I enjoyed this book. A lot. Fin, the main character who is diagnosed with OCD and immediately put on a mind numbing drug, is both believable and likeable. I really felt for her as she dealt with school and her illness. Hell, being 14 is hard enough with out adding the fact that she couldn’t stop counting. Or washing her hands. When Fin becomes friends with Thayer things start to even out for her. But Thayer has his own problems.
The writing style the author uses compliments the story and the confusion that is constant in Fin’s head. The author jumps from topic to topic, present to past and sometimes it takes the reader, or at least me, a second to catch up with her. While I wouldn’t suggest this as a guide book to OCD and the problems of some anti-depressants, it did give a good over all view of the problems surrounding both. An overall enjoyable book, I would definitely recommend it. I also think this would be an excellent book to teach in schools. There are several topical issues in the novel (depression, divorce, drugs, bullying) and I think it could be a great conduit for discussion.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
"The Luxe" By Anna Godbersen
High society New York 1899. Gorgeous dresses. Proper behavior. Romance. Love triangles. Heaving bosoms. You can find it all in The Luxe. While this is in no way my usually choice of novel to read, there was so much buzz around it on the HarperCollins Reading Group on Facebook, that I felt I would be missing out if I didn’t at least give this book a try. And I’m glad that I did. While I normally don’t go for romance novels, or even books with any romance in them at all, I enjoyed The Luxe and had a hard time putting it down once I started reading it.
The book is centered around five youths of New York and their intertwined love lives. With all the she-loves-him-but-he-loves-her triangles that are in this book, it could have taken place when I was a teenager, or now, for that fact. It represented quite nicely the pain and joy of teenage love. The book was rich in detail, but I have to admit, not being anything near a fashionista myself, I tended to skim the description of the various dresses the females wear.
What I liked best about this book was getting to know the characters and seeing their interactions with one another. The characters were all well written and their actions were well supported by either their basic character or previous actions.
I do, however, feel this book would have worked better without the prologue. It gave away the “surprise” ending of the book. While I know The Luxe was geared towards youth, I think that anyone over the age of 12 would have been able to see from the prologue what was coming. And for me that took away a bit from the over all suspense of wondering what was going to happen.
I also felt that the description of the book in the jacket liner was misleading. (Spoiler alert if you know NOTHING about the book and have not read the jacket liner). I was expecting almost a murder mystery by the jacket description. But Elizabeth’s death takes place in chapter forty three of a book with forty six chapters in it. And short chapters at that. So I felt a bit misguided.
But that being said, I really did enjoy this book and am looking forward to the sequel. And with two friends wanting to borrow the book from my description of it , I highly recommend it.
The book is centered around five youths of New York and their intertwined love lives. With all the she-loves-him-but-he-loves-her triangles that are in this book, it could have taken place when I was a teenager, or now, for that fact. It represented quite nicely the pain and joy of teenage love. The book was rich in detail, but I have to admit, not being anything near a fashionista myself, I tended to skim the description of the various dresses the females wear.
What I liked best about this book was getting to know the characters and seeing their interactions with one another. The characters were all well written and their actions were well supported by either their basic character or previous actions.
I do, however, feel this book would have worked better without the prologue. It gave away the “surprise” ending of the book. While I know The Luxe was geared towards youth, I think that anyone over the age of 12 would have been able to see from the prologue what was coming. And for me that took away a bit from the over all suspense of wondering what was going to happen.
I also felt that the description of the book in the jacket liner was misleading. (Spoiler alert if you know NOTHING about the book and have not read the jacket liner). I was expecting almost a murder mystery by the jacket description. But Elizabeth’s death takes place in chapter forty three of a book with forty six chapters in it. And short chapters at that. So I felt a bit misguided.
But that being said, I really did enjoy this book and am looking forward to the sequel. And with two friends wanting to borrow the book from my description of it , I highly recommend it.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
"Wicked Lovely" by Melissa Marr
Faeries exist. And not the cute Tinkerbell type. No, these faeries are human size. And most of them are nasty. Lucky for us we can’t see them. Unlucky for Aislinn she can. As a seer, Aislinn can see the fey. But she has spent her life pretending that she can’t. Because it would be very bad for her if the fey knew she could see them. And rule # 1 is never attract their attention. But despite all her hard work and training she does attract the attention of one faery. Keenan, the Summer King seems to be infatuated with her and Aislinn isn’t sure why. Turns out he thinks she is his Summer Queen. Too bad for him she wants nothing to do with it.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Supernatural fantasy is one of my favorite genres and I’m always looking for new authors to read. The characters were likeable and even more importantly believable. As was the plot. And it kept my interest right until the end.
I simply loved the heroine, Aislinn. In a culture where sexiness and promiscuity seem to be more and more popular and acceptable at a younger age, it was refreshing to have a character who was still a virgin even though she had two guys chasing her. And I applaud Melissa Marr for including a discussion on HIV and STD testing before sex.
