38. Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander

This is the second of the Sir John Fielding Mysteries. These are amazing historical mysteries. This one begins with a mass murder of a family and the workers of a bookseller in 16th century England. It was a close call for the main character because he was supposed to apprentice with this particular bookseller and was set to move in when everyone in the house was killed the night before. He was considerably shaken and motivated to help Sir Fielding find the killer. It was a fun mystery and I really love all the historical tidbits. And even though it was a murder mystery, it wasn't gory. I like that. I would highly recommend this book and this series.

37.Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl by Tedd Arnold

This book is hilarious!! Emma picked this out for one of her free books at the library--right up Emma's alley. But Lily picked it out for bedtime story. Flies aren't really my thing so I wasn't too excited. But I was completely wrong. The pictures are hilarious; the story is funny; and I loved it. I would highly recommend it, especially for beginning readers. I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series.

36. Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

This novel is an awesome example of fairy tale retelling at its finest. The story revisits the fairy tale, the 12 dancing princesses. I loved the characters. They were original and likeable. I love the take on the story. This was a book that I had been wanting to read for a long time because we've met Jessica Day George several times at our library things. She's really funny. She's also a great writer. This is seriously one of my favorite retellings I've ever read.

35. The Magic Pony: A Dream Come True by Elizabeth Lindsay

Ruth wanted to read this for her bedtime story. I think she got the book at school. It was a cute story about a little girl who bought a horse picture and then the horse comes to life. I liked it. It has cute pictures and a cute story. They only thing I didn't like is the girl's relationship with her brother. But overall it was good.

34. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I have to be honest that I didn't think I would like this book. I thought it would be really thick like Sherlock Holmes (which I really like but think are long). I was wrong. Agatha Christie has a very sparse way of writing that is very refreshing. The mystery is awesome, but I did have to write down all the characters so I could remember them. There are a lot of them. But the book is great. I guess there is a reason why Agatha Christie is one of the great mystery writers of all time. I really look forward to reading my next Agatha Christie mystery.

32-33. Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Everyone should read this book. I think I've said this before but I really mean it this time. I read this book for the first time with the mother-daughter book club at the library, and the second time for my ward book club. One of the ladies in our club is a retired special education teacher and she loved it. She said that she thought every special education student should have a counselor like in this book. I love this book because it makes you want to be more sympathetic to those with the same challenges as those in the book. It tells the story of a little 10 year old girl who has Asperger's Syndrome. When her brother is killed in a school shooting, she has to try to deal with the situation and help her dad to do the same. I would highly recommend it for everyone. I would read it again myself. It also won the National Book Award, which is very hard to do.

31. Once Upon a Curse by E. D. Baker

This is the third book in the Frog Princess series. This time Emma and Eadrick are desperate to find the cure for the curse that turns Emma's family into horrible witches if they smell a flower after their 16th birthday. Emma has refused to marry Eadric unless they can find a cure. They end up going back in time on their search and meet the first Green Witch, an ancient ancestor. It's funny, witty and the story is surprising and unpredictable. I love these books. This is probably the third time I have read this book. Each time I have listened to the book on CD, and the reading is excellent. This is actually the first book I read of this series and I still love it.

30. The Survivor's Club: The Secrets And Science That Could Save Your Life by Ben Sherwood

This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, but a lady in my book club chose it for the month of May. Even though I was a little reluctant to read it, once I got started I couldn't stop. I found the book absolutely fascinating. The author, Ben Sherwood, had gone around and interviewed all these people who had survived crazy things. Then he tried to figure out why they survived or what factors contributed to their success. The book is organized into different things that affect your survival and different kinds of situations. For example, there is a whole chapter on surviving plane crashes, and one on how much God and your faith affect your chances. Just the true stories of the people who survived are worth reading. The people survived everything from jumping off the Golden Gate bridge to being attacked by a mountain lion to a horrendous knitting needle accident (seriously, knitting needles can be very dangerous--who knew?) My favorite part is obviously the stories, but the tips on surviving difficult situations were almost as interesting. And I think the overall tone of the book is very positive and uplifting: not "look at all the horrible stuff that can happen to you" but "here's what survivors do and you can do it too." I really liked it and would recommend it to anyone.

29. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

This is another Emma bedtime story choice and she seemed to enjoy it. I think that I first experienced this book sometime in elementary school. One of my teachers read it to me and I remember really enjoying it. I think I might have read it one other time since. But this is the first time I've read it in a long time. I loved it. It's so complex, but on such a fun level with all the animals. Emma loved it, but so did Lily and Ruth. It's such an interesting story and makes you think about lots of ethical questions as an adult. It's the story of a group of rats who were experimented on in a science lab and then escaped. After their escape they tried to establish their own community. I loved it and think that it makes a great read-aloud. I would highly recommend it.

