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  <title><![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]></title>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Joe Meno is an amazing author.  You can tell a lot about how good an author is by reading his or her first book and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire" title="Tender As Hellfire by Joe Meno">Tender As Hellfire</a> has all the elements of a well written story that will keep you intrigued from start to finish.  <br/><br/>Dough is the narrator.  You see the events unfold throug...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55361537">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[we-ell (always a good way to start a review)...avoiding the easy Salinger comparisons that inevitably arise whenever anyone writes something that isn't terrible featuring a protaganist under the age of eighteen or so, even if the comparison doesn't really fit, the book does capture a bit of that que...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11774952">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Tue Dec 04 14:38:03 -0800 2007</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I wrote a blurb for this for my job interview, but I don't remember it offhand. The book is about two brothers with damnation in their destiny. Pill and Dough, named thusly by their father in a &quot;Boy Named Sue,&quot;-way to toughen them up, live in Tenderloin. It's a trailer park. The book detai...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9888334">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9888334]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <date_added>Wed Feb 18 20:11:12 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Mar 06 17:08:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[meno is amazing and its a delight to see the world through dough's eyes. when you read the description of the book it seems like just another coming of age/young angst novel, yet meno's book is written for twenty-somethings who can appreciate a narrative that incorporates a glass eye, a handicapped ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46823771">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Kevin]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Oh god, what a piece of crap. I love Joe Meno's Demons in the Spring. It's one of my favorites, but everything about this book is sub-par. The writing is repetitive, redundant, and generalized. He's way too adjective happy, which in itself is not a big deal, but he's short on details. The voice does...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47496419">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <date_updated>Fri Feb 20 18:51:19 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[ Meno's descriptions are amazing; this book is full of many scenes you will fully live, see, smell, and feel. <br/><br/>Here's a story of a few broken yet still beautiful souls, told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old, who is opening up to life without much to go on from his dismal surrounding...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47005887">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Oct 04 15:05:05 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Feb 09 10:24:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Meno's descriptions are amazing; this book is full of many scenes you will fully live, see, smell, and feel.<br/><br/>Here's a story of a few broken yet still beautiful souls, told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old, who is opening up to life without much to go on from his dismal surroundings....<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34527528">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34527528]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34527528]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>79875032</id>
    <user>
    <id>2546815</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Chris]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
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  <isbn>1933354305</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781933354309</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 04 09:49:39 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 04 09:50:17 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's his first book, and you can kind of tell. I love Meno, but this was pretty bad.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79875032]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79875032]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>48612078</id>
    <user>
    <id>1762117</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Snoo]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

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  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 08 12:43:56 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Mar 08 12:44:11 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This doesn't mean that Ben is going to give me my copy back.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48612078]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48612078]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>26112800</id>
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    <id>313773</id>
    <name><![CDATA[allison]]></name>
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  <isbn>1933354305</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781933354309</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 02 08:31:23 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 06 19:23:24 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The Joe Meno 4th of July holiday reading tradition continues for the fourth year in a row! I read the recently rereleased/reedited Akashic Books version of the text, and absolutely loved it. It may compete with <em>Hairstyles of the Damned</em> for my favorite Meno. It's about 10-20 pages too long, but incre...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26112800">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26112800]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26112800]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>44305010</id>
    <user>
    <id>1329406</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>
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  <isbn>1933354305</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781933354309</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Feb 08 19:56:16 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 25 12:45:10 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Feb 08 19:56:16 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[this author is rekindling my love of reading. i feel my heart jump out and slice itself on the edges of some pages]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44305010]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44305010]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31951743</id>
    <user>
    <id>178217</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/178217-katie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201232732p3/178217.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">138381</id>
