Push: A Novel
thinking about it and not in a good way. More in a it’s bothering my protected little life by making me think about disturbing things way. I know that it’s good for me to step outside my comfort zone but I don’t like it!
I’ll probably give away spoilers in this review so stop reading now if you are going to read this book – The main character Precious is having her second child by her father who started abusing her at an early age. Her mother is also abusive not only verbally and physically but sexually as well. She is 16 and still in junior high from being held back and now they want to kick her out because of the pregnancy. Someone finally gets her into an alternative program where she is able to work on her literacy. Some readers find this story inspirational as she’s working to “get out”. I find that unlikely and my heart just breaks at the innocence lost and the thought of anyone treating a child like that. And I can’t stop thinking about it and I really want to stop thinking about it! I guess that means it was a good book? 
is the latest offering in her popular Sookie Stackhouse series that serves as the basis for the HBO series True Blood. (Brief aside: a friend sent me a bottle of tru blood for Christmas which made me laugh for a good 5 minutes. Who knew they even made such a thing?) This is a collection of short stories which take place at different times in Sookie’s history. I wanted to like this book. But between the fact that I don’t particularly like short stories and the weak writing it was just a letdown. (I was also disappointed in the last full length offering, 
. The writing is weak and the plotting abysmal. Not at all up to usual Sookie standards.) I realize this was a chance to flesh out some secondary characters and revisit some deleted scenes, but I ended up skimming fairly quickly and was tempted not to finish.
, was a nice return to form. This series is centered around Harper Connelly who has had an affinity for the dead ever since she was struck by lightning as a teenager. She travels the country, with her step-brother (who became her boyfriend in the last book) and people hire them to find the bodies of lost loved ones. Once Harper finds a body, she can usually tell how they died etc. This time they are going “home” to Texas and their latest case seems to have ties to their own troubled childhoods. This series is a little darker than the Sookie Stackhouse series but seemed to be a little deeper as well. Unfortunately, it looks like Harris may be wrapping up the series to concentrate on other things as she ties up a lot of plot lines that have been developing through all four books. If it is the end, at least it was a strong one!
