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Jan 14, 2012

Karen rated it:

This is the authors first book which came out in 2011.

This was a great book! It happens over the course of a week and there is so much in this story.

The MC, Sandanista, named after the Clash album, has recently lost her mother and so is now living on her own (she is 18-a senior in HS). The book tells us about a day at school when her alegbra teacher attacks her verbally and phsically, by kicking the desk Sandinista is sitting in. Thus begins our story.

Sandinista wa More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Amy rated it:

“The Pale Circus” is the Nirvana that all clothing connoisseurs are dying to see. From taffeta ball gowns to pastels that most people would’ve killed for back in the 1980’s to cabinets filled with 1940’s gold compacts and other vintage treasures left behind, this store has it all. Sandinista Jones walks through the doors of this Technicolor palace one day and lands a job after a very ‘odd’ interview with the humorous and unforgettable owner.

Yes, she should be in school, but the sch More...

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Dec 04, 2011

Jenn rated it:

3.5, probably. Today I will round up, because I have an admitted weakness for the Iowa Writer's Workshop. Fair warning if you don't though - or even if you're one of those people who roll their eyes at the mention of it. (And if you've no idea what I'm talking about, just ignore this portion of the program.) It's very much a product of an author who has spent time there. Without question, it's the most literary young adult novels I've ever read. And I mean that with all due respect to the YA des More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2011

Andrea rated it:

Even though this is Ms. O'Connell's debut novel, it doesn't have the feel of a first book. It's too fluid and captivating to be the work of a newcomer. Sandinista Jones will feel like a hilarious best friend whose voice you'll love to have banging around in your head for a couple of days. Even though the book bears a sense of tragedy (18 y.o. Sandinista's single mother recently died) she's so sharply observant and mordantly funny that each page is a literary minefield of jabs and jewels to be sa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2011

Bailey (IB Book Blogging) rated it:

THE SHARP TIME is a brilliantly crafted YA novel that had my emotions going. I became so invested in Sandinista's complicated and heart-breaking story that I could think of nothing else while I was reading. It is so blatantly honest and real that you can't help but get sucked in. This is the first novel I have read from O'Connell and it certainly won't be the last.

Sandinista is one of those characters who will stick with you forever. Her mother, the one person she had a connect More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Chelsea rated it:

I was not sure what to expect with this book. The premise sounded promising and the cover is a pretty rainbow of colors... but there was nothing that really stuck out for me and screamed "you have to read this book!" And I will be honest, it took a little work to get into this story. Mary O'Connell writes with flowery descriptions and a short attention span. Sandinista is brilliant as a narrator, but the reader has to work hard to keep up with her thoughts. There is no exposition and e More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Trish rated it:

Really liked this one! Characters were well-defined, tension was great, loved (!) the gritty realism of the setting SO much. I think there are cultural references that might be lost on some younger readers, but not so much that it diminishes the overall effect of Sandinista's story. Definitely a keeper for me.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 08, 2011

Susan rated it:

when i first started reading this book, i was so mesmerized by the style of writing. the words were so lush, grandiose, and i couldn't put the book down. halfway through it though, the ADD aspect began to annoy me. i am sick of the words, " Have you paid attention ?" and "Sandinista, you're a real cool person, you're a real cool person everyday." granted, the character had ADD, and she seemed to not be able to not focus on either Catherine Bennett,Alecia Hardway,the pink gun, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

Gerri rated it:

I wish there were a way to give bonus stars, because this book really deserves some. Fabulously written: this is a narrator who loves words, who inhabits the world and invests it with so much significance and meaning the way she describes things, and who you can really get behind (you WILL care what happens to her, even if she starts out a little bit of a cipher). This is straight YA, no paranormal, but yet there is still a little bit of a fairy tale aspect to this. But mostly, it's one of t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 20, 2011

Onceupona rated it:

Oh my, I loved this book. I am well beyond my teenage years, and I found The Sharp Time to be so much more sophisticated than most "grown-up" books. That's Mary O'Connell's genius--she's so funny and accessible and reading her (also loved "Living With Saints") is such a delight that you forget how freaking smart she is. Sandinista is that smart, soulful girl you always wanted to know (or wish you were) in high school and the way she navigates the ragingly unfair circumstances More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Angie rated it:

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Lawrence author Mary O'Connell (as I did her short story collection, Living with Saints). I loved the voice of the main character, Sandinista Jones, at times wickedly funny and achingly vulnerable. Living on her own after her mother's death, she walks out of high school and into a job at a hip vintage clothing store and its hodgepodge surrounding businesses. Meanwhile, she entertains violent revenge fantasies against one teacher while hoping to be saved by an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Rachel rated it:

In the past year I’ve read books that are smart, strange, sad, funny. Yet Mary O’Connell’s teen novel The Sharp Time takes the cake for "loveliest."

