TITLE- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
AMAZON SUMMARY
Coraline lives with her preoccupied parents in part of a huge old house--a house so huge that other people live in it, too... round, old former actresses Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and their aging Highland terriers ("We trod the boards, luvvy") and the mustachioed old man under the roof ("'The reason you cannot see the mouse circus,' said the man upstairs, 'is that the mice are not yet ready and rehearsed.'") Coraline contents herself for weeks with exploring the vast garden and grounds. But with a little rain she becomes bored--so bored that she begins to count everything blue (153), the windows (21), and the doors (14). And it is the 14th door that--sometimes blocked with a wall of bricks--opens up for Coraline into an entirely alternate universe. Now, if you're thinking fondly of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you're on the wrong track. Neil Gaiman's Coraline is far darker, far stranger, playing on our deepest fears. And, like Roald Dahl's work, it is delicious. What's on the other side of the door? A distorted-mirror world, containing presumably everything Coraline has ever dreamed of... people who pronounce her name correctly (not "Caroline"), delicious meals (not like her father's overblown "recipes"), an unusually pink and green bedroom (not like her dull one), and plenty of horrible (very un-boring) marvels, like a man made out of live rats. The creepiest part, however, is her mirrored parents, her "other mother" and her "other father"--people who look just like her own parents, but with big, shiny, black button eyes, paper-white skin... and a keen desire to keep her on their side of the door. To make creepy creepier, Coraline has been illustrated masterfully in scritchy, terrifying ink drawings by British mixed-media artist and Sandman cover illustrator Dave McKean. This delightful, funny, haunting, scary as heck, fairy-tale novel is about as fine as they come. Highly recommended. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
MY TAKE
I loved this book! It is dark and cute at the same time. Definatly a quick read for anyone looking to spend a few hours in the bathtub!
READING TIME- 2 hours
RATING 4/5 stars
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
TITLE: The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins
BARNES AND NOBLE SUMMARY
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
MY TAKE
This book was amazing. I stayed away from it when it was mentioned on Stephenie Meyers Blog. I picked it up and read the jacket at the local wal mart and still did not commit to reading. Then I was browsing the local library YA section (come on, everyone needs a bit of YA) and there it was again. Taking it as a sign from the great literary gods I put the book in the stack and went to check out. It was not the first I read and I was not expecting a whole lot when I did get around to cracking it open. Let me tell you, WOW. I was sucked in immediately by the fact that although this book is aimed at the young adult audience the themes and principles are dark even for adults. It reminded me a bit of Sinclairs The Jungle mixed with Romeo and Juliet. It was good. I highly reccomend this to anyone. Parents beware though, I would be hesitant to put this book in the hands of a child younger than thirteen. Not for the content itself but for the concept of just what the hunger games are. Curious? Good.
READING TIME:: 3 days (374 pages)
RATING: 5/5 stars (and I may just have to buy this one!)
BARNES AND NOBLE SUMMARY
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
MY TAKE
This book was amazing. I stayed away from it when it was mentioned on Stephenie Meyers Blog. I picked it up and read the jacket at the local wal mart and still did not commit to reading. Then I was browsing the local library YA section (come on, everyone needs a bit of YA) and there it was again. Taking it as a sign from the great literary gods I put the book in the stack and went to check out. It was not the first I read and I was not expecting a whole lot when I did get around to cracking it open. Let me tell you, WOW. I was sucked in immediately by the fact that although this book is aimed at the young adult audience the themes and principles are dark even for adults. It reminded me a bit of Sinclairs The Jungle mixed with Romeo and Juliet. It was good. I highly reccomend this to anyone. Parents beware though, I would be hesitant to put this book in the hands of a child younger than thirteen. Not for the content itself but for the concept of just what the hunger games are. Curious? Good.
READING TIME:: 3 days (374 pages)
RATING: 5/5 stars (and I may just have to buy this one!)
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Darkly Dreaming Dexter- Jeff Lindsay
TITLE- Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
AMAZON SUMMARY
Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.
MY TAKE
I knew about the television adaption of this story that is airing on Showtime and decided to give the books a try. I was very happy with it. Darkly Dreaming Dexter was easy to read and the story flowed very nicely. There was nothing confusing and it was a light easy read. I am going to check out the rest of the Dexter series this week and start in on them.
READING TIME- 3 Days
RATING- 5/5 Stars
AMAZON SUMMARY
Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.
Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.
Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art?" Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?
Despite his penchant for vivisection, it's hard not to like Dexter as his coldly logical personality struggles to emulate emotions he doesn't feel and to keep up his appearance as a caring, unremarkable human being. Breakout author Jeff Lindsay's plot is tense and absorbing, but it's the voice of Dexter and his reactions to the other characters that will keep readers glued to Darkly Dreaming Dexter, as well as making it one of the most original and highly recommended serial killer stories in a long time. --Benjamin Reese
MY TAKE
I knew about the television adaption of this story that is airing on Showtime and decided to give the books a try. I was very happy with it. Darkly Dreaming Dexter was easy to read and the story flowed very nicely. There was nothing confusing and it was a light easy read. I am going to check out the rest of the Dexter series this week and start in on them.
