Okay, at page 156 this crossed over from boring to painful to read.
And it's not that I don't understand what the author is trying to do here. Low sel...moreOkay, at page 156 this crossed over from boring to painful to read.
And it's not that I don't understand what the author is trying to do here. Low self-esteem country girl, bully misogynistic husband, starting a new life and all that. It's probably mostly realistic. I've met enough couples like this - particularly country lads who couldn't wipe their asses without a woman around to help them with it. It's just that nothing happens. It's such a long, drawn out boring tale of lunch meeting after lunch meeting after coffee meet up and then a dinner meeting thrown in to round it off.
And whilst I understood why the main character was so painfully, ridiculously, annoyingly dumb, and even felt that her actions were in line with the character - this simply made that novel horrible to read.
But I'm nothing, if not, all about the edumacation, folks. So I'm going to provide a list of things to do, that this character definitely should have done, in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation.
Things you should do if you're leaving your partner:
1. Make copies of all financial papers. Bank statements, recent sales, deeds, debts, assets, superannuation details, payslips etc. (If you quit work to stay at home for your partner/family - remember to consider the superannuation that you've lost out on when calculating your financial worth.)
2. Seek legal advice. Make sure this lawyer or firm is not representing your partner. If you can't afford a lawyer and don't qualify for legal aid, investigate a mediator.
3. Make note of the date of separation.
4. Close any joint accounts.
5. Get your name off utilities as soon as you leave.
6. Don't sign anything without having it viewed by your lawyer.
7. Fuck everyone else. Seriously, just fuck them. Do what you need to do for yourself.(less)
Regardless of whatever else I say in this book – Such a Rush is a good book. Well-written, funny, smart, heart-touching. I devoured this book in a mat...moreRegardless of whatever else I say in this book – Such a Rush is a good book. Well-written, funny, smart, heart-touching. I devoured this book in a matter of hours. I ignored family on Christmas day to read it – which is okay, because they’re used to that.
But this doesn’t mean it was a perfect read. Leah was a brilliant but, other than Mr Hall’s brief appearance, she was the singularly likable character in this book. Smart, focused, complex, interesting – everything you want out of a main character except not a single other character in this book deserved to bask in her presence let alone be her friend or date her.
Ready to meet the grand poobah of douchebag love interests? You thought Daemon from Obsidian was bad? You thought Daniel Grigori or any other of those dudes was bad? In my opinion Grayson Hall would probably mop the floor with them. Daemon might have been rude, Daniel Grigori might have been a prick, but at least none of them assumed the main protagonist was a whore and blackmailed her into dating some other guy!
Grayson treats Leah despicably. Utterly, utterly despicably and her mercy for him and continued attraction to him was inexplicable to me. His concern with how much of a whore Leah was, was exceedingly frustrating. “I’m really attracted to you. It’s a shame I need to whore you out to my brother and that I’ve convinced myself you’re a filthy creature who has sex with anyone to get her way. Damn shame.” Don’t even get me started on her best friend, who I think I might have cheerfully taken out the back and slapped silly.
There is an annoyingly heavy focus on female purity, with the underlying text supporting the importance of not just the abstinence of sex – but the appearance of it too. This was misleading for me because the beginning of the novel didn’t seem like it would head this way. It was refreshingly free of the guilt-burden in relation to how young Leah lost her virginity. Some of the sexual elements were necessary to show the basic facets of Leah’s life. The rest of it was annoying in its persistence in punishing Leah for having a sex drive.
This novel, whilst I loved it, infuriated me. I was left yelling at the book – yelling at all the “rich kids” and their stupid faces and how they treated Leah again and again. How she always just let them off. The ending was also a little hodge podge and rushed.
Ultimately, though, it was a marvelously thrilling, lovable story. Prepare to want to hug and hold Leah, to bare your teeth at the world and want to try and make things right for her.(less)
So somebody told me this book was like Beautiful Disaster but not completely horrible, woman hating and nonsensical. I snorted, thanked th...moreSo somebody told me this book was like Beautiful Disaster but not completely horrible, woman hating and nonsensical. I snorted, thanked them for the rec and went on my merry way.
So let me express this in the most calm and reasonable way I can. Easy by Tamara Webber is fantastic and wonderful and that person was 100% right.
I have to admit, the book and I didn’t get off to a great start. It begins with Jacqueline at college, bummed from getting dumped by her longterm boyfriend, almost getting raped before Lucas rescues her. So, for someone who is adamantly against rape being used and glossed over just to further a plot or have the hero seem heroic, I was decidedly unimpressed.
But it soon becomes clear that Webber has taken the topic of rape extremely seriously. In fact, by the end of the novel I was cheering and punching the air because this book was the best I’ve ever read an author handle the subject for contemporary readers.
Normally, in books where the female MC is almost raped and saved by the hero, the rapist gets beaten up and left behind and the heroine goes on her merry way. And sometimes the rapist harasses her and the author covers the trauma for the heroine until the rapist is killed by the hero in the final battle and those two get to run off into the sunset.
What a freakin’ relief that Webber takes it really damn seriously – even though the beginning of the novel would lead you to believe that she wouldn’t. There was a point near the end of the novel where Jacqueline has to talk to a bunch of sorority girls about rape and I wanted to cry and cheer and do a little girl power dance.
So I loved Jacqueline, I loved Lucas, I loved most of this book. I thought it was well written and reasonably well-paced and you know what? Seemed like it was actually written about college kids who actually do college things. I’m really glad I picked this one up. It was, indeed, a really fun, lovely read that I highly endorse. Also, Jacqueline’s slap down on Kennedy was epic – right to the end. She kicked serious butt.(less)
Some novels are debatable in their quality. Sometimes a novel can be like junkfood, but completely satisfying. Other novels are clearly made of better...moreSome novels are debatable in their quality. Sometimes a novel can be like junkfood, but completely satisfying. Other novels are clearly made of better stuff though less able to hold the simpler demographic. Speechless has the happy coincidence of being made of better stuff, but clearly satisfying on a simpler level.
Throughout my entire life, my father has had one reoccuring expression. This doesn’t include his, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right” speech which I’ve heard a thousand times and, YES, DAD. YOU’RE RIGHT. But his other thing that he says to me all the time in the hopes that I’ll eventually listen: “God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use them in that ratio, girl!”
Now that one I’ve never paid much attention to but I recognize the value in it. However, Chelsea Knot really gets it. One day her gossipy, thoughtless ways deeply and negatively impact another human being and she takes responsibility for it in a story that is worth telling and worth reading. She decides on a vow of silence as punitive response and in doing so learns a valuable lesson about life, friendship and love.
Let me just say, firstly, that this novel was very well written. Harrington clearly has a grasp on raw and emotive translations of concepts and she presents them in such a way that they feel natural and simple. I don’t like “Issue” books. Bullying, drugs and sex books that are built around hot topic issues and become something akin to those cheap and nasty 80′s PSAs about sharing and caring. Nobody wants to be symbolically slapped in the face with moralizing and hand-wringing. Especially when it’s stuff we all technically know.
