83. Peak by Roland Smith

Peak was a book that Amazon.com had listed on my recommendations. It's book like this that make me pay attention when Amazon makes recommendations. All right, many of the books they recommend are crap and have no correlation to me or my taste in books; but Peak was a happy surprise. The story is told as an essay written by fourteen-year-old Peak Marcello for an assignment by his English teacher. It begins with him being caught at the top of a skyscraper he had just scaled and spray painted. So Peak is in trouble facing three + years in juvenile lockdown. Along comes his father who he hasn't seen for seen years and who comes up with a compromise that will satisfy the court and the media and keep Peak out of jail. They travel to Thailand but make a surprise stop in Kathmandu. Peak's father, Josh, owns a mountain climbing guide service and he plans to make Peak the youngest boy ever to scale Everest. I'm not terribly interested in mountain climbing, but this book held my interest from the get-go. Peak is a pretty amazing young teen in his climbing abilities, his tender feeling for his twin half-sisters; and his sensitivity to others. He is also pretty normal in that he has a hard time curbing his temper, gets impatient and jealous. Reading about the thrills and dangers of climbing Everest through Peak's eyes was a great experience and definitely the closest I'll ever get to that mountain. This was a fantastic young adult book that I heartily recommend.

Rating: 4.75

82. Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck

I borrowed this book from Booklogged because she gave it a pretty good review and I usually agree with her taste in books. This one was a bit of a disappointment to me though. It's the story of a young woman, Meg, with everything going for her when her life falls apart. She travels to the Caribbean island of Nevia to decide what to do with Eden, a plantation left to her by her recently deceased parents. The story than switches between Meg's present-day story and that of Catherine, the young lady of Eden who lived in the 1830's. I enjoyed the descriptions of the island, and was horrified as always by the ghastly treatment of the slaves; but, with the exception of Catherine, I didn't really find myself involved with any of the characters. There's a bit of a ghost story, a bit of a romance, a bit of a historical mystery, a bit of embezzlement, etc, etc. Some of the story lines are wrapped up, not always satisfactorily; and some never did come to completion. On top of all that, I found the ending to be flat and anti-climatic. The cover is wonderful and ties into the story, but this was part of the unsatisfactory ending. I guess the book just never quite captivated me which explains why it took me a week to read it. Rating: 3.5

81. Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

This is the second Kinsella book that I've read. (I actually listened to to the first one.) Secret is every bit as funny even without the British accent reading it to me. True, there is too much profanity. True, the heroine comes off too ditsy for words and you can't understand why guys are attracted to her. Of course, it's told in the first person and she doesn't really brag about her looks other than to say she weighs too much and lies about it. That's the whole premise for this book. Emma always tries to tell people what they want to hear to make herself look better so she is keeping a bunch of secrets. That she is able to keep up with all these lies is pretty amazing. On a plane trip home from Scotland, she's had too much to drink and the plane hits turbulence sending Emma into a panic. She turns to her seatmate and spills all her secrets. Naturally, that man turns up in her life all too soon and the results are so hilarious. It's a light and fluffy book, very fun to read. I think Kinsella has a way of capturing the female psychic in a way that makes us relate without feeling too much pain. We all need to laugh at ourselves. If it wasn't for the profanity and sexual innuendos, I would read a lot more of Kinsella's books; but probably won't. We'll see. Rating: 4

80. Life Support by Tess Gerritsen

First of all, I want to say that this cover has nothing to do with the story in this book. Well, maybe the main character takes a shower but it's a sentence, not a major plot line. Very annoying. Since I got that off my chest, I'll go on to my next problem with this book. It probably wouldn't haven't been a problem if I hadn't just read another Gerritsen book. I decided that there is a kind of formula to Gerritsen's books: smart, attractive female doctor discovers sinister goings on and starts to investigate. The male doctors who are usually in powerful positions are violating all kinds of ethics in their efforts to make more and more money. They take exception to the lady doctor's interference and her reputation is sudenly in question and her life is in peril. The good female doctor triumphs and the bad guys are caught or killed. This whole formula thing could be very off-putting except for the fact that Gerritsen writes such a gripping and tight medical thriller that you're drawn in in spite of the fact that you know how it will end. There's all that medical jargon and hospital drama. Very captivating. Maybe it's because doctors seem so godlike and we really want to trust someone who holds our lives in their hands. So there is a great deal of suspense involved with reading about doctors gone bad. This book deals with a procedure that helps the elderly regain their youth, but of course ethics are massacred along with some folks who come to pretty ghastly ends. Another gripe: a romance develops in this book amidst all that jeopardy and I had a hard time buying into that. It happens too fast. Even so, I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the others I have on the shelf. I'll wait a while so it won't seem quite so formulaic to me. I know I would have liked this one much better if I had waited a few months. Rating: 3.75

