The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

I'm a big fan of Cecelia Ahern. I think she comes up with the most fascinating ideas for her stories. I don't always love how she resolves the conflicts in her books, but she is a beautiful story-teller and has such creative ideas. This book was not my favorite of her books but it was definitely worth reading.

The Gift tells a story about a workaholic who has been unfaithful to his wife, a lousy father to his 2 small children, and generally cares about the wrong things in life. He meets a homeless man outside his work building and gives him a job in the mail room. This homeless man helps him take a look at himself and make some difficult changes with his life.

This was a nice story, well told, reminding us all about what is truly important: family, friends, and being a good person. Definitely would recommend this story to others!

3.5 out of 5 stars

Reckless by Cornelia Funke

I am so very behind on my book blogging but I feel like it's important to write at least something on all of my books, so the next few posts will be very brief.

I found this book, Reckless by Cornelia Funke, when I learned that my local Borders was closing and having huge sales on all their merchandise. By the time I got there all the good stuff was gone. There were, however, large quantities of this book still on the shelf marked 80% off. I can't resist such a fabulous bargain, especially when I know the author is reputable. (see the Inkheart Trilogy)

Reckless is a sort of bizarre story about a guy who discovers a magic world inside a mirror in his father's study. When his younger brother follows him and gets turned in to a Goyl (a man-like creature made of stone) by dark magic, Jacob is determined to make things right.

I can't say I particularly enjoyed the story. In the past I have enjoyed Funke's writing style and creative ideas, but Reckless was a little too weird for me. I was curious to find out what happened in the end, which is what kept me reading, but otherwise I didn't care too much about the characters. I'm glad I only paid $3 for this book.

1 out of 5 stars