Island life and man's best friend and now enter chaos

I was extremely surprised....in a fantastic way... with this novel.  I must admit when I looked at the cover I thought it was going to be a sweet, happy little book about a beautiful black Lab.  That is where I was wrong.  This is the book Picture This by New York Times bestselling author, Jacqueline Sheehan.  This is the sequel to her novel Lost & Found.   I did not read the first story in this little series, but I was caught up in no time to the story of 39 year-old recently widowed Rocky Pelligrino (nothing to do with the mineral water...which I just happen to have a minor addiction to).  Rocky was married to Bob who suddenly died in the previous novel, and Rocky moves to Peaks Island, Maine.  (Which sounds like a place I would love to live).  She rents a small cottage and takes a job as an animal control warden while she tries to makes sense of her life.
In the last book, she rescued and adopted Cooper....a kind, loyal and wonderful black Lab.  (I must insert some personal info at this point:  Not only do we share our house with 4 growing boys, but we also have a yellow Lab puppy...Ruby.  She is crazy and sweet, and she is beginning to grow on me, but don't tell that to my husband.  I am hoping that Ruby starts to relax and listen a little better like Cooper).  OK.....sorry about that.
While on the island, Rocky becomes close to several wonderfully drawn characters....Tess, Isaiah, Melissa, etc.  She evens starts to have a romantic relationship with a man named Hill...Her life seems to make a little more sense to Rocky despite the tragedy that she was dealt.  However, that changes when she receives a phone call from 18 year old Natalie who claims that her father was Bob....Rocky's deceased husband.  She claims to just wants to get to know a little more about him and wants to know why he never came to get here while she grew up moving from one abusive foster home to the next.  Rocky, who is on leave from her job as a therapist, is drawn to Natalie and wants to save her....and perhaps keep a part of her husband near her.  Unfortunately, as the story begins to unravel, we learn more about Natalie's past and that her intentions are not so innocent...the story moves fast and keeps you guessing and reading!  And through it all Cooper, the faithful friend, helps shape this story into something unforgettable.

Talk about a tragic character......

   From time to time, I like to pull out a novel of classic literature and immerse myself in it.  I picked Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.  Truth be told, I could not put it down.  Now I am not sure if it is because it was a beautifully written novel (which it is) or if it was a unforgettable story (which it is), but in all honesty, I really believe I kept reading to see if our heroine Tess ever caught a break!  Poor, poor girl was born in the wrong century that is for certain.
The story starts with Tess' drunk father on his way home when he discovers that he is descended from the wealthy to-do family The D'Urbervilles and throughout time their name changed to Durbeyfield.  Well, Mr. Durbeyfield heads home to his wife and 6 children....maybe 7....I lost count....to share this exciting news.
Tess is the oldest at 16, and she is picked to journey to the nearest D'Urberville resident to claim their fortune or at least come home married to a cousin.  Really?  Poor Tess...she just wants to continue with schooling and do some modest work. Anyway, she journeys to the residence because she is a good, kind girl....she is a pleaser.  She meets Alec D'Urberville....a good looking and charming fellow who is supposedly her cousin.  Alec is taken by Tess' beauty and naivete and begins to woo her...well...she is not immediately impressed by him.....
Let me stop here.  You will have to read the book to see where their relationship goes and whether Tess is able to find happiness.  I warn you...there are no happy endings in this book.   The book is quite a fascinating read, and the story twists and turns more than one could predict.  Very scandalous and a great argument for equal rights.

Could not put down!

The book is called BIRTHMARKED by Caragh M. O'Brien.  Imagine a life where you live on the outside of a place called The Enclave which is surrounded by a high almost impassable wall.  A place where the lifestyle is "advanced" and of better quality.  You live on the outside....you have a certain job to do and are "rewarded" with food and humble shelter.  Yet, you must remember not to question your position or try to rebel because the Protectorat will have you arrested and then death will follow.
Gaia Stone is 16 years old, and she is following in the path of her mother to becoming a midwife.  As a midwife, on the outside of the Enclave, her job is to deliver babies and to advance three babies a month.  How does one "advance" a baby?  Well, the first three deliveries Gaia makes in a month must be advanced....they must be delivered to the wall within 90 minutes of delivery to live inside The Enclave away from their birth parents.  Not a pleasant a part of the job, but the consequences for not delivering the first three babies could result in Gaia's death.
Quickly, the reader learns that both Gaia's parents have been arrested and taken for questioning inside the wall.  Gaia is sure this means certain death for them, so she concocts a plan to break them out.  She is a cunning, clever and extremely strong-willed character.  The action is fast paced and kept me gripped to the story line.  Once she enters into The Enclave we learn that their advanced society isn't all unicorns and rainbows.  
I finished it rather quickly and was hungry for me, so I downloaded the bridge book TORTURED and read that in less than 20 minutes.  I have ordered the 2nd book in the series PRIZED, and am anxiously awaiting its arrival.  I highly recommend this book to anyone older than 13 years old....