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angela m

angela m

  • member since January 1 2008

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Displaying 1-10 of 174 reviews
  • His Illegal Self
    • Rated 4 stars

    I have been in love with Peter Carey’s writing for some time now and turned to this with great anticipation. Every book Carey writes is unusual, thought-provoking, beautifully written, and completely different. And this is no exception, although certainly not his best.

    Here we go back to the sixties, to a small boy whose parents were revolutionaries and who is living with his wealthy grandmother in New York. He is isolated from the world around him, wishing he knew more about his radical parents but banned from watching the TV. Waiting for his parents to come for him.

    Then one day a girl arrives whom he assumes is his mother and pretty soon he is on the run. She takes him from city to city, then finally to a hippie commune in the Australian outback. And it is here that he has to face who he is and what has happened. Can he trust Trevor? Is Dial his real mother? And what does he really want now?

    This is a love story between a young woman and a 7-year-old boy, the son she never had. I decided that what I was irritated about was the sixties themselves – the reality not the images so carefully assembled from movies and songs and well edited news footage. Carey paints pictures you find hard to get rid of and you find yourself utterly immersed in the times, wondering at the naivete of it all, desperately wishing for some logic. That said, I loved the ending, was not expecting it, and once again am in awe of Carey’s ability to manipulate the story.

    angela m wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Struts & Frets
    • Rated 0 stars

    Music runs through Sammy Bojar’s veins. His dreams are filled with music, as are most of his waking thoughts. He’s in a band, Tragedy of Wisdom, (the lead singer’s choice and yes, he knows it’s not a good name, really he does) and they’ve decided to compete in a battle of the bands, although they all know they don’t practice enough, the singer doesn’t know the words to the songs yet, and sometimes they don’t even all play the same song at the same time.

    As if this was not enough to worry Sammy, his jazz pianist grandfather is not well and seems to be getting worse, slipping away. He keeps bumping into the flip side of musical success (so how on earth is he going to persuade his Mom that he wants to play music professionally?). And apparently one of his band mates is interested in his best friend, who may be interested in more than friendship with him.

    This coming of age story is full of warmth and humor, it’s light and fun and brimming with music. Skovron obviously shares Sammy’s passion for all kinds of music and Struts and Frets is a must read for any music-loving teen. And I really did like the inclusion of Sammy’s soundtrack for the book.

    angela m wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • A Touch of Dead
    • Rated 3 stars

    Not her best book by far but these Sookie Stackhouse books are my guilty pleasure and of course I read this in one sitting. It's worth it for the last story, the christmas story, which I liked a lot.

    angela m wrote this review 7 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Body Finder
    • Rated 4 stars

    Violet Ambrose senses dead bodies – really. Growing up she was always finding dead animals and reburying them in her garden so she, and they could be at rest. Once she found the body of a murdered girl – and yes, she always knew when they had been murdered.

    Now in high school, Violet is driving herself crazy as she develops an overwhelming crush on her best friend, Jay. They’ve been friends for years, hang out together all the time, know each other’s secrets. But now it’s awkward. And so many other girls at her school are crushing on him too. What is she to do?

    But then a serial killer moves into town and the bodies of those dead girls get under her skin, call to her, and Violet is determined to help find the killer and stop him, with or without Jay’s help.

    Beautifully written, this is story that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go. You want to hunt with Violet and find the killer. And the romance simply sizzles. If this is Kimberly Derting’s debut novel, I look forward to reading whatever comes next!

    angela m wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • This World We Live In
    • Rated 5 stars

    Remember how everything changed after the meteor hit the moon and knocked it out of orbit? Did you wonder whether Miranda, Alex, or any of their families survived? This World We Live In is set a year later, when Miranda’s father and stepmother arrive with their baby, and three strangers (and yes, two of them are Alex and Julie Morales).

    The world has not improved. There is no medicine, very little food, sporadic electricity, and terrible weather conditions. They question how to feed all these extra mouths but want to keep everyone close, to know where they are. They look at the baby and see hope for the future and know they will do anything to make sure he and his mother are safe.

    Alex and Julie are drawn to each other but it’s complicated by Alex’s plans for his and Julie’s future, plans he doesn’t want to change.

