http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/874902 en-US Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:09:51 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 35173674 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:09:51 -0700 Review30234971 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30234971 Atonement: A Novel (Paperback) by Ian McEwan
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 35173413 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:09:29 -0700 Review30234758 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30234758 to: Tomato Girl (Hardcover) by Jayne Pupek
Jayne Pupek can write! Tomato Girl is a beautiful novel related by an eleven-year old narrator, Ellie, whom I loved from the moment she admitted "I can't tell them about Mama's moods, or how she keeps Baby Tom in a jar." I was captivated by her story, and so curious to learn it that I had trouble setting the novel down.

Though young, Ellie is a perceptive narrator, and I enjoyed meeting the adults in the book through her eyes. I saw how and why she adored her father, though his actions were irresponsible, sometimes cruel, and sometimes criminal. Her mother suffers from madness, and as I watched her condition deteriorate through her daughter's eyes, I felt my concern intensify into something approaching terror. Ellie is a child forced to shoulder burdens that even an adult—and especially the adults in the story--have trouble carrying. I couldn't help but feel compassion for her. I wanted things to work out for her; I was completely sucked into her world.

The story is very dark at times, but the book remains hopeful, often because Ellie brings a light to the events through her unwavering love for her family and her childish innocence. The characters are complex, the setting well described, the voice one you will not likely forget. Tomato Girl is a wonderful debut novel by a writer who knows her craft. I'm already looking forward to Pupek's next book.
]]> -618691918 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:31:03 -0700 GroupUser133733 http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/6783.Interviews_New_Authors Kirsten joined the Interviews - New Authors group. ]]> 31257213 Mon, 14 Jul 2008 09:02:44 -0700 Review27204512 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27204512 Something for the Pain: One Doctor's Account of Life and Death in the ER (Hardcover) by Paul Austin
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 27325530 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:36:47 -0700 Review24117290 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24117290 A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies: Stories (Paperback) by John Murray
bookshelves: to-read
]]> 27325374 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:34:48 -0700 Review24117169 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24117169 Foundations of Ecology: Classic Papers with Commentaries (Paperback) by James H. Brown
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 27325314 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:33:52 -0700 Review14567566 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14567566 to: APOLOGIES FORTHCOMING (Paperback) by Xujun Eberlein
]]> 26126161 Wed, 28 May 2008 19:57:00 -0700 Review23184077 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23184077 to: The Lost Lady of the Amazon: The Story of Isabela Godin and Her Epic Journey (Hardcover) by Anthony Smith
]]> 26125574 Wed, 28 May 2008 19:52:00 -0700 Comment855300 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22499711 Kirsten's review of A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini

I couldn't get into this and set it aside after 100 pages. I tried. ]]> 25624139 Thu, 22 May 2008 21:27:28 -0700 Review22793045 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22793045 to: Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle (Paperback) by Moritz Thomsen
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