Erin is in the sixth grade. She has do decide whether or not to be adopted by her stepfather and change her last name or keep her biological father's last name. She also has to decide which guy to chase after! A smart and funny guy, Ryan? Or, the popular Jock, Richard? Find out if she accepts a dare from Kim, the most popular girl in school. Does peer pressure effect her decision?

Erin Mitchell has to make a lot of choices;Should she choose Truth or Dare? Who does she like more, Ryan Williams, or Richard Frazier? And does she want to make her mom and stepfather happy by changing her name to match her family's? Although her mom won't let her wear eyeshadow, she'll let her make a possible life changing decision. Told in the eyes of an eleven year old girl, this book will really make you wonder what's in name like you never did before.

Now HERE is a unique book. It is different than several others of it's kind. Although I'm not into mysteries, this one was great. I love the romance part of it. I think that stories where they are forced into marriage without love are interesting because they learn to love.

Oriel Banning is a paid companion to spoiled American debutante Neecy McPhail. As they travel shipboard to England to meet Neecy's fiance, Oriel has a fateful encounter with tycoon Morgan Drummond, also on his way to meet his fiance. Once they arrive in England, Oriel suddenly finds that her services are no longer needed as soon as Neecy's wedding is over. Alone with no family, friends, or money, Oriel starts trying to find work so that she can afford to return to America. Again encountering Drummond, he proposes a plan that will be of mutual benefit to both of them. Financially unable to turn down his offer, Oriel accepts his plan, which includes a year-long stay at his ancestral castle in Ireland. Once there, it becomes extremely obvious that someone is trying to frighten and maybe even kill Oriel. Is it the unfriendly housekeeper Mrs. Nesbit? Or perhaps her maid Molly, who loves to indulge in the village gossip? It could even be the ghost of Shaleen O'Connor itself, coming back to haunt the castle and rid it of its present occupants. As Oriel struggles with the frightening reality that someone does not want her around, Morgan becomes more and more distant and unfriendly. Even Oriel's new friends, the Wicklows and poet Bryan Moore, no longer seem as friendly as they were. Although Oriel realizes that someone is trying to scare her away, she knows that she must stay in Ireland because she has made a perilous bargain. This book is a must-read for people who like mysteries and stories of faith that carries one through difficult times.

I loved the book because what hapened to her brother almost hapened to mine (but it didnt) and I am thankful for it.It is an easy book great for all ages.You WON'T want to put it down.

This is a book about a girl who gets adopted because her new mother couldn't have a baby at the time. Now she is pregnant and is going to have four babies.To find out what happens in rest of the story you're going to have to read it.

I love this book. It is really creative even the characters, they seem so real. At the beginning of the book you have no idea why they call it Pick of the Litter, but you're soon to find out.

Not as good--or as long--as her Verdi, Phillips-Matz's new bio of Puccini is solid and competent. She is at her best with scenery, at her weakest with the music. Though this biography will not soon replace Mosco Carner, it's worth the purchase price and the reader's time.

Having sung in "Tosca" and "Madama Butterfly", my interest was piqued when I first heard about Mary Jane Phillips-Matz's wonderful new biography about Giacomo Puccini. Using his operas as chapter divisions, the author gives a firm basis on which to look at Puccini's life as he struggled with his music, his collaborators, his family, his publisher, his singers, Arturo Toscanini and himself.

Restless and constantly on the move was Italy's greatest twentieth-century composer. The composer was not content to stay long in one place, she tells us. He had a house here, a house there; he didn't like this one, he longed to be at yet another one....this was no laboratory musician! Through the sharing of Puccini's letters (and he wrote unceasingly, it seems), Phillips-Matz offers us glimpses into the continual torment the composer faced, either from his own high standards and inabilities to finish projects to the endless revisions of present and past operas on which he was working. Puccini seemed to be under perpetual pressure. The author is careful not to be judgmental about her subect; in fact she includes a surprising number of revealing interviews that she, herself, conducted with singers who had performed Puccini operas and had worked with him in his later life.