Speechless clearly addresses the issue of bullying, but first it addresses the issue of being a novel with a compelling cast of characters, a great story and a complicated moral playground – something infinitely more interesting.
Chelsea is a great character. She’s charismatic, interesting and is given lots of room to grow and change throughout the novel. But it’s her decision to go speechless, not speaking at all for the forseeable future, that really sets her apart and distinguishes her from being an ordinary teenage girl. Her gossiping and thoughtless ways land someone in the hospital and she faces a huge decision – face social pariah by turning in the culprits, or ignore her culpability and keep being a Teen Queen.
Chelsea ultimately chooses pariah and takes a vow of silence in the hopes that her big mouth won’t ever hurt another person the way it hurt Noah – but the fallout is harder and more difficult than even she imagined. Faced with finding a new way of life, new friends and a new Chelsea – Speechless shows her journey as she does all three.
Sam and Asha, Chelsea’s new and unlikely friends carry the story alongside Chelsea’s hilarious and incisive inner-monologuing and her many amusing attempts to communicate without using words. Sam and Chelsea’s burgeoning romance is made sweeter by the extra roadblocks to communication as he learns who she is by her actions and not her words.
This was seriously just a feel good book that occasionally had me feeling a little teary. Very well written, very thoughtful and full of lovely, endearing characters!(less)
I make no secret of the fact that I love Moskowitz’s work with the power of a thousand Beiber fans except I don’t need to suspend my disbelief in Mosk...moreI make no secret of the fact that I love Moskowitz’s work with the power of a thousand Beiber fans except I don’t need to suspend my disbelief in Moskowitz’s ability.
Teeth is a heartbreaking novel about a lonely boy and an even lonelier magic fish boy. On an island there is a secret. The fish there are magic and they can keep you alive from even the most serious illness. Rudy moves there with his family for is brother’s sake, but things aren’t as simple as they seem when he meets Teeth.
As I’ve come to expect from Moskowitz, the writing is nothing short of spectacular and the characterization, Oh! The characterization! Here is a quote from my review of her book Gone, Gone, Gone about her characterization:
“Well and truly it is the intense characterization of Craig and Lio that make this novel. Clearly Moskowitz doesn’t just do characterization. She DOES characterization. You know. Like, when she writes a character – that character has been written. That character KNOWS it’s been written. That character will probably tell all it’s friends about that time it was written really well. Then it will compare all other writings to the writing that Moskowitz gave it. Thoroughly.”
That is as true in Teeth as it was in Gone, Gone, Gone. Teeth and Rudy are incredibly complex characters – amazingly flawed and dysfunctional. Lonely, desperate, passionate, broken and utterly charming.
But the themes in Teeth are significantly darker than they were in Gone, Gone, Gone, making me hesitant to recommend it to those unable to cope with issues of serious and repetitive sexual abuse. Teeth is dark. Teeth is very, very gothic and depressing and sad. Sometimes I wondered if it was too sad, too dark, too emotive. There’s very little cheer and fun to be had in it. But it turns out it’s just the right amount of dark, sad and emotive for me because I still loved it.
And if you love Moskowitz, it is likely that her ability to make you feel, to illicit a remarkable amount of empathy for her characters, to bare their soul to you – is one of the biggest attractions. That is what you consistently get with Moskowitz – so if you’re up for another beautifully written tale with a fresh bunch of characters waiting to make your heart bleed, then this is for you. If you’re in the mood for something that will make you laugh and feel good, then maybe you’re better off moving along.
And, people, when you do make it to the end of this book, just remember, I’m here for you.
*An ARC was provided to me by the publisher. No gifts, favours or money was exchanged for this review.
When trying to find a way to describe this book – I settled on this: Pushing The Limits is the closest I’ve ever gotten to reading a Machetta b...moreWhen trying to find a way to describe this book – I settled on this: Pushing The Limits is the closest I’ve ever gotten to reading a Machetta book.
For anyone familiar with me or Machetta – that is the highest praise I give.
Very rarely does a book make me laugh and cry at all – let alone multiple times. But that’s what this book did. And really, what the hell kind of badass reviewer am I when I’m brought to sniveling, snotty tears by a book?
Noah and Echo don’t talk at school. Noah is the atypical bad boy and Echo is the former Teen Queen on the verge of reclaiming her former glory. But Noah and Echo have a lot more in common than they realize. They’re both broken. This book is told through both of their view points as they start therapy and their lives start to unravel and they get pushed closer and closer together by their circumstances.
What I love is that there are three realities in this book. McGarry takes into account that there is Noah’s truth, Echo’s truth and then there’s this whole other creature we’ll call What Is Actually Happening. I haven’t seen someone show flawed narration this well in a long time. What McGarry captured perfectly is that disconnect while keeping me plugged in an sympathetic.
Example.
Noah is fighting for custody of his younger brothers. When his parents died, he and his siblings were separated. Noah was placed in a series of very bad and negligent homes while his brothers were placed with a custody family who restrict his access to his siblings and are trying to adopt them.
Echo’s father and his new wife (Echo’s old babysitter) have a very rocky, unhealthy relationship. He is controlling, the new wife is pregnant and Echo is desperate to try and make contact with her mother (who has been cut off from contact by Echo’s father).
At least – that is how it looks at the beginning. And it’s very easy to think that these adults in Echo and Noah’s lives are horrible. But whilst Echo and Noah continue to see them that way for awhile, and whilst I as the reader remained completely empathetic as to why Noah and Echo saw them that way, it becomes clear that the situation is not as cut and dry as that.
By the climax of both Echo and Noah’s stories I was weeping uncontrollably. I still cry when I think about those two parts of the book. McGarry’s writing is powerful, emotive. Her character voices for both Noah and Echo were very well done – reflecting on their distinct personalities and characteristics. The plot contained little action and was largely carried by the myriad of relationships and the mystery of Echo’s past – so fans of more fast paced, active novels may want to steer clear.
Mrs Collins, their therapist, plays an almost omnipotent, godlike character in the novel and brought a fresh, lovable addition. She was one of my favourites.
Over all, I think most readers are going to love this one. One of the absolute best books of 2012!(less)
There was a reason that Melina Marchetta launched this book. I think I can safely put up a big sign over Pip Harry’s name that says, “Watch This Sp...moreThere was a reason that Melina Marchetta launched this book. I think I can safely put up a big sign over Pip Harry’s name that says, “Watch This Space.”
And because Pip Harry is Australian – instead of being lauded as brilliant and fantasmazeballs, she just gets put in that neat little category of Great Australian Writers like Melina Marchetta, Kirsty Eagar, Markus Zusak, Garth Nix, Shirley Marr, Lucy Christopher and Laura Buzo. I’m sure at least a couple of them aren’t really Australian but we have a tendency of just claiming people as our own – so just go with it.
This was the story of socially awkward Goth girl, Kate, dealing with being kicked out of home, relating to a bunch of boarders and rectifying her home situation whilst dealing with her own crushing insecurities.
