Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I came to this book from first watching the movie at the recommendation of my daughter. It's about an entering high school freshman and some blurred memories of an incident over the summer.

The writing is clear, insightful and funny.
"The ninth graders are herded into the auditorium. We fall into classes: Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future Fascists of America, Suffering Artists, Goths, Shredders. I am clanless. I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phone. I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with."

"The orchestra plays an unrecognizable tune. Heather says the school board won't let them perform Christmas Carols or Hanukkah songs or Kwanzaa tunes. Instead of multicultural, we have no-cultural."

"The rest of the Marthas sigh on cue. Apparently, beets are Not Good Enough. Real Marthas only collect food that they like to eat, like cranberry sauce, dolphin-safe tuna, or baby peas. I can see Heather dig her nails into her palms under the table. The peanut butter molds to the roof of my mouth like a retainer."

Through art class, Melinda Sordino finds her voice.
Even though this was written for a juvenile audience, I found many truths here.

Marker by Robin Cook

Physician Robin Cook is a writer of medical thrillers that focus on current technological and/or ethical issues.



Genetic tests for a variety of medical conditions are available to individuals who are at increased risk based on family history or ethnic background. With the completion of the human genome project, Cook explores medical insurance issues related to genetic markers--hence the title.


In this instance an intelligent pathologist notices a pattern of unexpected cases of healthy young adults in the hospital morgue to be autopsied. Soon she has amassed a cohort of cases.



Health insurance is based on pooling risk within specified groups. Since markers have been mapped throughout the human genome, risk can now be determined. "Marker" deals with the negative impact of the ability to predict illness. When confidentiality is breached and the information is obtained or otherwise falls into the wrong hands, patient care could be compromised.

Cook provides an exciting read and thought-provoking content.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

If you’ve heard about The Kite Runner, but haven’t read it yet, we offer a brief review:
Kite Runner is the first novel written by Khaled Hosseini, a practicing physician, whose family fled Afghanistan prior to the Taliban. Set in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970’s, the story focuses on Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of one of Amir’s father’s servants. The day in 1975, when 12-year-old Amir wins the annual kite-fighting tournament, is the best and worst day of his young life. The title refers to the competitive kite-flying young people participate in, generally in teams, where the kite-flyer uses his specially-equipped kite string to cut down opponents’ kites, and his teammate attempts to collect the fallen kite as a trophy. Hosseini's harrowing story evokes the irony of life that makes a masterpiece: the brutality and compassion of man, cowardice and courage, freedom and oppression, loss and love.