Phillips-Matz's book is not so much a book about Puccini's music as it is about process. How did the composer go about choosing texts? What was he feeling when he composed? How did he envision the final outcomes of his operas? The relationships with those who were closest to him are perhaps the best aspects of this book, especially those with his wife and Toscanini. The author almost seems to be encouraging the reader by saying this: "here is what Puccini was like; now go hear his music and see what connections you can make."

My son is on the higher end of the spectrum with at least some rudimentary play skills. This book didn't hold my attention, because I couldn't get through the first few chapters. Having some functional use of toys, I grew tired of explanations of how to get my son how to push a car or roll a ball. GREAT if your kid is at a lower point on the spectrum and needs that level of instruction. There may be areas of interest for higher functioning individuals... I just didn't get there!

Two expert behavior analysts have produced a very fine work that should be a fixture on every behavioral programmer's shelf. Written in a style that will be easily understood by professional and layperson alike, Weiss and Harris systematically lay out considerations and plans for helping students diagnosed with autistic-spectrum disorders to develop social skills and move towards mainstream activities. The task can seem daunting. Where do you begin to help students to develop social skills? Begin with this book.

Talking With Artists volume.3

This book is pretty interesting. It is about artists who share what they like to draw and about their lives. They are asked questions such as, "Do you have any kids or pets?" The illustrators show some of pictures that they drew when they were children. They also show how the children illustrators got their inspiration to draw.

I liked this book because it was neat to see how good some of the kids are at drawing and then to see them draw as they are older. Also that was cool it showed how to draw pictures in the back of the book. I recommend this book to people who are just stating to draw and people that want to read an interesting book.

I got this book at the library for my children, but I think I enjoyed it as much as they did! (I plan to buy a copy of my own!) Instead of a cool, impersonal presentation of artists and their work, this book provides a refreshingly personal view. The artists talk about their childhoods, how they spend their days (the answers are fun & honest!), their families, and best of all, they give us peeks inside their studios. I don't know about you, but I love seeing inside of an artist's private workspace! It's like a glimpse inside his/her mind.
The styles of the artists are very diverse and they use many different techniques that kids and adults alike would like to try out. I highly recommend this book!

I'm grateful for this book, that's both scholarly and easily read by the non-scholar. We haven't heard enough from the women of this period, and these authors help us understand better who these women were and why we want to know them.

All of the chapters in this book are very well researched and scholarly. I particularly enjoyed the "Tutoring the Tudors" chapter by Kathi Vosevich. Her research brings to life the differences in the political rhetoric of Queens Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

I really can't complain about the content of this book, I find most of the smoothies to be yummy and refreshing. However, I wanted one smoothie book to use with my blender and this isn't the only book I ended up getting. Plus, I've had this book for only about three months and I'm already getting tired of thumbing through it and seeing the same stuff. I really wish I had purchased a book that focused more on the quantity of recipes and less on the pictures of the recipes it did contain within (as this book does). I ended up purchasing Smoothies, Shakes & Frappes ISBN 1579121721 for about half the price and, with no disrespect to these authors, found this to be a better choice if it really is quantity of smoothie and shake recipes you are looking for.

I bought this book on a Friday afternoon ~ by Sunday evening I had already made and tried 12 of the 50 recipes! Each one seemed better then the next!

Summer is here and if you're looking for a GREAT smoothie book THIS IS IT! The recipes are THE BEST I've ever tried not to mention A FRACTION of what juice bars charge!

They have the recipes broken down into sections; Energy, Immune boosters, Weight-conscious, For the gals, For the fellows, For the kids, Stress reducers and (the authors) Favorites.

Every recipe I've tried so far has been WONDERFUL ~ not one was disappointing AND you don't need to run out and look for exotic ingredients ~ you can find everything @ your grocery store!

GREAT job Mary and Sara ~ thanks so much!!

