Movie Monday: Thin Ice

My husband went to the library last week and came home with a DVD for us to watch: Thin Ice, a comedy/crime caper from 2011. It gave us a lot of surprises, suspense, and plenty of laughs.

Greg Kinnear stars as Micky, an insurance salesman in Wisconsin who pretty much lies about everything. As the movie opens, Mickey is at a regional sales conference in a low-budget hotel. He gives one of the presentations, bragging about his prowess as a salesman. Micky meets Bob, played by David Harbour, an eager guy just starting out in insurance sales. When Micky realizes his nemesis has offered Bob a job, Micky steals him away, promising him more money.

It turns out Micky works out of a tiny office with a single assistant and has no money. His ex-wife is furious at him for spending their son's college fund. He is broke and desperately needs some cash. Bob eagerly tells him he has a potential client, and Micky insists on coming along when Bob visits him. They go to the home of an elderly man out in the country named Gorvy, played wonderfully by Alan Arkin. He's a grumpy old man, but Bob and Micky convince him he needs an insurance policy. As is typical, Micky goes back by himself to close the deal without Bob and notices another way he can possibly scam more money from Gorvy, without him even realizing it.

From there, the plot gets twisty and complicated - a classic caper movie! Only this is the kind of caper where everything goes wrong and trouble waits around every corner, where the perpetrators are fumbling and inept. Micky finds himself inextricably linked with a real criminal, played by Billy Crudup. Chaos and hilarity ensue, from a priceless violin to an unintended murder and beyond. Kinnear plays the increasingly desperate Micky with his usual skill. There is plenty of suspense here and lots of laughs. It's a fun, escapist movie that we enjoyed.

Thin Ice was released in 2011 and is available on DVD: used ones are available on Amazon for as little as a penny, via Netflix DVD, or at the library where we found it!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Monday morning - new week, fresh start. I am ready! Last week was very difficult for me. I added yet another medical diagnosis to my laundry list of chronic illnesses, and this one has been very painful lately. Bottom line is that my feet hurt so much I haven't been able to wear shoes or socks in almost two weeks, which has left me more housebound than usual and occasionally venturing out in 40-degree weather in flip-flops! I am feeling better emotionally this morning, but last week really did me in. I am ready for a fresh start...and our upcoming trip to Florida, when I am hoping that the warm weather will put this condition back into remission again!

As always, books are comforting when life gets rough. Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

• I finished When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, the best-selling memoir that everyone's been raving about. I rarely read a book the same year it's released, but I treated myself to this one when we were in our favorite little bookstore at the beach last month. It's a memoir written by a young doctor who knows he is dying of cancer, and it was incredibly moving and completely engrossing. I sobbed through the last chapter.
• Now, I am reading a new review book, The News from the End of the World by Emily Jeanne Miller (due for release in February 2017) a family drama set on Cape Cod. This one is full of secrets and lies and is quite compelling so far. 
• On audio, I am listening to a teen/YA novel called Vivian Apple At the End of the World by Katie Coyle. It's about a teen girl whose parents disappear in a supposed "Rapture" event and the panic that ensues in the world, as Vivian searches for answers. It was one of my free downloads from SYNC - if you didn't participate in the program last year, sign up now for reminders for next summer - dozens of free audio books! I am a little freaked out that I am currently reading TWO books with "the end of the world" in their titles!
• My husband, Ken, finished Subject 375 by Nikki Owen, a thriller that I gave him for his birthday last month. It's narrated by a woman with Asperger's who has been accused of murder - sounds like an intriguing story! He said it was confusing at times due to the unique perspective of the narrator, but all the loose ends came together in the end.
• Now, Ken is starting my recent review book, The River of Kings by Taylor Brown (due out in March), because I enjoyed it very much. It's a novel that uniquely combines adventure (a kayaking trip), modern family drama, suspense, and historical fiction. I hope he likes it as much as I did!
• Jamie, 22, is reading The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. This is Book 1 in the renowned Wheel of Time sci fi series. He and I have both heard great things about this series, so he is thrilled to finally read it!

 Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: Eye in the Sky, an emotionally powerful story about the consequences of modern warfare

Nonfiction Review: Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton - a fascinating but sometimes dry history of the spice trade

Snapshot Saturday: Fall Colors

Summary of Books Read in October

Weekend Cooking: 3 Butternut Squash Recipes

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

Weekend Cooking: 3 Butternut Squash Recipes

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  This is perfect for me since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!

