The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker

I just finished this book and it seems fitting since I just moved into a first floor apartment in a rather large city with a high crime rate. Honestly, the book made me feel safer, not by teaching me how to fight off an attacker, but to trust my instinct when I feel I am not safe. It taught me not to fear just because of where I am, but to really listen and see and take in what is around me, because that is where the most valuable information can be found.

This book was interesting because it provided both facts and interesting incidents of aberrational behavior ranging from domestic violence to serial killers to kids who kill. I also learned that if you are in a situation in which teens are involved, especially more than one, you are really in danger because they are most likely to kill.

This book was a self-help, but not in the traditional way. It is a book that can be used to help you live in situations where you may otherwise face death. I hope I never have to apply the things I learned while reading this book, but I am glad that it was recommended and that I took the time to really dig into what De Becker had to say.

I can 100% recommend this book to any reader. My sister has read it and I told my best friend that she also needs to read it. Take the time to go through. It does take quite a bit of time, and not everything will apply to every reader, but it really is worth it.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I read Shiver only because I saw it at Walmart one day and it looked like something a younger kid might like. Little did I know that it would be GREAT! The book is about a girl who loves wolves and has her fantasy realized when her favorite wolf turns out to be a human. This book is not the traditional werewolf story. It is a book that highlights young love, and for me, a late 20's woman, it really transported me  back to the fantasies I had when I was 14, 15, 16 years old. There are alternating viewpoints, both from the male and female perspective.

 I am slightly disappointed that there is a series because I wanted the book to end where it did and let me imagine the rest, but there are more. I will have to read them eventually, namely because I just thought of more questions that I wanted answers to, but I would have been content to let this book stand alone.

Recommendation? Read it! Be 14 again. Love again. Hide away for the few hours this book lasts.