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Cut To The Bone by: Shane Gericke

August 27, 2008 by annanausten

Well, fellow book lovers, do I have a recommendation for you.  How many of us who love to read would like to be able to write too?  Probably alot of us.  And, how many of us would write about what and where we know?  Makes sense, right?  Well, that is just what Shane Gericke has done with his new book, Cut To The Bone, which is a follow up to his first book, Blown Away.  Both are of the Thriller genre and both were equally gripping.  In this second installment, our stalwart friend, Detective Emily Thompson, along with her cop and sheriff friends, are visited again by a crazy serial killer.  A true psychopath.  But what makes this exciting story even more fun for me, personally, to read, is that it is set in my own home town, Naperville, IL.  However, I must iterate that this fast-paced thrill ride is a great read for anyone, regardless of where one’s hat is hung.  The story clips along, with enough information doled out at a time to keep you turning the pages, but not so much that you can easily figure out where the story is going, and not so little that you get annoyed with the author.  I hate that!    The characters are realistic and multidimensional.  And, in my opinion, there is just enough reference to the first book to remind readers of that story line, without making readers who may have missed the first book feel as though they have missed it.  In other words, each book stands on its own, but read as a series, the characters flow and develop nicely.  I must say that my only complaint about this book would be that some of the more gruesome scenes were expounded on in a bit too much detail.  I believe there truly is, hiding in Shane Gericke’s mind, an evil twin, who whispers these thoughts to him in his sleep.  Ah well, better in his books, than on the real streets of Naperville!  If you are a fan of modern thrillers, I highly recommend Cut To The Bone.  And, while you are at it, read Blown Away too.  You won’t be sorry.

I give this book 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

Reviewed by:  Anna

Posted in Thriller | 2 Comments »

Code Talkers by: Joseph Bruchac

August 25, 2008 by annanausten

This book was recommended to me by my son, who is 11, so needless to say,  it is considered Young Adult in terms of its target audience.  However, I have learned to heed a recommendation to read something if the recommendation comes from one of my children.  They really have never steered me wrong.  They love to read, and love to read a broad range of genres.  I found this book, which is fiction, but written in the first person, to be informative and inspiring.  The story begins as our protagonist, a Navajo Indian boy,  heads off to a school far from his home on the reservation in order to learn the language and ways of white men.   After being told for years by the staff at this government school that nothing Navajo is good or worthwhile, he joins the Marines during WWII and becomes a Navajo code talker.  Suddenly, the beloved language of his ancestors is desperately needed by the government, and our hero is proud and eager to serve.  He describes many of the battles of the war in which code talkers played a vital role.  Remarkably, many of the men that served with these code talkers, never knew what the real role  of their fellow marines was.  It wasn’t until 1969, when all documents regarding code talkers were declassified, that any of these brave men could reveal, even to their own families, what their true mission was.  They served faithfully and bravely and were ultimately discharged without any reference made, anywhere, to their important job.

Through his depiction of the main character, the author of this book successfully conveys the simultaneous pride and humility that, in his opinion, embody the Navajo people.  And, aside from the decriptions of battle, which I confess I did not enjoy, there was a sense of peace and self-awareness which came through this character which, I can only hope was a real part of these brave men, who went into battle to help America win the war.

I found this book to be very interesting and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys war history, or even American history.  Because the book is intended for young adults, it is a fast read for adults.

I give this book 4 out of 5 bookmarks.

Reviewed by:  Anna

Posted in Historical Fiction | No Comments »

The Good Earth By: Pearl S. Buck

August 14, 2008 by annanausten

This book tells the sweeping story of lowly farmer, Wang Lung, and the many changes he and his family experience in rural China during another era. The story opens as Wang Lung prepares to fetch a slave to marry from the house of the wealthiest family in town. Although this woman, O-Lan, is not much more than a slave in Wang Lung’s house, she dutifully and faithfully, serves her new husband in the house, and by his side out in the fields. After the birth of two sons and a time of good harvest and frugal living, a daughter’s birth signals a change in fortune for the family. Drought causes the family to flee to a large city in order to survive. After a time of living in urban poverty, a lucky turn of events, which O-Lan makes the most of, provides the means and opportunity for Wang Lung to take his family back home, back to his land. Good fortune once again smiles on the family. Wang Lung wisely invests in increasing his land and as his land grows, so does his fortune. He becomes so successful as a farmer, in fact, that he becomes too busy to do any farming, and must delegate work to paid laborers and staff. Ironically, as his fortune grows, so do his domestic troubles. He is no longer satisfied with his meek and selfless wife and takes on another, who is beautiful but useless. His sons, whom he has educated, are not satisfied with living and working on the land and want to move to town. His uncle, not interested in working himself, is demanding to be supported out of the riches Wang Lung has amassed through his own hard labor. It seems that the more that Wang Lung earns, the less peace he has at home. He begins to long for the simple life of his youth, eventually moving back to his old farmhouse in his old age.

