Laina A

DVerdecia reviewed a book.

“A cute Children's book that shows that Big Bird has good friends. Big Bird is depressed, because he can't play with his friends because he is too big. Then his friends come to the rescue by making the games bigger.

This is a good book to read to a small child or to have the begging...”

“A cute Children's book that shows that Big Bird has good friends. Big Bird is depressed, because he can't play with his friends because he is too big. Then his friends come to the rescue by making the games bigger.

This is a good book to read to a small child or to have the begging reader pick up themselves. The words are easy to read with big print and is proportionate to the pictures. The pictures are also consistent with the story so even if the young reader struggles with the words, inferences can be made as to what is going on.”

DVerdecia reviewed a book.

“This is a golden book. So naturally we have a keeper here. The Story of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol" told Mickey style.”

DVerdecia now owns a book. (see 3 more books added to shelf)

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad is now following readyreader. (see 2 more new follows)

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad reviewed a book.

“When The Natural (starring Robert Redford) was released in 1984 I went to see it with my best friend. I liked baseball and I liked Robert Redford. While I may have been aware that it was based on a book (“The Natural” written in 1952 by Bernard Malamud), since a lot of movies are, I was not aware...”

“When The Natural (starring Robert Redford) was released in 1984 I went to see it with my best friend. I liked baseball and I liked Robert Redford. While I may have been aware that it was based on a book (“The Natural” written in 1952 by Bernard Malamud), since a lot of movies are, I was not aware there was a real life inspiration for the character of “Roy Hobbs”.

Eddie Waitkus was a first baseman for the Cubs, he was known for his slick footwork on the field and the ability to catch almost any ball thrown to him. His baseball career was interrupted by WWII, following the war he became one of the most popular players of the time. He lead the Cubs in hitting and was one of the best first basemen in the National League. However the Cubs traded him to the Phillies in December 1948.

The next June the Phillies were in Chicago, Waitkus was lured to a hotel room by a young woman named Ruth Steinhagen who proceeded to shoot him. She made no attempt to escape and was judged insane and confined to a mental hospital.

In this account we have a brief history of Eddie Waitkus and Ruth Steinhagen, Steinhagen’s is rather sketchy but Theodore reveals at the end of the book he was not able to talk to her or her sister. The bulk of the book is about Waitkus baseball career, how he got started and his recovery after the shooting. Theodore gets his information from interviews with surviving members of Waitkus family, fellow servicemen, teammates, reporters who covered the team and friends of his. There are also excerpts from letters written.

Waitkus suffered from PTSD from the trauma of the shooting and from his years at war, he never got help for this, choosing instead to self-medicate with alcohol which may hastened the end of his baseball career, he suffered physically from the shooting and surgeries to repair the damage. His marriage ended and he was hospitalized with what was diagnosed as a nervous breakdown, after he left the hospital he never got any follow up care. He died in 1972, he was 53. Ruth Steinhagen died last December 2012, she was 83.

I felt this was a well researched and well written book. I found it to be very interesting, I think anyone who enjoys biographies and memoirs would find it interesting, you don’t need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this book.”

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad reviewed a book.

“Jenny Morton has a killer touch, literally. When she touches someone they die. After an unfortunate incident in elementary school she was dubbed “Jenny Pox”. To keep everyone around her safe, she is always covered up, including wearing gloves. This has given her the nickname “Jenny Mittens”, also...”

“Jenny Morton has a killer touch, literally. When she touches someone they die. After an unfortunate incident in elementary school she was dubbed “Jenny Pox”. To keep everyone around her safe, she is always covered up, including wearing gloves. This has given her the nickname “Jenny Mittens”, also unpleasant but Jenny reasons, better than Jenny Pox. Not being able to touch anyone and not being able to tell anyone, makes for a lonely life for Jenny. Then she meets Seth, who has the opposite power, the power to heal and Jenny can touch him, unfortunately Seth has a girlfriend who also has a power, Ashleigh is also manipulative and ruthless. To keep Seth and to survive, Jenny must learn how to use her “Jenny Pox” to fight Ashleigh.

Not recommended for readers under eighteen.
Book contains profanity, depictions of sex and other adult situations.

I thought this was an interesting ‘power’ for someone to have and I thought the story was carried out in a reasonable way, by having Jenny cover up and wear gloves you see how she is coping, you also see and feel her loneliness. It makes her jumping into a relationship with Seth believable. I didn’t get what Ashleigh was up to, but her actions were well thought out and carefully planned and her objective becomes clear in the end. Also in the end you receive an explanation of sorts of where the powers are coming from. Just as you see Ashleigh plans, you also see how Jenny grows in confidence, having Seth to love her and as she learns to control her ‘power’. I originally thought this book to be YA but there is an advisory with it. This is the first book in a series and I plan on looking for the next book.”

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad plans to read a book.

