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January Book Reviews

January's over so I thought I'd give a brief review of the books I've read this month. I discovered some real gems.

I started the year with "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. This is the tale of a family that faces some hard decisions when they discover their daughter has leukemia. They have a baby so they can have a donor to help save their daughter's life. This story is years later and is about the effect all of this has had on the individual members of the family and the family as a whole. It is very well written and makes you think. I give it 5 Stars.

My next book was the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Very easy to believe that the events took place - unfortunately. A classic tale about the racial divide. Another 5 Star book.

"The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards is a story that begins in the 60's. Dr. David Henry ends up delivering his babies due to a snow storm. The fact that it was twins was a surprise. The first baby was a healthy boy, the second, a girl with downs syndrome. David asks the nurse to take the baby to a home - which she agrees to do. He then tells his wife - who had been put to sleep during labor - that the girl was born dead. The nurse ends up taking the girl and leaving town. The story is about the effect this big secret had on all of their lives. Another story that draws you in. A good book, but not as outstanding. I'd recommend it, but give it 4 Stars.

I changed genres and read Richard North Patterson's book,"Conviction" next. "Conviction" is about a man on death row who is down to his last appeals. The lawyers who take over his case, Terri, Carlo and Chris, discover many things that point to his innocence or at least that he should not be executed because he is retarded. The book is mainly about the legal system and how a person becomes entangled in the law and the system, losing their identity. This book touched me in many ways. What can I say, it's another 5 Starer.

The last book I read this month was "The Little House" by Philippa Gregory. This book was one that as I was reading it, I wasn't that impressed. It is about a couple and the husband's parents relationship. Let's just say that the mother-in-law is manipulative in a "sweet" sort of way. You know the kind of person that disguises her true self in the sugary sweetness of caring. But the book does take an unexpected twist and I actually enjoyed the ending. I probably shouldn't say enjoyed, but I always enjoy the surprise of a book without a cliche ending. So while I can't highly recommend it, I'd give it 3 Stars - an average read.

Not a bad list. I've got my stack for February. I just hope my 5 Star streak continues.

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