I found this story, set in China over 100 years ago, to be completely relevant to our lives today. The irony of working so hard to be financially successful, only to realize the high price that is paid for that success, is such a contemporary theme, that I found it fascinating to realize that this story is so universal. In our current time and place, so many of us have experienced this to some degree. Our efforts to forge a better, easier life often result in a disconnect, in some way. The wistful longing for a simpler time that Wang Lung feels toward the end of his life is something that I think will hit home with many readers.

The Good Earth is a bit slow moving at times, but well worth sticking with. Some characters are very likable and sympathetic, others, not so much. One thing is true, though. There is someone in this story that nearly everyone will recognize.

I give this book 4 1/2 bookmarks.

Reviewed by: Anna

Posted in Modern Classic, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Jinx By: Meg Cabot

August 1, 2008 by annanausten

This was a very intriguing book. It is a classic tale of good and bad witches and their battle for the upper hand. But it is set in modern day New York City, when Jean Honeychurch visits her wealthier relatives when she needed to escape town. She believes she has bad luck, very bad luck. Everyone in the family calls her Jinx because the very moment she was born all of the power went out in the hospital and hundreds of people had to be airlifted to another hospital. Tory, her cousin is hiding a dangerous secret that she has shared with Jinx and will go to any lengths to stop her from reveling it. But what will happen when Tory goes a little too far to stop Jinx and possibly endangers her life? This was a wonderful book that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it! I thought that even though this story had a very classic, much-used concept, the author put a refreshing twist on it that kept you turning the pages until before you know it, you are finished! So, if you want to find out what Tory’s sinister secret is, what curse Jinx lives under, and you want to learn about all of the battles Jinx and Tory fight for power, read Jinx, by Meg Cabot. Though, just a note to the readers, if you are not a fan of witchcraft or are not comfortable reading about it, this is not a book for you! But otherwise, you will definitely be captivated by this book.

I give this book 4 1/2 out of 5 bookmarks!

Reviewed by: Austen Aquino

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by: Betty Smith

July 17, 2008 by annanausten

After finishing this book, I am amazed that I was never required to read it for school. I found this book to be poignant and beautifully, yet simply written. The similarities between the main character in this book, Francie Nolan, and the author of the last book I reviewed, Jeannette Walls, of The Glass Castle, reiterate to me the lives these women experienced are more common than one might think.

We watch Francie as she travels the terrain of her childhood and adolescence in her beloved Brooklyn, which she describes as dreamlike and different from any other place in the world. The simple prose used by Betty Smith in this book evoked such an emotional response from me as I read about Francie and her family and their life of poverty and hardship and love and joy. The gradual awakening of Francie to her true lot in life and her continued optimism in the face of that lot, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. I found the descriptions in this book of a girl who gradually learns the truth about life and the people in her life to be honest and true, heartbreaking, beautiful and re-affirming, all at the same time. Yet again, here is a book in which the main character could easily have given in and been crushed under the weight of what she had been dealt by society and birth, but didn’t. Francie should be a shining light in the darkness for all of us who experience hardship.

Francie is told by her English teacher to write about beauty. When asked by Francie, what is beauty, the teacher offers her a quote from Keats, “Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.” This book is filled with both. I highly recommend A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, with its simple and beautiful and true message about the power of family, love and hope.

