Much like readers Janet, Laura and Tina, I was hoping for a happy ending. But I didn't think I'd get one.

Stephen King does a great job with twists, and given what I knew, I kept thinking that we were in for a dark ending -- I just didn't know how it would play out. But at the same time, I kept thinking that surely, plucky little Trisha would somehow find her way out, would somehow survive.

She was a fighter, after all. "And what was the secret to closing? Establishing who was better. You could be beaten .. but you must not beat yourself."

All in all, this was a fun read. I can see why King has such a loyal following, and I may very well be reading more of his works myself.

But, for now, it's on to May. We'll do something different this month: two books. One is "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy," by Gary Schmidt, a young adult novel about a friendship between Turner Buckminster, who hates his new home of Phippsburg, and Lizzie Bright Griffin, a girl from a nearby poor island community founded by slaves. The background story of the shameful destruction of Malaga Island in 1912 was a true event. Schmidt has kindly agreed to participate in the club for the month, so please welcome him.

For a more contemporary option, we'll also offer "The Lobster Chroncles: Life on a Small Island" by Linda Greenlaw. It's about her experiences as she gives up life as a swordfishing captain and returns to Isle au Hait to lobster with her father.

Hope you can join us!

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