READING TIME- 3 Days
RATING- 5/5 Stars
The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland
TITLE- The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland
AMAZON SUMMARY
Two misfits find common ground and a unique, surreal friendship via unspoken words in Coupland's latest (after JPod), a fine return to form. In the two years since his wife's (nonfatal) cancer was diagnosed, Roger Thorpe has devolved into a dejected, hard-drinking, divorced father and the oldest employee by a fair margin at Staples. A frustrated novelist to boot, Roger considers himself lost, continually haunted by dreams of missed opportunities and a long ago car accident that claimed four friends. His younger, disgruntled goth co-worker, Bethany Twain, one day discovers Roger's diary—filled with mock re-imaginings of her thoughts and feelings—in the break room. She lays down a supreme challenge for them both to write diary entries to each other, but neither is allowed to acknowledge the other around the store. Through exchanged hopes and dreams, customer stories, world views and cautionary revelations (time speeds up in a terrifying manner in your mid-thirties), the pair become intimately acquainted before things unravel for both. Running parallel to the epistolary narrative are chapters from Roger's novel, Glove Pond, which begins having much in common with the larger narrative it's enclosed in. Coupland shines, the story is humorous, frenetic, focused and curiously affecting. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information
MY TAKE
Douglas Coupland and I have a love hate relationship. I really enjoyed this book even though it was a bit tasking to get into. All in all it will have a place in the top three of his books that I have enjoyed.
READING TIME- 4 Days
RATING- 4.5/5 Stars
AMAZON SUMMARY
Two misfits find common ground and a unique, surreal friendship via unspoken words in Coupland's latest (after JPod), a fine return to form. In the two years since his wife's (nonfatal) cancer was diagnosed, Roger Thorpe has devolved into a dejected, hard-drinking, divorced father and the oldest employee by a fair margin at Staples. A frustrated novelist to boot, Roger considers himself lost, continually haunted by dreams of missed opportunities and a long ago car accident that claimed four friends. His younger, disgruntled goth co-worker, Bethany Twain, one day discovers Roger's diary—filled with mock re-imaginings of her thoughts and feelings—in the break room. She lays down a supreme challenge for them both to write diary entries to each other, but neither is allowed to acknowledge the other around the store. Through exchanged hopes and dreams, customer stories, world views and cautionary revelations (time speeds up in a terrifying manner in your mid-thirties), the pair become intimately acquainted before things unravel for both. Running parallel to the epistolary narrative are chapters from Roger's novel, Glove Pond, which begins having much in common with the larger narrative it's enclosed in. Coupland shines, the story is humorous, frenetic, focused and curiously affecting. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information
MY TAKE
Douglas Coupland and I have a love hate relationship. I really enjoyed this book even though it was a bit tasking to get into. All in all it will have a place in the top three of his books that I have enjoyed.
READING TIME- 4 Days
RATING- 4.5/5 Stars
The Kitchen Boy: A novel of the Last Tzar by Robert Alexander
TITLE:: The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tzar by Robert Alexander
AMAZON SUMMARY::
The final days of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family are still a fascinating mystery. There is no one left to bear witness to what happened at the execution. Or is there? Alexander takes a very real, but forgotten and overlooked, potential witness, a young kitchen boy, and creates an amazing fictional account of what may have transpired. Leonka was working as a kitchen boy to the Romanov family when the Bolsheviks captured them, exiled them to Siberia, and imprisoned them in their house. Because of his lowly position in the household, Leonka was able to see and hear secret things. And he does keep them secret until decades later, knowing he is ready to die, he reveals all he knows about the imperial family and their horrific death. Alexander includes as much historically accurate information into his fiction as possible, and he includes actual letters and notes attributed to the Romanovs, which add a touch of authenticity. He also renders the plot beautifully with one final jaw-dropping and satisfying twist. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
MY TAKE::
Never has it taken me so long to read a book this small (240 Pages) The story was thick like maple syrup rich with detail and character depth. I love books about the Romanov family and this one did not disappoint. I had checked out another of Alexanders books and could not bring myself to read it having had my fill of revolutionary Russia for one month.
READING TIME- 14 days !!