    I don’t want to tell you more, I just want you to read the book and come and talk to me about it. Pfeffer has remained true to her vision and to her previous books. She has not compromised, nor wavered, and takes on enormous issues head-on: Who do you consider family? Who would you trust to look after your loved ones if you can’t? Can love conquer all? Where do your obligations really lie? This is an incredible book: powerful, intense, terrifying. I read it one sitting. You will too (and will be talking about it long after you turn the last page).

    angela m wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Winter's End
    • Rated 0 stars

    Who and what would you risk to escape a boarding school that feels more like a jail? Could a chance encounter change everything you thought you would or could do? In this harsh dystopian world, four teenagers manage to escape, leaving others to pay for their freedom, with a pack of dog men on their heels. Will they find the resistance movement before they are captured? Can they do more than their parents managed to do 15 years before? Can a beautiful voice ignite a rebellion? Can they really stay one step ahead of the Phalange, who are determined to kill them?

    One of them is captured and forced to train and take part in their version of gladiator games. For him the question is whether he can he even survive the training, let alone a fight. And will he ever be reunited with his love?

    Translated from the French, this is a heart-stopping, all-action tale of adventure and rebellion that takes us from cruel boarding school conditions, through icy rivers and mountains, to the resistance movement just waiting for someone to ignite their passions. It feels very European. Yet with all the hardships they encounter, there remains a streak of romance that lingers and hope that sustains them in their belief that they can succeed where their parents couldn’t. Try this if you are looking for something inventive, adventurous, and just a little different.

    angela m wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Reckoning (Darkest Powers)

    The Reckoning (Darkest Powers)

    by Kelley Armstrong
    • Rated 4 stars

    Remember Chloe Saunders? She’s the genetically enhanced necromancer who is running for her life from the Edison Group, the people who turned her into a living science experiments, with Simon, Tori, and Derek. That’s right – with a witch, a sorcerer, and a werewolf. Oh, and to complicate the situation, she’s drawn to both Simon and Derek in very different ways. But oh, she wishes she could live a more normal life.

    Life on the road is hard and at the start of The Reckoning, Chloe and her friends have met up with Andrew, a friend of Simon and Derek’s father, and a splinter group who oppose the Edison Group. But Chloe is worried about Rae and her Aunt Lauren, who they left behind. She’s not sure who she can really trust, whether this safe house is indeed safe, and what the Edison Group really want. And of course she’s still plagued by ghosts, zombies, and half demons.

    This is a great nail-biter of a finale to a fabulous series, full of action and adventure, complex relationships, teen angst, glimpses of humor, and an undercurrent of romance. It remains rough at the edges, dark, and realistic with plenty of surprises you don’t see coming. Bravo.

    angela m wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Antsy Does Time
    • Rated 4 stars

    Remember Antsy Bonano from The Schwa Was Here? Well, he's back. This time it all starts when a balloon escapes from the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and Antsy and his friends all go to Manhattten to see it for themselves. They run into a classmate, Gunnar Ümlaut, who tells them that he's dying and has only six months to live. So Antsy decides to give him a month of his own. And that's when things start getting weird. They do say that no good deed goes unpunished. Who knew it would start a trend until the whole school is campaigning to give Gunnar more time.

    On the plus side, Antsy starts to date Gunnar's very attractive sister. But while Gunnar remains preoccupied with his death (like building his own gravestone in his back yard) his family, his very dysfunctional family, don't seem to pay much attention to his illness. And Antsy has to find out why.

    This is just as funny as The Schwa Was Here - multilayered and thoroughly enjoyable. Many of the same characters reappear - Lexie, "Creepy" Crawley, Skater Dud - and once again Shusterman tells a story both funny and tragic that entertains while also making you think.

    angela m wrote this review Friday, November 27 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • Beautiful Creatures
    • Rated 4 stars

    Ethan can't wait to finish high school and move out the small Southern town of Gatlin where he grew up, where nothing ever changes. But the new school year brings a new face to his high school - a face he has seen over and over again in his ever-more agitating dreams. Lena - beautiful, unusual, unnerving - who will never fit in, especially as she's the niece of the town's infamous recluse, Macon Ravenswood. Ethan can't help but be drawn to Lena and is soon drawn into a drama that has been ongoing for generations.

    It's a lush, extravagant, vivid gothic drama, full of magic, mystery, and mayhem, played out in southern plantations, crumbling graveyards, and overlooked sprawling gardens. I tumbled headlong into this all-consuming, unusual plot and simply got lost - fell in love - am still thinking about cursed lockets, hidden secrets, powers unleashed, and even a little voodoo. This is absolutely one of my favorites this year.

    angela m wrote this review Friday, November 27 2009. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Sweet Far Thing
    • Rated 3 stars

    First I want to say that I loved the first two books in this series. And I think there is a good story buried deep within this large cumbersome book, but you have to dig deep to find it. Wish Libba had rejected all those side stories as I found myself skimming through so much of it. How disappointing.

    angela m wrote this review Friday, November 27 2009. ( reply | permalink )
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