Who's Who In Grace Valley

Grace Valley sits in the corner of three counties: Mendocino, Trinity, and Humboldt counties. It's population is 1,565.

June Hudson- Grew up in Grace Valley. Town Doctor. Daughte of Marilyn and Elmer Hudson. Member of Quilters Circle

Jim- Undercover DEA Agent. June's "Secret" boyfriend

Elmer Hudson- Retired Doctor. June's dad. Member of Poker group.

Myrna Hudson Claypool- Elmer's sister. 84 Years old. Raised Elmer since he was 2 years old. Lives in the Hudson Family Home. Writes Fiction. Member of Poker group.

Charles Hudson- Myrna and Elmer's Dad. Rich banker from San Francisco.

John Stone- forty years old, new to Grace Valley, OB-GYN. Wife's name is Susan and they have a 6 year old daughter named Sydney.

Mull Family- Clarence Mull- Father, Jurea- Mother, and Children, Clinton (16), Wanda (13). Clinton looses his foot after being stepped on by a donkey.

Tom Toopeek- Police Chief. Married to Ursula for 18 years. Children are Tanya (15),

Ursula Toopeek- 8th grade teacher. Member of the Quilters Circle.

Philana and Lincoln Toopeek- Tom's parents. Philana is member of the Quilter's Circle.

Gus Craven- mean old man!. He and his wife, Leah, have five sons. Lives in Farm in upper Mendocino County near the Humboldt County line.

Ricky Rios- Thirty years old, Deputy police officer.

Corsica Rios- Ricky's mother. County social worker. Member of Quilter's Circle.

Lee Stafford- Thirty years old, Deputer Police Officer.

Charlotte Burnham- 60 year old Nurse. Married to Bud. Has 6 children.

Jessica Wiley- Clerk-receptionist in the Drs office. Twenty Years old. got her GED and will soon start school to become a nurse or Physician's Assistant. Youngest member of Quilter's Circle.

Christine Baker- sixteen years old. Married to Gary and pregnant with her first child. From Down River.

Johnathan Wickham- Pastor of Grace Valley. Has lived in Grace Valley for less than a year. Moves away from Grace Valley after offending a lot of women.

Burt and Syl Crandall- Own the Bakery. Burt is member of the Poker group.

Mike and Julianna Dickson- deliver their 5th baby. Julianna is best friends with Susan Stone.


Mikos Silva- Lives on a farm between Trinity and King Mountain Ranges. has 3 children, 2 boys and a girl...Greg, Stuart, and Maria. recently lost his wife. 78 years old. Has some heart problems.

Judge Forrest- town Judge. Judge is member of the poker group.

Birdie Forrest- Judge's wife. Marilyn Hudson's best friend. June's Godmother. Member of Quilters Circle.

Chris Forrest- Judge and Birdie's son. New to Grace Valley. Seperated from his wife Nancy. Father of twin 14 year old boys, Brad and Brent

Jerry Powell- local psychologist. Has lived in Grace Valley for a few years.

George Fuller-

Sam Cussler- owns the gas station. Marries Justine. Member of poker group.

Amelia and Endeara Batstow- TWINS. Myrna's maids and cooks

Charlie McNiel- Liaison/Nurse for the VA office.

Laura Robertson-

Greg Silva- Mikos' son. Policeman in Redding.

Justine- Owns the Flower Shop. Youngest of five girls.

Standard Roberts- Justine's father. Owns the flower field.

Harry Shipton- new pastor in Grace Valley.

Blythe and Daniel Culley- led everyone to believe they were husband and wife, but eventually confess that they are brother and sister. The own a Horse Breeding/Boarding/training business on their ranch.

Sarah Kelleher- Artist. Has lived in Grace Valley for 10 years. gets engaged to Daniel.

