Annalisa has
725 books
(117 selected)
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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
date
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date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
118
| 
| 0312304358
| 9780312304355
| 4.11
| 35,492
| 2003
| Oct 04, 2004
|
None
| Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 20, 2013
| May 03, 2013
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Apr 20, 2013
| Paperback
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116
| 
| 0679731725
| 9780679731726
| 4.08
| 53,531
| Jan 01, 1989
| Jul 15, 1990
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None
| Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 21, 2013
| Mar 24, 2013
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Mar 21, 2013
| Paperback
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112
| 
| 1400067111
| 9781400067114
| 3.81
| 60,039
| 2009
| May 26, 2009
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None
| Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Nov 06, 2012
| Nov 13, 2012
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Nov 14, 2012
| Hardcover
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110
| 
| 0547688377
| 9780547688374
| 3.71
| 856
| Apr 17, 2012
| Apr 17, 2012
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None
| Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Oct 2012
| Oct 22, 2012
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Oct 01, 2012
| Hardcover
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109
| 
| 1594489580
| 9781594489587
| 3.82
| 91,748
| Jan 09, 2001
| Sep 06, 2007
|
These are the reasons I'm abandoning this book: 1. It's crude. And it's not just the overuse of the f word I'm over. The sex and violence is crude too....more These are the reasons I'm abandoning this book: 1. It's crude. And it's not just the overuse of the f word I'm over. The sex and violence is crude too. There's love that's personal and emotional and touches something deep down inside. And then there's banal sex that devalues human connection and emotion, the kind of thing someone who was desensitized to real relationships in preference of porn would write. This is the later. Even inexperienced Oscar's interest in women is banal and of no depth. 2. It's a whole lot of telling without much showing. All the "and then this happened" started to wear on me without getting at the heart of Oscar. 3. The tone is condescending and antagonistic and it made me defensive. I didn't enjoy reading this. I was interested in the Dominican history (if it wasn't fictionalized, not sure) and somewhat curious about what made Oscar's life brief, but not enough to wade through a bunch of trash to get there. I asked for spoilers at my book club from the only person who managed to make it to the end (nobody else liked it) and it doesn't sound like the ending is rewarding enough (or at all) to suffer through it. Oftentimes I shelf a book on my did-not-finish shelf and think maybe someday I may return to it, but not this. I'm done.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Aug 27, 2012
| Sep 20, 2012
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Aug 27, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
108
| 
| 1406311529
| 9781406311525
| 4.34
| 15,190
| Sep 27, 2011
| Sep 27, 2011
|
I loved it from the first line: "The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do." Before that even, from the author's note, the tribute to Siob...more
I loved it from the first line: "The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do." Before that even, from the author's note, the tribute to Siobhan Dowd who died before she could translate this idea into a full-fledged novel. Through the first chapters, I expected it to be a beautifully written horror story with some awesome artwork--which it is--but I did not expect it to be so much better than that, to mean something so much deeper. Metaphors can be heavy-handed and obvious, but this one was so beautifully executed, that taste of questioning what is real or not before you settle on the truth, it unfolded for me right along with Conor. It's hard to write an angry main character and still garner sympathy from readers, but I did with Conor, even more amazing that it's middle grade and I read it on his level, instead of as an adult seeing his life from my perspective (which I also saw; I read it on both levels). I felt his indignation and loneliness, worried about the uncertainty of his life, hoped right along with him, and in the end, I cried with him, but not because these emotions were manipulated out of me. I felt them because they were real and they were mine and it wasn't just sadness that made me cry, but beauty and hope and love too. Conor wasn't the only character whose head I could easily slip into. I was frustrated with his grandmother for being so rigid with him while at the same time understood how difficult it was for her and the adjustment it was to her life. I was disappointed in his father for not being an appropriate parental figure, and yet I understood the demands his new wife had on him. I felt the burden of his mother to be the one who is sick and know what she was putting Conor through but be unable to stop it. I thought Harry was a bit too intuitive for his age, but still, the perfect bully for Conor. There is such depth to this simple book. Depth to the characters, depth to the themes, depth to its emotion. Depth because it tells a truth. The truth of Conor O'Malley and so many in his situation--and not just those with a loved one dying of cancer. There is a monster in all of us that relates to Conor and sometimes we are the hardest person to be honest with about it. I think that basic human emotion and heart is what connected me to Conor's story--that and Ness' uncomplicated way of writing him. I've snuck this onto my daughter's nightstand and have not-so-quietly-and-eloquently-as-Ness urged her to read it too. I also bought it. I will be revisiting this one again.(less) | Notes are private!
| YA
|
1
| Aug 08, 2012
| Aug 23, 2012
|
Aug 08, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
114
| 
| 030788743X
| 9780307887436
| 4.28
| 59,358
| Aug 16, 2011
| Aug 16, 2011
|
This book should come with a spoiler warning to the 1980s. If you ever, inspired by Back To The Future, build a time machine to live through the bodac...more
This book should come with a spoiler warning to the 1980s. If you ever, inspired by Back To The Future, build a time machine to live through the bodacious 1980s, this book will spoil the surprise for you. Of course, if you're a fan of Back to the Future--which you totally should be, one of my favorite things to come out of the '80s--chances are the '80s won't be much of a surprise anyway. Even though this '80s wasn't quite the Madonna-intense, hair-crimping, Cosby-watching '80s I remember, I still waxed nostalgic reading about the movies, music, and Atari games from the decade. After an awesome opener, the book started off a little rough for me with extensive info dumping, everything from a tour of the OASIS mingled into the history of video games to a long-winded argument for atheism. I thought this book was going to make we want to be a full-fledged geek (I like video games, but I would never consider myself worthy of that level of commitment), but all that nerd talk (in the same vein as guys who spout sports stats) actually turned me off a lifestyle where video games trump everything else. I was starting to think however awesome Cline's story idea was, it would be lost in so much explaining and Cline's knowledge dropping that the plot would never take off. But once the story gained steam, with a few hiccups, all that talk about video games and the '80s became part of the setting. As the book progressed, these kids obsession with the '80s made me sad. Living through the good old days is very different from trying to reenact them and prove you know more about them than the next guy in some empty attempt to connect with a time that isn't so depraved. I stayed up later than I wanted to on more than one occasion to read one more scene, and then another. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, Cline would throw in a new twist that kept me guessing. It reminded me of the nights I watched the NBA finals with my nails bitten down to nothing because those cocky Bulls were going to three-peat laughing at the underdog Jazz as though they weren't good enough to be there. (Not that the Bulls were evil like the IOI or overpaid Jazz players underdogs to the level of high school video game geeks, but I still felt the same anxiety for the need to win.) The throwback to some '80s movie plots were awesome too, a little reward for those of us who know our '80s trivia. I kept thinking the whole time I read the book that it would make an awesome movie and was pleased to see it's in the works to become one. Wade was an awesome protagonist, a lonely geek whose only friends are in the OASIS, people he's never met. He's overweight, acne-prone, and never leaves his abandoned van, but as Parzival he's tall, muscular, and knows his stuff. He's definitely the guy I wanted to win a contest for Halliday's fortune. Aech was a awesome side character too. In fact, I think I liked him more than Parzival. Art3mis, on the other hand, didn't give me much to endear me to her. Her negativity and mistrust, especially when the game clock is ticking away by the seconds, got on my nerves. It could be that unlike the other characters, I wasn't given much of her history outside the OASIS to ground her for me or that while Parzival claimed she was funny, I never saw that side of her so all I saw was the hardened, online identity. (view spoiler)[But, having said that, I thought she was perfect for Wade, so I was ultimately okay with her. (hide spoiler)] As a dystopia, Cline did his job in not just creating an interesting world, but giving us readers something to ponder about where our society is headed. He especially drove home the point about people's identities being different online than they are in real life and how people escape unfavorable reality for a shallow existence online. We aren't becoming any less dependent on the Internet, so a future where we are so dependent is realistic. He also touched on corporate greed, what extents people and organizations will go to for money, our depleting natural resources, how technology and innovation don't always improve society or change it in unexpected ways, and ultimately what I thought the most damning point, public apathy that did nothing to stop society from unravelling when it was easiest to escape to a more favorable existence online. It's a fun, fast-paced read that will make you want to grab a quarter and hit an old-fashioned arcade (or wish you still had that ghetto Atari around). I think I'm going to round up a copy of War Games and Back to the Future, and maybe a little John Hughes and Ferris Buehler's Day Off, and have myself an '80s fest.(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Jan 22, 2013
