I had never heard of Just Listen (2006) or Sarah Dessen before reading this book, but it was on the “25 YA Novels Everyone–Even Adults–Should Read” list that I’ve been working my way through. So I picked it up from the library without knowing anything about it. From the outside, Annabel Greene, a junior (?) in high school has the perfect life. She works occasionally as a model, with two model sisters and a loving mom and dad in a great house. But life is […]
A [not-so-good], seriously old-fashioned romance novel
When I first bought my Kindle, I was very excited about the free books available on Amazon. I spent a lot of time of looking through the reviews and downloading classics that were no longer protected by copyright. Then I promptly forgot about them. The lure of new books and the pressure of library deadlines were more than enough to distract me. A Voice in the Wilderness [published sometime between 1913 and 1918, according to the internet] by Grace Livingston Hill was one of these […]
A History of Animal Abuse
“…as Oliver Wendell Holmes says, a weak mind does not accumulate force enough to hurt itself.” (61) I am an animal lover, so when I first spotted Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves (2014) by Laurel Braitman at my local Costco, I was intrigued. I imagined in-depth stories of animals that have made miraculous recoveries. I wanted inspiring tales of elephants with new best friends and dogs who become miraculously happy and well-adjusted. I was really […]
The most uninteresting man in the world
Julie Garwood is the author of some of the first romances I ever read. They had danger and suspense, and she’s always been one of my favorite romance authors. I don’t know if the quality of her books have declined, if I have gotten tired of Garwood’s plots, or if my standards have changed, but she’s lost her spot at the top with some of her more recent novels. Yet the nostalgia is still there and I rarely pass up a new Garwood book. Fast […]
Rainbow Rowell is growing up
“You don’t know what it really means to crawl into someone else’s life and stay there. You can’t see all the ways you’re going to get tangled, how you’re going to bond skin to skin. How the idea of separating will feel in five years, in ten–in fifteen. When Georgie thought about divorce now, she imagined lying side by side with Neal on two operating tables while a team of doctors tried to unthread their vascular systems.” (201) Georgie McCool is in her mid-thirties, married […]
The absolutely true story of an Indian who defied stereotypes and taught us compassion
“‘I used to think the world was broken down by tribes,’ I said. ‘By black and white. By Indian and white. But I know that isn’t true. The world is only broken into two tribes: The people who are assholes and the people who are not.’” (176) I have begun working my way through “25 YA Novels Everyone–Even Adults–Should Read”–a list I discovered on the internet. Numbers one and two are the Harry Potter and Golden Compass series, so I decided it was legit–even if […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- …
- 56
- Next Page »