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Seventeen year old Marcelo has Aspergers (high functioning form of autism) though he doesn’t like to label himself that way but when asked does say that the closest diagnosis for his condition would be Aspergers. He’s lived a very happy life, going to an upscale private school for kids with learning or psychological difficulties. Here he is allowed to be himself, follow his interest and gently learn how to communicate with the “normals”[...]

An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor
Irish Country Doctor series, Book 4
Pages: 298 pages
First Published: January 5, 2010
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
“Run along, make your calls, and enjoy His Lordship’s hooley,” said Mrs. Maureen Kincaid, “Kinky” to her friends, as she knelt in the hall and sponged Ribena black-currant cordial from a [...]

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Pages: 306
First Published: Jan. 12, 2010
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
Momma left her red satin shoes in the middle of the road.
Reason for Reading: I love southern fiction with eccentric characters, then throw in mental illness to boot and you’ve so got a book I have [...]

Gone by Lisa McMann
Wake Trilogy, Book 3
Pages: 214
Ages: 15+
First Published: Feb. 9, 2010
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
It’s like she can’t breathe anymore, no matter what she does.
Reason for Reading: Next (and last) in the series.
Summary: Janie has been left with a decision to make about her future and concentrates on making that decision. However, a wrench is [...]

Defenders of the Scroll: History, Legend and Lore by Shiraz, illustrated by Steve Criado
Book 1
Pages: 317
Ages: 12+
First Published: June 29, 2009
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
In a different time, in a different place, Mornak ruled the realm of Mythos from the city of Aspiria.
Reason for Reading: The combination of members who joined the quest in this fantasy is [...]

The Dragon Book edited by Jack Dann & Gardner Dozois
Pages: 433 pgs.
Ages: 15+
First Published: Nov. 3, 2009
Rating: 4/5
Comments: This collection of 19 never previously unpublished short stories by mostly well-known authors is written for an “all ages” audience, meaning for adults but an acceptable cross-over for older teens. The book is entirely language and s*x [...]

Burn by Ted Dekker & Erin Healy
Pages: 368 +reader’s guide material
First Published: Jan. 12, 2010
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Salazar Sanso raised his binoculars and looked out over the edge of the steep drop into the rosy New Mexican desert.
Reason for Reading: I’ve become a fan of Dekker’s new mainstream thrillers and wanted to try one of [...]

My Word is My Bond, The Autobiography by Roger Moore, with Gareth Owen
Pages: 330 +index
First Published: Nov. 2008
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
For years, people have said to me ‘Write your book,’ and for years I said, ‘No, there are too many people I’d have to write about, and eve if they’re dead, what I might say [...]

Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale. Illustrated by Nathan Hale
sequel to Rapunzel’s Revenge
Pages: 144
Ages: 10+
First Published: Jan. 5, 2010
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
I think of myself as a criminal mastermind … with an unfortunate amount of bad luck.
Reason for Reading: Sequel to Rapunzel’s Revenge.
Summary: This is very much Jack’s story. Jack tells us of his childhood [...]