| Feb 03, 2013
|
Aug 07, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
103
| 
| 0307477479
| 9780307477477
| 3.62
| 71,133
| Mar 08, 2010
| Mar 22, 2011
|
My feelings about this book are rather schizophrenic and range from "I'm giving this 1 star because I'm so annoyed this drivel got a Pulitzer" to whip...more
My feelings about this book are rather schizophrenic and range from "I'm giving this 1 star because I'm so annoyed this drivel got a Pulitzer" to whipping through half the book in one afternoon. I get why it's supposed to be so innovative. A loosely connected cast of characters dissected over a period of time in a non-linear fashion that reads more like collection of short stories that a fluid novel. I wish I'd known that going into it. I can't exactly do a powerpoint in Goodreads, but here goes my reactions AVftGS style (imagine lots of circles and boxes that have nothing to do with my line of thought). Found Objects Kleptomaniac who wants to stop->Intriguing->Strong beginning. The Gold Cure What? Not Sasha's POV?->I will patiently wait for her to return. Ask Me If I Care Still no Sasha->Grunt in frustration. 3rd person past tense->1st person present->Don't like it. Story/Characters: Annoying->Irrelevant->Don't care. I quit.->I need to read this for book club. I read.-> I quit.-> I have to read. Phew. The story's done. Safari Further back in time. More irrelevant. I care even less. Why am I reading this again?->Oh right, book club. I commit to make it to page 100. You (Plural) Familiar characters! Oh, it's about Lou.->Blah. I didn't like him.->Don't care (view spoiler)[that he's dying. (hide spoiler)] X's and O's Shouldn't it be Xs and Os? Why is it possessive? Wait! More familiar characters.->Scotty brings Benny a fish.->Awesome. A to B Bennie again->Meh. Felon brother, irrelevant rock star, (view spoiler)[scandalous bobby pin (hide spoiler)]->Finally a story I can mull over. Selling the General Is it wrong that I keep picturing Dolly Parton? PR for a dictator->Haha->Love it. Forty-Minute Lunch... Ooh, Jules will be vindicated. Wait, what?->He totally deserved to go to jail. Why did she defend him?->I guess I don't get it. Oh, yeah, and I'm skipping the footnotes.->I guess I'm not loving it. Out of Body Second person->Oh gag. Save me now. Hmm, Rob is kind of interesting. Oh. (view spoiler)[He doesn't survive. (hide spoiler)]->Okay, the 2nd person makes sense.->I retract my gag statement. A strong story. Goodbye, My Love Ted, my friend, you are one sorry character.->At least Sasha is kind of there. Meh->A little rambling. Not as good as Rob's story. Great Rock and Roll Pauses. Powerpoint->gimmicky->eye roll. Pros & Cons: -Conversations are better in sentence form. +Kids these days are powerpoint savvy. -Some of the pages are hard to follow/pointless. +I'll get through this novel quicker than I thought. -Not great character development.->Not interested. I'll skim. +Wait. Autism. Obsession with music pauses.->Powerpoint kind of make sense. ~I still think it's gimmicky.->Therefore, so is this review. Pure Language. Hooray! The last story. This will tie it all together. Be epic. Huh? Speculative fiction feel?->Doesn't fit the rest of the novel. Who are these people?!->Oh, there's the weak connection. Yawn. Wait, more characters I know. There's my favorite, (view spoiler)[Scott the rock star (hide spoiler)]->a reference to Bosco's failure=bonus. Time to make me contemplate "time is a goon."->There have been moments of brilliance. Reaching, reaching->pulling it all together->ending deep and satisfying and thought-provoking---> No. The last story is the most irrelevant of any of them. The last 100 pages=fizzle and fail. And just when I thought I might like it.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 12, 2012
| Jun 18, 2012
|
Jun 12, 2012
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
106
| 
| 0375856439
| 9780375856433
| 3.39
| 486
| Sep 03, 2007
| Feb 10, 2009
|
There are some things Foxlee does very well. Some of her writing is very beautiful, almost ethereal. She set up her mining town very well. I could fee...more
There are some things Foxlee does very well. Some of her writing is very beautiful, almost ethereal. She set up her mining town very well. I could feel and smell and see it. And her characters were very well defined too. I loved the mom's warnings, especially about cemeteries full of kids who died from running with scissors. I related most to her, the heartache and frustration of a wayward child and what you'd do if you saw your child down spiraling. I thought the neighbors were interesting. And I loved Danielle's Milwaukee neck brace and perm fund and Jennifer's inquisitive nature. But I don't think Jennifer was the right narrator for this story. She was too young to understand what Beth was going through. Sometimes that made for a nice contrast with what we the reader deducted from her account and what she understood. But sometimes she had to know way more than she would logically have known and it made me disbelieve her narration. And sometimes she doesn't know enough so in the end most of reader's questions are unanswered. We never know if Beth's seizure at the lake had anything to do with her being down and that pushed her toward her relationships with Miranda and Marco or if those relationships destroyed that. I never knew whether to trust the glowing and the grandmother's account and how that affected Beth. We never know what happened in the fight Jennifer was so anxious to get answers about or that last night either. And we never know (view spoiler)[if Beth fell or jumped off the tower. (hide spoiler)] I was okay with some unanswered questions. Jennifer is never going to fully understand what happened to her sister, and that is the often the case with death, but I also didn't get a sense that this was about coming to terms with not knowing, more like how her death affected everyone in the town. In the end, I felt incomplete with the story. I thought Beth was an interesting character, but I didn't know how to feel about her. The contrast of her being this angelic creature and yet a "naughty" girl, almost more angelic the more naughty she got, was strange. And I didn't get a real sense of her turmoil because Jennifer didn't understand it. She acted more like a 17-year-old and I had to remind myself that she was 13/14, but that could have been because to a 10-year-old she seemed so adult. When we discussed this in my book club, one of the girls brought up the correlation between Beth and the myth of Icarus. Icarus flew too close to the sun despite his father's warning and the wax melted on his wings plunging him into the sea. I'm not sure what sex has to do with saving people, but Beth set out to save Marco that way, and probably a lot more people, but in the end all of what she messed with was too much for her young age and it destroyed her. A great metaphor, and some beautiful writing, I'm just not sure the story was all that satisfying.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 30, 2012
| May 14, 2012
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Apr 30, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
111
| 
| 0749080973
| 9780749080976
| 4.06
| 17,915
| Jan 01, 2008
| 2010
|
3.5 stars I've been on a historical fiction kick lately and although this is a little cheesy and chick lit-y, it filled my craving for it. I love learn...more 3.5 stars I've been on a historical fiction kick lately and although this is a little cheesy and chick lit-y, it filled my craving for it. I love learning about times in history I don't know much about (and especially loved the tidbits of Scottish), but I do have strict standards about what is altered to fiction, most importantly the events and life of real people, and for that, the ending was not my favorite. (view spoiler)[Serious spoiler warning! Moray is a real individual who died around the time of the battle in France. To say he was married in a secret marriage is bad enough, but to add that he came back under an inherited name to live a long life and father children didn't settle right with me. It doesn't seem to respect the memory of a real person. I would have much preferred if Moray were a fictional character with which Kearsley could do with whatever she pleased. (hide spoiler)] In the beginning, I enjoyed Carrie's story, but as time progressed, I definitely enjoyed Sophia's more. I felt the connection and growth of her relationship (view spoiler)[with Moray (hide spoiler)]. I thought Kearsley tried to piggyback too much of Carrie's rushed relationship to Sophia's to give it strength and sometimes grew tired of her pointing out once again how they paralleled. In the end, I found the story a little too tidy for my taste, but probably right on for those who love happily ever after endings. (view spoiler)[I'm not sure how I felt about Sophia and Moray giving up their child to hide who he was. A part of me thinks that if they wanted her enough they could have come up with a solution (such as a dead relative, the same way Sophia grew up), but another part of me thinks had Kearsley come up with a solution it would have been unbelievable to me and there only to satisfy that happily ever after ending. (hide spoiler)] I was a little leery of the ancestral memory aspect of the story, but I think Kearsley made it believable enough that I could suspend my disbelief (view spoiler)[until the ending. To add that Graham was also a descendant of Moray who was also tapping into the same ancestral memory was a little much for me. There didn't seem to be much purpose to this other than to tie things up a little too neatly and to once again connect Carrie's love story to Sophia's. (hide spoiler)] Overall, I was into the story and setting and couldn't wait to get back to it. It's a good, solid, clean read that I would recommend to most of my friends.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Oct 29, 2012
| Dec 21, 2012
|
Apr 05, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
102
| 
| 0062074040
| 9780062074041
| 3.20
| 687
| Sep 01, 2011
| Sep 13, 2011
|
Most of my understanding of modern-day polygamy extends to what I hear about the FLDS church on the news and what I observe from the polygamists who d...more
Most of my understanding of modern-day polygamy extends to what I hear about the FLDS church on the news and what I observe from the polygamists who dress like pioneers that I see on occasion at the store. It was always my impression that they refused to look at you because they thought you were sinful and they didn't want you influencing their bubble. I'd never thought about this whole different culture of polygamist who keep quiet out of fear of persecution and prosecution. Just to set the record state, Utah doesn't actively prosecute polygamous families. If there are cases of underage marriages, neglect, and child abuse, then absolutely will the law going to get involved, but between consenting adults, they generally live and let life. As persecuted as the Dargers felt for being investigated for neglect, I think the state had every right to investigate them when the warning signs were there for neglect. Had they not investigated and something else happen, there would be a public outcry. (view spoiler)[And as should have happened, nothing came of the investigation. (hide spoiler)] I took issue with a few statements in the book, mostly with them calling polygamy and celestial marriage one and the same. According to the Mormon faith, celestial marriage means you are married for "time and all eternity," meaning forever, not just until "death do us part." But Fundamentalist Mormons believe it has to do with polygamy, and only when you are living polygamy are you living celestial marriage. They say they claim the Mormon faith even though the Mormon church doesn't claim them, but they conflict on major doctrine. Though they say they don't judge people who decide against polygamy, the book had a bit of a time that they think they are better that they can live the higher law. Even though there are parts of their story I'm sure we aren't hearing, it was nice to read about a polygamous lifestyle that works. From what little I've seen and read, it seems that most of them don't. They also tend toward poverty, welfare, under education, seclusion, and sometimes extreme living conditions(view spoiler)[, as was Val's first experience (hide spoiler)]. I liked reading about a family that incorporated their lifestyle into the modern world while standing up for what they believe and living it to the fullest. I don't know that I'd be able to stand so firm when my beliefs were against the law. It made me wonder if I've seen more polygamists than I've realized when so many are integrated into our society. I did feel some sadness for them, not only for the jealousy and bickering sister wives can experience, but for the loneliness of independence they all feel, especially Joe. In that big and active of a household, while all the interactions must be very rewarding, it's always nice to have that one person in your corner that you know will absolutely have your back, there for you and only you. That one person that late at night you can whisper your deepest fears and secrets in pillow talk and open up to completely, about everything. The Dargers don't have that. Because Joe has that with three women, there's always something held back, from all of them. (I took issue with them continually advocating that they were monogamous. By definition, they are the opposite of it. I understand that they are trying to argue that there aren't relationships outside of the family unit and Joe is faithful to each of his wives, but he's not monogamous by a long shot.) Polygamy is something that makes most people uncomfortable to see and discuss. It was an eye-opening read to get a look inside one. I kept thinking about about the Dargers when I wasn't reading about them. I could see all the benefits of the support system they have (while it's sad some of the persecution they had to endure, it's nice they have such a network of support at home to deal with it) but then I'd get thinking about it, and I still think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. However, I respect the Dargers for the sacrifices they've had to make to make their lifestyle work for them and glad that it's been rewarding for them.(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Mar 27, 2012
| Mar 30, 2012
|
Mar 30, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
115
| 
| 0743571355
| 9780743571357
| 3.87
| 15,765
| Mar 13, 2007
| Mar 11, 2008
|
None
| Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Feb 13, 2013
| Feb 18, 2013
|
Mar 20, 2012
| Unabridged Audio CD
| ||||||||||||||
101
| 
| 0805093079
| 9780805093070
| 3.98
| 20,991
| Jan 01, 2011
| Sep 27, 2011
|
While it was interesting to learn some of the details about Lincoln's assassination that I didn't know, this book is often repetitive and circular, te...more
While it was interesting to learn some of the details about Lincoln's assassination that I didn't know, this book is often repetitive and circular, teasing you with Civil War sentiments it never quite delves into. I know the book is not about the Civil War, but I found myself wishing it included more facts about Lincoln's policies during the war, more of his speeches, more of the country's sentiments and situation to set the scene for what the country lost when he was assassinated. I also wish there were a few more details of the aftermath with Andrew Johnson's policies and the attitude of the country after the assassination. Per the subtitle, I was expecting to learn more about how the assassination changed America. This many years after the first assassination of an American president, it may be hard to find accurate details, but I felt like there was much lacking from the timeline. For as long as this book is, I wanted it to be dense with information. And I wouldn't have called Booth's plans "the greatest assassination plan" as O'Reilly does. It seemed rather half-hazard and last-minute. Sad and misguided attempts by a sociopath to save the Confederate and boost his own fame, but not the greatest. What details are in the book are interesting, but it didn't need to be nearly as long as it is for that. On a side note: that Bill O'Reilly has a big head. His name on the cover is bigger than the tittle, so big, it makes the other author, Martin Dugard (the one who probably did the actual writing), look like a subtitle. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Mar 08, 2012
| Mar 26, 2012
|
Mar 18, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
113
| 
| 0316175676
| 9780316175678
| 3.94
| 23,914
| Feb 2012
| Feb 01, 2012
|
I never would have read this book if it weren't my goodreads friends' glowing reviews. While the description didn't grab my attention, the intertwinin...more
I never would have read this book if it weren't my goodreads friends' glowing reviews. While the description didn't grab my attention, the intertwining literal and metaphorical interpretations were right up my alley. I'm glad I read the book, and I'm glad Ivey chose a lesser known fairy tale to bring to life. The lyrical writing was perfect for the fairy tale and magical realism aspects of the story; the untamed Alaskan frontier too. Reading it on this cold, dreary January, the winter setting really came to life for me. I felt for Jack and Mabel's encompassing loneliness and scarred grief, but I didn't connect with Faina at all. I'm not sure if that was intentional on Ivey's part, to make the snow child more mystical and unreachable, but it felt more like she didn't have time to develop her with her constantly running out the door whenever Jack or Mabel showed affection. All she could do was reiterate how much they felt for her to connect us to her, which rung a little false and forced for me. The snow child's persona wasn't what was central to the story for me though (it was more about Jack and Mabel as parents). When the snow child entered the story, I wanted to know how her story would end, but more importantly, I wanted to know if Ivey intended us to interpret her mystically or realistically. I loved that the story alternated between the two and that as Jack and Mabel wavered between the two, so did I. Every time I leaned toward one or the other, Ivey reminded me of the evidence for the other. As the story progressed and my urgency to know which of the interpretations was right, what I really wanted was for Ivey to leave it open and let her readers decide. As Faina grew, I was a little surprised by some of the plot turns (although I liked the metaphorical hint to them), but my qualms only intensified through the conclusion. The epilogue felt anti-climatic without giving me a chance for the ending to settle in. I had some confusion about the way--more accurately when--Ivey chose to end the story, but my biggest disappointment with it was that Ivey didn't leave the interpretation open. What was a solid 4 read, lessened to more of a 3.5, but to explain my nitpicking, I have to include some major spoilers. (view spoiler)[At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about Faina's relationship with Garrett. It jarred a little bit with the mystical aspect of her personality, but I liked the interpretation that growing up, losing your virginity, becoming a parent, "melts" the fragile beauty of innocence. It epitomizes the spirit of the fairy tale. Upon further reflection, I think it worked nicely to give a magical realism feel to her literal interpretation and showed Faina battling both aspects of her persona. I liked the foreshadowing of the fairy tale in the letters, and that with