It’s about being fifteen and stupid, and lucky, and angry, and confused and frustrated.
What really spoke to me was the brash reality of Kate’s life. Things aren’t just glossed over or purified through a decency filter for the reader. This isn’t about teens hanging out in designer clothes and playing baseball with their parents on a Sunday afternoon. This is about a girl who drinks, who wants to have sex, who has an uncontrollable temper and a difficult personality. And since Harry embraces that truth and rawness of narration, she’s able to induce strong emotional moments between the characters of the novel.
My biggest concern was on the Goth thing. I was concerned that the book would be full of bad poetry and musings about the futileness of happiness. And in the interest of full disclosure, everything I learned about Goths came from Southpark.
It's where I learn most things, to be honest.
But it turns out, like with most things, the label is just a window dressing for an otherwise normal girl dealing with otherwise normal teenage things. She just happens to be Goth while she’s doing it. And even though I still don’t know what that means, I learned a very valuable lesson… don’t piss off Goth people or your intestines will become their floss! Okay, maybe not the lesson you’re supposed to learn, but, whatever.
I enjoyed Pip Harry’s style of narration and the book flows well for the first three quarters. Right up until the last quarter I would have said it was a five star novel. In the last quarter, the narration really slips into denouement mode and becomes very telling and to be honest, both myself and the story weren’t quite ready for that. It’s like when you’re still colouring and your parent/teacher comes along and starts asking you to pack up and you’re like, “Hold it! I’m still going here! THE FOOT ISN’T FINISHED!”
There was still some story left to go but the edge had gone from the novel because we were in the nice, comforting wrap-up phase of storytelling.
If you’re a fan of Aussie novels, Melina Marchetta, heart-warming tales or good times, then I highly suggest you give this one a go.
Look, it doesn’t really matter what star rating I’d have given this book. Because, at the end of the day, nothing would have been able to take away...moreLook, it doesn’t really matter what star rating I’d have given this book. Because, at the end of the day, nothing would have been able to take away from how unflappably cool Hannah Moskowitz is. She’s like the genius rockstar of the YA world.
So I guess it’s just a good thing that I completely, truly and irrevocably (I feel Twilight has ruined this word forever) loved this book.
For a book that doesn’t have a giant, action packed plot or complicated message, Gone, Gone, Gone manages to be brilliant in the most understated, replete fashion.
It’s language is simplistic, I’d even go so far as to say MUNDANE, but it’s packed to the brim and even the most inane parts are interesting.
“I’m not an enigma. I’m just talked out, probably permanently. I said all I needed to say when I was a boy made of sticks and radiation and half-digested oatmeal. I don’t feel good. I want to go home. Make it stop. It’s been seven years, and I’m still out of words.”
Well and truly it is the intense characterization of Craig and Lio that make this novel. Clearly Moskowitz doesn’t just do characterization. She DOES characterization. You know. Like, when she writes a character – that character has been written. That character KNOWS it's been written. That character will probably tell all it's friends about that time it was written really well. Then it will compare all other writings to the writing that Moskowitz gave it. Thoroughly.
I mean, if Craig and Lio had any more personality, oddities and complexities then her characters might just come alive and start trying to murder their creators and Moskowitz would have to hide her status from them forever like that guy in The Solitaire Mystery. Actually, just for good measure, don’t ever get stranded on an island Moskowitz. Especially not a magical island that brings your day dreams to life because then you’re probably screwed.
It’s going to be hard to sell this book. Usually you latch onto something easy like describing a book as being The Hunger Games meets Madame Bovary or some other such nonsense. But it’s a little hard to do that. I could go the easy route and tell you it’s Awesomness meets your mind, or fabulous meets the written word. But that doesn’t really translate well into what this book is about.
But this book is about a lot of things. Mostly it’s about two boys who fall in love while dealing with themselves. Mostly it’s about healing and growing and loving.
Mostly it’s about me kicking your ass if you don’t add it to your TBR list, alright?
There are just a thousand and one uses for this pic!
This is the good thing about Goodreads. When you start reading, the mediocre fare doesn't seem so bad, maybe even enjoyable. But after reading your hu...moreThis is the good thing about Goodreads. When you start reading, the mediocre fare doesn't seem so bad, maybe even enjoyable. But after reading your hundredth YA paranormal romance with Mary Sue, Miss Goody-two-shoes, virginal blob, it starts to leave a sour taste in your mouth and a dissatisfying sickness in your gut.
But on Goodreads, you get to learn about books like this. Books you might never have discovered if a friend hadn't reviewed it or someone hadn't recommended it to you.
After all those same books with the same themes and same stories and same characters, I started looking for different books. Amazing books with excellent writing and brilliant execution. Books that shine or burn or blaze their way through your mind. That's what this book was for me.
Marr's writing is raw and spartan, but her imagery is complex and her characters are deeply flawed, interesting and vivid.
Eliza Boans, sixteen year old rich brat and school socialite is in for murder. Why? From the very first page Eliza flashes you her bratty, shallow, vicious personality - daring you to contradict her. But the tale that unfolds shows a different person. She is often unlikeable but never unreadable and this is the distinction that so many authors miss out on.
The tale is gripping, pulled through by the beautiful tapestry of characters and relationships and mystery that surrounds Eliza's fall from grace.
My favourite thing about this book is Marr's ability to translate Eliza's emotions and personality to the reader. She's able to help the reader feel Eliza's rage, her frustration, her loneliness and helplessness.
Also, you get TOTAL hipster points from reading this book - great for trolling.
*Also, we have an interview with Marr and a giveaway for this book and her new release, Preloved up on our blog.(less)
There has been a great discussion in the comments about pulled Fanfictions and whether they are morally reprehensible for their past or should be judg...moreThere has been a great discussion in the comments about pulled Fanfictions and whether they are morally reprehensible for their past or should be judged based on their quality and degree of separation from their source material. Unfortunately this book fails both tests. Yes, it is a reworked fanfiction. I was willing to maybe put that aside if it was good because I remember the relationship dynamic and characters being very different from the source material and, indeed, being very different from any book I'd ever read.
That part is still true - but I'm saved from having a moral dilemma over whether to give this book a high rating or not - because this is not a good book.
I could rattle off the usual. The characters are two dimensional and unconvincing, the plot is a haphazard hodgepodge of nonsense and the writing is mediocre. The exboyfriend was mustache-twirling ridiculous, the three brothers lacked a realistic bond or even respectable backstory. The main female protagonist was laughably incomplete as a character and still managed to be scarily dependent on her boyfriend despite the fact that he was both homeless and mentally-ill.
All of this would usually still leave you with somewhat of an okay story. Readable but nothing spectacular. Unfortunately, the novel's history caught up with it in the least expected the way.
You see, Fanfiction and novels appear on the outside to be similar mediums. Both narratives that span similar lengths from novellas to sprawling epics. Yet, it's in their conception and delivery that makes them markedly different.
A novel is written, edited and then published for public consumption. This hopefully means that the story has been smoothed out and any plotting problems sorted. The consumers receive the book whole and can read it in one sitting. The author then has the luxury of evenly spacing the story arc and gives the book balance.
