5 comments about Triangle Of Sins.

1. This Urban Loves Story was a definite one setting page turner. I was excited as well as surprise at how part one ended. Could hard wait to see if Norit Folkes could continue this story with the same exuberance. I would have to say that part two was just as stimulus!



2. I found this book to be most entertaining. Definetly a page turner! Although I totally disagreed with a lot of the choices Natalia made, I truly enjoyed reading what she'd do next in terms of selecting her soul mate.



3. This book was great the author has a real good imagination and could keep a reader entertained. I could'nt put the book down because i was dying to know what will happen next. The sequel is also good. I wish there would be a third part. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.



4. THIS BOOK IS GOOD, I READ IT TWICE. MY FAVORITE PART IS THE END BECAUSE YOU KNEW WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN IN THE SECOND BOOK.



5. GREAT WRITING!!! THIS BOOK WAS CHOSEN IN MY BOOK CIRCLE AND WHEN I PURCHASED IT ON AMAZON THEY OFFERED RECTANGLE OF SINS SO I TOOK IT NOT KNOWING IT WAS THE SEQUEL TO TRIANGLE OF SINS, I WAS GLAD I DID CAUSE TRIANGLE LEFT YOU HANGING RIGHT OFF THE CLIFF BUT I GOT ALL THE REMAINING DETAILS IN RECTANGLE....BOTH BOOKS ARE A MUST READ AND HAVE IN YOUR COLLECTIONS.

5 comments about The Third Eye.

1. Say what you want about teen books. Say what you want about psychics... Put them together, add a lot of mystery, a spoonful of kids, and a dash of romance and you get this book. I read this book when I was in the 5th grade, and still 7 years later, love this book.



2. This is a wonderful book about a girl named Karen who has psychic abities.When the boy who she is baby sitting goes missing,Karen is off to the rescue.Luckily she can see where he is with her third eye.When she leads the police to where he is the police go to her to locate another kid.
   When she fnds the other missing kid she is put to the case trying to find ten babies that where kidnapped from the daycare center where she worked.
   This story ends happy and I recommed it to anyone who likes books with adventure, thrill, suspense, and a little love twist. I give this book five stars becuse I thought it was the best book in the world. So go out your local library or bookstore and check this book out!!



3. This is a wonderful book about a girl named Karen who has psychic abities.When the boy who she is baby sitting goes missing,Karen is off to the rescue.Luckily she can see where he is with her third eye.When she leads the police to where he is the police go to her to locate another kid.
   When she fnds the other missing kid she is put to the case trying to find ten babies that where kidnapped from the daycare center where she worked.
   This story ends happy and I recommed it to anyone who likes books with adventure, thrill, suspense, and a little love twist. I give this book five stars becuse I thought it was the best book in the world. So go out your local library or bookstore and check this book out!!



4. Let me tell you about a fantastic writer you're probably not reading. If you're a librarian or a high school teacher, then I know you're familiar with her. She's been nominated for hundreds of awards for Young Adult fiction, including the Margaret A. Edwards Award for a Distinguished Body of Work for Young Adults, from the American Library Association and the School Library Journal. Unfortunately, those accolades are not something most of us hear about. The books that get the big press are often those adapted for TV or film. As many parents, grandparents, teachers and teens themselves will tell you, Young Adult fiction has lately become an exciting and bewildering mix of Manga, dragons, young wizards, unfortunate orphans and catchy series.
   
   All the while, Lois Duncan keeps publishing great stories. They're not as flashy as Eragon or Harry Potter, but they often incorporate the supernatural. Duncan's writing has a lot more substance than the Goosebumps or Animorphs series, but her books will more than meet the quota for chills or thrills. Many kids who like to read end up with a reading level that is several school-grade levels above their age experience or emotional development, and are left with few books that will really satisfy them. My dad frowned as I began taking Mom's Stephen King books off the shelf in third grade. Then, the summer I turned eleven, I was lucky to discover an entire shelf of Lois Duncan books at the Green Free Library. I'm sure my parents were relieved.
   
