Category Archives: Review

Review: Death of the Demon by Anne Holt

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  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Scribner; Reprint edition (June 18, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1451634803
  • Source: Publisher

Twelve-year-old Olav is the newest ward in a foster home outside of Oslo. It isn’t long before the staff realizes something isn’t quite right with Olav, the sheer hatred that shines in his eyes is quite evident. Removed from his mother’s care, Olav makes it apparent that he isn’t pleased with his new home, shouting curses and threats to the staff.

When the director of the foster home, Agnes Vestavik, is found dead at her desk, a kitchen knife plunged through her back and into her heart, Olav becomes the most obvious suspect. Yet he has disappeared from the walls of the foster home, roaming the streets of Oslo alone.

Hanne Wilhelmsen, recently promoted to chief inspector of the Oslo police, is assigned to the case. Working along detective Billy T., Hanne begins to not only investigate the murder but the disappearance of Olav as well. Immediately, she orders an investigation of the foster home and its staff.  Headstrong and independent, Hanne has a difficult time delegating her work and sharing her findings with others assigned to the case.  Her inability to trust others is not only a hindrance at the workplace but at home as well.   When the evidence begins mounting up, suggesting that one of the staff at the foster home is responsible for the director’s death, Hanne can’t shake the feeling that young Olav is somehow responsible. The investigation unveils a wealth of corruption within the fost home, including sordid affairs, fraud and larceny, just to name a few.

Meanwhile, Olav roams the streets alone, struggling to get back home to the mother. As the reader follows the investigation and Olav’s trek, his mother shares insight into his past and the mental illness that causes him to act with such malice and hatred. Starting at his birth, she knew something was wrong with her son.  It took her months to form any sort of bond with him, only when he was bordering on life and death did she have any feeling of love or nurturing toward him. Olav’s inappropriate behavior and poor social skills started when he was quite young, before entering school. This added detail about Olav’s character has the reader guessing, alongside Hanne, if this young boy is evil enough to have committed this horrendous crime.

While this is the third book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, Death of the Demon is well-suited as a stand-alone novel. Holt does a tremendous job of building up the characters, providing back-story as necessary. Her ability to build up and define each of the characters is so skilled that readers will find the most evil of characters sympathetic.

Holt’s critique and examination of the foster care system is quite enlightening. While she details a wide range of issues and faults with the foster home’s staff, she diminishes it by also noting the sheer amount of love and fondness they have for those in their care. The question remains, however: how much of what happens to those in the governments care can be blamed on inadequacies in the system and not on the individuals themselves?

What I found most remarkable about this novel was the twists and turns Holt takes her reader on, keeping one guessing until quite literally the last several pages of the book. While I can typically deduce the identity of the guilty party early on in a thriller, I found myself grasping at straw with this one. When all is revealed, I still found myself exclaiming “I KNEW IT” even though in fact I did not.

I have a feeling many may have issues with the ending but it is my opinion that it is one of the few plausible ways Holt could have conveyed the truth, without making it obviously apparent. It is Holt’s intent to keep her reader’s guessing, never trusting what is portrayed as the truth, even after the final pages have been turned.

Anne Holt is an Edgar Award nominated author and this novel just adds validity and proof of her sheer talent and skill. While her work is often compared to other Norwegian crime fiction greats, Holt can easily stand on her own as the queen of this subsection of crime fiction. Highly, highly recommended!

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Review: Studio Saint-Ex by Ania Szado

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  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf (June 4, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0307962792
  • Source: Publisher

Paris is currently occupied by the Germans. New York’s Mayor La Guardia believes he can make the city the new fashion capital of the world. Mignonne Lachapelle is a twenty-two year old woman, headstrong and eager to make herself known in the world of fashion design. Her designs are unique and border on risque. After her instructor and mentor pass some of her Mignonne’s design’s off as her own, Mignonne immediately seeks retribution and ends up working as her mentor’s assistant. It is here that she is reunited with French expatriate writer/war pilot, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a man whom she tutored in the English language a year previous.

