Defending Jacob by William Landay is not only a book into which one can sink her teeth but the questions which arise out of a teen accused of a classmate's murder are utterly compelling. Do we inherit a genetic tendency toward "being bad?" Are we ever capable of seeing what may be the bedrock of true evil in our own children? What lengths will a parent go to in order to protect a child from jail or worse - even when there's a niggling doubt about innocence. I read the book straight through - the characters are well developed, the reader cares about them and I didn't see, in any way, the end coming. A pleasure to read.

This book is a quick and often interesting read. The premise is, I think, related to the effects of random violence on all our lives. I write, "I think" because the major flaw of the book, and it is major, is the lack of character development. With little or no back story to the main character's lives- there is no dimension to the story as a whole. Well written in terms of compelling language it is unfortunate that the writing was not expanded to include more sympathetic characters who the reader could believe they knew.

Stash by David Klein in neither a bad book nor an excellent book. The novel is ambitious, has some interesting plot perspectives but what failed the book for me was that I did not come to have strong feelings for any one of the characters and I wanted to. I like to care about the people who inhabit novels and this just didn't happen for me. In the end, a little too much tell - not enough show - for this reader.