   Since the 1970's, Lois Duncan has been turning out thrillers that fit the bill for younger readers craving suspense, a little spookiness, and sympathetic characters. Every few years, the publishers change the covers, giving them something more stylish to wear so they can catch the eye of the latest generation of teens. But I'd recommend Duncan to any mystery fan, no matter how many years-young. Her books accomplish what so many other books of the same genre only promise. Look on the covers of any contemporary thriller or mystery and you'll find critics raving about "taut prose" with "engaging, plausible characters" and a "fast-paced, page-turning plot". Duncan delivers all this and more. There's no need to figure out which one to read first, and there's not much difficulty figuring out if you've already read it, which happens to most of us with our favorite mystery authors. Duncan's books are not part of a series, nor are they formulaic.
   
   If you need a place to start, my personal favorites are "Down a Dark Hall" and "The Third Eye". Both of these stories have a high school girl as their central character, and both of these girls have a psychic ability that neither realized she had. In "The Third Eye", Karen decides to help local police find kidnapped children and finds herself quickly ensnared in dangerous case involving "serial" kidnappers who strike nursery schools. The chapters reveal one surprise after another about Karen's family, her current boyfriend and her future. "Down A Dark Hall", on the other hand, does not appear to have anything supernatural about it - at first. Kit has been selected to be one of only four students at a private boarding school whose atmosphere is creepier than she'd like, but otherwise seems fairly normal. The reason she and the other girls are selected, though, is anything but educational. This story, too, eventually reveals things to Kit, not just about the school and the few other people there, but also about memories she couldn't quite figure out.
   
   Picking up one of these books the other day, I thought I'd glance over it and ended up re-reading the whole thing. People who love to read often joke that once they start a book, the rest of the world goes away - or they wish it would. With Duncan's stories, that's not an idle joke or wish: it's a guarantee.
   
   Author,"Hobo Finds A Home", Editor"Of A Predatory Heart"



5. This is one of my favorites of Duncan's. I have each and every one, and I have to say 'The Third Eye', 'Down a Dark Hall', 'Don't Look Behind You', and 'Locked in Time' are my favorite of her's. 'Who Killed my Daughter' is well writen and a true story, but I'm glad Duncan doesn't write such serious books regularly. 'The Third Eye' is one that I keep coming back to, over and over. For some reason, Duncan's writing keeps me fasinated. I have memorised the book entierly, it's so well writen.

3 comments about Ulterior Motives (Sun Coast Chronicles Series #3).

1. This is a great book, as are all Terri's books! She keeps you guessing and in suspense. As always, she provides you with biblical answers to difficult situations. She doesn't skirt or sugarcoat the hard issues, but deals with them head on.



2. Terri Blackstock is not only one of the most unique writers today,incorporating her stong faith in her work; but is also among the very best in creating compelling plots and people about whom the reader cares. This talent is increasingly rare, even among the "best-selling" secular authors. --Ron Howe (a.k.a., Toby Martin II)



3. In this third book of the series, Terri Blackstock introduces a new character to the mix. While still excellent, the characters don't have as much punch as in the previous two books. Her characters' struggles with coming to the Lord need to be better worked out. Still, this is a great read.

5 comments about Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded (Oxford World's Classics).

1. NOTE: I have read several editions of Pamela, and they vary quite a bit, as Richardson frequently revised his books. I can't say one version is better than another, so this review is general to all the ones that I have read.
   
   REVIEW: This novel written in the form of letters started a revolution in fiction, and was an enormous best seller in its own day and beyond. Pamela, the working class heroine, was loved, hated, imitated and satirized. She was called a model of female virtue, a conniving slut, and everyting in between, and plenty has been written on all sides of the question.
   
   What was all the fuss about? Well, for one thing the story is a cliff-hanger, with the teenage heroine constantly escaping danger at the last moment. In addition to suspense, this book also gives insights into the 18th century British class system, the status of women, and the then quite radical ideas of social mobility and self-improvement. Richardson did something quite innovative when he created a heroine who was young, rural and from the servant class. His point was that a working class woman of good morals and good sense could be just as worthy of admiration as the upper class ladies who had always played the starring roles in serious works of literature.
   
