Mark Haddon - "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

     So, how does one describe "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"?  I would start with: curious, intelligent, heart-warming, creative, eccentric, and just down-right greatness!  Mr. Haddon has crafted an exquisite work that definitely keeps you on your mind on it's toes and your heart on a rollercoaster.

     It is the story of 15 year-old Christopher, who is quirky to say the very least.  The story begins during one of his late-night wandering spells, Christopher discovers that his neighbor's dog, Wellington, was murdered.  Christopher loves animals; he feels like he relates to them better than he does to humans.  He determined to become a detective, in the same vein as the great Sherlock Holmes and discover who killed Wellington.  Christopher's mother passed away a few years previous, and he lives with his father in a small English town; he goes to his school, likes the color red, hates the color yellow, and wants to sit for his A level maths test (something like AP math here in the States).  He worms his way into your heart through his tale.  It's true!

     Although the story is written as Christopher's book about being a logical and observant detective, it also includes a look at his everyday life.  In some ways he's very organized and methodical, and in other ways, he's total chaos.  For instance, as a child he made a timetable for his toy train set to follow, but he totally flies off the handle if someone touches him.  I cannot emphasize enough just how much this character not only LEAPT off of the pages, but also how much I want to hug him.  (No, I've not TOTALLY lost my marbles, I'm just lacking in the creativity department today.  Not enough coffee, I suppose...

     I read in Mr. Haddon's bio that earlier in his life, he had spent some time working with autistic children.  It really shows through in this book that he understands them.  Because it's a narrative, you really get a glimpse of what it must be like inside one of those kids' heads.  I realize it's a work of fiction, but it is still really neat to read.

     I seriously cannot think of one negative thing about the book! I did have some difficulty in understanding a few of the English terms like, A level maths, but that is no fault of the author. I realize it's not a lot of fun to read a review with nothing in the "Cons" column, but I really really really enjoyed it and have been recommending it to all of my friends.

Please, taste and enjoy!

                   The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Janet Evanovich - "Twelve Sharp"

     I'm currently struggling to decide if I want to continue feasting on my Stephanie Plum novels, or if I want to stop completely.  My rationale being that I've just flown through number twelve and, as of yet, there are only sixteen Plum delights on which to sustain my voracious appetite for clumsy women, sexy law enforcement agents, doughnuts, psychotic kidnappers, and the other random chaos in which hilarity ensues.  (That one's for you, Rum Fitts.)

     As always, our heroin, Stephanie is dropped smack-dab (I have no idea where that phrase came from, but it seemed appropriate in this context...) into the center of a crazy man's scheme, a too tight pair of leather pants, an adult store mishap, a bar brawl, and the newly renovated Stiva's funeral home.  In this episode, Ranger is accused of kidnapping his daughter, Julie.  Did he do it?  Did his dark side finally get the better of him?  I'll let you find out in this scintillating story of Stephanie Plum at her best.  I do have to say I was a little disappointed that she managed to own only one vehicle throughout the entire book; she didn't even sustain ANY too permanent damage to it.  Strange, right?  

Twelve Sharp (Stephanie Plum, No. 12)  

     Stephanie is definitely "sharp" in this story; she manages to keep her wits about her in the midst of all the craziness that is "The Burg" and the Plum family.  I think the highlight of this work is not only the ongoing tension between Steph, Joe, and Ranger (Yum! *lip lick*) , but also Grandma Mazur and Lula's stint in "The What" band.  I'll let you get an idea of what that may look like to you, and then I'll recommend that you read the book and totally obliterate your own picture with something more asinine that only Mrs. E could conjure.  
     Things between Stephanie and Morelli heat up right at the end, but I don't want to spoil a great thing for you.  I'll keep this review short and sweet simply because I'm afraid I'll spill the beans...

     Until then...

Stephenie Meyer - "The Host"

     Boy, does this girl know how to write a love triangle or what!?!?  I read all of the Twilight books, and have to admit that it was the kind of reading that goes something like: "One more chapter," and the next time you look up and it's 4 a.m., and you wonder how that happened and how you're going to peel yourself out of bed in a few hours, all the while debating if it's worth it to even TRY and sleep because you will be tired no matter what at this point, and if you forgo the iota of sleep you may or may not get you will probably be able to finish the book completely which would give you an excuse to go to the used book store and buy the next one, hoping you don't run into anyone you know as you fiend for the next little bit of the story...
WHAT?!?!?! It's not like it was that way for ME?!?!  It was merely a hypothetical situation.  (or was it? - you decide...) 

     I didn't feel the need to utterly devour The Host the way I did the Twilight series, but it's still worth the read.  Stephenie says this is her first novel for adults, but honestly, it's not too far off the "teen scene."  There is a little less "high school" going on, and a few more in-depth themes woven throughout the work.  It's a beautiful blend of the sci-fi and romance/adventure genres.  I'm not a huge sci-fi reader, but despite the alien invasion premise, the story is very easy to relate to.  It's set mostly in the desert of Arizona, and centers around a group of humans who have managed to not only survive the invasion, but also to escape detection.  Though it is a bit of a stretch to relate to hiding from aliens, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine yourself hiding yourself and your family from bad guys.  That seems plausible to me; I've never had to do that, thankfully, but I could imagine what it would be like.               The Host: A Novel

     Right off the bat Ms. Meyer does a stunning job of constructing a love story, as twisted and triangle-shaped as it may be.  It's not an original idea to write about "body snatching aliens," but it is a novel idea (pardon the pun) to make the body snatching alien "go native" and join humanity's side (at least as far as I know).  I like the how the love triangle is constructed and complicated by the fact that it's between three bodies, but four entities.  It will make you think!

     It was, I felt, a little redundant in some areas of the plot.  The plot definitely moves forward at a fairly paced jaunt, but it seems to linger a little in some seemingly random places.  I feel like the book could have been about a hundred pages shorter, but, hey, I didn't dream up the story.  I like all the inner monologue that takes place throughout the story.  There is a lot of it due to the fact that one of the main characters only exists inside another character's head/body.

     My recommendation is to read it for yourself.  I don't think it's in my top 10 or anything, but it's not all that bad.  It's an interesting idea for sure, and it really gives sci-fi another facet, that's usually missing (the love story...I don't want to be THAT girl, but I also don't really crave sci-fi in general.)  I feel like she's made science fiction a little more "female friendly."

     Let me know what you think!