79. Harvest by Tess Gerritsen

I was under the impression that this book was part of the Jane Rizolli series, but she is not where to be found. Which is all right, because Harvest is a great stand-along medical thriller. Abby DiMatteo is a resident in Bayside Hospital's surgery program. Her life is going great; she impresses the chief of surgery with her skills and intelligence and she has moved in with a handsome and talented surgeon who is a member of the presitgious transplant team. When she is asked to join that team, her dreams are complete. However, things are not quite what they seem (are they ever?) and Abby finds her life falling apart just when she thought she had it made. Unwilling to accept the status quo, she delves into unanswered questions and puts her life in jeopardy. The whole issue of cash for organs come into play as Abby and Detective Katzka of the homocide sqaud investigate the unknown origins of donated organs as well as some suspicious deaths. As the other Gerritsen books I've read, Harvest captivates you from the beginning. It is a well-written thriller that is sure to keep you awake to the final page. Rating: 4.25

78. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Book Around the States Challenge

South Dakota

I bought a full set of the Little House on the Prairie books back when I was still in high school. I'm ashamed to say they have sat on the shelf ever since. Maybe my daughter read them, but I never did. The books would be in pristine condition if the pages weren't so yellowed. Luckily, this is one of the few books I can find that is set in South Dakota. So I finally read one of the books, not even the first one. It took me two tries to even get started. It didn't grab my attention so I set it aside looking for another South Dakota book. There were just biographies of Laura Ingalls Wilder and it seemed silly to pass up basically the same thing that I already owned. So I gave the Ingalls family one more try. And I'm glad I did. The description of the vast prairies without a tree in sight (How did they stand it?) were so vivid. I finished the book with an even greater appreciation for those pioneers who braved the dangers and discomfort of moving west, not just Indians (The only one in this story helps the Ingalls immensely) but wolves, shady men, mosquitos, rough railroad workers, and the cold, cold blizzardous conditions of winter. The black and white illustrations just added to the charm. I'm thinking I may do this challenge again in a couple of years and read the whole set. There's at least four states involved in those eight books.

Rating: 4

77. Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

I bought this book for obvious reasons --- I liked the name. May I say it really lived up to my expectations? Framed is a delightful and funny book that is entertaining for kids, who will enjoy the madcap adventures; and adults who will enjoy the sometimes tongue-in-cheek humor.

Dylan is nine-years-old and the only boy in his school in the small town of Manod, Wales. His family owns and runs a gas station but it's failing. The whole town is painted in shades of gray and the inhabitants seem to match. Due to a flood, the National Gallery in London moves all its painting to the abaondoned quarry at the top of the local mountain; and Dylan strikes up a friendship with the caretaker. Even though the friendship is based on false assumptions, Dylan is able to take his mom and various neighbors up the mountain at different times to see paintings before they are shipped back to London. The reactions to these different paintings change the people's attitudes and the face of the small town. Dylan is such a great character who, everytime he opens his mouth, seems to insert a foot. Not that he realizes the significance of the things he says, but the consequences are hilarious. He has an older sister, Marie, who is obsessed with her looks but can also fix almost anything. His younger sister, Minnie, is a genius and wants to carry out the perfect crime. There are so many things going on in this small town and with this unusual family that you just have to read the book to sort it all out.

Rating: 4.75

76. Wedding Ring by Emilie Richards

Challenges

Book Around the States - Virginia

From the Back cover:

"Needing time to contemplate her troubled marriage, Tessa MacRae agrees to spend the summer helping her mother and grandmother clean out the family home in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. But the three women have never been close. Helen, the family matriarch, is domineering and sharp-tongued. Nancy, Tessa's mother, appears to be little more than a social climber. And Tessa herself is in turmoil following a family tragedy that has affected them all. Now, with the gift of time, Tessa's eyes are opened, and she begins to see her mother and grandmother for the flawed but courageous women they are. As she restores a vintage wedding-ring quilt pieced by her grandmother and quilted by her mother, the secrets that have shadowed their lives unfold at last. And each woman discovers that sometimes you have to clean house to find the things you thought were lost forever."

