My 2017 Books That I Enjoyed

Hehehe...boy, this is embarrassing! Here it is almost the end of January 2018, and I still haven't posted this yet.  What can I say?  2018 has been busy for me.

The books on this list all received my highest rating as an enjoyable read in 2017.  Of course, what I like may not be your cup of tea.  I like ghost stories, murder mysteries, crime fiction, and historical fiction.  Sometimes I also read books that are meant for younger readers, either because I'm looking for something light or for the fact there are actually some very good books in teen and juvenile fiction.  I'm afraid sometimes I forget names of characters, so forgive me if I use terms like "teenage girl".  Hopefully I can describe it well enough.

1.  Taryn Camera Book #7:  Muddy Creek by Rebecca Patrick-Howard.  Genre:  Supernatural, Mystery

This is the seventh book in this series, though I don't think it would pose too much of a problem if you read this first.  Anything that you really need to know is rehashed.  This book combines two things I love--a good ghost story with a mystery to be solved.  Taryn is an architectural reconstruction artist whose camera has the ability to capture the past--literally.  A ruined room will suddenly look like it did in its heyday.  In this story, Taryn is painting a school that was destroyed by a fire.  While there, she tries to discover why a famous author set the fire and killed her former elementary teachers.  And who is the child she hears crying in the school?  There are no records of any child dying....I've loved this series until book six, when I started worrying the author was focusing too much on Taryn's illness and her complex relationship with her best friend/lover.  However, book 7 seemed to get things back on track.

2.  The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire  Genre:  Drama, Catholic Religious Fiction

Though I don't personally consider this religious fiction despite the references to saints, I've mentioned it because people who are touchy about religion may react to the book.  This book has also been labeled as a murder mystery, but while there is an unsolved murder that the story centers around, the book's writing style is different.  I got this book because I thought it would be like The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which is one of my favorite books.  It actually is similar in the type of book it is, except it is from the point of view of the people who are still alive, mainly the father of the murdered girl and her best friend.  Will Light's whole world comes crashing down when his daughter Lucy is found murdered.  He becomes consumed by a repressed rage that pushes everyone away, even the wife he loves dearly.  His wife tries to find meaning in their daughter's death and becomes an activist against violence.  When the local priest approaches Will, wanting him to paint a mural about saints for the new church, Will wants nothing to do with it.  Always cynical about religion, he is horrified by the violence celebrated around the saints.  The priest sees the anger within Will and wishes to comfort him, but his attempts are bungling...and not helped by his memory problem.  Lucy's best friend Rain becomes obsessive about security, worried that the murderer is still out there.  She starts cutting herself, frustrated with her life.  She is annoyed when her mother insists she sees a psychiatrist.  This book may be a bit dated--it seemed to reflect more how people lived during the 1990s.  I thought the author was very insightful into what it was like to be a grieving parent.  She made the characters sympathetic, even with their annoying qualities.  I found her descriptions of the scenery so vivid that I felt like I was there.  It was slow-moving, though not boring...a very beautiful book.

3.  Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mysteries Book 18:  Delayed Departures by Terri Reid  Genre:  Supernatural, Mystery, Mild Romance, Very Mild Religious Themes (a belief in heaven and angels)

I'm addicted to this series too.  Again, it isn't really necessary to start with book one.  I myself actually started with a later book when I was first introduced to the series.  Anything you need to know is retold.  The only possible problem with this series is that if you read a later book, you may get spoilers about earlier mysteries.  For example, in the beginning of the series, Mary's love interest is a man searching for his missing wife and daughter.  This plot line is later resolved, and if you read a later book first (like this one), you will know how it ends...and if spoilers are a problem for you, then you may want to start with the first book.  My feelings have always been if a story is good enough, it doesn't matter if you know how it ends...but that is me.  Anyway, again I love this series because it combines a good ghost story with a mystery.  It reminds me of the TV show Medium, except the characters are not so annoying.  Mary O'Reilly is a former cop turn private investigator who can see ghosts after getting shot.  Again, I don't really consider this religious fiction, but if you are touchy about  it...there is a guardian angel and a belief in Heaven and predestination.  I love the characters in this series.  Flawed angel Mike, grumpy but soft-hearted Stanley, sunshine Rosie, and Scottish hottie Ian.  The book manages to remain light, though some of the books in the series were disturbing due to cases that involved serial killers and pedophiliac child killers.  In this book, very pregnant Mary is exasperated when some ghost hunters show up at her door.  However, she agrees to help out when one of the ghost hunters' dead mother pleads with Mary to help her son, claiming someone is trying to kill him.  This mother, by the way, is a blast!  This book series has some mild romance and usually a bit of hot sex too...so it isn't for younger readers.