Fanfictions, are written and published (or updated in the fanfiction world) chapter by chapter. Sometimes the author has a plot worked out but often not. Updating sometimes happens as often as weekly or can stretch out to be several months between updates. As such, readers follow many stories at once and thus the skills of a successful fanfic deviate heavily from a successful novel.
For starters - relationships can not take an entire book to develop. After some general polling a couple of years ago, fanficers reported that they would abandon a story should the main characters not "unite" within 9-11 chapters (considering many fanfics have 30+ chapters, this is a rather short amount of time). Then it's a matter of dragging the story along for awhile until people start to get bored. In the last five chapters or so, fanfiction authors tend to shit out a resolution, wash their hands of it and move on.
This is exactly what happens in Poughkeepsie. The couples mostly resolve their issues and are happily together. There is a visible moment in the story when the author shits herself, realizes she needs a tidy way to resolve the plot and then sets about creating a ridiculous ending.
What I had hoped was that this novel, when pulled, would be seriously - and with great consideration - edited into a respectable piece. In this I was disappointed. I can't see anything new or different from the Fanfic. I would go through my version to see if the author has done anything more than find and replace the names, but I can't be bothered.
The chance I had been willing to give this novel is now squandered. I guess now we'll never be able to know what brilliant argument I would have come up with to justify the morality in its publishing. Which is a shame. I love arguing.
My first inclination upon finishing Night Beach is to flood my review with several happy, dancing gifs. Yeah, that will do.
That would be a helluva lot...moreMy first inclination upon finishing Night Beach is to flood my review with several happy, dancing gifs. Yeah, that will do.
That would be a helluva lot easier than trying to express why and how I loved this book so much.
However, allow me to give you some very valid reasons to read this book:
1. Eagar is an extremely promising Australian author. 2. This book is blurbed by Melina Marchetta for a reason. 3. I told you to.
Not everyone is going to completely get Night Beach. Eagar's style is both raw and brutal, showing no mercy. Her characters, so real, tangible and lovingly created, are stripped bare for her audience. Nothing is hidden or glossed over. No emotion is withheld and no reality is too stark to express.
At first Abbie seems an unlikable character, but her self-awareness and patheticness lends her a touch of palatability. But there is a depth and strength to Abbie that becomes increasingly evident as the book progresses. At first you think Abbie's obsession is like Call of Duty Nazi Zombies - endless and a little pointless but you can't stop yourself. But Abbie has so much growth, so much passion and so much heroism that she was almost addicting.
Kane was... Kane. Kane was many young, stupid Australian boys that I've met and Eagar's ability to capture the young, male Australian specimen for display here is almost a feat of genius. I think the brilliance of Eagar's writing for Night Beach is her ability to mirror a longing in the audience that is reminiscent of Abbie's own feelings and obsession. Those brief flashes of something worthwhile and lovable in Kane which are briefly littered through out the novel. It keeps you hoping that maybe, just maybe he'll be good enough for Abbie. Maybe one day he'll be all she wants and needs from him.
If I were to describe Eagar's prose as ambitious and artistic, some readers may have horrifying Shatter Me flashbacks. This is a different kind of ambitious and artistic. Phoebe North, I believe, said it best in her review when she wrote:
"I believe that the onus is on the writer to earn our trust in their mastery over prose. I never was quite convinced that Mafi was the master here; her writing was just too imprecise, connoting all the wrong things (and clearly not intentionally) entirely too often."
In other words: your language seems pretty but, on reflection, is stupid, painful and nonsensical.
This sentiment, and her entire review, I completely agree with. Happily, it is not the case with Night Beach. Eagar's language is descriptive and powerful, but it is also precise and Eagar wields it with precision and great skill. I wanted to find an example of Eagar's skill and the tightness of her prose. But her language is so understated and appropriate for the narrative that excerpts simply don't do it as much justice. The plot issues I had with Raw Blue were nonexistent here. The book felt complete and entirely satisfactory in its ending. What's more is that it made sense and was true to the themes and the characters.
Perhaps the best part of all this? Kirsty Eagar has joined with Melina Marchetta and they are both now my favouritest authors ever. They both live in Sydney. Guess where I live and what I'll be doing now?
This is one of those books where the author carefully paints and dresses each of her dolls with delicacy and precision. Then she painstakingly applies...moreThis is one of those books where the author carefully paints and dresses each of her dolls with delicacy and precision. Then she painstakingly applies her marionette strings, lowers them to the stage, and starts the music. The audience watches in polite interest. The puppets move this way and that, dancing out their little, unremarkable performance. As a trick of the light, one by one the strings disappear and the little puppets move more and more like real people.
Before you know it, Gelbwasser has her little strings attached to you, and you feel each tug and release with sharp clarity. She writes like a true author of tragedies. It's all mistaken identities, ill-fated timing and misunderstanding. Oftentimes this can feel forcefully contrived and ridiculous plot-forwarding. But not with Pieces of Us. Instead it just felt real. Unfortunate but unavoidable and completely understandable. Each character is driven by a different need and that need is always their downfall. Do they all manage to pick themselves up at the end? I won't say. Should they have? I'm torn with that question.
This novel has a great deal of sexual content. It's a lucky thing that I'd already read Taming the Beast:by Emily Maguire. Otherwise, I don't think I would have made it through Pieces of Us with all its content.
I took issue, though, with the novels depiction of what occurs to Katie. It's a very raw, disgusting, horrifying moment in the book, and it just keeps getting worse and more graphic. Yet a male character suffers a similar fate and the author offers him the privacy and dignity of not even mentioning it. Why does he get this consideration when Katie is opened up bare? All her shame revealed and smeared around for the reader to see and judge? It feels grossly unfair. It felt cheapening. Is it more horrific and terrible if it happens to a man? Or is it just that, as a society, we're numbed to the horror of violence and sexual degradation to women?
It's hard to discuss the quality of writing in this novel. The author switches between four distinct personalities. Some of the voices worked better than others but none truly felt disengenious. Some of the writing is very telling as opposed to showing, but Gelbwassa managed to pull me in anyway.
I was completely absorbed by the dance and entirely at Gelbwassa's mercy. She almost had me. Almost. Then, just before the finishing line, the lights came on, the music stopped and I saw a tangle of strings and lifeless puppets. I felt empty, hollow, confused. I'm not sure the ending did the rest of the story justice, but when I close my eyes I can still see the silhouette from the dancing and the music still plays in my mind. I guess that still means it was a good book for me. Not to confuse my metaphors, but if Gelbwasser works on her dismount in the future, then I'll happily read any book she puts out.(less)
Mary O'Hara is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the fact that her beloved Granny is dying. But Granny can't let...moreMary O'Hara is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the fact that her beloved Granny is dying. But Granny can't let go of life, and when a mysterious young woman turns up in Mary's street with a message for her Granny, Mary gets pulled into an unlikely adventure. The woman is the ghost of Granny's own mother, who has come to help her daughter say good-bye to her loved ones and guide her safely out of this world. She needs the help of Mary and her mother, Scarlett, who embark on a road trip to the past. Four generations of women travel on a midnight car journey. One of them is dead, one of them is dying, one of them is driving, and one of them is just starting out.
