At last month's book club, we were discussing which book to read next. I said, "The other two books are books I would read on my own. But this one [Th...moreAt last month's book club, we were discussing which book to read next. I said, "The other two books are books I would read on my own. But this one [The List] is something I would NEVER pick up on my own." (Which was a vote in favor of selecting it, since one of the major benefits of this book club has been that I've read several books I would otherwise have never read.)
The List details the events of homecoming week at a local American high school, where on Monday morning each year, The List, which identifies the ugliest and the prettiest girl in each grade, is posted. Each of these eight girls gets her own chapters through the week as she deals with the fallout of having been singled out in this fashion. The eight girls are well-drawn characters with their own distinct voices and personalities - contrary to what one might expect given the format of the book (eight chapters per day of the week, one for each girl), it isn't difficult to keep them straight.
So, why would I have never picked up this book on my own? Two words: high school. While this book did capture and keep my interest, it was also a hideous flashback to the worst years of my life (so far, and let's hope that remains the nadir). A list like this, complete with cruel remarks about the girls, is exactly the sort of thing the kids at my school would have done, and they wouldn't have cared about the feelings they hurt. In fact, they'd have enjoyed hurting people's feelings - cruelty was the goal of most of their interactions.
It's hard for me to think about this book with any level of objectivity. I'm still swinging back and forth. On the one hand, you do get eight very different characters with different ideas about what it means to be feminine, plus their assorted sisters, friends, and boyfriends, and you see eight very different responses to being put on the list. On the other hand, though, did "the homeschooled girl" and her mom really have to be portrayed as weird? Did Margo really have to be so perfect? Her only flaw was that she dumped Jennifer in a mean way four years previously, but other than that, she was a shining angel who got everything she wanted, which irritated the everloving crap out of me. (I might have identified with Jennifer for the first few chapters.) And did Fern have to be so unpleasant? I'd have liked to see the only explicitly intelligent character be portrayed as a positive role model. In some ways, I almost think this book reinforced certain stereotypes. But perhaps that was intentional - the book is drenched in high school.
I'll have to think about this book some more. (less)
Is there some reason all of our book club books have awful endings? This is why I tend to avoid the stuff that gets praise and/or awards - there seems...moreIs there some reason all of our book club books have awful endings? This is why I tend to avoid the stuff that gets praise and/or awards - there seems to be some sort of rule that anything with a happy ending is just too gauche for acclaim.
Lack of happy ending aside, Code Name Verity is an excellent book. It is suspenseful and well-written and makes excellent use of shifting perspectives and time skips. About ten pages into the second part, I realized I would have to go back and reread the first part (though I haven't yet) for all the little clues I'd missed.
I hesitate to say much more precisely because of those little clues - I'd hate to spoil the story for anyone else. Suffice to say, this is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it - although you might want to have something pleasant and fluffy to follow it up with.(less)
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One of these days, I'll learn not to trade reviews for free copies. It's ha...moreNote: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One of these days, I'll learn not to trade reviews for free copies. It's hard for me to be fully honest when the author is a person in my very own inbox who I know will read the review, as opposed to someone who is famous (or dead; I review a lot of old books) and therefore won't condescend to read my criticisms.
Anyway. Southern Bound is a paranormal mystery; the main character moves south to North Carolina (iirc) for a mysterious job, and it isn't long before he starts talking to a ghost who is connected to the mystery he's trying to solve. The back story of the mystery is fascinating; there were camps of German POWs established in North Carolina (and forty-five other states). I had never heard of this and was frankly skeptical, but it's true; on V-E Day, approximately [sources differ on the exact count] 400,000 POWs were being held in camps across the nation. (Texas had more camps than any other state partly because we have more space and partly because of the climate; you're supposed to hold POWs in a climate similar to the one in which they were captured, so a lot of Rommel's Afrika Korps ended up in Texas. The hill country in Central Texas is full of Germanic and Czech influence anyway, so it was probably a fairly congenial location for the Germans.) The German POWs did a lot of labor on local farms and in factories since so many of the men were overseas, and Southern Bound deals with a murder mystery involving these Germans. Old relationships, money, land, ghosts, and witches are all dug up and play a part in the book.