28.Mr. Darcy's Great Escape by Marsha Altman

These books are some of my favorite Pride and Prejudice spin-offs. John told me after we went to see a Jane Austen play, that nothing ever happens in them. I think lots happens, but whatever. But I have to admit that this series is fun precisely because lots of things happen. Mr. Darcy gets trapped in a Turkish prison and Elizabeth has to rescue him. But it is not just the action that makes these books my favorites, it is that the characters are all likeable. I still like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, even though they have flaws and weaknesses. They're not unrealistically good, and thus, boring. Nor are they so crazy that they are unrecognizable as Jane Austen's original characters. These are just fun sequels and I really enjoy them. I think this is the third in the series and I've enjoyed them all and would recommend them.

27. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

I really have mixed feelings about this book. I picked this up because I had heard the name so often that I was curious about it. I have to say the book is much better than I expected. The characters are interesting and well-developed. I liked that there are lots of different personalities with lots of body types and stories. I liked that the stories showed that there are consequences to decisions. The part that makes me uncomfortable is that I felt ok reading it as an adult, but I'm not sure I would want Kate to read it, at least not for a long time. There is nothing graphic in it but it is definitely suggestive in a few parts. So there you go. My favorite part of the book though is that at the beginning of each chapter is a random quote. Some of them made me laugh super hard. My favorite is: "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes."--Frieda Norris. I just couldn't stop laughing when I read that. I know it's horrible, but so, so funny.

26. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar

This is another book that has sat on my bookshelf for about 10 years. And again it is just the right shape to fit in my purse so I picked it up. Louis Sachar is a popular childrens and young adult author and is on lots of recommended reading lists for middle grade readers. I thought this would be just another funny book about kids in school. But I found this book really thought provoking. It's the story of a boy named Bradley Chalkers who is a supposed trouble maker and bully. Only the story is told from Bradley's point of view. I found the story really sad and disturbing in a lot of ways because everyone treats Bradley like he will always do the wrong thing and that he can never be different. And the kid is only in fifth grade. Luckily, a new counselor moves in and tries to treat him like a valued person, and he starts to change. It is such and interesting and uplifting book. I really like it and would recommend it to anyone.

25. Penny From Heaven by Jennifer L. Holm

I've been meaning to read this book for quite a while. I really like Jennifer Holm and she won her second Newberry Honor for this book. She also visited our library last year and the girls and I were very impressed by her fun, bouncy personality. She won her first Newberry Honor for Our Only May Amelia, which I read a while back and really liked. She also writes the Babymouse series with her brother, who does the illustrations which Emma and Mary both really enjoyed. So when they decided on this book for this month's Mother-Daughter Bookclub, I was very excited.

I loved it. The book centers around 12 year old Penny who lives with her widowed mother and maternal grandparents in 1950's New Jersey. That side of her life is pretty sedate. Her deceased father, however, came from a big Italian family that adds spice and excitement to her life. She has lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins, along with a spunky grandma, who provide her with all the excitement she could ever want. There are lots of fun characters and stories about this Italian family. But along the way, Penny begins to unravel the mystery of her father's death and uncover the hardships suffered by this Italian clan in WWII. I had never really heard a lot about the Italian-American experience in WWII so it was enlightening to me. As a kid in school, we always talked about the Japanese-American experience because Topaz (a Japanese internment camp in Delta) was so close. (I grew up in Orem.) I enjoyed learning about it. I thought I was WWIIed out, after Kate's Holocaust play, but still enjoyed reading this different perspective on the war. I also liked that it was loosely based on the author's family history (her mother being the inspiration for Penny). I would highly recommend it to anyone.

24. Blind Justice: A Sir John Fielding Mystery by Bruce Alexander

I picked up this book because it is the book for my book club this month, as recommended by Darlene. She's a mystery buff and this is a favorite series of hers, so I was pretty confident that it would be good. I wasn't disappointed. This mystery series is loosely based on the real historical figure, Sir John Fielding, who started what became the London police force. (I was more familiar with his brother Henry Fielding who wrote Tom Jones.) It is set in late 1700s London. The series is told through the eyes of a 12 year old boy, who Sir Fielding rescues from the streets, and who serves him as a helper in his investigaions because Sir Fielding is blind. It is just the kind of mystery I like, interesting but not graphic. A reviewer on the internet complained that it was not gritty enough, but that's exactly what I like about it. Why does everything have to be gritty nowadays? I like reading the mystery without having the lingering "gritty" images. Blind Justice is the first of the series and explores the apparent suicide of Lord Goodhope. I really liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or mysteries. I definitely am going to read the next and am just waiting for it to come in at the library.