Incredible Women Favorite Books

HUNGER GAMES SERIES by SUZANNE COLLINS

2009-09-13T10:08:00.001-07:00

Book One: HUNGER GAMES

A gripping story set in a postapocalyptic world where a replacement for the United States demands a tribute from each of its territories: two children to be used as gladiators in a televised fight to the death. (synopsis borrowed from Amazon.com)

Book Two: CATCHING FIRE

We can't give a synopsis here, because we don't want to give away the story!

UGLIES SERIES by SCOTT WESTERFIELD

2009-09-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

"Playing on every teen’s passionate desire to look as good as everybody else, Scott Westerfeld (Midnighters) projects a future world in which a compulsory operation at sixteen wipes out physical differences and makes everyone pretty by conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. The "New Pretties" are then free to play and party, while the younger "Uglies" look on enviously and spend the time before their own transformations in plotting mischievous tricks against their elders." (Synopsis from Amazon.com)

Book One - Uglies

Book Two - Pretties

Book Three - Specials

Book Four - Extras

SHADOW CHILDREN SERIES by MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX

2009-09-09T23:19:00.001-07:00

These series of books is about a futuristic, overpopulated, resource-deprived Earth, and the effects of the government's attempts to quell overpopulation. The Population Police enforce the government's Population Law, killing or imprisoning "shadow children," any third child in a family. (synopsis borrowed from Wikipedia)

Book One - Among the Hidden

Book Two - Among the Imposters

Book Three - Among the Betrayed

Book Four - Among the Barons

Book Five - Among the Brave

Book Six - Among the Enemy

Book Seven - Among the Free

(Click on each picture to buy the books)

SPY SERIES by ALLY CARTER

2009-09-08T23:01:00.001-07:00

Cammie Morgan is a student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, a fairly typical all-girls school-that is, if every school taught advanced martial arts in PE and the latest in chemical warfare in science, and students received extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class. The Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses but it's really a school for spies. Even though Cammie is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways, she has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, or track him through town with the skill of a real "pavement artist"-but can she maneuver a relationship with someone who can never know the truth about her?
Cammie Morgan may be an elite spy-in-training, but in her sophomore year, she's on her most dangerous mission-falling in love.

Even though Cammie and her friends have confidence in their spy skills, this time the targets are tougher (and hotter), and the stakes for Cammie's heart--and her belovedschool--are higher than ever.

When Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept the nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnappers' plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.
(Click on each picture to go to Amazon.com and purchase these books. Thanks to Amazon.com for the synopsis on each book.)

DELTORA QUEST SERIES, DELTORA SHADOWLANDS SERIES, AND DRAGONS OF DELTORA SERIES by EMILY RODDA

2009-09-08T06:19:00.001-07:00

Series One (8 books): Deltora Quest

Series Two (3 Books): Deltora Shadowlands

Series Three (4 Books): Dragons of Deltora

(Click on each picture to go to Amazon.com and purchase these books)

BOOKS ABOUT OVERCOMING TRIALS

2009-09-06T08:38:00.001-07:00

For today's book suggestions, Jyl writes the following:
"Instead of giving you a 5th favorite book, I want to leave that open to pretty much anything about issues like slavery or the Holocaust when people had to make tough choices to stand up for right even and especially when it meant risking their lives to do so. And when people endured trials with faith."

I loved this idea and so here are two of my favorite books that fit Jyl's description. Please comment on the post today and give your suggestions for books about slavery or the Holocaust, or any other trials that are overcome. I'd love to hear your choices!

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by HARRIET BEACHER STOWE

This is a dramatization of slavery's cruelties - Abraham Lincoln told Harriet Stowe her work had been a catalyst for the Civil War.

THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by ANNE FRANK

Anne's diary documents her experiences hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. She and her family go into hiding in hidden rooms at father's office building. They are in hiding for 2 years, and then are betrayed and transported to concentration camps.

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by BARBARA KINGSOLVER

2009-09-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS by CHARLES DICKENS

2009-09-03T06:08:00.001-07:00

A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor - these form a series of events that change the orphaned Pip's life forever. (thanks to Amazon.com for this synopsis)

THE ADVENTURE OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by MARK TWAIN

2009-09-02T06:08:00.001-07:00

The story of a teenage boy who finds himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim. This book is very funny and entertaining.

EAST OF EDEN by JOHN STEINBECK

2009-09-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

This novel brings to life details of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - and their interwoven stories. Said to be based on the real-life family of Samuel Hamilton, Steinbeck's maternal grandfather.

