Book: Border Watch

Summary: High above the crystal-blue waters of North Queensland, Captain Morgan Pentland patrols the vast Australian coastline. When Customs Agent Rafe Daniels joins her crew, she is immediately suspicious. Why is he boarding her plane when she isn’t there? And why is he asking so many questions? What Morgan doesn’t know is that Rafe has her under surveillance. Critical information about their Border Watch operations is being leaked and she is the main suspect.

Morgan’s ex, elite police officer Carl Wiseman, is back on the scene after she finally found the courage to throw him out. Is he trying to regain Morgan’s affections of are his intentions more sinister? When Morgan and Rafe are shot down in a tragic midair attack, they realise they have to start working together – and quickly. One of Australia’s most loved icons is the next target and they have only nine days to stop it. Will they uncover details of the plot in time, or will the tension that is growing between them jeopardise everything?

What I thought: Loved it. Rural romance with a bit of crime thrown in. Not as good as my "handsome farmer" books but still enjoyable :)

Book: Inside

Summary: At 17, Lee is inside for a crime he has committed. And he soon finds out that prison is not the holiday camp he's heard about. Warned to "play by the rules," he has to decide whose rules—the screws' or the other cons'. Life in a Young Offenders Institution is about survival. But the real struggle is inside Lee himself. Is he destined to be a "career con," or can he choose to change his life?

What I thought: I actually quite enjoyed this. I like the whole "prison insight" thing. Good for teens to put them off being stupid!

Book: Travellers' Tales 2

Summary: With an incisive eye and an Australian perspective, the ABC′s foreign correspondents report from all parts of the globe, including very recent human and natural disaster areas such as: Sri Lanka in the wake of the devastating Boxing Day tsunami; Beslan during the siege (with bullets flying during a live cross); New Orleans in the wake of Cyclone Katrina′s destructive force; London after the terrorist bombings; the violence that continues in Iraq. Also covered are Guantanomo Bay, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Siberia, Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe′s regime and China.

What I thought: Like most short stories it was hit and miss. I really enjoyed some of them and admire what journalists do. I'm too much a a chicken to be a foreign correspondent though. It is amazing to read about different situations in our world while I am safely cocooned in mine...

Tuesday Night Bookgroup: Sarah's Key

Summary: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to re-evaluate her marriage and her life...

What I thought: OMG. What an amazingly brilliant and harrowing book. The best book I have read in years. So moving and so very very sad. Just brilliant. Highly recommend.

Monday Night Bookgroup: Keeping Faith

Summary: As Mariah White struggles with depression her seven-year-old daughter Faith seeks solace in a new friend-a friend who may or may not be imaginary. Faith talks to her 'Guard' constantly and begins to recite passages from the Bible-a book she's never read. After a succession of visits to psychiatrists, all of whom conclude Faith is not hallucinating, the unimaginable starts to seem possible: perhaps Faith may actually be seeing God. When Faith's cachet is enhanced by reported miracle healings and alleged stigmata, she is touted as a prophet. Amidst the gathering storm of controversy, most disruptive of all is the arrival of two men: one a renowned television atheist who plans to debunk Faith's claims and help boost his flagging ratings, and the other her divorced father whose fear for his daughter's safety leads him to battle for custody. As Mariah finds herself fighting to keep her daughter, she has to push past her own insecurities and stand up for herself and her competence as a parent.

What I thought: Once again I was hooked. And I actually couldn't predict how it would all pan out. A sensitive topic explored in an amazing way. She really is an amazing writer...

Monday Night Bookgroup: Riding the Bus with my Sister

Summary: When Rachel Simon's sister Beth asks her to ride the buses with her for a year, Rachel is at first reluctant. Not only is she hyperbusy, but her relationship with Beth has never been easy. Beth has mental retardation and, although she is able to look after herself, she can still be a handful.

What I thought: When I first started this book I really enjoyed it however for me it got a little to repetitive as it continued on. It took AGES to finish and I was pleased to be done with it. Probably wouldn't recommend reading...

Tuesday Night Bookgroup: Nineteen Minutes

Summary: In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn, color your hair, watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five.... In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world, or you can just jump off it. In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge.

Sterling is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens - until the day its complacency is shattered by a shocking act of violence. In the aftermath, the town's residents must not only seek justice in order to begin healing but also come to terms with the role they played in the tragedy. For them, the lines between truth and fiction, right and wrong, insider and outsider have been obscured forever. Josie Cormier, the teenage daughter of the judge sitting on the case, could be the state's best witness, but she can't remember what happened in front of her own eyes. And as the trial progresses, fault lines between the high school and the adult community begin to show, destroying the closest of friendships and families.

What I thought: Once again I really enjoyed reading Picoult. Only criticism is that the ending was a bit short for me. Needed more info... But overall thoroughly enjoyed. I really felt for Peter's mother. So tough...