#46 – #51

#46: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

#47: The Year of the Flood by Margaret Attwood

#48: Messenger by Lois Lowry

#49: Gossamer by Lois Lowry

#50: Anastasia, At this Address by Lois Lowry

#51: Here Today by Ann M. Martin

#45: The General’s Daughter by Nelson Demille

Start: 7/9          Finish: 7/11

Length: 464 pages

Where it came from: Grab bag

Thoughts: Page turner. Interesting examination of gender roles. Military. Sex and violence.

Verdict: B-

#41 ~ #44 Bulk Upload

Crazy life….must catch up……

#41: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (B-)

#42: Fifth Life of the Cat Woman by Kathleen Dexter (B)

#43: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (A-)

#44: Women, Food and God by Geneen Roth (A)

#40: Aquamarine by Carol Anshaw

Start: 6/23          Finish: 6/26

Length: 197 pages

Where it came from: Another Katie contribution

Thoughts: For some reason, I thought this book would be really dry, but I was wrong. Told in three parts, Aquamarine explores the power of choice and how it can alter a life. In each part, Jesse lives a different life in the year 1990, while certain details are interconnected, the main thread is her two-part obsession with the woman she lost to in the 1968 Olympics–a fixiation on the loss and an infatuation with the woman herself.  The writing itself was simple but powerful, and I really liked how Anshaw interwove certain details.

Verdict: B+

#39: Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Start: 6/21          Finish: 6/23

Length: 240 pages

Where it came from: Grab bag!!!!!!

Thoughts: A shorty but goody. Parts were so meditative that it was easy to get sucked in. The scope of the conflicts is so specific, it didn’t feel as disingenious as I feared. The characters were vivid, though I did struggle with the mental pronunciation of their names. I was really interested in how Chevalier described the act of painting and creating art, with the use of colors and light. Next, I need to watch the movie. ScarJo must make the perfect Griet (and I’ll actually get to see how to pronounce the names!).

Verdict: B-

#38: In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

Start: 6/19          Finish: 6/21

Length: 385 pages

Where it came from: Another from the grab bag from my Aunt and Uncle

Thoughts: A few years ago I read Dunant’s novel The Birth of Venus, I will can’t really tell you what the plot was about, I can tell you the descriptions of Florence, of art, of the times were so vivid, so captivating that it overshadowed the fact that there just wasn’t that heavy of an exposition. Reading a novel by Dunant is like reading a very long vignette–she is heavy handed in setting a place and time, but any sort of conflict is half-hearted. In the Company of the Courtesan does include some very interesting character progression, but again, the main conflict is Fiametta trying to make her new life in Venice. There is a burst of plot conflict in the last 50 pages or so, but it was so jarring and last minute it really made me feel uneasy. Easily, the best part of the novel is the sweeping descriptions of Venice. By the end, I felt like I wasn’t really sure exactly what happened, but Dunant painted a gorgeous picture of place.

Verdict: C-

#37: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Next by Steig Larsson

Start: 6/10          Finish: 6/19

Length: 576 Pages

Where it came from: Wallllmmmaaarrrttttt

Thoughts: Why? Why? Why did Larsson have to suffer and untimely death? Why…..?! Really, parts dragged on and it is really hard to keep track of all the names (my brain may or may not have a block for Swedish names….) but in the end, it was tres thrilling. Not completely satsitfying end, but it will have to do.

Verdict: B

#36: The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

Start: 6/7       Finish: 6/10

Length: 305 pages

Where it came from: Book grab bag from my aunt and uncle

Thoughts: I think I have said this in the past, but one of my favorite books of all time is Prep by Curti Sittenfeld. I just love Lia’s voice. The detached desperation of a girl who wants to fit, but can’t, so she removes herself emotionally. Alice’s voice in this novel really echoed that. And of course couple that with the fascinating pieces about training horses really captivated me. The writing was good but not remarkable.

Verdict: B+

#35: Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

Start: 6/9/10          Finish: 6/9/10

Length: 114 pages

Where it came from: Another teacher’s classroom library

Thoughts: Yes, I read this in like five seconds. Yes I am still counting it. I was just reading it during breaks at work. It was a very quick read (obviously) and REALLY UPSETTING! Seriously, for young adult fiction it is incredibly dark. (Interestingly enough I read a great article over at the New Yorker about children’s dystopic literature). It’s about a young man with cerebral paulsy who cannot move or communicate and thinks his dad is plotting to kill him. It is incredibly riveting. The narrator, Shawn, has a very unique voice, fraught with frustration but still snarky. I would really love to hand this book to a middle schooler. It addresses interesting topics like how we treat the disabled and mercy killings. If I think about it simply from a middle school aged prespective, it was great. And I am a fan of “it is what it is” reviewing.

Verdict: B

#34: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Start: 5/31          End: 6/1

Length: 288 pages (creepy!!)

Where it came from: I may or may not have pilfered it from my little sister’s closet

Thoughts: Another zip-through. Walls’ writing may not be the most literary (in fact, it is rather journalistic in its scope) the subject matter was just like a train wreck. I literally could not stop reading it. What the hell! What is this life?

READ IT AND YOU WILL KNOW!!!

Verdict: B