Lucía Álvarez is the main character from The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzalez. Through Lucía’s eyes, we experience the terror of the Cuban Revolution and the uncertainty of making a new home in a new country away from your parents. Lucía is the perfect protagonist for this story because there is something in her […]
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan: Book Review
It’s show time. The battle between the Olympians and the Titans, thousands of years in the making, is finally here. Kronos has had ample time to prepare his plans while Zeus and company have been having their own quarrels and parties. He strikes at multiple fronts, almost simultaneously, and no one knows what his true […]
Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint: Book Review
“Every time it rains a ghost comes walking.” Dreams Underfoot introduced readers to de Lint’s fictional city of Newford. Magic is on the streets of Newford if you just know where to look for it. It’s usually in the most unexpected places. Man, I love the Newford books. This book started my re-read of them […]
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Over the past week, I’ve Reviewed: Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland Plant Life by Pamela Duncan Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny Read: The Dreaming Place by Charles de Lint Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck […]
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny: Book Review
This is a tough book to summarize. Let’s just say that Mr. Corey wakes up with amnesia after a nasty car crash and sets out to recover his memory and then to take back what he sees as his. Starting this was a leap of faith. Corey tells the story and since he doesn’t know […]
Character Connection: Christopher Boone
Christopher Boone is the main character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I’m going to cheat a little this week and throw a big chunk of my review at you because I said everything I wanted to say in it. “Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone is something of an autistic […]
Plant Life by Pamela Duncan: Book Review
Laurel Granger lived for her husband, Scott, then he left her for another woman. Depressed, rootless, and alone in Vegas, Laurel decides to head back home to Russell, North Carolina. Without telling her parents what happened, she moves in with them. Well, it becomes obvious that Laurel isn’t going back to Vegas and she needs […]
Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland: Book Review
At the tender age of 12, Polly Madassa has discovered Jane Austen and fallen hopelessly in love. Convinced that she’s an Austen heroine born in the wrong time, Polly walks around her modern town speaking in Austen’s flowery prose. She’s only read Pride and Prejudice, and so has not learned Emma‘s lesson about meddling. Polly […]
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. This week I’ve Read: Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, a graphic novel based on the series by Stephen King Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris Fablehaven by Brandon Mull Reviewed: Everlost by Neal Shusterman, […]
The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif: Book Review
The Map of Love tells two stories. Primarily, it is about Anna Winterbourne, living in the early 1900s, and her fascination with Egypt. In the present, Isabel Parkman and Amal al-Ghamrawi have found a trunk of Anna’s journals and letters and set out to piece together her story, while living their own. The writing in […]
Character Connection: Tom Builder
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett takes place in the 12th century. Times were tough. One bad summer could wipe out a crop, causing many people to starve. Medicine was for all practical purposes non-existent. Anyone different or new was greeted with deep suspicion. England was on the brink of a civil war. […]