The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton - Michael is what's known as "boxman" --code for safecracker. After a minor brush with the law after picking a lock so that some jocks could trash the house of a rival football player, Michael spends a fateful summer learning the art of being a boxman from the Ghost. After using his own uncanny talent with what the Ghost has taught him, Michael is forced to put his safecracking skills to use in order to protect the girl he loves. When he gets a call, he goes. No questions asked.

As a child, Michael survived a tragic event involving his parents. Although the event goes unnamed for much of the book, the brutality of it left Micheal unable (or unwilling?) to utter a word...which makes him the perfect criminal. A skilled artist, Micheal commits to continuing his safecracking in order to protect his true love and artistic counterpart, Amelia. Indeed, it is Amelia's father who introduces him to his live of true crime, so Micheal has no choice but to go along with the plan. His unwilling life of crime leads him across the nation doing jobs for hard-core criminals until he is presented with a way out...a very dangerous way out.

This book was our last student book club selection of the year, chosen jointly with the students at Shoals Jr-Sr HS. An Alex Award winner, this book is an adult book suitable for older teen readers. Although it did have some language, my students really enjoyed this gripping novel!

Valley Forge by Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen - The second book in the George Washington series, Valley Forge recounts the grim existence of the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. Mired down in Valley Forge, PA, George Washington was saddled with saving and rebuilding an army that had reached the point of breaking. Undernourished, improperly clothed, and utterly defeated by the lack of organized support from Congress, Washington and his troops endure a brutal winter of disease and the elements. With causualities beyond compare, these brave forefathers managed to build shelter, forage for food, and after surviving the worst of these hardships, managed to rebuild their regiments into fighting forces capable of driving the British from the shores of our fair nation.

Not the very best historical fiction I've ever read, but the story was compelling, especially since I have recently visited Mt. Vernon and have learned a lot about George Washington. I don't think I'd take the time to read the first or the third books in this series, but I am glad I kept with this one as I feel much better versed on such an important time in our nation's history.