This was a well written fantasy novel with that wonderful combination of today’s world and otherworldly folklore. Each chapter began with a quote from various books written over time about faeries and fey. This gives the reader a bit more insight into the folklore behind the story and also the chance to do some reading up on faeries, if they so chose.
And I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. While tying up any loose ends, the author also threw in some surprises and still managed to leave the door wide open for a sequel, which I hope there will be.
Wicked Lovely was wicked good. And I look forward to more from Melissa Marr
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Supernatural fantasy is one of my favorite genres and I’m always looking for new authors to read. The characters were likeable and even more importantly believable. As was the plot. And it kept my interest right until the end.
I simply loved the heroine, Aislinn. In a culture where sexiness and promiscuity seem to be more and more popular and acceptable at a younger age, it was refreshing to have a character who was still a virgin even though she had two guys chasing her. And I applaud Melissa Marr for including a discussion on HIV and STD testing before sex.
This was a well written fantasy novel with that wonderful combination of today’s world and otherworldly folklore. Each chapter began with a quote from various books written over time about faeries and fey. This gives the reader a bit more insight into the folklore behind the story and also the chance to do some reading up on faeries, if they so chose.
And I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. While tying up any loose ends, the author also threw in some surprises and still managed to leave the door wide open for a sequel, which I hope there will be.
Wicked Lovely was wicked good. And I look forward to more from Melissa Marr
Friday, December 21, 2007
"Our Lady of the Lost and Found" by Diane Schoemperlen
This book is one of my favorite reads of 2007. I feel that it is going to have an effect on my life(something I don't say lightly) although, how I'm not quite sure yet. It made me think of religion, faith, love and having a sense of being. In short it was an amazing read.
The narrator tells the story of the week the Virgin Mary stayed with her. Interspersed with the telling of her time with Mary, the author gives us a brief background on the Virgin, concentrating on the various sightings and miracles attributed to Mary. I am not a religious person, but these chapters were fascinating and I know that I will be doing more reading about Mary in teh near future. Towards the end of the book, we get the narrator's life story which is an awakening for her and is, at times, familiar and heartbreaking to read.
I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
The narrator tells the story of the week the Virgin Mary stayed with her. Interspersed with the telling of her time with Mary, the author gives us a brief background on the Virgin, concentrating on the various sightings and miracles attributed to Mary. I am not a religious person, but these chapters were fascinating and I know that I will be doing more reading about Mary in teh near future. Towards the end of the book, we get the narrator's life story which is an awakening for her and is, at times, familiar and heartbreaking to read.
I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
"The Rick Mercer Report: The Book" by Rick Mercer
Okay, I love Rick Mercer. Love him. I think he is the best political commentator out there. Period. So of course I had high expectations when I picked up Rick Mercer Report The Book. Would his rants be as funny in print? Would it just seem like a rehashing of comments I had already heard? From the first page this book had me captivated and laughing my behind off. I’m not a big fan of politics and I don’t always pay close attention to what is going on in the political world. Part of the appeal of Rick Mercer, and this book, is that he states plainly what’s what and helps those of us who aren’t that politically savvy feel like we have a bit more of an understanding of our Canadian politicians.
The rants and thoughts that found there way into the book weren’t all laugh out loud funny. Some, such as a rant about the Harper government not wanting to lower the flag on Peace Tower at half mast for the death of soldiers overseas were poignant and quite a few times I found myself shaking my head at some of the decisions that our government has made.
This book was an easy read and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down (I actually stayed up until 4 in the morning reading it). And I know that I will from time to time pick it up and read it again. I think the book could have been 1,000 pages and I still would have finished it wanting more.
If you are looking for a funny, honest and sometimes maddening look into Canada and Canadian politics, Rick Mercer Report The Book is definitely the right choice and I highly recommend it.
The rants and thoughts that found there way into the book weren’t all laugh out loud funny. Some, such as a rant about the Harper government not wanting to lower the flag on Peace Tower at half mast for the death of soldiers overseas were poignant and quite a few times I found myself shaking my head at some of the decisions that our government has made.
This book was an easy read and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down (I actually stayed up until 4 in the morning reading it). And I know that I will from time to time pick it up and read it again. I think the book could have been 1,000 pages and I still would have finished it wanting more.
If you are looking for a funny, honest and sometimes maddening look into Canada and Canadian politics, Rick Mercer Report The Book is definitely the right choice and I highly recommend it.
"By the Time You Read This" by Giles Blunt
Algonquin police detective John Cardinal has dealt with death before, but when the victim of a high rise fall turns out to be his wife, Catherine, he is devastated. The coroner rules the death a suicide. Case closed. Or is it? Consumed with grief, Cardinal has a hard time accepting that his wife has taken her own life, despite her many visits to the hospital for psychiatric treatment and her history of depression and bi polar disorder. When he starts receiving twisted sympathy cards in the mail, he decides to investigate the death as a homicide, despite being the only one who thinks so. Meanwhile Lise Deslarme, another detective on the force has joined with the Toronto police to try to catch a child pornographer believed to be working in Algonquin. Both investigation end up being related in ways both surprising and upsetting.