Unfortunately, the execution doesn't quite do justice to the premise. Max just didn't seem like a realistic character; his actions weren't very believable. The villains also weren't very believable - why exactly did they hire someone to solve a mystery they didn't want solved? And neither was Max's wife. It turns out that she can also see ghosts, very conveniently, and there's no foreshadowing of this ability at all, unless you count Max asking her if she believes in ghosts and her asking why he asks before claiming she doesn't. I guess it makes sense that someone who can see ghosts would keep it quiet, even from her husband, but that claim, coupled with no reason to believe she's lying (wouldn't you ask why if someone suddenly asked if you believe in ghosts?), makes her later revelation rather jarring. It feels a bit like a cheat. Also, the sex scenes are awkward and uncomfortable reading; I actually winced a couple times.
Honestly, I probably would have DNF'ed this book (certainly at the first sex scene if not before) if I hadn't promised a review. So I can't really recommend it. I am glad to have learned something new about history, though.
Dragons in the Waters doesn't stand out for me quite as much as it should. It's quite different from the others in the chronos and kairos sequences, b...moreDragons in the Waters doesn't stand out for me quite as much as it should. It's quite different from the others in the chronos and kairos sequences, being a murder mystery and starring Simon Renier, who in many ways lives in the past. Mr. Theo, Canon Tallis, and the O'Keefes make appearances, with Poly and Charles O'Keefe playing the largest roles beside Simon.
Mystery isn't really L'Engle's forte; she's not very good at giving clues to help the reader get the answer as well. (The goal when writing a mystery is to provide enough clues that the reader figures it out shortly before the characters do. Too late, and the reader either feels dumb or decides the book is a cheat; too early, and the reader gets annoyed with the characters for not realizing something obvious.) So mostly you're just along for the ride with Poly and Simon and Charles. It's a fun enough ride, but somehow, the book just feels derivative. I don't know if it's the fact that she's used cruises before, or the fact that she's used the Important Ancestor storyline before, or what, but somehow, Dragons just doesn't stand out.(less)
First of all, ADAM EDDINGTON OMG. I LOVE Adam. He is easily in the top five characters in all of L'Engle's books. He's also the anti-Zachary Gray; his...moreFirst of all, ADAM EDDINGTON OMG. I LOVE Adam. He is easily in the top five characters in all of L'Engle's books. He's also the anti-Zachary Gray; his appearance in a book is an automatic plus a million, while Zachary is an automatic minus a million. (Commander Rodney should have let him drown in Ring. And since he didn't, Poly should have let him drown in Lotus. Third time the charm?*)
Anyway, Starfish is a lot of fun. Adam spends a bit too much time trying to make up his mind about whose side to be on, but he doesn't have the benefit of having read the previous books about Meg and Calvin, so it's realistic. It's nice to fantasize about being a spy and having awesome countersigns from Robert Frost poems, but when it starts actually happening around you and you don't know whom to trust...I think Adam's hesitancy is more or less how most of us really would react in his shoes.
For characters, while we don't get much of Meg and Calvin, we do get Canon Tallis and Poly, and the sadly short-lived Joshua. So all in all, Starfish is a fun read. I recommend it.
