The Hardy Boys return to form in the Shattered Helmet. (apparently #51 was an aberration). A summer course in film leads to a friendship with a young Greek boy, travels across the US and to Greece all in search of a helmet that had been used in an early film. Dangerous situations ensue.
This one was a hot mess of a book! It was like the author was just throwing bizarre circumstances at the Hardy's with no rhyme or reason. Aunt Gertrude and Laura Hardy also had very different voices from previous books. Despite this, it was still fun to read and It did hold my interest enough to want to know how it ended.
I was lucky enough to be asked to be the first reader of the manuscript for the first book in a new series. I hope this one gets picked up by the author's publisher because it's fresh, fun and really well plotted!
Decided to give this a re-read since the next book I'm going to read is currently at home and I'm not. This play is very dated, but does make some valid points and is very funny!
My Top Ten Books I've Read in 2025:
#10: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches By: Sangu Mandanna
I can't even with this book!!! SO charming, so sweet, laugh out loud funny and heartfelt. Wonderfully drawn characters, such great and diverse personalities and a great plot...I mean this is just a gift of a read! I can't recommend this book enough!
#9: Who to Believe By: Edwin Hill
I have a new favorite Edwin Hill book and it is Who to Believe!! OMG! The twists and turns are more impressive than a scenic mountain road and holy merde!...what characters!!! The same story told the perspectives of 7 of the people involved each revealing pieces of the puzzle and other puzzles! SO well plotted and totaling engaging! This is the book that An Instance of the Fingerpost tried to be!
#8: My Friends By: Fredrik Backman
My God, Backman can tell a story!! A simple story of a painting and a group of friends in Backman's hands becomes a 25 year epic with moments of terror, heartache, friendship love and art. Peppered with wonder moments of utter surprise and many twists this wonderful story is not to be missed!
#7: If We Were Villains By: M. L. Rio
WOW! For any theatre geek out there-this book is for you! For any Shakespeare fan-this book is for you! For any mystery fan-this book is for you! For any fan of brilliant word play, plotting and structure-this book is for you. An extraordinary novel!
#6: The Berry Pickers By: Amanda Peters
Oh, the big ugly cry happened at the end of this one! Such a heart wrenching story and yet so beautiful and hopeful. I can't rave enough about this book!!!! Read it!
#5: Before Dorothy By: Hazel Gaynor
What an absolutely beautiful story!! Part history of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression; part women's empowerment; part prequel-ish to the Wizard of Oz; all brilliant storytelling! Emily Gale is a loving, lovely, formidable woman in this origin story. Her relationship with Henry is real and a delight to experience. The story of how Dorothy ends up living with her Auntie Em is realistic for the time period and for its emotions. A cast of delightful and some not so delightful characters surround Em, Henry with love, friendship, and some wickedness. Lots of easter eggs for the Frank L. Baum devotees!
#4: Remarkably Bright Creatures By: Shelby Van Pelt
10 out of 10! I defy anyone to read Remarkably Bright Creatures and not fall in love with Marcellus and Tova and be moved by this utterly charming and lovely story! Narrated by both a Giant Pacific Octopus, a 70 year old women and a 30 year old man adrift in the world this story is always moving and exciting and told with as much love as the characters have for each other. Remarkably Bright Creatures is truly Remarkable!
#3: There Are Rivers In The Sky By: Elif Shafak
What a stunningly gorgeous book! A story that is a cross between a Geraldine Brooks novel and The Covenant of Water, Shafak's gorgeous There Are Rivers in the Sky is glorious storytelling. The story of a drop of water (yes, you read that correctly) and it's effect on three people in different time periods. Full of history, mythology, trauma, heart and healing, gorgeously written, this novel is one that will stay with you long after you've finished it.
#2: Babel By: R. F. Kuang
Wow-what a stunning book. Chock full of heavy topics, handled brilliantly and clearly, all wrapped in an absolutely fantastic story. This one is fascinating on so many levels. It covers, etymology, racism, classism, colonialism, business, politics, relationships, xenophobia...the list goes on, and yet it wasn't preachy, it is balanced and you will be riveted.
#1: James By: Percival Everett
10 out of 5 stars!!!!! A powerhouse of a little book! Absolutely brilliant, living up to and surpassing the hype! There are no words to describe the brilliance of this book! Read it!
While beautifully written, I found the pace of this fascinating mystery/folklore story too languid. It just moved too slowly for my taste-it really shouldn't have taken me a week to read it.
I was extremely uncomfortable while reading this thriller-kudos the Ms. McFadden! This is a "read in one sitting" kind of book-because you are going to want to know what happened and how it all turns out and you'll spend the latter half of the book with your jaw on the floor! You've been forewarned!
What a sweet play! A vaguely remember the movie when it came it out, but never saw it. The play is very simply written, which I think adds to its charm and lends the characters a sense of reality.
A re-read of this, in conjunction with an Our Town re-read. Wilder's ability to write this completely bizarre and hectic piece and also Our Town is an outstanding achievement. Both pieces are presentations of life; this one is completely over the top, bizarre, and all over the place, and yet brilliant in its complete picture of perseverance. Our Town is the complete opposite. And yet both present life brilliantly.