Although our local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) ended at the end of October for the year, we still had a LOT of winter squashes left to use, including 6 butternut squashes! Thankfully, my sons are away at college because they don't like winter squash at all. My husband will eat it, but it's not his favorite, either, and he was already getting sick of eating it roasted, the way I normally prepare it. For the record, I love winter squashes, especially butternut!

So, I went on a search for some new recipes that used butternut squash in different ways. We have prepared and eaten these three recipes over the past couple of weeks and thoroughly enjoyed them all!

I started with my favorite source for recipes, Cooking Light. The first recipe, Golden Winter Soup, I had made once before - for friends for lunch - but my husband hadn't tasted it yet. It is one of my all-time favorite soups  - creamy and so full of flavor! I can't eat dairy, so I substituted coconut milk for the half-and-half (which turned out wonderful) and had to skip the cheese toast on the side. I also used an immersion blender to make both preparation and cleanup easier. Without the dairy, that leaves the soup with very little protein, so we just added some grilled some chicken sausage on the side. This soup is delicious and perfect for a cold day, for lunch or for dinner. Super easy, too.

The second butternut squash recipe I tried was also from Cooking Light: Squash-Apple Turnovers. Another winner! These were delicious. The only change I made was that I couldn't find refrigerated dinner roll dough, so I used premade pie crust dough. We served the turnovers as a side dish with roasted cauliflower and the leftover Green Curry Fritters I wrote about last week. My husband said that even though he was sick of squash, these yummy turnovers fooled him into thinking he was eating pie! They were wonderful, both at dinner and leftover for lunch the next day.

Finally, I turned to my favorite cookbook, Curtis Stone: What's For Dinner? (review at link). Curtis had a very simple recipe for Thai Red Curry with Butternut Squash and Chickpeas. I never would have thought of using squash in a curry, but my husband and I love Thai curries of all kinds, so I gave it a try. We ran into a slight problem: the can of chickpeas I pulled out of the pantry had expired over 9 years ago! My husband was appalled and threw them out. I had already decided to add chicken to the curry anyway, so the absence of the chickpeas didn't affect the dish much. As with all of Stone's recipes, this one was bursting with flavor and delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed it for dinner, and I practically licked my bowl clean after eating the leftovers for lunch the next day.

So, three winning recipes for butternut squash - and all a bit different from the usual preparations!

Now, I still have 2 butternut squashes left, 1 acorn squash, and a kabocha squash. Any ideas??

Books Read in October

October was an interesting reading month for me. I had one book started (an audio with my husband) that we haven't finished yet, one book I set aside and decided not to finish (a rarity for me), and the rest spooky, creepy stuff to round out my RIP XI Challenge and the Halloween season!

So, it looks like I didn't read much, but it's a little misleading:

• A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (WI), adult fiction
• The Hunt by Megan Shepherd, teen/YA audio
• Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman (PA), adult audio fiction

• The River of Kings by Taylor Brown (GA), adult fiction (reviewed for another pub) 
• Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton (East Indies) - nonfiction - Did Not Finish
• The Drowning by Rachel Ward (UK) - teen/YA fiction

 
So, officially, I read just 5 1/2 books in October (I did review the unfinished one but won't count it in my total at the end of the year) and almost all of it was dark and creepy. I read one nonfiction and the rest fiction, with a mix of adult and teen/YA and two audiobooks. I think my favorite was The River of Kings (due for release in March), a unique novel that combined adventure, a modern-day family drama, suspense, and historical fiction.

Progress on 2016 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! I read 2 more TBR books in October for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge - that's a total of 19 so far this year (and many more to go). For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, October was (of course) Things That Go Bump in the Night month - most of my books last month fit, but I chose The Drowning since it involves a ghost. I added 1 new nonfiction book to my 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge, but no  classics for the 2016 Classics Challenge (I did start an Edgar Allen Poe book but didn't finish it until November). For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I added a book set in the East Indies. I am also tracking the states my books are set in, even though there is no Where Are You Reading challenge this year, and I added Wisconsin and Georgia last month. And I added 4 more books to my RIP XI Challenge, to finish it off with 8 total.