This succeeded very well for what it was - a sweet little generational story about four Irish women. If you're expecting more than that then you're going to be disappointed. If you don't like dialogue then stay far, far away. In fact, that summary up there? That is this entire book save twenty-ish pages. It doesn't get more complicated than that.
However, this book is effortlessly charming and sweet. Mary, truly is a witty, cheeky, little girl and her conversations with her mother, grandmother and ghostly great-grandmother are very amusing. The strength of these four powerhouse characters is what keeps this novel together.
I did have some issues with the book though. Some of the dialogue is downright nonsensical and this book should come with a warning for gratuitous use of punctuation.
Mary's mother, Scarlett, talks like this for most of the novel:
"Mary!" It was her mother. "How was school?!" "Stupid." She went straight past her mother, into the hall. "What's your hurry?!" "I'm starving."
It's not long before Mary says what we're all thinking.
"Great idea!" said her mother. "Stop talking like that," said Mary. "Like what?!" "Like !!!!!!!!!!!! [sic]" "Oh, no!" said her mother ,[sic] whose name was Scarlett. "I don't talk like that! Do I?!"
Note to Mary's mother: Yes, you do.
But serious question to Doyle, how do you even pronounce twelve exclamation marks? Every time I read it, because this is not the only time Mary uses a ridiculous amount of exclamation marks in lieu of a word, all I saw was someone pulling the human equivalent of this expression:
It eventually made for some cute dialogue, but that didn't negate the original headache my editor brain gave me while reading this.
I suppose this book, as cute and fun as it was to read, only got three stars because I couldn't quite see the point of it. Mary doesn't grow or change in any remarkable way other than to appreciate her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother - which she already mostly did. With so much dialogue, most of it unnecessary, it was easy to get immersed in the characters, but not so much in the story. It took me a long time to read a very short book. Once I put it down, I felt no compulsion to pick it up again.
It was a short and sweet story, but rather like the many exclamation marks, I'm not sure I entirely saw the point or truly grasped their meaning. (less)
It's hard to talk objectively about The Legacy of Eden because it is an intensely personal novel. How much you relate to it may well rest upon how hor...moreIt's hard to talk objectively about The Legacy of Eden because it is an intensely personal novel. How much you relate to it may well rest upon how horribly dysfunctional your family is. Or was. And I'm not just referring to your parents occasionally fighting or you uncle occasionally getting drunk and being thrown out of bars. This book is about the kind of family dysfunction that is a sickness spreading down the family lines until nobody is left unscathed.
In Meredith's family, that sickness began with her grandmother, Lavinia. The book chronicles Lavinia through her marriages, her children, her children's marriages and then to her grandchildren. In every single one of them you see the signs and symptoms of the sickness in all its forms and variation. You watch as, one by one, it ravages and destroys the family from the inside out.
Anybody looking for a great deal of events and a fast-moving plot are best to avoid this one. Davy takes her time skillfully weaving the tale. She hops backwards and forwards and slithers through time to bring her narrative together.
Where The Legacy of Eden really shines is its characterization. Each person in this novel is like a finely crafted portrait. Lavinia stands out as the strongest character, but all of them have their place - whether they make you fall in love with them, respect them, fear for them, mourn them or despise them. What you will probably not do, is get bored of them.
Davy's writing is quite masterful. Her prose are beautiful and whimsical and Meredith's voice is not a completely horrible headspace to be in.
I really, really loved this book as I was drawn into the mystery and intrigue. I'm not entirely sure I'll ever read it again. It's the kind of book that makes you look back on your own family legacy and look at the cracks and rotten tree limbs. For some, it'll give that strange sense of nostalgia for something both horrible yet infinitely familiar.
And I guess horrible yet infinitely familiar is the perfect way to sum up the story and most of the characters.(less)
There is this cute, bouncing red tomato bopping around GoodReads singing the praises of Melina Marchetta.
I'll admit that I ignored the Tomato because...moreThere is this cute, bouncing red tomato bopping around GoodReads singing the praises of Melina Marchetta.
I'll admit that I ignored the Tomato because my therapist said that it wasn't normal for fruit to recommend books to people. I accepted this advice because I'd already read Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi and I hadn't enjoyed it.
I couldn't understand people's fascination with it, actually. Nobody in my class at school liked Looking for Alibrandi and I thought for awhile that maybe it was because we actually went to an Australian high school and nobody wanted to read a book pretty much depicting their own existence.
Which is what Marchetta does because I went to school with pretty much every high school character she's ever written. Also - The Butcher's paper? Yes, I can totally relate with my own hatred of Butcher's paper.
The point I'm trying to make is that, this tomato? You should totally, totally always listen to this tomato. The tomato is right. You are wrong. All hail the tomato.
Okay - onto my review.
Never before have I wished I could give a book more than five stars. I'd give this book seventy BAZILLION stars if it would just be my friend.
Francesca rocked my world. She had me at Butcher's paper. She won me over completely. I loved this book, I loved the story, I loved the characters.
If you haven't read this, not that that's a problem because I feel like the last person in the world to jump on the Marchetta bandwagon, then please do.
I cried while reading this book. I can't believe I actually cried like... real tears (as opposed to the FAKE kind!)
I can count the number of times I've been to the circus on one hand. Actually, realistically, on one finger.
We were taken once by my grandparents when...moreI can count the number of times I've been to the circus on one hand. Actually, realistically, on one finger.
We were taken once by my grandparents when I was about five. First, last and only time. My parents hate the idea of the circus and scorned it with all the pretentious uninterest that would likely scar their children for life, causing them to grow up embittered, solitary and convicted to write scathing, snarky reviews on GoodReads as a form or self expression in order to share their own misery around and dump their unresolved feelings of angst on others lest it drown them.
So naturally I dove into this book with great excitement. Some dude carrying water for elephants? Sweet!
Well, I can only say that I received the education of a lifetime that led me to believe that in many ways, my parents were right to keep me away from the circus. I don't deceive myself with the thought that modern day circuses are anything like the depression era one featured in this book but I was glad to see that Gruen didn't glorify the trade.
I don't want to ruin the book for you but apparently people didn't just carry water for elephants. In fact, not a single person in this book carries water to an elephant. What? Misleading!
Okay, you don't carry water for elephants. They simply drink too much, apparently. Way to go, Gruen, for disenchanting me from a favored yet forbidden childhood dream of mine.
Isn't the circus supposed to be magical and wonderful and full of smiling faces and happy animals in funny outfits and clowns (actually, no, clowns freak me the hell out! I once attacked a clown when I was 10 years old and at a kid's birthday party and ended up needing stitches in my left foot. I wish I were kidding. Or lying, but I'm not.)
Well, embark on Gruen's, dark, textile and encapturing tale of one's mans journey into the circus to discover the life behind the big-top.
