Climbing the Stairs is a book that combines romance, history, the place of women in the Indian history during WW2, and family. Vidya is a strong, inte...moreClimbing the Stairs is a book that combines romance, history, the place of women in the Indian history during WW2, and family. Vidya is a strong, intelligent woman who lived before her time. She is a girl to look up to as she is strong and determined. I learned so much reading this book and Padma Venkatraman challenges the reader to feel for and connect to the protagonist as you go through a year (probably the most defining year) in her life.(less)
I tried. I really tried but this book was written so poorly between grammar, a lack of character development, and a nonsensical scenario that I gave u...moreI tried. I really tried but this book was written so poorly between grammar, a lack of character development, and a nonsensical scenario that I gave up reading it half way through. The plot had promise and I have read other books by Shelley Shepard Gray that I have enjoyed but I really can not suggest this one to anyone.(less)
Too many curses, blasphemy, grammatical errors. That's what I didn't like. But there is a whole lot more that I did enj...moreThank you Gary for a good book.
Too many curses, blasphemy, grammatical errors. That's what I didn't like. But there is a whole lot more that I did enjoy about this novel.
Children of the Resolution is a good, eye-opening book. It sheds light on some very real issues for the handicapped of the 70's and 80s, some which still apply today, but also for anyone who has ever felt a hard time fitting into the mold that someone else wants them to fit into. During an interview about the integrated classrooms at the Resolution School, the author writes- 'I was growing bored with this- with knowing what I should say but never saying it. I wanted it to be over and therefore gave the easiest answers I could find, the ones I knew he would be hoping to hear... - when I answered first, I kept to the middle ground.'
Carl is a real kid with real feelings, a great sense of humor, and a wheelchair. Children of the Resolution follows Carl and his class from a segregated school, the only choice his family is given for their special needs child, to other schools that try and mostly fail to create integrated classrooms. But the school system is only a part of Children of the Resolution. It shows Carl's fears of not stacking up. 'I was struggling. More than ever the obscurity of those chill days during my final... days in Almsby was influencing my moods, dragging me under with it -- each school-day morning a painful, soul-wrenching threat, each evening a blessed if temporary release.'
Carl also has strong friendships, romance, and a search for inner strength and peace. The beginning of the book, the escapades that Carl and his friends go through, reminded me a lot of Stand By Me. This book is written very much like a biography and set up in a really interesting manner. I wondered if it might be about the author's own life.
Well done, I recommend this book especially to those in the field of education, those interested in learning, and anyone with any type of 'special need'(all of us!)(less)
Daisy moves to England where she meets her unusually gifted cousins and falls in love with Edmund. After war starts, a life that had finally begun to...moreDaisy moves to England where she meets her unusually gifted cousins and falls in love with Edmund. After war starts, a life that had finally begun to get better is ripped apart.
While 'How I Live Now' is not based on a real war, like a good dystopian/apocalyptic story it is based on what COULD happen. It is an interesting, well thought out story. I'm not sure what it was but something about it reminded me vaguely of 'Never Let Me Go.'(less)
This is still one of the best stories ever written. I admit that I loved it more as a child than I did during this reading but it is still a GREAT boo...moreThis is still one of the best stories ever written. I admit that I loved it more as a child than I did during this reading but it is still a GREAT book!!!(less)
Loading...