4.  The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson  Genre:  Crime fiction

I actually re-read this book this year.  It was part of my 2016 reads.  However, in re-reading it...I found out that this is the first book of a trilogy.  Anyway, a tip leads police to a well-respected millionaire's house...where they encounter an explosive fire.  The millionaire and his sons are injured.  The police find a bunch of young women, all who had been reported missing.  All have butterflies tattooed on them.  Inside the ruins of a large greenhouse, which was actually a prison where the girls were held captive, police find murdered girls preserved in cases.  The other girls seem reluctant to talk until they talk to Maya--one of the girls who was rescued.  Is it because they trust her, or is because she is an accomplice that they fear?  The police suspect Maya is holding something back, but what is it?

5.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland by Rebekah Crane  Genre:  Teen Fiction, Drama

A teenage girl is sent to a camp for mentally ill teens.  She doesn't believe she belongs there.  Certainly the other kids seem much worse off than she is.  One tried to commit suicide, one cuts herself, another is angry and confrontational, and another is a compulsive liar.  Then there is Grover, who fears that he is going to follow in his schizophrenic father's footsteps, and she rather hopes not...because she kind of likes Grover.  The camp counselors seem too perfect to be helpful, but one thing you do learn at crazy camp is that nothing is as it seems to be.

6.  Timebound Book 1 by Rysa Walker  Genre:  Teen Fiction, Sci-fi, slightly Historical fiction

I wasn't sure about this book, as I'm not a big sci-fi reader...though I enjoy watching sci-fi.  However, I really enjoyed this book.  A teenage girl finds out that her grandmother is actually her descendant...okay, that is confusing.  The grandmother is from the future and got stuck in the past.  Her husband is responsible for trapping her and kidnapping one of their daughters.  He is starting a new cult and trying to change history.  It falls upon the teenage girl to put history back to its original timeline.  I was able to appreciate this book more because I had read it after reading The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter.  Both books cover the same time frame and place.

7.  War Brides by Helen Bryan  Genre:  Historical Fiction, Chick Novel

Normally, I'm not into chick books, and I almost bypassed this one...but I'm glad I gave it a chance. In a small English town, several women will find sanctuary from the war and form a lasting friendship.  One woman who is a native of the village wrestles with the frustration of taking care of her overbearing mother while nursing her broken heart after her fiance brings home another woman as his wife.  The "other woman" does not love her husband and only married him to get out of an arranged marriage and hopes to reunite with her true love whose baby she is carrying.  A young Jewish girl finds herself married to a family friend so she can escape to England from the threat of the Nazis, but she worries about her family left behind as she tries to adapt to her new life.  One woman is sent there hoping it will keep her out of trouble, but she has a knack for finding trouble...and there is nothing she desires more than to become a spy for the British.  Another girl is one of the families sent to escape the bombing in London.  She isn't good at anything except bossing other people around, and she is in love with the no-good boy who is employed by the British to make false papers.  This story was a bit confusing because it switches from the past to the present, particularly in the beginning...before you know who the characters are.  Aside from that, I really enjoyed it.  It gave me a new look at the war, allowed me to see things from a perspective I had never seen before.  I'm familiar with the Holocaust, of course, but it never occurred to me before how terrifying it was to suddenly have your neighbors turn on you.

