mr. Johnson clearly likes Churchill, as do I, and makes a great case that Churchill's decisions made history for the better. I found it to be an easy read and learned some things I did not know beforehand about Winston. I would recommend this book. But only if you really like Churchill.

Kristen

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

#7/15 - Think and Grow Rich.

Wish I hadn't wasted an Audible credit on this. It has been touted by today's success gurus as the original handbook to success, but I didn't get much from it. It sounded more like a history lesson. I know we can learn from history, but I think there are better books out there for today's generation.

 

[moniqueand2]

#12/30 The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Dang! This was sad but I did enjoy reading about the western side of Australia and specifically the after effects of WWI.

 

[E&Cmom]

#12/50 Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

From Goodread:


In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its Golden Age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship.

Los Angeles, Present Day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister’s vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie…

Los Angeles, 1938. Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and lands a job on the film-set of Gone With the Wind. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey’s zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood’s glitterati enthrall Violet…until each woman’s deepest desires collide. What Audrey and Violet are willing to risk, for themselves and for each other, to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship, and their lives, far into the future.

------------------------
I gave it a 4/5... Enjoyable read. I love historical fiction especially from this era and the " Gone With the Wind" aspect was fun. I have read two other book from this author and this was my least favourite of the three. I absolutely loved the other two. I found the hat secret a bit silly but it was still a very good read.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

#5
The Girl Who Played with Fire
This is the second book in this series and in both I guessed the major reveal. I mean there is a lot revealed and there is no way that I think anyone would get all parts because there is no real hints to many of the eplanations. And to be honest there were no hints to what I guessed. It was not some great deduction in either instance. There just seemed to be no other reasonable answer.
As for the characters, I really do like Bloomkvist and Salendar either when they are apart or together. I also liked Ronald and Pablo's characters. Even though this book was even more unbelievable than first, and that usually bothers me, I liked it more. Was really not planning to read the second after not enjoying the first, but now I fully plan to read the third. Just to see if they ever say what happens to Ronald.

(If anyone is interested in reading any of my works, I would gladly send kindle gift versions of any (Written for You , Cemetery Girl, Three Twigs for the Campfire, or Reigning).

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

#8/15 - Dream a Little Dream of Me - Cobie Daniels

Written by a fellow Disney fan. Not the typical romance novel. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

 

[Colleen27]

I've stalled out terribly as I've gotten more immersed in my internship and classes. School is sort of taking over my life for a few weeks, I guess. But the semester is over in less than a month, leaving my whole summer free for reading.

#33 - A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter

Ali Bell and Cole Holland’s crew of zombie slayers thought they’d won the war against Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker.

On the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from beyond—Kat’s spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat’s death.

But when Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road to redemption isn’t through revenge, but letting go of the past and grabbing hold of the future.

It took FOR. EVER. for my waitlist on this one to come through, and I was about a hundred pages in before I decided it was worth the wait. Told from the point of view of a different pair of characters than the first three books in the Alice in Zombieland series, it took me a while to warm up to these two and the storyline was more predictable than the earlier installments. It was still a fun read, though, and a nice break from studying for the few days it took me to read it.

 

[Swimnoid]

Haven't they made Quantico into a TV series? Or did I imagine that?

Added RUN! to my 'to read' list - I wasn't a fan of the Wayward Pines books but this one sounds great.

There is a TV series Quantico but it doesnt have anything to do with this book that I can find. The series is pretty good too though.

I got RUN free from amazon but it was before Crouch was popular so it might not be anymore.

 

[miksilver]

14/35 Alchemist Academy Book 1 – Matt Ryan (from the Amazon Kindle website) Allie Norton never believed she was anyone special, why would she? She was an outsider on all accounts, even her stepfamily didn't want her. But when Allie meets her new next door neighbor, Mark Duval, he opens her eyes to the hidden world of alchemy. When a recruiter for the Alchemist's Academy comes calling, Allie is more than thrilled to answer. With Mark in tow, she braves this strange new world, hidden by magic and secrets.

15/35 Alchemist Academy Book 2 – Matt Ryan

16/35 Alchemist Academy Book 3 – Matt Ryan I liked this series enough to read through all 3 books in one weekend. (A little bought of insomnia didn’t hurt either) There is another book coming out soon but I’m not sure I’m interested enough in where the story is going to read that one or not. A lot of mother/daughter issues and I’m not sure I’m up to going down that story line. Plus another book where it’s a girl who doesn’t think she’s pretty with a super-hot boy who just falls for her is getting old.