   But if you're not writing a scholarly paper on Pamela, never mind all that. Pamela is an engrossing novel with lots of momentum, intresting characters, a quirky love story, and a happy (maybe) ending.



2. Pamela was published in 1740 quickly becoming a popular work of fiction. Britain was becoming a literate nation and novel reading was becoming a popular pastime in English homes. Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) was a printer whose novels were epistolatory (all of them are written in the forms of letters-in Pamela her letters are to her parents who have become very poor.)
   Pamela is a maid in the home of the wealthy Mrs. B. The good lady dies and we see Master B the scion of the family seeking to seduce the virtuous 16 year old girl. Pamela is abducted and taken to an isolated estate being held in genteel captivity by servants in the employ of Master B.
   Pamela seeks to escape but her plans are foiled. She falls in love with Mr B. In part two we see Pamela being introduced into polite society by her wealthy husband. We even learn that he has fathered a child by a woman now living in Jamaica who was once his mistress. The novel ends with virtue triumphant as the good Christian Pamela becomes a trophy wife of Mr. B.
   The plot, therefore, is a simple one in which a Cinderella/Jane Eyre heroine spotless for her virginal purity wins the heart of a rake. What makes Richardson worth reading is his psychological depth in analyzing why characters acts as they do in the objective world.
   Pamela is much shorter in pagination that the massive Clarissa novel of 1747 (over 1500 pages long!) and is lighter in tone. There are comic characters presaging the work of Dickens in the Victorian age. Clarissa Harlowe is a rich young lass while Pamela comes from the ranks of the lowborn seeking to exist in a very class bound conservative social milieu.
   The characters speak in high-flown language which makes the 21st century reader skeptical that anyone (much less a teenaged Pamela could speak or write in such words!) The second half of the novel is slow and
   somewhat tedious as we see the happily married Pamela tell us how great Mr. B is and how grateful she is to him to have been elevated to a higher social class than the one in which she was born. This old novel would not win applause by modern day feminists!
   The novel does have more movement than the very static "action" in "Clarissa." We travel to eighteenth century manor homes; inns on the roadside and see the slow pace in which life was lived in the
   English countryside.
   This novel would be parodied by the witty Henry Fielding who wrote "Shamela" in imitatiion of the pieties uttered in prose by Richardson.
   Anyone who is interested in the birth of the English novel needs to read
   "Pamela." It has its moments and its dull stretches but it is worthy of attention for its historical and literary importance.



3. I am generally a huge fan of 18th century Literature (even if I have not had any formal education in it), but I couldn't STAND this book! Pamela herself is a complete Mary Sue, to use the fanfiction term- she is a picture of perfection in every way, and is so insistent about how good and chaste she is that some times I just wanted to smack her! Her would-be seducer, on the other hand, is so inconsistent in his behavior that I sometimes wondered if he was the same person. Here is a man who will go to ridiculous lengths to get what he wants (He even gets his housekeeper to hold Pamela down so he can forcibly rape her!) and then drones on and on about how she is the best, most beautiful, most virtuous of women, etc. You would think that after their marriage he would be reformed, but he soon starts making silly arbitrary rules that his new wife must follow, as if apparently her only purpose was to please him- and she begs for even more of these "wise injunctions"! Some of the other characters display the same illogicality: the neighboring gentry in Lincolnshire do nothing to help her when they know she is being held against her will, and then turn around and give more of the same speeches on Pamela's perfection as if nothing had happened! The fact that Pamela is "rewarded" with marriage to the same man who spent so much of his time trying to ruin her, and that she goes on as if he were the most honorable man in the world is alone cause for complaint. I think my only consolation for having wasted so much of my free time on reading this will be being able to understand Shamela and Anti-Pamela.



