A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly tells the parallel stories of Mattie Gokey and Grace Brown, although it's really the former's tale. Mattie's the kind of narrator who's easy to identify with - she's sympathetic, believable, engaging and, most charmingly, word hungry. The reader feels her longing, her desperation, her desire for something beyond the dreary confines of her world. Her voice is so compelling that it makes her story burst into vivid life. And what a story it is. Filled with family drama, mystery, romance and humor, it's one of those historical novels that just has it all. Both entertaining and evocative, A Northern Light is not to be missed.

To the FTC, with love: I borrowed this book from my local library. I received no compensation for the review - in fact, I paid 40 cents for keeping the book longer than two weeks.

Now that the world has stopped rocking, I can look at the computer long enough to announce that I'm back! Even though the houseboat sometimes makes me queasy, I didn't feel ill at all this time. Until I stepped on solid ground, that is. I've been dizzy and nauseous ever since. The world keeps tilting - I considered swallowing a Drammamine just to make it stop! We had a fabulous time at Lake Powell, though. Really, is there anything better than zooming across the water at 60 mph on a jet ski while taking in beautiful scenery? Or snuggling up with a warm comforter and a good book while watching the sun go down over the water? Or seeing my kids play with their cousins, dig in the sand, and explore nature with (almost) perfect contentment? No, I really don't think so.

Speaking of books, you're probably dying to know how my (slightly) over-ambitious reading plan fared. I know it's all you've been able to think about this week. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as the case may be), I didn't get all my books read. I was actually proud of myself for pulling my nose out of my books long enough to enjoy the water, as well as my family and friends. Still, reading on top of the houseboat felt so luxurious that I just had to spend some hours up there. I managed to finish A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly and Hush by Jacqueline Woodson. I also got 1/3 of the way through Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix, a book my 7-year-old read twice while on the lake. When I reminded her that I needed to read it, she said, "Oh, you're going to love it, Mom!" So far, she's right. Look for reviews of all three of my vacation reads in the next week.

I tried really hard to clean off my feed reader before I left for my trip - now, it's back up over 1000. Yikes! I'll try hard to catch up with all of your blogs as well as my own. For now, though, I'm going to try to make it up the stairs without falling over. Is it just me or is the world tilting a little to the right?