Wish You Well

By David Baldacci

This is a sweet story of gains and losses, happiness and regret, strength and fragility, set in the mountains of Southwest Virginia in 1940. Twelve-year-old Lou (Louisa Mae Cardinal) and her timid five-year-old brother, Oz, move to these mountains from New York City, to stay with their great-grandmother, Lou Cardinal, after a car crash leaves them without a father, and a mother in coma. Lou and Oz's father, a famous author, grew up in these mountains and its people and surroundings are often the theme of his stories.

Having grown up in New York City farm life with no running water, phones or electricity, takes a bit of adjusting to for Lou and Oz. However, they quickly make many new friends and it does not take long until this little mountain village feels like home. It is also where Lou learns her first lessons in loyalty, tragedy and redemption, and experiences both tragic and comic adventures.

The quiet and idyllic mountain life abruptly changes when natural gas is found on Lou Cardinal’s property. Big business wants to take the land that has been in their family for generations away from her, which leads to a struggle for justice and survival in a crowded Virginia courtroom. However, it is by no means a legal thriller. This is, above all, a story of one family's triumph and tragedy in the Virginia mountains.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

By J.K. Rowling

Definitely the best Harry Potter book so far! In this book Harry learns more about what happened the night his parents were killed, and he surprisingly makes a new friend.

On his way to his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry learns that a criminal named Sirius Black, convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, has escaped from Azkaban. Sirius Black’s sole intention is to find Harry and kill him, and as he has been seen at Hogwarts, Azkaban's evil wraithlike guards, called dementors, are patrolling school grounds. Not a good thing for Harry, since he faints every time he meets one of them!

There is also a new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts this year and together they begin to work through Harry’s weaknesses. Harry is determined to conquer his fear and solve the mystery of why Sirius Black has it in for him. Together with Hermione and Ron he soon decides to track down the man he believes betrayed his murdered parents, and it does not take long until he is face to face with the prisoner.