4. Samuel Johnson considered the plot of this book to be dreadful; rather, he thought one should read it for the sentiment. Unfortunately, that sentiment does not and should not play well in the 21th century. What's more interesting is that it didn't necessarily play well in the 18th century, either. Both Henry Fielding (SHAMELA--brilliant) and Eliza Heywood(ANTI-PAMELA) took it to task. The publication of this novel divided literary society into two camps--the Pamelists and the Anti-Pamelists.
   
   Why all the fuss and feathers? It's a fairly straight-forward story wherein a young servant girl of great virtue overcomes the lascivious and debauched designs of her employer to tame his passions and to convert him to virtue and marriage. At that point, Society, as represented by his sister, shows its violent disapproval of Pamela's sinning above her station. However, Pamela's virtue and her Christian faith overcome even this object and she and her husband go on to live happily ever after.
   
   As a plot, it's simple, but melodramatic; frankly, the Victorians would blush. Furthermore, the characters are never fully rounded, but too often stick-figure representations of specific virtues and/or vices. For about the first 160 pages, one has a pretty good description of the power relationship between master and servant, but after that, to the modern reader, it turns into a sado-masochistic relationship wherein Pamela comes to identify with her abuser--and Mr. B does abuse her, even by the standards of the 18th century. Also, there's the technical execution--even by the standards of the 18th century, the narrative becomes repetitive and self-circling in a fashion one does not see in Fielding or Heywood or even Defoe. All-in-all, one reads this really only to understand what Fielding and Heywood are rightly mocking.



5. If you enjoy epistolary books this is quite enjoyable with less maddening characters than in Clarissa. I would suggest reading this prior to Clarissa.
   
   As always, Richardson brings out the worst in people and makes each fault larger than life. Do not use this as a what I want to be when I grow up primer.

5 comments about Blaze: A Novel.

1. The other evening I was meeting a friend for dinner when a huge beautiful mastiff walked by me in the streets of New York. Having just read Blaze, I thought "this would be a wonderful companion for him". Alas, Mr. King is too clever for me and has eliminated this happy possibility in his story. Blaze is "finished" when his pops throws him down the stairs as a young boy. At this point, I wanted to adopt him. However, Blaze makes a pal, who feeds him and offers him shelter while attempting to turn him into a ferocious pit terrier with limited success. Fast-forward here. Mr. King once again teaches me that while you can physically destroy a human being, it is very difficult to confiscate his soul. Now I doubt Mr. King has little time to surf the website for reviews from his readers, but I am taking this opportunity to thank him for being my finest American historian teacher for the last thirty years while providing me with an imaginitive story at the same time. He is able to do both. On another personal note, being a retired secretary, I have often wondered how his assistants are able to tackle his mail volume. They must be highly sophisticated individuals, who receive letters from vampires, ghouls, werewolves, etc. Sending Mr. King, congratulations and warmest appreciation for the beneficial impact he has had on my life. I never take an act of kindness for granted.



2. Clayton Blaisdell is "...soft in the head..." due to being thrown down the stairs three times by his father, and although they were partners in crime, Blaze has had George to look after him in many ways....just as the George in 'Of Mice And Men' looked out for Lennie. Therefore anyone who has read 'Of Mice...' can't fail to be reminded of it when reading this book.
   BUT - the George in this story is dead and only lives in Blaze's head which Blaze realises to some extent and which worries him at times. George is the 'bad voice' on Blaze's shoulder...telling him things which might save his skin but that Blaze doesn't always want to do...and Blaze is ultimately a criminal who endears himself to you. You can't help but feel sympathy for a boy who's had the life he has. He's been abused and misunderstood and every time there's a glimmer of something better, had his hopes dashed.
   
   The chapters move back and forth from the present day where Blaze is planning to kidnap a baby for a ransom, to his growing up in care and his friendship with John Cheltzman.
   
   I found the way Blaze cared for Joe quite touching and very believable for this gentle giant who after all is just yearning for something of his own to love and love him back. Whilst I knew it couldn't happen (could it?) I really was rooting for him all the way.
   
   Not a horror story in Kings normal style...instead he gives us sociological observations on society, encased in a good story. Unlike some reviewers I liked the ending...it was moving to know that when Joe cried "It was the wrong face..." that bent over and tried to comfort him.



