The Golden Hour

The Golden Hour

By Maiya Williams

Description: Mad TV writer Williams makes her children's book debut with this entertaining novel about a pair of siblings who go back in time. Thirteen-year-old Rowan and 11-year-old Nina have been sent to stay with their eccentric great-aunts in Maine after their mother is killed by a drunk driver. The elderly sisters run a small curiosity shop, stocked to the hilt with unusual items; among them, Nina (a prodigy pianist) discovers an original Beethoven composition that the world has never seen. Soon Rowan and Nina befriend twins, a boy and girl who introduce them to the town's old hotel. Rowan's great-aunt warns him away from the place, citing strange occurrences and referring to the hotel as a "portal." Of course, the four young people enter the hotel (which is accessible only during "the golden hour" just before sunset and "the silver hour" at sunrise) and come upon the "alleviator," an elevator of sorts that will transport them to any year and locale they choose-but only for seven days. When Nina turns up missing, Rowan suspects her destination and soon the other three are on their way to Paris in 1789. The plot grows rather murky as the children take different places within French society just before Bastille Day. - Barns and Noble

This book was a good read. I would like to read it with my children when they turn 8 or 9. I felt this story was fun, a little predictable, but still fun! The question arises, where would you go, if you could go anywhere, any time, anyplace? I think I would go... to Egypt at the time of the Great Kings. The time when the pharaohs ruled. Or maybe I would go on a Voyage with the Vikings. This book is fun because it opens your imagination.

My favorite characters in this book are the "sidekicks" the friends that go on the journey. Twins, Xanthe and Xavier were very well written. They have a lot of personality, and it makes you feel you knew them. I wish that she described more about the actual time travel, and about what it felt like. There were a few things that she could have put more detail in
Over all, I really enjoyed this book!

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Pretend You Don't See Her

PRETEND YOU DON'T SEE HER
By: MARY HIGGINS CLARK

Description: All the elements are in place: an appealing, plucky working-girl heroine placed in instant danger; a virile, adoring would-be lover kept at arm's length until the curtain; a cute moppet (also in danger); a doting but somewhat foolish mother; a dead dad whose spirit is ever-present in times of crisis. What's lacking is any real suspense, or, in this case, a satisfactory windup. Lacey Farrell is a comely young real estate saleswoman in Manhattan who has a client, Isabelle Waring, murdered virtually before her eyes, then has to spend most of the book on the run from the killer, whom only she can identify. In the process she goes into the witness protection program, and the most interesting part of the novel (Clark is always good on research) is the details on how this works. The plot, however-involving Isabelle's certainty that her daughter was murdered, the suspicion that falls on the wealthy man who owns Lacey's real estate firm and his scapegrace son, and a hit man who remorselessly pursues Lacey-is perfunctory in the extreme. When the real villain is finally unmasked-in a few throwaway sentences-the reader has almost forgotten he existed and is given no clue as to how and why he did all his evil deeds.

There are very few adult authors that I really like. Mary Higgins Clark is one of them. She does a good job of combining a touch of romance, mystery, suspense and drama together without it being too much. Her books are always clean and not to gory. I really liked this book! In fact I stayed up all night trying to finish it before i had to leave to head home (It's my mom's book).

Mary Higgins Clark weaves a tale of murder that just makes your skin crawl! She has such a way of describing us as human beings, small things that we do, that we don't notice very often. She writes so that you can not only see what is going to happen. But so that you feel along with the Characters! If you want a good romance/suspense, try one of Mary Higgins Clark's novels, I have yet to find one that I didn't love!