8. Cherry Ames: Student Nurse (Book 1) by Helen Wells  Genre:  Juvenile Fiction, Historical Fiction (in that this book was written in the 1940s and reflects that time period)

I like reading books from an earlier time period.  I get exposed to points of view that differ from the ones I grew up with.  It is also fascinating to see how people lived in those days, and even to reminisce about things that are no longer a part of our lives.  If I had read this book series as a child, I probably would have wanted to become a nurse.  In this book, Cherry is pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse.  What I liked particularly about this book was the social obstacles that Cherry often encounters.  Nursing isn't difficult just because of what you have to learn--it is a very social job.  Cherry has to deal with a doctor that strikes terror into the hearts of all the nurses (but is supposedly a teddy bear to his patients), fellow nurses who sometimes are nasty to her, difficult people who don't want to be her friend, etc.  This series shows the different types of job a nurse can do...that not all of them are stuck in hospitals.  This series, as it takes place in the early forties, covers what it was like to be a nurse during WWII.  I also liked this series because it managed to stay light despite some of the serious topics it covered.

9.  Nancy Drew Book #27:  The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene  Genre:  Teen Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction (because it was written in the 1930s)

Much of what I like about the Cherry Ames books applies to Nancy Drew too.  In this book, Nancy is trying to help solve the mystery behind some burglaries, and what do they have to do with an old clipper ship her father is trying to find the title for?  Is it possible that the old clipper ship is a ship that disappeared years ago, its crew never heard from again?

10.  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick
Genre: Feel Good Light Read, Self-reflection Character Spiritual Journey

My genre might confuse you.  I don't actually know how to classify this book.  It was a nice light read.  It is about an elderly man, stuck in his routine, who is mourning the lost of his wife.  He is cleaning out her things one day when he discovers a charm bracelet, which seems something unusual for her to have.  When he calls the number engraved on the back, he talks to a man who claims his wife was his nanny...in India.  Unaware that his wife had ever been to India, Arthur (the elderly man) decides to find out the stories behind the other charms, and in doing so winds up doing things he would never have done before.  He connects with people, including his own children.  Though he enjoys his adventures, one thought nags him...had his wife been happy with him, or had she thought the life that he thought had been so wonderful was boring? 

11.  Mary O'Reilly Mysteries Book 19:  Old Acquaintance  Same author and genre as #3 on this list, so I don't feel the need to write them here.  Though I like this series, some books are better than others.  For a while, I worried that the series was petering out as some series do when they have went on for too long.  However, lately Terri Reid has found some fire--and the series, I think, has improved without sacrificing the things we love so much about it.  However, I admit it is also getting a tad creepier and more disturbing.  This book gave me chills!  Mary is getting ready for the holidays, but her plans may be ruined by a malevolent ghost that followed her from her last case at an insane asylum.

12.  The Buried Book by D.M. Pulley  Genre:  Drama, Crime Fiction, Murder Mystery, Not Juvenile Fiction but Has Main Character a Young Boy

Nine year old Jasper's mother leaves him at his uncle's farm, promising to be come back in a few days.  When she doesn't return, Jasper isn't the only one wondering why his troubled mother has fled.  When he finds an old diary that provides some clues, he decides to conduct his own search.  However, what he threatens to uncover about corruption in a small town and the death of a Native American girl might put him and his family in danger.

13.  Star Wars:  The Force Awakens by Alan Dean Foster  Genre:  Sci-fi, Action

While I often love sci-fi movies and TV shows, I admit I'm not usually a big fan of the genre when it comes to books.  Character development tends to be underdone, and yet they can be oddly distressing.  Also, something about text makes what looks very cool on screen seem rather ridiculous in writing.  However, I really enjoyed this book.  There were scenes that weren't in the movie that can give more evidence to the wild theories on Rey's parentage and Snoke's identity.  Some scenes in the movie are longer or more detailed in the book.  There was enough development to the characters to make you care about them, and the read was relatively light.  If you've seen the movie, you know the plot.  Leia is searching for her brother because the Republic is in trouble.  Unfortunately, The First Order--successor's of the Empire--are looking for him to in order to destroy him.  Dashing Poe Dameron is sent to retrieve a map to Luke's whereabouts, but it is his heroic droid BB8 who completes the mission with the help of scavenger Rey (who has a mysterious past), Finn (a defecting stormtrooper), Han Solo (Resistance Hero and Smuggler), and Chewbacca (Big Furry Sidekick Who Can Be Gentle One Minute But Tear People's Arms Off the Next).  However, the Resistance faces being wiped out by the First Order's weapon that makes the former death stars look like water guns.  Will they succeed?  Read and find out...or just watch the movie...whatever.

14.  The Girl From the Well and The Suffering by Rin Chupeco  Genre:  Japanese Horror, Japanese Mythology, Supernatural

The Girl from the Well and The Suffering are two separate books.  The title of the first book, if you are a huge Japanese horror movie fan like I am, may make you think that this book is about The Ring.  You would be partly right.  The book uses the same myth that inspired The Ring movies.  This book will appeal to anyone who has ever wanted to believe that there is some good in Samara Morgan.  Okiku is a three hundred year old onryuu (spirit).  Though she is tormented by an insatiable need for revenge and bloodlust, she has channeled her hate into killing people who have harmed children and freeing the spirits of their victims.  After claiming her latest victim, Okiku notices a teenage boy who is possessed by a malevolent spirit.  Though it normally isn't her thing, she decides to protect and help him.  In The Suffering, when a friend vanishes in the famous Suicide Forest while looking for a mythical lost city, Okiku and her human friend must fight ghosts and uncover the mystery of why a ritual failed.  Okiku, a spirit of the water, is weakened by the spirits of the wood.  Will they be able to close Hell's gate and free the trapped souls?  Anyone who is a big fan of The Fatal Frame video games will probably really like the second book.

15.  The Roses of May by Dot Hutchinson  Genre:  Crime Fiction

This is the sequel to The Butterfly Garden.  Though it took a little longer to get into this book, and I also found it a bit more of a distressing read...it was a good book.  There are two main storylines.  The minor storyline deals with the aftermath of the first book.  The girls who were rescued from The Garden are having problems adjusting to life, which isn't helped by how they are hounded by the press and that their captor is wealthy enough to delay the justice system.  I found the book very thought provoking in how it brings up points about how the media sometimes punishes victims, and how the slowness of the justice system prevents people from healing.  The main storyline, though, is about another serial killer.  Every spring, this murderer kills a young girl, leaves her body in a church with her head surrounded by flowers.  Meanwhile, the younger sister of one of the victims starts receiving flowers that mirror the ones left at the crime scene.  Is she being stalked by the killer, or is this just some deranged stalker who has heard about the crime?

16.  The Haunting of Ashburn House, The Haunting of  Blackwood House, The House Next Door, and The Haunting of Gillespie House by Darcy Coates  Genre:  Supernatural

