The Housekeeper & the Professor By: Yoko Ogawa

http://www.amazon.com/Housekeeper-Professor-Yoko-Ogawa/dp/0312427808

Cleanliness:
This book is completely clean. No yucky stuff to be found.

Summary:
A housekeeper works for an elderly man who, after a car accident, only has 80 minutes of short term memory. This man used to be a math professor and still continues to harbor a love for numbers that he shares with his new housekeeper and her son, Root.

What I Really Liked:
Overall the book has a very positive feeling. It really focused on the beauty of friendship, even when that friend can't remember you. It also shows how numbers can affect emotions. The calming effect they had for the professor, and the joy they began to bring to the housekeeper.
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What I Disliked:
I had a hard time believing that the professor wouldn't freak out every time his 80 minute memory rebooted and here was this lady (the housekeeper) in his house that he didn't know or when his memory rebooted and he was in some strange location surrounded by strangers.


Reading Worth:
An easy read that leaves you looking at numbers a little differently. I could easily see this one being a read-aloud in older classrooms. It helps connect literature to math.

Crime & Punishment By: Fyodor Dostoevsky

http://www.amazon.com/Punishment-Bantam-Classics-Fyodor-Dostoevsky/dp/0553211757



Cleanliness:
This is a classic so the "bad" stuff is not detailed and I didn't find it offensive. So what's the bad stuff? There is a murder that occurs but it doesn't describe it in gory detail. There is also a women who is a prostitute but this is merely a detail of her. The author never writes about her in the act.
Summary:
A poor, man who lives in Russia commits a crime and then suffers from the moral dilemma of what he's done. 

What I Really Liked:
The author does well at putting you into the main character's mind. You see all the colors of his emotion and all his mental struggles.
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What I Disliked:
It's a long, almost dizzying read. As I said, the author puts you in the main character's mind and you almost begin to feel that you are just as loopy as him as you read it.
Reading Worth:
If you are in the mood for a long, classic that will leave you thinking then this is the book for you. It requires commitment in order to finish, and it will leave you much to analyze and dwell on when you're done. Definitely not a light read.