Vacations Books

A fairly average novel as far as BSCs go.Mary ANne and Dawn are mothers-helpers again and there's lots of boys and flirting.You know.

When I was 13 and I saw a preview for this book in the Scholastic book order, I was so excited since I had enjoyed part 1 of Sea City in #8 Boy Crazy Stacey. I went out and bought it just in time for summer vacation and took it with me to read when I went with my family to the Oregon Coast. It was very appropriate reading material for that environment. It was so good, and I enjoyed it except that I feel like there was too much 'romance' in it. And that seemed to make it dull. But it was still good, although I preffered Sea City part 1 in Book #8.

This was a very enjoyable. It involves a lot of romance and is also very heartbreaking. If this was a movie siskel and Egbert would give it two thumbs. It deserves five stars.

It's Sea City part 2 when Mary Anne and stacey go back to sea City. Vannesa Pike has a crush on the ice cream parlor man only to mention that the ice cream man has a crush on Mallory pike. Mary anne has also a crush on alex. Will a summer romance come between Mary Anne and Logan? Will Vannesa's heart be broken by the ice cream man? there's a reason for all of this.
NOTE: THERE ARE TOO MANY BOYS IN SEA CITY!

I enjoyed this book but found it a little too rustic; kind of over-the-top for the average rustic aficionado. The same styles were repeated over and over with little variation.

This is by far the best cabin/camp book I own! Pages and pages of gorgous camps and cabins with wonderful decorating. I own many rustic decorating books and this is tops!! All Ralph Kylloes books are great but this one is the best! The pictures of inside all the beautiful camps and cabins is a true feast for the eye! I look at this book at least once a week and never tire of the homes and always put the book down with more ideas on how to make my home more rustic and adirondack/camp like. I can't imagine if you are a person that is into camp decorating that you would ever be disatisfied-it is truely the best of its kind!!

Beautiful coffee table book. The pictures are large and there are many of them. The focus of the book was on the Adirondack style mostly and birch Adirondack style furniture.

This book is a banquet for the eyes. The reader feasts upon the visuals and is drawn into the rooms, the homes, and one can almost smell the wood.

The author knows his subject and shares it well. I keep my copy on the coffee table in the living room as a wonderful accent to the room.

It reads well and I am intrigued as to who the owners might be of the wonderful houses, homes, structures. Privacy is very important, but that is my only "complaint" with the book. I would like to know who the owners are. It would seem more personal.

The book is wonderful.

An excellent book if you have never been on a cruise, once you have gone it is kind of useless.

This was a very simple, easy to read book (All the "Dummies" books are very easy read books), If you are looking for a vacation try, "World Ventures, Wayne Nugent, Mike Azcue, Dan Stammen, Robert Oblon, Wes Melcher, Marc Accetta."

This is a good tool for first-time cruisers . . . and great info if you're going to the Caribbean. My cruise was to Canada (Atlantic side), so there wasn't a lot about the tours for Canada.

Otherwise, good info.

For those interested in taking a cruise this book serves as a very thorough guide. It discusses pretty much all of the available cruises. It talks about planning your cruise and what experiences are available on board - spas, shows, activities and, of course, lots of food. It also covers the excursions available at the different ports of call and where each cruise line goes to, with an emphasis on the Caribbean, Alaska and the Mediterranean.

The only reason I am deducting a star is that the writers give only rave reviews for every cruise line. It seemed like they were often just advertising for the cruise companies rather than offering objective opinions that would be useful for its readers. This made it hard to figure out which cruise lines were best because the writers made each one sound so wonderful. So readers seeking to narrow their options might want to go online to the websites where people offer reviews on their cruising experiences rather than rely on this book.

But for all the nuts and bolts information on planning a cruise, what places you can cruise to and what activites are available, both at sea and on shore, this book is an excellent choice.

If you'd like to take a break from all those complex and riveting, but gory mysteries that feature tired police inspectors on the hunt for serial killers, who seem to be constantly thwarted by incompetent superiors and ambitious junior officers, you might consider Carola Dunn's latest offering in the utterly charming Daisy Dalrymple mystery series, "Fall of a Philanderer."

