Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

Former pop star Heather Wells has settled nicely into her new life as assistant dorm director at New York College--a career that does not require her to drape her size 12 body in embarrassingly skimpy outfits. She can even cope (sort of) with her rocker ex-boyfriend's upcoming nuptials, which the press has dubbed The Celebrity Wedding of the Decade. But she's definitely having a hard time dealing with the situation in the dormitory kitchen--where a cheerleader has lost her head on the first day of the semester. (Actually, her head is accounted for--it's her torso that's AWOL.)

Surrounded by hysterical students--with her ex-con father on her doorstep and her ex-love bombarding her with unwanted phone calls--Heather welcomes the opportunity to play detective . . . again. If it gets her mind off her personal problems--and teams her up again with the gorgeous P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives--it's all good. But the murder trail is leading the average-sized amateur investigator into a shadowy world. And if she doesn't watch her step, Heather will soon be singing her swan song!

Another good book by Meg Cabot. The stakes are higher in this book and the baddies are even more dangerous. I'm loving the storyline for this novel. Heather isn't as naive as she was in the last book. She seems to have her head partially out of the clouds. It seems that MC likes writing about these kinds of heroines (the ones like Princess Mia and Lizzie aka Queen of Babble who tend to get carried by their daydreams). The things Heather deals with in this story; her dad coming back, the gruesome murder, and other things I think help her to grow as a character and a fictional person. And the mystery part of the novel was entertaining as the first book. I'm really looking forward to book 3.

Monday, April 6, 2009

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they're unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

Do You remember those thriller books and movies where a group of strangers -- sometimes friends (sometimes strangers) are stranded on an island and everyone gets murdered one by one. Well, meet the story that started it all. This book left me in shock. The ending was so unexpected. I think this is my favorite Agatha Christie novel to date. If I say anything else I may just go on a rampage and blurt the whole story out and I really don't want to do so. I'll just say that this novel was captivating and fun (not that murder and the whole topic of this story is a funny thing to giggle about). I wasn't expecting this novel, this classic piece of mystery writing to have a twist that I didn't see. I seriously and highly recommend you read this book.