Finally, I filled 16 spaces on my monthly Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not my best month but not bad (you can join the fun any month without officially joining a challenge). Here's my Bingo card for October:

 

My books filled these spaces:

A Reliable Wife - Shelf-love book
The Hunt - Sci fi, diversity, new job
Girls on Fire - Monsters (I took that one figuratively), troubled teen, character who reads, sarcasm, cop/fireman
The River of Kings - free book
Nathaniel's Nutmeg - Diary/journal, library book, illness
The Drowning - Ghost, nurse/doctor
Free space

What was your favorite book read in October? Did you read dark & creepy stuff, too?

Saturday Snapshot: Fall Colors

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

Some brilliant fall colors from my neighborhood & beyond for your enjoyment!

My neighborhood colors

Sunlight on a brilliant red tree

My favorite pairing in the neighborhood

Sunlight filtering through maple leaves

The crocuses at this park are confused!!

A sunny morning at our local nature center

Our local covered bridge, reflected in the stream, at the nature center

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Nonfiction Review: Nathaniel’s Nutmeg

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My book group recently read and discussed a nonfiction book, Nathaniel’s Nutmeg or the True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History by Giles Milton. I read about half of the book before our meeting and did not finish it. We all agreed that the information presented was interesting and made for some good discussion, but the writing was somewhat textbook-like and not always compelling.

As the sub-title explains, this is a book about the history of the spice trade. The quest for spices from a small group of islands in the East Indies began in about 1550 and was mainly a race between the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British to lay claim to those islands, though this book is mainly from the British perspective. In case you aren’t sure (I wasn’t!), the so-called Spice Islands are a group of mostly tiny islands in the East Indies, from Borneo to New Guinea, south of the South China Sea, between what is now Vietnam and Australia.

Of course, we’d all heard of the Spice Islands and the spice trade before, but we were astonished to read about the value of these spices that are now found in every home and can be purchased cheaply in any grocery store. The price of spices like nutmeg, mace, and cloves skyrocketed in part due to pronouncements from doctors that they had miraculous curative properties, at a time when the plague and other fatal illnesses were sweeping the world.

These miracle cures were ridiculously hard to procure. Ships had to sail from the northern Atlantic in Europe south to the equator, west almost to South America (making use of the trade winds), south to the southern tip of Africa, up the eastern coast of Africa, past India, and finally down to the islands…which, after that long journey, were hard to access due to reefs and sometimes hostile natives. It was common for two-thirds of a crew or more to die en route. Those that survived, however, hoped for riches beyond their imagination when the merchants at home got access to their cargo.

Of course, those islands were already occupied by native residents, who had their own governments and societies. As in the rest of history, though, the white Europeans completely disregarded the natives and treated the islands as up for grabs. Whichever country controlled the islands – and hence, the spice trade – would be the biggest economic power in the world. So, obviously, there was a lot at stake and plenty of financial motivation to make the harrowing journey.

The book tells this story chronologically, from the first European voyagers to the Spice Islands. Unfortunately, most of us found the litany of names, dates, places, and journeys a bit repetitive and dull. It reminded me of why I disliked history when I was in school! The story itself is fascinating and we had a lively discussion about the value of the spices, the extreme challenges endured, the European’s disregard for natives, and more. My book group members agreed, however, that the book’s subtitle was a bit puzzling and over-stated; I read more than half of the book, and Nathaniel was barely mentioned!

Drawing from Nathaniel's Nutmeg

A couple of people in our book group did enjoy the book and gave it a 7 or 8 rating, but most of us rated it lower and quite a few – like me – did not finish it. Still, I’m glad I read the half that I did because it was a part of history I knew nothing about and some of it was interesting; I particularly liked the chapters about searching for a northern route through the polar ice. The book also includes illustrations and maps that were drawn during the time period that the book covers, like the one I;ve included here. I just wish the book had been written in more of an engaging narrative style, like my favorite kinds of nonfiction books. This book, filled with little-known facts, is best suited for those with a keen interest in history.

373 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Movie Monday: Eye in the Sky

Last week, my husband and I got another movie at Redbox (we've had lots of coupon codes lately!), a 2015 military thriller called Eye in the Sky that is all about the challenges of modern warfare.

Wow. Just wow. This is an emotionally powerful movie with far-reaching, complicated moral implications that you won't soon forget. This is about war in its new, futuristic form, with armed drones, where the people controlling them are often many thousands of miles away. The military personnel are nowhere near the site they are targeting nor near each other. In this case, the target is the top leaders of a major terrorist group, whom intelligence has revealed are meeting in a home in Kenya today.

