September Reviews
Title:
The
Year of Fog
Classification: Fiction
Author:
Michelle
Richmond
Publisher:
Bantam Dell
Copyright: 2007
Reviewer: Susan Weaver
Book Rating: 
Reviewer Comments:
Warning: For anxious parents of small children: Do NOT read this book! For others, what a read! When Abby, a soon-to-be stepmother of six year old Emma, takes her eyes off her for one second, the reader is launched through a year of torment, questioning, struggles, heart-ache, emotional needs and emptiness. Although at times it feels as though Richmond made a list of the events and feelings one would face in this scenario and then ticked them off chapter-by-chapter, this read is fast-paced, fluid and poignant. This reader went on a search for psychological survival along with Richmond and I recommend you take this trip as well.
Title:
Henry’s
Sisters
Classification: Fiction
Author:
Cathy
Lamb
Publisher:
Kensington Publishing Corporation
Copyright: 2009
Reviewer: Susan Weaver
Book Rating: 
Reviewer Comments:
OK, I cried. There, I said it. And, I laughed and was angered and… well, let me tell you…
When two of the four Bommarito siblings return to their family home due to their mother’s illness, the family’s quirkiness is revealed. Anxiety contorts this family. A quasi-agoraphobic, murder mystery writer, a photographer who won’t commit to one sexual partner, a divorcing over-eater, a narcissistic, emotionally scarred, verbally cruel mother, an absent father, a grandmother who thinks she’s Amelia Earhart, nieces with weirdnesses of their own and a few emotionally adopted folks. And then there’s Henry. An intellectually challenged, glorious young man whom I love and want in my life too - - who wouldn’t?!? Funny, sad, torturous, uplifting: a renewal of the spirit. What a book!
August Reviews
Title:
Bel
Canto
Classification: Fiction
Author:
Ann
Patchett
Publisher:
Harper
Collins
Copyright: 2001
Reviewer: Susan Weaver
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
You wouldn't normally
think that passion, hostages, terrorists, operatic music and language
barriers would come together to make a great read. But they do and
much, much more. When wealthy people celebrate the birthday of a
Japanese industrialist, an operatic diva is the entertainment. This
'party' is taken hostage by terrorists who plan to kidnap the country's
president. Relationships develop, talents and life-long dreams are
uncovered, and personality elements are explored. The reader is caught
up in the beauty of Patchett's 'music.' Reading Bel Canto is like
hearing an opera: it is beautifully lyrical, fluid and emotionally
powerful.
Title:
So
Cold the River
Classification: Fiction
Author:
Michael
Koryta
Publisher:
Little, Brown and
Company
Copyright: 2010
Reviewer: Susan Weaver
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Partially
inspired by the lovely and sensitive violin piece 'Short Trip Home' by
Joshua Bell, Michael Koryta orchestrates a collection of superficial
characters, their pain, love and fear lacking substance and
passion. Cinematographer Eric Shaw sees an opportunity to renew his failed
career when he is hired to create a film about the history of a wealthy
family. Set in southern Indiana at restored once-grand resorts and where the
mineral springs' water causes supernatural visions of a time when the
powerful played out their lives, attempts are made to conjure up
menacing apparitions and to morph past and present identities. Except for
Anne McKinney, the town's quirky historian with a past love for high-heeled
shoes, Koryta's characters and their motivations are under-developed.
This reader was left not just unsatisfied but dissatisfied. A reminder: One should not assume that passionate music leads to a substantive read. Listen to and enjoy "Short Trip Home" by Joshua Bell but avoid "So Cold the River."
Title:
The
Prince of Mist
Classification: Teen
Author:
Carlos
Ruiz Zafon
Reviewer: Kelly Taylor
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Such a disappointment.
I love Zafon and Shadow of the Wind is one of my all time favorite
novels, but this was painful to read. The suspense doesn't build properly,
and the storyline doesn't flow as it should. Young teens who enjoyed
reading Goosebumps might like this, but adult fans of Zafon should skip it.
Title:
The
Red Pyramid
Classification:
Childrens
Author:
Rick
Riordan
Reviewer: Kelly Taylor
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Percy Jackson fans looking for another story like the Percy Jackson series
will like this, for it's basically the same story all over again, just with
different characters and Egyptian gods instead of Greek. It doesn't flow as
well as the Percy Jackson series does, though, and at times it's overly
complicated, but it does have a lot of interesting insights into the world
of Egyptian mythology. Ages 10 and up.
Title:
The
Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Classification: Fiction
Author:
Katherine
Howe
Reviewer: Kelly Taylor
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
A student stumbles upon a clue which she
believes will lead her to a new discovery about the Salem Witch Trials. The
story and writing is flawed in many ways, but anyone who enjoys reading
about New England history and the Salem Witch Trials will enjoy this read.
Title:
The
Six Rules of Maybe
Classification: Teen
Author:
Deb
Caletti
Reviewer: Kelly Taylor
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Scarlett loves being involved with people's lives and fixing their problems
but soon finds herself over her head when her nineteen year old sister
unexpectedly comes home married and pregnant. Everything Scarlett thought
she knew about people and herself is suddenly turned upside down.
It is beautiful and
emotional. It reminded me of an older and more sophisticated teen version of
a Kate DiCamillo book. It had the memorable, quirky characters and the
flowing writing that I just love. Ages 13 and up.
Title:
It's
Kind of a Funny Story
Classification: Teen
Author:
Ned
Vizzini
Reviewer: Kelly Taylor
Book Rating:
Reviewer Comments:
Craig works hard to get into one of New York's top high schools, but when he
makes it, he realizes the pressure of staying above average is too much for
him to handle. He falls into depression and nearly kills himself. After
checking himself into a mental hospital, he meets a strange group of
characters who help him discover who he really is. Yes, the story covers
serious issues, but it does so in a funny way, and it's soon to be a movie!
Ages 16 and up.