I was surprised that I actually quite liked this book. I've always wanted to visit the Shenandoah Valley and enjoyed the descriptions in this book. The three women are always interesting if not always likeable. There were some fun moments and a few surprises. The romance bits would have been better for me without the sex scenes, but at least these were quite few and restrained. The ending was very predictable but it was fun getting there.

Rating: 4

75. A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor (Audio)

"An extraordinary American comes to life in this vivid, incisive portrait of the early days of the republic—and the birth of modern politics hen the roar of the Revolution had finally died down, a new generation of American politicians was summoned to the Potomac to assemble the nation’s newly minted capital. Into that unsteady atmosphere which would soon enough erupt into another conflict with Britain in 1812, Dolley Madison arrived, alongside her husband James. Within a few years, she had mastered both the social and political intricacies of the city, and, by her death in 1849, was the most celebrated person in Washington. And yet, to most Americans, she’s best known for saving a portrait from the burning White House, or as the namesake for a line of ice cream.Why did the Americans of her time give so much adulation to a lady so little known today?

In A Perfect Union, Catherine Allgor reveals that while Dolley’s gender prevented her from openly playing politics, those very constraints of womanhood allowed her to construct an American democratic ruling style, and to achieve her husband’s political goals. And the way that she did so—by emphasizing cooperation over coercion, building bridges instead of bunkers—has left us with not only an important story about our past but a model for a modern form of politics."

My mother and I listened to this audio book when we traveled to Salt Lake City. It is filled with great historical information about the time leading up to James Madison's presidency, the eight years spent in Washington, the War of 1812, and then the Madison's retired life. I'm not too sure that Allgor doesn't idealize Dolley a bit too much, crediting her with changing the very course of American politics. Even so I enjoyed learning more about the political structure of that era, how Dolley decorated the White House before its destruction and the famous story of how she saved George Washington's portrait. She really was a fascinating person. Having said all that, I have to admit that this was not the most gripping tale to listen to on a long trip. I would advise reading it or listening to it in small tidbits as I did with the last disc. Plus, I feel like she skated through the last years of Mrs. Madison's life while presenting a huge amount of details of her life in Washington. On the reverse side, James is kind of overlooked during the presidential years but more is said of him after his term ends. I think I would like to read a book about Dolley that maybe I could pay better attention to.

Rating: 3.5

74. Charleston by Alexandra Ripley

Book Around the States Challenge

South Carolina

I had a hard time getting myself to read this book. My copy doesn't look this one, it looks like a potential bodice-ripper romance, so I was leary. Fortunately, the book deals with a great deal more than romance. It is 549 pages after all. Charleston begins in the waning years of the Civil War and moves through 1898. That's a lot of ground to cover, but I think Ripley did an outstanding job portraying this Southern city and it reaction to all the changes it had to go through during this time, including Reconstruction, freeing the slaves, a tycoon, and a massive earthquake. I found the history to be quite compelling and was glad to be able to learn more about this place and its culture. And, apparently, Charleston has a culture quite different from any other place on earth. The story mostly follows two main characters Pinkney Tradd and his little sister, Lizzie. Pinkney is a bit too good to be true. But then, so is Lizzie. While I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book, I couldn't quite get caught up in Pinkney's and Lizzie's lives. I just couldn't really identify with them. Since the Tradds belong to the upper class society of Charleston, even when they are on the verge of poverty, I was able to read about how their lives followed the old Southern chivalry and rigid sets of rules and manners. Sometimes, the ability they had to overcome adversity and maintain a certain civility was admirable; but I got tired of a general sense of superiority and pride exhibited by many of these people. I don't regret the time I spent on this book because much of it had value, but I won't be reading it again.