Jacob runs away to the circus, meeting the workers who keep the show running behind the scenes, the Equestrian and Managerie director and finally the Circus owner and Ring Leader, Uncle Al - all to discover that the circus isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Water for Elephants is full of characters both good, bad and in between. It's set in the Depression era and this detail adds a great deal of flavour to the underlying story. Jacob, a Cornell trained vet, goes to work in the Menagerei for the circus to care for the animals. The story gets packed tighter than a tiny car holding twenty-five clowns, all with a crazy foot itch, when Jacob falls in love with the wife of his volitile and crazy boss, August.
This story is at times melancholy, depressing, frustrating and down-right sad. In fact, there were many moments when I wanted to put the book down, pick up some bolt cutters and track down the nearest animal-carrying circus. Not for anything illegal like releasing the animals and releasing them to go and be free or anything. Just so we're all clear on that. If a circus loses it's animals somewhere near where you live, it wasn't me. Honest.
The romance aspect of this book was well done but wasn't actually the main focus. In fact, it was far overshadowed by Gruen's awesome portrayal of a cranky old man who didn't know whether he's ninety-one or ninety-three.
So over all it was a powerful, fun, gripping read that I would highly advise you go read so that when the movie comes out and people ask, you can sneak in with the line, "Well, in the book..." and make yourself look extra smart and well-read. C'mon, we all do it. Go knock yourself out.(less)
"'My fear is that I won't ever get another acting job, and the reality is that I probably won't, seeing as nintey-nine percent of actors are unemploye...more"'My fear is that I won't ever get another acting job, and the reality is that I probably won't, seeing as nintey-nine percent of actors are unemployed.'
'Okay, you have completely misunderstood the exercise,' Robin says with a passive-aggressive smile, flicking her frizzy hair out of her face.
'Oh. Which bit did I get wrong?'
'Under your reality column: it's still your fears talking, not an objective look at the reality of the situation.'
'So I got the reality bit wrong?'
'Why don't we ask the class? What do you think guys? Did Sunny get the reality bit wrong?'
Everyone says 'yes'.
'What is the reality then?' I ask.
'That, yes, you will get your dream acting job.'"
I never quote from a book in reviews but that scene was just so classic! So poor Aussie actress, Sunny, is in LA looking to make it big.
I should start out by mentioning that I am not this book's target audience. I usually don't read contemporary fiction unless it's paranormal/urban fantasy, sci-fi, fantasy based.
This kind of chic lit doesn't usually appeal to me. Let's just say that I would never have voluntarily picked this book up. I won it a giveaway for First Reads and I'm actually really glad it did.
You know what? I HOPE Katie Wall does well with this novel. I hope she writes more. She is apparently an Australian actress but I had never heard of her nor had I ever seen anything she's been in. However, I really enjoyed this book.
It could have been better edited. It could have been cleaned up a little, but you know what, I don't care about that for this book. Not really (keep in mind I am a copy-editor! Damn, what's happening to me?)
It's just that Sunny is so unbelievable adorable and real. Seriously. She uses the word "wee" and she tells a story about public urination to a room full of strangers while at a casting audition.
Problem? I don't think Americans are going to like this book. I hope they do. I hope they don't take offense. Problem is that I don't see how they won't when there is very little positive light given to American and Australia is held up as the glorious promise land to be returned to for health and restoration.
I've spent a lot of time with Americans. They pretty much populated my school in Jakarta growing up - so I know not to pull out my sarcasm unless they know me well. I know to be positive and encouraging and never to accuse someone of being "such a bitch!" while laughing, something you're likely to be called often in Australia and with absolutely no menace behind it.
However, this book isn't about NORMAL Americans and that's why they come off in such a bad light here. This book is about the Americans that other Americans make fun of - THOSE Americans. The ones that inhabit certain parts of LA.
So, back to a proper review - Characters are fantastic - except for Albert who is the supplemental father figure. He will probably remind readers far too strongly of Arthur from The Holiday as your quintessential elderly father figure. Similarities are that both Sunny and… what’s her face, Kate’s character are both expats in LA. Arthur and Albert are both old, fragile widowers who previously worked as writers in the movie industry. Both are sweet, lovable old guys who provide much needed whimsical advice. Difference? Arthur felt real. Albert never felt real to me.
Other than that, this story is honest, self-deprecating, sweet, soulful and souldbaring. Maybe I’m softening in my old age (I’m practically saving up for a Zimmer frame and investigating kidney dialysis here) but I actually enjoyed reading this book a lot.
Kudos to Katie Wall on her debut novel!
Oh - forgot to add - casual drug use! Naughty, naughty Wall! *Shakes head in disapproval*(less)
I've read a lot of positive and negative reviews for this book. I can see why people wouldn't like it - I really can....moreJust to clarify: Yes, I did cry.
I've read a lot of positive and negative reviews for this book. I can see why people wouldn't like it - I really can. Perhaps because I took a lot out of it personally, I found I enjoyed it a lot.
Quick test to see if you'll like this book:
1. Did you like Anne of Green Gables? 2. Can you cope with an off-beat, melancholy, caustic, dead-pan, self-righteous narrator? 3. Do you like words? (Questions 4-8 were all about what kind of underwear you're wearing so don't worry about them).
So, let's all gather around for story time with Mistress Kat.
Two incidents set me off lately.
1. My neighbour came to me and complained about the Islanders (for those not Australian: the Tongan, Fiji, Papa New Guinea and New Zealand populations of Australia) causing trouble and other wise defiling our great and beautiful nation. 2. I was tooling around on Facebook when I noticed one of my friends (one of those friends you’ve never met except in an internet community you have auspiciously joined and taken over, making it your own and demanding subservience from all around) hosting a link to a video of a speech from a man addressing the American people. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he is reminiscent of a neo-Hitler but let’s just say that the comparison would not be wholly unearned. Her comments on the video were that: everything he’d said was right, it was time that people sat up and listened for the sake of their country and that it’s about time “somebody did something”. (Fuck me, I’ve heard this phrase so many times. What is it exactly that they’re referring to? Do they actually know? I’ve yet to hear them pronounce what this “something” is or what it looks like. Is there some plan that I’m not aware of that they’re referring to? Does it involve chipmunks, honey and tequila?)
To my neighbour, I simply mumbled that I had to leave and got in my car. I’m Christian. In Australia, if you’re a Christian and you don’t like Islanders then give up on religion or you’ll just be torturing yourself. I was offended on behalf of my friends so I blew him off and I haven’t really spoken to him since. To my Facebook friend, I resisted the urge to make any comments. I debated about starting a fight that would, in all likelihood, spill over to our community. In the end I ignored her and I haven’t spoken to her since.
The Book Thief is not your typical WWII story. It doesn’t even ask you to sympathize with the Jews. Their plight is background to the story and their struggles and pains are rarely shown except through the pitiful/beautiful character of Max. This story actually focuses on the bad guys. Zusak assumes that you know about the struggle and the plight of the Jews. He assumes that you feel for them, that you are horrified on their behalf and so he doesn’t spend much time eliciting an emotion that you are expected to have.