 

[hulagirl87]

It's been super busy here at home but I have managed to read a bit but haven't posted in a long time! Here are the books that I have read:

Dorothy Must Die - Danielle Paige This was awesome! We read it for book club. I can't wait to read the other books in the series!
This is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp This was ok. It was told from 4 different points of view during the 45 minutes of a school shooting. It was a little confusing at times, and some of the characters made me a little annoyed. Also, I think that one of the points of view should have been from the shooter himself.
Kill the Boy Band - Goldy Moldavsky 4 teens who kidnap a member of their favorite boy band by accident. Hilarious! I really liked this.
All 3 books in the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs. I liked these, but some of the pictures were a little odd/disturbing.
Allegiant - Veronica Roth. My least favorite in the Divergent series. I'm glad that I finished the series finally though.
'Tis Herself: An Autobiography - Maureen O'Hara I loved this!
and then I read a few classics Little Women, The Secret Garden, and The Little Princess

 

[moniqueand2]

Ok. Now these were really good.

#13/30 - Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy.
When soldiers arrive in his hometown, Arn is just a normal little boy. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever.
Arn is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children dying before his eyes. One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play an instrument. Arn's never played a note in his life, but he volunteers. This decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is about to be liberated, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a soldier.

#14/30 - The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France, Camille Pissaro.

 

[tiggrbaby]

#15/50: Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel (3/5) (Daley and Fernandez #4/courtroom) (Kindle Owner's Lending Library choice)
Starting to become too predictable, but I do like the characters.

 

[wilma-bride]

#13/50: Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (4.5/5) (based on actual events early 1900s)
I especially enjoyed this as I was familiar with the area.

#14/50: Boys in the Trees: A Memoir by Carly Simon (3/5)

I love carly Simon - how was the book?

#11/80 - Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner.

From the author of Jerusalem Maiden comes a mesmerizing, thought-provoking novel that tells the riveting story of an American woman - the daughter of Holocaust survivors - who travels to Russia shortly after the fall of communism, and finds herself embroiled in a perilous mafia conspiracy that could irrevocably destroy her life.

Brooke Fielding, a thirty-eight year old New York investment manager and daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors, finds her life suddenly upended in late September 1993 when her job is unexpectedly put in jeopardy. Brooke accepts an invitation to join a friend on a mission to Moscow to teach entrepreneurial skills to Russian business women, which will also give her a chance to gain expertise in the new, vast emerging Russian market. Though excited by the opportunity to save her job and be one of the first Americans to visit Russia after the fall of communism, she also wonders what awaits her in the country that persecuted her mother just a generation ago.

Inspired by the women she meets, Brooke becomes committed to helping them investigate the crime that threatens their businesses. But as the uprising of the Russian parliament against President Boris Yeltsin turns Moscow into a volatile war zone, Brooke will find that her involvement comes at a high cost. For in a city where "capitalism" is still a dirty word, where neighbors spy on neighbors and the new economy is in the hands of a few dangerous men, nothing Brooke does goes unnoticed - and a mistake in her past may now compromise her future.

A moving, poignant, and rich novel, Hotel Moscow is an eye-opening portrait of post-communist Russia and a profound exploration of faith, family, and heritage.

This is my book club's pick for this month. The author was actually in Russia during the time period that the book covers. I can't imagine living in Russia during that time. Women were not treated well at all.

This sounds so interesting. Did you enjoy it (if enjoy is the right word)?

12/35 Alaskan Fire (Guardians of the First Realm Book 1) by Sara King – (from the Amazon Kindle website) For lovers of Contemporary Fiction and Romance, Werewolves & Shifters, Mythological Fantasy, Paranormal & Urban Fantasy, and Adventure Fantasy, Alaskan Fire is a groundbreaking leap into the myths and monsters of old. This book is long -- too long. It really needs to be edited down. Every time I thought I was at the last chapter there were another 2 or 3 to go, but I managed to finish it (and not hate read it to the end). I enjoyed reading about the Alaskan off-the-grid lifestyle, and some of the paranormal elements of the book were unique. I tried to read the sequel to the book Alaskan Fury but I couldn’t do it. It changed focus onto different characters and just lost me.