*This tangent is wholly irrelevant, but: I can't think of many other fictional characters I pure hate as much as Zachary Gray. There are characters I love to hate, like Lucius Malfoy, and there are villainous characters for whose deaths I gleefully root, like Larry on Burn Notice, but there aren't many characters that are so repellent and vile that I can't even stand to read about them. Zachary Gray is one. Man, I pure hate that guy.(less)
I've mentioned in previous L'Engle reviews that I love A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Besides the usual Nostalgia Bonus for anything I first read between t...moreI've mentioned in previous L'Engle reviews that I love A Swiftly Tilting Planet. Besides the usual Nostalgia Bonus for anything I first read between the ages of 8 and 12 or so, I am also a complete sucker for time travel, especially with competing timelines, and I love the narrative structure imposed by the use of the rune. Each chapter title is a line from the rune, and that line comes into play in that chapter. (For example, the chapter titled "The fire with all the strength it hath" is the one where Madoc and Gwydyr battle with fire.) I am also, courtesy of the Dark is Rising sequence, a complete and utter sucker for all things Wales. And Charles Wallace is my favorite of the Murrys (I am super disappointed that L'Engle didn't write books about Charles Wallace as an adult). And when I was very young, I used to pretend my bicycle was a flying unicorn (his name was Blizzard, and he kept getting challenged to races for kingship of the flying unicorns by Hurricane, the previous king. There were some pretty elaborate storylines involved when it looked like all I was doing was riding around the driveway).
So there is basically no way I could not love Planet, and as you can imagine, there's no way I can give it any kind of an impartial review, even with over twenty years' distance from the flying unicorn races. Planet is my favorite of the kairos books; the structure is lyrical, the characters manage to be sympathetic even as they exist for only a chapter or two, and I still lose myself in the story every time I read it.(less)
I'm not a sucker for Many Waters the way I am for A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I think the main reason (aside from my having read it as an adult rather t...moreI'm not a sucker for Many Waters the way I am for A Swiftly Tilting Planet. I think the main reason (aside from my having read it as an adult rather than as a young'un, which naturally means it doesn't get the +5 nostalgia bonus) is that it doesn't have any Charles Wallace, who is easily my favorite member of the Murry family.
Many Waters is about Sandy and Dennys traveling back to the time of the Flood, or rather, just before the Flood. They help Noah mend his relationship with his father and become friends with his sons, particularly Japheth, and his daughters. In those days, angels and nephilim still walk the earth, and Sandy and Dennys and their new friends have encounters with them as well.
Non-members of the Abrahamic religions may find this book annoying, but honestly, I think L'Engle did a pretty good job of presenting it as literature rather than as Scripture. I'm not sure that was her goal exactly, but there's a reason she got in trouble for not being explicitly Christian enough in her day. (Nowadays, she's TOO explicitly Christian. You can't win.) If you think of the flood story as just a story, and think of Sandy and Dennys as being transported to an alternate universe rather than to the past, I think you can probably read Many Waters without getting annoyed.
That being said, I'm not sure I'd entirely recommend Many Waters. I don't think it's the strongest book of the Time Quintet. And An Acceptable Time has Zachary Gray, which gives it a massive 1 000 000 point deficit to make up. So if you stopped with Planet, I don't think you'd be missing much.(less)
I'm embarrassed by how much I like this book. I recognize and acknowledge its flaws, the more so as I age (sort of the opposite of, for example, Persu...moreI'm embarrassed by how much I like this book. I recognize and acknowledge its flaws, the more so as I age (sort of the opposite of, for example, Persuasion, which I appreciate more and more with age), but I still can't help but enjoy it thoroughly.(less)
Readers who are used to Tarzan and John Carter will be quite surprised by Jimmy Torrance, the hero of Burroughs's The Efficiency Expert. While Jimmy i...moreReaders who are used to Tarzan and John Carter will be quite surprised by Jimmy Torrance, the hero of Burroughs's The Efficiency Expert. While Jimmy is, naturally, handsome, clever, and athletic all in one, he lives in contemporary America rather than in the jungles of Africa or the arid plains of Mars, and he isn't immediately successful at all he does.
Jimmy, like many other young men, graduates from college and quickly discovers that having been a big man on campus doesn't mean he will necessarily succeed in the business world. In fact, he has more and more difficulty getting along. He's down to his last dollar before his luck starts to change.
Jimmy's luck changes slowly, and he struggles along through several difficult, low-earning jobs, making friends with various members of the criminal element and frequently encountering the same lovely girl along the way, until he finally discovers a notice in the newspaper for an efficiency expert. Armed with charm and bluster, he manages to secure the position and makes some alarming discoveries that eventually lead to a happy ending.