Rating: 3

70 - 73. The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert

I've had the first three of these books for such a long time. When my sister bought the fourth, I decided it was time to read them. At first, I was a bit put off, thinking they were a little too precious and sweet; but I found myself enjoying the books immensely. I like how the author included actual history about Beatrix Potter and her love for animals shines through. The animals of the village of Sawrey are important characters in these books and I really started to look forward to seeing them again and again. As in her China Bayles series, Albert creates memorable and fun characters that are such a pleasure to read about. I plan on reading the next two that are out or almost out and see from The Cottage Tales website that two more are planned. Here's a brief synopsis of each book from that site:

The Tale of Hill Top Farm (2004) —The Tale of Hill Top Farm tells how Beatrix Potter acquired her farm in the tiny hamlet of Near Sawrey, and how her farm began to change her life.

The Tale of Holly How (2005) —A shepherd falls from a cliff, his sheep have gone missing, and Tabitha Twitchet, Crumpet, and Rascal, want to know how, why, and who. Add to this the mysteries at Tidmarsh Manor and Bosworth Badger's Brockery on Holly How, and Miss Potter has her hands full.

The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (2006) —Rats, cats, fairies, and a lady with a mysterious past. Is she a witch, or just out to cause trouble in the Land between the Lakes? Beatrix discovers all the answers.

The Tale of Hawthorn House (2007) —A foundling baby, gypsies camped in the meadow, a fox on the loose, and a nest of unhatched eggs. Miss Potter has another flock of mysteries to solve!

They may be a touch on the fluffy side, but absolutely delightful, fun and easy to read.

Rating: 4.25

69. Nation by Terry Pratchett (Audio)

It was a struggle but I finally figured out how to download a book to my new Walkman. It was the perfect time to listen to Nation while I put my new Adirondack chairs together. Except for the fact that the sound of the drill drowned out some of the action, but I think I followed everything pretty well. Ermintrude is on a ship to meet her father where he is the governor on some out-of-the-way island. She is glad to be away from her domineering grandmother who believes she must behave as one who is 139 places away from the throne of England. Who would have believed that the plague would hit the country and wipe out 137 of the top royals, leaving Ermintrude's father as the next king. She doesn't know any of this when her ship is hit by a tidal wave and heaved onto a unknown tropical island, leaving only Ermintrude.

Mau is canoeing back to his island after performing his manhood tasks and looking forward to the rites that will make him officially a man when the wave hits. He survives only to find that everyone in his Nation has been killed by the wave. He finds Ermintrude who intorduces herself as Daphne (smart choice) and they begin to learn to communicate. Soon other refugees make their way to the island, and Mau makes himself responsible for them.

This is a great coming-of-age story of the two teenagers, but also a tongue-in-cheek look at politics, religion, customs and even race. The humor is not as laugh-out-loud as in the Discworld books, but definitely still there. The story of Mau trying to milk a nursing pig to get milk for an infant was hilarious. As always, Pratchett fills his book with great characters and interesting situations. And as always, I enjoyed this book. I wished I had paid a little better attention to the audio because I'm sure I missed some of the story. I may just have to listen again.

Rating: 4.25

68. Silence is Golden by Penny Warner

Somehow I got the impression that this book was set in Nevada. I thought Amazon was never wrong. Unfortunately, the book is set in the Sierra-Nevada Mountains in California. So I'm now trying to find another book to read for my Book Around the States challenge that is set in Nevada. Rats.

Silence is Golden is part of a series involving Connor Westphal, a deaf journalist who also has the knack of getting herself dangerously involved in crimes. She lives in the small town of Flat Skunk with an assortment of eccentric characters. I wondered how such a small town provided a livelihood for Connor's boyfriend who is a private detective. Dan does seem to be the sheriff's right-hand man but I don't know how that pays. The book begins with the discovery of gold on a local hill and suddenly the town is crawling with tourists. Then people start turning up dead. I didn't really have a clue who the murderer was until the end but it made sense. I've never read a book from the perspective of a person who can't hear and that aspect of the story was very well-done and very enlightening. However, the rest of the story was just so-so for me. I hope when I actually find a book set in Nevada, it will suit me better.

Rating: 3

67. A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

Challenges

Book Around the States

Maryland

Barnaby Gaitlin is almost thirty, has a no-future job, divorced with a daughter he visits weekly, no love life, a disappointment to his family and himself. Because of his delinquent youth, his mother is on his case continually about the money spent bailing him out. The time he spends with her really set my teeth on edge. How can a mother treat her son that way. Because, in spite of everything, Barnaby is a kind, caring person and a very valued employee at Rent-a-Back, a company that provides a service mostly for older people doing things that they can no longer do. In an effort to improve himself, Barnaby begins a relationship with Sophia who represents stability to him and his family. In the end, he realizes that he has to live his life for himself and do the things that make him happy.

