Book #26 in 2013

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.

I picked this up from the "new book" shelf at the library without noticing the sticker that identified it as sci-fi/fantasy.   I don't read much from these genres; actually not at all, if I can help it.  That said, I started the book and read more than half in my first sitting.  Committed by that point, I finished it the next night.

A man returns to his childhood neighborhood and begins to remember disturbing happenings from his childhood.  Did they really happen or was it a dream?

4 stars, as fantasy.

Book #25 in 2013 (Audio)

Wow, my reading really slowed down this summer.  Another year of not reaching 52?  Maybe when the cooler weather arrives.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  Read by Kirsten Potter.

4 hours.

Listed as a young adult book, perhaps because of its length or the age of its characters?

Seventeen year old Mia is in car crash that kills the rest of her immediate family.  While the paramedics and doctors try to save Mia, she experiences an out-of-body experience, and watches as extended family, friends, and her boyfriend rally around her.  Mia discovers she controls whether or not she's going to die.

I guess I'm probably the only listener who thinks death would have been the better choice.  Maybe that's why it's young adult?  Can a teenager possibly understand how hard the rest of her life will be?

4 stars.