I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The author did an excellent job of portraying a man who had lost his wife to a suicide, but despite all the evidence, could not come to terms with it. With any storyline where the main character is overcome with grief, there is the risk of over doing it. Blunt shows us Cardinals grief and his resolve to find out what he perceives to be the truth about Catherine’s death without dipping into the realm of the unbelievable.
I also enjoyed how there was what appeared at first to be two separate cases that end up intertwining with each other. While at first you would think there would be no way for an apparent suicide and a child pornography ring to have commonality, the author connects them in surprising and believable ways. Once the connection was revealed, I didn’t feel cheated or that there was a huge leap in logic.
Now I usually don't like mysteries where the reader knows more than the characters (for example, who the killer/kidnapper/bad guy is). I find that the knowledge usually takes away some of the suspense. This was not the case in By the Time You read This. Even though we know more than the main characters do, it was still a very suspenseful book and there was some twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I have never read any of the Cardinal books by Giles Blunt before, but after reading By The Time You Read This, I will definitely be checking out his other novels.
I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The author did an excellent job of portraying a man who had lost his wife to a suicide, but despite all the evidence, could not come to terms with it. With any storyline where the main character is overcome with grief, there is the risk of over doing it. Blunt shows us Cardinals grief and his resolve to find out what he perceives to be the truth about Catherine’s death without dipping into the realm of the unbelievable.
I also enjoyed how there was what appeared at first to be two separate cases that end up intertwining with each other. While at first you would think there would be no way for an apparent suicide and a child pornography ring to have commonality, the author connects them in surprising and believable ways. Once the connection was revealed, I didn’t feel cheated or that there was a huge leap in logic.
Now I usually don't like mysteries where the reader knows more than the characters (for example, who the killer/kidnapper/bad guy is). I find that the knowledge usually takes away some of the suspense. This was not the case in By the Time You read This. Even though we know more than the main characters do, it was still a very suspenseful book and there was some twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I have never read any of the Cardinal books by Giles Blunt before, but after reading By The Time You Read This, I will definitely be checking out his other novels.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy Doug Stumpf
When I set this book down after reading it, I didn’t go “Wow, what I great book!”. I also didn’t go “That sucked.” I kinda made a noise. Hmmph. I honestly didn’t know what to think. It was well written and had an interesting story line. The first half dragged a little, but about halfway through I found myself unable to put the book down. So why the ambivalence? I wasn’t sure at first. Then, as I was describing it to my husband, it hit me: I really didn’t care for the main character. But yet I really liked the book. This is a first time occurrence for me. Normally if I like the book, I like the main character. If I don’t like the book, I don’t like the main character. This novel had me at odds.
Gils is a Brazilian working as a shoeshine boy for a Wall Street trading firm. He hears and sees things that he usually doesn’t understand. Or he misinterprets them. But he has no trouble understanding that when his friend Teddy is fired from his janitorial job after discovering a trader in the broom closet on a cell phone (a big no-no) an injustice has occurred. When Gil runs into journalist Greg Waggoner, who used to get his shoes shined by Gil, Gil tells him what has happened to his friend. Intrigued, Greg starts digging into the traders life and uncovers a whole lot of things.
This store is written from the perspective of Gil and sometimes Greg. I found the chapters with Gil a bit hard to understand. The English was a bit broken and the thought process jumped around. I think it was brilliant to write it as a running dialogue from both character, but it was sometimes hard and tedious to follow Gil. And I really didn’t find him a likable character. He was very into looks, name brands and all about having fun. He was striving to fit in by being popular which sometimes spilled over to obnoxiousness. And he changed his opinion about events and characters so much it was confusing. Yet despite this I still found myself rooting for him. I found Greg a more likeable character and wanted to know more about him. But all we got was a quick peek into his life.
I would recommend this book, but with a disclaimer.
Gils is a Brazilian working as a shoeshine boy for a Wall Street trading firm. He hears and sees things that he usually doesn’t understand. Or he misinterprets them. But he has no trouble understanding that when his friend Teddy is fired from his janitorial job after discovering a trader in the broom closet on a cell phone (a big no-no) an injustice has occurred. When Gil runs into journalist Greg Waggoner, who used to get his shoes shined by Gil, Gil tells him what has happened to his friend. Intrigued, Greg starts digging into the traders life and uncovers a whole lot of things.
This store is written from the perspective of Gil and sometimes Greg. I found the chapters with Gil a bit hard to understand. The English was a bit broken and the thought process jumped around. I think it was brilliant to write it as a running dialogue from both character, but it was sometimes hard and tedious to follow Gil. And I really didn’t find him a likable character. He was very into looks, name brands and all about having fun. He was striving to fit in by being popular which sometimes spilled over to obnoxiousness. And he changed his opinion about events and characters so much it was confusing. Yet despite this I still found myself rooting for him. I found Greg a more likeable character and wanted to know more about him. But all we got was a quick peek into his life.
I would recommend this book, but with a disclaimer.
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