  <isbn>1933354305</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781933354309</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 03 17:38:10 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 23 20:33:33 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Again, I had difficulty relating to the story itself.  Probably didn't help that it was told from an 11 year old boy's perspective, but I still enjoyed the writing.  I felt like I was reading a movie script or something, like I could picture everything playing out on a movie screen.  I think this is...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31951743">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31951743]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31951743]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>6300997</id>
    <user>
    <id>127340</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Patjones]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/127340-patjones]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 16 19:07:35 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 05 06:41:11 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[If <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=Salinger" title="Salinger">Salinger</a> had written about white trash in middle America rather than middle class in the North East, he may have written something pretty similar to <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=Tender As Hellfire" title="Tender As Hellfire">Tender As Hellfire</a>.  It is a well told coming of age story as related by the younger of a pair of troubled brothers.  The only reason I've given it ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6300997">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6300997]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6300997]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>34731778</id>
    <user>
    <id>1591028</id>
    <name><![CDATA[bill]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Poughkeepsie, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1591028-bill]]></link>
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  <isbn>1933354305</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781933354309</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">31</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013m/138381.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138381.Tender_As_Hellfire</link>
  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>172</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[anyone and everyone]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Oct 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Oct 07 09:36:15 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Oct 11 08:09:51 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>2</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[ive been a big fan of meno since i picked up Hairstyles of the Damned some years ago. Not the greatest writer in the world, but always tells such an engaging story. you know he characters , youve met them all before, and you want to help them.<br/><br/>number 2 behind How The Hula Girl sings for h...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34731778">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34731778]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/34731778]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4845386</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Ed]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/95009-ed]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <published>1999</published>
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  <read_at>Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 20 20:33:03 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 20 20:34:38 -0700 2007</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[For Joe Meno die-hard fans only.  Yeah, he was barely in his twenties when he wrote this.  And one can certainly see the adolescent sweetness juxtaposed against the rugged underworld to be found in his later books. But this is too clumsy and early a novel to be seriously considered.  Read the great ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4845386">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4845386]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <published>1999</published>
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  <read_at>Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Wed Apr 29 13:46:01 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[my favorite joe meno book thus far.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51149013]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 26 17:50:37 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 07 10:21:32 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Now, I know I'm going out on a limb here...but I'm going to say that Joe Meno is a modern day JD Salinger.  His books are touching in that &quot;coming of age&quot; way that Catcher In The Rye was for us all.  I really love his fiction.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6858132]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Tue Mar 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Mar 20 16:14:41 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 20 16:16:22 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I don't know what it was about this book but i read it one sitting on a lazy tuesday, and then spent the other part of the day flipping back and forth rereading bits and pieces. It grabbed me, and I wasn't expecting it. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18225493]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Kamilah]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1196096013s/138381.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.55</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Apr 22 11:09:49 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 22 11:09:49 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This debut novel also has a too neat ending (see review for _The Peculiar Memories of Thomas Penman_), but its clever, multivalent, simultaneously denotative and connotative title saves it from 3 stars.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20728696]]></url>
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[Tender As Hellfire]]>
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    <![CDATA[<p>&quot;Features some of the liveliest characters that one is apt to meet in a contemporary novel. Vividly described.&quot;<em>-Publishers Weekly</em></p> 		<p>&quot;Extremely vivid. . . . Any number of novels have been written about unhappy childhoods and bizarre families, but this one surpasses many.&quot;<em>-Kirkus Reviews</em></p> 		<p>Joe Meno limns a near-fantastical world of trailer park floozies, broken-down '76 Impalas, lost glass eyes, and the daily experiences of two boys trying to make sense of their random, sharp lives. </p> 		<p> 				<strong>Joe Meno</strong> is the author of the novels <em>Hairstyles of the Damned, The Boy Detective Fails,</em>and<em> How the Hula Girl Sings.</em> He was the winner of the 2003 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction and is a professor of creative writing at Columbia College Chicago.</p>]]>
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  <read_at>Sat Aug 02 17:01:38 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon May 05 12:02:00 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 02 17:01:38 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I'm slowly getting through the middle in hopes that the &quot;unexpected ending&quot; will make it worth it.<br/><br/>This is the book that inspired the short film I just worked on.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21647040]]></url>
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