I'm actually listing four different books here, which I read within four days (yep, one each day).  When I'm stressed out, I love to read ghost stories.  Unfortunately, a good ghost story is hard to find.  Some aren't good, and some are well written but leave you with an ick feeling that isn't satisfactory.  I actually read more books by Darcy Coates, though some qualify more as short stories, but I liked these four the best.  There are some others I still have to read that I might mention later--but because I read these four nearly at the same time, I just decided to list them all for #16.  The House Next Door is about a woman who lives next door to a haunted house.  Though she has observed neighbors abandoning the property during the night and animals reacting to it badly, she doesn't know why Marwick House upsets people so.  She befriends Anna when the woman moves into Marwick House.  Anna seems to be a woman with secrets of her own and seems to be hiding from someone.  However, the neighbor gets pulled into the mystery of Marwick House when Anna's life seems to be in jeopardy.  The Haunting of Gillespie House is about Elle who is thrilled to get a house-sitting job at a lovely mansion in a remote area.  However, strange noises and visions relating to the house's  history when it was owned by a cult leader leads Elle to believe that something is reaching out--and may have been responsible for the disappearance of the owners' daughter.  The Haunting of Blackwood House will give you the same queasiness that watching an episode of Hoarders or reading about Miss Havisham's cake in Great Expectations gives you.  Mara is a skeptic after growing up in a household that believed in spiritualism.  When she finds Blackwood House at below market price, nothing is going to keep her from her dream home:  not tales of ghosts, not a murder that took place there, not the moldy food and rat carcasses that have collected since it was abandoned by the owners twenty years ago, and she can even live without electricity.  Unfortunately for Mara, she is wrong about ghosts not existing...and she is also going to have to face her family issues on top of murderous ghosts.  The Haunting of Ashburn House is about Adrienne, who finds it extremely lucky that she is bequeathed a house by an unknown relative just when she is about to face homelessness.  When she gets there, she finds a few strange things--like messages scratched into the wood about not having mirrors and lighting a candle every Friday night.  The townspeople tell her more strange things about her reclusive aunt, and everyone wonders about the mystery of Ashburn house.  Some people even claim that the family was murdered, and that Adrienne's Aunt Edith was the sole survivor--though others believe the family died from cholera.  When Adrienne tries to investigate, she finds someone has taken a lot of pains to hide the past.  I don't want to give away a spoiler, but this last book isn't totally a ghost story.  There is haunting phenomenon, but it involves other supernatural elements too.

17.  The Ghost Files Series by Apryl Baker  Genre:  Supernatural, teen fiction, Not Exactly Religious but Uses Christian Mythology

Mattie Hathaway has been able to see ghosts after her mother tried to murder her when she was five years old.  Growing up in foster care, Mattie has enough problems without taking on the supernatural--and that is why she has ignored them.  However, everything changes when she sees the ghost of her foster sister, who everybody believes just ran away.  Investigating what happened to her foster sister will lead Mattie on a journey to her destiny that will involve a complicated love triangle, a curse, skeletons in the closet about her family, long lost relatives, demons, reapers, angels, and of course serial killers (not all this happens in the first book, but if you read the entire series). 

18.  Unraveling Anne by Laurel Saville  Genre:  Autobiography, Memoir

Laurel Saville's mother Anne had been a bright star full of promise--parents who gave her everything, winning a beauty pageant, dating Marlon Brando and rubbing shoulders with people who would become famous artists, and having her dress designs featured in magazines and shops.  So why did she wind up becoming a vagrant and being murdered in the burnt out remains of her old house?  I'm not usually a big fan of memoirs or autobiographies.  However, this kept a good pace...and while some of the things described are disturbing, you aren't left with an "ick" feeling.

19.  I am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll  Genre:  Crime fiction, Drama that Details How One Event Affects the Lives of Many

Anna and Sarah are two teenage girls enjoying their first solo trip to London.  On board a train, they start flirting with two men recently released from prison.  Ella Longfield is also on the train and witnesses this.  She is concerned for the girls safety and considers calling their parents, but then she decides she is being an old fogey who is out of touch with today's youth.  The next day, she learns that Anna has disappeared.  When the press learns she is a witness, she is reviled by both the media and Anna's family as the person who stood by and did nothing.  A year later, Ella starts receiving threatening letters.  This book details how one event can affect the lives of many people, even complete strangers.  Ella is so wracked with guilt that she doesn't notice trouble in her own family.  Fissures that already existed in Anna's family deepen after her disappearance.  Anna's friend Sarah hasn't entirely been truthful about her last hours with Anna and fears being found out.  She fears her jealousy of Anna and her own dysfunctional family ties may have contributed to the tragedy.  This book is good at giving you suspects that you are certain are the culprits, but managing to keep the real suspect in the shadows.

20.  The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King  Genre:  Survivalist, Heroine Under 10

Trisha takes a breather to get away from the bickering between her recently divorced mother and her older brother on a family hike.  She decides to stray from the path just a little and finds herself horribly lost.  Despite her wits and ingenuity, will she ever survive and make it back to civilization?  Or will she fall victim to the thing that seems to be hunting her in the woods?  And is her benevolent companion that looks like her idol Tom Gordon merely a hallucination or a guardian angel?

