Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
This book was very beautifully written. I had images of the circus running through my head as I read this (it also helped that there were also pictures). It also made me think twice about whether I'd want to take my kids to a circus where animals are treated this way. The book is about a man (Jacob) whose parents die suddenly just before he takes his final exams for vet school. Upon realizing that his parents had accumulated so much debt just to put him through vet school, he hops on a train and later realizes its a circus train. During his adventure, he meets his unstable boss, several unlikely friends, a smart elephant, and his boss' wife-- the woman he falls in love with. I highly recommend this book...I thought that it read like a Hemingway novel and I would gladly read it again.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Splendid Suns was a great follow up to the Kite Runner. It is about Afghanistan life (again) but this time it is told through a woman's perspective. The book follows the lives of two women that form an unlikely friendship as wives to the same man. It describes the struggles and hardships that Afghani women must endure. I highly recommend this book. I didn't think it was as good as the Kite Runner but it was an excellent read none the less.
Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
Sophie Kinsela books haven't been that great lately and this one hasn't kicked it up a notch either. It just seems like the same old same old except its not even funny anymore. It's about Rebecca Bloomwood Brandon during her first pregnancy. She tries to buy everything, changes to an OB that also happens to be her husband's ex, and she single handedly saves the department store she's working for from going belly under. I wouldn't bother with this one.
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult astonishes me again. How does she write such intriguing books time and again? I have decided that she is now one of my favorite authors. This book was good (although not as good as My Sister's Keeper). It's about a woman that learns she was abducted 28 years ago by her father...the man she's looked up to and trusted all her life. She is devastated by the fact that her father had lied to her about her mother being dead and that her real name wasn't Delia. The book traverses through the trial and alternates views between Delia, her dad, her fiance, her friend and her alcoholic mother. The reason why he abducted her comes out during the course of the book and it was a page turner. However, I did guess the ending. I highly recommend this book.
Behaving Badly by Isabel Wolff
I wouldn't bother with this one. It's a chick lit book and not even a funny one. It's about a pet behaviourist that unknowingly did something as a teenager that affected a young man. She tries to find him to apologize and clear her conscience. Instead she falls in love with him.
