32. Dead Time - Stephen White

Alan Gregory #16
audio read by Dick Hill
11 unabridged cds...13 hrs....on the road from Tucson to PA
2008, Dutton Adult
397 pgs.
Contemporary Mystery
Finished 5/31/16
Goodreads rating: 3.82 (1503 ratings)
My rating:  4
Setting: Grand Canyon bottom and Colorado

First line/s:  "She disappeared into a crack in the earth."

My comments:  This was my first foray into this series, and I was told that I'd be okay if I didn't start with the first.  I liked it.  It was written from three points-of-view... Alan Gregory (a psychologist and the protagonist of the series); his ex-wife, Merideth; and a third person voice that describes a happening at the Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch a few years previously that becomes the crux of the story.  Each of the numerous characters have backstories and difficulties they're coping with along with the current mystery, and I love the way it was all woven together.  I liked some of the characters, rolled my eyes at others, and laughed at and with some of them.  Great characterization and consuming storyline.  So why not a five?  A little too much conversation and rehashing - the book could have edited out some of the redundancy and extra long-winded-ness.  It was fine for a long cross-country drive, however.

Goodreads synopsis:  After the shocking developments in Dry Ice, Colorado psychologist Alan Gregory is struggling to deal with his newly adopted son and repair his shaky, though generally improving, marriage. But then Alan’s ex-wife, Merideth, reappears, seeking help she feels only Alan can give. Suddenly Alan is pulled into a mystery that reaches back years to a camping trip at the Grand Canyon involving Merideth’s fiancé and five friends whose lives were changed forever when a young woman mysteriously vanished from the Canyon floor. 
          Enlisting the help of friend and detective Sam Purdy, Alan finds himself pitted against new demons and unseen enemies as he tries to uncover the connection between the unexplained disappearance at the Grand Canyon and Merideth’s missing surrogate. The clock is ticking, and as Alan’s and Sam’s investigations take them from New York City to Los Angeles to the cavernous reaches of the Canyon itself, Alan unearths a series of secrets and deceptions that someone wishes to keep buried at all costs.

14. Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight - Wendy Mass & Michael Brawer

Space Taxi #1
2014, Little Brown Books for Young Readers
112 pgs.
SciFi for kids
Finished 2/27/`6
Goodreads rating:  3.72
My rating:1
Setting: Anywhere, USA

First line/s:"Beep!  Beep!  Beep!  Beep!  It's not everyday a kid like me gets to wake up at midnight."

My comments:  I'm really glad that there are so many people out there who liked this book.  I love Wendy Mass.  I hate giving a negative review.  I'm going to test this out on kids, but I thought it was really stupid.  Over-the-top stupid.  I'll definitely change my rating if I find any kids who like it!

Goodreads synopsis:  Archie Morningstar learns a big family secret and helps save the universe. All before breakfast! 
          It's not every day a regular kid like Archie gets to wake up at midnight. But today is Take Your Kid to Work Day, and Archie is finally allowed to ride along in his dad's taxi cab. He has been waiting eight years, eight months, and eight days for this moment to arrive.
          But he's about to discover his dad is no ordinary cab driver...In fact, he drives an intergalactic space taxi! All night long, he shuttles aliens from one corner of the universe to another. And being a space taxi copilot is no easy task: Archie must steer them into wormholes, keep them from crashing into planets, deal with a very unusual cat...and save the universe from an evil mastermind!
          Space Taxi marks the debut of a brand new chapter book series from New York Times bestselling author Wendy Mass and teacher Michael Brawer, filled with humor, adventure, and plenty of science to impress your friends and teachers!

Mule Train Mail - Craig Brown

Illustrated by the author

2009 Charlesbridge

32 pages

HC $16.95 TPPL

Goodreads rating: 3.20

My rating: 3

Author's Note:  two informative pages at the end.

Endpapers:  FRONT:  birds-eye-map-type view of the Grand Canyon

BACK:  illustrations of the mailman/cowboy, his dog, and six mules

Illustrations:  pastel and colored pencils all the way to the edges, no white.  LOTS of brown, gives the sense of desert and sand, sand, sand....

1^st line:  "Anthony the Postman doesn't wear a uniform.  He wears a cowboy hat, chaps, and spurs.  Anthony doesn't drive a mail truck.  he drives a mule train.  He picks up the mail at the south rim of the Grand Canyon."

My Goodreads notes: This book is very simple and suited for younger children. I'm not sure how I want to say this, but it just wasn't .... exciting ... in any way. Although I enjoyed the illustrations, they were all similar to each other, nothing different or surprising. I plan to read it aloud during my Arizona unit, as a starting place for research into the Grand Canyon. I like the information in the author's note at the end.

Goodreads summary: "Mule Train Mail introduces readers to Anthony Paya, wearing a cowboy hat, chaps, and spurs, who leads a train of ten mules on a daily 3-hour trek down into the Grand Canyon to bring mail to the townspeople of Supai."