Helen Mirren stars as a military commander in the British armed services, Colonel Katherine Powell. The late Alan Rickman, in his last role, is Powell's superior, Lieutenant General Frank Benson, who is sitting in a conference room in London, along with other high-level government officials, watching the operation unfold on video. Across the ocean, in Las Vegas, American drone pilot Steve Watts, played by Aaron Paul, and his partner are awaiting instructions. Another local Kenyan military team is near the site where the terrorists are, hiding undercover in a beat-up old van and handling close-up surveillance.

The operation begins as a capture mission but changes to a kill mission when certain facts are uncovered by surveillance about the terrorists in the house. The military personnel - on three different continents - confer with each other through audio and video feeds, and, as this is a British-led mission, every change to the operation must go up the chain of command in the UK before it is approved. It's a fascinating process to watch.

Unfortunately, there is the potential for civilian casualties. That seems like such a euphemistic way to put it after watching the movie! There is a happy Kenyan family, the Mo'Alim family, who lives around the corner from the house where the terrorists are meeting. They are poor but making ends meet: Mom and Ed work hard and love their beautiful little daughter, Fatima. Fatima is an ebullient child who loves to dance and play with the hula hoop her father made her. Every day, she puts on a head scarf and takes a basket filled with loaves of bread that her mother baked and sets them on a table near the street to sell them. You guessed it - her table of bread is right in front of the terrorists' house.

We watch as the group of military and government officials tries to decide what to do. It might seem obvious to wait until the little girl has left the scene, but it's not that simple. Many more hundreds of people will die - today - if these terrorists are allowed to leave the house. It is an impossible decision that requires a fast resolution.

Eye in the Sky is a suspenseful movie that illuminates this new world of remote warfare. You would think that unmanned drones that can kill terrorists from the sky would make things simple and clean, but this film shows that it is anything but. It brings these impossible moral and ethical questions to the forefront and educates viewers about the real-life tolls of such remote actions, where those carrying out the action are in no danger themselves. In fact, the movie opens with each of the main characters waking up in their comfortable homes to a perfectly normal day. It's a twisty, tense story that had me yelling at the TV, though not sure what the right decision was. This is one of the most powerful movies I've seen in a long time...and one of the most important, too. Everyone living in our modern world should watch this. It will stick with you for a long time.

Eye in the Sky is currently available on DVD, at Redbox, and free for streaming on Amazon Prime (link below).

It's Monday 11/7! What Are You Reading?

Monday morning! I was wide awake at 6:30 am this morning, thanks to the time change. I actually like the shift in the fall because it gets me up earlier, so I can get more done before I run out of energy in the afternoon...though I know I will hate it this afternoon when the sun is going down at 4 pm! But for now, I am enjoying my productive morning!

Nice, quiet week here, with no major emergencies (though one son had an MRI and the other got bronchitis again) and a quiet weekend at home, catching up. We even got some yard work done!

And, of course, we all enjoyed our books:

• I finished a slim paperback of Edgar Allen Poe short stories, Tales of Mystery. To give you an idea of how old this falling-apart paperback is, my husband bought it for 10 cents in a used bookstore in his hometown...and it's original price, new, was 50 cents! I had forgotten the details of most of Poe's stories, so I enjoyed it and was surprised by his breadth.
• Before I chose my next book, I remembered to check my 2016 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge to see what November's theme was (lately, I've been forgetting to check until the month is over!). The theme for this month is nonfiction, so I started reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, the best-selling memoir that everyone's been raving about. I rarely read a book the same year it's released, but I treated myself to this one when we were in our favorite little bookstore at the beach last month. It is already moving and completely engrossing.
• I finished listening to an audiobook, Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman, an adult novel about teen good girl, Hannah, who becomes friends with the wild and dangerous Lacey, and the havoc they wreak in their town together. It was chilling and suspenseful, a perfect end to my October reading.
• Today, I plan to start a new audiobook, a teen/YA novel called Vivian Apple At the End of the World by Katie Coyle. It's about a teen girl whose parents disappear in a supposed "Rapture" event and the panic that ensues in the world, as Vivian searches for answers. It was one of my free downloads from SYNC - if you didn't participate in the program last year, sign up now for reminders for next summer - dozens of free audio books!
• My husband, Ken, finished Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. Last year, we inherited my dad's collection of Stephen King and Dean Koontz books, but the first book in this series was missing. So, Ken bought a copy on our vacation last month and enjoyed reading this novel that my dad liked so much. We both miss him a lot, and reading his favorite books helps us feel close to him.
• Now, Ken is reading Subject 375 by Nikki Owen, a thriller that I gave him for his birthday last month. It's narrated by a woman with Asperger's who has been accused of murder - sounds like an intriguing story!
• With bronchitis knocking him down last week, Jamie, 22, had more reading time and finished book 3 in the Scott Lynch series Gentleman Bastards, The Republic of Thieves, which he bought this summer. He loves this series (so does my husband) and says it is about con men in Medieval times. 
• Now, he is reading another book he bought this summer, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. This is Book 1 in the renowned Wheel of Time sci fi series. He and I have both heard great things about this series, so he is thrilled to finally start it!

