The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #17. Harry has a new partner. Her name is Lucia Soto and she is a 28-year old Mexican American who speaks Spanish and English. She has been on the police force for under five years, but the department decided to make some changes in assigning partners by putting together an experienced detective with a newbie. So Harry was assigned to Lucia "Lucy" Soto. She is my favorite partner of Harry's by far! She is intelligent and works as hard as Harry does. Finally, Harry doesn't have to do everything to keep the momentum going on their assigned cases. Harry is still working in the Open-Unsolved Unit. He only has one year left on his DROP contract, so his time is running out. His daughter, Maddie, is now 17 years old.

Harry and Lucy are assigned a unique case because the cold-case victim just died, ten years after the original event. Orlando Merced was a member of a mariachi band that was waiting for a job in a plaza when a seemingly random gunshot from across the plaza hit him, permanently paralyzing him. The bullet was still lodged near his spine at his death because it could not be surgically removed at the time of the shooting. Now that Merced was dead, the bullet could be removed. It was Harry's job to determine who the shooter was, hopefully by tracking down the gun used, now that they had access to the bullet.

As with everything that Harry has his hands in, nothing is as simply as it seems and everything is attached to a political figure. In addition to this, Lucy is investigating a unsolved case on the side (very Harry-like), which Harry discovers by accident. He agrees to help her. This case involves a fire that was set in the unlicensed daycare that Lucy had attended as a young child. Lucy survived the fire, but her friends and caregivers at the daycare did not. It was never determined how the fire started - or who may have started it. Harry figures out a way to get access to the case notes of the daycare fire by linking it to their current case. Only Harry.

Harry does what he needs to do to solve both cases, but he puts his job (and by association, Lucy's job) at risk. This book ends differently than I expected for sure! I am wondering what's next for Harry Bosch. The author usually jumps a number of years between books and with Harry only having one year left on his contract, I am anxious to see what's in store for Harry in the next book.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is book three of the Shatter Me trilogy. I absolutely loved it. Juliette has just been shot by Anderson, saved by Warner, and brought back to base by Warner. No one knows she is alive. Warner tells her that everyone from Omega Point is dead. They lost the battle and Anderson destroyed Omega Point. Obviously, Juliette is devastated. She wants Warner to show her so she can see it for herself. He agrees to take her to Omega Point after making a plan.

It wouldn't be much of a book if everyone associated with Omega Point had actually died of course. The main characters are still living and Juliette runs into Kenji when she's at Omega Point. Kenji's special power (being invisible) is incredibly helpful throughout these three books, by-the-way! Anyway, the survivors of Omega Point have re-assembled themselves back at Adam & James' initial home. Needless to say, it does NOT go over well when Juliette & Warner visit the old gang. We definitely see a different side to Adam. Adam detests Warner and shows his spitefulness with every word and every action. He is quite difficult to like - and it gets easier and easier to intensely dislike!

Because of his love for Juliette, Warner is willing to provide shelter for the survivors at his own base (so they have shelter and food), but this suggestion isn't well-received initially. It takes a lot of persuasion by Juliette (and honestly Kenji) for most of the survivors to agree to move to base, leaving behind Adam & James. My fondness for Kenji has grown exponentially since the beginning of this trilogy. He becomes Juliette's best friend and it's his loyalty to her that helps Juliette present Warner to the group as someone different than they all believed him to be. Everyone needs a best friend like that.

This is finally the part of the story when Juliette steps up to be the person she needs to be in order to take down The Reestablishment. She is the only one who can truly lead them to victory and take down Anderson. Warner gets her to understand that she needs to be strong physically as well and he starts training her in other ways. She has a lot better understanding of her own powers, as well as Adam's and Warner's - still the only two people that can touch her bare skin.

This story has an incredibly satisfying ending. The book is fast-paced and I read it in one day. There was no way I was putting it down!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

This is book two of the Shatter Me trilogy. It took me a minute to get back into the story since it had been a few months since I read Shatter Me. Once I familiarized myself with Juliette, Adam, and Kenji however, I was so engaged with the story that I read the entire book that day.

Juliette is living at Omega Point with the rest of the underground members who are fighting against The Reestablishment. This underground movement is led by Castle. Most of the people living there have special powers. Some, like Adam and Juliette, are still researching their powers to understand them better. Juliette is living with two healers, Sonya and Sara, but she hasn't made an effort to get to know them or anyone else living at Omega Point. She hasn't adapted to her new environment because she hasn't even tried to. She is still wrapped up in Adam, who can still touch her but seems to be hiding something from Juliette that he doesn't want to talk to her about.

