Heir Apparent

For Giannine's 14th birthday, her father gets her a gift certificate for Rasmussem Gaming Center Virtual Reality Arcade. She's happy with the gift that she told her dad's secretary that she wanted. She'd be happier if her dad would have called and asked what she wanted but he didn't so she's off to enjoy her virtual half hour. Giannine decides to try out the new game Heir Apparent where there are way too many ways to get killed. Unless she can get the magic ring, find the stolen treasure, answer the dwarf's dumb riddles, impress the head-chopping statue, charm the army of ghosts, fend off the barbarians, and defeat the man-eating dragon, she'll never win. The problem is that the equipment has been damaged and if she doesn't win, she will die -- for real this time. Anybody who has repeatedly lost a video game will be able to relate to the Giannine's frustration with trying to make the right moves. Is the game fun any more when your life is at stake? Can she make the right decisions to become the king of the virtual world?

River of Doubt

A work of non-fiction that reads like fiction. Teddy Roosevelt searches for adventure by taking a trip down uncharted waters of the Amazon in 1912. The crew was ill prepared for the journey. The boats they took were not suitable for the river so they had to use Indian dugout canoes, they didn't pack enough supplies, Roosevelt contracts a disease and is almost too weak to travel. The author keeps you interested throughout the whole story. A good read!