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Book Reviews #1

  
WARNING: Spoiler Alert!

And Then She Was Gone
By Christopher Greyson 

28th Jan, 2017: As I write this, I am traveling over the Konkan coast of India from Mangalore to Udupi. Tired though I was, I couldn't pause reading the book. The plot line of a young man, just turned 18, and looking to solve the crime he had stumbled upon, reminded me so much of an older Frederick Trotteville.
Enlisted for army, Jack is a good Samaritan, a typical boys scout, who catches bag snatchers to help helpless older people, irregardless of his own safety. From running behind pickpockets and helping neighbours to setup their washers, Jack the do-gooder is requested by his foster mother to help her neighbour clear her son's name in an ongoing murder investigation. Stacy was a financial analyst, who just completed working on a shipping company portfolio. Upon discovering a discrepancy in the insurance values, after office hours she notifies her boss, who asks her to forget it as the results have already been shared . With her car failing to start, she starts to walk across a park to reach home. She gets assaulted in the park. The cops arrest Jack's acquaintance J-Boy, who was caught using Stacy's credit card.
Realizing that J-Boy hadn't been involved in the murder, Jack tries to solve the crime, as the police hadn't dug into the investigation after arresting J-Boy. Jack's good efforts almost land him in jail a couple of times, threatening his enrollment in the Army. Ignoring the warnings from his family and friends, he sticks to the investigation. 

The book shows darker shades of the society that stays below the surface ready to pop up at any time. It takes courage to swim upstream in the murk and Jack Stratton has the dare to hope. 

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 The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
by 
When I picked the Second summer of the Sisterhood, it gave me the same comfort I had as a child whenever I started reading the next volume of an Enid Blyton School series. The familiarity of the characters and the bond they share with each other and with the readers is something really special. After reading Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants #1 and watching the movie a million times, I decided to invoke the same magic among my friends! And that turned out to be a major flop show! 
Anyhooo, I truly envy Bree, Carmen, Tibby and Lena for their relationship. I had watched the second movie a long time back and I never considered reading this book until now. After a spat of thrillers and fantasy, I was in mood for some light reading.
Part two of the series covers the summer after their first summer with the pants. Every moment of that first summer apart was carefully documented on the pant. The pant traveled between the four from South Carolina with Carmen, to Greece with Lena, to sports camp with Bree to Tibby working at Walmart in Maryland. As they faced challenges with love, family, friends, the four were apart, but stayed together, connected by the magic of the pants. 
This summer, apart from Tibby, everyone decided to stay home for their last summer before leaving for college. But Bree ends up leaving for Washington after discovering letters from her Greta which her dad had hidden from her all these years. Lena settles for a dreadful summer job and Carmen hopes for a summer of romance. There was romance alright, but for her mother! The second summer turns out to be as eventful as the first.. with more friendship and romance, goof ups and growing up.
Albeit a chicklit, this one is in good taste. There is a steady balance of characters and the maturity of personalities since the previous book is evident.


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