Midnight Sons, Volume 1

by Debbie Macomber
392 pages

This book is actually two novels in one.  The first novel, Brides for Brothers, tells the story of how some lonely, bachelor pilots cook up a scheme to lure women to move to an isolated Alaskan town in the Arctic circle.  The story spells out the consequences of luring women to Alaska and the effect it has on one bachelor's heart.  The second novel, The Marriage Risk, picks up right where Brides for Brothers left off.  This book deals with a family feud and its effect on two potential lovers.

I listened to this on audio, and for the most part I enjoyed it.  The only complaint I had is that all the voices were done by a male narrator, which made some of the female characters sound a little weird.  However, I think the narration added to my overall enjoyment of the book and helped me feel the emotions of the characters.  My only complaint is that sometimes the "love" was a little too thick, but I am not a huge romance fan.

The Salmon Princess: an Alaska Cinderella Story

by Mindy Dwyer 30 p.

This picture book was a neat adaptation of the Cinderella story in Alaska. I really liked the illustrations, because it had somewhat a feel like totem pole style decorations. I liked the story itself too. It focused around a girl whose awful stepmother and stepbrothers make her constantly clean fish and keep her surrounded in fish guts. Plus they won't let her go to the Salmon Festival, because there are too many fish she needs to clean still.

This was a neat story. I liked that the shoe she left behind was a rubber boot that everybody. This would be a great story for a lot of children. I think it's best for school age, K through 5th grade. It would be a wonderful book for a teacher doing a geography lesson on the states or fairy tales.

Kel