Campbell, Melodie. The Goddaughter. (Rapid Read series)

Campbell, Melodie.  The Goddaughter. (Rapid Read series)    Orca  134p  9.95 978-1-4598-0125-7  2012 hs/adult    VG      Conflict   

Gina, a jeweler, has the misfortune of belonging to a family of mobsters, and she finds herself reluctantly agreeing to transport some jewels across national boundaries illegally.  Somehow, this mission, which was supposed to take place quickly and uneventfully, becomes very complicated when the jewels are inadvertently stolen by a prostitute before she even gets to the airport, and through a series of convoluted twists and turns, Gina ends up travelling from eastern Canada all the way to Arizona and back with her reporter boyfriend and wangling a marriage proposal from him to boot.  The sex (mainly just sex talk, but a little bit kinky) earmarks it as an “adult read” not suitable for a school library, but it will appeal to adult reluctant readers or those seeking a good, short beach read.  The author is skilled at what she does, but it is not great literature, nor does it pretend to be.   

           

Jewel heists–Fiction, Caper literature                      --Carol Kennedy

Lois DUncan by Kimberly Campbell

Campbell, Kimberly. Lois Duncan.
Enslow, 2009, 104p, $31.93, 978-07660-2963-7.

This book covers the story of Lois Duncan’s writing career. It shows how Lois turns her life’s challenges into stories that everyone will enjoy reading.
The author has written an easy to read book for young readers that will certainly keep their attention and present the factual details on the career of a well-known author, Lois Duncan. The factual details are interestingly presented as well as informative and educational.

The inclusion of chronology, chapter notes, several lists, where to obtain more information and a glossary/index make this a useful research tool. The inclusion of web sites for youngsters is also important in school classrooms today.
The flow and balance of both the text and full color visuals are integrated to present a very stimulating book for both young and reluctant readers.
I found it extremely interesting that a neighbor (McKinlay Kantor) informed her at the age of 13 that her writing was pure trash. He then went on to give her advice about how to succeed. She took this advice as well as the knowledge she gained from her photographer parents and went on to become a renowned novelist.
This book is one in the Authors Teens Love series. The series consists of 16 books at this time. The general theme of the series is about noteworthy authors. LM