13/35 Blood Magic – Ella Summers Book 2 of the Alex side of the Dragon Born series that I have been reading this year. I really do like this series and am waiting for the next installments to come out.[/QUOTE

#3/12 The Churchill Factor - How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson. The point of this "sorta" biography is that one man can make a difference. In this case the one man is Winston Churchill. Mr. Johnson clearly likes Churchill, as do I, and makes a great case that Churchill's decisions made history for the better. I found it to be an easy read and learned some things I did not know beforehand about Winston. I would recommend this book. But only f you really like Churchill.

Kristen

Sounds fascinating - Churchill really was one if this country's greatest Prime Ministers

#7/15 - Think and Grow Rich.

Wish I hadn't wasted an Audible credit on this. It has been touted by today's success gurus as the original handbook to success, but I didn't get much from it. It sounded more like a history lesson. I know we can learn from history, but I think there are better books out there for today's generation.

Oh dear, disappointing. Hope the next 'read' is better

#12/30 The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Dang! This was sad but I did enjoy reading about the western side of Australia and specifically the after effects of WWI.

I loved this book - I agree it really was sad but was such a great read.

#12/50 Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

From Goodread:


In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Secrets of a Charmed Life, two women working in Hollywood during its Golden Age discover the joy and heartbreak of true friendship.

Los Angeles, Present Day. When an iconic hat worn by Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind ends up in Christine McAllister’s vintage clothing boutique by mistake, her efforts to return it to its owner take her on a journey more enchanting than any classic movie…

Los Angeles, 1938. Violet Mayfield sets out to reinvent herself in Hollywood after her dream of becoming a wife and mother falls apart, and lands a job on the film-set of Gone With the Wind. There, she meets enigmatic Audrey Duvall, a once-rising film star who is now a fellow secretary. Audrey’s zest for life and their adventures together among Hollywood’s glitterati enthrall Violet…until each woman’s deepest desires collide. What Audrey and Violet are willing to risk, for themselves and for each other, to ensure their own happy endings will shape their friendship, and their lives, far into the future.

------------------------
I gave it a 4/5... Enjoyable read. I love historical fiction especially from this era and the " Gone With the Wind" aspect was fun. I have read two other book from this author and this was my least favourite of the three. I absolutely loved the other two. I found the hat secret a bit silly but it was still a very good read.

#5
The Girl Who Played with Fire
This is the second book in this series and in both I guessed the major reveal. I mean there is a lot revealed and there is no way that I think anyone would get all parts because there is no real hints to many of the eplanations. And to be honest there were no hints to what I guessed. It was not some great deduction in either instance. There just seemed to be no other reasonable answer.
As for the characters, I really do like Bloomkvist and Salendar either when they are apart or together. I also liked Ronald and Pablo's characters. Even though this book was even more unbelievable than first, and that usually bothers me, I liked it more. Was really not planning to read the second after not enjoying the first, but now I fully plan to read the third. Just to see if they ever say what happens to Ronald.

(If anyone is interested in reading any of my works, I would gladly send kindle gift versions of any (Written for You , Cemetery Girl, Three Twigs for the Campfire, or Reigning).

I could not get into these books - too many characters with similar sounding names and difficult place anmes for me. I like my books simple and this definitely was not.

#8/15 - Dream a Little Dream of Me - Cobie Daniels

Written by a fellow Disney fan. Not the typical romance novel. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I've stalled out terribly as I've gotten more immersed in my internship and classes. School is sort of taking over my life for a few weeks, I guess. But the semester is over in less than a month, leaving my whole summer free for reading.

#33 - A Mad Zombie Party by Gena Showalter

Ali Bell and Cole Holland’s crew of zombie slayers thought they’d won the war against Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker.

On the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from beyond—Kat’s spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat’s death.

But when Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road to redemption isn’t through revenge, but letting go of the past and grabbing hold of the future.

It took FOR. EVER. for my waitlist on this one to come through, and I was about a hundred pages in before I decided it was worth the wait. Told from the point of view of a different pair of characters than the first three books in the Alice in Zombieland series, it took me a while to warm up to these two and the storyline was more predictable than the earlier installments. It was still a fun read, though, and a nice break from studying for the few days it took me to read it.

Sorry you haven't had as much time to read but glad you will be getting more time now the semester is over.

There is a TV series Quantico but it doesnt have anything to do with this book that I can find. The series is pretty good too though.

I got RUN free from amazon but it was before Crouch was popular so it might not be anymore.

I managed to get a copy of 'Run' so have added it to my Kindle 'to read' collection.

