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Operation Bonnet. Kimberly Stuart. 2011. David C. Cook. 272 pages.

I didn't set out to be the town luminary. True, there wasn't exactly a lot of competition in Casper. 

Set in Casper, Ohio, Nellie Monroe, an amateur private-detective, stars in Kimberly Stuart's Operation Bonnet. Her first client, Amos Shetler, is still getting adjusted to his new life. He left the Amish community because he felt he just didn't belong, but the truth is, he hasn't found exactly how to belong in the "English" community either. (Watching Gidget marathons probably isn't helping!) He is still in love with an Amish girl, Katie, but he fears that he'll never see her again. And even if she still loves him, how would their relationship ever be able to work? He's heard that Katie is being courted by John Yoder. And he's very jealous. He wants Nellie to learn if Katie is indeed going to marry this other guy. Nellie thrilled to have her very first case isn't quite sure how to go about it. But. Surely the first step is to try to find a way into the Amish community? But Nellie doesn't exactly "blend" well no matter her location. So expect a very messy comedy of misunderstandings...

The novel also spends a little time on Nellie's personal life. Primarily her loving relationship with her grandmother and her relationship with her best friend, Matt. As soon as Matt's name is mentioned, readers almost know with certainty, that he must surely be in love with her--that he has been in love with her for many, many years. And that Nellie is indeed truly clueless about love. But while there are certainly predictable elements within Operation Bonnet, this novel is so quirky that it almost works.

Operation Bonnet reminded me of Jane Austen's Emma. There is just something so clueless about Nellie. While many readers may enjoy Nellie's adventures (and misadventures), I found them slightly irritating. It wasn't so much that I disliked the book--its story, or its characters--I just felt a slight disconnect.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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As Young As We Feel. Melody Carlson. 2010. March 2010. David C. Cook (Pub). 352 pages.

Marley had hoped that her former high-school friends might've grown up by their thirty-fifth reunion. Unfortunately she was disappointed. Oh, most of them had matured somewhat, at least externally. She observed more bald heads, wrinkles, and gray hair than she recalled from their last gathering, and she was relieved to see that many had let go of old cliques and social boundaries. But others, like Keith Arnold, were still jerks.

As Young As We Feel is the first book in a new series by Melody Carlson. And I'll gladly admit it has an interesting premise. Four women, all in their fifties, have one thing in common: they're all named Linda. Abby. Janie. Caroline. Marley. These four met in first grade, decided to go by their middle names forever more, and form the 'Four Lindas' club. They didn't necessarily stay friends after grade school, and certainly not after high school graduation. With three of the four moving out of their hometown of Clifden, Oregon. One to L.A. One to New York City. One to Seattle. This thirty-fifth high school reunion brings them all together--but not quite the way they expected. You see, Cathy Gardener, another classmate, drops down dead in the middle of the reunion, right there on the dance floor. Her death acts as a catalyst to these four taking the time to reanalyze their lives and their need for friendship.

By talking with each other, they learn that they have so much in common. They're unhappy, unsure, depressed, restless, emotionally drained. They feel hopeless, lost, lonely. They feel life has let them down. What can they do to reconnect with their lives? How can they turn their lives around? What can possibly inspire them to live life again?

Friendship may just be the first step in their journeys.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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