Instead it focuses on the BAD guys. You get to know and live the lives of a small and poor town in Germany. The thing is, though, that these aren’t really the bad guys. Zusak, probably rightly, assumes that we’d never be able to really empathize and enjoy reading a book about characters truly bad. They’re not really bad. After all, they may be Germans and they may have escaped persecution and death, but they’re still poor. They’re the tiny fraction of the German population who sympathizes with the Jews. They harbour a Jewish man in their home and come to love him. The thing is though that for most of the novel, they’re not the good guys either. They don’t speak up for the Jewish people, they don’t try to change popular opinion, they don’t stand for what’s right. They quietly try to get by without causing waves and without risking much of themselves.
So you can see how I would sympathize. How could I think that I’m one of the “good guys” when I don’t stand up for people either? Shouldn’t I have challenged my neighbour and asked how he knew that the Islanders were to blame for all the crime? Shouldn’t I have asked him how many Islanders he knew? How he could make such assumptions about people? Shouldn’t I have challenged my facebook friend? Shouldn’t I have asked her why she’s spreading propaganda? Couldn’t I have probed her to think critically about this man’s claims, about facts and ethics?
No. I didn’t want to cause problems and I didn’t want to make waves.
The narrator of The Book Thief makes a claim that Hitler’s took over a country and started a war – not with guns or weapons but with words. I’ve read others consider this claim to be stupid and ridiculous but I actually agree with him.
When I was a child I asked my Great Aunt Nell why she insisted on engaging me in long and tedious hypothetical debates about morality, human nature, ethics and theology. Her response was always the same: if you don’t fill a child’s head with all the right stuff, someone will come along and fill it with all the wrong stuff. It’s kind of like those corny motivational quotes that the teachers post in their rooms: Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.
Well, I agree. When you don’t educate people, when you don’t teach them to think critically, with full understanding and proper knowledge, then other people come along and whisper in their ear and fill their heads up with mindless rot. Hitler told the German people how to think. He told them who was Wrong. Why they were Wrong. How to fix the Wrong. What was Right. Then he did the most powerful thing a person could do: he told them a story. When you tell a whole nation a story about the future – a gloriously bright future with Plenty and Joy; a future in which they are redeemed and have conquered their enemies; a future in which they are happy and Everything Is As It Should Be – and if you tell that story well enough, then you can conquer a country and wage a war without ever firing a single bullet.
Coincidently when you don’t speak up, when you don’t proclaim the truth, when you’re too afraid to replace ignorance with knowledge then you’re no better than an accomplice to a crime. I can’t imagine how my friends would feel if they’d known that I stood by and allowed them and their family and children to be slandered like that. Pretty appalled, I imagine – and rightfully so.
And now we come to the big reason why I think a lot of people didn’t like this book – the narrator.
The Hunger Games did a similar thing to The Book Thief. It sought to instil in its readers a sense of proper shame. However, as opposed to The Book Thief, you didn’t feel judged. After all, for the Sins that The Hunger Games was preaching of, we’re all guilty – and in our combined guilt there seems to be a lessening of accountability. Perhaps there’s a sense that we’re all going down together. When we’re damned, at least we’ll have good company, right? The Book Thief, however, singles you out as solely responsible. It strips you naked and looks down on you as it asks you to account of yourself. Not even the narrator can sympathize with you because he is the only one left blameless and innocent, looking upon us with a reserved kind of pity and bewilderment.
Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment. I don’t mind being stripped down. I don’t mind being reprimanded and so I loved this book. I loved this book for inspiring me to be even more outlandishly outspoken and persistently and doggedly forthcoming on my opinions of these issues. I loved this book because I loved the narrator. I loved this book because I loved the story.
I loved this book because I now have the PERFECT excuse to start a helluva lot more fights.
For some reason, that thought makes me very happy.
I don't have much to say about this book other than at many points this book was more than hilarious! It was hysterical!
The writing was quite good and...moreI don't have much to say about this book other than at many points this book was more than hilarious! It was hysterical!
The writing was quite good and the protagonist was interesting. She was the typical epitome of most teenage girls on the cusp between childhood and adulthood.
I felt it dragged on a bit toward the end. Over all though, it was funny, interesting and most of all, enjoyable.
Big thanks to Tatiana for recommending it to me!(less)
I was walking back from my playgroup with my son on Monday, I came out of an elevator to find a teenage boy waiting for me. Fear and an urge to protec...moreI was walking back from my playgroup with my son on Monday, I came out of an elevator to find a teenage boy waiting for me. Fear and an urge to protect my son came over me as he looked a little "rough" around the edges.
Instead of pulling a knife or picking a fight though, the teenager turned on me with big, embarrassed, doe-eyes to ask in a quivering voice, "Excuse me, can I please have fifty cents to call my mum?" I fished out fifty cents worth of coins and left as soon as I saw him head towards the telephone, not waiting around to see if he got through to her. True story.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman is a novel about a world gone mad in which children between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can be legally signed over by their parents or guardians to be put through a harvest camp so that others can take their organs, tissue and blood.
Abortion is also illegal but people can leave infants on other people's doorstep as a method of "storking" and thus legally handing over their responsibilities of the child.
A common phrase used throughout this book is, "Someone else's problem." This encompasses the spirit of the book and is said often by adults who have had children fall temporarily into their hemisphere and require dealing with. There are very few adults in this book who do more than the bare minimum of what they have to do to sit right in their conscience and there's a whole bevy of others who don't do that much.
Connor, one of the trio of main protagonists and an indisputable Christ metaphor, is a "problem" child. His parents are at a loss as to how to handle his behavioral problems and his poor grades so they consign him to being unwound. Risa, a ward of the state, is a bed that the government can free up for a child that they can't legally unwind yet and so is also handed over to the harvesting camp. Levi, the last of the trio is a religious tithe by his parents - born and raised to serve God by handing him over to be tithed as part of their duty to the community and God.
There are many other such stories in this book from a boy whose loving parents died, leaving him an inheritance that his aunt feels would be better off putting her kids through college once he's been unwound and a boy whose divorcing parents couldn't agree on any custody solution and would rather, literally, divide him.
This whole book is about the powerlessness of children in the hands of those who should be responsible for them. It is at times nerve-wracking, heartbreaking, devastating and a complete adrenaline rush.
What it is most of all, though, is sad. Sad because the truth is that children are not the problem and they shouldn't be treated like a problem. They are a symptom at worst and a blessing always. They are a gift that requires attention. They are an innocent package and in the case of 99% of them - if they are running around the street as twelve year olds being a menace to society then they have not let us down - we have let them down.
I love this book because it is well written, I love this book because it is compelling. I love this book because sometimes it is a hard and challenging read on a personal level. I love this book because it asks you to think. I love this book for the many things it has revealed about me - most of them not positive. I love this book because it is well-written with absorbing characters and a great plot.
