Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner

by Carol2 Comments
Persons Unknown started out slow for me. I read the first in the series and knew Manon and Fly and how they can to be a family, but I guess I forgot how unlikeable Manon can be. I do like her, but she will rub just about everyone the wrong way at some point or other, including the reader. And now she's pregnant, which I'm not sure was the best decision with just recently adopting Fly, but there you have it. This time around the mystery hits very close to home for Manon. Manon and Fly are sharing a home with Manon's sister Ellie and her toddler son, Solly, when Solly's father turns up murdered. Once Fly is accused and sent to juvenile, the story picks up pace. Of course, Fly's innocent, we know that, but it's a complicated case, one Manon is not allowed to directly work on. With Davy's help, she does manage to get the right information to the right people. The dead...
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Thursday’s Tale: Brave Red, Smart Frog

by Carol1 Comment
I truly enjoyed these lovingly retold fairy tales. Jenkins has taken some favorite, familiar tales and while not adding anything new, has made them into charming tales. We have Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince, and Diamonds and Toads among others. While she keeps the traditional plots and characters. she gives some extra depth, like why the Frog Prince loved the princes or how Hansel and Gretel's father could have let them be left in the woods. She asks why the step-mother was so cruel and how Red could have been tricked by the wolf. I also love how the cold, frosty wood figures into the tales. The tales have touches of humor and amusing dialogue, especially in Three Wishes and the Frog Prince. I appreciate how the tales are connected in ways that make the book fit together well, rather than just a random collection. For example, the same huntsman who doesn't kill...
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All Signs Point to Murder by Connie di Marco

by Carol7 Comments
First off, I did not read the first in the series, but I'm pretty sure I know what happened in it based on some of the conversations Julia has in this one. Second, I'm not a believer in astrology, but you really don't have to be to enjoy this book. Yes, Julia's an astrologer, and yes that plays into how she goes about solving the mystery, but she would have found the same solution eventually even without consulting her charts. I like Julia. She cares about people, she's smart, and she's definitely persistent. She has some great friends too. I'd like to hang out with them. And maybe have her read my chart. As far as the mystery goes, I though overall it was well-done. I thought I knew who the killer was, then I wasn't sure, then I thought I knew. It turned out that I was right but hadn't guessed the whole motive. There were plenty of suspects and...
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Thursday’s Tale: Disney Manga: Tangled

by Carol2 Comments
The story is the same as the Tangled movie from 2010. It's a re-imagining of Rapunzel, but the only thing it really has in common with the original fairy tale is the girl with long hair kept in a tower. The princess, Rapunzel, is stolen from her crib by Mother Gothel, because her can magically heal people.  Mother Gothel hides Rapunzel in the tower, forbidding her to ever leave it, keeping the precious hair safe. While Gothel is away getting a present for Rapunzel’s 18th birthday, Flynn Ryder ends up in the tower as he's on the run from the palace guards. Rapunzel recognizes her chance and convinces Ryder, with the help of a frying pan, to take her to see the annual lights festival. Adventure, danger, love and the requisite happy ever after ending all follow. The story is what it is, it's Tangled re-done as a manga. I thought the manga art was well-done and I'm sure middle schoolers would...
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Thursday’s Tale: Cinderella and the Furry Slippers by Davide Cali

by Carol2 Comments
This is a modern twist on the classic Cinderella fairy tale. Cinderella, per usual, spends her days cleaning and doing her stepmother's and sisters' hair. She sees the prince in a magazine and dreams coming to save her. When she finds out he's having a ball, she calls up a fairy godmother and makes an appointment. That's when it all starts to go awry. The godmother is not what she expects - and neither are the clothes. Even the ball is disappointing, and the prince - well, let's just say he was more attractive in the magazine. So she makes her own happy ending. I like the girl-power feel of this one, and the illustrations are bright and funny. I think this would make a good book to read aloud to any little girl, reinforcing that a girl can be whatever she wants to. And that pictures in magazines aren't always realistic. Thursday's Tales is a weekly event here at Carol's Notebook....
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Penance by Kanae Minato

by Carol2 Comments
The novel revolves around a group of friends in a small, rural town. The town is known for its fresh and clean air, which results in a company which makes precision instruments moving there. The workforce is not thrilled with the move, most come from Tokyo and don't fit in well with the locals. One of the newcomers' children, Emily, makes friends with a group of local girls – Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuko. As the blurb states, one holiday the five schoolgirls, who were 10 at the time, are playing when they are approached by a man who chooses Emily to help him with a task. An hour or more later, Emily is found violated and murdered. At the time of this book, there was a statute of limitations during which criminals could be charged and so there is fifteen years to find the murderer. When the girls are thirteen, Emily’s mother invites them to her house and informs them that...
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