And Then There Were None

By:  Agatha Christie

Genre: Murder Mystery

Pages: 264

Published: 1939

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: PG-13

Compare to:

The Mystery of the Yellow Room, 

        Gaston Leroux

The Sign of Four, 

        Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A Stranger is Watching, 

        Mary Higgins Clark

In a nutshell:

10 strangers are trapped alone on an island, accused of murder by an unknown host. One by one they are killed, following the lines of a nursery rhyme.

What you may enjoy:

This book keeps you guessing. Christie set up the perfect mystery without revealing the secret of it all until the very end. If you want a classic with a surprising ending, you’ll love this!

What you may NOT enjoy:

It is difficult to keep track of all of the characters in the beginning and the story starts off a little slow. By the time the mystery really starts to build, some of the specifics get confusing.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Man chokes and dies; man killed with an axe (mentioned); man slaps woman; dead woman’s face described; man bleeds from gun wound in the head; man’s head crushed; drowned bloated body found; woman hangs herself.

Language and Profanity:

Damned (29xs); damn (9xs); damnable (3xs); God (15xs); hell; ass

Buy it on Amazon

The Night Circus

By:  Erin Morgenstern

Genre: Fantasy Fiction

Pages: 400

Published: 2011

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: Hazy zone between PG and PG-13

Compare to:

The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke

The Last Dragonslayer, Jasper Fforde

In a nutshell:

Forced to compete to prove who the stronger magician is, Marco and Celia never expected to fall in love. But their competition is putting all of those who are part of the circus as risk, and their teachers won’t let them stop until only one magician is left standing.

What you may enjoy:

This is an easy book to get swept into the atmosphere. The writing is beautiful and the imagery is elaborately vivid. The plot clearly illustrates how interconnected people’s stories are. The romance is a simple part of the book, not what carries the story.

What you may NOT enjoy:

It is easy to get lost in this book because of the constant jumps in points of view and time periods. The plot itself is not enough to put 400 pages into. At its core, this book is primarily just depictions of a circus and the people who keep it going.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Man cuts open girl’s fingertips; man breaks girl’s wrist; woman stabs her hand; man stabbed in the chest

Sex and Nudity:

Boy and girl kiss; man kisses woman’s neck; man kisses woman; girl kisses boy; man and woman kiss (2xs); woman kisses man (2xs); man takes off woman’s dress; man and woman are naked together; indicates that man and woman have sex

Language and Profanity:

 Hell, damned (4xs)

Buy it on Amazon

Coraline

By:  Neil Gaiman

Genre: Children’s Dark Fairy Tale

Pages: 162

Published: 2006

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: G

Compare to:

Tales of Terror from the Black Ship, Chris Priestly

The Changling. Terri Windling

A Tale Dark and Grimm, Adam Gidwitz

In a nutshell:

After Coraline finds another dimension, her “other mother” is determined to keep Coraline there forever. The only way Coraline can return home is to find and rescue her parents.

What you may enjoy:

Coraline is a fun and clever character. It’s a good level of creepy/scary for kids without causing nightmares. It is a beautifully written creation.

What you may NOT enjoy:

The book starts of kind of slow. The story is creepy in a weird way. There are quite a few unanswered questions.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Rat’s head severed from its body; severed hand creeps around a house

Buy it on Amazon

Dracula

By: Bram Stoker

Genre: Classic LiteraturePages: 488

Published: 1897

Told In: First Person

 “Movie” Rating: PG

(Leaning toward the PG-13 side)

Compare to:

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

In a nutshell:

The story, told through journals and letters, of how a group of people learned of the existence of vampires, and hunt down the one who started it all---Dracula.

What you may enjoy:

Classic story that makes all other vampire stories look silly in comparison. There is more dialogue and redeemable characters than “Frankenstein” and more details and story than Jekyll and Hyde. Since the story is told through multiple people, readers get many great perspectives.

What you may NOT enjoy:

Sometimes the language of the book is hard to follow for people unaccustomed to older English. Van Helsing talks far too much and all the men are overly dramatic. Some people have trouble their suspension of disbelief when it comes to the blood transfusions.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Wolves eat woman; vampire kills baby; man kills and eats birds raw; old man found dead; dead body found tied onto a ship; woman dies of heart attack; girl dies from blood loss; vampire bites child’s neck; vampire staked through the heart (slightly graphic); man lying in a pool of blood; vampire drinks from woman’s neck; vampire breaks man’s back, man dies; woman forced to drink vampire’s blood; man’s throat ripped out; vampire’s head cut off and heart stabbed through; man dies from knife wound.

