Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

Published in 1993, Kaysen writes about her experience with a break down in 1967 at age eighteen, spending a year and a half in treatment and how her life was affected. After reading this, I have determined that probably 99 percent of the people who are not already certified crazy, are probably suffering from Kaysen's problem, borderline personality disorder (her records show a character disorder). It seems to me that she just didn't want to conform, was definitely depressed and her parents didn't know what to do with her. Read this if you will, I'm not recommending. Sandy Penton

Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long

Sarah King has loved being in her garden since she was a child. Now she has to attend the produce stand her family owns and she is definitely nervous. Enter their new neighbor, veterinarian Dr. Grant Williams, single, definitely attractive, and verboten to Sarah. Alas, love blooms anyway and the ensuing romance is delightfully told by Long. Amusing, full of Amish anecdotes, a joy to read. Sandy Penton.

More Than Words by Judith Miller

Book two in the series, Daughters of Amana, Miller keeps the reader interested and entertained, sharing her knowledge of life in the Colonies in the 1880's. Gretchen Kohler wants to write, yet she is tied to her father's store and watching her elderly grandmother. When flim-flam man Allen Finley arrives at the store and sweet-talks her, Gretchen finds his praise turning her head. The arrival of a band of gypsies, camping on the outskirts of the village, causes consternation among the villagers and Gretchen finds herself being "tossed together" with them due to the antics of younger brother Stefan. This tale has some interesting twists and turns, coming to an agreeable conclusion. A pretty good read. Sandy Penton

Autumn's Promise by Shelley Shepard Gray

Lilly Allen, Englischer, has had a bad year and is hoping that her life will take a turn for the better. Widower Robert Miller, Amish carpenter, has his eye on Lilly, knowing full well that the church members will frown upon his interest in Lilly. Nevertheless, he can't get her off his mind and Lilly finds herself attracted to him, also. Will true love bring this couple together? Will Lilly join the Plain Life, giving up her cell phone, computer, her car? Or will Robert cross-over, risking shunning by his family and friends? Gray writes a compelling fourth book in this series, Seasons of Sugarcreek. Hate to see it over. Sandy Penton.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Elizabeth Gilbert, traveler and author, relates her amazing spiritual journey after divorce and severe depression threaten to keep her down. Determined to find a different, peaceful existence she heads for Italy for four months, experiencing it fully then heading to India to spend four months meditating in an Ashram and learning from her Guru. After much soul searching and meditating, learning self-discipline, she heads for Bali to meet a Balinese medicine man who two years prior, had told her she would spend three or four months with him. This is not a "new-age" hype book, but a painfully honest look by Gilbert at herself, her reason for living, and how she attains her goals. A really great read. (Don't know how they could have made a movie out of it... ) Sandy Penton

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum she is not, but Elizabeth Tucker has potential. Wacky characters and scenarios into the paranormal, Liz bakes wonderful cupcakes at a bakery and has a self-appointed protector, Diesel who tries to keep evil Gerwulf Grimoire away from Liz. Finding herself embroiled on a scavenger hunt for possessed stones, she struggles with the corrupting nature of the charms leading to the stones, creating a chaos of sorts that reads like keystone kops. Will be interesting to see where Evanovich takes this character. Sandy Penton.

The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy

Kit McMahon of Lough Glass, Ireland, is devastated when her mother, Helen McMahon, disappears and is believed to have drowned in the lake. As time goes by secrets appear to work on people's consciousness and a woman named Lena Gray gets in touch with Kit. Binchy weaves an Irish tale of secrets, of mistakes, and unrequited love. You either like this book or maybe not, it was difficult for me to stay with it, but did to the end. Not a bad choice if you like family situations. Sandy Penton

The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva

Determined to sereve his ties with the Office, Gabriel Allon retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful wife, Chiara. But once again, his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor. The visitor is a art dealer by the name of Julian Isherwood. Isherwood would like Gabriel to find a painting by Rembrandt that was stolen from the person that was restoring for Isherwood. Gabriel says "yes" to this request. What start as a simple quest to find a missing painting turns into quest to keep Iran from starting a nuclear program. It is rather long, but you won't want to stop reading. Very entertaining. I couldn't put it down. PatM

Veil of Night by Linda Howard

This is Howard's best yet! Jaclyn Wilde, wedding planner, is stressed out. Six weddings planned for five days and an appointment with the bride to be from hell, Carrie Edwards. Already running late, she hurries to the City Hall to pay a speeding ticket physically running into Detective Wilder on her way out. When meeting with Jaclyn and some of the vendors, Carrie fires Jaclyn who ushers the vendors from the reception hall and leaves. In the meantime, someone skewers Ms Edwards to death. Miss Personality she was not and possible murderers abound. Eric Wilder is assigned to the case, but reluctantly because Jaclyn has become a love interest and he needs to do his job correctly. Howard does a superb job of story-telling, keeping the reader's interest throughout. Great read. Sandy Penton.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

Angry Housewives is about five young women of Fresia Court in small-town, Minnesota. The reader is given glimpses of their lives as they form a book group and the choices of books they read help us to "flesh out" their characters and Landvik exposes their stories: Faith, who is living a lie, Audrey, resident sex queen, Merit, shy doctor's wife, thoughtful and wise older Kari and Slip, afraid of nothing. Determined, these women are closer than sisters, looking out for each other, loving and caring, forgiving. We are taken through the years with these women, who might be women we all know, making the last chapter bittersweet. A good read. Sandy Penton.

Scavenger by David Morrell

Takes up where "Creepers" leaves off, a few months later.... time capsules lead Frank Balenger and Amanda in a new direction. When Frank wakes up on the beach and Amanda is missing, he makes a diligent search for her. The Game Master has created a "god-like" game with humans as the avatars, he is the controller. Frightening and "techie" Morrell creates a life-like scenario, in a "it could happen" tale. Good sequel to "Creepers." Sandy Penton