Full disclosure: I am a Stephen King fan. But as I read this I was a little disappointed in the first half as I found it predictable. But I should have had faith in King, because the second half delivered what I was waiting for. A young man hitches a ride from his college to the hospital where his mother has been taken. When it comes to choosing a ride, do you use your head and logic, or do you listen to your instinct? King will help you look at this a whole new way.

While a simple and straight forward read, it almost seemed like this should have been a book for children. It is the story of a young Nigerian boy who learns the important lessons of life as he ignores the advice of adults and falls in with other students who lead him astray.

This book is the true embodiment of the romantic comedy, but when you first begin it, that is not what you will see. It is well done and is set in Maui, so there is nothing not to love. A nice summer fun read.

This book delivers the type of ending all readers long for; something unexpected. And even from about midway into the book, you know something is coming, but there aren’t obvious clues. This author dies an excellent job on her maiden novel. Can’t wait to see what she sends us in her next one.

OK, so this book has an interesting beginning. A highly successful pistachio grower in Italy in the 1920 becomes a popular man in his town. Citizens love him and value his expertise. Then enter the Mafia, who begin to shake down the town’s people. The grower resists and encourages others to do the same. This makes him and his family a target and thus begins a years long battle between the Mafia, along with the police, and the Sacco family. It is based on a true story and while the beginning is interesting, the rest of the book is just a back and forth of fighting and arresting. It was informative but not really interesting.

This is one of those books you can read more than once because there is a lot going on and there are parts of it I still am not clear on. An investigator is hired to check on large payments that were made by the client’s late aunt. The investigation uncovers more than initially suspected and reveals a well-crafted web of deceit. A good book but I feel like I missed some things.

This is a most touching story of a grandfather and his relationship with his son and grandson as he devolves into Alzheimer’s. We experience his thoughts as he begins to live inside the past as the present slips away. It is beautiful and sad and told from the grandfather’s point of view. Everyone should read this.

Not sure I would like reading a Christmas book in July but turns out I did enjoy this one. It was light on the Christmas stuff, except for Santa; Santa plays a pivotal role here, especially letters written to him…even if they are not mailed! While it had the plot right out of a Hallmark movie channel production, it was well done and I liked the development of the characters.

While the writing was not terrible, the trouble is that while the author had a lot to say, there really is no story here. A 40-year-old woman loses her mother and is so distraught that she cannot get beyond it. The setting is Spain and all the character talks about is seducing men. The only interesting part was the epilog which was very articulate and summed up thing well.

This book is a collection of saying and very short tales that are meant to inspire and enhance a spiritual if not religious outlook. I was unimpressed. If you try, it’s not hard to find meaning in many events, and I think this author tried too hard and often ventured from spiritualism, that I would have been OK with, into religion, that I was not.