Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's the mid 1970's and Gwendy is going to start middle school soon. She's running up the suicide stairs in hopes of losing a little weight before going back to school. At the top of the stairs is a mysterious stranger, a man who has been watching Gwendy. She winds up talking with him and he gives her a box adorned with buttons. But this isn't just an average box.

This novella was really easy to continue reading. The chapters are short, the story moves quickly, and I just needed to see what happened in this book. This is one readers can finish in one sitting. The box that Gwendy receives causes some great things to happen in her life, but it may also cause some terrible things to happen. Is it really the box or is it all coincidence?

I was hooked bythis story through the whole book. The ending wasn't quite what I expected or hoped for, but it wasn't bad. I would have enjoyed reading this as a longer book, but I think it made for a pretty good short story as well. I just wasn't ready for it to end!

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Final Girls by Riley Sager
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A Final Girl is rare. A Final Girl is someone who fascinates the public and causes a media frenzy. A Final Girl is not something you want to be. A Final Girl is the lone survivor of a massacre.

There are only three Final Girls - Lisa, Sam, and Quincy. When Lisa turns up dead, Sam turns up on Quincy's doorstep. Quincy had never met the other Final Girls, choosing instead to ignore her past, eat a regular dose of Xanax, and live her life as normally as possible out of the spotlight. Sam wants to help Quincy remember the past, but Sam is destructive. What's the truth and what's a lie? This book will really keep you guessing.

This is fast paced, and really hard to put down. All of the hype you've heard about this new summer thriller is well earned. There are a few things in there that seem a bit unbelievable but overall it was fun to read. I thought I could guess the ending here, but I was completely wrong!

What's your favorite summer thriller? Comment below!

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Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to Brilliance Publishing for sending over a copy of this book for me to read.

If you've read and enjoyed Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand then you're going to love Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Both are stories of men who went through some incredible things during World War II. These books are both hard to put down!

Beneath a Scarlet Sky is the story of Pino Lella. He's a young, Italian teenager toward the end of World War II when his home in Milan is destroyed. Soon after Pino begins helping Jews escape to the safety of Switzerland by leading them through the difficult terrain of the Alps. And just as he turns 18 he is forced to enlist in the German military, becoming one of the Nazis he despises. When Pino receives an opportunity to become the personal driver for General Layers (Hitler's left hand in Italy) Pino suddenly becomes a spy for the Allies.

There is so much in this story - bravery, suspense, love, espionage, loss - and a really likable hero at the center of it all. So much of this story was unbelievable, though as a reader who has never experienced war, I think much of the hell that war brings about is unbelievable. I had trouble tearing myself from these pages because I just needed to know more.

Pino's story is epic, not always happy, and one that should be read widely. The book is written simply so those of us who aren't history buffs can still easily follow along. Highly recommended!

What's your favorite WWII book? Comment below!

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Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dennis Lehane has written other books you’ve probably heard of (Mystic River; Shutter Island). Since We Fell is Lehan’es latest thriller. Rachel Childs has a mental breakdown which happens to go viral. The first half of the book readers will get to know Rachel and what her life had been like growing up. Various readers may find this part of the book slow; however, if you enjoy character development you’ll enjoy getting to know Rachel’s less than normal mom and absent dad.

When Rachel’s eventual husband comes into her life, readers will follow the story through her mental breakdown and descent into a chaotic life. The story builds slowly but it gains momentum as each page flips by. There were enough twists to keep me guessing through the last few pages.

I probably won’t remember specifics about this book a year from now, but it put me on the edge of my seat for a couple of days. When it’s difficult to put a book down, it must be because it’s a good one.


Tell me what you thought of this ending in the comments!

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The hosts of my favorite podcast, Literary Disco, read and discussed this book. They warned that this is a disturbing book, and they were right. They suggested that maybe no one should read it. And they were right. Near the end of the discussion it was mentioned that Ketchum's book was based on real life events. I figured if I read up on what happened I would quench my curiosity about the contents of this book.

Ultimately I did not listen to Julia, Tod, and Rider over at Literary Disco. The real life story is about the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens in 1965. A mother of three children was caring for Sylvia Likens and her sister when she, her children, and several children from the neighborhood began torturing Likens, eventually leading to her death. I learned that the murder happened a couple of blocks from the house I lived in as a child (though I arrived nearly 20 years after Likens' murder). I also learned that my grandmother knew one of the families involved when the murder took place. Curiosity won, and I could not say no to reading this book.

Many liberties were taken from the original story to the final book. Characters were changed; the location was changed; I believe some of the abuse was even changed. What did not change was how horrible the torture was in this book. (There's a brief chapter where the first person narrator cannot even tell specifics about the events that occurred due to the nature of the abuse.) Sensitive readers should not pick up this book. There were several times I put the book down because I was sick to my stomach.

I want to give this book five stars but the content was too horrible. Jack Ketchem's writing was convincing, kept the story moving, and may leave me with nightmares for the next couple of weeks. I'll look forward to reading more by him.

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