At first I really disliked Barnaby. He had no ambition, his thought processes were odd and sometimes creepy, he was at time a wimp and other times, rude; and he couldn't even remember how old his daughter was. But he grew on me as he begins to value his relationship with his daughter more and to learn to like himself better. I especially liked how Tyler portrays the older people in this story. She certainly doesn't sugar-coat age and its problems, but these people still have dignity and feelings. The best parts are Barnaby's interactions with his clients. The book started out very slowly but my interest increased as I read and I ended up liking it.

Rating: 4

66. Whiteout by Ken Follett

"This book is a bio-thriller taking place over a wintry Christmas holiday in northern Scotland and well larded with family drama. Toni Gallo is the driven head of security for Oxenford Medical (aka the Kremlin), a research facility working on a cure for Madoba-2, an especially virulent strain of Ebola. She also has a running feud with her ex, a local cop, and is pestered by the attentions of newsman Carl. But she really wants to be with her widower boss, Stanley, whose daughter Olga's husband, Hugo, is paying unwelcome attention to his sister-in-law, Miranda, herself in uneasy love with a milquetoast boyfriend, Ned, whose daughter, Sophie, is the object of young Craig's budding affections. It is not until midnight on Christmas Eve that all this soap is rinsed away, and the plot kicks into high gear, as a band of desperate, violent thieves, led by Stanley's wastrel son, Kit, lay siege to the well-defended Kremlin in the midst of a terrible blizzard. Predictably, things go suddenly, frightfully wrong. From here on out, Follett's sure hand at the controls of a high-octane plot delivers the expected thrills in expected ways."

David WrightCopyright © American Library Association.

I found this thriller pretty good up to the point about a third of the way when Follett throes in a really crude sexual line. A few pages later, he does it again. I almost quit, they were so sleazy and unnecessary, but decided to see if those were just anomalies. With the exception of a couple of teenagers fooling around, a bit that really had something to do with the plot and was written much better, Follett played it pretty straight until the very end when he decides to throw in a whole paragraph of ick. Actually this was not a bad story for its genre, but I was appalled at these few instances of smut. The worse part was that they were just stupid, had nothing to do with the story, and almost seemed to be written by someone else. I don't know if this is Follett's way of making the story more sexy (didn't work) or what. Anyway, I took a full point off my rating for the really dumb sexual nonsense.

Rating: 2.5

65. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

I hope my grandson loves to read when he is old enough to tackle this book. It was such a fun fantasy. The characters are wonderful from the skinny, always eating Number Two to tiny Constance Contraire to evil Mr. Curtain; I enjoyed them all. Maybe it's a little too black and white between the good guys and the bad but it fits well with this story. Mr. Curtain has hatched an evil plot to take over the world through subliminal messages. Mr. Benedict knows the only way to thwart him is with children so he tests children all over the city to find a team that will be able to infiltrate Curtain's stronghold. The four children: heroic but average-looking Reynie; skinny, fearful and bald Sticky (George) Washington; athletic Kate Weathers; and tiny and stubborn, obstinate and cranky Constance combine their talents to become the tools Mr. Benedict will use to save the world. There is so much humor in this book along with a few subtle self-esteem building lessons. And the suspense was just right. I can't wait to read the sequel. Rating: 5

64. Death Dance by Linda Fairstein (audio)

I had training in Provo yesteday so this Book-on-CD was my choice to keep me awake on the trip out and back. I really struggled driving out Tuesday so maybe the story just wasn't quite gripping enough. Assistant D.A. Alex Cooper specializes in sex crimes and the book begins with one; but the real mystery involves a murder at the Met that her colleague, Mike Chapman, a homocide detective, enlists her help on. (Sorry about that run-on sentence) The sex crime involves a Turkish doctor who drugs and then has sex with his unconscious victims. The case seems pretty cut and dried to me but the judge is quite the Neanderthal. I found his crude and sexist remarks quite unbelievable for a New York judge in this era. Maybe twenty years ago, judges viewed rape victims as asking for it, but do they still? The main mystery involved the murder of a prima donna ballerina who is thrown down an air shaft at the Met. We are introduced to some shady characters who are rich and powerful in the theatre scene. My real problem is that there are not very many clues that lead you to the actual murderer. But there is a good rescue scene and the descriptions of some of New York's theaters. Rating: 3.5

62. Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack

I have read other books by Josi Kilpack and have enjoyed them a great deal. She writes with a great deal of humor and insight into her characters. Lemon Tart is her first mystery and is part of a series of culinary mysteries. I know there are a lot of mystery series out there that include food and recipes and I've enjoyed them all. What I really like about this book is the heroine, Sadie Hoffmiller. She is a fifty-six year old widow, a little padded in the hips and doesn't always look perfect. She also is caring. generous, loves to cook and is the quintessential busybody. So when a neighbor is murdered, Sadie just can't stay out of the investigation. The results are often hilarious, sometimes sad, scary and unexpected. I really liked this book and the recipes look pretty good too. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a cook. Still I look forward to the next Sadie mystery.

Rating: 4.5

61. The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks

Challenges

Book Around the States

Tennessee

I guess it would be unrealistic to read a book from each state and not get one that deals with the Civil War. This is the story of Carrie McGavock and her attempts to make some sense from the battle that took place near her home. The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee is considered to be the bloodiest in history. 9600 men died within the space of five hours. It also created such a crushing blow for the Confederacy that the war ended at Appotomax just four months later. While the book includes details of that horrific battle, mostly it tells a fictionalized version of the hospital that was set up at Carrie's home and her efforts to take care of so many dying men. Two years after the war ended, she learns that a neighbor plans to plow up his field where fifteen hundred corpses are lightly buried. She gets permission, and with the help of many of the townspeople, the dead were dug up and reburied in a cemetery next to her house. Those are the facts. The rest of this pretty long book creates characters to suppose what could have happened to Carrie, her family, and some of those soldiers. I'm not sure if there is any basis for the relationship that develops between her and one of the amputees, but it seemed a little far-fetched to me. It was an interesting and very moving story, especially about the family who visits their son's grave many years later. Even so, I had a hard time getting through the whole thing. Hicks writing was beautiful and the historical was nicely blended into the fiction. I think I just had a hard time liking most of the characters including Carrie McGavock. Plus I'm not really a Civil War buff.

Rating: 3.75

60. If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern (Audio)

From the back cover: ~~"Everything in Elizabeth Egan's life has its place, from the espresso cups in her gleaming kitchen to the swatches and paint pots of her interior-design business. Order and precision keep life under control--and keep Elizabeth's heart safe from the pain and hurt she has suffered in the past. Being a reluctant mother to her six-year-old nephew while trying to keep her design business on tract is a full-time job for Elizabeth, and one that leaves little room for error--or fun. Until one day, when Ivan unexpectedly comes into their lives. The mysterious Ivan is carefree, spontaneous, and always looking for adventure--everything that Elizabeth is not. Yet just when Elizabeth is starting to trust him, it turns out that Ivan isn't at all who she thought he was. ~~Playful and at times intensely moving, this is a novel about how seeing isn't always believing. Full of Cecelia Ahern's trademark warmth and poignancy, If You Could See Me Now is a story of enormous heart--and just a little magic." ~~This book is a little bit romance, a little bit fantasy, with some psycho analysis thrown in. I'm not sure if I would have finished the book if I had read it. There was a point about half-way in the second disc that I became impatient with the somewhat heavy-handed messages that seemed imbedded into the story. I found Elizabeth to be humorless and mean-spirited and Ivan a bit fey. But I was on my way to Provo and I needed the book to keep me awake which it barely did. And I love the Irish accents of the two narrators. Plus I was quite concerned for the fate of Luke, the nephew, who seemed to be at the mercy of uncaring adults. Luckily, the book picks up and I began to enjoy it and to like Ivan and Elizabeth much better. I was kind of sorry to have it end. The ending itself was happy/sad which was perfect for this story. Because the audio was an abridgement, I wonder about the parts that were left out; but I can live with that. I recommend the audio with the male and female narrators and background music. I would gladly listened to more of Ahern's books--I may even read one. Rating: 4