Playground

by 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson III) and Laura Moser
personal paperback 314 pages
genre: realistic fiction

Leslie Geissler gave this to me as a gift! I already had it in my collection, but had not read it yet. Butterball resents his mother for making him live in a town where he doesn't have his old friends or the entertainment of the city where his dad still lives. This is sure to resonate with kids who feel out-of-place and a bit angry with parents or other authority figures. My favorite part of the story is when he sticks up for his little neighbor kid. I disliked the stupid things he did in his anger.

John 3:16

by Nancy Moser
paperback, Carver County Library, 402 pages

I liked (not loved) this book, but am eager for our book club discussion. When we talk about the books, then I really start to appreciate what the author brought to it and what each of us takes away as readers.

Without giving away too much, I'll say that the funeral and Roman finding Trudy's letter were the two parts that I liked the most. My favorite characters were William and Barry. I must just like kids . . .

Some parts of this just felt too pat. I had a really hard time getting into this book (I didn't get past chapter two for weeks!), but once I got into the different characters' storylines, I read quickly and enjoyed it.

As it's written in the book (not sure what version):
John 3:16. For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who belives in him will not perish but have eternal life."
Praise God!