White Fang

White Fang by Jack London


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A great adventure story for all ages. The action takes place in the frozen Yukon and tells the story from the dog who is the only one left from her family. He has to find his way in a frozen environment which is filled with danger everywhere. The relationship between dogs and man and dogs and the environment is the essence of Jack London. No one does it better. The reader wants to grab a blanket or afghan while reading of the long trek in the subzero wilds of Alaska.

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Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
As a librarian, I introduced this book in our book club and a number of people read it. The consensus was that it was the scariest book they had ever read. Note that was "scariest" as opposed to "gross." To many horror novels today are overly concerned with gore and not with plot development. I think this is a classic because the suspense builds and builds while there is a pervading sense that the protagonists may not be able to survive. They have already lost one of their number and she was not a "disposable" character that the readers hadn't invested much in.

I homeschool my 7th grade grandson and had him read this book for Literature. We both enjoyed it and I was surprised at how much he learned from it. We studied the Gothic novel, Eastern European geography, living standards in Victorian times and a great vocabulary.

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Cherry Cheesecake Murder (A Hannah Swensen Mystery, #8)`

Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Like all of this series, this book is a good light weight murder mystery. It has the perquisite obnoxious murder victim, friend/suspect and several good recipes. I enjoy these however predictable. Hannah is an engaging sleuth and the various relationships between characters is good.

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