I finished three books over the past week. The first was a teen novel: Voss: How I come to America and Am Hero, Mostly by David Ives. It was…interesting in a ha-ha funny sort of way.

Voss is a Slobovian. He, along with his uncle and father, smuggle themselves to America in a crate of black market cheesy poofs. Once there he befriends a heiress, saves hundreds of fellow illegal immigrants from a ghastly demise and becomes a hero, mostly.

The story is told in a series of letters, written in English, but full of misspellings, etc. It actually reminds me a lot of the little I know of Borat. But the book has better humor.

The second book I finished is a children’s book. The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman is the first book in The Land of Elyon series.

This wonderfully written tale is told from the first person viewpoint of twelve-year-old Alexa Daley. The daughter of one of the four rulers of her “nation”, each summer Alexa and her father make the journey to Bridewell, where they meet with the other rulers. Their nation is made up of four cities completely enclosed in walls. Alexa loves to explore the grounds and try to find a way outside the walls. When the founder dies, Alexa is left with a mystery to solve – the meaning of Warvold’s last words. Will Alexa find her way beyond the walls?

I enjoyed this book so much that I put the second and third on hold.

The last book I finished was Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This was a book group pick. It was also my dinner reading…which was odd. Why? Because I was only reading it while eating…and the main character is anorexic. How’s that for some weirdness?

For the past several years, eighteen-year-old Lia has been struggling with anorexia. She doesn’t think she has a problem, and resists the help from family. When her former BFF dies alone in a hotel room, Lia is haunted by Cassie’s ghost. Cassie tried calling Lia – more than 30 times – but Lia didn’t answer. Now, Lia is spiraling down the road to her quest to be the ultimate wintergirl.