It's the summer of 1924, and Daisy, her stepdaughter, Belinda, and Belinda's school-chum, Deva, are happily enjoying themselves at the seaside town of Westcombe while they wait for Daisy's husband, Alec, to join them. The days are glorious and Westcombe seems idyllic, but it doesn't take Daisy too long to realise that Westcombe seems to possess it's own version of the serpent in the garden, George Enderby, the landlord of the Schooner Inn. Married himself, George's specialty seems to be comforting women, married or not, who feel lonely and neglected. Daisy is determined not to get pulled into the affair -- after all she and her family are in Westcombe for a holiday! But soon after Alec's arrival, the Fletchers discover George's broken body while exploring a secluded cove. With Alec put in charge of the investigation, Daisy is, nevertheless, determined not to embarrass him by getting involved in the investigation herself. Except that people will confide in her! And if it will help Alec to make an arrest, Daisy is not adverse to rolling up her sleeves in order to sort through all the gossip and innuendo in order to help Alec arrive at the truth...

While "Fall of a Philanderer" was not the thrilling, fast paced, on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read, it was nice, quick and enjoyable one nonetheless. The plot unfolded in a fairly even and straightforward manner -- there were no jaw dropping plot twists, even though the book did possess quite a few suspects that should keep readers wondering for a fair while. The thing about "Fall of a Philanderer" is that it is a nice, relaxing and fun read. It'sot very complex, or very clever. It is, however, very well written and brilliantly executed. And after having read some mystery novels that have been heavy on atmosphere and possessed convoluted plot premises that went no where and left one feeling confused and cheated, "Fall of a Philanderer" was a wonderful treat. I knew what I was in for, and Carola Dunn delivered in spades! A wonderfully fun read.

(Note: I really liked the author's description of the coastal town of Westcombe. It was vivid and inviting, and in a rather interesting coincidence reminded me of my recent trips to a few coastal towns in Northern Oregon.)

This was my first Daisy Dalrymple Mystery. I picked it up at the library...would you believe...because I liked the cover! It was an enjoyable read, free from all the nasty, gory details that so many mystery novels offer today. Daisy books are dripping in history, lightheartedness, and intrigue. What an amazing combination! I have bought three of my own in this series and will definitely get more! By the way, I have discovered that the cover art is great on ALL the Daisy novels.

I am a historical mystery fan, and I look for several things when choosing what to read:

a) Likable characters and protoganist that you care about and are interested in
b) Lack of deep dark pyschological pretensions and no bad guys winning in the end
c) good writing
d) Engaging plots
e) masterful evocation of a different place and time

Carola Dunn does all the above with Daisy Dalrymple, and did it very well in the latest installment of Daisy's adventures. Here, the person murdered is satisfyingly worth having removed from the earth (whoever did it) and the twists and turns in the plot to get to that point of discovery are diverting. This time period in England (between the 1st and 2nd World War) is particularly interesting, as you watch the twilight of the aristocracy and see how larger events on the world stage contributed to that (details that Dunn gently weaves into her story without one really noticing.)And Daisy is a wonderful character, I would pick up the next book just to see what happens next in her life.

In 1924 Scotland yard Detective Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher, his wife Daisy, his young daughter Belinda and her pal Deva vacation in Westcombe. While at the beach overseeing the activity of her stepdaughter and Deva, Daisy is accosted by local owner of the Schooner Inn George Enderby. Even when she tells him that she is married he still tries to pick her up as marital status is not an impediment for the philandering innkeeper.

Several people warn daisy to stay clear of George. However, on a family picnic Daisy is unable to avid George as his broken body lies dead at the bottom of the nearby cliff. As Alec investigates whether an accident or a homicide occurred, Daisy realizes there are plenty of suspects starting with her landlady Mrs. Anstruther and her husband Peter, but the local police look at Sid the simple minded mute beachcombing scarecrow as the prime suspect; the last person Daisy believes could commit a homicide.

The murder occurs almost half way into this historical cozy, but that enables the audience to meet the key support players and understand their respective personalities. That in turn allows readers to observe who might want the womanizer killed as several suspects have motive. This is not for the action oriented crowd but Daisy's fans will appreciate her latest investigative tale as she does what drives Alec crazy out of fear for her safety , Daisy investigates.

Harriet Klausner

This book as well as all of Mr Phoenix's works is a must read for all who remember better times and for those who forgot just what life in America was like before the negativity of todays culture.
It sings to the heart and gently nudges the brain of those who are old enough to have experienced an America that is,I'm sad to say, almost gone.If you are too young to remember then be careful.After reading this you may find yourself wishing to have been born earlier.Buying this book as well as all of Mr Phoenix's time-capsules of literature is a gift for the soul.

