Book Review: Defending Jacob by William Landay

Is your child capable of murder? This was the question that Andy Barber had to answer in a fantastic novel Defending Jacob by William Landay. Read from the back of the novel:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and their son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters the New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son ischarged with the murder of a fellow student. Every instinct Andy has as a parent rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He's his father. But, as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own- between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he's tried to bury and a future

he cannot conceive.

This book was absolutely fantastic, could not put it down! I had never heard of the author before but he has already been added to my must read list. His other two books are The Strangler, a Los Angeles Times Favorite Crime Book of the Year, and Mission Flats, winner of the Creasy Memorial Dagger Award for Best First Crime Novel and a Barry Award nominee. I highly recommend this book, it forces you to think of some very dark questions no parent could ever conceive of thinking about their child.

Shave for a Cure!

Every year, 160,000 children worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is the number one disease killer of children in the United States and Canada. Research is the key to saving lives. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is a charity run by volunteers dedicated to finding a cure for childhood cancers. 

On March 17th, 2000, executives John Bender, Tim Kenny, and Enda McDonnell used their company St. Patrick's Day party as an opportunity to benefit kids with cancer. 20 people stepped up and agreed to shave their heads with the hope of raising "$17,000 on the 17th". They reached their goal and then some. They ended up raising over $104,000!

This charity quickly grew into the world's largest volunteer fundraising program for childhood cancer research. The St. Baldrick's Foundation has funded more grants for research than any other organization except for the U.S. government. Since 2000, more than 189,660 volunteers, including 17,200 women, have shaved their heads at events in dozens of countries and every U.S. state raising over $117 million for cancer research.

Kelly McCausey, editor of Mom's Talk Network, is on a mission to raise $5,000 before Black Friday. On November 25th, 2011 if the $5,000 goal is met she will have her head shaved live via streaming video! So open your hearts and your wallets and make a donation today! To make your donation please click below:

Donate Here!

Paranormal Activity 3

I'm a huge fan of horror movies, so is the rest of my family for that matter. Hubby took me to see Paranormal Activity 3 over the weekend and it scared the crap out of me! By far I think it was the best one, Hubby thinks the second one was. Something I thought was interesting about the previews on TV for this movie is that none of them were actual scenes from the movie. I thought that was pretty cool because I hate it when you spend $20 to go to the movies and the previews showed the best parts of the movie. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone so I don't want to say to much but I highly recommend seeing it if you are a fan of the horror genre!

Hubby and I also watched The Human Centipede 2 this weekend. WARNING: This absolutely is not for anyone under 18 to watch or if you have a weak stomach either. The first one was horrifying enough but the second took it to a whole new level. It was one of those situations where you are just speechless because there are no words to describe the horror, disgust, or grossness of what you just saw. If you can stand the disgusting nature of this movie then watch it because there is nothing more gross than this movie!