Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring my current read,  Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts.  The excerpts shared are from a hardcover version borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  On Friday, July 22, 2005, Simone Knox ordered a large Fanta--orange--to go with her popcorn and Swedish Fish.  The choice, her standard night-at-the-movies fare, changed her life, and very likely saved it.  Still, she'd never drink Fanta again.

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Page 56:   Reed knew what the papers and TV said about Paulson, what neighbors and teachers said.  How shocked they were, how he'd never been violent.  Always bright and helpful.

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My thoughts:   This story is a bit of a departure for Nora Roberts, with its "ripped from the headlines" theme.  It may not be a comfortable read, but in her able hands, the story is taking some interesting and unexpected turns.

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From Goodreads:  Sometimes, there is nowhere safe to hide.

It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at the video-game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.

The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies' room, hopelessly clutching her cell phone--until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.

But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.