Book Review: Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3) by Heather Vogel Frederick

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Dear Pen Pal (The Mother-Daughter Book Club, #3)  by Heather Vogel Frederick  is the third book in a middle grade book series that is being rereleased. Chaos erupts in this third installment as the daughters in the book club get themselves into trouble. Each of the girls have big changes in their lives:  Jess is going to boarding school; Megan's grandmother comes to live with her; Emma starts a campaign against school uniforms; Cassidy has a lot of unexpected change coming to her family. Will the mother daughter book club stay together? I'd like to thank NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Dear Pen Pal  by Heather Vogel Frederick with it's upcoming rerelease to the public. I always love a good book that involves books, even if its target audience is children between the ages of eight and twelve. It wasn't until I reached the end of the book that I realized that it...
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Book Review: Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger

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Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger opens with a commuter train that has stalled and Selena Murphy striking up a conversation with another passenger named Martha. Martha admits that she's having an affair with her boss. Selena confesses that she thinks her husband is having an affair with the nanny. A few days later, Geneva, the nanny, disappears causing Selena's life to fall apart, and Selena begins to wonder just who Martha is.

I belong to several book related groups on Facebook, and Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger was recommended by another member. When I read the synopsis on Goodreads.com, I was immediately intrigued and purchased the ebook version from Barnes and Noble Booksellers.  At first, I wasn't sure I would like the book, but I persisted, and I am so glad I did.  The further I got into the story, the better it got, and I absolutely ended up falling in love with this novel, so much so that I want a sequel.

The story was told from various different perspectives, and at first, I wasn't sure how they all connected to one another. It definitely kept the story twisting and turning, which I loved because I definitely didn't have a clue how it was going to turn out. The one thing to keep in mind if you plan on reading this book is that it switches back and forth between the present day and the past. At first, this threw me for a loop.

Characters were very well developed in my opinion, even the children in the book were evolved, which was a nice change to see. There were characters that I loved and felt emotionally attached to.  And, of course, there others that I despised and wanted them to get their just dessert. Furthermore, the writing was superb. My heart pounded in all the right places and broke where it was supposed to.

I've seen several people compare Confessions on the 7:45 to the novel Strangers on a Train. I haven't read the latter, but it definitely makes me want to read it so I can make a comparison and form my own opinion. There's nothing bad I can really say about this book. I gave it five out of five stars, and I plan on reading more books written by Lisa Unger.

If you liked Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger, you may like Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris.


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