A well-written, painful to read book, With or Without You describes the author's horrific childhood with a verbally abusive, drug addicted mother, who somehow manages to provide her with a good education and the means to both ruin her own life and rescue herself. I can't say I liked the book, because it was hard to read about a child having to endure what she went through, from being raped by her "uncle" to the mortification of seeing her home through a friend's eyes. However, I wouldn't say I don't like it either. Ruta's writing makes the story compelling and beautiful, despite all of its awful, depressing details.

The Mark Inside promises a fascinating account of con artistry in America, but I think fascinating was a bit of an exaggeration. I enjoyed the story of the swindling of Frank Norfleet and his quest for revenge on the perpetrators, but got confused and bogged down by much of the history of the stock market, railroad speculation and other financial stuff. I had to work hard to finish the book and I don't think it was just the end of the school year that made me keep falling asleep while reading. As another reviewer said, this would have made a good magazine article or (much) shorter book.

I wasn't sure I liked 15 Seconds at first. It seemed like every other innocent victim story I have read. But the addition of the story of the real killer and his family, as well as the accused man's sense that he was similar to Harrison Ford in The Fugitive, along with the compelling background of the one person who believes him combined to make this an original and engrossing tale. I was about 2/3 through when I picked it up after work at around 5pm, and I couldn't put it down for the next 2 1/2 hours, until I finished. I didn't even remember to eat dinner!

The Winter Palace tells the story of the rise of Catherine the Great from charity bride to Empress through the eyes of her friend and "tongue," (spy) Varavara. There are nice parallels between the young princess and the narrator in that both are foreigners in Russia without parents or anyone else to look out for them. The characters are engaging and not always what is expected and the story moves along quickly. Fans of Phillipa Gregory will enjoy similar insights into the workings of the court and the monarchy. If you like historical fiction and glittering European court stories, this book is for you.

I loved this book! It drew me into its world from the beginning and has not let me go, even though I am finished. I feel like starting again at the beginning, just to remain in the world of the circus. Morgenstern has created a feast for the senses in her characters and their story. The two ongoing plotlines are not parallel and cause the reader to have to make jumps back and forth in time. (Keep track of the dates at the beginning of each chapter!) But even though it is confusing at first, it makes perfect sense overall. The insertion of descriptions of individual circus tents and acts told from the point of view of the reader help to make you feel as if you are visiting the Night Circus as well.

At one point in this novel, the protagonist, Lily, turns to a friend and asks, "Am I needy?" He responds that "if you have to ask..." Well this book made me feel like I was that friend, uncomfortable in answering a question that is obvious to everyone else. Lily has plenty of reasons to be needy. She has just lost her mother, her boyfriend and her confidence in her father. She believes that living in a Jane Austen Novel and imagining Jane as her mentor, friend and confidant will help her come to grips with her life. It should have been a fun read, but I just got tired of dealing with her. The book has a plot full of exciting happenings and kept me reading despite my disdain for our heroine. But if you are a Jane Austen fan, I think there are better books for your book club to find.

"Snowdrops" started out as an exciting read, with lots of mystery and interesting characters. I couldn't put it down, but then I did. About two thirds of the way through I got tired of the hints about how the main character hadn't done anything particularly bad...yet and just wanted to know what he was going to do. But not badly enough to finish. So by the time I finally did finish the book, I found the ending to be very unsatisfying. It was actually a fine ending, but I just didn't feel it lived up to my expectations.

Juliet was an exciting read from the beginning. Each time the action shifted from present day to 1340 or back, I was disappointed at leaving the story I was engrossed in, but within a page was just as lost in the other story. Ms Fortier takes the well-known elements of Romeo and Juliet and weaves them into an entirely new tale that keeps the reader guessing and wanting more and even manages a surprising ending!

Daughters of the Witching Hill is a fascinating look at an actual witch trial in England. Real facts from trial transcripts and histories are mixed with imagined thoughts and conversations of the main characters. Even the spirits that visit the "witches" seem realistic and believable. I would recommend it for book clubs as there is much to discuss. The author draws the reader in right from the beginning and keeps your interest until the unavoidable and tragic ending.

A Girl Made of Dust was a very engaging story that kept me interested and wondering what was going to happen. The problem was that it sometimes also had me wondering what was happening! I am not familiar with the setting and had to ask my History Teacher husband to explain what was going on. Once I learned a little more about Israel and Lebanon in 1981-1982 I could follow the plot more easily. I wish the book had an introduction that contained some of this information. However, I very much enjoyed reading it and would recommend it as a book that gives insight into what it feels like to live in a war ravaged country. Book groups would find much to think about and discuss.

I really had to work to force myself to finish this book. It had some interesting and exciting parts, but overall, I was not engaged in the story. I did not find any of the characters likable and was not satisfied with the ending.

If you liked "Like Water for Chocolate" and "The DaVinci Code," you'll like this book. The descriptions of food are sumptuous and the characters are, for the most part, likable and interesting. I enjoyed the story and thought that a book club would find much to discuss. The anti-Christian parts might turn some people off, but it doesn't claim to be non-fiction, so you can just use the "heretical" ideas as something to talk about. And for the non-Christian, some of the explanations are pretty intriguing.