Most of all, I love this book because next time I come across a kid of the street asking for fifty cents to call his mum, I'll let him borrow my phone and make sure she's coming to get him.(less)
*Kat looks at the beckoning stack of other books to read*
*Kat looks back at the first 33 pages of The Forgotten Gar...more*Kat looks at The Forgotten Garden*
*Kat looks at the beckoning stack of other books to read*
*Kat looks back at the first 33 pages of The Forgotten Garden*
*Kat groans*
So basically there's this woman. Let's call her Stupidhead because I couldn't care enough to remember her name. She finds out on her 21st birthday party that her loving, adoring family is not her biological family. They found her as a very small child and cared enough to take her in and give her a wonderful home full of people who loved and adored her.
So she breaks up with her perfect fiancee, marries an asshole, has a child, is a terrible mother, distances herself from everyone who ever loved her, screws up her child's life so that her child screws up HER daughters life...
Then I didn't read on. I didn't read on because this book is based on an idiot, and I have a short fuse when it comes to idiots. Let's just say that I don't suffer them lightly.
I'm sure that this book, if I read further, might turn out to be a fantastic and beautifully touching story with a great mystery that it's currently hinting at like a half-dressed male stripper with sad eyes and a g-string whose elastic is so flexible it no longer snaps. However, right now it's just a jumpy, painfully boring mess. I know it's probably realistic, after all there's plenty of idiots in the world. However, since I have so many life sized idiots on-call whenever I need them, I don't feel I have to read a book about them.
Sometimes you enjoy a book so immensely, that you give it several stars even though there were some things in the story that you had reservations abou...moreSometimes you enjoy a book so immensely, that you give it several stars even though there were some things in the story that you had reservations about. I was like this with the Fever Series. The enjoyment I received from the book far outweighed some small character problems I had.
The Road is different. It is actually brilliantly written. So wonderful in its prose and the thought behind every word that I had to give it four stars despite the immense heartache it gave me.
It would have received five stars but it was a struggle to finish. Not that it was poorly written but in the end it was a little boring. There's very little "page turner" quality about it. What happens in this book? Not a whole lot. There is no real plot to speak of. Gloomy and depressing last page, gloomy and depressing this page and, oh, what was that? Gloomy and depressing on the next page.
I sometimes felt like there were many cheap shots in this book. Babies burnt, people trapped in a house being eaten by others. There was a lot of things that I sometimes felt were there for shock value.
This was a book about hope. There was none. And yet, in the end, what else do you live for if you can't hope that the next day will bring something better? What else is there for you? This is a world built without hope. Nothing grows. No animals, no plants, no sun, no joy. Everyone on the road is jaded and dangerous. This story is about the strength in refusing to despair.
However, it was a great read. I'll never, never, NEVER read it again - but I'm glad I did read it. As melancholy and depressed as it left me, I'm glad I read it.
Now I'm going to give my son a BIG cuddle and let him eat as much banana and bread and cheese as he likes this afternoon.
I may even let him watch The Little Mermaid... again. *Shudders*
Stolen is such a singular reading experience that its difficult to decide how I feel about it.
Gemma is a sixteen year old English girl kidnapped by Ty...moreStolen is such a singular reading experience that its difficult to decide how I feel about it.
Gemma is a sixteen year old English girl kidnapped by Ty and taken into the Western Australian outback where she is held prisoner.
I had to give this book five stars for several reasons. One of the reasons is because it was so fantastically well written. Beautiful, touching, heart breaking and real. Christopher doesn't spare on the details both good and bad. Never before have I felt a book to be so real, so gritty and tangible.
This book is a journey into the world of Stockholm Syndrome and the craft of Christopher's skill left even me, feeling the effects of this baffling psychological problem.
The characters of Ty and Gemma are fantastic. At first I was frustrated with Gemma. I was so used to reading kick-ass female protagonists who could do anything that it was aggravating to be stuck with a sixteen year old who was incapable and terror stricken. Yet she gets to you. Her pain, her struggles. She's a real sixteen year old. This isn't some fantasy character that can do everything. Yet she has a sense of will and spirit. Perhaps her defining characteristic is the truth that she is willing to tell herself - completely and honestly.
Ty is also amazing as a character. He is equal parts scary, confused, angry, hostile, delusional. He is also beautiful, gentle, capable, intense and loving. He is such a mixed bag of all these things.
If you're looking for action and suspense in this book - you won't find it. Yet I personally found the strength of the characters and the outback itself was strong enough to carry this story without needing a great deal of edge-of-your-seat intensity. The mental intensity was enough for me.
Others may find this story boring but I found it touching and amazing. I highly recommend it.(less)
At this current moment in time my husband and I do not actually have a working will. We are the legal definition of intestate. We have not yet made an...moreAt this current moment in time my husband and I do not actually have a working will. We are the legal definition of intestate. We have not yet made any preparations for our death and we only have life insurance/house insurance because his mother organized the whole damn thing (come to mention it she is also the reason we have electricity, water and a phone line - the internet though was all us because we'd die without it.)
So believe me when I say that we don't organize... anything. Except our zombie kit. That's right. We have a zombie kit. Should zombies suddenly strike while I type out this review we would be able to take our son and get in our car and drive away without a backward glance. Everything we need is in the boot of the car. If we're holed up inside the house we have our second zombie kit to live off of and use to defend ourselves. We have several plans in place as to where to go, what to do if we're separated at time of crisis, who we're taking with us, how we'll stay in contact etc.
Some may call his paranoia. Some may call this stupidity. Do you know what I call these naysayers?
Zombie food.
It is this obsessive and weird need to ensure survival during a zombie apocalypse, despite every rational reason to believe that all our efforts are for naught, that has made me the prime candidate and target group of this book.
It is not the norm of the zombie genre. In general a zombie movie tends to be about a small group of individuals against the undead hordes looking to floss with intestines.
This book is not about a small group of individuals - it is about a large collection of humanity. This book is how HUMANITY would survive and deal with a zombie infestation. It is a collection of small, broken narratives from people all over the world, across many social, economic and political classes.
Some of them were amazing, others horrifying. Some were inspirational, others so depressing or introspective that I wondered if there was any hope.
I would argue that many of the "voices" from certain nationalities were not really very accurate and didn't really match the cultural region they came from - but I'm lazy. Either you "get" the voice of the narratives or you don't.
This book was a fascinating, thoughtful read in a field that I'm personally obsessed with. I could easily understand how those who've never stayed up until three in the morning, drunk off their heads with a group of people yelling that if they head into the city then they're zombie meat (Zombie meat I say! You ridiculous idiots!) probably will find this book a hard read.
It's also a difficult read in the sense that you are continually sucked into one story, only to have it end abruptly and shift to another. I kept getting frustrated and wanting to scream, "No! Go back! I want to know what else happened!" but alas. It's like little snap shots from all over the world, except when it comes to several of the snapshots, I'd really rather see the whole picture.
Other than that, I loved it. I had a hoot reading it. It gave me plenty of fodder with which to have many drunken debates with my husband, brothers and friends.
Kat Kennedy
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Books:
contemporary-fiction
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