This is the real deal. People's actual vacation photos of the America I wish was still out there to see on a road trip. The pix capture the genuine feel of the times without sentimentality or false nostalgia and Phoenix's commentary is a laugh-out-loud counterpart to the images. This is the best kind of affectionate satire. Hilarious, amazing stuff.

Obviously at other reviewer never took a car-trip vacation with his or her parents. I am a fan of Phoenix's work (So California in the '50s is his best), but I think I'm objective when I say this book captures a slice of Americana that many people would like to forget and the rest of us want to enjoy. It's funny and it's poignant at the same time. Don't be dissuaded by that other review. This is a book with charm.

Author Charles Phoenix, while in a thrift shop, came across a box of 35mm slides and he became hooked on collecting other peoples discarded transparencies. Unfortunately most of the 117 chosen for his book should have remained discarded. Loosely based on a trip around America, (mostly taken in the fifties) they can be divided into two types, the straightforward record of a tourist site with aunt Bessie (or whoever) posing and the personal photos of an individual or group. This second selection produces the weakest photos because you don't have a clue about why the scene was captured on film.

Amateur photos are precious and personal to those who took them but of marginal interest to anyone else and also these photos, for whatever reason, had been junked by someone. Making them large, one to a page, with the date and a few pithy words, surrounded by too much white space does not make a very interesting book. This really would have been fascinating, I think, if there had been lots more, made smaller and perhaps laid out in a collage format with some road maps, tourist trinkets and other printed ephemera on the page plus a much more funnier commentary. Columnist James Lileks did it with 'The Gallery of Regrettable Food', a collection of ordinary food photos from fifties consumer ads and recipe books plus his own wry way with words produced a very funny book.

My daughter liked this as much as all the other Rainbow Magic Fairy books. It was a little thicker and more substantial of a read for her.

These are great books for little girls, but I thought people should know that this is the exact same book as Summer the Holiday fairy. They use "Americanized" English in this book, but everything else is exactly the same. I thought I would let people know, so you won't buy this book if you already have the other one as I did. The publishers should have left the fairy's name the same, because this is a bit misleading if you ask me.

This book was a great transition to Chapter Books for my daughter entering first grade. She loves the Junie B. Jones books, but as a parent, I did not like the language or the antics of Junie B. It was refreshing to read a light-hearted book full of age appropriate adventure and mystery.

Warning to parents: the whole Rainbow Magic premise grows thin after awhile, certainly if you've read the 7 color fairy books, the 7 weather fairy books, and now Joy the Summer Vacation Fairy. It's a familar Rainbow Magic plot; Jack Frost has stolen three magic shells; two human girls who are friends with the fairies have to help Joy get them back so their favorite summer vacation place gets its magic back. Instead of a series of 7 related books though this is one long "super book", subdivided into three short stories. All about Joy though. If you've read the other Rainbow Magic books this will make sense.

Bottom line, cute books for the 6-10 age range. Girls just getting into chapter books will love them and more proficient readers will enjoy them as well. They are fluffy stuff. Rather boring to parents, but we aren't the target audience. Light action, adventure, fantasy for kids. My daughters just love it.

Secret Coves, pretty waves, and good pure fun, describes a little of this book. THis is one of my favorite Karen Books. She discovers majestic beauty in the carribean with the big house family. She joins a club at her hotle and meets a quite and fearfull girl named Sandy. Sandy won't swim or play in strenuous activites because of surgery. Can Karen help Sandy enjoy the same island adventure Karen is having? Read the #1 Karen book to find out.

Karen's Island Adventure was written by Ann M. Martin and illustrated by Susan Tang. This fiction book has 103 pages. The story is about a girl named Karen and her family who go to an island. She helps a girl who had open-heart surgery gain some confidence in herself. She also has a BIG family. She must find a birthday present for her dad. She also needs a lot of energy because she has an active family. The best part is when Sandy and Karen went in the ocean without permission. Sandy had no confidence in herself. It was really scary. The author included a situation, which was inappropriate for young children.

I really liked this book. I think it is espically good for kids 7-10. It was really well written and it is good for children just starting to read bigger books. I give it four stars.