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: Bridge of Spies - Tim Hanks stars in a real-life spy exchange story

TV Tuesday: Designated Survivor - we are loving this new series starring Kiefer Sutherland

Teen/YA Review: The Drowning by Rachel Ward - a tense ghost story by a favorite author

Fiction Review: Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman - a dark & chilling story of teen girls gone bad

Saturday Snapshot: Halloween 2016

Weekend Cooking - 3 Tasty, Easy, Healthy Fall Dishes

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

Weekend Cooking: 3 Tasty, Easy, Healthy Fall Dishes

Each weekend, Beth Fish Reads hosts Weekend Cooking.  This is perfect for me since I love food and cooking almost as much as I love books!

Despite my love of cooking and food, sometimes I go through phases where I just stick with old favorites, easy stand-bys I don't have to think about. But that gets boring! The past few weeks, with a fridge full of veggies from the last of our CSA season, I got a bit more creative and tried some new recipes. Here are some of the delicious, simple, healthy recipes we made and loved the past couple of weeks:

Last night, I tried another recipe from my favorite cookbook, Curtis Stone What's For Dinner (my review at the link), Succulent Pork and Greens (sorry it's not available online). As I mentioned in my review of the cookbook, we have found that all of Curtis' recipes are simple, made with fresh ingredients, and filled with flavor. This one was no exception - we gobbled it up last night! I made a few minor adjustments (as always!). I used collard greens in place of kale because we had some from our farm CSA, and (more importantly) we really love cooked collards and aren't all that fond of kale. I wasn't able to find a ham hock, so I added a couple of strips of chopped bacon instead for that smoky, salty flavor. I'd never made collard greens with meat in them before, and this dish was absolutely delicious! I wish my sons had been home for it - they would have loved it. We served it with black-eyed peas on the side (simply heated with sauteed onions) for a complete Southern meal. Yum!

Last week, I tried a Cooking Light recipe (my other favorite recipe source) that sounded tasty: Green Curry Fritters. These are made with ground chicken and full of flavor! The only change I made was to reduce the amount of panko by half (I eat Paleo and normally don't eat any grains). Green Chicken Curry is our favorite Thai dish, so we loved these! They were super-easy, too. We served them with two veggies from our CSA: roasted cauliflower and spaghetti squash. It was a delicious meal, and I froze the left-over patties so that we could enjoy the rest this week!

Finally, I wanted to use some bok choy from our CSA last week. This wasn't a totally new recipe, since we made it once before, but still mostly new to us: Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Lettuce and Mushrooms. I made it with fresh shiitakes instead of dried but otherwise followed the recipe (using chicken stock for the mushroom water). It's full of flavor and very different for us - I'd never thought of cooking lettuce before! We ate it with sauteed salmon filets and roast cauliflower.

All in all, some delicious meals recently, utilizing the fresh veggies from our CSA, and adding some variety to our meals!

Hope you are enjoying your food this week!

Saturday Snapshot: Halloween 2016

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

Our "kids" are grown, but here are some fun Halloween photos from the past two weeks - they still like to carve pumpkins with us & came home for a trip to the pumpkin farm and for carving!

Halloween decorations with fall leaves in the background

More Halloween decorations - lots of mini spiders!

Great selection of pumpkins (I like the warty ones on top)

My family - husband, sons, and father-in-law

Our finished jack-o-lanterns

Our front door, ready for trick-or-treaters!

Hope you had a spooky fun Halloween!

Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!

Fiction Review: Girls on Fire

YA and middle-grade author extraordinaire Robin Wasserman has published her first novel for adults, and it has all the zip and suspense of her novels for younger people. Girls on Fire is chilling, fast-paced, and decidedly not for kids. I listened to it on audio, and it was perfect for my RIP XI Challenge.

