All Book Reviews

A beautifully written piece of literature that speaks to the timelessness of modern small towns. Set in rural Colorado, this novel follows several lives that inevitably affect one another. Haruf writes in poetical prose that is both beautiful and simplistic in structure. The amount of detail and imagery adds to an already rich text.

Wow. This book is crazy. Crazy good, crazy scary, and crazy demented. I recommend tenth grade and up. Part of a trilogy. I Hunt Killers is about a boy of a serial killer who must fight off the urge to be like Dear Old Dad or die trying. The psychology is the book was astounding, you are able to see how a killer's mind works. Amazing, and I cannot wait to start the sequel.

This book was incredible. The narrative was so powerfully written I felt transported in time to the antebellum south. I'm embarrassed that I'd never heard of Sarah and Nina Grimke before this book. They are inspirational heroes of their time. Handful was so beautifully and hauntingly drawn that I felt she was as real as Sarah and Nina. I can't recommend this book enough! Sue Monk Kidd did her research, that's for sure. The story was so realistic it could pass for nonfiction. Awesome!

Not exactly a meticulously researched volume on the women in the West. Lots of speculation. However, it was very readable and interesting. I liked that the author tried to make the subjects as human as possible. It's so strange to me that these women lived in a West that was so raw and untamed little more than a century ago. Good, quick read.

Stumbled across this title through Goodreads, and I am so glad I did!
The author gives and honest, sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious view of her experiences moving to Italy rather impulsively. I didn't realize she had a blog, now I'm going to go through the photos to match faces with people I feel I've met through her book! Highly recommend.

I would start this novel and read a few chapters, then lay it down for a day or so, then pick it back up and have no idea what the book was about. The beginning doesn't grip at all. It gets better towards the middle. I'm not sure why I kept reading it, to be honest. The storyline is interesting, but the writing is disconnected.

This book is a compilation of essays on a variety of subjects. Thought provoking and beautiful, I highly recommend this quick read. I especially appreciated Angelou's observation that instead of "you can't go home again", it's more accurate to say you can't ever leave home, meaning your first home, where you grew up. I find this to be very true as I often think of where I grew up and the friends I had there as a child. Thankfully, I'm able to keep in touch with the most dear of them on Facebook.

Loved the concept of the book, it showed the confusion, frustration, and fear that comes with diminishing memory. I liked the switching back and forth between the past and present and how they started getting blurred. It's just the ending I had a problem with - I don't think it lived up to the rest of the book.

Umm. Wow. This was an amazing book - it was weird, and beautiful, and horrible all at the same time. Reminded me somewhat of Far Far Away as it was like the original versions of fairy tales, dark and disturbing, but awe-inspiring at the same time. I had to keep reminding myself that this is cataloged as a teen book - I think adults would love it and appreciate the writing as well. Anyone who argues that YA novels are not sophisticated or that they are written at a lower level should pick up a copy of this book. Fantastic.

Lyrical and beautiful and an absolutely stunning book. I couldn't put it down!

The best book I have ever read!

When 2 young children have to survive after a bear attacks and kills their parents you wonder if this could really happen. How long could they survive and how the whole experience will effect the rest of their lives.

I really enjoyed this masterful work of historical fiction. Atwood did a great job researching the historical accuracy of her characters and admits when she was led to "invent" to fill in the blanks. Her creative use of imagery leaves you stunned, amused, thrilled, and pleased. I really enjoyed this novel.

Loved this series about a preteen ghost who wants to grow up so badly and finds her path after alot of adventures. Have to order the set for my school--it will be very popular with the girls!

I love dog books, and stumbled on this one while looking for ebooks. What a wonderful book, written by a man who obviously loved his dog-friend. Reading it felt like I was with them on their adventures! However, make sure you have tissues handy!

This is a book that captures you immediately and you can't put it down. I loved this book. I truly cared about the 2 main characters, one of whom is based on abolitionist and suffragette Sarah Grimke.

I find that sometimes I give 5 stars to what are clearly very good books, but then something like 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' comes along and I realize that there are very few books I've read that are as important and wonderful as this one. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. Maya's voice is beautiful, honest, and so very observant and wise. I recommend this book to everyone in the world, period.

Going into this book, I expected a typical teenage romance novel. However, Allyson Condie delivers here on a much deeper level. Set in the "Society"--a future utopian community similar to the one from Lois Lowry's "The Giver"--it follows the story of a 17-year-old young woman named Cassia Reyes. Cassia's character development is well-paced and multi-layered. The numerous instances of symbolism throughout the novel reflect Cassia's growing awareness of herself and of the unsettling underpinnings of the Society she has always known. As a welcome surprise, Condie transforms the all-too-typical overt teenage love triangle romance plot thread into a refreshingly subtle choice between not just two young men, but two different ideologies. Another of Condie's refreshing changes to the genre: the Society and Cassia's role in it take the forefront here, so those who aren't fans of romantic plotlines will find plenty to enjoy! The addition of some excellent classic poetry doesn't hurt this novel either. Overall, this book is fast-paced, enjoyable, and much more complex than it first seems. I am looking forward to the next installment!

I loved the way that Daniel Woodrell puts words together, his writing is so lyrical! That said, I had a hard time getting through this very slim book with the jumps in time and the amazingly large cast of characters. The story would have been a bit more enjoyable to me had it been linear, and without quite so many side stories of this small town.

Wavered between 3 1/2 and 4 stars on this one. I actually liked the end very much, and didn't know it was based on a true story, which made it much more poignant. I have read TONS of books about the Titanic over the years, both fiction and nonfiction, and this is one of the better novels, in my opinion.