3. I'm surprised at how many reviewers found Blaze to be a sympathetic antihero. I've experienced that feeling before when the part is written strongly, like in the original Jackel movie, but I did not experience that here.
   
   Blaze is a book about a thug. He has some of the usual, my upraising was bad and I got whipped a few times excuses, but it becomes quite evident that Blaze is a thug and likes being a thug. He gives no real thought or regret to anyone he harms who is in his way.
   
   I expected this story to take the next step and go beyond, holding out hope that it could rise to the level of later King novels, but it didn't. I won't say what i expected for the sake of not putting spoilers in this review.
   
   King can always keep me listening, he is an excellent storyteller, but I didn't find anything the character he picked, all that interesting.
   
   I was rooting for his demise.



4. Stephen King writes best as Richard Bachman. This story was a page-turner and I read it all in one weekend.



5. I really wasnt expecting to like this book too much but I was happily mistaken. The character, Blaze, although on the wrong path, elicited my sympathy and I liked him and wished he could have been raised differently. All in all it was a good book.

3 comments about Fatal Kidnapping.

1. This is a book for everyone. The plot twists in many unexpected ways and keeps you guessing until the end. Can't stop until you finish it.



2. I don't mean to burst any bubbles, but I have just begun reading this book and find it to be like reading a children's book in its simplistic style. I feel like I am reading to my grandchildren. Very stiff and with no flow. In all fairness, I have not read the whole thing and will try, but I would not recommend this book.
   
   
   Ginger



3. If I had realized this book was self-published I would never have bought it--but I didn't and I did. The writing is amateurish--and that's being kind--and the writer makes all the first-time-writer mistake. The storyline is unbelieveable and the dialogue is stiff. The author REALLY needs some writing classes and a good critique group and the manuscript needs serious editing. For example, on the back cover, the author writes: "I hope to continue to please my reader's and keep them coming back for more!" This non-possessive reader is not pleased and will, in the future, make sure to check on the publisher before buying.

5 comments about Smoky Mountain Tracks (Raine Stockton Dog Mysteries, Book 1).

1. A solid mystery with good characters, good pacing, interesting backstory (more revealed in next book) a likeable protagonist and wonderful overlay of information about search and rescue dogs.



2. Ms. Ball will grab your attention with the first line of the book, and you won't be able to put it down til you have finished the last page. This is the 1st of a great new series. How can we not love a book with such a wonderful dog featured.



3. As the first in a new series, this is very good and very interesting. It is very similar to Virginia Lanier's Bloodhound series. The same type of main character although this takes place in the Smokey Mountains rather than Georgia. This isn't a bad thing since Lanier's books were probably the best in the genre. Like Lanier, the characterization takes second place to the mystery, which I happen to enjoy. Bad mysteries and not enough characterization as in Susan Conant's dog mysteries are too boring.



4. I am a addicted to dog stories. One can tell That Ms. Ball is an expert in dogs, and specifically in rescue dogs. The mystery story is average at best, but the dog part is great. 3.5 stars.
   P.S. This is The FIRST book in the series, NOT the SECOND!



5. I enjoyed this book enough to order the second in the series. The main character, Raine Stockton, was well-developed and interesting. I agree with another reviewer that the romance side of the book was confusing. It was hard to understand what Raine's relationship was with her ex-husband. But, perhaps the author is intending to elaborate in her next book. Overall, a good choice for dog lovers.

1 comments about Kidnapped at the Capital (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)).

1. My 8-year-old son has enjoyed this book series very much. The reading level is comfortably easy for him and he enjoys solving the mysteries. It keeps him reading and even teaches him some facts at the same time. I recommend this whole series.

5 comments about Not Everyone Is Nice: Helping Children Learn Caution with Strangers (Let's Talk).

