The Poisonwood Bible

Author - Barbara Kingsolver
4 out of 5 stars

WARNING --SPOILERS!!

I greatly enjoyed the first half of this book. So much so that I give the entire book 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the structure Kingsolver used, and I was especially pleased by how Ruth May ends the novel. I was riveted by this family of Christian Missionaries in the Congo in the 60s. I thought it was truthful and accurate -- the language barriers, the way the village reacts to them, the diseases, the animals, etc -- but the book somewhat lost my interest after Ruth May is bit by the snake and the sisters head in different directions. I found the character of Leah to be extremely annoying. My favorite was Adah -- I loved the palindromes and poetry. But the Leah chapters (in the second half) were like reading an encyclopedia. I could have learned about the political strife in Zaire from reading a text book. Still, this book was better than a lot of stuff I have read.

The Abstinence Teacher

Author - Tom Perrotta
Having read 'Election' and 'Little Children' I was very disappointed in Perrotta's latest novel. I thought the characters were very flat (and overly stereotypical) -- I certainly didn't believe in Tim's sudden turnaround in accepting Jesus. The character was written as way too wise to have fallen under the *born again* spell and his former drug addiction was unrealistically executed. He never would have had an addiction counselor who coerced him into an affair and I would have more believed him following the 12 steps than finding Christ. I thought Perrotta's Christian characters were one sided -- I would have at least expected something more intelligent and satirical. And the final romance between Ruth and Tim was predictable and silly, something to be expected in chick lit but certainly not from an author of Perrotta's caliber. The gay couple was cringefully stereotypical as was the guest lecturer on abstinence. Very disappointing.

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Author - Lionel Shriver
I really liked this book for several reasons. Lionel Shriver doesn't try to *trick* or talk down to the reader. She has created a character (Eva) who is not only brutally honest, but makes no apologies. Eva is not a sympathetic character and I really appreciated that. A book about 'blah blah blah - violence in schools - blah blah blah - why why why?' could so easily have been cliche but Shriver takes a completely different approach to an already overplayed topic. What if your child is truly a bad seed? What if his sociopathic tendencies have been so cleverly executed that your family thinks you are the crazy one and not your son? Eva talks at length, honestly and openly, about how from the minute her son was born she never felt an attachment to him. She never directly questions why her son did what he did. In many ways, she is as emotionally cold and detached as Kevin. Even her relationship with her daughter is without extreme emotion. What makes this book so creepy is that Eva never truly makes the connection just how alike she and her son are. Also, I liked that Kevin did not fall into the stereotype of 'school shooter'. Even better, he didn't use a gun. He's a very interesting character study -- not your typical 'oh poor me, the world is out to get me, i wear trench coats and black coats to stand out and I have access to a gun' character. Shriver has created a sociopath who deserves his own follow up novel.
I never thought that Eva's journey was cathartic nor did I think that Shriver was disguising the fact that the letters Eva writes were to her deceased husband. I think Eva wanted to put her journey in writing in hopes of having a better understanding. There is no answer to why kids act the way they do. And Kevin is an entirely different breed of interesting and terrifying kid. Eva has nothing left to lose, so through her letters she can express the utmost honesty. I believe that she did love her husband, but Shriver never makes this relationship overdramtic, in keeping with Eva's nature.

In the Woods

Author - Tana French
4 out of 5 Stars
** spoiler alert ** This gets 4 stars for being not only quite well written, but completely page turning. It's like an Irish Law and Order SVU but with some really excellent prose. Tana French is indeed a very good writer, I commend her on this debut novel and I would most definitely read her next book, when she writes it.

That being said, (SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!), I guessed who was responsible for the murder pretty early on. This is pretty routine for me (no, I would never succeed at having a career as a...more This gets 4 stars for being not only quite well written, but completely page turning. It's like an Irish Law and Order SVU but with some really excellent prose. Tana French is indeed a very good writer, I commend her on this debut novel and I would most definitely read her next book, when she writes it.

That being said, (SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!), I guessed who was responsible for the murder pretty early on. This is pretty routine for me (no, I would never succeed at having a career as a detective or pathologist or anything like that), but with a few minor exceptions (example - 'Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn') I tend to guess these things right away because I read a lot of mysteries and I watch a lot of cop shows and the writers all tend to follow the same pattern, which is not rocket science.