RATING- 4/5 stars
AMAZON SUMMARY::
The final days of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family are still a fascinating mystery. There is no one left to bear witness to what happened at the execution. Or is there? Alexander takes a very real, but forgotten and overlooked, potential witness, a young kitchen boy, and creates an amazing fictional account of what may have transpired. Leonka was working as a kitchen boy to the Romanov family when the Bolsheviks captured them, exiled them to Siberia, and imprisoned them in their house. Because of his lowly position in the household, Leonka was able to see and hear secret things. And he does keep them secret until decades later, knowing he is ready to die, he reveals all he knows about the imperial family and their horrific death. Alexander includes as much historically accurate information into his fiction as possible, and he includes actual letters and notes attributed to the Romanovs, which add a touch of authenticity. He also renders the plot beautifully with one final jaw-dropping and satisfying twist. Carolyn Kubisz
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
MY TAKE::
Never has it taken me so long to read a book this small (240 Pages) The story was thick like maple syrup rich with detail and character depth. I love books about the Romanov family and this one did not disappoint. I had checked out another of Alexanders books and could not bring myself to read it having had my fill of revolutionary Russia for one month.
READING TIME- 14 days !!
RATING- 4/5 stars
Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
TITLE:: Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce
AMAZON SUMMARY::
Four years have passed since Evvy left the streets of Chammur to begin her training as a stone mage. At fourteen, she's unhappy to be on a new journey with her mentor, prickly green mage Rosethorn, who has been called to the Battle Islands to determine why the plants and animals there are dying. Evvy's job is to listen and learn, but she can't keep quiet and do nothing. With the help of Luvo, the living stone heart of a mountain, Evvy uncovers an important clue. Now, with the island on the brink of disaster, it's up to Evvy to avert the destruction that looms ahead.
MY TAKE::
I am a long time fan of Tamora Pierce and LOVE her books. Melting Stones had the same pull as the rest of Ms. Pierce's work but it was not as satisfying as the rest of her work. It was entertaining and I enjoyed the reading as any of her books. There was just too much time between my reading of Street Magic and reading Melting Stones to get into Evi's head.
READING TIME? Two days
RATING? 4/5 Stars
AMAZON SUMMARY::
Four years have passed since Evvy left the streets of Chammur to begin her training as a stone mage. At fourteen, she's unhappy to be on a new journey with her mentor, prickly green mage Rosethorn, who has been called to the Battle Islands to determine why the plants and animals there are dying. Evvy's job is to listen and learn, but she can't keep quiet and do nothing. With the help of Luvo, the living stone heart of a mountain, Evvy uncovers an important clue. Now, with the island on the brink of disaster, it's up to Evvy to avert the destruction that looms ahead.
MY TAKE::
I am a long time fan of Tamora Pierce and LOVE her books. Melting Stones had the same pull as the rest of Ms. Pierce's work but it was not as satisfying as the rest of her work. It was entertaining and I enjoyed the reading as any of her books. There was just too much time between my reading of Street Magic and reading Melting Stones to get into Evi's head.
READING TIME? Two days
RATING? 4/5 Stars
The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center was my first book choice of the year. The title grabbed my attention but the book was a bit of a let down.
Here are the goods.
AMAZON.COM SUMMARY
Jenny Harris is nesting in her Houston home with her fiance, Dean, awaiting the birth of their child, to be followed by their wedding. But Dean grows more distant, especially after a coworker dies in a plane crash, and Jenny ends up becoming a single mother. Determined to take good care of her child, she tries to forget about Dean, relegating him to the past. Coping with a baby takes all Jenny's time, so when her perfect single neighbor takes an interest, Jenny is flattered but exhausted. Then, when she finally decides to take a chance and get to know him, Dean comes back into her life. In her stellar first novel, Center paints an accurate and humorous view of motherhood, from the physical changes to lack of sleep and exhaustion as well as the changes in friendships and feelings about men. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
MY TAKE
This book was fluff. It was a rather simple story about a woman going through her first pregnancy with an uncooperative partner. The story's path is predictable but the flow is smooth. This book could serve as an episode filler for desperate housewives.
READING DURATION? Three days
RATING? Three out of five stars
Here are the goods.
AMAZON.COM SUMMARY
Jenny Harris is nesting in her Houston home with her fiance, Dean, awaiting the birth of their child, to be followed by their wedding. But Dean grows more distant, especially after a coworker dies in a plane crash, and Jenny ends up becoming a single mother. Determined to take good care of her child, she tries to forget about Dean, relegating him to the past. Coping with a baby takes all Jenny's time, so when her perfect single neighbor takes an interest, Jenny is flattered but exhausted. Then, when she finally decides to take a chance and get to know him, Dean comes back into her life. In her stellar first novel, Center paints an accurate and humorous view of motherhood, from the physical changes to lack of sleep and exhaustion as well as the changes in friendships and feelings about men. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
MY TAKE
This book was fluff. It was a rather simple story about a woman going through her first pregnancy with an uncooperative partner. The story's path is predictable but the flow is smooth. This book could serve as an episode filler for desperate housewives.
READING DURATION? Three days
RATING? Three out of five stars
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