the multiple endings, I wasn't sure which interpretation Ivey would settle on. I liked that Ivey included the fox being killed (even if it didn't factor into why she "left"). I realized early on that she was going to use choosing mortal love in conjunction with staying too long into spring, but in the end it confused me. If the snow child would melt if she stayed through the summer, why would she wait until winter to melt? At that point, I thought she'd survived and finally balanced the mystical and literal aspects of herself to find her spot in the world, that she'd chosen mortal love and in the process would lose the mystical part of her character and that's where the loss would come in. With the fever and infection aspect, Ivey once again mixed both interpretations, which I liked, but in the end, she didn't leave it open, which I didn't. In the beginning, I think Ivey relied a little heavily on the literal interpretation of Faina to counteract the reader's natural expectation of a mystical story. I liked that Ivey gave her a father and a history, but I wish she would have left the photographic evidence out to still leave it somewhat open. I could have excused away the father as a lie or another lonely soul the mystical child appeared to, but with the picture, I couldn't as easily. I was also disappointed when Esther and George saw the child. I had loved the hint that Faina had been borne out of Jack and Mabel's imagination and we the reader wondered about her existence. In the end though, I think Ivey relied too heavily on the mystical interpretation. If Mabel had been unable to find Faina's nightgown, anything of hers, I could have held onto some hope, like Garrett, that Faina had wandered off into the forest because she couldn't hack being tied down to the literal part of her. But I felt like Ivey dismissed that option. Even through the summer, Mabel kept an eye on Faina, worried about her heating up too much, but she seemed to hold back, unsure of which interpretation to settle on. But when Faina disappeared, they didn't search for her. They knew she had melted because she was a mystical creature. I would have loved the option to wonder if Faina were off wandering the Alaskan landscape as the free spirit she was. ETA: I had a conversation with my friend after she finished the book. Her interpretation is that it wasn't Garrett who loved her too much (or she loved too much) but her baby. I've been mulling that over all day and all that implies. I keep going back to the image of Mabel reaching for the cold child and her running away from the fear of the "warmth" of love. It brings the story back full circle to Faina having a child who loved her unconditionally, who she loved so much she couldn't ever adequately express it, and that "melted" her heart. It gives Ivey too options for the ending: one that love melts the snow child in Faina and she is left solely with her human form or the way she ended it with love melting her because she was a mystical creature and couldn't separate that part of her. I still think I would have liked a more open ending, but I love all that this interpretation implies and the metaphor of love it brings to the story. (hide spoiler)] Ever since the site lost my review when I tried to save it, I've been apprehensive to rewrite it and miss a point I'd originally made, but having to go through my thoughts again and organize them into a cohesive review, what I had originally settled on as 3.5 stars has gone back to 4 stars. In fact, I'm even wondering if it deserves 5.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jan 06, 2013
| Jan 16, 2013
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Feb 26, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
107
| 
| 0399254129
| 9780399254123
| 4.33
| 21,422
| Jan 01, 2011
| Mar 22, 2011
|
3.5 stars For such a heavy subject matter, I found most of this book to be a little... light. I can appreciate Sepetys attempt to bring some of the USS...more 3.5 stars For such a heavy subject matter, I found most of this book to be a little... light. I can appreciate Sepetys attempt to bring some of the USSR's atrocities to YA, to help the youth of today relate to the youth in Stalin's day, to tell the mostly untold story of the Baltic countries during WWII, but it felt a little too much like putting the youth from today back in a history lesson (there was something modern about it that I can't quite put my finger on), so there was a little bit of a disconnect with me. I also felt like for most of the story Sepetys was backing off of some of the heavier issues and drawing out some of the slower points. (view spoiler)[ Example: There was a lot of sitting around on the train (which I realize they did) where the interesting story of what happened to Andrius under the train is largely ignored. I assume the NKVD did something to him, but then why leave him there where he could escape instead of dragging him out and returning him to his cart or shooting him? There was a chance to make the readers fear the NKVD a little more, to give us a page-turning plot point, but it's never explored. (hide spoiler)] While I enjoyed the picture Sepetys drew of Lithuania and some of the emotions and trains of thought that Lina had that I might not have previously considered, I didn't think the novel was as gripping as it should have been. Instead of being pulled into the story, I found myself pulling apart discrepancies and questioning too many things. (view spoiler)[ Why was Elena encouraging a romance between Lina and Andrius? In their circumstances, Elena should have encouraged Lina to stay under the radar, not encourage her to do something to draw attention. When life is debased to basic survival, you don't have time to think about much more than surviving. I'm not saying a romance couldn't have happened, but I would have found it more realistic if they had bonded together and later in life started up a romance instead of feeling like the romance was there because YA has to have a romance. There were other small things I questioned, but my biggest issue was with Kretzsky. He was the only guard to show Lina any humanity, but he was the one she focused her rage on. If he had showed her particular cruelty (like Sepetys later hints he did), if there had been a better facade of cruelty that an astute reader could pick out as false, I could understand it, but as it was I was confused. I went back and reread the sections with Kretzsky, sure I must have missed something. I think it was a lost opportunity for Sepetys for some character development. (hide spoiler)] I thought (view spoiler)[Elena's death (hide spoiler)] was a predictable and expected that I would feel disconnected to it, but then I started to feel sad for Lina and all the people in that cold Siberian wilderness (and I also had conflicted feelings about Kretzsky that I didn't expect) and I didn't want to novel to end. I finally got out of the story what Sepetys had been aiming for. The best part of the novel for me was the author's note. It's why I raised my rating from 3 to 3.5. While I wasn't into enough for a 4, it's a worthwhile read. I hope YA readers pick this up and connect with Lina in a way I couldn't. I hope they connect with Sepetys transparent love of Lithuania. And I really hope they take it as a springboard to learn more about a time and people that have been squelched by oppression. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jul 27, 2012
| Aug 05, 2012
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Jan 21, 2012
| Hardcover
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117
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| 1400083028
| 9781400083022
| 3.82
| 13,860
| Jan 01, 2007
| Jan 02, 2007
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Bittersweet memoir that uses the unique, intense power of music to draw on memory. Quotable moments: But most of all, I regret turning thirteen, and st...more Bittersweet memoir that uses the unique, intense power of music to draw on memory. Quotable moments: But most of all, I regret turning thirteen, and staying that way for the next ten years or so. At any wedding we attend, my family is the problem table, the one everyone gradually drifts away from out of self-preservation. It's a proud family tradition. Now this was our wedding, and nobody could stop us. Giving us a crate of champagne and a dance floor was like handing a madman the keys to a 747 and saying, "Now, seriously, dude, don't crash it. Promise?" My friends and I assumed that we would be tenured professors, which is an excellent life goal--it's like planning to be Cher. Dog love is blind. For that matter, dog love is stupid. As soon as they hit the stage, you could hear all the girls in the crowd ovulate in unison. You lose a certain kind of innocence when you experience this type of kindness. You lose your right to be a jaded cynic. I was helpless in trying to return people's kindness, but also helpless to resist it. Kindness is a scarier force than cruelty, that's for sure. Cruelty isn't that hard to understand. I had no trouble comprehending why the phone company wanted to screw me over; they just wanted to steal some money, it was nothing personal. That's the way of the world. It made me mad, but it didn't make me feel stupid. If anything, it flattered my intelligence. Accepting all that kindness, though, made me feel stupid. The way I pictured it, all this grief would be like a winter night when you're standing outside. You'll warm up once you get used to the cold. Except after you've been out there a whole, you feel the warmth draining out of you and you realize the opposite is happening; you're getting colder and colder, as the body heat you brought outside with you seeps out of your skin. Instead of getting used to it, you get weaker the longer you endure it. Each side of a tape goes on for forty-five minutes, and then comes to a stop, allowing a chance for somebody to discreetly change the music, whereas a mix CD has only one side. Which means it goes on for eighty minutes, and you can't turn it off halfway through without offering some sort of lame excuse, such as "Garth is singing about cocaine in this song and it's bad for the baby," or "Dave Matthews is mixing violin solos with saxophone solos and it's bad for the baby." Sometimes great tunes happen to bad times, and when the bad time is over, not all the tunes get to move on with you. According to the Western philosopher Pat Benatar, love is a battlefield. Her paisan Frank Sinatra would add the corollary that love is a tender trap... Love hurts. Love stinks. Love bites, love bleeds, love is a drug. The troubadours of our times all agree: They want to know what love is, and they want you to show them. But the answer is simple: Love is a mix tape. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 07, 2013
