Boredom = stalker

Karen Bergreen's "Following Polly" was a very enjoyable read.  From the beginning the character of Alice is easy to relate to and very likable.  She gets fired from her job and becomes a shadow to superstar Polly, following her everywhere she goes, unbeknownst to Polly.  But when Polly turns up dead and Alice is the number one suspect, Alice has to figure out who really killed Polly.

missing...

In the book, "The Local News" by Miriam Gershow, a boy goes missing.  Danny was popular, athletic and the shining star of the family.  His sister, Lydia, is the smart one and always lived in the shadow of her brother and she feels that going missing was the only interesting thing her brother ever did.

Lydia's parents are so consumed with the investigation of Danny that Lydia finds herself thrust into a world which she is unsure of.  The popular crowd, Danny's friends, are suddenly interested in her and the private eye hired to locate Danny also peaks her curiosity and Lydia starts to become involved more and more.

It is a look at how our siblings affect our lives, define who we are and who we will eventually become.

what comes after...

I just finished reading "Afterwards" by Rosamund Lupton.  It was such a good book.

Grace is working outside at her children's school, one is a student and one an assistant teacher, when there is a fire inside the school.  Grace's daughter, Jenny, is inside the school, and Grace races inside to find her.

Jenny and Grace are both injured in the fire and the story is told in the voice of Grace and is so poignant.  It is about the love a mother has for her children, and even more so her husband and sister-in-law, the police detective, who are able to follow the clues and find out that the fire was arson and do everything they can to save their family.