Change of Heart BY Jodi Picoult

# of book read so far this year: 29

Title: Change of Heart

Author: Jodi Picoult

Date Finished: 5/18/08

Genre: Contemporary fiction

# of pages: 447

Series: ~~~~~
blurb: Shay is accused of murdering Elizabeth and her stepfather, Kurt Nealon. He is sentenced to Death. Several years later, Elizabeth's sister, Claire, is dying of a heart condition, and Shay wants to donate his heart to her once he is executed. However, if he is executed by means of lethal injection, his heard will not be able to be donated. So, they petition to have him hanged instead. It is during the trial, though, that June, Claire's mom, finds out that Shay shot Kurt out of self-defense when he found him molesting Emily, and they started fighting, and Elizabeth got in the way and was also shot.
personal thoughts/opinions: I didn't like this book at all. I didn't like the way it went from person to person. I found that to be too confusing. I didn't like all the emphasis on religion. I thought that was way too drawn out. It took forever just to get at least halfway through the book and I found myself reading it just so I could be done with it and move on to the next book. I ended up skimming through the second half of the book. I was expecting something more like My Sister's Keeper, that would focus more on the background of the family.
What did you like best about the book? Unfortunately, with this book, it's hard to find even one thing
What didn’t you like about the book? probably the whole plot
why you read it? Well I've read several of Jodi Picoult's books before and enjoyed them. I was excited when I found out this book was going to be released, but I was really disappointed.
Was this book recommended to you or did you find it on your own?
Would you recommend it to others? probably not
Do you want to read more books by this author? I definitely want to read more of her books. I really like her books, just not this one.
Does it remind you of other books you’ve already read? no
Did you find it hard to stay interested in this book? yes it was very difficult, which is why I skimmed through the second half
Was this book what you expected? no, I expected something more along the lines of My Sister's Keeper, that focused more on the family.
What book are you planning to read next? All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber

# of book read so far this year: 28

Title: Twenty Wishes

Author: Debbie Macomber

Date Finished: 5/12/08

Genre: romance

# of pages: 360

Series: Blossom Street #4
blurb: a group of widowed ladies, who have become friends, get together one Valentine's Day and they each decide to make a list of 20 wishes to help themselves get through the grief of losing their loved ones. Anne Marie Roche, owner of Blossom Street Books, wants to learn to knit, fall in love, and do something good for someone else. She becomes a lunch buddy to Ellen, who lives with her grandmother. Then, when Ellen's grandmother gets sick, Anne Marie takes care of her while grandma is in the hospital. Eventually Grandma goes hom and Ellen goes back to live with her grandma. Then, grandma dies and Ellen goes back to Marie as a foster child, and Anne Marie soon decides to adopt Ellen. Once the adoption is final Anne Marie and Ellen take a trip to Paris, which was another one of Anne Marie's Twenty Wishes. Barbie, who works in a dress shop, lost her husband and father in a plane crash, and she has twin boys. Her wishes include taking Bellydancing lessons and falling in love again. She runs into a guy named Mark in the movie theater, who is in a wheelchair and turns out to be really grumpy. It is because of Barbie's persistence that they fall in love with each other. Lillie, Barbie's mom buys herself a red BMW, and falls in love with a guy who works in the car dealership. Eventually, they also fall in love.
personal thoughts/opinions: I thought this a was a cute book...it wasn't as good as I thought it would be but I still liked it. It made me want to make my own list of wishes, and I now have 12...I'm aiming for 20 wishes just like these ladies did.
What did you like best about the book? I liked the idea of making a list of wishes and remember to enjoy life
What didn’t you like about the book? the book was a bit slow in the beginning. And I was hoping there'd be more mention of the characters from past books in the series. I also noticed that the book concentrated on Anne Marie, Lillie, and Barbie, and hardly at all on Elise.
Who was you favorite character/least favorite character and why? My favorite character was Barbie and I loved reading about how she always tried to follow Mark around. That sounds like something I would do!
why you read it? I love Debbie Macomber and I've read all the blossom street books so far and I wanted to read this one too!
Was this book recommended to you or did you find it on your own? I ALWAYS keep up with Debbie's new/upcoming releases so I found out about this one on my own.
Would you recommend it to others? yes I would
Do you want to read more books by this author? oh I definitely plan to. I have several of her books in my collection at home waiting to be read, and there are several upcoming releases that I plan to read as well.
Does it remind you of other books you’ve already read? I don't think it does
Did you find it hard to stay interested in this book? no
Was this book what you expected? yes pretty much
What book are you planning to read next? Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult