I received The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky on my 21st birthday from someone very important to me. He told me that it has held a special place in his heart since high school, and even stuck with him through rougher times in college. So, he imparted a copy to me, hoping I would like it.
I didn't like it. I loved it.
On the surface, the story sounds similar to many other teen lit summaries out there: a coming-of-age story of a boy writing a letters as he enters high school. But it's so much more than that--I can't even begin to stress that enough. In fact, I was pleased to find this book in the regular Fiction section at Barnes and Noble rather than the Teen Fiction section, because it's not a story that merely appeals to teenagers. Charlie, the main character of the novel, is imperfectly human (and sympathetic) at his very core; his words reach into the depths of anyone who is still striving to grow as an emotional being, or anyone who has struggled (or is still struggling) with personal discovery. It's a story with such a painfully beautiful--and oftentimes humorous--sting of reality, and by far my favorite coming-of-age story I've read in years.
You don't know who Charlie's letters are addressed to, but it doesn't matter. Walking beside Charlie on his rather intimate journey of self-growth is both rewarding and heart-warming. hands-down a must read!
Oh, and Charlie's impeccible taste in music doesn't hurt matters in the least.
A Welcome Grave (Lincoln Perry Series #3)
Lincoln Perry's back! And, once again, I have nothing but praise. A Welcome Grave is somewhat darker than its predecessors, but I again read the book cover-to-cover, unable to look away until I reached the end. With how easy Koryta makes it to empathize with the good guys, hate the bad guys, and worry through the shades of gray, it's no wonder it's so easy to be completely swept up into this not-so-fictional world.
By this book, the reader knows that Lincoln lost his job on the police force when he found out his fiancée was having an affair with prominent lawyer, Alex Jefferson, got drunk, drove to see him, and punched Jefferson in the face. So when the first lines of the book are, "Sometime after midnight, on a moonless October night turned harsh by a fine, windswept rain, one of the men I liked least in the world was murdered... The detectives went looking for suspects -- people whose histories with Jefferson were adversarial and hostile. At the top of that list, they found me..." you know right away Lincoln's in trouble. Being investigated for murder by the very department for which he used to work, Lincoln complicates matters more by being unable to refuse an assignment by the widow Jefferson, his ex-fiancée. She sends him to find her late husband's estranged son and let him know of his inheritance. Instead of the simple assignment he expected, Lincoln ends up in a jail in Indiana, and Jefferson's son ends up in the morgue. With the case against him growing increasingly strong, Lincoln must race against time to find the real killer and clear his own name.
With an unrelenting pace and depth far surpassing expectation, it's no wonder this new addiction is so compelling. More please!
For more Lincoln Perry see Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry Series #1), Sorrow's Anthem (Lincoln Perry Series #2), and The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry Series #4). For Michael's stand-alone novels, check out Envy the Night and his new release,So Cold the River.
Sorrow's Anthem (Lincoln Perry Series #2)
After finishing Michael Koryta's first novel, Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry Series #1), it took all of five minutes before I was in the car, on the way to get the next book. After a sleepless, page-turning night, I was once again impressed with the "unputdownableness" (official Barnes & Noble lingo!) of Koryta's writing.
Sorrow's Anthem is the second of (so far, I hope!) four novels starring former cop PI Lincoln Perry, only this time, the case is personal. In fact, no one even hired Lincoln. Plagued by guilt over his involvement in his childhood best friend, Ed Gradduk's, arrest, Lincoln is shocked to hear that the now ex-con is the prime suspect in a murder/arson case. Still wanting to try to do right by Ed, Lincoln seeks him out. After only a brief insight into what had happened, a police car arrives on the scene and Ed is killed in the chase, right before Lincoln's eyes. Against the advice of his partner, Joe, and against the wishes of Ed's mother and the rest of the neighborhood, Lincoln dives headfirst into the case and, inevitably, his own past. Intent on clearing Ed's name, Lincoln's fervor brings trouble down on Joe and himself as the discovery of another murder confuses the case even more.
Sorrow's Anthem is fast-faced, riveting, and explosive without being plot-heavy, as it left me feeling even closer to the characters than the first book. I will DEFINITELY keep reading and you should, too!
Tonight I Said Goodbye (Lincoln Perry Series #1)
I am not always a fan of mystery or private investigator stories, and I tend more toward fantasy/sci-fi/supernatural but Michael Koryta is speaking at my departmental graduation ceremony in two weeks so I decided to check out his books. First of all, I was thinking local, 21-year-old author... okay... I guess I could find some time to at least skim over something. I WAS SO WRONG! Less than a chapter into Tonight I Said Goodbye, I had to stop to buy the book (which I NEVER do) and couldn't put it down until I finished, despite finals and papers with rapidly approaching due dates. The next day I went and got the next book in the series. Not only did I want to read more by the same author, but I could not bring myself to say goodbye - tonight or any other time - to Lincoln Perry (the main character). Rare is the author who can develop a character SO WELL that I feel like we're old friends and I had to find out what would happen to him next!
So Tonight I Said Goodbye starts out with the plot and character development in the first paragraph and just gets better from there. I never do this but I find I cannot convey why I wasn't able to stop reading any way but to show you the first paragraph:
"The last time John Weston saw his son alive, it was a frigid afternoon in the first week of March, and John's granddaughter was building a snowman as the two men stood in the driveway and talked. Before he left, John gave his son a fatherly pat on the shoulder and promised to see him again soon. He saw him soon - stretched out in a morgue less than forty-eight hours later, dead of a small-caliber gunshot wound to the head. John was saved the horror of viewing his granddaughter in a similar state, but the reason for that was a hollow consolation: Five-year-old Betsy Weston and her mother were missing."
Within the next few pages, Lincoln Perry - former cop and new private investigator - gets hired to find out what happened. What seems like it will follow a predictable PI novel pattern soon takes off completely away from the typical template of the genre into more twists and turns than I could have imagined! Koryta does an amazing job with developing characters so that you feel like you not only know ABOUT them, but you KNOW them. The plot, while totally intense, fast-paced, and unpredictable, is also somehow completely believable.
And before you believe that I am just praising a local author... of Tonight I Said Goodbye, Lee Child said: "A terrific, first-class debut full of suspense, tension, tricks, and charm," the Library Journal claims, "The twenty-one-year-old author excels at building characters and story..." and Steve Hamilton (author of Ice Run) says, "Michael Koryta hits the ground running with this masterful debut. He's already so good, it's scary." I don't have enough room to keep on this tack but there's plenty more!
While I have my own favorite genres, I am ALWAYS willing to read something that is incredibly well-written no matter what it is about. This is one of those books. I don't care if you don't like PI novels or mystery or thrillers: it's completely and totally worth it to drop whatever you're in the middle of and read this! As much as I'd love to extol the book and the author for a few pages more, I have to get back to the next book...
In the Lincoln Perry series, the books are Sorrow's Anthem (Lincoln Perry Series #2), A Welcome Grave (Lincoln Perry Series #3), and The Silent Hour (Lincoln Perry Series #4). Koryta has also written stand-alone novels Envy the Night and So Cold the River, coming out June 9, 2010.
Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron is the first volume in a new series from bestselling author Jasper Fforde. The world conjured in this series is in some aspects like our own - there's tea, jam, bacon (if the Greys don't eat it all first), team sports, linoleum, forks and knives - but it is also quite different, particularly in respect to color (also, there aren't very many spoons). One's place and path in life is determined by one's ability to see colors in the visible light spectrum; Purples (and Ultraviolets) are upperclass with classes arranged in descending wavelength and Greys (those who see no color) at the bottom of the heap. This is the world of Eddie Russett, sent to East Carmine to conduct a chair census and learn some humility. But the Outer Fringes don't quite follow the Rules like Eddie is used to and he soon finds his well-planned life turned topsy-turvy in only a few days.
Shades of Grey is delightful and just what I expected of a Jasper Fforde novel - witty, clever, and absurd - so I was prepared to enjoy Eddie's story but there is a darkness to this novel. The dystopian world of Chromatacia is evocative of We, Brave New World, and 1984 with issues of class, self-determination, and freedom at the heart of the story. The suggestion that something sinister lurks at the heart of Chromatacia sets the stage for a fantastic story arc to carry through the next two books in the trilogy. I also greatly enjoyed Fforde's ability to build this world, making it understandable and believable to the reader, without resorting to stretches of exposition. Shades of Grey has a little something for everyone - action, romance, thrills, yucks - and it's a great book to start off the new year.
For a little "something extra" visit the Jasper Fforde website - click on the "Shades of Grey" graphic to access the special features for Shades of Grey and see what was rolling around Fforde's bean while writing the book.
If you spend a lot of time with poets, you know that many of them spend a lot of their time musing about poetry and other poets, rather than actually writing verse themselves. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; it might actually make their poems better. Whatever the case, Paul Chowder, the narrator of this novel, is definitely one such poet. At the moment, he's stuck between a hard place and stone cold silence. His girlfriend Roz has (not completely unwisely) deserted him and he's collided with a writing block that prevents him from writing a short anthology introduction that will bring him a big payday. Fortunately, his mind is moving at top speed, though not always in predictable directions. Like Nicholson Baker's previous novels, The Anthologist unfolds so idiosyncratically that it will never be optioned for the screen, which actually makes it that much winning as a work of fiction. His ruminations on poets past, present, and future are worth the price of the book, but it's the whole trajectory of Chowder's journey that makes The Anthologist the winning book it is.
To mark the 50th anniversary of The Tin Drum, a new translation of Nobel Prize Winner Gunter Grass's masterpiece has been released. Featuring one of literature's most unforgettable characters, Oskar Matzerath, The Tin Drum effectively examines the German psyche during and after World War II. It shows the brutality of the Nazis and the absurdity of war through the eyes of a boy who refuses to grow out of childhood. Even after fifty years, it remains just as poignant and relevant today as it was when it was first published.
The Tin Drum has rightly earned its place in the pantheon of great books. If you appreciate excellent world literature, but haven't had the chance to read this yet, take the opportunity that this new translation presents to you to introduce yourself to it. It is a book that will challenge you, but it is worth it.
We all know that Snow White's stepmother is wicked, right? Who else would demand her Huntsman to cut out her daughter's heart and bring it back in a locked box? Well, the Queen isn't so much evil as she, well, let me not get ahead of myself.
The Evil Queen hasn't always been a queen. The daughter of a master mirror maker, she actually has a modest upbringing lacking a mother's guiding hand. The King, indeed, notices her when admiring her father's craftsmanship in the family shop. The young-maiden-soon-to-be-evil-queen never imagines that the King could have any genuine interest in her. But when he comes to court her, she timidly steps into the Kingdom that will be her bliss.
The King has been married before, but sadly Death steals his wife at a young age. This leaves the ill-fated King to raise young Snow White alone—at least until he meets his new Queen. Having come of age without a mother, yet wistfully envisioning who she would have been, the Queen vows to be the perfect mother to Snow White. She dotes on Snow, telling her stories, taking her on adventures, and honestly answering questions about her real mother. The Queen is a nurturing mother and caring bride. The madness begins when the King goes off to battle for months at a time...
Like any normal wife, she constantly worries about his safety. She tries to pass the time with her lovely daughter, taking her on outings, spending time with family including the King's deranged triplet cousins. Sometimes that just isn't enough to keep her sane, especially since the cousins have delivered a special gift to the castle—a magic mirror. This mirror actually had been a present from the King on their wedding day, but disappears after the Queen breaks it. When it returns, it possesses an ominous presence that she cannot shake. The great King ultimately dies in battle, the ghastly looking glass describing each horrifying detail to his fragile wife.
When the Evil Queen reveals the identity of the apparition in the mirror, almost everything makes sense. She fills in all the sordid details, leaving us no doubt that her hatred of Snow White is justified. By the end of the story, we have been drawn into sympathizing with her lethal lunacy. Don't believe me? Try reading this twisted tale—just in time for the long-awaited DVD release of the Disney classic adaptation.
Colin Singleton — former child prodigy, anagram expert, and recent high school graduate — has a problem. In his brief eighteen-year life, he's been dumped by nineteen girls, all named Katherine, with Katherine XIX breaking it off just after graduation. Adrift in the nebulous space between childhood and manhood, high school and college, he's convinced that life is over. His best friend Hassan — an overweight Lebanese whose two loves in life are Judge Judy and junk food, and insists on introducing himself to people with the disclaimer "I'm not a terrorist" — knows the cure for what's ailing Colin: a lengthy road trip to nowhere. Just them, the open highway, Colin's car (a beater Oldsmobile nicknamed "Satan's Hearse"), and absolutely no girls named Katherine. Their wanderings lead them to Gutshot, Kentucky, the alleged final resting place of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There, Colin and Hassan get attacked by a feral hog and find themselves roped into an oral history project of the town's factory, while Colin tries to reduce his abysmal love life to a mathematical equation (the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability). But will lovely Lindsay Lee Wells be the one to break the cycle of Katherines for Colin, and will he perhaps discover something about himself in the process?
Penned by John Green, winner of the Printz Award for Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines is hilarious from beginning to end. There's the snappy and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue, the footnotes on nearly every page, the use of the faux epithet 'fug' (a nod to Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead), and there's also the great anagrams Colin comes up with (e.g., 'yrs forever' = 'sorry fever'). The characters are really well-rounded, and Green does a great job portraying Colin's journey of self-discovery. There's also the fact that the book works on so many levels. It's intelligent and a bit geeky, while at the same time full of bawdy humor (mostly from Hassan), and yet manages to say something about love and relationships. This is one book where you can actually say it has something for everyone.
William Trevor novels invite us into a world so fully formed that you might imagine that it really exists somewhere. In the case of Love & Summer, his 14th novel, the gateway couldn't be more plausible:
Mrs. Connulty owned half the town of Rathmoye, Ireland, so it is only natural that her funeral would draw out the entire community. Among the throng is one stranger who arrives with a camera. Photographer Florian Kilderry merely chances upon the gathering, but his presence is noticed by two women: Mrs. Connulty's aging spinster daughter and Ellie Dillahan, the naïve country girl who has recently married a older widowed farmer. Kilderry intends to leave soon for other lands, but before he goes, he and his two attentive watchers will become part of a drama that will change them and the place where they live. Reviewers always write that William Trevor is one of England and Ireland's finest literary novelists; I prefer to think of him as one of our keenest observers of human behavior.
The Missing is one of the best examples of southern writing I have read since Pat Conroy. The story revolves around a quiet man who finds himself in the middle of chaos. Upon returning from Europe after WW1 he is an unwilling participant in the kidnapping of a toddler. Driven by guilt, he sets out to find her and bring her back to her family who are workers on one of the Mississippi steamboats. During this journey he learns more about his own family's history and secrets. His strict sense of honor shines through all of the misery and potential unraveling of his own family as well as that of the riverboat community. Tim Gatreaux weaves a beautiful tapestry of what it means to be from the south and that burning need to do the right thing.
A Regency era historical fiction with a navy man in blue! Need I say more?
Inspired by her love of C.S. Forester's dashing Royal Navy hero Horatio Hornblower and Jane Austen's novel Persuasion, new author Kaye Dacus' Ransome's Honor is a moving Regency era historical fiction infused with naval lore and engaging characters. The novel is set in Royal Navy port of Portsmouth and begins in 1802 as the war with France has come to end. Seventeen year old Julia Witherington will never forgive Lieutenant William Ransome for not proposing to her when she and all of Portsmouth society expected it. He is a promising young naval officer who has earned his advancement but no fortune. She is an heiress and the daughter of his Captain. Feeling he will be tagged a fortune-hunter, his honor prevents him from proposing. Reunited twelve years later, the intelligent and proud Julia is still harboring strong resentment and Captain Ransome his regrets. Pressured by her unscrupulous relatives into an alliance with her ne'er-do-well cousin Sir Drake Pembroke, she enters into a bargain with Captain Ransome for a one year marriage in exchange for her dowry. He is not interested in her money, but is honor bound by his promise to her father his commanding officer and his own heart to assist her. Will Ransome's honor prevail and soften Julia's resolve and rekindle her affections?
A sweet romance, this novel is actually classified as Christian fiction, but I did not find the religious vein imposing. A most delightful voyage with the distinguished and dishy Captain Ransome, I am all anticipation of his further adventures in romance, and the sea, when the next installment of The Ransome Trilogy, Ransome's Crossing makes port next July.
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
This is the type of novel that lingers long after you've put it down. Clara, the main character, is an undertaker who grows flowers in a greenhouse attached to her cottage behind the funeral home where she works. She feels it's her job to honor the memory of each person she prepares for burial. She tucks a small bouquet of flowers in their casket; each flower has a special meaning which represents that person's life. Clara has secrets of her own, and throughout the book, she tells stories of her youth, and the major moments which shaped her into the troubled young woman she is in the novel. At the heart of this story is the unsolved murder of Precious Doe, a young girl who was found murdered nearby three years previously. No one ever claimed the child, and Clara visits her grave in the nearby cemetery. The mystery of Precious Doe takes center stage, and the race is on to find out who the killer is and if they'll be stopped before another child is murdered. Precious Doe is the most obvious symbol of lost identity in the novel, and Clara has also lost her sense of self through the actions of others in her life. This story will grab you and keep you reading until the final heartbreaking, yet beautiful pages. I can't say anymore without giving away key parts of the story--but what a book to read and discuss with your friends. This is a novel I would not have read otherwise, but the cover captured my attention, and the writing pulled me into the story until I couldn't put it down.
In the fifth installment in her Pink Carnation Series, more Napoleonic espionage ensues as Lauren Willig spins her captivating tale following the exploits of Robert Lansdowne, the reluctant Duke of Dovedail and his bookish young cousin Charlotte. Set in England in 1803, Robert's unexpected return after a decade in the Army in India to his ducal estate in Sussex rekindles Lady Charlotte's idealistic romantic fantasies. Fueled by her passion for popular 'novels' such as Evelina, she is hopeful that Robert has come home to rescue her from the embarrassment of three failed London seasons and her grandmother's succession of unacceptable eligible bachelors. However, Robert's main objective is not romance, but to track down the spy who murdered his mentor during the Battle of Assaye. Even though their reunion sparks a quick romance, Robert abruptly ends their relationship and departs for London in pursuit of the elusive spy whose signature scent is the heady and seductive night jasmine. Meanwhile, Charlotte acting as lady in waiting to Queen is witness to the madness of King George, or is she? Robert and Charlotte must join forces to thwart the plot to kidnap the king, and learn to trust each again before they can catch a spy, and, re-fall in love.
Reverently harkening to her predecessors Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, Willig handles comedy, historical context, and dialogue beautifully. In addition to The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, the Pink Carnation series included The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, The Masque of the Black Tulip, The Deception of the Emerald Ring and The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. Her next novel in the series is The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is due out in January, 2010. If you re in the mood for a Regency era romantic spy comedy romp, I recommend this book highly.
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
Why to John Flagman's Ranger's Apprentice Series, of course.
In this series Mr... Flanagan has created a world similar to that of our medieval world. Complete with castles, knights, kingdoms and adventure. When we meet will he is an orphan and ward of castle Redmont in the Kingdom of Araluen. Will is a small boy, but makes good use of his size and ability to sneak. That is to move without being seen. As well as his ability to climb anything that offers a good foothold. Both of these talents combined to get him into some trouble with the castle chef over some pilfered pastries.
Will had heard tell that his father was a brave warrior killed in battle, and would like nothing more than to become a knight like his father. However his size does present a problem, in that he is too small to train as a knight. When it seems all is lost and Will won't be chosen to apprentice anyone a spectral being steps from the shadows and whispers something in the baron's ear. The spectral being, is none other than the famously feared ranger, Halt. It is said he possesses some black magic that allows him to move unseen and blend with the shadows. Is it true? You will have to read the books to find that out.
What I will tell you, and as the series' title gives away is this; Halt takes Will to be his apprentice. And through his apprenticeship we get a look at the training and day-to-day life of a ranger of the Kingdom of Araluen. Exciting stuff, and that is just the beginning.
Adventures abound for Will and his friends. Each one helping to shape them into what they are truly meant to be. Heroes.
So far there have been six books released in the series, and not one disappoints!
I know of few novels - except Pride and Prejudice - that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers as I Capture the Castle. - Joanna Trollope
One of my favorite books (outside of Jane Austen's canon of course), I Capture the Castle is a contemporary classic originally published in 1948, but still as fresh and vibrant today. Dodie Smith, more famously remembered for her children's classic 101 Dalmatians, has humorously assembled an eccentric cast of characters living in less than genteel poverty in a crumbling castle in England. The story is revealed through 17-year old heroine in the making and aspiring writer Cassandra Mortmain in a series of journals, an she attempt to improve her skills as ticket out of her dire circumstances. Her sister Rose will use more avarice means to free herself from her parent's neglect by setting her cap for their wealthy new landlord Simon, and easily succeeds. Less of a schemer, Cassandra is attracted to his younger brother Neil and is hopeful for her own romance. As the wedding plans proceed, Rose's vain and selfish nature blossoms with her newly elevated social position causing conflict. Cassandra, left out of the plans and Simon, who Rose is treating as an annoyance are drawn into their own romance.. Rose, on the other hand, is drifting away from Simon and secretly into the arms of his brother Neil. An elopement will cause a family panic, a change of heart and an unusual ending.
Filled with allusions to Pride and Prejudice, this coming of age story is more a gentle nod to Austen's style than a copy of her novel. Witty and moving, Smith connects with readers through perceptive observation played against dry wit resulting in a moving and memorable story. It's what makes for great literature, and also what Austen is valued for today. Enjoy!
Laurel Ann, Austenprose
If you value your sleep and free time, do not read this book.
If you start this book, you will not be able to put it down.
You will find yourself totally immersed in the unique world Patrick Rothfuss has created. Kvothe is such an instantly likeable character you will immediately be emotionally attached to his plight. Getting to know this mysterious character and his origins, in his own words, on his terms, is entertaining to say the least. This is a great novel to get lost in. From first meeting Kvothe, to his parents and their traveling troupe of performers, to his burgeoning education with Abenthy. From his life living on the rough streets with a knack for putting himself into the sights of danger, to his determination to get into the University and continue his knack for keeping himself in the sights of trouble and danger. From his first meeting with the girl of his dreams to burning down a town. Rothfuss has created a complete world that will envelope you, and leave you craving more.
When Kvothe begins his tale , he says he needs three full days to tell it properly. The 672 pages here are only day one. Which leads us to the second problem, waiting for the next installments of the series.
