A very dark, very brilliant girl, probably about twelve- or thirteen-years-old, comes to on a park bench one day. She doesn’t know who she is, where she is, or how she got there. Being resourceful, she sets out to find the answers to these questions and stumbles onto a huge mystery. Strange isn’t the word. Continue Reading…
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen: Book Review
3 Stars. I liked that Jane Austen was a little more barbed and pointed in this book. I can’t remember any specific examples, but there were a few times when I mentally thought, “Ouch! I can’t believe she wrote that!” It made the book a little more fun. On the other hand, the book was too long and dragged in places. Also, I […]
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: Book Review
If you haven’t read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, you shouldn’t read this review. I have avoided Mockingjay spoilers. Katniss is living in District 13. The Capitol has sought revenge for the rebels’ assault on the Hunger Games in a brutal, unbelievable way. The rebellion is gaining momentum, and the leaders are begging Katniss Continue Reading…
Fortune’s Fool by Mercedes Lackey: Book Review
Katya is the Sea King’s youngest daughter–and his eyes and ears in trouble spots. Sasha is the seventh son of the King of Led Belarus, which makes him a Fortunate Fool. But his foolery is only an act to gently steer the Tradition in ways that lead to peace and prosperity for his kingdom. The Continue Reading…
Alice at Heart by Deborah Smith: Book Review
Alice has always been the odd one in her small Appalachian community. She loves water, her hair grows incredibly fast, her feet are slightly webbed, and somehow her personality has just never “fit in.” She’s done her best all her life to blend into the background, but she gets quite a bit of publicity when Continue Reading…
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer: Book Review
In 1996, Jon Krakauer attempted to climb Mt. Everest as part of a guided group for a writing assignment for Outside magazine. An experienced climber in the hands of a reputable group of guides, he didn’t really foresee any problems. Go, climb the mountain, hope conditions allowed them to reach the summit, go home, write Continue Reading…
The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion: Book Review
“When had I a choice to be other than I was?” So begins this fictional autobiography of Alice Perrars’ life. And that’s about where I stopped caring overly much. That’s harsher than I mean to be, because the book was okay, but I have very, very little tolerance for excuses. And this was a running Continue Reading…
Huck by Janet Elder: Book Review
When Janet Elder was diagnosed with breast cancer, she and her husband promised their twelve-year-old son Michael that they would get him a puppy as soon as she was better. They realized that life is too short to deny their son something he so desperately wanted, but they also knew that she would be in Continue Reading…
Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin: Book Review
I don’t even know where to start with a synopsis for this book, so I’ll just skip that. I have a feeling that the reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars shows more about what I’m lacking than about what the book is lacking. I felt myself on the verge of a huge epiphany Continue Reading…
The Word Made Flesh by Eva Talmadge: Book Review
I pulled this out of its mailer and my husband took one look and said, “Oh, crap. You’re going to have a tattoo soon, aren’t you?” I was a little hesitant to open it for fear of that very thing myself. I don’t have anything against tattoos on other people, they just aren’t for me. Continue Reading…
Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie: Book Review
Rita Lurie is a Holocaust survivor. Her story is remarkably similar to Anne Frank’s. She hid in an attic in Poland for two years at the very end of WWII. Her family’s hiding place was nowhere near as carefully-planned as the Frank family’s though. They fled Nazi soldiers in the night and eventually found a Continue Reading…