The novel opens in 1991. Hannah Dexter is watching TV with her parents when she hears that a high school classmate of hers, a football star named Craig, was found in the woods, apparently dead from suicide on Halloween night. Although Hannah has known Craig most of her life, he lived in a different world than her. His girlfriend, Nikki, is Hannah’s nemesis; she never misses a chance to taunt Hannah or humiliate her in front of their peers. Up until then, Hannah’s life was boring routine – school, parents, TV, loneliness.

Then, Hannah meets Lacey, a new girl who moved to their school about a year ago. Lacey rescues Hannah from a particularly nasty incident with Nikki and stands up for her. Lacey is different from anyone Hannah has ever met: she dresses in flannel shirts and Doc Martens, listens to (and worships) Kurt Cobain, and doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do or who to be. And after the Nikki incident, she starts to hang around with Hannah and make her over in her own image.

For starters, she renames her Dex and introduces her to Kurt. The two girls begin to spend all of their time together, driving around in Lacey’s beat-up old car with the music cranked up, drinking heavily, and rebelling against everything and everyone. Their bold, wild actions build, getting bolder and wilder, as Dex and Lacey become best friends.

At first, it’s a lot of fun, and Dex is thrilled to finally have a real friend – and not just any friend, but someone as cool as Lacey. Their escapades escalate, and soon, a little part of Dex is wondering if maybe they’ve gone too far. Does she really want to do everything that Lacey is involving her in? But the pull of Lacey is magnetic, and the two girls are spinning out of control.

Chapters alternate between Dex and Lacey (and Nikki gets some chapters, too), and slowly, bit by bit, the reader learns of Lacey’s secrets. She has plenty of them, things that Dex doesn’t know, can’t know. The girls’ wild activities contribute to a town-wide panic that started with Craig’s death. The adults in town suspect satanic rituals are taking their teenagers, and Dex and Lacey have fun feeding that fear.

This is way beyond Girls Gone Wild. Although its protagonists are teen girls, Girls on Fire is definitely not written for kids. It is very dark, with plenty of graphic violence and sex. The entire novel is pervaded by a sense of dread: you know that things will not end well for Dex and Lacey. You hold your breath waiting for them to crash and burn.

This story is filled with surprising twists at every turn. It was riveting to listen to on audio, with multiple narrators for the girls. I could feel the tension building and was waiting for the train wreck I knew was coming. It is a dark and original story, about what can happen when teen girls recognize their power and use it for wicked purposes. I was captivated from the beginning to the end of this unique and frightening story.

HarperAudio 

Teen/YA Review: The Drowning

Rachel Ward became one of my favorite YA authors when I read her Num8ers trilogy (Num8ers, The Cha0s, and 1nf1n1ty) – a creepy paranormal story with an original, riveting premise. So, when I saw she had a new stand-alone novel, The Drowning, published in 2014, I got a copy. I finally found time to read this spooky, suspenseful ghost story, just in time for Halloween!

The story opens as fifteen-year old Carl is lying in the rain watching his older brother, Rob, being zipped into a body bag. Carl is loaded into an ambulance, along with the girl who was with the brothers. All of them were in the lake, but other than what he sees in front of him, Carl can’t remember anything. He has no idea how his brother drowned, what they were all doing at the lake, or even who the girl is. He doesn’t even remember who he is.

Carl is sent home from the hospital with his mum, but he doesn’t remember her or his home, either. The doctors tell him he’d been hit on the head and that his memory will come back, but right now, everything is very confusing. Small bits of memory begin to come back to him in fragments, when he sees the room he shared with his brother, when his mother slaps him in the head, and when he has nightmares from the lake.

Besides pieces of memory slowing coming back, though, Carl also hears his dead brother whispering in his head. At first he wants to believe, as his mother suggests, that it’s the normal grieving process. Soon, though, Rob is taunting him (as he often did in real life) and saying things that make Carl very nervous. Then, Carl begins to actually see his brother – a watery, transparent outline that won’t leave him alone.

Carl is being haunted by his brother, who wants him to do terrible things. He feels desperate to remember exactly what happened at the lake. He finds out who the girl is, but that only complicates things further. Throughout the story, the sky is dark and cloudy and rain falls in record-setting torrents. All that water just reminds Carl of the events at the lake and his brother’s drowning. How will he ever get rid of his brother and make these terrifying – and possibly dangerous – visitations end?

