Jeffrey Stepakoff's debut novel is a quick and satisfying read about young love that takes place as World War II is ending.
Lily Davis Woodward is married for only two weeks at age 17 before her husband Paul leaves for Europe to help with the war. Jump ahead three years and the entire town is anticipating the return of their sons, brothers, and husbands. Lily has spent the last three years getting their home ready and being the good southern lady her mother, Honey, raised her to be.
A chance encounter with Jake Russo is where the story really gets going. A pyrotechnics specialist, he is in town to set up the fireworks for the town's July 4th celebration. They only know each other for several days, but so much happens and, as the reader, you will be sucked into those special, passionate days they spend together.
The story is told as a a series of flashbacks so I was reminded of both The Notebook and Titanic. The story is like others you may have read before, but Stepakoff makes it fresh with his descriptions and inclusion of the art of fireworks.
Read this if you want a beautiful, quick story. This would be the perfect book to read while relaxing on a porch swing with a glass of sweat tea on a hot summer day.
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read it more times than I can count and have given it as a gift to every friend, family member, or person I don't know very well who needed a gift because it is great for all age groups and different types of people. You don't have to be a science fiction fan to enjoy it, although Ender's Game and its sequel, Speaker for the Dead, both won the Hugo and Nebula awards for outstanding sci fi. I first found Ender's Game in my middle school library and picked it up because it said something about gifted children and I had been in gifted classes so I thought it might be about something like that. I read it in a little under a week and was completely hooked. I immediately wanted everyone I knew to read it because I felt like it was something that needed to be shared. I read it a few years later in high school and found whole new aspects of it I'd never noticed the first time. I started following the rest of the series, which divides and follows two main characters (I followed both). The next books that follow the character, Bean, stay in the same difficulty level. The ones that follow Ender turn into more hard-core science fiction, but were still thrilling. For this reason, the book is sometimes coded as children's, sometimes teen, and sometimes adult science fiction. It can definitely be read and enjoyed at any age! The story itself is essentially about an Earth of the future, united under a world government that formed when the "Buggers" attacked Earth decades earlier. Since that time the International Fleet has started taking incredibly bright young children away to Battle School, a space station designed solely for training future soldiers. Andrew (Ender) Wiggin is an illegal "third" in the population controlled world but the International Fleet has already turned down his older brother, Peter, and older sister, Valentine, for Battle School so his parents are allowed a third child. Ender winds up in Battle School having to participate with his "army" in a series of war-games. Meanwhile his brother and sister manipulate Earth's politics and we learn more about the International Fleet. The conclusion is shocking and hits hard, leaving you hoping there's more. And there is of course!
This little gem has the potential to be overlooked by most folks, so don't be fooled by the little dog on the cover!
Once the physical shortcomings of age begin to emerge, Alex and Ruth must move after 45 years of living in their current New York City co-op. Forced to find a building with an elevator to cope with their infirmity, they begrudgingly set up an open house so they can begin the mission of uprooting the lives they planted so long ago. The night before their open house, they are met with a distressing surprise: their (also elderly) Daschund, Dorothy seems to be paralyzed. Being a devoted childless couple, they embark on what ends up being a journey, to get little Dot to the animal hospital before the unthinkable happens. They are then met with yet another surprise which has put the city in a public frenzy, citizens and officials alike panicking about the possibilities of another terrorist attack.
At this point, the book becomes very fast-paced, with predicaments and celebrations continually unfolding over the course of less than 72 hours. Despite the bipolar conditions illustrated, the story remains convincing. Ultimately, it paints a humorous and touching, yet realistic portrait of an old (but modern) family struggling with an era of mass hysteria. It reads like a short story, and although somewhat light, it maintains a strong literary quality—reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor.
Although I hate to end in a cliche here, you should know that this book made me laugh out loud, and of course, cry.
The cover alone of "Fallen" by Lauren Tate is exquisite. Beginning with that and following up with an intriguing prologue, I was hooked before I knew it on this story. I love love love books that are a part of a series because it means that when I love it, I will get much much more once I've turned the last page. And I will definitely be picking up the second in the series.
I won't give away too much of the plot in case you begin it with no idea, but you will read it knowing about as much as the main character, Luce, does. You learn about each person she meets and feel every horrible part of her time at the Sword & Cross reform school in Georgia. Luce goes there after an unexplainable death of a friend and the subsequent questioning she receives from the police, psychiatrists, her parents, and her peers that leaves her questioning if she is, in fact, "crazy." She doesn't know what happened or why, but she wants to understand in case she was responsible for his death. I found this flaw in her character and personality to make Luce more believable. She may only be a senior in high school, but she has been through a lot and she is ready to take on this new world of hers at Sword & Cross.
I think teens will eat up this story as well as anyone looking for a Twilight-like escape. I liked the characters and found myself becoming attached to some of them and downright rooting for others. I'm not sure Fallen, as the first in the series, will have the same success as Twilight*, but I do think the story is set up quite nicely for an extraordinary second novel!
*Only because, while the story is amazing, Fallen is also a set up to know who is good and bad, unlike Twilight where most readers immediately either hated or LOVED Edward.
XO,
Scarls17
Learning to read critically can seem daunting. Works of theory and criticism aren't always the most inviting pieces to read. Not so with Prose's book. She uses samples from widely varying novels and stories - from Heinrich von Kleist to Isaac Babel to Flannery O'Connor to John le Carre - to illustrate how authors use sentence structure, pacing, dialogue, and other devices to develop the story and keep the reader interested. A perfect book for teachers and students looking for inspiration or for casual readers who want to try a different reading technique. You'd better clear your "To Be Read" list when you're done with this book - you'll want to read all the authors Prose references, too!
Right before I started reading The Time Traveler's Wife, I read Octavia Butler's Kindred. It was a strange transition to make since they both deal with involuntary time travel, but it was easy to appreciate both books. In Kindred, Dana, a modern, African-American woman is pulled back in time to a plantation in the early 1800s. There, she saves the life of Rufus, a young, white, slave-holding boy, whom she later discovers is one of her ancestors. Dana is then pulled back in time again and again in order to help save Rufus's life, their relationship growing both closer and more contentious as time goes on.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife, I felt that Butler did a better job than Niffenegger at examining the potential ramifications of time travel. For example, would you save a person if you knew that he was going to end up raping a woman, but if you also knew that that act would lead to your own birth? Butler manages to deal expertly with that issue and others, such as slavery. This was one of the most thought-provoking novels I've ever read.
Octavia Butler was a terrific story-teller, and if you haven't read any of her books yet, this would be a good place to start.
So it's summer - who needs a beach read? Anybody?
How about Moby-Dick? Ulysses? Middlemarch? A la recherche du temps perdu? No? Maybe I can change your mind...and that is the premise behind Murnighan's work in Beowulf on the Beach. Murnighan wants everyone to take a new look at classic literature and read great literature for pleasure rather than because we had to write a twenty-page paper about symbolism and astrology in Gravity's Rainbow. Murnighan takes fifty great works of Western literature - from Homer to Beloved - and breaks each one down into the major parts of the work, why that work is so great, what's the best line/scene, interesting tidbits, and, yes, where the naughty bits are in each work (some works are less "sexy" than others). He even tells you what to skip (i.e. that the first third of Lolita is beautiful and the last two-thirds are hard to get through, which is what literature students have been saying for years) and tells you it's OK if you only read the good bits; no one has ever won a prize for reading all six volumes and every word of Spencer's The Faerie Queene. Having read three-quarters of the works detailed by Murnighan I can tell you that this book is spot-on and laugh-out-loud funny because Professor Murnighan says exactly what students of classic literature tend to think (I can remember wondering when I'd get to the good bits on a few occasions). Interestingly, although Murnighan covers only fifty works of literature in detail, he often alludes to other pieces by the author at hand, like he does with Goethe (the work under study is Faust I and II but The Sorrows of Young Werther is sometimes mentioned in comparison), so you actually get exposure to far more than just the advertised fifty "greatest hits." This is a great book for bibliophiles and neophytes alike, whether you're looking for new approaches to old works or wondering just how to crack the cover of Crime and Punishment for the first time. Take this to the beach first; the next time you go you can tote along The Wings of the Dove.
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
Whether you are a native kansan or not, this book will keep you coming back for more. A story of lies, secrets, and love keeps the pages turning late into the night.
Nancy Pickard (a Kansas native) tells the story of a young woman whose parents have been gone since she was a child; her father brutally murdered, her mother never heard from again. With the telling of the past and present, the mystery surrounding the family's past becomes only more mysterious and complex as the twists and turns shock the most perceptive readers..
Focusing on family dynamics the story highlights the importance of family for small Kansas farming and ranching communities. With beautiful scenery familiar to every kansan and a bit of local history thrown into the mix, every reader is sure to enjoy this surprising novel.
A truly "unputdownable" selection.
Also by Pickard:
A decorated war hero driven by dedication to his country and faith in the superiority of Communist ideals, Leo Demidov has built a successful career in the Soviet security network, suppressing ideological crimes and threats against the state with unquestioning efficiency. When a fellow officer's son is killed, Leo is ordered to stop the family from spreading the notion that their child was murdered. For in the official version of Stalin's worker's paradise, such a senseless crime is impossible — an affront to the Revolution. But Leo knows better: a murderer is at large, cruelly targeting children, and the collective power of the Soviet government is denying his existence.
Leo's doubt sets in motion a chain of events that changes his understanding of everything he had previously believed. Smith's deftly crafted plot delivers twist after chilling twist, as it lays bare the deceit of the regime that enveloped an impoverished people in paranoia. In a shocking effort to test Leo's loyalty, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being a spy. Leo's refusal to denounce her costs him his rank, and the couple is banished from Moscow. Humiliated, renounced by his enemies, and deserted by everyone save Raisa, Leo realizes that his redemption rests on finding the vicious serial killer who is eviscerating innocent children and leaving them to die in the bleak Russian woods.
The narrative unfolds at a breathless pace, exposing the culture of fear that turns friends into foes and forces families to hide devastating secrets. As Leo and Raisa close in on the serial killer, desperately trying to stay a step ahead of the government's relentless operatives, the reader races with them through a web of intrigue to the novel's heart-stopping conclusion.
In his moments of lucidity, the gentle, likable Bobbie alludes to his earlier life as a successful photographer. Laurel finds it hard to believe that this destitute, unstable man could once have chronicled the lives of musicians and celebrities, but a box of photographs and negatives discovered among Bobbie's meager possessions at his death lends credence to his tale. How could such an accomplished man have fallen on such hard times? Becoming obsessed with uncovering Bobbie's past, Laurel studies his photographs, tracking down every lead they provide into the mystery of his life before homelessness-including links to the rich neighborhoods of her own Long Island childhood and to the earlier world of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, with its larger-than-life characters, elusive desires, and haunting sorrows.
In a narrative of dazzling invention, literary ingenuity, and psychological complexity, Bohjalian engages issues of homelessness and mental illness by evoking the humanity that inhabits the core of both. At the same time, his tale is fast-paced and riveting-The Double Bind combines the suspense of a thriller with the emotional depths of the most intimate drama. The breathtaking surprises of its final pages will leave readers stunned, overwhelmed by the poignancy of life's fleeting truths, as caught in Bobbie Crocker's photographs, and in Laurel Estabrook's painful pursuit of Bobbie's past-and her own.
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!
This is the third book in Koontz's gripping adaptation of Mary Shelley's original "Frankenstein". The biggest difference being that Mary Shelley's fictional account was not fiction at all. Dr. Frankenstein and the original Frankenstein monster are still alive after 200 years. Dr. Frankenstein seemingly has perfected his creation of of human-like beings and is on the verge of unleashing a sinister plan to replace humankind with his own New Race.
It's been over 3 years since the release of the last book in the series, Frankenstein : City of Night. I, like many other fans, were eagerly awaiting this third installment. Three years of wondering "what's in the tank" can really be nerve-racking. As I waited for the release date, I wondered if I should go back and reread books 1 and 2 for a refresher as to what had happened and where the story left off. I decided not to reread the other books, and after just a few pages of "Dead and Alive" it all came rushing back anyway.
As with anything that is waited for over a long period of time, there is always that nagging feeling that once you get it you may be let down. This was NOT one of those experiences. This third installment is as gripping, though-provoking, and action-packed as much as the other two. I devoured the book in less than a week and definitely found it difficult to put down.
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.
Wow. I finished this book after being completely consumed by it for several days and when I finally set it down, all I could think was, "Wow." Anna Jarzab's publishing debut is one she should be immensely proud of as I have very few complaints. The story is told from two points of view: Neily and Audrey. They begin to investigate the murder of their friend, Carly, who had once dated Neily and was cousins with Audrey. Amid the protected and dangerous world of their private school, they begin to unravel what really happened leading up to the night of the murder while they both deal with the devastating loss of their friend. Neily, Audrey, and Carly (by way of flashbacks) are all incredibly deep characters and the way Jarzab writes about their pain was breathtaking at times. It is refreshing to read about characters who are flawed, but you understand why because the author has done such a good job in her writing.
I was also impressed that this teen novel had so much depth to it. It was not just about love and school, it was about fear, loss, failure, hopes, dreams, and many other things that teens themselves go through every day. All Unquiet things is like a Judy Blume book that has been updated for 2010. And that is the greatest compliment I can give!
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.
October 2007 -- "Let us begin with two girls at a dance," writes Maggie O'Farrell, and the reader is immediately pulled into a journey across continents, generations, and the hidden landscapes of the heart. The story she tells encompasses the confused present of a contemporary young woman, Iris Lockhart; the unsuspected past of Iris's grandmother, Kitty, adrift in the forgetfulness of Alzheimer's; and the long-concealed life of Kitty's sister Esme, who has spent a lifetime institutionalized for refusing to accept the conventions of 1930s Edinburgh society.
At the novel's opening, Iris's complicated life demands all her attention: Her vintage clothing shop barely turns a profit, she's having an affair with a married man, and she's never fully reconciled her intense attraction to her step-brother. But all this is pushed aside when Esme's existence is revealed to her, and she discovers that a great-aunt she never knew has been locked away for 60 years, a patient in a mental hospital that's preparing to close its doors for good. After initially refusing to do so, Iris decides to care for Esme and brings the elderly stranger into her home. As the two women become acquainted, Esme's memories—the childhood she and Kitty shared in India, the death of their young brother, the family's migration to Scotland, and Esme's youthful rebellion against the mores of her class—transform Iris's sense of her family's past, opening a vault of secrets that will change the character of everything she thought she knew.
With seamless narrative artistry, O'Farrell weaves an enthralling tale—and builds page-turning suspense—while shifting between Iris's and Esme's points of view, illuminating both with Kitty's fractured but vivid recollections. The taut fabric of the novel's telling enmeshes the reader in a tangled web of jealousy, deception, and betrayal that is shocking, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Alive with the energy of trapped desires, Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox is a riveting work of literary imagination.
At the table sit two men: a young Pakistani named Changez and an unnamed American. Only Changez speaks, and his mesmerizing monologue relates his story, beginning with his happy days at Princeton and continuing through his initial success as a well-paid financial analyst. His budding romance with Erica, a beautiful fellow Princetonian, runs in counterpoint to the early promise of his career.
Then come the attacks of September 11. Over the next few months, slowly but inexorably, the innocence of Changez's ambition is shadowed by his experience of the unexpected political present — and by his altered understanding of his Pakistani past. As his career crumbles and Erica is consumed by her own demons, Changez's sense of his identity fractures under the strain of conflicting impulses of pride, passion, and loyalty. He returns to his homeland, and the complexity of his new life there is reflected in the alternating currents of his voice — ingratiating, insinuating, articulate, respectful, blunt, affecting, and, last but not least, sinister — as he leads his companion toward an uncertain yet ominous conclusion.
An extraordinary work of empathy and imagination, Mohsin Hamid's novel vividly dramatizes the turmoil and terror of today's world in a single unforgettable voice.
A beautiful little book of fable-like stories, characters and scenes that meld into one another, and shifts in space and time that are both awkward and completely natural at the same time.
I can imagine some readers might be put off by the non-linear nature of the story, or maybe consider it "gimmicky" - but for me it worked very well. At it's best, the book not only perfectly captures altered logic of cause and effect that we see in our dreams, but in fact creates a dreamlike state in the reader that lingers for quite some time after putting the book down for the day. That's one of the things I liked best about it, I'd read just a little bit and move on to something else but my mood and outlook was always altered in a rather pleasant way by what I'd read. It makes any kind of surprise more welcoming.
Another great aspect of this book is the fact that while it certainly falls under the category of "experimental fiction" in terms of its non-linear plot and characters that seem to exist simultaneously as multiple people at once.. it's still not only easy to read, but has the style and atmosphere of an old world fairy tale. In fact this match between the almost childlike prose associate with fables and the "dream logic" that holds the events together is a perfect combination.
“If my sister Alma had lived, I should never have begun the séances.” Constance Langton was only five when her life changed irrevocably. With the death of her younger sibling, the Langton household descended into a deep melancholy. To relieve her mother’s sorrow, Constance resorts to a common Victorian nostrum: spiritualism. That decision leads to more tragedy, plunging the young woman into a borderline world where apparitions, possession, and murder hover in the air. This evocative tale by the International Horror Guild Award-winning author of The Ghost Writer is a perfect fit for readers of G.R. James and Wilkie Collins.