| Apr 17, 2013
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Jan 18, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
100
| 
| 0142419400
| 9780142419403
| 4.19
| 55,731
| Dec 02, 2010
| Aug 04, 2011
|
I don't normal read chick lit. It's not that I'm opposed to it on a theoretical level, but most of them are so focused on the love story that the char...more
I don't normal read chick lit. It's not that I'm opposed to it on a theoretical level, but most of them are so focused on the love story that the character and plots fall by the wayside, either that or the type of characters that find themselves in these romantic comedies are shallow and unlikable. No so here. Anna and the French Kiss is funny, smart, and entertaining. What I liked about it: 1. Strong characters. Anna and her friends have a background and history, flaws and quirks that make them feel real. St. Clair has an English accent. How fitting. He was a decent love interest, not my favorite, but I loved that he was short. It's about time the short guy plays the love interest. My favorite character was actually Rashmi. She's the one I would have wanted to be friends with. 2. Dialogue. Even better than the characters, the dialogue is funny and witty and feels natural. My favorite was Bridgette's "You Suck. Come Home." 3. Great setting. I love Paris, even if I've only been there once. It has an ambiance that Perkins captures. Great setting, great characters, great premise for a story. 4. And this may be the most important: the jabs at Nicholas Sparks. Perkins doesn't exactly say Sparks (and I've never actually read Nicholas Sparks), but she still manages to slam him and in the process the whole melodramatic genre (and I still managed to get the reference). It made me feel a little better about reading chick lit. What I didn't like: 1. Perkins stretched the she-likes-him/he-likes-her but they-don't-get-it and/or they-can't-be-together far too long. In order to keep up the sexual tension, she had to make Anna "not get it" for too long and make St. Clair ambivalent for too long. In the end it made Anna a little dense and St. Clair lost a lot of points in my book in the loyalty department. (view spoiler)[Not long after Christmas, St. Clair should have broken up with Ellie. It's one thing to stay with someone because you're afraid to be alone, but it's quite another to stay with someone when you're basically emotionally cheating on them. I didn't buy the excuse. The only reason St. Clair didn't buck it up and break up with her is because Perkins needed to drag the tension out for a whole semester. It didn't feel organic to the story. After the whole culmination of drama when they knew they liked each other and they'd kissed and Anna knew St. Clair had broken up with Ellie, they still didn't get together. That dragged on a bit long for me too. (hide spoiler)] The book was a solid 4 for me until the last quarter of the book when the plot tension of the sake of plot tension dragged on too long. In the end it was a 3.5, maybe 3.75. Still the best chick lit I've read.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jan 09, 2012
| Jan 12, 2012
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Jan 09, 2012
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
99
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| 0525950613
| 9780525950615
| 3.68
| 2,435
| 2007
| Aug 14, 2008
|
The first part of this book is all over the place, but by the end Edward ties it all together nicely. I liked the circular aspect of the events and ho...more
The first part of this book is all over the place, but by the end Edward ties it all together nicely. I liked the circular aspect of the events and how everything came back to be meaningful. And surprisingly I didn't mind Freud being a character in the book. Normally, I'm leery of real-life historical figures playing a role in fiction when it can alter one's perception of the character, but there Freud stayed pretty Freud and it didn't bother me. What did bother me was the messages about marriage and what a desirable woman is. There are three love interests in the book. The first one is Wheeler's love interest through college and most of his adult life. While she sleeps with Wheeler, having continual rendezvouses with him throughout his life, he entire time she dates and marries another man. The other man seemed meaningless in her life and unworthy of a second thought to even explain her affair to him. Somehow this was supposed to make her a tantalizing free spirit. (view spoiler)[Dilly's wife, Wheeler's mother, cheated on Dilly, but at least she had the decency to tell him Wheeler wasn't his son. And finally, and maybe most importantly, is the grandmother who not only never tells her husband about Wheeler (not that I blame her), but she cheats on him with The Haze. Again, I got the impression that marriage meant nothing to her and the person she chose to marry was of little consequence to her. This is supposed to break her free of the repression of the time, by devaluing marriage. (hide spoiler)] It was also obvious that Edwards didn't agree with the values of the turn of the 20th century as he tried to capture them and failed. It sounded more like he was spouting off a bunch of nonsense rules instead of captured the feel of the era. Other than that, he did a fantastic job putting me in Vienna int he 1900s and painting a picture of life and the arts at the time. I loved the setting almost as much as the circular story. Very creative. While it does take a bit to get into the story, but it's one that you won't soon forget.(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Dec 14, 2011
| Dec 31, 2011
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Dec 14, 2011
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
98
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| 0312370849
| 9780312370848
| 4.08
| 170,571
| Jun 12, 2007
| 2007
|
3.5 stars. A little predictable and melodramatic for a subject that doesn't need anyone playing with your emotions, but still a solid read. It was int...more
3.5 stars. A little predictable and melodramatic for a subject that doesn't need anyone playing with your emotions, but still a solid read. It was interesting learning about the French police involvement in the round up of Jews in what was the first deportation of women and children. I was left with not only a sadness for all those families torn from their lives and torn apart, but also for the lost culture and religion for the survivors. Children hidden and raised as Christian children, children who never knew they were of Jewish descent, children who lost the connection to their family line and heritage. The beginning of Julia's story alternating with the girl's was strong. I had to find out what happened to Michel and who exactly Sarah would turn out to be. I also enjoyed Julie's own family drama and the mystery she uncovered that connected her to Sarah and her sad story, not only through geography but emotion as well. But then Sarah's point of view ends and Julia's story flounders. I think some of the later points in the story would have been better told from Sarah's point of view, even if Julie never discovered them (driving home the point of these lost stories and people). It would have made the story drag less. Also, I could have used a little more selling on why discovering Sarah's story was so important to Julia. As it is, it felt like it was important only because the reader wanted to know, and urgent only because Rosnay didn't want to languish through an unrelated vacation. Once Julia met with William the story kind of fizzles and dies. (view spoiler)[I thought William's reaction was all wrong, not what someone who'd lost his mother would say, but rather what Julia feared he would say. If I'd lost my mother at a young age and some stranger showed up with details I'd never gotten from my father, I'd thirst for any information they'd give me. Maybe after Julia had stumbled through her story would he reject it, take his time to assimilate to it, but I think he would have heard her out, even if only to question her and disprove her. I think he only ran away to stretch out the story. (hide spoiler)] I don't think Rosnay knew how to end her story. After the big dramatic meeting, she fizzles through a bunch of pointless half scenes that feel more like notes that never make it into a final manuscript until she could make it to the final scene that would have worked better as an epilogue anyway. (view spoiler)[I think it would have been much better to delay the meeting until the end of the end of Julie's bed rest, have her desire to meet with William nag at her while she can't do anything about it and in the process convince us of her need to see him. Either end there or at the very least when he tracked her down again. We could learn everything we need to about her marriage and baby from the last scene as an epilogue, but without the evasiveness about the baby's name when it was obvious that she'd named her Sarah. (hide spoiler)] It's a heart-wrenching story and I'd recommend it for anyone interested in the Holocaust.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Dec 07, 2011
| Dec 13, 2011
|
Dec 07, 2011
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
96
| 
| 0312651619
| 9780312651619
| 3.53
| 239
| Sep 13, 2011
| Sep 13, 2011
|
I couldn't get into this. Too much of the novel is filled with Savage's political views which detracted from the story instead of set up Jack's charac...more
I couldn't get into this. Too much of the novel is filled with Savage's political views which detracted from the story instead of set up Jack's character.(less)
| Notes are private!
| Traci
|
1
| Oct 12, 2011
| Oct 26, 2011
|
Dec 02, 2011
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
97
| 
| 0671027344
| 9780671027346
| 4.16
| 268,015
| Feb 01, 1999
| Feb 01, 1999
|
3. 5 stars. I almost didn't finish this book. The main character was so hard to figure out. He was supposed to be intelligent but he was so naive. I ge...more 3. 5 stars. I almost didn't finish this book. The main character was so hard to figure out. He was supposed to be intelligent but he was so naive. I get being book smart but dumb streetwise, but it was basic social and life knowledge that he didn't get. One minute he seemed wise beyond his years and the next he acted like a child thrust into a teenage life. There were also a couple of scenes that I didn't think were believable. I almost put the book down (view spoiler)[at the rape scene. There is no way a guy and his girlfriend would go that far with a middle schooler staring at them, much more if it weren't consensual. (hide spoiler)] It seemed like Chbosky was throwing in random drama just to make his novel edgy (I hate that) and was wandering aimlessly. I almost gave it up. But I kept going. Partly because it was a quick read and partly because the voice was almost amazing. It would have been a great voice had it not been so fraught with inconsistencies, had it not been so hard to figure out, and had it not made so many observations about what adults must think that didn't feel real (more like Chbosky telling us what teenagers will learn when they aren't teenagers anymore). But sometimes I enjoyed Charlie's observations, especially about how a song on a radio while you're driving can make you feel infinite. I know it's a cheesy one-liner, but it reminded me of being a teenager. He did have some great moments as a narrator. In the end, I'm glad I finished the book. The second half of the book was much better than the first, and by the end I got Charlie. Once he made a little more sense, I could appreciate his story. Plus, I liked the feeling of the epilogue, the way I felt bittersweet and nostalgic when I closed the book. I can see why it's a cult classic. I'd probably like it better if I read it a second time, and probably would have loved it had I read it as a teenager.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Nov 30, 2011
| Dec 05, 2011
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Nov 30, 2011
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
104
| 
| 1442429984
| 9781442429987
| 4.04
| 20,784
| Jun 07, 2011
| Jun 07, 2011
|
2.5, maybe 3, stars with the disclaimer that this is a case of not for me. I failed to connect with the book and only briefly, between Hopetown and Fr...more
2.5, maybe 3, stars with the disclaimer that this is a case of not for me. I failed to connect with the book and only briefly, between Hopetown and Freedom Fields, was I into the story. While there are a lot of unexpected and suspenseful plot twists in this book, they seem to overwhelm the story at the expense of character development and world building. Saba's quest is all to get her beloved brother, Lugh, back, but where I never cared about Lugh, it didn't matter to me whether Saba got him back or not. The more she kept repeating how much he meant to her, the more I resisted her putting him on an altar without understanding why he deserved to be up there. I'm not sure how Young could have given me a chance to see more of Lugh where he's taken so early in the book, maybe in flashbacks, but I personally needed more to care about the quest. It's not just Lugh. Other than Saba (because we're in her head the entire book), none of the other characters are well developed, not the Free Hawks, not Jack, not even Emmi to the extent I would have liked. The King was an odd caricature (although I loved the picture of the Sun King); I think Madam Pinch was a better developed villain than he was. I didn't fell anything for the loss or suffering of the characters. For such a long book, there was room to show some humanness to the characters. A difficult task when Saba had such tunnel-vision about her brother and was somewhat emotionally/socially stunted and therefore not the most reliable source to read other people's character. Saba started off awesome: strong, determined, and fierce. I loved the red hot and would have loved to see more of her cage fighting era developed, but it seemed like more of a backstory. She was a little too much like Katniss, down to the bow, but not nearly as strong or likable without Katniss' reasons for being so tough. As Saba's journey progressed, she seemed more selfish than determined, more bullheaded than fierce, to regress in character development instead of progress. I struggled at times to connect with her and care about her journey and often wondered what those who risked their lives for her saw in her. About the romance...(view spoiler)[I was most dissatisfied with her about Jack. There no reason given for their relationship other than her necklace burned whenever he was around. Maybe it was because of that, or her inconsistency with him, or the fact that he wasn't developed enough to like or or understand why he was there, but I didn't connect with them as a couple. I started to get annoyed with the way Saba treated Jack, knowing that eventually she was going to give into it. Despite having a reason to fight a relationship (she couldn't be distracted from finding her brother), the resistance felt forced, as did the relationship. As cocky as Jack was, I often thought he deserved better. But I'm not going lie. I'm glad there was finally a good make out session in there, even if it felt a little ripped off of Ron and Hermione on their way into battle. (hide spoiler)] Not only would I have liked more development of the characters but the world as well. I thought the illiterate dialect went a long way to set the world, but I could have used more. A strong picture of Hopetown and the Freedom Fields, a stronger sense of the oppressed people and the injustice of it all, a stronger sense of how much worse the quasi-government would get if it wasn't stopped. There was an interesting premise here if it had been taken further. While there were some fantastic plot twists, very creative storytelling, and some promise as an author, I often pulled out of those plot twists and found myself a bit disbelieving. (view spoiler)[You have the dead villain in front of you and you don't check to make sure he's dead? Then you have to kill him 3 more times before he actually dies? Climbing a cage surrounded by people who want to kill you somehow gets you out of the building unharmed? The one that really got me: 18-foot worms come of the tiny cracks in a dried lake and not only do they have heads but they can walk? As awesome as killer worms are, they didn't sound very wormish to me and reminded me too much of The Maze Runner (and were handled too easily too). (hide spoiler)] A little too much save the day in the knick of time for me to worry about their safety and success. I can definitely see why people love this book. It's packed with twist, tough heroine, and an unusual world. I would have just liked to see less of the text dedicated to stretching out the intense moments and more to developing the characters and the world. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 18, 2012
| Jun 24, 2012
|
Oct 13, 2011
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
105
| 
| 0062024027
| 9780062024022
| 4.39
| 293,476
| May 03, 2011
| May 03, 2011
|
It's been awhile since I stayed up late to finish a book. I nearly gave it 5 stars, but I reserve my 5-star shelf for books I believe are so original...more
It's been awhile since I stayed up late to finish a book. I nearly gave it 5 stars, but I reserve my 5-star shelf for books I believe are so original or beautiful or thought-provoking that they stand separate from the masses, and this wasn't quite there. It took me a long time to buy into this world. I had trouble remembering what the factions were, what they stood for, and who belonged to which one. But more than anything, I didn't really believe that this society would develop, and I wasn't sure what we as readers were supposed to take away from it. I also had trouble with how easy it was to be factionless and yet how draining that must have been on the society. You would think they would work hard to keep people in factions as viable members of society, yet a boy didn't run fast enough to catch a train so he's banished to a fate worse than death? I finally had to tell myself that it didn't matter why Roth created this world; it made an interesting premise and a fun read. While I had issues with the why, I still think she created the world well enough. It wrapped itself around me so I thought about it when I wasn't reading. Roth is a very creative writer. She had me hooked and kept me guessing enough that I wanted to learn more. Even though most of the book is Beatrice's training, I found it interesting. Sometimes I got lost in the description and didn't quite follow what Roth was saying, but I still found myself enjoying the book. I have a few things that bothered me or questions I didn't have answered: If it was such a disgrace to move factions, how come so many people did? And if families rarely visited kids in their new factions, how come everyone's parents showed up? If Divergent were people who didn't fit exclusively into one faction, wouldn't most, if not all, of society be Divergent? I kept waiting for the book to explain why there weren't any old people in Dauntless, but maybe that will be clearer in a future installment. (view spoiler)[If Tris' mother was in danger when she chose factions, did that mean the government had been working on this rebellion for decades? And wouldn't that make Jeanine a lot older? (hide spoiler)] And about the plot twists: some of them got a little unbelievable in the end (view spoiler)[Four and Tris giving up their weapons instead of fighting when they were supposed to be Dauntless, Will being the soldier she has to shoot, her mom finding her in the knick of time, etc (hide spoiler)] but without them, the read wouldn't have been as exciting. I really enjoyed the romance, which fueled a lot of my interest. I loved that I couldn't tell who the interest would be in the beginning but that the guy I came to like without every suspecting he could be a love interest turned out to be the one. I loved what we slowly got to know about him. I loved that it wasn't some contrived love triangle. Most of all, I loved that he didn't baby Tris. He pushed her to be a better person. I really liked him. The only thing that bothered me about the romance was all of Tris' doubts. I know she was insecure, but sometimes her double guessing bordered on silly girl stupidity and I thought she was above that. About Tris, I loved that she was small but tough and how much she developed and came into her own throughout the novel. I didn't always like her, but she intrigued me and I liked following her journey. Most of the characters intrigued me and even the villains elicited feelings of anger and frustration from me. I liked that the characters were human and flawed, even if at times I had trouble keeping them straight. Just like the factions. Even though I had to suspend some disbelief for this, they were interesting and certainly got me thinking about virtues in society and people. I will definitely be reading Insurgent.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| May 14, 2012
