My sister gave me this book the other day; I looked at it and saw a horse on it and thought "not another horse book"!  but this is a great book, beautifully written and researched by the author.  The book is based on the song "Tennessee Stud" by Jimmy Driftwood and recorded by many country singers.  The author was intrigued with the story and the song, so he set out to research the orgins of the lyrics.

This is the story of Robert Johnson, a resident of Tennessee.  He lives on a small farm and wants to settle down, marry and raise horses from his special stud horse.  He is  in love with Jo, a neighbor's daughter.  Her family does not want them to marry and they would like to dispute the ownership of the land Robert claims as his own.  They would also like to steal his horse.  They end up framing him for a murder he did not committ.  To escape hanging, Robert takes off through Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas, one step in front of the bounty hunter, MacDonald.  Riding his gifted and beloved "Stud", they have many adventures, do some racing and come close to starving to death several times.  Set in the 1820's, the horse and owner endure many hardships as they avoid being brought in by the bounty hunter.  They meet up with some Indians, who steal the stud, Robert's belongings including his shoes and clothing and leave him to die in the wilderness.  Some Mexican vaqueros find and rescue him and the story continues. 

Will Robert find his horse, return home to the woman he loves and prove his innocence?  Read and see.

One of the reasons that this book caught my attention is that I’m a fan of David Letterman.  The author of this book is comedian, and he had always dreamed of being on David Letterman’s show.  However, he did not make any real steps toward getting on the show until he was diagnosed with cancer.  Then it became a campaign that he got his friends and family involved in.  He also decides to film his progress for a documentary.  He gets a couple of friends to help him.  He interviews comedians who have been on the show and has them film him doing his comedy routine.  The book and his documentary are a message to chase your dreams and not wait until you get a cancer diagnosis.   I thought it was very inspirational.  I enjoyed it very much.

A Newbery Award winner by Christopher Paul Curtis, the story is told by Kenny Watson, a preteen black youth living in Flint, Michigan.  Kenny lives with his parents, Daniel and Wilona, big brother, Byron and little sister, Joetta.  They live a nice life; mom stays at home, dad works at the auto plant and the three children go to school.  Mom is from Birmingham, where the winters are not so brutal as Flint.

When Byron is deemed uncontrolable and a trouble maker, his parents decide to send him south to spend the summer, hoping Grandma can straighten him out.  After careful planning by mom, the family loads into the "Brown Bomber", dad's big car and start the trip south, deciding not to take the 3 day trip but to drive straight through.  On the trip, the parents give the children a warning that they are going is nothing like where they are from.  "Separate but equal" still exists in the south.  The black population must keep in their places.  Civil rights is a very hot topic.

When the family arrives, the children find that the warnings their parents have given are true.  Kenny sees a big differece in what is acceptable here as apposed to Michigan.  It is also so hot that the children can't sleep.  They have a few adventures.   One scary adventure Kenny has is a battle with the "Wool Pooh",at Collier's pond, where he almost drowns until Byron saves him.  The next day is Sunday and Joetta goes to Sunday School. Kenny stays home, worn out from his near drowning that neither his brother nor he told their parents about.  Kenny goes outside to rest under the large magnolia tree, but before he rests much he is shaken awake by a loud noise and then frantic cries and running toward the church.  Kenny is fearful and heads toward the church himself, worried about little sister Joetta.  He sees bodies pulled from the bombed church and thinks one may be Joetta.

Fortunately, Joetta is safe and she tells Kenny that she thought she saw him motioning for her to come back home so she didn't go to church at all.  Kenny is puzzled but so shocked about 2 terrible events in several days that he withdraws from life.  Mom and Dad now decide that Byron can't stay so they load up the car and drive back home.

Kenny is still withdrawn.  He does not talk to anyone, quits spending time with his friends and retreats behind the sofa in the living room.  His only hope, he feels, is the healing power of "The Watson World Famous Animal Hospital" where the family's pets go when they are sick or injured.  He remains there hoping to feel better.  It takes some consideration from his parents and his brother to lure him out, and finally Byron is able to get him back to his regular life. 

The book is about social change and how you deal with it, as seen through a small boy's eyes.

I enjoyed this book, it is part history, part romance and part suspense.  Set in Walls of Water, North Carolina, it is the story of an old hotel called the Blue Ridge Madam, and two ladies who love their small town, its people, and the old hotel.  It is also about keeping and discovering secrets, old and new.

Willa, a sporting goods store owner and Paxton, a young socialite and business woman, were not very good friends in high school, Paxton was "Miss Everythng" and Willa was the high school prankster from hell.  However, the grandmothers, who are best friends, and former workers at the Madam, wish the girls were friends.  Now the two older ladies are in the same nursing home, one has alzheimers and the other is nearly blind. 

Paxton is the head of the Women's Club and is helping it celebrate its 75th anniversary.  At the same time, the Blue Ridge Madam is undergowing renovation and Paxton hopes to have the gala there.  Things are soon complicated when a skeleton is found under a peach tree.  Grandma Georgia knows who the skeleton belongs to and why he is buried there and how he died.

To tell more about the book would spoil the story.  While unraveling the mystery, realtionships are formed, friendships are tested and things will never be the same.  Read the book to see who killed the stranger under the peach tree and why it happened.

Fifteen-year-old Green is so named because of her green thumb, but her abilities are much more than that.  One day, a great fire in the city changes her life forever.  Green has a difficult time coping until she meets a boy who cannot speak.

This story had great potential and I loved the idea of the plot.  The delivery, however, was less than satisfying.  Hoffman loves similes and metaphors, so much so that they overrun the book, even when they don’t make sense.  In addition to beating a metaphor to death, Hoffman seems to love repetition, which, while perfect for poetry or Dr. Seuss, has no real place in this story.  Most of the story seemed to be fluff, which dragged on and on, and I had to wonder when she was going to get to the point.  If you took out the fluff, this one hundred and sixteen page story could have been simply a long poem, and I probably would’ve been happier with it.  I had heard good things about Alice Hoffman and I was, unfortunately, disappointed.

This book is the first in a series and the third book is scheduled to be released in February 2012.  I can’t say I recommend this book, but you might like it if you are a fan of diary fiction and angst-ridden teens.  I’d give it two stars.