14/35 Alchemist Academy Book 1 – Matt Ryan (from the Amazon Kindle website) Allie Norton never believed she was anyone special, why would she? She was an outsider on all accounts, even her stepfamily didn't want her. But when Allie meets her new next door neighbor, Mark Duval, he opens her eyes to the hidden world of alchemy. When a recruiter for the Alchemist's Academy comes calling, Allie is more than thrilled to answer. With Mark in tow, she braves this strange new world, hidden by magic and secrets.

15/35 Alchemist Academy Book 2 – Matt Ryan

16/35 Alchemist Academy Book 3 – Matt Ryan I liked this series enough to read through all 3 books in one weekend. (A little bought of insomnia didn’t hurt either) There is another book coming out soon but I’m not sure I’m interested enough in where the story is going to read that one or not. A lot of mother/daughter issues and I’m not sure I’m up to going down that story line. Plus another book where it’s a girl who doesn’t think she’s pretty with a super-hot boy who just falls for her is getting old.

It's been super busy here at home but I have managed to read a bit but haven't posted in a long time! Here are the books that I have read:

Dorothy Must Die - Danielle Paige This was awesome! We read it for book club. I can't wait to read the other books in the series!
This is Where it Ends - Marieke Nijkamp This was ok. It was told from 4 different points of view during the 45 minutes of a school shooting. It was a little confusing at times, and some of the characters made me a little annoyed. Also, I think that one of the points of view should have been from the shooter himself.
Kill the Boy Band - Goldy Moldavsky 4 teens who kidnap a member of their favorite boy band by accident. Hilarious! I really liked this.
All 3 books in the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs. I liked these, but some of the pictures were a little odd/disturbing.
Allegiant - Veronica Roth. My least favorite in the Divergent series. I'm glad that I finished the series finally though.
'Tis Herself: An Autobiography - Maureen O'Hara I loved this!
and then I read a few classics Little Women, The Secret Garden, and The Little Princess

I think I have your count at 24 books now - there are some great ones in your recent reads.

Ok. Now these were really good.

#13/30 - Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick

Based on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and authentically told from his point of view as a young boy.
When soldiers arrive in his hometown, Arn is just a normal little boy. But after the soldiers march the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever.
Arn is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children dying before his eyes. One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play an instrument. Arn's never played a note in his life, but he volunteers. This decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is about to be liberated, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a soldier.

#14/30 - The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

Growing up on idyllic St. Thomas in the early 1800s, Rachel dreams of life in faraway Paris. Rachel’s mother, a pillar of their small refugee community of Jews who escaped the Inquisition, has never forgiven her daughter for being a difficult girl who refuses to live by the rules. But Rachel’s life is not her own. She is married off to a widower with three children to save her father’s business. When her husband dies suddenly and his handsome, much younger nephew, Frédérick, arrives from France to settle the estate, Rachel seizes her own life story, beginning a defiant, passionate love affair that sparks a scandal that affects all of her family, including her favorite son, who will become one of the greatest artists of France, Camille Pissaro.

Some good reading there

 

[wilma-bride]

#15/50: Final Verdict by Sheldon Siegel (3/5) (Daley and Fernandez #4/courtroom) (Kindle Owner's Lending Library choice)
Starting to become too predictable, but I do like the characters.

You must have posted at the same time as me, so I missed you off the end. Glad you are still enjoying the series. I find that a lot of these 'series' do tend to become a bit predictable. Not sure if the author runs out of ideas or the writing style just becomes too 'samey'.

 

[Kirby]

This sounds so interesting. Did you enjoy it (if enjoy is the right word)?

Hmmm, good question. I stopped reading another book so that I could get this one read which I don't like to do and which may have clouded my judgement. I think it's a good book and worth reading in that it tells us what it was like for women in Russia back in the early 90's especially since the author was actually there and knows what she is talking about. It was interesting and there were times when I just wanted to shake the main character and tell her to get out of there. I would rate it 3/4.

 

[threeboysmom]

Finished #9 The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

I LOVED this book - think it may very well be my favorite of 2016 so far.... Reading about the Holocaust is always so painful, but I think it's important that we never forget what happened and honor the memory of so many that lost their lives. Despite some parts of this book being so difficult to read, I loved the characters and loved the storyline - wish Picoult had developed Josef's character more and really wish she had spent more time on the friendship between Sage & Josef - I think that would have made the conflict much more dramatic. But still, a very good read.

Sage Singer, a baker, and 90-year-old Josef Weber, are unlikely friends. Then Josef asks her for a favor - to help him die - because he used to be a Nazi. What he doesn't know is that Sage's grandmother is a Holocaust survivor.

Currently reading: What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan