Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Avalanche: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery by Patrick McManus

Sheriff Bo Tully has been called to a luxurious ski lodge to find the missing owner.  He decides to take a leisurely drive up there and take a few days to search slowly since the lodge has a pool and two hot tubs. On the way an avalanche blocks the road back to town.  Now Bo, his ex-sheriff father, and their friend Dave are stuck at the lodge with all the suspects in a murder.

I like these mysteries.  There are funny and have a logical story.

The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens by Brooke Hauser

This is the story of the 2009 school year at the International School in Prospect Heights.  In order to be admitted to this public school kids have to have been in the U.S. for less than four years and fail an English proficiency exam.

The kids in this book are amazing.  Jessica’s father brought her to New York from China but two days later his new wife kicked her out of the house.  Yasmin’s parents died within a month of each other leaving her to care for her younger siblings while her extended family swarms in trying to marry her off.  Mohammed claims to have “gotten lost” while traveling with missionaries on a trip to the Empire State Building.  All of them and their classmates are trying to balance getting an education with surviving as immigrants.

Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink! by Patrick McManus

After reading some of his novels I had to go back and read some of his books of essays. I loved these as a teenager and wanted them to be true. I wanted there to be a crotchety old woodsman named Rancid Crabtree and rowdy boys named Crazy Eddie and Retch Sweeney. These still make me laugh out loud.