This story is unusual for Burroughs in several ways, most notably the setting but also the characters and the romance (which isn't what you were expecting) and even the writing style. It's a fun little story; I recommend it.(less)
Five Children and It is the tale of Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, the Lamb, and the Psammead. The oldest four (the Lamb is a baby, so he doesn't come i...moreFive Children and It is the tale of Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, the Lamb, and the Psammead. The oldest four (the Lamb is a baby, so he doesn't come into this story much) discover the Psammead, a sand-fairy who grants wishes, at their vacation home. As is usual in tales of this sort, the wishes all go wrong.
Five Children and It is typical fare for Nesbit: a series of adventures that eventually have a happy ending. I recommend it and its sequels, The Phoenix and the Carpet and The Story of the Amulet.(less)
I'm writing this review almost two months after reading the book, so it will be incomplete, but frankly, I didn't like Timeline enough to want to read...moreI'm writing this review almost two months after reading the book, so it will be incomplete, but frankly, I didn't like Timeline enough to want to read it again merely for the sake of writing a better review.
Overall, this is a forgettable time travel story that presents ancient tropes of time travel as if they were newly invented by Crichton. There's a sort of wide-eyed naivete about Crichton's introduction of ancient, hoary story elements dating back nearly a hundred years that would be funny if it weren't so annoying. As for wordsmithing, while the book is definitely a page-turner, the conclusion is annoying (there is some mystery about who the villain actually is. The critical clue to his identity shows up about 2 pages before he unmasks, and this clue feels very much like a deus ex machina [as I've mentioned before, the authors of How NOT to Write a Novel helpfully explain that "deus ex machina" is French for "Are you f*****g kidding me?"]), and the characterization is one-dimensional and, frankly, implausible.
For example, one of the kids who travels to the past, who is an historian specializing in medieval history, isn't aware that saying he's "gentle" means that he is of noble birth and also isn't aware of the origin/meaning of the phrase "throw down the gauntlet" (a knight throws his gauntlet at him, and he picks it up, unaware that he's just accepted a challenge). That is not even remotely plausible. Are we seriously expected to believe that someone who is, again, a Ph.D. student specializing in medieval metallurgy has never taken any broad history classes or any history classes focused on the Middle Ages, never read any historical fiction, never watched any historical dramas on TV, nothing? Give me a break.
This book is sort of pop-sci time travel; it's SF for people who don't read SF at all. If you'd like to dip your toe into the waters of SF/time travel, then this book is a good start; it's a good page-turner and provides a sort of 101 for basic time-travel tropes. If you are familiar with the genre, though, I'd skip it. (And I recommend the Hugo-winning Blackout/All Clear duology if you haven't already read them.)(less)
As with Feed, the rating on this book isn't actually reflective of how much I liked it. I hated it, because I freaking hate zombies. But it is a thoug...moreAs with Feed, the rating on this book isn't actually reflective of how much I liked it. I hated it, because I freaking hate zombies. But it is a thought-provoking book.
First of all, zombies. Brrrr! I read about half of This is Not a Test just before bed one evening, which was a very poor choice; I was plagued with nightmares all night. In fact, I woke up at 2 and had to play mindless games on my phone for an hour before I felt it was safe to go back to sleep. I read the second half in broad daylight and made sure I got a bunch of Heyer into my system before bed that night. Also, I hid the book so I wouldn't see the cover and start remembering the events. So naturally, I've been putting off writing the review.
I'm not sure what it is that bothers me so much about zombies. Seanan McGuire's excellent Feed and Stephen King's crappy Cell gave me similar horrible nightmares, and if there really were a zombie apocalypse, I'd probably blow my own head off because I couldn't bear it. I think my fear is due to the loss of agency involved in becoming a zombie. The idea of losing control of my body - being, for all intents and purposes, dead, while the flesh that used to belong to me moves on - makes me shudder in revulsion. (I also have to be cremated because of Andrew Marvell, but that's another, albeit related, story.)
