4.5 stars -- I like it a lot.
How To Say Goodbye in Robot left me feeling meloncholy. It's not usually a feeling I look for in books, but in this case it fits, and it might be exactly the type of feeling the author was trying to convey.
How To Say Goodbye in Robot is about a girl, Bea, who moves to a new town. Her mother becomes overly emotional and irrational after the move and calls Bea a robot when Bea doesn't react as emotionally to things as she does.
This leads to a lot of introspection on the part of Bea. She starts to believe that she might be a robot. Perhaps she isn't reacting as normal people do, isn't feeling what normal people feel. And then she meets Jonah.
Jonah is a hard character to like. He's mean to Bea and manipulative. He's got so much baggage the airlines probably wouldn't let him fly. But Bea loves him and desperately tries to help him.
I really liked how this all came together. I didn't like Jonah, but I didn't fault Bea for liking him. The main plot of the story is slightly ridiculous, but also incredibly sad, and it's easy to see how and why certain characters are affected by others.
Also, I'm a fan of the design of the book. The bright pink pages that mark the months are a fabulous way to show the passage of time, and they break up the monotony of the normal black and white interior of a book. They're unique.
Certainly a worthwhile read!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
5 stars -- I loved it
This book is amazing (I admit... it made me cry for a bit). It helps, of course, that it takes place in Australia, but Saving Francesca surpassed my expectations.
When my husband saw the title, his first question was, "What does Francesca need saving from?" It's a tricky question to answer in the beginning. There are so many real and serious issues Francis is facing. Her normally upbeat and pushy mother refuses to leave her bed; she has just started at a new school -- an all boys' school, but for thirty girls recently admitted; none of her friends are among the thirty girls at her school, and for a girl of 16 years, that can be huge; and the boy she likes kisses her, but then admits he has a girlfriend. It's easy to think that Francesca needs saving from her mother, her family, her school, her friends, even herself, but I'll let you read it to find out which it really is.
Depression is difficult and hurtful, and Melina Marchetta handled the issue nicely. She even brings it to a satisfactory conclusion, and it's completely believable.
The main character, Francesca, is a perfectly believable female teenager, and her angst is understandable and even mostly explainable -- although sometimes it's not. Francis admits to being angry at her dad for no reason she can find.
Overall, I highly recommend you read this book. It's simple but amazing.
This book is amazing (I admit... it made me cry for a bit). It helps, of course, that it takes place in Australia, but Saving Francesca surpassed my expectations.
When my husband saw the title, his first question was, "What does Francesca need saving from?" It's a tricky question to answer in the beginning. There are so many real and serious issues Francis is facing. Her normally upbeat and pushy mother refuses to leave her bed; she has just started at a new school -- an all boys' school, but for thirty girls recently admitted; none of her friends are among the thirty girls at her school, and for a girl of 16 years, that can be huge; and the boy she likes kisses her, but then admits he has a girlfriend. It's easy to think that Francesca needs saving from her mother, her family, her school, her friends, even herself, but I'll let you read it to find out which it really is.
Depression is difficult and hurtful, and Melina Marchetta handled the issue nicely. She even brings it to a satisfactory conclusion, and it's completely believable.
The main character, Francesca, is a perfectly believable female teenager, and her angst is understandable and even mostly explainable -- although sometimes it's not. Francis admits to being angry at her dad for no reason she can find.
Overall, I highly recommend you read this book. It's simple but amazing.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Splendor by Anna Godbersen
4 stars -- I liked it.
The fourth and final book in the Luxe novels, Splendor ends the series perfectly. It's one of the first times I can remember being perfectly pleased with a series' ending. Other series tend to tie things up too nicely or don't really have an end at all, but this one was perfect.
You definitely have to read the first three books in the series (The Luxe, Rumors, and Envy) for this one to make sense for these are not stand-alone novels. They follow the lives of several upper-class New York socialites in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
In all of the novels, the heroines are the Holland girls, but there are a number of characters that readers aren't sure how to feel about. Finally, though, readers find closure. A former maid, in the beginning petty and untrustworthy, had wormed her way into high society and was being cast in a gentler light. Unsure whether I was supposed to still hate her or whether I should begin liking her for her ingenuity and success, the way she was left was perfect. The hated rival to Elizabeth Holland is given a taste of her own medicine. Henry Schoonmaker, a cad and unlikable fellow for the majority of the series, is redeemed in readers' eyes, only to be given an appropriate ending, as well. Henry had been getting on my good side, but the way the author left him made me smile--he was a cad, after all.
There was a new twist in this story as well. Elizabeth had been remarried in a previous novel, and I felt like she was settling, because she was. But we find out that all is not as it seems in her new marriage, and Elizabeth--often weak and malleable--finds her backbone unexpectedly, and then finds happiness as well.
Like I said, I really like how this series ended. Everyone got exactly what they deserved, and for a series that I was only reading due to the pretty dresses on the cover (fabulous covers, Harper), I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciate the progression of this series and its characters. Well done.
The fourth and final book in the Luxe novels, Splendor ends the series perfectly. It's one of the first times I can remember being perfectly pleased with a series' ending. Other series tend to tie things up too nicely or don't really have an end at all, but this one was perfect.
You definitely have to read the first three books in the series (The Luxe, Rumors, and Envy) for this one to make sense for these are not stand-alone novels. They follow the lives of several upper-class New York socialites in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
In all of the novels, the heroines are the Holland girls, but there are a number of characters that readers aren't sure how to feel about. Finally, though, readers find closure. A former maid, in the beginning petty and untrustworthy, had wormed her way into high society and was being cast in a gentler light. Unsure whether I was supposed to still hate her or whether I should begin liking her for her ingenuity and success, the way she was left was perfect. The hated rival to Elizabeth Holland is given a taste of her own medicine. Henry Schoonmaker, a cad and unlikable fellow for the majority of the series, is redeemed in readers' eyes, only to be given an appropriate ending, as well. Henry had been getting on my good side, but the way the author left him made me smile--he was a cad, after all.
There was a new twist in this story as well. Elizabeth had been remarried in a previous novel, and I felt like she was settling, because she was. But we find out that all is not as it seems in her new marriage, and Elizabeth--often weak and malleable--finds her backbone unexpectedly, and then finds happiness as well.
Like I said, I really like how this series ended. Everyone got exactly what they deserved, and for a series that I was only reading due to the pretty dresses on the cover (fabulous covers, Harper), I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciate the progression of this series and its characters. Well done.
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