I absolutely LOVE this book! I think the receipes are creative and fun with easy to find ingredients. The book starts with descriptions of each ingredient and its' health benefits and goes into preparation techniques and even explains the job of 'binders' in smoothies. I really love the way each smoothie has a 'job'; they list smoothies for PMS, for extra energy, for weight-loss, morning sickness, snacking, and for kids. The book also has receipes for specific male issues, like virility.

I think this is the best beginner smoothie book on the market. The receipes go from basic banana-strawberry to exotic tomato and avacado smoothies. And each receipe lists detailed nutritional information, which is great if you're trying to cut back on fats or carbs, for example.

This book proves smoothies aren't just a treat anymore, they can be a beautiful addition to a healthy diet as well as curing what ails you! Try the "Constant Craving" apple smoothie- it's my favorite.

Buy it!! Trust me, you won't regret it!!

Naked Came The Phoenix was a book selection for two of my local reading groups because we were intrigued by its unusual format. Twelve bestselling mystery and suspense author joined together to contribute a chapter to this murder-mystery, soap-opera. The catch? Each other must pick up where the last left off and continue the story using the same cast of characters, all of who get zanier as the story progresses.

The opening chapter written by Nevada Barr sets up the story and, in my opinion, was the driest, dullest entry in the entire book. It's here that the lifeless main characters are introduced (luckily they don't stay that way!). After the recent death of her father, Caroline, wife of a big shot Congressman, agrees to spend some quality bonding time with her difficult mother at a high-end health spa. Caroline's fellow guests at the spa include an aging rock legend, a quirky psychic, a starving model and loads of other oddballs and Hollywood "it" types.

After the sloooow start, JD Robb picks up the tempo in chapter two. She breaths life into Caroline's character by bringing her down to earth in a funny little adventure brought about by hunger. She also adds a hunky pool-boy to the ever growing list of characters and kicks things into high gear by killing off the snooty spa owner!

Things get silly as each character seems to harbor some dirty secret and the murder count becomes ridiculously high as each author adds their own little twists and turns to the story and attempts to pick up where the previous author left off. A friend of mine described the characters as "manic depressives" and she was right on. Each character switches moods and personalities from chapter to chapter which only added to the sense of fun. Eventually, all dangling threads and over-the-top plot twists were neatly brought together by author Laurie King.

I'd read another book like Naked Came The Phoenix for the fun factor alone. But would I read this one again? Umm, probably not.

"Naked Came the Phoenix" is a serial novel written by 13 top female mystery writers and it is a whole lot of fun! I was impressed at how well the chapters flowed together, and became totally absorbed in this soap opera-like mystery. "Naked Came the Phoenix" is not a serious murder mystery, and it's not supposed to be. What it is, is an immensely enjoyable tale filled with twists and turns and outlandish characters that was created for a very good cause.

The story revolves around Caroline Blessing, a congressman's wife and cellist, who has taken a trip with her very difficult and newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, to the exclusive Phoenix Spa in Virginia. Caroline hopes that their time at Phoenix Spa will give her mother and herself a chance to heal after her father's death, and maybe even a chance to bond. Unfortunately, Caroline's dreams of a relaxing and healing vacation go up in smoke when the spa's owner, Claudia De Vries, is found murdered in one of her own mud baths!

Caroline realizes that everyone at the spa is a potential suspect and a potential victim. The spa's guests include a model-waif and her manager, an aging rock star, a short and stout grey-haired psychic, a dried-up Hollywood producer, and a beautiful and successful actress. They all have their own hidden connections to Claudia and secrets aplenty. Not to mention Claudia's own husband, the half-naked pool-boy, and the rest of the spa's staff. Everyone has something to hide, and these 13 talented authors take us along on a fast-paced and thrilling mystery filled with strange clues, red herrings, blackmail, and incest.

