Here are a couple of tidbits I wanted to mention...

I have decided to start grading the books I review with a simple A-F system that will be familiar to anyone educated in an American public school. I don't think I really need to explain what the grades mean, but I will probably post an explanation on the sidebar anyway. This will occur when I have the time and energy (so around 2009). My latest review (below) contains this new feature, and I will try to go back and grade the books in my previous reviews. Again, this should be accomplished sometime in the next 2 years. Just kidding - I'll probably get to it in the next week or so. I will also include the grades in the tags at the bottom of this blog so you can skip all the flunkees and find the A plussers more easily.

Also, Camy Tang is having a huge book giveaway on her site. Who is Camy? Well, I was wondering that same thing yesterday when I read about this giveaway on Mommy of 3's blog. Then, I thought, "Who cares who she is - she's giving away a ton of free stuff." After surfing around her website, I found out that she is an Asian woman who writes Christian fiction. If you're interested in entering her giveaway, go to her website and read all about it. If you enter, please mention that Susan at Bloggin' 'Bout Books sent you. I love contests and free stuff!

Okay, that's all I've got. Now, back to my book...

As an armchair detective and food lover, I adore the idea of stories involving murder mysteries and recipes. The punny titles, the cozy settings, the delicious plotlines - I long to scarf them all up. If only I could find a good one. I've tried Joanna Fluke, Tamar Myers and now J.B. Stanley, all of whom make me groan in defeat. By definition, these types of books are light and fun, but does that mean they also have to be poorly written and utterly predictable? No! Somewhere in this genre lurks a skilled writer, I just know it...

Carbs & Cadavers tells the story of James Henry. At the moment, James' future is looking pretty dim: he's newly divorced; his mother has just died, leaving him to care for his cantakerous father; he's had to resign his professorship at William & Mary and hire on at the library, earning a much lower salary; he's back in his hometown, where he felt awkward even as a child; and, he's 50 pounds overweight. He finds his silver lining in the plus-size form of Lindy Perez, who bustles into the library with a notice to post on the community bulletin board. The poster announces the formation of a Supper Club for people interested in forming friendships and losing weight - "like a dieter's club but more fun," enthuses Lindy. James immediately decides to join the club. Along with Lindy and three others - a statistics-loving postman; a hippie pet groomer; and a sherriff's assistant longing for a promotion - James becomes a member of the Flab Five. With the support of the group, James fully intends to be able to drop some weight. What he doesn't count on is falling for Lucy, whose presence leads directly to his involvement in a murder investigation. The victim is Brinkley Myers, whose only real accomplishments occurred a few years back on the high school football field. No one's all that sorry he's dead, but many are outraged when Whitney, a sweet, young waitress is jailed for the crime. Lucy determines to find the true killer, drawing her dieting friends into her unofficial investigation. As the Flab Five gets closer to the truth, certain members find themselves in increasing danger. Can they prove Whitney's innocence and find the real killer? And, most importantly, can they manage to stay away from Cheese Puffs and peanut butter cups long enough to shed some pounds?

I agree, the plot sounds like a lot of fun. In the hands of a better writer, it could have been a decent mystery. But, J.B. Stanley would have flunked a freshman writing course. Her characters are cliched, her writing is sloppy, and the plot she's created is so predictable that I identified the killer as soon as the character was introduced. I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from picking up a red pen and making the book bleed with corrections. If only someone had edited all the clumsy sentences, erased all the extraneous information (the reader really doesn't need a description of every float in the Halloween parade), and encouraged Stanley to flesh out her characters, this book could have worked. As it is, Carbs & Cadavers is nothing more than a rough draft.

Perhaps the book could have been redeemed by some interesting recipes, but nope. It includes only two, and if you've ever tried to lose weight, you've seen them both - "Phony" Mashed Potatoes made with cauliflower; and crustless pumpkin pie. Neither look that great.

Needless to say, my search for the perfect murder mystery with recipes continues...and no longer includes J.B. Stanley

Grade: D (and that's only because it wasn't horrible enough to make me abandon it)

Set in Medieval England, Crispin: Cross of Lead tells the story of a 13-year-old peasant boy - called Asta's Son - who becomes orphaned when his mother dies. He has no kin and few friends in his village, where he and his mother were always treated as outsiders. Distraught, he hides in the woods, where he overhears a disturbing conversation between his cruel feudal master Lord Aycliffe and a stranger. Although the words exchanged make little sense to Asta's Son, he senses the men are discussing his own situation. When the feudal lord spies the boy, a chase ensues, and Asta's Son narrowly escapes. After spending a night in the forest, the boy creeps back to his hut, only to see soldiers burning it to the ground. Stunned, Asta's Boy cannot understand what is happening. At nightfall, he creeps to the town church to seek help from the only friend he has left - Father Quinlen. The priest presents Asta's Boy with a leaden cross, which belonged to his mother. On the cross is printed words the boy can't read - Father Quinlen promises to read to decipher the writing later. The priest also gives the boy another gift, the name with which he was christened - Crispin. Father Quinlen further explains to Crispin that he has been declared a "wolf's head" - a wanted criminal, who is to be shot on sight - by Lord Aycliffe. The charge is thievery, although Crispin has done nothing. Mystified, Crispin creeps back into the woods, promising to meet Father Quinlen the next night, when the priest will help him escape the village. Crispin keeps the appointment, only to find his friend dead. In abject terror, Crispin flees, heeding the priest's warnings to run for his life. Lost and hungry, the boy wanders into a deserted village where he encounters a huge, red-headed juggler named Bear. The man commands Crispin to be his servant, but the boy soon realizes that he is freer with Bear than he has ever been. Still, Lord Aycliffe pursues the boy, and Crispin cannot be wholly certain Bear will not betray him for a reward. As Bear and Crispin travel to Great Wexley for a grand festival, they attempt to make sense of Crispin's mystifying situation. The solution appears to be connected to the writing on Crispin's lead cross, writing which remains undeciphered. Once in Great Wexley, Bear and Crispin find themselves in more danger than they could have possibly imagined. As they close in on the truth, they must risk their necks to save their lives. Although I won't give away the ending, I will say that Crispin survives to continue his adventures in Crispin at The Edge of the World (which I haven't read yet).

This Newbery Award winner gives the reader a fascinating glimpse into the bleak world of 14th Century England; its old-fashioned, formal tone just adds to the period detail. I think younger readers may be put off by the tone of the novel, but they will certainly be pulled in by the non-stop action. It's truly a grand adventure with a brave and admirable hero on a quest to find the most important thing in the world - his true identity.

I don't know many authors personally - okay, I don't know any - but I do have a connection (however tenuous) with Graham Salisbury . Although I've never met him, I do know his ex-wife and a couple of his kids. In fact, his daughter Melanie was my younger brother's good friend. I heard rumors her dad was a writer, but that's all I knew. Fast forward a few years...I found myself sitting in a college classroom listening to a presentation by a visiting children's author. We were given extra credit points for attending these lectures, so I had chosen this one at random. Imagine my surprise when I realized it was Graham Salisbury - Melanie's dad. He was an excellent speaker, but I never checked out any of his books. Well, the other day, I was at the library scanning the shelves for Lemony Snicket books (I'm on #4), and I happened to see several of Salisbury's novels. So, I grabbed Under the Blood-Red Sun, read it and really enjoyed it.

The story revolves around Tomikazu "Tomi" Nakaji, a Japanese-American eighth-grader living on Oahu in 1941. Tomi lives with his father, a fisherman; his mother, a maid; his ornery grandpa; and his little sister, Kimi. While the Nakaji's shack is less than luxurious, life is pretty good for Tomi. Beating the Kaka'ako Boys in baseball is his biggest worry. Until December 7, when Tomi and his friend Billy spot smoke billowing up from Pearl Harbor. Suddenly, the far-off war has hit Hawaii, and the Nakaji's friends and neighbors are eyeing them with suspicion. As Tomi describes it: "It felt strange, like people were sneaking glances at us ... I realized that what that lady saw wasn't just a boy and his mother...What she saw was a Japanese boy, and his Japanese mother" (131). It doesn't help that Tomi's grandpa still clings desperately to the souveniers of his life in Japan - a flag, their family's katana (an heirloom sword), and an altar for his dead wife. Burying the items makes the Nakajis feel safer...for a time. Then, they receive news they have feared since the attack at Pearl Harbor - Tomi's father, Taro, has been shot and jailed. Without Taro's income to support the family, the Nakajis have little food or kerosene. Tomi wants only to go back to life as it was - school and baseball - but his world has changed forever. When his grandpa is also arrested, Tomi becomes the man of the house, a position that requires him to be strong despite the fact that his whole life is falling apart...The story ends at this point, continuing in the sequel, House of the Red Fish.

The beginning of the book drags a little, although Salisbury does a fine job of introducing readers to life on Oahu. The characters' accents ring true, as do the descriptions of scenery and daily life. Once Pearl Harbor is attacked, the story picks up pace and races to a heartbreaking finale. Although packed with action, the book is really about a friendship - between Japanese-American Tomi and his haole friend Billy - and how the war changes the boys and their relationship with each other. Salisbury also describes the plight of Japanese-Americans in this period with honesty and compassion. It's an authentic, touching story and I'm not just saying that because I know the author...well, okay, sort of know. It really is a great story - I can't wait to read the sequel.