21.  The Doll People Series by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin  Genre:  Fantasy, Children's Literature

Though this series was meant for ages 8-12 and grades 3-7, an adult can enjoy it too.  In fact, if you are a Toy Story fan, these books will be right up your alley.  When I was a child, I couldn't wait to read adult books.  Now as an adult, I find myself sometimes getting tired of the violence and dysfunction written about in adult fiction--and I find myself turning to books like this series that portrays the ideal childhood and innocence that seems so rare as to be mythical in our society.

There are four books in this series and one short story.  They are (in order):  The Doll People, The Meanest Doll in the World, The Runaway Dolls, The Doll People Set Sail, The Doll People's Christmas.  I didn't like the last book quite as well.  It was meant for an even younger audience, I think, and therefore didn't have much meat.  The series also changed illustrators by the fourth book.  The illustrator is the same person who illustrates the Series of Unfortunate Events, but I admit I don't like it quite as well.  Though his illustrations were appropriate for the SOUE series, they lack the innocent Fisher Price feel the first illustrator Brian Selznick gave it.

Anyway, the story revolves around a 100 year old dollhouse that has been kept in the same family for generations.  Unknown to the family, the dolls are alive.  Annabelle Doll, the little girl doll, is the main character.  In The Doll People, Annabelle meets the dollhouse family that belongs to her owner's (Kate) little sister Nora.  The Funcraft family are made of plastic and enjoy the messy, rambunctious games of Nora.  Tiffany Funcraft and Annabelle become friends and form a club to search for Annabelle's Aunt Sarah--who had went missing 45 years ago.  In The Meanest Doll in the World, Annabelle and Tiffany accidentally wind up going to school in Kate's backpack one day.  They decide to explore the school, but they find out later that they entered the wrong backpack when they wind up going to a different home.  There they meet Princess Mimi, a doll that terrorizes the dolls in her home.  When Tiffany and Annabelle ruin things for Mimi, she follows them back to their home for revenge.  The Runaway Dolls is about a mysterious package that comes from the old doll maker's shop that had made the Doll family 100 years ago.  When the Dolls were first made, Baby Betsy was accidentally included as part of their set.  She is still considered part of the family--even though she is the largest doll in the set.  The doll maker had realized his mistake and planned to send the right size doll, but the package fell behind a cabinet.  There is stayed for 100 years until discovered by the new owner.  Annabelle fears that the Palmer family will send the package back--and her little sister with it.  She decides to run away, and that leads her on another adventure that takes her through the city park, a department store, and a doll hospital.  Worse, it may reunite her with an old enemy.  The Doll People Set Sail is about the Palmer family renovating the second story of their house.  The children have to put their dollhouses in the attic.  Unfortunately, the dolls accidentally wind up in a donation pile that puts them on a boat heading for England.  While being loaded on the ship, a mistake by Tiffany results in three of the dolls being lost. This story was really nice in its character development of the two main characters Tiffany and Annabelle.  Annabelle, who has always been timid because she is easily breakable, finds new inner strength and even a sense of adventure that wasn't quite developed in the other books.  Tiffany, who was always adventurous, learns that even though she is indestructible, that doesn't mean she shouldn't be careful.  The Doll People Christmas seems to have been written before The Runaway Dolls, even though it had the second illustrator Brett Helquist.  I'm assuming that because it leaves out Tilly May, Annabelle's long lost sister.  This book is about Annabelle looking forward to Christmas and sharing it for the first time with the Funcrafts.  However, her Christmas is threatens to be ruined when the angel on top of the Doll Xmas tree is broken.

22.  What Remains True by Janis Thomas  Genre:  Drama

Five year old Jonah dies after being hit by a car.  He remains behind to watch his family grieve, wanting to help but not knowing what he can do.  This story is told be different perspectives for each chapter--the father, the mother, the sister, the aunt, Jonah's, the family's counselor, and even the family dog.  Each member of the family is not only grieving but feels guilty for what they believe was their contribution to Jonah's death.  Each member of the family had something going on that day that distracted them.  The counselor is trying to unravel their secrets, and Jonah is trying to help them before it is too late.