Skavka plans to read a book. (see 5 more books added to shelf)

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad is now reading a book. (see 3 more books added to shelf)

Skavka is now reading a book. (see 2 more books added to shelf)

Skavka rated a book.

• Rated 3 stars

Skavka is now following booklady.

elaina~rainlover~booklover~markfoster~danauerbach~ is now following Mr. or Ms.JUST Right: Because Mr. or Ms. RIGHT does not exist! .

elaina~rainlover~booklover~markfoster~danauerbach~ rated a book.

• Rated 5 stars

elaina~rainlover~booklover~markfoster~danauerbach~ would like to own a book. (see 3 more books added to shelf)

elaina~rainlover~booklover~markfoster~danauerbach~ rated a book.

• Rated 4 stars

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad reviewed a book.

“THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

One of my book groups has a monthly challenge. The challenge was dystopian fiction for the month of May. When I put Dystopian in the search feature of the library this book came up. After starting I realized its not dystopian it is post-apocalyptic....”

“THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

One of my book groups has a monthly challenge. The challenge was dystopian fiction for the month of May. When I put Dystopian in the search feature of the library this book came up. After starting I realized its not dystopian it is post-apocalyptic. Since I had started it I figured I should finish it.

The novel is set in upstate NY after the 2nd world war which included the firing of nuclear missiles. There are roving bands of Slaverunners, looking for people to entertain them in “Arena Fights”. Brooke lives in the Catskills with her sister hiding from these roving bands, one day her sister is captured and taken to NYC. The rest of the story is Brooke chasing after the gang to rescue her teamed up with Ben, whose brother was also taken.

This was the most ridiculous novel I have ever read. I like the action scenes, they flowed quickly but there was so much that was unbelievable that it interfered with my enjoyment of the book. For instance, the slave runners have Hummers, Brooke drives into one of them with a motorcycle and disables it. Then with a broken rib she runs, jumps and climbs. With her only driving experience a motorcycle she is then able to drive the Hummer at speeds in excess of 100 MPH. The Humvee rolls ending up on its roof, and Brooke has more injuries but is able to rock the Hummer over on its wheels and the only damage to the Hummer is a flat tire.

Also during the war missiles exploded around NYC the people who weren’t killed are called Bio-victims and have melted faces and mental problems, if you’re that close to a nuclear missile you don’t get a melted face you get dead, you don’t go crazy you die.

Brooke follows the slaverunners into NYC through the streets and Central Park, then she crashes into the glass cube where the Apple store is. After trying so hard to make it seem ‘real’, Brooke states she crashes through the Apple store, however the cube is above the Apple store, if Brooke had crashed into the cube she would have fallen into the store.

Earlier in the book Brooke striped a dead slaverunner of his clothes which included steel toed boots that ‘climbed all the way up my shin’, then when she is fighting in the Arena she gets bitten by a snake in her calf which is covered with these super boots.

In NYC there are ‘crazies’ more victims of the missiles who have somehow obtained grenade launchers and grenades. How they did this when the slaverunners own everything is never explained.

The last thing I remember is when they escape from NY they steal a boat and Brooke mentions she has ‘driven boats all her life’. She never mentioned this before and how does a girl who grew up in Manhattan, with occasional trips to the Catskill ‘drive boats all her life’?

Those are the things I remember and are the reason I don’t recommend this book.”

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad is now following Amanda.

Bel ~ Fearless Leader Angharrad reviewed a book.

“Still searching for a dystopian novel I checked this book out, only to discover that it is also not dystopian but post-apocalyptic. Actually I might be wrong about that since I don’t remember any mention of a war destroying this world. No matter, this book is better than Arena One.

In...”

“Still searching for a dystopian novel I checked this book out, only to discover that it is also not dystopian but post-apocalyptic. Actually I might be wrong about that since I don’t remember any mention of a war destroying this world. No matter, this book is better than Arena One.

In the world Aria lives on there are enclosed cities where others like her live, the area where she lives is called a pod, all of their recreation happens in the Realms, which are virtual environments accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. It all ends after a tragic accident that Aria is blamed for and she is thrown into the outside, called The Death Shop, where there are a million ways to die. Except Aria doesn’t die, Perry, an Outsider, saves her and keeps her alive, they stay together through their mutual need for each other. Aria to get back to her home and Perry to get inside to rescue his nephew. You know what happens next, their grudging respect turns to love.

Some Outsiders have enhanced senses such as hearing, seeing or smelling. Perry is able to smell danger, good and emotions. The atmosphere is called Aether and Aether storms are deadly. Perry is able to sense when an Aether storm is coming.

Good character development and a good story line made this book easy to read. Ms. Rossi doesn’t waste time explaining things (like what is Aether?), just writes about them and you come to understand them or don’t but just enjoy the story. It was a quick read, suitable for older teens I would say, it has some violence and adult situations. This is the first book in a series, unfortunately I could find any others but I will continue to look for them.”