Book Reviews Archive - Page 44 of 79

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: Book Review

Enzo, the wonderfully perceptive narrator of The Art of Racing in the Rain, is a dog. His master is Denny, a talented race car driver who can't seem to get a break. There is always something that keeps him from realizing his full potential. Enzo is an astute, loyal observer of Denny's life as events spiral out of control around them. With wisdom and compassion, Enzo relates Denny's story with his own incisive commentary. This review keeps veering off into "Why I Love Enzo," so I guess I'll start there but try to keep it short. He is the friend that is quietly there, always loyal, always listening, and always loving. He's so quietly necessary that it would be easy to take him for granted. Luckily, Denny knows what a good dog he has so that doesn't happen. Enzo has almost a zen take on life and he shares his thoughts in such a way that I wanted to highlight almost the whole book. He believes that good dogs are allowed to come back as men in the next life, and he believes he's reached that stage. I agree. He understands life and being human better than most of us ever will. Enzo relates some tough times in his life with Denny. There's the adjustment period as Denny gets married and has a child. As Enzo shares very, very early in the book, Denny's wife also dies and there's huge fallout from that. That's where the book got almost infuriating. I was so aggravated with the jerks around Enzo and Denny! I didn't know why Enzo would even aspire to be human when we do such horrible things to each other. But that's where they both actually shine and they have the most to share. It was hard, but when…

The Girl Who Was on Fire, edited by Leah Wilson: Book Review

Editor Leah Wilson has collected a series of thirteen essays from various young adult authors, each addressing a different aspect of The Hunger Games trilogy. How do I put this? I'm not really a huge analyzer of books. Sure, I write plenty of reviews, but in those I just write what I liked (or not) and why. That's really about as far as I go. Back in my English class days, I could produce solid essays but since graduating, I've gotten to be a lazy reader. I'll occasionally think about the more obvious themes in a book, but then I pick up the next one and move on. This collection impressed me because of the amount of thought that went into each and every essay. I had mused briefly about some of the topics, I think my sister and I even discussed a few of them, but these authors all went above and beyond in their analyses. My favorite was "Team Katniss" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This was one essay that overlapped with a conversation my sister and I had. Why "Team Peeta" or "Team Gale"? Why not "Team Katniss"? Katniss is pretty freaking awesome on her own. Barnes presents her argument better than Rachel or I ever did. I just loved it. I also really enjoyed "Community in the Face of Tyranny" by Bree Despain. I don't recall thinking much about the (lack of) community in the world of Panem. Despain argues that part of Katniss's magic comes from her ability to foster a sense of community wherever she goes. It's true, and I liked it. At first, I thought entries by Cara Lockwood and Terri Clark were a little more light-hearted but even these surprised me with their depth. Lockwood writes about the "Not So Weird Science" of…

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger: Book Review

A young woman, out wandering the streets after a fight with her boyfriend, stumbles upon The Night Bookmobile. The books inside are strangely familiar. The librarian tells her that the library contains everything she's ever read in her lifetime. All too soon, dawn comes, the librarian escorts her out the door, and the young woman feels bereft. She can't get The Night Bookmobile out of her mind and she starts to look for it everywhere, choosing her books with the idea of rounding out her collection. I love this premise. Can you imagine seeing all the words you've ever read in one place? They aren't just books. They're cereal boxes and everything. In my library, that reviled copy of Lord of the Flies would be buried somewhere at the back on a bottom shelf while the works of L. M. Montgomery and Charles de Lint would be well-worn but in places of honor at eye-level at the front. How awesome would that be? But almost from the beginning, Niffenegger rings a faint warning bell and it gets louder throughout this short piece. It's very well done, and while it's a warning that most devoted readers need to hear, that doesn't mean that I liked what it led to. Holy cow. I flipped forward and back a few times, just to make sure I'd really read what I thought I'd read. I had. Man. I love my books, but...man. And that's all I'll say about that. Read it for the idea, but don't expect to be charmed at the end. Read an excerpt. Find author Audrey Niffenegger on her website. Read more reviews at S. Krishna's Books, Bibliophile by the Sea, and Linus's Blanket. Buy The Night Bookmobile at Malaprop’s | Better World Books I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's,…

The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg: Book Review

4 Stars. Having now read one of Bragg's books and listened to another, I am torn about the best medium. I'm left thinking that the best thing for everyone would be if his publishers just gave us one of those readalong books I remember from when I was little. "You'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the chime ring like this [...]

The Society of S by Susan Hubbard: Book Review

The Society of S is about Ariella Montero, a very sheltered, educated 13-year-old growing up in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her father is a brilliant, handsome, reclusive research scientist who is home-schooling Ari and raising her alone. Ari's mother left them immediately after Ari's birth. Their Victorian mansion is full of secrets that Ari decides to investigate. This was just okay for me. I have to admit that this is a young adult book and I'm not a young adult, but that doesn't usually bother me. The book is well-written, and the story is interesting, but I think my biggest problem was in believing that this was supposed to be pages from a 13-year-old's journal. There might be 13-year-old geniuses out there who are this introspective, thoughtful, and well-written, but they're few and far between. I just had a hard time buying it for that reason. And, this is kind of a small thing, but there are interjections thrown in that would just throw me off. Like, "I think in colors. Do you?" Okay, is she really talking to me, or is she supposed to be telling this story to someone? That wasn't cleared up until the very last pages, although, if I'd really thought about, I could probably have figured it out in the first couple of pages. Obviously I wasn't paying that much attention. All in all, I really just felt like this author, while telling a completely different story, was really just trying to cash in on the popularity of Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series. Read those instead, but if you're left hungry for more, you might want to turn to this one. Just be warned that you probably won't enjoy it as much. Reviewed January 19, 2008 Read an excerpt. Find author Susan Hubbard on her website and…

Daytripper by Fábio Moon: Book Review

5 Stars. I read the first chapter of Daytripper and was completely taken aback. I was in the mood for some graphic novels and I had just grabbed whatever looked promising at my local library. I had never heard of this book and I didn't read the synopsis too closely but it still caught my eye. When [...]

Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce: Book Review

If I had read these books when I was the right age, they would probably have gotten 4 or 5 stars, but I'm a little too old for them now. These are 4 novels about Alanna of Trebond, a girl who wants to be a knight. Unfortunately, the last female knight in her country lived 100 years ago and her preoccupied father has decreed that she will be fostered out to learn to be a lady. Alanna's twin brother, Thom, forges a couple of letters and Alanna takes his place in the school for knights and Thom happily goes off to become a sorceror. Needless to say, Alanna has to disguise herself as a boy to be accepted into the school and she forces herself to work twice as hard as the other knights-in-training to prove to herself that she's in the right place. She has lots of adventures and saves the kingdom numerous times. Along the way she learns to accept herself as both a knight and a woman and that there is still room in a knight's life for love. The writing in these books was a little simplistic, but they are young adult books. Alanna's character struggles with the things that most girls her age stuggle with and she was a likeable character. The other characters were pretty one-dimensional, but they were described well enough that I either loved them or hated them. There weren't many I was indifferent to. I guess I've gotten used to reading big epic fantasies, because after every battle, I was like, "Is that it? This should have gone on a lot longer." There wasn't a lot of transition. Alanna just moved from major plot point to major plot point, which can be a good thing, but I felt in this case…

In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz: Book Review

In the small town of Pico Mundo, an unassuming fry cook by the outlandish name of Odd Thomas has a special ability; he can see the dead. They can't speak to him but they have their own ways of communicating. After the murder of a small boy, Odd sees his spirit wandering around. It's obvious the boy wants justice. His nanny, an old friend of Odd's girlfriend Stormy, is worried that the killer might be targeting her other charge, a young girl. Odd and Stormy vow to do what they can to help protect the children of the town. Odd Thomas has come to the world of graphic novels. I like the idea but it didn't work out all that well for me. I love Odd. He's so good and earnest but he still has that unexpected sense of humor and hope despite all the things he's seen. That Odd was in these pages, I just wanted more of him. I think the format limited him. In the novels, I think my favorite parts are his internal musings and it's got to be hard to bring that through in a graphic novel. There were bits here and there, just not enough. I wasn't a huge fan of the style of the artwork either. In my ignorance, I'll say it looks like anime. Feel free to correct me nicely if there's a better word to describe it. Whatever it's called, I just don't generally care for it. The story felt kind of--well, circular. They don't really get much of anywhere. It was the same basic events a couple of times and then a big "surprise" ending that wasn't really a surprise. I will say that it was nice to see a beloved character from the first book who hasn't shown back…

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran: Book Review

Marie Tussaud, or Grosholtz as she is named throughout most of the book, was in an ideal position to narrate a history of the French Revolution. A foreign-born commoner, she was neither part of the nobility nor of the starving peasants. She and her family owned, designed and operated the wax museum that has become synonymous with her name. As the book opens, she is maneuvering to have the royal family visit the Salon, as it was then called, and thus bring more visitors in their wake. Even as she's trying to work out this deal, Robespierre, the Duc d'Orleans, and Marat are meeting in her house and discussing the problems with the French monarchy. As time goes by, Marie does get close to members of the royal family, even as more famous Revolutionaries, such as Lafayette, meet and talk under her roof. I absolutely loved this. I have tried and I can't think of one complaint. Every word is perfect. It's well-written, engaging, and hard to put down. I opened the book and found myself in 18th-century France. I just love when an author can do that for me. My reading has slowed down considerably over the past year or so but I read through this at a speed I haven't achieved in a while. Marie herself is believable and mostly likeable. She's very driven to have the Salon succeed and she has a sharp business sense, especially for a woman of her times. I occasionally disagreed with some decisions that she made but I always understood where she was coming from. I can't imagine doing some of the things that she had to in order to survive the upside-down, bloodthirsty world she finds herself in. Even having some idea what was going to happen with the Revolution, I…

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers: Book Review

John Singer is a deaf-mute living a solitary life in a Southern city. His best friend, Spiros Antonapoulos, has been taken away to the state asylum. But as Singer makes his solitary way through life, he draws a group of four lonely individuals to him: Mick Kelly, a poor young girl with dreams of being a famous composer; Jake Blount, an alcoholic trying to spread the word about the evils of capitalism and the glory of Communism; Dr. Copeland, an African-American doctor trying to lead his people to a better life; and Biff Brannon, a cafe owner who is trying to figure out what the others see in Mr. Singer. I read this back in college but couldn't remember a thing about it when we decided to read it for book club. Time for a re-read! Now I know why I wiped it from my memory. This is one of those novels that is probably classified as "Realism" and that I choose to call "Pessimism." No one is happy. No one will ever be happy. They are all going to die alone and misunderstood. And McCullers seems to be saying that's the way life is for everyone. I refuse to buy it. That's my biggest problem. Another problem is that nothing really happens. Nothing. The book just drifts from character to character, each of whom just will not move on to another topic to think about. There's only so much I can read about Mick's "inner room" and how much she loves music. I can list about three or four events that are actual events. The rest of it is just repetitive introspection. I will say that Carson McCullers' writing voice is perfect for the story. It just feels stark and lonely from the beginning. Perfect for this bleak novel.…