| May 18, 2012
|
Oct 03, 2011
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
94
| 
| 0316098337
| 9780316098335
| 3.95
| 206,156
| Sep 13, 2010
| Sep 13, 2010
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Wow. A book hasn't swallowed me whole like that in a long time. This one will be haunting be for awhile. I wish I could tell you what it's about, but...more
Wow. A book hasn't swallowed me whole like that in a long time. This one will be haunting be for awhile. I wish I could tell you what it's about, but I wish I hadn't read the back cover 30 pages or so into and changed my own perception. It's best to figure it out along with the story. I will say that it's about a 5-year-old boy who has never left the room where he lives. His whole world is Room and Bed and Rug. It's a little jarring to read from his point of view and I was worried I wasn't going to be able to get into his story, but once I became accustomed to his voice, I couldn't put his story down. And his story wouldn't have the power it does without his perspective. We think about these type of stories from other perspectives, but never from his. Never from the child who is comfortable in his world that we know is all wrong. The child that never wants to leave his strange circumstances when we understand why he should. Most of the time his naivete was right one, but there were occasions where Donoghue used his voice to explain something that I didn't buy into him understanding. I wish she would have trusted her reader more to see the discord of reality and his perception instead of using Jack to interpret his mother's emotions or the sequence of events. I loved the juxtaposition of reality and his interpretation and would have liked more of them. There were also some plot twists (view spoiler)[ such as the Great Escape that I thought was too much for Jack to handle as smoothly as he did when he should have been shocked and overwhelmed as well as sometimes his acclimation to Outside (hide spoiler)] that didn't ring entirely true, but I so believed Jack that in the end it didn't matter. There is one point where the plot takes a turn in a different direction from Jack's perception (view spoiler)[where Old Nick runs away but you think he's going back to kill Ma (hide spoiler)] but Jack's reality is so real, you don't even consider other options. That's when I knew I'd follow Jack anywhere. Maybe it's the unusual perspective or the strong voice. Maybe it's that I know what it's like for a child to change your world. Maybe it's that right now I feel trapped in my own room with my own baby. Maybe it's that Jack's relationship with his mother is so different from own experience and I was both shocked and saddened by their bond. Or maybe it's that Donoghue made me think about the world in a way I never have before. But whatever it is, this book grabbed my attention and wouldn't let it go. I related to Jack's story when I couldn't possibly know what his life is like. It's difficult to make the humdrum of ordinary life day in and day out inside an 11x11 room exciting, but Donoghue manages to keep my intense attention. Some of the things Jack made me think about were the autonomy of parents and children and how the line is different for a child than it is for parents. It's what sometimes causes conflict, things like that moment when as a parent you have to discipline where your child thinks of you as a friend. How we put our lives on hold for our children, but there is this whole other self that will eventually wake from slumber. What a parent should share with a child and what we should keep secret. How education is a good thing, but also a little magic in the world is good too. How children are smart enough to understand honest answers, but sometimes not mature enough for complete answers. How children think of their families and circumstances as normal no matter how unusual it is. It usually isn't until you move away that you learn that the givens of your own family aren't sacred. It makes you consider the world around you in a whole different light. (view spoiler)[I loved that the book wasn't just about captivity but about the psychological impact upon release too. The news that these stories are based on focus on the horrors of the crime and not on the adjustment afterwards. In many ways Jack was an infant encountering the world for the first time. Donoghue takes us there. My favorite of these new moments was Jack's haircut. (hide spoiler)] While some of the events in the book are disturbing, I don't think they're too disturbing. Jack's innocent voice saves us from the horror that this story could be. It's not about all the things lost in Outside. It's about wanting to stay in and safe. And it's about the power of maternal love. Because of that, the story has redemption and hope and happiness.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jul 26, 2011
| Jul 29, 2011
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Jul 26, 2011
| Hardcover
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93
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| 1594487693
| 9781594487699
| 3.82
| 1,165
| Sep 11, 2010
| Sep 23, 2010
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I read about half the short stories in this anthology. While I enjoyed them (especially seeing life through black protagonists) and they were well wri...more
I read about half the short stories in this anthology. While I enjoyed them (especially seeing life through black protagonists) and they were well written, I wasn't amazed enough to read all of them. I've become less of a short story fan in the past few years and so a short-story anthology isn't my thing anymore. Had I picked this up in college, I might have loved it.(less)
| Notes are private!
| 1
| Jul 05, 2011
| Jul 26, 2011
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Jul 05, 2011
| Hardcover
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95
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| 0375714367
| 9780375714368
| 4.24
| 127,810
| 2009
| Jan 26, 2010
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This had the potential to be amazing, a sweeping epic history of Ethiopia ala The Poisonwood Bible, but for all of Verghese's description, he failed t...more
This had the potential to be amazing, a sweeping epic history of Ethiopia ala The Poisonwood Bible, but for all of Verghese's description, he failed to paint a powerful picture of Ethiopia. I expected so much more from him. He wastes 20% of the book describing the first day, but most of it I found pointless to the novel. I would much rather all that description give me something of the setting, of the characters, something powerful and enduring. Either that or cut it by a good 200 pages. But I wouldn't cut the medical procedures. They gave me the setting Ethiopia did not. They also painted a picture of the characters. The coldness of Thomas Stone, the dedication of Sister Mary Joseph Praise, the drive for Hema, the heart of Ghosh, the genius of Shiva, and the preciseness of Marion. All of it can be described by the medical fields they practiced. I think Ghosh was my favorite character. I can picture his hearty laugh now. I enjoyed Marion's relationship with Shiva and in the end that's what's fundamental to the book, their love, their distance, their painful understanding of each other. I liked Marion as a protagonist. I connected with his methodical and inactive responses. Genet was the character I struggled with the most. Of all the characters, she was the least fleshed out for so long, and yet, the most important to Marion, our protagonist. I struggled with the scene of her getting all hot and bothered by Shiva talking about sex. Only a man would write that and I didn't believe it. A lot of what she did was a little too convenient to maximum Marion's story and she didn't feel organic to me. Every time she showed up in the book, I knew something tragic was going to happen that didn't feel right for the story. In the end, I liked the book. Somewhere around 400 pages I didn't want to put the book down. But it shouldn't have taken me 400 pages to get there. I should have been drawn in by the first 50, or the very least the first 100. The characters should have been stronger, the setting, the fake history (I would much rather real events had been intertwined with the story). None of it was as strong as the medicine.(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Aug 02, 2011
| Sep 10, 2011
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Feb 23, 2011
| Paperback
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89
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| 0143058150
| 9780143058151
| 3.71
| 402,332
| 1854
| Jun 16, 2005
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I'm going to have to read this one again in book form. It wasn't as easy for me to follow in audio with so many characters (and Dickens tendency towar...more
I'm going to have to read this one again in book form. It wasn't as easy for me to follow in audio with so many characters (and Dickens tendency toward the verbose), but it definitely had my attention at the end with his masterly crafted building of suspense. This is Dickens at his best. (I'll probably come update my review when I've had a chance to reread some of these passages and think a little more about the characters.)(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jan 31, 2011
| Mar 04, 2011
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Jan 31, 2011
| Audio CD
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85
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| 0061953261
| 9780061953262
| 3.44
| 5,523
| Nov 01, 2009
| Nov 10, 2009
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Anyone else thing of Fred Stoller when listening to the audio? 
| Notes are private!
