Here is mine for the day:

Made in the USA by Billie Letts, page 184

"Lutie rolled her window closed and tried again to snag her keys, but Huff, with a metal pipe the size of a baseball bat, struck Lutie's window. She screamed, but the sound was trapped inside the car."

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for this book! Today is the last day to enter. You can find the link here.

Genre:  Nonfiction, Inspirational, Memoir

Reading Challenges:  19 for 100+ in 2009

I first heard the name of Randy Pausch when I read an excerpt from this book in a copy of Reader's Digest, while visiting with some extended family.  I meant to get around to reading it someday, but found myself putting it off.  I think I was afraid that reading it would result in tears and flashbacks to unpleasant memories related to my mother's lost battle with cancer.  Finally, I broke down and decided to give the book a try.

I'm very glad I did.  The Last Lecture surprised me; I was expecting a last will and testament, instead I found a love letter to life.  Randy Pausch was someone who lived a blessed life, much the result of his own hard work and tenacity, who knew how to count his blessings.  Reading his book made me think about all the great things that I already have in my life, and all of the great memories I've already made.

Pausch did try to teach some valuable lessons that he had been lucky enough to learn from in his own life.  I specifically appreciated his thoughts on working well with others, and the idea that "brick walls are there to make us prove how much we want something."  I found this book to be a fast paced, enjoyable read.  This is no pity party, but a smile inducing memoir.  Yes, I did find myself caring about Pausch and his family, and even wondering how his family has fared since he passed away in July of 2008.

If you haven't watched the last lecture that Pausch gave at Carnegie Mellon which was the inspiration for the book, you can view it here.  If you have already watched the lecture, it is still worth reading the book, as Pausch expanded on many of the ideas he only briefly touched on during his live lecture.  The book is much less technical than the live lecture, and contains more detailed stories of Pausch and his family.  I really enjoyed this book.  I'm glad I followed the advice of so many of my fellow bloggers and gave it a chance.

Genre:  Children's Fiction, Early 1900's, Mental Illness, Coming of Age 

Reading Challenges:  18 for 100+ in 2009

The Locked Garden is set in the year 1900, and is primarily the story of two sisters: Verna, age 12, and Carlie, age 6.  After the recent death of their mother, the girls move with their father, who is a physician,  to a new home located on the grounds of an insane asylum where he will be given the opportunity to test his theories of treating mental illness with medication.  Joining the family in their journey is Aunt Maude, their maternal aunt, who seems determined to constantly remind the children and their father of the recent loss they have suffered in an effort to keep the memory of her sister alive.  Shortly after starting life in their new home, their father hires a young patient, Eleanor, to assist in the care of Verna and Carlie.  Eleanor's arrival changes everything, and soon Verna and Carlie find themselves at odds with both their father and their aunt as they try to ensure that Eleanor will remain one of the family.

This was an enjoyable read, which at times reminded me of Sarah, Plain and Tall.  I found the understanding and treatment of mental illness at the time of the novel to be especially interesting.  The book certainly didn't feel like a history lesson, but I felt that I learned a lot during the course of my reading.  This book would be a perfect introduction to helping children have an understanding of the concepts of mental illness and depression.  I can picture myself someday reading it to my own children when they are older so that we can have a discussion about what mental illness is, and how such illnesses are treated today versus in the past.  The book also deals with death and grieving, although this is certainly a minor focus of the book.  I am mentioning it because I really appreciated Whelan's handling of this topic.

The story itself is very fast paced.  I found this to be a quick read.  I was able to finish it in an afternoon.  The target age group is 8-12, or grades 3-7, and I feel that this book was perfectly suited to this audience.  The only reason I can't give this book a higher rating is because of the abrupt ending.  I really felt that the story came to a screeching halt just as I was bracing for the climax.  Perhaps this is because Whelan is planning to write a sequel, but I just found myself shocked that this book was actually over.

I would like to thank Harper Collins for generously providing me a review copy.  Whelan is a great writer, and this isn't the first novel of hers that I have read.  It certainly won't be my last.

I would love to giveaway my advanced review copy to a lucky reader.  To enter, please leave a comment below.  Extra entries can be earned by subscribing, following, or posting this giveaway on your blog.  Please leave me a way to contact you, as well as a link to your blog so I can see the posting.  The contest starts today, and will end next Sunday, May 17th.  I will announce the winners on the blog, and will also contact them via email.  Please, only enter if you have a US or Canada mailing address.