Though this story had a spirit, I didn't really consider it a supernatural book.  This book is about loss, the little stupid things we do that can hurt other people and cause unforeseen consequences, and forgiveness.  This is more a book for people who are into human behavior, as it deals more with how each character is reacting to the situation rather than having a plot twist.  Some people didn't like the dog's point of view, but I personally thought it was an interesting addition.  The only thing I did agree with the critics is that sometimes the narrative didn't seem appropriate for the ages of the younger children, but this wasn't a big problem for me.  For Jonah, particularly, he is allowed some sophistication because he is a ghost.

23.  Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin   Genre:  Teen, Dead Person Reflecting on Life, Book About Afterlife but Not Religious (though goes with Eastern philosophy)

Fifteen year old Liz Hall finds herself in Elsewhere after dying in a hit and run accident.  Elsewhere is a temporary residence for souls until they are ready to reincarnate.  In Elsewhere, you pick a fulfilling job rather than one that gives you money or fame.  In Elsewhere, a person ages backward from the time they die until they reach babyhood, and they are released to reincarnate...which can be a little awkward at times, as people come there expecting to see their mates or loved ones and finding them embarrassingly much younger, and some don't get to see them at all if they died young enough and have reincarnated already.

For Liz, she is having problems adapting because she can't let go of her old life and dreams.  She was looking forward to the freedoms of getting her license and going to college...and she doesn't want to age backwards and become a baby again.  She worries about her family.  She wants to go back, but she wants to go back to her life as it was--which is out of the question.  Meanwhile she struggles with the fact that the man who hit her and left her to die may actually be a good person with problems of his own.  Things start looking up when she falls in love, but then a complication arises when her love's wife comes to Elsewhere.


HONORABLE MENTIONS

These books would have made the above list if not for some horrible flaw that made me rate them slightly lower.  However, I still consider them worthwhile to read.  Most got docked points for having too abrupt of an ending.

1.  The Night Bird by Brian Freeman  Genre:  Mystery, Crime Fiction

Seemingly normal women who have everything to live for are suddenly going crazy and then killing themselves.  The victims don't seem to have anything in common, and yet the police suspect their deaths may be homicides.  Finally, a lead points at a psychiatrist who uses a controversial memory revision technique to help people overcome their phobias.  All the women had been her patients.  I liked this book for its interesting idea, and though it seemed to have an obvious suspect, it had a surprise ending.  However, the ending was rather abrupt and a bit confusing.

2.  The Gilded Cage: A Novel of Chicago by Judy Alter  Genre:  Historical Fiction

A fascinating book that deals with the history of Chicago and the people who turned it from a town with a bad smell to a city where the future was.  It introduces several famous characters, mainly Potter Palmer and Carter Harrison.  It covers several historical events like the Great Fire of 1871 and the Colombian World Exposition of 1893.  This is a work of fiction--and the author does a wonderful job of bringing the people to life.  It was fascinating to read about all the different issues of this time period--women's rights, immigration, worker's rights, prohibition, etc.  Aside from the abrupt ending, I also didn't understand why the author--who seemed to stay true to history in everything else--changed the name of the assassin.

3.  To Find a Mountain by Dan Ames (sometimes known as Dani Amore)  Genre:  Historical Fiction, Teenage Heroine

Benedetta has taken over her mother's household duties since her death.  One day, German forces seize her town.  Her father's house is established as a base.  While her father flees to the mountains to hide, Benedetta is forced to take on extra duties feeding the German soldiers.  She has to be careful, because if she gets in their bad graces, the Germans have warned they will massacre the village.  Some of the soldiers, who think the Italians are scum, would only be too happy to do that.  Meanwhile, despite all these hardships, Benedetta still falls in love...unfortunately with a boy her father warns her to stay away from.  This book was not as distressing as I expected it to be.  It was a good story, but it did have a slow section in the middle.  Just when I thought nothing was going to happen, stuff started happening...but this was towards the end of the book.