Saturday, August 28, 2010

 

A Bad and Stupid Girl by Jean McGarry

Advance Reading Copy free from The Book Thing of Baltimore. I did not enjoy A Bad and Stupid Girl. Siri is a rich spoiled brat and Esther is a poor naif. They are assigned as roommates at St. Mary's College. I thought the characters were all surface and no depth. I didn't empathize with either one and thought they were hyper-emotional and under-developed. I slogged through to the end irritated at both Siri and Esther.

 

They Cage The Animals at Night by Jennings M. Burch

They Cage The Animals at Night by Jennings Michael Burch. Free from The Book Thing of Baltimore. Jennings Burch and his family had problems. When his mother couldn't care for them because of stress or illness, she placed Jennings and his brothers in temporarily in orphanages or separate foster homes. Jessings didn't really understand what was happening or why but he was terrified. Through the years away from his family and back again, Jennings searches for stability and witnesses small acts of kindness and humanity which keep him alive and sober.

 

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Free from The Book Thing of Baltimore. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson is an autobiographical novel. In a nod to the evangelical upbringing of the author, the chapters are named after the first eight books of the Bible. Many things in this coming of age story are not explored as deeply as I would have liked. There are things about the mother that are hinted at but not followed up on. There are strange little fairy tales inserted in the memoir-like chapters.

She struggles for years with both the evangelical Christian community she is part of and her attraction to other women. She tries various ways to live, change, and negotiate her existence in her known world.

 

Monster by A. Lee Martinez

Monster by A. Lee Martinez. I don't think I've read any of A. Lee Martinez' other books before this.

Judy works the night shift stocking shelves in a grocery store. One night her store is invaded by a Yeti. The pest control officer who answers her call for help is a specialist who neutralizes magical animals and monsters. From one yeti Judy suddenly has destructive magical creatures popping all over the place. Why is there this sudden influx of magic around her? What can Monster, the pest control officer, do to help?

 

Into the Green by Charles de Lint

Free from The Book Thing of Baltimore. Into the Green by Charles de Lint. Most of the charles de Lint books I've read have mixed fairy/other world with modern day stories. Many of his female characters have been through abuse and neglect from their birth families but have forged new families. Into the Green is different. Although Angharad does find friends and family, this story is set farther back in time in a Celtic land where the "Green" is the world of often cursed gifts and magic. Angharad finds love and joy and wonder but loses the love and joy. She finds some relief by helping others with the "Green" in them to find peace in the good use of their gifts. An evil threatens the goodness and light of the Green and Angharad must find a way to stop the spread of darkness into the Green.

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