I give this book 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

Reviewed by: Anna

Posted in Classics, Modern Classic | No Comments »

The Princess and the Hounds By: Mette Ivie Harrison

July 17, 2008 by annanausten

This is a creative retelling of the classic story, the Beauty and the Beast. But in this story, the beast, is the Princess. I love books of this nature, retelling classic fairy tales, but with an interesting twist that completely sets it apart from the original version. I personally think that the retellings are better in some way or another, but that might just be my opinion. I’m not sure exactly what it is, whether the story is just better, or if it’s because I’ve heard the originals so much, that these interesting twists are refreshing. Prince George of Kendel has had a secret to keep his whole life, one that he dare not speak of, for the harshest punishment would be death. Princess Beatrice, Prince George’s betrothed, has a secret she cannot tell either, and these two characters who claim to be so different, do not realize that their alikeness is slowly drawing them together.  As soon as you open this book, I guarantee, you will not be able to put it down until you have finished.  You instantly become attached to the characters, you have to know what will happen when Prince George visits the kingdom of Sarrey?  Why is Princess Beatrice so cold?  Why does her hound never leave her?  What could George possibly be missing?  When they are happy, you are happy.  When they weep, you weep.  It is as simple as that.  This was such a powerful and deep story of love, mystery, and great source of magic so powerful, no one person can even attempt to understand it.  So, if you are in need of a more adventurous, fantastical, romantic read, pick up The Princess and the Hound.  I promise you’ll never want to put it down.

I give this book 5 out 5 bookmarks!

Reviewed by: Austen Aquino

Posted in Fantasy | 4 Comments »

The Glass Castle

July 16, 2008 by annanausten

After reading The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, I am grateful

This memoir is an extraordinary story of growing up in abject poverty. Brilliant and talented enough to get jobs, the eccentric parents of Jeannette Walls refused to be tied down by normal societal conventions, such as regular work. Life-long self learners, the Walls parents passed this love of learning onto their four children. They passed on many other lessons as well. How to feed oneself from a very early age, how to deal with hunger when there was no food how to be resourceful, resilient and fearless, are a few of the “gifts” the Walls children learned from their life-loving, but often selfish parents.

I must admit that these children, growing up as they did, with loving but often unattentive and neglectful parents, do appear to be supremely capable of dealing with whatever life has in store for them. They have already dealt with almost everything one can imagine. I look over at my own children, traditionally raised, but molly-coddled, by comparison to the Walls children, and I wonder if, by preserving their childhoods for as long as possible, I haven’t made some inevitable life lessons a little harder to learn. Does that proverbial slap in the face of life’s realities settling in on us hurt more if we receive it when we are young, or if we put it off?

The Glass Castle is so reminiscent of the American classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, that I found some of the similarities remarkable. But, perhaps, the lesson meant to be learned here is not that these stories (both memoirs, in truth) are so unique and rare, but that they aren’t unique and rare. They serve to shed light on truths that have been common to many American for generations. What is, perhaps, rare is taking such a close and intimate look at these truths. in addition, for all of the hard truths that these stories share, and which are so honestly and simply told, what I as a reader was left with was a sense of hope. There is always hope. That is the real truth. That is the true gift.

So, read The Glass Castle and feel grateful. This is a story which shows us how to be grateful for every blessing life bestows, whether it came easily or painfully. A gift is a gift, and there is always hope.

I give this extraordinary story 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

Reviewed by: Anna

Posted in Memoirs, Non-Fiction | 4 Comments »

Pride and Prejudice By: Jane Austen

July 16, 2008 by annanausten

I personally thought that this book is a great read for any young girl (or boy) who likes to read about troubles and annoyances at home, embarrassing families, and tricky romances. When I first started, it nearly put me to sleep with extremely long and overly complicated descriptions, but if you find a way to read past that, things quickly pick up. Though many may think of Jane Austen and think it rather boring with out even seeing the book, or even attempt to read it, you may be surprised by how attached you become to the characters and how the author instantly appeals to all of readers no matter who they are. The language, may be hard to understand at first, but if you just keep moving forward, you will begin to understand it a little better. Every teenage girl can relate with Elizabeth and Jane Bennet, because they deal with many of the problems that girls today deal with. They have parents that can be totally embarrassing at times, they have competition with siblings for attention, they deal with extraordinary feelings of love and hate and things that they cannot even begin to comprehend. Their parents do not always approve of who they like and they don’t always approve of who their parents have picked out for them. I think that this book was a definite page turner! Even if you don’t like this book the first time round, you should definitely give it a second go, because, in my opinion, this is a book that all women should read at least once in their lifetime! My favorite part of the whole story would have to be when Elizabeth stays with her friend, Charlotte Collins, and she visits Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I really think that it shows just how witty and real and courageous Elizabeth is by calling Lady Catherine on her outrageously rude behavior! Kudos to her! So, if you have nothing else in mind for your summer reading, try picking up Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, I guarantee you will be absolutely captivated!

I give it 5 out of 5 bookmarks.

reviewed by: Austen Aquino

Posted in Classics, Jane Austen | 3 Comments »