Sex and Nudity:

Women kisses man; man kisses woman

Language and Profanity:

God (30 times); damn (2 times); hell

Find it on Amazon

Secret Life of Bees

By: Sue Monk Kidd

Genre: Historical Fiction/Literary Fiction

Pages: 336

Published: 2001

Told In: First Person

 “Movie” Rating: PG

(Leaning toward the PG-13 side)

Compare to:

Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

In a nutshell:

Set in the South during the 1960s, Lily’s life is shaped around the blurry memory of her mother’s death. After her black “stand-in-mother” gets into trouble, the two of them run away and stay with 3 bee keeping sisters where Lily learns about herself, life, and her mother.

What you may enjoy:

Eloquently written. The story is insightful for the time period and very expressive. Nothing feels forced, but the plot flows naturally and seems believable.

What you may NOT enjoy:

This is very much a “coming of age,” “sisterhood” kind of book. If that’s not your thing, you won’t like this. Some people find the religious practices of the woman a little wacky.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Woman shot and killed (mentioned several times); man shoves girl; man shakes wife violently; woman beaten; woman hit in the head; woman kills herself, her body weighed down in a river described; man slaps girl; boy throws bottle at a man

Sex and Nudity:

Women sit naked in a creek; girl lusts for boy while examining her naked body; man kisses woman; boy kisses girl

Language and Profanity:

Damn (or forms of it) 20xs; Hell 12xs; Ass (or forms of it) 9xs; God 5xs; Jesus Christ 7xs; Shit (or forms of it) 15xs; Bitch 4xs; Nigger 6xs

Buy it on Amazon

Gregor the Overlander

By: Suzanne Collins

Genre: Middle Grade

Pages: 326

Published: 2005

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: G

Compare to:

Midnight for Charlie Bone, Jenny Nimmo

Into the Wild, Erin Hunter

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, Robert O’Brien

In a nutshell:

After Gregor and his sister fall into the Underland, he is determined to get them home. But when it’s revealed that his missing father is held captive by the Rats, Gregor agrees to play a role in a prophecy that may be about him.

What you may enjoy:

This is a great book for young boys. Gregor is a good role model and the book is packed with action and excitement. It has good morals and lessons without having an agenda.

What you may NOT enjoy:

The giant rats, spiders, and cockroaches in the story are somewhat disturbing. The story itself is cliché―nothing new. The book builds and builds and then ends just as it’s getting started.

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Giant bats injured and bleeding; giant rats stabbed and killed; girl slaps boy; woman dies from injuries; giant rat stabbed; bugs killed and eaten by giant spider twice (slightly graphic); giant cockroach head torn off; piranhas eat giant rats; rat slices open a boys arm; giant rats throat ripped out; giant spider cut in half; rat hoard falls off a cliff.  

Buy it on Amazon

The Wednesday Letters

By: Jason F. Wright

Genre: Romance

Pages: 280

Published: 2007

Told In: Third Person

 “Movie” Rating: PG

Compare to:

The Wedding, Nickolas Sparks

Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom

A Child Called It, Dave Pelzer

In a nutshell:

After their parents die, the 3 adult Cooper children gather for the funeral and are surprised to find boxes full of letters their father wrote each week to their mother. Even more surprising are the secrets the letters hold.

What you may enjoy:

If you’re a fan of Hallmark channel movies, this is one for you! An uplifting and clean romance. It’s a fast read with a great message. The romance is sweet and satisfying with elements of mystery and drama.

What you may NOT enjoy:

This book is heavy on the cheese factor, with a tendency to overdramatize. The characters are a little too cookie cutter. Although not generally categorized as a Christian novel, it certainly pushes Christian values.   

Warnings:

Violence and Disturbing Images:

Woman has a heart attack; man and woman found dead; man beaten and ribs broken; man’s tooth punched out; woman raped.

Sex and Nudity:

Man tries to tear woman’s shirt off

Language and Profanity:

God

Drugs and Alcohol

Alcoholic character, man high on drugs 

Buy it on Amazon