Quick Thoughts: “The Unseen Guest”

“The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3)” by Maryrose Wood

Genre: Children’s Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction

Other books: The Mysterious Howling, The Hidden Gallery, The Interrupted Tale

Source: Bought

Summary from Goodreads:

Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, “They must have been raised by wolves.” The Incorrigible children actually were.

Since returning from London, the three Incorrigible children and their plucky governess, Miss Penelope Lumley, have been exceedingly busy. Despite their wolfish upbringing, the children have taken up bird-watching, with no unfortunate consequences-yet. And a perplexing gift raises hard questions about how Penelope came to be left at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females and why her parents never bothered to return for her.

But hers is not the only family mystery to solve. When Lord Fredrick’s long-absent mother arrives with the noted explorer Admiral Faucet, gruesome secrets tumble out of the Ashton family tree. And when the admiral’s prized racing ostrich gets loose in the forest, it will take all the Incorrigibles’ skills to find her.

The hunt for the runaway ostrich is on. But Penelope is worried. Once back in the wild, will the children forget about books and poetry and go back to their howling, wolfish ways? What if they never want to come back to Ashton Place at all?

Discussion: How Important is Likability In A Story?

I recently attempted to read Wuthering Heights. I ultimately gave up on it because I couldn’t find much to like about the story. Heathcliff and Catherine were two miserable people. They made themselves, others, and me  miserable. I couldn’t find anything to like about them. The story is really just an extension of them so I had a hard time liking it as well.

That got me thinking….do you really need to like something (characters, story, setting, etc.) in order to enjoy a book?

If You Like…Graceling

We do these at work so I thought I’d see how they worked out on the blog. It’s pretty easy, if you like book A you might also enjoy books B, C, and D.

If you enjoyed Graceling,

Book Review: “Colin Fischer”

“Colin Fischer” by Ashley Edward Miller and  Zack Stentz

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary Fiction

Source: Library

Summary from Goodreads:

SOLVING CRIME, ONE FACIAL EXPRESSION AT A TIME

Colin Fischer cannot stand to be touched. He does not like the color blue. He needs index cards to recognize facial expressions.

But when a gun is found in the school cafeteria, interrupting a female classmate’s birthday celebration, Colin is the only for the investigation. It’s up to him to prove that Wayne Connelly, the school bully and Colin’s frequent tormenter, didn’t bring the gun to school. After all, Wayne didn’t have frosting on his hands, and there was white chocolate frosting found on the grip of the smoking gun…

Colin Fischer is a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, and his story–as told by the screenwriters of X-Men: First Class and Thor–is perfect for readers who have graduated from Encyclopedia Brown and who are ready to consider the greatest mystery of all: what other people are thinking and feeling.