I did, however, think French gave a few too many clues and I found myself yelling at Detective Ryan for being so dim witted and gullible not to catch on. Then I was angry on page 409 when Ryan basically assumes the reader is as dense as he is. Very condescending. I hate when film and books underestimate the reader/viewer. Once I had guessed the killer, I avidly read page after page to see if I was right but more importantly I read this book so eagerly because Ryan seemed like such a sketchy character that I was waiting to see if he was responsible for the disappearance of Peter and Jamie. Alas, *that* case was left unsolved. Maybe French will write a sequel, and we'll finally get an answer to that cold case.

This book would make a fantastic film. I'm sure it's already being optioned as I type this :)

Beautiful Children

3 out of 5 Stars
Beautiful Children
Author - Charles Bock
I had mixed reactions to this book. I decided about halfway through reading it that I didn't care for it very much. Certain descriptions of the seedy underbelly of the world of pornography made me slightly queasy -- not that this is necessarily a bad thing -- in retrospect those are the parts of Bock's writing that I thought were best. I thought some of the stories about runaway teens were slightly preachy and stereotypical. They weren't sugar coated but still seemed relatively less brutal in co...more I had mixed reactions to this book. I decided about halfway through reading it that I didn't care for it very much. Certain descriptions of the seedy underbelly of the world of pornography made me slightly queasy -- not that this is necessarily a bad thing -- in retrospect those are the parts of Bock's writing that I thought were best. I thought some of the stories about runaway teens were slightly preachy and stereotypical. They weren't sugar coated but still seemed relatively less brutal in comparison with Bock's honesty about other aspects of Vegas life. I found the chapters about Lorraine and Lincoln boring. I thought Bock's strongest characters were Cherry and Kenny. It's a worthwhile read for a first novel.

The Overachievers

The Overachievers : The Secret Lives of Driven Kids
Alexandra Robbins
Unlike 'Restless Virgins' (which moderately shocked me and showed me how things have changed since I was in high school), 'The Overachievers' didn't tell me anything new. Even in high school in the early 90s we were college obsessed, over booked and stressed out. This book was almost an exact description of my high school experience what with the SAT prep, the honors and AP classes, the lack of sleep and the pressure. I was actually surprised that these kids remained so focused -- only a few pas...more Unlike 'Restless Virgins' (which moderately shocked me and showed me how things have changed since I was in high school), 'The Overachievers' didn't tell me anything new. Even in high school in the early 90s we were college obsessed, over booked and stressed out. This book was almost an exact description of my high school experience what with the SAT prep, the honors and AP classes, the lack of sleep and the pressure. I was actually surprised that these kids remained so focused -- only a few passages discussed drinking (not even anything about drug use). The students Robbins' profiled are good kids and they deserved to be accepted to prestigious schools. I wish she would have covered a more diverse crowd and focused a bit more on under privledged students who needed financial aid or scholarships. My favorite part of the book was her research on early childhood education and the competition (especially in Manhattan) to get into elite preschools. As an early childhood education teacher in Manhattan I spend a good portion of the Fall writing recommendations for my 2 year old students. Crazy, yes. But so true. I agree with Robbins' thesis -- children are forced (by their parents and caregivers) to compete with each other from the second they are born. But I'm not sure if that is true on all ends of the social spectrum. I also teach students in the lower middle class Bronx and the work mentality is much different than in Manhattan. Robbins' briefly mentioned one of the students working on a Native American reservation but her book focuses on one group -- upper middle class kids with college educated parents in Maryland.

Middlesex

I held off on reading this book for quite some time despite the amazing things I had heard. I was worried that it would be slow because it covers such an expanse of time but, on the contrary, even with the lengthy historical and descriptive passages I read this book in less than a week. And I loved it. I loved every page of it. It reminded me of Doctorow's 'Ragtime' combining historical fact and fiction.

Sharp Objects

What a fantistic debut novel! Creepy mother, dead sister, eery 13 year old half sister who alternates from sing-song childishness to drugs and promiscuity. A murder mysetery in a small town. A protagonist who carves words on her body. I am the complete target audience for this book. What's not to love?