As with Ward’s earlier novels, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (especially this past week!). The mysteries of the drowning and Carl’s brother slowly come to light, as Carl’s memory returns and the tension builds to an exciting climax. The dark, stormy atmosphere of the story mirror its building suspense and add to the sinister tone. This gripping, thrilling story kept me riveted, as I finished reading it in record time. I can’t wait to see what Rachel Ward comes up with next!

266 pages, Chicken House (an imprint of Scholastic)

TV Tuesday: Designated Survivor

When the political debates superseded some of our favorite TV shows recently, leaving us all caught up with nothing to watch, my husband and I decided to try a new show, Designated Survivor, starring Kiefer Sutherland. We binge -watched the first three episodes, and it quickly became a new favorite. We have seen five episodes now, and we are hooked. Apparently, we aren't the only ones - several recent articles indicate it is one of the most popular new shows on TV.

Kiefer Sutherland stars as the secretary of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), a mild-mannered and apolitical guy who quietly does his job. In the first episode, the U.S. Capitol is bombed during the President's State of the Union Address, killing everyone in the line of succession (well down the list) plus almost all of Congress. Apparently, the U.S. has a real-life policy of selecting a Designated Survivor - a member of the Cabinet - to be absent from an event in which all others in the line of succession are together, just in case of such a catastrophe. So, the TV show is based on this possible real-life scenario, in which Sutherland's character, Tom Kirkman, was watching the State of the Union address from a secure location away from the Capitol Building (the HUD Secretary has been the designated survivor before in real life).

So, when this bombing occurs and almost the entire leadership of our country is killed, Kirkman, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, is suddenly sworn in as President. As in real life since 2005, Congress also has a Designated Survivor, so there is just one member of Congress left, Senator Kimble Hookstraten, played by Virginia Madsen. Kirkman must jump into the role of President immediately, with no warning or preparation, and start making huge decisions with little advice or direction. He seems to be a really good guy - honest and ethical - but he has no experience with this kind of leadership, especially in his new role as Commander in Chief.

The Secret Service quickly picks up Kirkman's family - his two kids and his wife, Alex, played by Natascha McElhone - and whisks them to their new home at the White House. Meanwhile, the show also follows the FBI investigation of the bombing, with Maggie Q in the role of Hannah, one of the investigators, who suspects the case may not be as straightforward as it first appears. Kal Penn also stars in the show (and is excellent) as Seth Wright, the president's speechwriter.

We are loving this show so far. It is fast-paced and full of action and suspense, with the threat of additional attacks imminent and chaos reigning across the country, but it is also thoughtful and intricate. Considering these terrifying what-if questions adds to the drama and suspense. Kirkman - as is true for any President - often finds himself in difficult, sometimes impossible situations, expected to make a quick decision when he has no experience to guide him. Of course, Sutherland is wonderful in this role. The acting is great, the writing is top-notch, and the premise is original and captivating. We can't wait for the next episode!

Designated Survivor is currently airing on ABC Wednesdays at 10 pm eastern time. You can catch up on episodes On Demand (as we have done), free on the ABC website, or on Amazon for $1.99 an episode (link below).

Movie Monday: Bridge of Spies

We've been on a movie streak lately! After months without seeing a movie, we've seen 3 of them in the past two weeks. We enjoyed The Girl on the Train in the theater last week and Bridge of Spies on DVD here at home.

Tom Hanks (one of our favorite actors) stars in Bridge of Spies as James Donovan, but Donovan is no spy. He's a lawyer working for a NY-based law firm in insurance law in 1957 when the partners asked him to act as defense lawyer for Rudolph Abel, played by Mark Rylance, who has recently been arrested as a Soviet spy. Everyone is certain Abel is guilty, but they want to make a good show of a "fair trial" so there is nothing that can be appealed later. In defending Abel, Donovan comes to respect the quiet, artistic man who says nothing to defend himself or to provide any information to the authorities. Donovan makes a good effort, but Abel is quickly found guilty.

Meanwhile, a young military man, Francis Gary Powers, played by Austin Stowell, is covertly tapped by the CIA to run top-secret flying missions over the USSR to gather information with high-powered cameras.  Powers is shot down by the Soviets and held prisoner.