Anyway, This is Not a Test isn't really about zombies so much as it's about questions of right and wrong. The zombie apocalypse is essentially the worst kind of war; you're up against enemies that simply will not stop coming. There's no reasoning with them; they want you dead or one of them, and they won't stop until that happens. The one advantage you have is that you're (usually) smarter than they are. In this kind of situation, how do you keep to the moral code you've had all your life? Your enemies will show you no mercy, and you can't afford to show it to them. And sometimes you can't even afford to show mercy to your friends.
The book is packed with difficult moral choices from start to finish. (And difficult non-moral choices, too, such as when the kids debate whether to stay in the relatively safe school or try to make it to the nearest shelter, a hundred miles away.) There aren't any clear-cut decisions.
I don't know that I would recommend this book exactly - it's good, and it's thought-provoking, but man oh man is it ever dark. There's barely a sliver of hope in the story. If you're in the mood for an uplifting, cheerful story, this ain't it. But if you aren't terrified of zombies, and you'd like something to noodle over for a while, This is Not a Test might do you.
By the way, a cortege is a funeral procession.(less)
Side Jobs is a collection of all the Harry Dresden-themed short stories that have appeared in various anthologies, plus a novella of sorts set immedia...moreSide Jobs is a collection of all the Harry Dresden-themed short stories that have appeared in various anthologies, plus a novella of sorts set immediately after Changes. You can see how Butcher improved as a writer over the collection (and over the Dresden Files, for that matter). I like these stories because they give us a nice slice out of Harry's life when he's not dealing with the bigger enemies.
I also think Butcher did a surprisingly good job of giving voice to Murphy's internal monologue. I wouldn't have thought he could handle it as well as he did.(less)
Changes is a punch in the gut for Dresden Files fans, but a punch we wouldn't want to miss. A number of threads get pulled together, and Harry has to...moreChanges is a punch in the gut for Dresden Files fans, but a punch we wouldn't want to miss. A number of threads get pulled together, and Harry has to make several lesser-of-multiple-evils choices, concluding when he casts Familicide* on the Red Court.
This book is also notable because when I first read it, on my Nook, I got to the last page, tried to go to the next chapter, and literally screamed aloud when I realized that that actually was the last page. What a cliffhanger! I can't think of many other books that have made me literally scream.
*Order of the Stick reference. There is probably a good essay to be written on the comparison of Harry cursing the Red Court and Vaarsuvius casting Familicide on the Ancient Black Dragon, but I'm not up for it at the moment. Maybe later.(less)
Turn Coat has a few too many disparate threads. The naagloshii, Morgan, LaFortier, Luccio, Demonreach, Lara, Peabody, etc. There's just a little too m...moreTurn Coat has a few too many disparate threads. The naagloshii, Morgan, LaFortier, Luccio, Demonreach, Lara, Peabody, etc. There's just a little too much going on in one book.
That being said, it's still a fun read, like most of the rest of the Dresden Files.(less)
I think Small Favor might be the best of the first ten Dresden books. Both Mab and Titania play roles, the gruffs come back, the Denarians are in town...moreI think Small Favor might be the best of the first ten Dresden books. Both Mab and Titania play roles, the gruffs come back, the Denarians are in town and mixed up with Marcone (who is now a freeholding lord of the Unseelie Accords...forgot which book that happens in. Also, Harry finally banished Lash's shadow at the end of the last book), Sanya is back in town, and here come the Archive and Kincaid, and Harry's called the Wardens...and at the very end of the book, two new, powerful players (view spoiler)[Demonreach and Uriel (hide spoiler)] enter the scene...
Not only does the overall arc get some advancement, but we also see some nice character development. Nearly everyone mentioned in the first paragraph gets at least one good scene where we learn a little more about their motivations and their loyalties.
And the resolution of the gruffs' pursuit of Harry is hilarious. What a silly and yet perfect way to use that favor he's earned from Titania.