First, there’s the heroine’s name: Sandinista Jones. Next, you’ve got the frothy sweet vintage couture she wears to her job at The Pale Circus. And did I mention her teenage crush on the boy with a tiny crucifix tattooed to the pad of his thumb?

Much has been made of the fact that O’Connell is a graduate of the same Io More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2012

Danna rated it:

The Sharp Time is about Sandinista Jones, an 18-year-old girl who has recently lost her mother to a random accident. The Sharp Time covers a tumultuous and eventful week in Sandinista's life, when Monday, after an encounter with her algebra teacher Catherine Bennet, she decides to drop out of school. Instead of going home to sulk, Sandinista applies for a job at the Pale Circus, a whimsical and colorful vintage clothing store on 38th Street.

This book is made entertaining by the cas More...

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Jan 05, 2012

Paige rated it:

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

Since the death of her mother a few months before, Sandinista has been on a slow downward spiral and a haunting incident involving her, Alecia Hardaway, and their teacher Catherine Bennett has pushed her closer to the edge. Getting a job at the Pale Circus, a vintage clothing store, with Bradley and the store's owner Henry helps her and getting to know other business owners on the same street does too, but that might not be enough. If she can't More...

9 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2012

Emm rated it:

Eh...I thought I would really like this book. It sounded so good in the description. And the beginning of it was pretty good. But as it went on, it got more and more weird and kind of boring, to be honest.

The one aspect I really liked was the waiting. How Sandinista constantly checked her messages, waiting for someone to notice that she wasn't there, and to notice what happened. When someone finally did call her, the book ended, and we don't get to see what happens, which kind of up More...

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Nov 10, 2011

FABR Steph rated it:

The Sharp Time by Mary O’Connell is a raw and realistic glimpse into the life of Sandinista Jones during her worst possible moments. The reader is introduced to Sandinista when she leaves school after being verbally attacked by a teacher in a classroom full of students. She is eighteen and has just lost her mother and is left completely alone. Home is a lonely place. There is nothing but an empty house to come home to and an answering machine without messages.

Sandinista gives up on More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 25, 2011

Laura Ashlee rated it:

Review posted 10/25/2011 at Owl Tell You About It.

Sandinista Jones has to be one of the coolest teen narrators I’ve come across. Sure, she’s lost and bitter, but she’s also witty and real. She and her co-worker Bradley were the saving graces of an otherwise confusing book. I think the plot itself works, but the way Sandinista’s brain works sometimes lost me. Her thoughts were so clouded by anger and depression that I was left wondering what the hell was going on. I’m guessing this wa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2011

Lisa rated it:

After being injured in an attack by a hysterical algebra teacher, Sandinista Jones realizes, "I am not some child trapped in a subpar day care, I am an eighteen year old adult with my own goddamn getaway car," and slips away from her classroom "as if for a dental appointment." She promptly applies for a job at the Pale Circus, her favorite vintage clothing store. There is nothing, and no one, to stop her. And there's the rub. Her mother, her sole adult guardian, has died in a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 15, 2011

Michelle rated it:

Posted on Book Chelle.

3.5 but rounded up.

The Sharp Time by Mary O’Connel is a week filled of strong emotions. Eighteen year-old Sandinista Jones is filled with pain and grief. She lives alone in Kansas City. She lost her mother not too long ago, and there is nothing in her life that gives her hope or self-worth.

