The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

4 Stars

Summary: Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbor's dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. (taken from this inside cover)

Review:

This was a very insightful look into the mind of an autistic child, which is completely new to me. It was fascinating to see how he processed information and what seemed like little issues were drastically huge issues to him (for example, he hated the color yellow and could not touch it because it made him feel sick). There was also some subtle humor in the dry comments and observations. I did enjoy the mathematical aspects. I always remember Stephen Hawkings when he said that mathematicians see the world completely differently from non-mathematicians, and Christopher's comments reminded me of that. However, to me I just found the theology and the plot too depressing.

-Amy

Towers of Brierly by Anita Stansfield

4 stars

Summary: Haunted by secrets and questions about his birth, Gavin leaves Brierley, returning years later to confront the past. To Anya Ross, Brierley is likely the fairy-tale castle of her dreams. But when her great-uncle is murdered, and the remnants of the MacBrier family torment her every turn, her dream turns into a nightmare. Anya and Gavin are drawn together by the bond of a mottled past they share. But this bond becomes a wedge that threatens to drive them apart as sinister forces confront them at every turn. Only Gavin holds the key to undoing a evil he doesn't even understand--the key that can free Anya and himself from the chains of fear and hatred (taken from the back cover)

Review: Love, death, romance, murder, love, romance, and more romance. If you haven't noticed, this was a romance novel. A woman in a book club Manda and I attend chose this book for the month of August. I enjoyed it well enough but not enough to give it anything higher than a 4 star rating. As my first romance novel, I don't think it was too over the top but it was very predictable. I didn't think that the characters were quite believable enough as they were a bit one sided. There were times when I was so frustrated because of the sappy-ness or the silliness of Anya and Gavin. That being said, it was an uplifting story that focuses on personal triumph and the ability to make due with what we have. It also made me crave bannocks and short bread.