(This book has Jyl's all time favorite chapter!)

TOM SAWYER by MARK TWAIN

2009-08-30T08:16:00.001-07:00

(click here to visit Amazon.com and buy this book)
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tomsawyer/
(Click here to go to Sparknotes-Tom Sawyer)
Tom Sawyer is Mark Twain's tale about boyhood adventures on the Mississippi River.
Wonderful book!

THE HUNGER GAMES by SUZANNE COLLINS

2009-08-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

(click here to visit Amazon.com and buy this book)
This story is set in postapocalyptic America, where the government demands a tribute from each of its territories - two children, to be used as gladiators in a televised fight to the death.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS by EMILY BRONTE

2009-08-26T23:16:00.001-07:00

(click here to visit Half.com and buy this book)
One of literature's most disturbing love stories - Heathcliffe and Cathy believe they're destined to love each other forever, but when cruelty and snobbery separate them, their untamed emotions literally consume them. (thanks goes to Amazon.com for the synopsis of this book).

THE KITE RUNNER by KHALED HOSSEINI

2009-08-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

(Click here to visit Amazon.com and buy the book)
This book follows the story of Amir and Hassan - one a privileged son of a wealthy businessman, and the other, a child of the father's servant. The story is about disloyalty and cowardly actions, and a lifelong quest for forgiveness.

THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB by SANDRA DALLAS

2009-08-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

(click here to buy this book)
Set in Depression-era Kansas, this is a book about friendship and loyalty in a womens’ quilting circle.

THE FIRM By JOHN GRISHAM

2009-08-21T06:20:00.001-07:00

(Click here to visit Amazon.com and order this book)

FOLLOW THE RIVER By JAMES ALEXANDER THOM

2009-08-20T07:27:00.001-07:00

(click here to order your copy)
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, married, and pregnant, when the Shawnee Indians invaded her home, killed the men and women in her settlement, and kidnapped her. She lived with them until she escaped - following a thousand mile trail to freedom. An amazing story of a pioneer woman who risked her life to return to her people.

THE KINGDOM AND THE CROWN SERIES By GERALD LUND

2009-08-19T06:09:00.001-07:00

(click here to visit Deseretbook.com and order your copies)

The three books in this fictional series about Christ - "Fishers of Men", "Come Unto Me", and "Behold the Man". Great read!

LAST MAN STANDING By DAVID BALDACCI

2009-08-18T05:26:00.001-07:00

(click the picture to go to Amazon.com and buy this book)
A member of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team freezes up on a drug raid and becomes the sole survivor of a remote-controlled ambush. The only witness has disappeared and the inside man on the raid has gone underground. Great thriller - page turner to the end!

(to visit this site, and learn about all David Baldacci books, click on the picture)

THE GIFT By RICHARD PAUL EVANS

2009-08-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Meet Nathan Hurst - he hates Christmas because of something in his childhood. But, this season he'll encountered a snowstorm, a cancelled flight, and a mother and her very special son, who change his ideas about the season and show him that Christmas really is about miracles.

THE CHRISTMAS BOX COLLECTION By RICHARD PAUL EVANS

2009-08-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

This trilogy follows David Parkin, a man who learns from a cache of old love letters that there is more to life than work. (from Amazon.com) The Daily Sun says: "On one of these cold winter nights find a comfortable place and settle down and read [the collection]....When it is over you will feel warmed and enriched by the story you have shared.

(An interesting side note - Richard Paul Evans took his first story, The Christmas Box, to a copy shop and self published it! Readers loved it so much - spending millions - that he wrote the other two books in the collection, Timepiece, and The Letter.)

THE CHOICE By NICHOLAS SPARKS

2009-08-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

A love story between a veterinarian, Travis Parker, and new next-door neighbor, Gabrielle Holland. In the first part of the story, Gabrielle must decide between Travis and her longtime boyfriend Kevin. 11 years later, Travis faces a life and death decision. A sweet love story.

GRACE By RICHARD PAUL EVANS

2009-08-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Ninth grader, Eric’s life is changed forever with he discovers runaway classmate, Grace, dumpster diving behind the burger joint where he works. The books take place during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

THE WORK AND THE GLORY By GERALD LUND

2009-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Follow the Steed Family through the early years (restoration years) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

THE TWILIGHT SERIES By STEPHANIE MEYER

2009-08-11T17:46:00.000-07:00

Love story between Edward, of vampire, and Bella, a human. One mortal, one immortal. The question that runs through the series - will Bella become a vampire, so that she can spend eternity with Edward?