Meanwhile, Juliette really starts to understand Kenji's role at Omega Point. He is one of the key people running Omega Point - and he is very close to Castle. Juliette's childishness (because after awhile, that's what it boils down to!) keeps pulling him away from his own responsibilities. When Kenji finally puts her in her place (a "come to Jesus" talk that was long overdue), I was incredibly satisfied. Once Juliette starts putting some effort into her training, she's allowed to leave Omega Point to help steal supplies with some other trusted members of the underground. She happens to see Warner and catches him doing something incredibly kind. This throws her for a loop.

Things get really interesting (and fast-paced) when Juliette meets Warner's father (Anderson) and ends up shooting him. Kenji makes the decision to take Warner hostage and they bring him back to Omega Point. Adam reveals something deeply personal about himself, which adds another element to everything happening. On top of all that, Juliette's relationship with Adam is strained (to say the least) and her relationship with Warner continues to develop. 

Castle makes the decision to engage in a battle against The Reestablishment (Anderson and his Army) even though Warner has told Juliette that it's a bad idea and they will lose. They do it anyways and Juliette ends up getting shot. I really loved this installment of this series.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Black Box by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #16. Harry is still working for the Open-Unsolved Unit and he still has the same partner as the last book, David Chu. Surprise! He is even seeing the same woman, Hannah, which is even a bigger surprise! Of course he has a new boss, Lieutenant O'Toole, who doesn't like Harry. No surprise there. Harry always seems to get on the bad side of the powers that be. Harry is working on the 20-year old unsolved murder case of a journalist and photographer, Anneke Jespersen, who was found shot to death in an alley during the 1992 riots in South Central California.

Anneke was a freelance Danish journalist from Copenhagen with no assigned newspaper office, so no one seemed to know what she was doing in California. Her brother thought she was following a story in the United States, but wasn't sure what it was. Harry eventually finds out that she was searching for some "war criminals". Harry finds the gun that was used to kill her but O'Toole wants Harry to move on to another case and as soon as Harry refuses, his job is in jeopardy (again). Harry is always racing against the clock.

Harry always seems to find a trail to follow - and always seems to find someone to help him get whatever information he needs to continue along the trail, which is what makes these books so entertaining. You have to admire a man who never gives up; who always speaks for the dead. 

Harry continues to grow as a partner (work and personal), a father, and really as an individual. It's refreshing that he is starting to have some self-awareness that his words and his actions affect other people in his life. I think Harry is finally growing up! As most stories in this series, the leads Harry follows move him forward in unexpected directions. Harry eventually finds the "black box" (think of the black box on an airplane) that exposes the truth about Anneke's murder.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

This book is considered Teen Fiction, but I think it was beautifully written and an engaging read for adults. First of all, adult women would have a deeper understanding of the story's message than a teenager would. I would guess that most adult women have had personal experiences of living in a male-dominated family/friend-group/work-team/community. I certainly have my share of experiences - along with the guilt I felt when trying to make choices about my own life. Trying to live my life with more autonomy.

Ultimately, this story is about women being held captive in a male-dominated society. The Grace Year refers to the year that a girl turns 16 years old. Each year, all girls who are 16 years old are taken on a two day journey into the woods and left in an encampment to fend for themselves for one year. They are considered "prey" to the poachers that roam the woods trying to capture them and skin them for their "hides" and body parts. The poachers turn in their victims for money, which in turn allows them to care for their families for another year. The poachers believe that the girls will curse them (which will result in the death of their families) if they are not killed, so they believe they are saving their own families. The girls are told they have to release their "magic" during this year so they can return to their community (and some, their new husbands) at the end of the year as purified women, free from their magic. If they don't return alive - or their body isn't returned - then a younger sister of the missing girl is sent to live in the outskirts of the community. Eventually these young girls will work as prostitutes.

Tierney James, preparing for her Grace Year, is already rejecting her role in the community. She never wants to be a wife. When/if she returns from her Grace Year, she plans to work hard labor in the fields rather than be someone's wife. Unfortunately, that option is taken from her when she is given a veil at the veiling ceremony before the girls (33 this Grace Year) are sent into the woods. It's very unexpected since she's not considered "wife material". It's her best childhood friend, Michael, who surprisingly gives her the veil. Tierney is very angry with him, since he knows how desperately she wants to be "free".

