Flip Side of the Game by Tu-Shonda Whitaker

The main character is Vera Wright-Turner who starts the story with how she was retrieved from Social Services by Aunt Cookie right after her grandmother died.  Her mother left her in a trash bag at a dumpster when she was as a baby.  Her grandmother retrieved her and raised her until she died when Vera was eight. 

Vera grows up thinking there is no such thing as love and she will get whatever she can from a man and keep it moving. 

Vera does go to school and she owns her own hair salon, but everything she got was paid for by a man.  She has 2 boyfriends – Roger who is married and Taj who is single. Taj adores her and wants to be with her, but without Roger in the picture.    

I saw this on the library shelf and it looked like a quick read as a small paperback.  I am the type of person that likes to read all genres even if it’s to keep myself up-to-date with different authors and perspectives. This is categorized as an urban black book, so I thought I’d see what it was like.  “True to the Game” is the best urban book so far.

The Revisionist, A Play by Jesse Eisenberg

The three characters in this play are David, Maria and Zenon.

I read this in one day.

David is a writer and just recently wrote a book but his editor wants him to revise it or else it won’t be sellable.  David is having writers block. He travels to Poland to stay with a relative thinking that he will have quiet time and not be bothered by anyone.  Ha!!

His cousin Maria wants to spend time with him. From the story we get the picture that she is poor and just barely eking out a living, but she is willing to share what she has with her relative from the US, the only relative to ever come and visit her. 

In the end, they grow to have an understanding that they each have personal issues.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Once again the author writes a novel with plots that crisscross and keep you on your toes to see what’s going to happen next!

This story involves a teen’s suicide and “Pharm” parties where teens get high with adult supervision.   Crazy!!

Adam’s best friend Spencer committed suicide.  Adam then tries to set up the club that hosts Pharm parties, but his father shows up and a fight breaks out.  A cop’s son introduced Adam to the club. Imagine that!

The next twist is the schoolteacher who makes some inappropriate comments to a young student and she is best friends with Adams sister.  When the parents approach him, he gets his crazy brother in-law involved and people start dying.  That’s all I’m saying – read the book!

The Lord of the Rings - Trilogy

I have seen the movie(s) over and over and over and over and then some, and over again!

Enjoyed the books!  Different twists and turns in the book than in the movie, but still great!

The best line: quoted from Bilbo Baggins: “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

The Woods by Harlan Coben

County Prosecutor Paul Copeland is working on one of the biggest cases of his career  At the same time, a crime that was committed 20 years ago surfaces to threaten his career.

Twenty years ago his sister went missing. After his parents separated, he never saw his mother again.  Why did she leave him without saying goodbye?  Why did his now-deceased father tell him to keep looking?  Did his girlfriend know what was going on???

Paul has a lot to deal with.  His sister went missing, his mother went missing and his wife dies. All over a period of time, but still!

All these answers unravel, or maybe not, at the end, but in the middle, you have no clue whodunit!

This was a great story set-up!  One of Harlan’s best!