A prisoner exchange is planned in 1962 - Abel for Powers - and they ask Donovan to negotiate the exchange, despite absolutely no experience, because of the honest, committed way he handled the court case and his cordial relationship with Abel. The government sends Donovan, woefully unprepared, to Berlin. He goes back and forth between East and West Berlin (no small feat at the time), talking to Soviets at their embassy, and doing his best to negotiate an exchange. Of course, he runs into all kinds of unforeseen problems, not the least of is just getting back to the West after visiting East Berlin.

This is not your typical action-packed spy movie but a thoughtful and mildly suspenseful look behind the scenes of a real-life historical event (the real James B. Donovan). This glimpse into the Cold War  is fascinating, and Tom Hanks is, as always, wonderful in his role as the sincere, determined Donovan. Mark Rylance is also excellent as Abel, showing a glimpse of a regular guy who happens to be a spy - no James Bond here. Alan Alda plays a small role, and Amy Ryan (one of our favorites from The Office and The Wire) is great as Donovan's frightened wife. My husband and I both enjoyed the movie very much and found plenty to talk about afterward.

Note: Another fascinating aspect to the movie was the scenes in Berlin. I just recently read - and was engrossed by - a middle-grade novel about the Berlin Wall, A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen. It's about a family who is separated when the wall goes up and provides details of what life was like in East Berlin after the wall. It's a chilling, powerful novel - highly recommended for older kids, teens, and adults, too!

Bridge of Spies is currently available for streaming on Amazon for $14.99 (link below) or on DVD (Netflix has the DVD and we rented ours at Redbox for $1.50).

It's Monday 10/31! What Are You Reading?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

I just love Halloween - it's one of our favorite holidays! Our sons are now 18 and 22 and living at college, so my husband and I really miss the days of trick-or-treating with them (all four of us usually dressed up in costume - often in a common theme!) This 2015 Saturday Snapshot shows some highlights of our best family costumes - more impressive when you realize I can't sew at all! Our sons still love to get dressed up for Halloween and both went to parties this weekend. During the week, they came over for dinner one night, and we all carved jack-o-lanterns together - we love that they still want to carve pumpkins with us & we had a lot of fun!

So, besides Halloween, it is also Monday! We've been enjoying reading for the season this past week:

• I got about halfway through my book group book, Nathaniel's Nutmeg: The True and Incredible Adventures of the Spice Trader Who Changed the Course of History by Giles Milton before we met on Wednesday. It's a nonfiction book about the spice trade in the 1500's and 1600's. It was OK but not great. I learned a lot and it was interesting, but it wasn't particularly well-written. I prefer narrative nonfiction, and this read more like a textbook, reminding me why I disliked high school history classes! It did spark a good discussion, but I set it aside after the meeting and didn't finish it (a rarity for me).
• I was excited to get back to my spooky seasonal reading for the RIP XI Challenge! After my book group meeting, I dove into a YA novel, The Drowning, by one of my favorite YA authors, Rachel Ward. I LOVED her Num8ers trilogy. This was just what I wanted! It's creepy, dark, and even involves ghosts - perfect for this week! I just finished it last night and really enjoyed it.
• For my spooky fix last week while I was still working on Nathanial's Nutmeg, I began reading a slim paperback of Edgar Allen Poe short stories, Tales of Mystery. To give you an idea of how old this falling-apart paperback is, my husband bought it for 10 cents in a used bookstore in his hometown...and it's original price, new, was 50 cents. I'm currently reading The Fall of the House of Usher - Poe is perfect reading for Halloween day!
• I am still listening to another creepy book on audio, Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman, an adult novel about teen good girl, Hannah, who becomes friends with the wild and dangerous Lacey, and the havoc they wreak in their town together. It's very good so far - chilling and suspenseful.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. Last year, we inherited my dad's collection of Stephen King and Dean Koontz books, but the first book in this series was missing. So, Ken bought a copy on our vacation last month and is enjoying reading this novel that my dad liked so much. We both miss him a lot, and reading his favorite books helps us feel close to him.
• Jamie, 22, is still reading book 3 in the Scott Lynch series Gentleman Bastards, The Republic of Thieves, which he bought this summer. He loves this series (so does my husband) and says it is about con men in Medieval times.

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: The Girl on the Train, an excellent adaptation of a complex & suspenseful novel!

Fiction Review: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, a dark story of love & revenge

Teen/YA Review: The Hunt by Meghan Shepherd, an action-packed & suspenseful sci fi novel

Saturday Snapshot: Assateague Island - Kayaking & Wild Horses

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers. 

Our Finished Jack-o-lanterns!