The girls in the encampment are their own worst enemy. It's frightening how they turn on each other. This story is frightening, fast-paced, engaging, mysterious, and full of both horror and hope. Yes, the ending is a bit ambiguous, but either way you interpret what happens, Tierney is the spearhead of the revolution, much like Katniss in the Hunger Games. I really loved it!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

Apparently this author has written 8 books, but this is the first I have read of hers. I have to say that I am impressed. This is a well-crafted story that had me second-guessing my first impressions of each character. There are a few different narrators (Camille, Aubrey, Hank, and Ben) and each of them has a story to tell from their perspective. We just never really know the life that someone else is living. I would be sympathetic to one person, and then suddenly understand why that one person felt the way they did because they didn't realize why the other person(s) made the decision(s) they did. People that I was suspicious of ended up being people that were trustworthy. This was written in a natural style that was completely believable - and not in a "gotcha" kind of way. We are each a product of our environment and the decisions we make, and the decisions we make are tied to our history and the decisions made by others.

Camille and Ben are married, but don't have any children. They are wealthy, thanks to Ben's law practice, and honestly, Camille's wealthy parents. It takes money to make money and all that. Camille resents how much time Ben spends working and Ben resents how much money Camille spends. Neither seems to trust the other. Ben tracks Camille's every move. Camille suspects that Ben is having an affair. Camille can't divorce Ben because of an iron-clad prenup, unless she can prove that he is having an affair - or has done something that is illegal.

Aubrey works at a bar and is wanting to reopen an investigation into what really happened the night her parents were tragically killed in a hit-and-run car accident that happened 10 years earlier. The man that was charged with driving the vehicle that night (Paul) has been writing Aubrey from prison, telling her that he is innocent, and wanting her to visit him in prison in light of some proof of his innocence that he recently became aware of. Aubrey lives with four other people, all who operate on a thin line between legal and illegal.

Hank is Ben's partner in his law firm. Hank is incredibly loyal to Ben and Camille. When Ben is found murdered in his home by Camille, he steps in immediately to protect Camille. Each person shares some truth with different people, but no one knows that full truth about anything. Each person makes decisions on what they know, but wondering about what they don't know. Like I said before, it's a well-crafted plot. It was a great read.

Wendy's Rating: *****

A Good Animal by Sara Mauer

In general, I love coming-of-age stories. This book was no exception, especially because I really loved the main character, 17-year old Everett Lindt. Everett lives with his parents, his younger brother, Jay (12) and his younger sister, Katie (7). They live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan outside Sault Ste. Marie. Everett's family lives on a sheep farm, where the Lindts have lived for generations. They breed "show lambs". They have 60 ewes and one ram and generally end up with roughly 60 surviving lambs each season. They sell the show lambs to other people (to show) and keep some for themselves to show. Everett trains his lamb to stand correctly and feeds it quality food to fatten it up, with the intention of winning the grand champion heavyweight plaque. If your sheep is chosen as grand champion, it will bring the best price (because it has the best cuts of meat). Having a Lindt lamb chosen as grand champion, or even reserve champion (2nd place), is good for the Lindt family and their reputation for sheep breeding as well. Unfortunately, the sheep show doesn't result in a win for Everett. His sheep actually wins 3rd place (which means nothing to him & his dad). The grand champion and reserve champion are two lambs owned by sisters, whose family decided to buy their lambs from a different state instead of from the Lindts. Their lambs are "leaner", meaning they will provide leaner cuts of meat. Everett tries to convince his dad that times are changing and that people want to buy leaner meat, not fatter meat (which presumably has more flavor). They have a stand-off about it and Everett decides he needs to buy his own ram and start breeding his own lambs.

Meanwhile, Everett falls for the new girl in town, Mary, who initially turns him down for even a date. Everett's best friend is Charlie and they have been best friends since they were 5 years old. Charlie's family owns a hog farm. Everett and Charlie do everything together. They fish, they work, they go to school together. This is the summer of change however. Charlie gets a girlfriend, which impacts his relationship with Everett. Everett learns some hard lessons about buying and owning his own sheep. He struggles with feelings he has (insecurities) about his own value in his family. (His parents got married young because they got pregnant with him. His dad makes comments like, "Don't make the same mistakes I did", which results in Everett feeling like a "mistake".) He struggles with supporting his little sister as she learns that the lamb she bottle-fed, raised and loves will be sold for slaughter. He does end up in a relationship with Mary and has to learn how to navigate the complexities of loving a girl who can't wait to leave Sault Ste. Marie while his future is sheep farming, which is deeply embedded in his soul.

Everett makes mistakes, learns to stand up for himself, loves deeply, and always tries to do the right thing, even if it's not what he wants. He warmed my heart.

Wendy's Rating: *****