false <![CDATA[The Underneath]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255797559m/2768169.jpg 2768169 3 There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as they stay in the Underneath.<P>Kittens, however, are notoriously curious creatures. And one kitten's one moment of curiosity sets off a chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love -- and its opposite, hate -- the fragility of happiness and the importance of making good on your promises. 2793892 6 5 2008 The Underneath total:1053|5:356|4:339|3:210|2:105|1:43| 1053 4019 1831 513 5 18 false false Tue Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 04:54:49 -0700 2008 Sun May 04 20:01:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 11 false false Tue Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 23 07:30:01 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 06:39:51 -0800 2008 There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for awhile, and then abandoned on the side of the road.

This is the breathtaking opening sentence of The Underneath - a sentence that has already been over-quoted and will probably lose its luster once it is revealed as The...more...]]> 0 6 false false Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 18:33:50 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 05:31:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 5 false false Thu May 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 18:41:53 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 07:13:44 -0700 2008
The story has two main narrative strands. The first, set in the present day, involves Ranger, an old hound, past his prime, who has been chained to the side of a ramshackl...more...]]> 5 4 false false Fri Apr 25 01:38:43 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 07:25:34 -0700 2008
Now I admit it took me a while to read this one. While I definitely enjoyed sad animal stories as a child, now, with the occasional exception, I avoid them. And so, when I received a gorgeously packaged ARC of Kathi Appeltâ...more...]]> 1 4 false true Mon Nov 10 12:44:37 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 19:09:39 -0800 2008 A reading journal of Kathi Appelt’s The Underneath, as captured in emails to a friend who enjoyed it


Subject: Progress Report #1

Once the accolades for The Underneath started rolling in and I knew I'd be reading it, I decided to keep my reading experience as pure as pos...more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 18 12:07:24 -0700 2008 Wed May 21 21:52:10 -0700 2008 How'd she do that?

I'll be posting an interview of Kathi Appelt asking her just that.

Here's the link:

Please take a look at my interview of Kathi Appelt, author of THE UNDERNEATH...more...]]> 2 3 false false Sun Nov 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 18:18:47 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 14:47:45 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jun 03 05:58:14 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 06:03:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Apr 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 07:21:16 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 07:39:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jun 19 18:22:09 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 13:59:04 -0700 2009
"Memory is a slippery thing. When something terrible happens to you, like the loss of someone you love, like the loss of a mother or a father, or perhaps a twin sister or a...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Feb 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 14:50:12 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 13:47:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jan 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 06:26:28 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 06:46:40 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Mar 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 07:29:17 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 13:39:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 08 09:49:14 -0700 2008 Sun May 25 23:10:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 11 22:27:16 -0800 2008 Tue Nov 11 22:40:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 01 23:29:16 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 23:34:47 -0800 2009
Be prepared for this sort of gloom throughout.

There are some powerful moments; there are times when the writing grated on my nerves, although ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Oct 31 07:45:57 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 14 20:30:34 -0800 2008
Usually, w...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jun 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 18:10:01 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 18:10:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 12:13:17 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 14:44:33 -0700 2008 The Underneath. I need to be able to choose three-and-a-half stars.

I had read so much lofty praise that perhaps my expectations were too high. Don't get me wrong. I liked the book. I think I re...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2768169