This book was very good.Karen and her big house family go on vacation.It's springbreak she wakes up at 5:00 A.M on Saturday morning that is too late.I wake up at 5:45 my bus comes at 7:00 am.Her bus comes at 7:15 Karen's bus does.

Maggie Bishop doesn't horse around with the plot in Murder at Blue Falls. Suspicion, greed and murder are galvanized with plenty of red herrings and adventures on horseback. This book takes you to Bishop Country, where the hooves meet the crooks. I enjoyed it very much and want the next one. As an ECU alum myself, I'm proud of her achievements.

I read this book after reading "Appalachian Paradise" and "Emeralds in the Snow." "Murder at blue Falls" is the best of the three; it is clear that Ms. Bishop is growing rapidly as a writer. One reason I liked this book better than the previous two, is that it is heavy on the mystery and easy on the romance; romance is not my favorite genre.

I enjoyed reading about the trail rides and found myself wishing I could tag along. The horse and farrier information is well researched and instructive. Descriptions of flora and fauna are accurate providing a vivid backdrop for the story.

The characters and their actions are believable. I enjoyed the character Jemma's CSI efforts; she is delightfully refreshing and rather untraditional.

The story moves along quickly with some clues but the soultion is not obvious nor is it contrived.

Jemma Chase works as a trail leader on her parents' ranch, the Blue Falls, where she is also an accomplished photographer, carpenter and fixer-upper. Jemma has returned home in an effort to find some stability in her life, but things become tumultuous when someone begins poisoning dogs in Watauga County. Jemma is called in for an interview with Detective Tucker and bristles at his subtly accusing manner. A forensics fan, Jemma sets out to try to solve the riddle herself and keep Detective Tucker at bay. But when she stumbles upon the dead body of a neighbor, Jemma finds herself involved in a much more serious investigation and at odds with Tucker once again.

An established must-read romance author, Maggie Bishop has crossed into the mystery genre with finesse. Her latest novel is packed with suspense around a tightly-woven plot which begins with the poisoning of dogs and escalates to the murder of a local man. Throughout, she deliciously teases the reader with the bristly attraction between the investigating detective and the woman who found the man's body and who just might be a suspect. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Boone, North Carolina, with engaging characters, red herrings at every turn, and a galvanizing story line, this is a must-have, must-read. Highly recommended.

This the third book I've read by Maggie Bishop. While I've enjoyed them all, I can see in this work the blossoming and maturing of this splendid writer. The story is a page turner which pulls the reader around an unexpected bend, seamlessly intergrating new events by building on the foundation she has laid before. She arouses reasonable suspicion of a number of suspects before allowing the true killer to reveal himself in the last pages of the book. I always am struck with the accuracy of Bishop's depiction of the territory in which her characters operate. I ride horses in the Appalachians myself, though on the Tennessee side, and as I read this book I feel myself back in the saddle negotiating the dangerous terrains of the mountains. The characters are interesting, even the poriferal characters. The heroine is strong and capable, yet quite feminine, and the hero is strong enough to appreciate her strengths and sensitive enough to accept her flaws. It is interesting how she has woven the lives of real people, and real writers, into her fictional tale. It is always an education reading books by Maggie Bishop. She gives little details about life in Appalachia that one would be hard pressed to find elsewhere. My only regret in reading Murder at Blue Falls is that it ended too soon. Perhaps there's a sequel in this one?

This book was very good because it told about Imogene Spark and what she did every summer. But this summer her camp burned down and she could not return to her usual summer. Her best friend Edie Finkelstein always goes to camp with her. This summer Edie's parents wanted her to go to a different camp. Imogene's mother called her cousin Bobo, told her the story of the burned camp. Bobo said that she could come to Iowa where they live on a farm. In Iowa, Imogene met her cousins, Josephine, Annie Mae, March, and Nathan, who thought he was a dog. They did a lot of fun things, including, teaching the pigs to curtsy, spied on their neighbors with their sunglasses, entering her gum wrapper chain in the odd contest. Imogene and the others won first prize. At first Imogene thought that she should win first prize alone, she decided to share it with them because they had helped. I enjoyed this book because it was different than normal life, like teaching the pigs to curtsy. Because it was funny and sometimes made me laugh. I would recommend this book if you want to read a good and short book.