(In case you haven't noticed, the titles always have multiple meanings. He's doing a not-so-small favor for Mab, Titania owes him a favor that ends up really being small, things are bad but not as bad as they could have been in many ways [e.g., Michael's out as a Knight of the Cross, but hey, he's alive]...)
(As you can see, my project of reading all the books before Cold Days comes out in late November is going quite well. I should be done by this time next week, at which point I can read my October book club selection.)(less)
White Night brings Elaine back and also gives Harry a bit of character development, as he learns that he is frightening to a lot of the lesser practit...moreWhite Night brings Elaine back and also gives Harry a bit of character development, as he learns that he is frightening to a lot of the lesser practitioners, and being a Warden doesn't exactly help with that as much as you might think. Especially not when so many small-time practitioners have disappeared after being seen in the company of a tall man in a grey cloak...
This one isn't my favorite...I find Elaine kind of annoying...but it's still entertaining.(less)
Proven Guilty brings Molly Carpenter back. Yay! Also, Harry storms Arctis Tor and lays siege to the forces of Winter. 'Nuff said. Mab appears to be pl...moreProven Guilty brings Molly Carpenter back. Yay! Also, Harry storms Arctis Tor and lays siege to the forces of Winter. 'Nuff said. Mab appears to be playing a deeper game than Harry suspects, though.
Madrigal Raith did claim to be a Malvora in this book instead of a Raith, but I guess there are just two guys named Madrigal. Heh.(less)
I love Dead Beat for one major reason: the complete consensus on tvtropes that this book contains Harry's #1 Crowning Moment of Awesome. (view spoiler...moreI love Dead Beat for one major reason: the complete consensus on tvtropes that this book contains Harry's #1 Crowning Moment of Awesome. (view spoiler)[Riding to battle on a zombie tyrannosaur, of course. You had to ask? (hide spoiler)]
Dead Beat introduces Black Council members Cowl and Kumori and also marks the beginning of Harry's career as a Warden. Plus, his friendship with Butters, one of my favorite minor characters, gets further developed. The Erlking also makes his first appearance; he'll be back a few books down the line.(less)
Blood Rites gives us more detail on Thomas and on Harry's mom and also introduces Mouse. Plus, we meet Lara Raith and several other members of the Rai...moreBlood Rites gives us more detail on Thomas and on Harry's mom and also introduces Mouse. Plus, we meet Lara Raith and several other members of the Raith clan. And we get a little more Kincaid - I forgot to mention that Kincaid and the Archive were introduced in the last book. Also, we find out that Ebenezer is the Blackstaff and get some minor foreshadowing of another revelation that we don't see until (iirc) Changes.
Reading the negative reviews, I can definitely see why some people don't like Dresden Files. Brain candy in books is as individual a preference as actual candy; some people don't like Butterfingers, and some people don't like Dresden. As the dragonet said to Dorothy, tastes differ.(less)
Death Masks introduces the Denarians, thirty Fallen [angels] whose powers are held in thirty pieces of silver (not coincidentally). They are tough and...moreDeath Masks introduces the Denarians, thirty Fallen [angels] whose powers are held in thirty pieces of silver (not coincidentally). They are tough and scary and will be coming back in later books. We also meet the other two Knights of the Cross, having met Michael in Grave Peril.
Death Masks also introduces Molly as her own person and features the return of Susan. Lots of great background and foreshadowing in this one.(less)
Summer Knight introduces Mab and the rest of the Sidhe Courts. We've seen a little bit of the Sidhe with Harry's godmother Lea, the Leanansidhe, and n...moreSummer Knight introduces Mab and the rest of the Sidhe Courts. We've seen a little bit of the Sidhe with Harry's godmother Lea, the Leanansidhe, and now we find out about the royal hierarchies of the Summer and Winter courts. The book ends with a huge battle between Summer and Winter, through which Harry is accompanied by a pack of werewolves. Good times.(less)
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