1. I just received this and I'm confused by the positive reviews. I think the book was a good idea, but the authors needed a merciless editor. The book is WAY too long: 20 pages with 80 words on some pages, practically a term paper, a painful one. The book is recommended for ages 4-8, but the drawings and language are more suited for 3-5 year olds; in fact I found the language down right condescending (babyish). There's a weird lack of cohesion about the whole book, like the authors hadn't quite figured out what they wanted to say or who they wanted to say it to. This book isn't appropriate for anyone.



2. My main problem with this book is that it is based on the incorrect assumption that strangers are primarily responsible for sexual abuse and abduction of children. Most offenders are people a child knows, most often family members. When an individual is looking for children to abuse, they often become friends with the family and child before beginning to abuse. Including information about strangers is useful, but focusing on that possibility leaves a child vulnerable to sexual preditors that s/he knows.



3. Probably a little too "nice" for todays generation, my 6yr old probably needs more scare tactics, she didn't understand how people can hurt you and that is hard to explain as a parent. Having said that this is still a well written book that uses examples that my daughter could relate to.
   
   We also bought the "Stranger Safety" DVD. I would read a book as well as show the movie to reinforce the need for stranger safety.



4. I don't know...I have an almost-4 year old. Maybe I am struggling with the transition from children's books where kids wander off and handle themselves alone (Goldilocks), or they save the day (Lazytown), or they identify nice men by the colors they wear (Dr. Seuss's Mr. Brown and Mr. Black). My child didn't understand -- even after two readings of this book -- that Mr. Green was not a nice man and was trying to deceive the child in the book. The analogy to beautiful but harmful sea creatures was a good one. I have tried to reinforce that message. The situation on the street corner wasn't scary enough to make any impact. After reading the book twice, my child still saw no problem with accepting the candy from Mr. Green. Instead of this book, we are watching (repeatedly) our newly purchased Safe Side DVD. Because of that fabulous DVD, I think the concepts are finally sinking in.



5. ONE OF THE BEST APPROACHES I HAVE READ FOR THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS YOU NEED TO REACH KIDS WITH IN DEMONSTRATING STRANGER DANGER.

5 comments about Heartstopper: A Novel.

1. This was my first book by this author but not my last. I read this book which is about a serial killer who chooses his victims based on their "killer" looks. What I liked about this book which made it stand out for me better than others is the fact that author spent just as much time on developing her characters (even the minor ones) as she did building the suspense. She also let us into the killer's mind by giving us a peak of killer's journal every few chapters. I really enjoyed the way she built the thrills and chills without "overkill". I pretty much figured who the killer was halfway through the story but this story was so good that I still kept reading. Usually with these types of book, you feel like the ending is rushed once the killer is apprehended but no so with Heartstopper. I wonder if she has a sequel planned, I HOPE SO.



2. The best part of a Joy Fielding novel is that she always keeps you guessing as to who the culprit is. Some of her novels are better than others (of course) however, every one I have read is always an absolute page turner and "Heartstopper" doesn't disappoint. Some great characters here, many who are dysfunctional, but they make for an interesting read. I for one was surprised at the end of the piece when the murderer was revealed, I never figured it out. The ending was not as good as some of her other pieces but a terrific one nonetheless. I will look forward to reading additional work by this talented author.



3. I'm a voracious reader, but this is the first book by this author that I read. It was well-written and constructed. A real whodunnit. I was really surprised at the ending.



4. This book kept my attention from the first word to the last! I could not put it down. The character building was very impressive and I felt like I wanted to keep reading about the characters after the book was over. The plot is twisting and the ending quite surprising - I gasped when the true killer was revealed. I would highly recommend the book - I think it is the best one by Joy Fielding that I have read so far.



5. Predictable is how I'd describe "Heartstopper," and that's a word I'd never use ordinarily when describing a Joy Fielding novel. I knew who the killer was fairly early on; I kept thinking, "I always think I know who it is when reading her books, but I always end up shocked." Well that didn't happen with this book. Maybe it's because I've read so many of her books, and that now they're starting to turn out the same. I didn't find myself as eager to turn the pages of this one as I have with some of her other books. It was even somewhat of a chore. She has definitely written better books.