What Chicks Are Reading

He Sees You When You're Sleeping by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

First off, I am a fan of Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter. Why would I have to make that disclaimed before reviewing this book? I don't know, it just felt right. This short Yuletide story features Sterling Brooks. This self-absorbed business man has been loitering in the celestial waiting room, trying to get through those pearly gates for years. At last the day comes and the council settles on a test for Sterling -- he will be sent back to earth and given an opportunity to prove his worthiness by helping someone else. Sterling Brooks finds himself in Manhattan, at the skating rink in Rockefeller Center. Among the skaters is a heartbroken seven-year-old named Marissa, and as Sterling soon realizes, it is she he has been sent to help.

Marissa's sadness comes from her separation from the father she adores, a talented young singer, and her sparkling grandmother, owner of a popular restaurant. Both have been forced into the Witness Protection Program because two mobsters, the Badgett brothers, have put a price on their heads to prevent their testifying against them in an arson case. Sterling, able to move back and forth in time and place, masterminds a plan to eliminate the threat from the Badgett brothers and reunite Marissa with her loved ones. Heartwarming, endearing, delightful all describe this quick read. Wonder if the Higgins will make this a holiday tradition? Chick Susie
  

Some of you may recall my earlier review of First Counsel by this same author. Well, Meltzer did not disappoint this time, either. This story is about the world of high finance. But it's more about what happens when the the perfect crime is foiled. Charlie and Oliver Caruso are two brothers working for Greene and Greene, a private bank that requires a minimum of 2 million dollars to open an account. When they stumble upon an abandoned account containing 3 million dollars, typically they would try to notify next of kin or turn the entire account over to the government. In what they think is a foolproof plan, they talk themselves into stealing it.

Well, it wasn't foolproof. First of all, when they transfer the 3 million they receive quite a shock when they look at their deposit. Secondly an accomplice is shot and they are blamed. In the meantime two secret service agents are after them as is a private investigator. How do you try to clear your name if indeed you're guilty? The pace is quick, this is an intriguing read for just about everyone. Chick Susie
 

On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo

Chick Jana gave this book to me. I had always told her that her children were so much fun to be around. They were happy, content babies who fed regularly and took naps. They appeared to have a schedule that accommodated both of them and Mom too.

Now that we're expecting our first child, I wanted to be sure I had read
what Chick Jana had. I finished the "Baby Wise" earlier this month and
loved it. It's an easy-to-read how-to that helped me realize each child is
different and is supposed to be; that parents have to learn how to
understand their babies' cues and that caring for a baby will require
patience, flexibility and adaptation to constant change. Hopefully I'll be
able to apply these words to our child once he/she is here! Chick Kristin
 

Trial By Ice: The True Story of Murder and Survival on the 1871 Polaris Expedition by Richard Parry

In the mid-1800s, after a number of countries had already joined the race to become the first to reach the North Pole, the US entered the fray. This is a true story that tells the tale of the 1981 Polaris Expedition which was led by Charles Hall. Hall along with being an experienced polar explorer was politically adept as he coerced President Grant and Congress to fund his voyage. However, in true political fashion and perhaps because of the political intervention, the voyage was in trouble before it even began.

Hall, the Navy, and the Smithsonian Institute squabbled to appoint members to the expedition according to their own distinct priorities, resulting in a group that suffered from disunity and mistrust. This is an engaging history book that keeps you turning the pages. After the captain's suspicious death, the expedition deteriorated further under poor leadership that fostered a dangerous lack of discipline among the men. The author used the journals and testimony of the men to relate their conversations and interactions, portraying a vivid picture of the loyalties and personal differences among the members. This is a must read for history buffs and the rest of you, read on for the next two reviews which are much lighter. Chick Susie
 

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts.

A delightful quick read that brings you into the lives and feeling of the characters. It is the story of Novalee, who at seven months pregnant, is dropped off at a Walmart Store somewhere in Oklahoma and who secretley lives in that Walmart store until her baby is born there. It is as though she begins her life over at that point, meets new people and makes new relationships there that make her the person she becomes. It can cause tears and chuckles and its message is not soon forgotten. Chick Jeanette