After an altercation at school, Sandinista questions and analyzes her life. Piece by piece, she relives through her past, attempts to cope, and definit More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Danya rated it:

This review was for my blog event Psychtember, so it's formatted a little differently than usual, to reflect the mental health theme. I've structured things as though the book is the patient and I'm giving them an assessment. Each axis is an aspect of the book that I'll give my thoughts on (characters, plot, etc.), and the validity score refers to how psychologically accurate I think the book is, with the final diagnosis being my shooting star rating. The rating still reflects my overall view of More...

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Dec 23, 2011

Skye rated it:

This review is also posted on my blog, In The Good Books.

The death of her beloved mother and the constant failures and shortcomings of the world around her leaves Sandinista caught between constant defeatism and rage. On the weird and wonderful Thirty-Eighth street, plans for violent revenge take root and a redemptive friendship is formed.

Sandinista had one of the most capturing and passionate voices I've ever read. Everything she was feeling was laid out bare -- her plea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 25, 2011

Lea rated it:

OMGosh. This book has left me pretty much speechless. Like, I don't even know where to begin with how beautifully haunting this book was...

For me, the thing that stood out about The Sharp Time from almost every other YA book I've read was that the writing was so incredibly intelligent and just-- beautiful. Like I'm talking, jaw-droppingly, can't even believe it, beautiful. The whole time I was reading, I was totally mesmerized and just wanted to savor every word. It was like reading More...

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Dec 03, 2011

Kellyflower rated it:

One thing pops in my head now when I see this book cover:
"Sandinista, are you paying attention?"
I really really liked Sandinista. Mary O'Connell has made a character that I would love to have a whole series of books featuring her. Like.. Sandinista goes off to college...Sandinista goes to France..Sandinista's Engaged!
I'm not sure I can even explain Sandinista. She just doesn't have a boring plain thought. hmm.. here's a couple quotes from her that caught my eye.
More...

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Jan 05, 2012

Chelsea rated it:

This was a stunningly beautiful story about a heart broken young woman named Sandinista. She has lost her mother and does not know her father so she is left on her own, forced to grow up too soon, living in a house full of ghosts and painful memories. Following an incident at school involving a teacher she applies for a job at The Pale Circus, a vintage clothing store. This proves to be her saving grace as she mets and befriends a equally broken Bradley. I absolutely loved Bradley. He was so won More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 10, 2011

Tara rated it:

REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/2011/12/the-sharp-time-by-mary-oconnell/

The Sharp Time by Mary O’Connell is phenomenal. Seriously phenomenal.

I’ve read a lot of YA books about parents dying and kids being shipped away which leads to some epic boarding school adventure or something like that, and etc. But Sandinista’s story is different – she’s alone.

I was absolutely amazed by Mary O’Connell while reading The Sharp Time. The writing styl More...

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Nov 28, 2011

Marilyn rated it:

Another fine book about bullies and what to do about them - this time around it's a horrible teacher attacking the main character as well as her mentally challenged classmate. Sandinista Jones is a funny, sad, challenging character, completely believable in her sadness, inability to act, and her ADD episodes. I loved the supporting characters too, especially the people involved in the vintage clothing store, The Pale Circus. A must read.

Language, underage drug and alcohol use.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Sherri rated it:

Interesting realistic YA fiction story that's told from an unique female narrator's point of view. Sandinista Jones is suffering from the recent death of her mother and the cruel bullying from a hated teacher and presents a crucial "sharp" week in her life as she discovers more about who she is while meeting new friends to steer her through this tough time.

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Jan 25, 2012

Esther rated it:

I loved this book.
I loved this book.
I loved this book.

I cried while reading this book. And I laughed while reading this book. And I connected to this book. And there was something about this book so unrealistically real that I can't even explain it.

It's great.

Ok?

The writing is really good for a first novel, and although the plot kind of drags on for a bit, it's not the kind of book that has a lot of action. It's more a physiological, a journey More...

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Nov 15, 2011

Danie rated it:

Sandinista lost her mother, her literally crazy teacher attacked her in class and the school hasn't noticed she's been missing for a week.

She gets a job at the local thrift shop where she meets a substitute family that helps her deal with her "sharp time".

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Jun 30, 2011

Laura rated it:

The Sharp Time is both poetic and shattering. My heart was in my throat many times throughout the book but when I finished the last page I had to turn away and weep silently from the beauty and weight of the story.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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