Occasional Cow is about this girl named Imogene. She always goes to camp but this year she can't, so she has to go to her aunt Bobo's house in Iowa. She has a hard time fitting in at first and then she gets to know them and starts playing with her cousins. She spies on their neighbor with them, with her new sunglasses. She is making the worlds longest gum wrapper chain. Her best friend is Eddie. I think you will like this book. I sure did.

This book was very exiting and adventurious. We liked it because it wasn't to long. We also liked it because there was this lady named "the pistachio women" and she hated flying on airplanes. It seemed like it would be a small childs book, but it was really for a 4th grade level. This book made me laugh and I really liked it.

An Occasional Cow tells the story of Imogene, who lives in New York City but spends all her summers at camp. When her usual camp burns down, though, her parents are desperate to find a place to send her. Aunt Bobo's farm in Iowa is their answer.

In Iowa, Imogene meets her cousins: Josephine, March, Annie Mae, and Nathan. At first, there's some minor clashes between Josephine and Imogene, as the girls are quite similar. As the summer progresses, the group becomes fast friends and shares adventures. They spy on their neighbors, climb the laundry shute, and struggle to train their pigs to curtsey so they can win the annual pig talent show.

An Occasional Cow is light, pleasant fare. There isn't much plot, and what there is is far from compelling, but some of the characters are engaging, and the narrative moves swiftly. There are also touches of humor. Horvath often appears, in this book and in others, to be paying homage to Edward Eager's writing style (there are phrases in all of her books that are more or less direct quotes from Eager's work), so perhaps it isn't too surprising that Cow reads like an Eager book with the magic replaced by more mundane activities.

The book's most serious flaw is its lack of any conflict. Horvath tries, and then discards, one conflict after another, but she just doesn't seem to be comfortable having any of her characters struggle or fight. For example, Imogene doesn't like being sent to camp - she'd prefer to stay in New York - and she hates the idea of going to Iowa. With a set up like that, it seems likely that the story will feature either Imogene's attempts to teach her parents to let her stay home, or Imogene's gradual conversion to loving her summers away. In fact, neither thing happens, because by the end of the second chapter, Imogene is entirely happy and settled into the country, without having changed her general attitude towards her summers at all. The remainder of the conflicts are handled precisely the same way - they show up briefly and are fixed within 15 pages.

All in all, this book is a nice diversion, nothing more, but it might be pleasant for young readers who enjoy light and cheerful stories.

Regardless of the unappealing title, A Place Called Ugly written by Avi can be measured as one of the best books I have read. Since my summer assignment was to read during the summer, I decided to read this book. It made my summer more luxurious.
Depending if you like realistic fiction this book may be a book for you. THis book has many points which prove that this book can be considered as realistic fiction. Pip who is the main character, is an average boy who lives with his sister and her husband. Avi's description, though, is so flamboyant that they are visible ro all your senses; for example when Avi is explaining his sister's cooking, it is detectable to the eye to the smell, to the visiooon, and we are very close to tasting it. From the moment that I opened the book until when I closed the book felt like five minutes, because teh book was so attractive, and interesting. I read the book, like I eat ice-cream. The words are particles that make up the flavors, and the events are my desired flavors. Campared to Avi's writing, and other author's writings, I think that Avi has a unique way of seducing the reader. That's what I like most about Avi's books.

A Place Called Ugly by Avi
Book review by Seth of N.Y

Owen's family stayed in a beach house for twelve years and now construction workers want to tear it down and build a hotel in the house's place and Owen won't stand for it. Owen hid in the beach house in mid fall and survived on $10.00 a lighter and some friends from a department store. And Owen has to convince the landowner to stop the construction and keep the beach house for future use. Miss Devlin (The landowner) isn't convinced and she thinks the hotel is a better investment. Some older kids started a fight and Owen got badly hurt. (He felt that in the morning)!!!

If you like realistic fiction with a twist of madness you'll love this book and I think Avi has made a good decision in making the novel A Place called ugly. I would recommend this book to anyone. Will Owen save his summer rental house? Find out in this great novel by Avi! On a scale of 1-5 I would rate this book **** 4 stars for best creativity. This book is great for any age. Enjoy!

I want to see the cover pag

Throughout all the changes going on in his adolesence, Owen is trying to hold onto the one "constant", the family summer home. But now that is at risk of being taken away. Owen makes some risky choices, and keeps the reader spellbound as his life may be in danger. The author uses flashbacks to help the reader understand why Owen is taking so many risks.