| Midge
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1
| Dec 16, 2010
| Dec 18, 2010
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Dec 30, 2010
| Audio CD
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84
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| 0061969559
| 9780061969553
| 3.90
| 93,507
| Aug 03, 2010
| Aug 03, 2010
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Years ago I was watching The X-Files movie and during the climax scene Mulder and Scully need to get out of some remote, creepy warehouse before the b...more
Years ago I was watching The X-Files movie and during the climax scene Mulder and Scully need to get out of some remote, creepy warehouse before the building is destroyed (probably by aliens; it was always aliens that messed up Mulder's plans, and the show. Once upon a time X-Files was one of my favorite shows until they fell on the alien crutch every singe episode and gave up on coming up with with cool sci-fi explanations for the unexplained. Aliens ruin another good story, sigh. But I digress, back to the movie). Only Mulder and Scully aren't running or scheming or even freaking out. They're talking, without a hint of panic, while in my brain I'm shouting at them "Move! Now! Or you're going to die! Okay, fine, if you're not worried about your predicament, I don't know why I should be." That's how I felt getting to the climax scene of this book. Big, tense scene coming up, but instead of the characters being proactive or planning or running or doing anything at all, they sit around and wait for the cool action scenes to fall upon them. For all their awesome powers and abilities, they don't do much to fight or consider the obvious strategies that would get them out of their predicaments. I wish the author (more ranting about that later) would have planned the segues and logistics behind those scenes that will look cool on the big screen instead focusing so much on the action so I didn't find myself rolling my eyes so much in the last hundred pages. All the workings were there for a great climax if it had just been crafted a little better. But let's talk about the rest of the book. The premise is that nine alien children from a destroyed planet are hiding out on earth until they develop their powers and are strong enough to fight back. But their destroyers are on earth tracking and killing the children one by one. The novel begins when the first three have been killed and number four knows he's next. I'm not a huge fan of alien plot stories, but it was a good premise, and I was hooked from the first page. The balance of answering my questions while keeping me intrigued about what I didn't know until I cared enough about number four to find out the rest of his story was perfectly done. That balance of pacing is something that is very hard to get just right in commercial fiction and it's done just right here to keep to you glued to the story. In fact, until the climax read like a choreographed fight, I probably would have given this four stars. I liked number four (never really came to think of him as John) and was vested in his story, and while I think Sarah could have been better defined, more than just gorgeous and empty, for an action book, the characterization wasn't bad. Sometimes alien was too-convenient answer, there were some holes and mistakes that most people probably wouldn't stop to think about, and the chameleon was way too obvious, but overall I found the description of this other planet and people interesting and well done. Very imaginative and creative. Normally I'd think present tense would be perfect for a fast-paced action story, but something about the dry short, choppy sentences (a guy obviously wrote this) coupled with the present tense rated on my nerves as childish. But all of that is details. The story was good and I can see why people are caught up in it and why it's been optioned as a movie. The bad news comes in the form of the sequel... Remember James Frey who dealt with a lot of backlash for the untruths he told in A Million Little Pieces? Well, he's back in the news, again with people up in arms for his Frey Fiction Factory (Full Fathom Five). Frey has been offering MFA students a mere $250 for their high-concept blockbusters and a promise of 40% some undisclosed amount the author can never verify. What's worse is that Frey owns the rights to the work and doesn't have to use the author's writing or credit him in anyway. You can read the abysmal contract here. A guy named Jobie Hughes is one of the authors who took up Frey's offer in hopes of making a name for himself in the publishing industry. I Am Number Four is his creation, thus the pseudonym. He has since parted ways with Frey (good for him), but he doesn't own the rights to his baby. So if there is a sequel, he will not be the one to write it. All of this did nothing to change my opinion of the book (only Frey), but it is disheartening to see a promising series get lost in a war over money.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Dec 14, 2010
| Dec 17, 2010
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Dec 14, 2010
| Hardcover
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83
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| 1416989536
| 9781416989530
| 3.81
| 6,644
| Sep 21, 2010
| Sep 21, 2010
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I'm a sucker for amusing zombie stories. No really, I am. And I grew up on The Last Unicorn, bad singing and all. So when I heard of the concept of th...more
I'm a sucker for amusing zombie stories. No really, I am. And I grew up on The Last Unicorn, bad singing and all. So when I heard of the concept of this book, what makes better fiction, zombies or unicorns? I had to smile. What a fun idea for a short story anthology. I cracked the cover thinking "zombies for the win, all the way." I never laugh when I read, crack a smile at most, but not laugh. The introduction alone, a debate between editors Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier about the benefits of zombies and unicorns, had me laughing out loud. Oh the stories that could fill this anthology. So who won my heart? Team zombies or team unicorns? Here's the fickle trail of my loyalty: 1. The Highest Justice by Garth Nix. The most interesting thing about this story was the titillation of a zombie appearance. It was okay, had the flair of a medieval unicorn story but without any of the mystique of the medieval creatures. I think Nix should have stuck to team zombie and left the description of unicorns to someone who wanted to write about them. 2. Love Will Tear Us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson. The story started out crass with way too many f words. I'm not a fan of crass humor (or the f word), not even a little. The zombie POV with descriptions of his virus as a psychopathic disorder were awesome and the battle of love vs zombie feeding was good too (Twilight-esque without the cheese), but all that crassness made me feel dirty and I never recovered from it. Plus, I'm not a fan of same-sex romances. I know zombies are gross, but they can be funny or scary without the crass factor, right? Maybe I don't want to be on team zombie. 3. Purity Test by Naomi Novik. Score one for humor. Jokes about finding a virgin in NYC, Harry Potter, and how dragons are so much cooler than unicorns, which begs the question: dragons or vampires? Sequel, anyone? Midway through it fizzled and got old, but a team unicorner who has a sense of humor about unicorns, maybe I'm switching teams. 4. Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan. We already know Ryan can write a best seller about the zombie apocalypse. Couldn't she surprise us with a good unicorn story? Or even a different zombie story? Okay the story was interesting and memorable (beside the tense shifts that drove me crazy), but zombie apocalypse, dictatorship keeping the last remaining humans intact, rebellious teenager, haven't we read this before, from her? 5. A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan. The POV shifted in the middle of the story, dropping the only character I connected with. Several vague explanations and descriptions later (not a fan of the writing), we learn that the point of unicorns is not to save the wrongly accused, to heal the princess child, to avenge the robbery of her purity, but beastiality, and a romance that leaves a lot of victims in its wake (including its readers with those graphic images in our head, not only beastiality, but with a child, nice). What ever happened to the magical creatures that were supposed to be the point of this anthology? Are they ever going to make an appearance? Definitely team zombie at this point. 6. The Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson. A satire about celebrity-adopted children "cured" from death by a zombie virus. Tom Cruise on his no medication media rant, Angelina Jolie adopting yet another child, celebrities who don't actually raise their children, I'll let you decide what Johnson is mocking. Either way, the satire made me smile. I knew there was a reason I was team zombie. 7. The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund. If I can't get a magical unicorn the way they are depicted in medieval fiction, I'll take a killer, wild-animal version with the 8. Inoculata by Scott Westerfeld. I was into this story until it just ended, a flat, empty, quitting of words because it'd already gone on too long. Westerfeld tried to make a quick, enlightening statement, or maybe just make me think about zombies a different way, but it didn't work for me. (There's some girl-on-girl action, same girl later going for some girl-on-boy action. It is in vogue these days.) The story was just developing when it ended, leaving me to wonder if maybe there just weren't any more good zombie stories out there. My loyalty is in limbo. 9. Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot. Again with the sense of humor about unicorns. None of team zombie have touched humor (except Johnson with her satire that's not nearly as strong as this story). Cabot says, yeah okay, so unicorns are the obnoxious fairytales of little girls, but if one showed up on your doorstep, would you actually turn it away (or sell it on ebay) or would use that fierce, magical power to intimidate your ex-boyfriend? Oh yeah, and happy endings aren't so bad either. Mock all you want, you know deep down, you'd love a unicorn. Score one for team unicorn. 10. Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare. Not having read the Mortal Instruments series myself, I had heard that Clare's writing was atrocious, but I found her writing in this quite beautiful. Her zombies aren't the brain-sucking types, just undead cursed to return from the grave seeking out the company of their loved ones, making the love story not quite the moral dilemma of Johnson's story, but I still liked it. It's a sweet zombie love story. I'm still open to either team. 11. The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey. I liked the idea of this psychopathic 12. Prom Night by Libba Bray. A story about zombies on prom night? I am so there. Only, that's not what this story was about. Another zombie apocalypse, this one where the adults got infected and only children survived, and as their food and hope runs out, they hold prom. Not a bad story (although Bray once again pushes the "I know what teens are like" display too far), but it wasn't quite the story I'd wanted to read when I know Bray is capable of humor and zombies on prom night lend themselves to it. There was no zombie/unicorn showdown. None of the unicorns I'd expected showed up and there wasn't enough humor in the zombie stories. Each team had a story that left a bad taste in my mouth, but there were plenty that shined, which is rather difficult with a short-story anthology. So who won? Team zombie or team unicorn. I'd have to say the editors. Their commentary was hands down the best part of the book.(less) | Notes are private!
| YA
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1
| Dec 10, 2010
| Dec 13, 2010
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Dec 10, 2010
| Hardcover
|
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