And when more people start turning up dead, the very likable police detective, Vince Toscana, goes into overdrive trying to find the culprit. Not only is Caroline overwhelmed by what's going on around her, but she also must deal with some crushing news about her supposedly devoted husband Douglas. Caroline resolves to take her life back into her own hands and find out what's really going on, but there is nothing that can prepare her for the staggering truth behind the murders!

"Naked Came the Phoenix" is an outrageous and exciting murder mystery that is sure to entertain. I found the first chapter, by Nevada Barr, a bit tough to wade through, but after that every other author was great. This book is just good clean fun, and if you read it with that in mind, I have no doubt that you will enjoy it enormously.

Naked Came the Phoenix is a riot from beginning to end! When Caroline and her mother visit the Phoenix Spa in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, they expect rest and relaxation, but soon after their arrival, the spa's owner is found dead in the mud baths and the "fun" begins! Thirteen popular mystery writers take the reader on a roller-coaster ride of murder, mayhem and mirth. What fun to watch one author plant a clue then lean back, rub her hands together and wait to see what the next author does with it! Kudos to Nevada Barr for introducing us to the cast of supporting characters -- King David, the aged rocker; Ondine, the wrath-like model; Howie Fondulac, the has-been Hollywood producer; Lauren Sullivan, the movie star; and my particular favorite, Phyllis Talmadge, the psychic who's at the spa touting her latest book, Flex Your Psychic Muscles! Brava, Lisa Scottoline for giving us detective Vince Toscana, who "retired" to rural Virginia to please his wife, but wants nothing more than to sink his teeth into a Philly cheese steak, and, oh, by-the-way, solve the murders. Wheee, to JA Jance who drowns a victim in the lake and to Faye Kellerman, who knew CPR! Ka-pow, to Diana Gabaldon who really knows how to throw the reader a curve. Ye-gads, to Val McDermid who gives new meaning to the word "incarnadine". Wow, to the amazing Laurie King, who ties up all the loose ends with delicious tongue-in-cheek humor. And, thank you, Marcia Talley who sewed the patchwork together into one, seamless novel and is a heck of a writer, too!! All I can say is, "Encore"!!

With Close To You, Mary Jane Clark has an interesting premise but turns it into a disappointing novel. At under 300 pages, it's is certainly a quick read, but Clark fails to deliver genuine suspense. The so called "thrilling" sequences in the book are much too short, barely giving the reader time to think about what's going on. On top of this, the novel is quite predictable. Anyone with half a brain could figure out the identity of the killer within thirty pages.

One could forgive the predictability if the characters were well developed, but unfortunately, Ms. Clark didn't do this either. Other than the novel's heroine, we don't get much of a backstory for any character.

Mary Jane Clark has a long way to go before she can join the ranks of the great suspense novelists, such as James Patterson and John Sandford. All and all, you could easily find something worse to read than Close To You, but the real question is, why would you waste your time with it when there are so many better books out there?

Close to You is about a young anchor-woman who goes through adventure escaping multiple stalkers. She struggles to protect her daughter, while her colleagues and those close to her try and keep her safe from trouble. After moving into a new house with a new nanny, Eliza, being a single mother, has no choice but to feel vulnerable to those after her. But when simple letters turn to threats, and she doesn't know who they are coming from, she starts to suspect everyone that is close to her. Eliza does her best to crack down on her problems, and free herself from harm.

Close to You is a book that Clark does a very good job of creating suspence and really makes you relate to all the characters and their feelings. It keeps the pages turning till the end, and creates a new kind of suspence from the celebrity stalker situation. This story was very well developed. If you are looking for a good mystery and can stick with a book, "Close to You" is just for you.

Close to You is a universally satisfying novel. It has a strong sense of mystery but also touches on comedy and romance. Eliza Blake is living a nearly utopian life until she decides to move out of the city. Not only is she stalked by a shady bartender, but trouble is sitrred up in the Key Newsroom by her co-workers. Attempting to keep herself and her daughter, Janie, safe, she is reunited with the past she tried to forget. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good read.