Mignonne’s quest to make a name for herself becomes a bit more complicated with this reunion, particularly when Antoine’s wife, Consuelo, becomes one of her customers. Despite flaunting her many affairs before her husband’s eyes, Consuelo is quite desperate to win back the love and attention of Antoine. The three become consumed in the most complicated of love triangles, particularly when Consuelo enlists Mignonne in her attempts to win back her husband. Antoine is emotionally needy and vulnerable, reaching for Mignonne’s adoration to aid him as he writes his novel about a young prince, lost and exiled on earth after falling during his journey through the planets. In turn, Mignonne turns Antoine’s novel, The Little Prince, into a fashion show, all in a vain attempt to prevent Antoine from leaving her and enlisting in the war.

Szado’s Studio Saint-Ex captures so eloquently the tumultuous New York of the 1940s. The country, and the world, was embarking on a completely new manner of life, war with Germany looming. Despite the chaos that is looming, the reader becomes instantly immersed in setting of New York, just as the city’s introduction and fame in the fashion world is about to take off.  Having visited the city several times myself, I can visualize the city as it is now, yet also transported to a time when the Garment District was overrun with designers, vendors and the like.

The characters Szado creates are incredibly detailed and well-portrayed. Each are completely flawed yet it is difficult not to sympathize with each and every one of them. Mignonne is desperate to make a name for herself as a fashion designer. Her passion was so real and vivid that it comes alive on the pages. After being betrayed by her mentor, her determination only grows stronger, only lessening when yet another more tangible passion presents itself. Antoine’s own desperation and loneliness comes alive in his writing. He feels abandoned and lost in a country that is not his own, his potential also diminished as long as he’s prevented from living a life he so desperately needs to lead. And Consuelo…so vain yet also so needy of her husband’s love.

A fan of Saint-Exupéry’s children’s classic The Little Prince from childhood, I found it incredibly rewarding to read about his life as he wrote it, even if it is a fictionalized account.  Add that to the rich historical account of a blossoming fashion capital and it all adds up to a incredibly captivating, wholly remarkable and well-rounded novel. Even those not familiar with the brilliant work of Saint-Exupéry’s will be rewarded with an incredibly enriching experience. Highly, highly recommended.

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Frightful Friday: Joyland by Stephen King

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Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week.

This week’s featured title is Joyland by Stephen King:

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Hard Case Crime; First Edition edition (June 4, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1781162646
  • Source: Personal copy

Devin Jones is a college student who recently had his heart broken. Attempting to escape his routine everyday life he applies for a job at Joyland, a little theme park that has avoided the commercialism of bigger parks like Disney.  He quickly picks up on the theme park way of life and becomes a jack-of-all trades, one minute running rides, the next donning “the fur” of the park’s mascot.

He isn’t at the park long before he hears rumors it is haunted by a young girl who was killed while in Joyland’s Horror House, her boyfriend slitting her throat and disposing of her body before the ride ended. Staff and guests alike have reportedly seen her ghost. Devin, having worked the theme park for a little while now, wonders why he hasn’t seen her.  Trying to get his mind off his lost love, Devin quickly becomes obsessed with learning more about her death, soon revealing that she was just one of many killed by this brutal serial killer.

Fans expecting Joyland to be classic King horror will be disappointed to learn that it is not;  it is much more. Instead, it combines a multitude of genres, including thriller, supernatural with a touch of horror. It’s a coming of age story set in the 1970s our country was going through a host of really difficult things, including the war in Vietnam and the rise of sexual freedom and feminism.  King, as he is known to do, brilliantly showcases and studies what is going on in the world by using this young man, this theme park, and a series of killings as vehicles of his message.

The characters King devises are rich and colorful, much like Joyland itself.  King mixes loners who have devoted their lives to working the theme park with a young mother and her dying son who has a special power. Only in a King novel will these things flow together so naturally and without flaws.

The best thing about this novel? While it isn’t the horror-filled King that many of us have grown to love, the fact that this level of terror is missing allows a whole new audience of readers, perhaps too turned off by horror, to embrace and discover King’s writing. Reminiscent of King’s Stand by Me, The Shawshank Redemption,  and The Green Mile, Joyland demonstrates once again just how gifted King is when it comes to crafting a truly brilliant and moving novel. Highly, highly recommended.

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Review: The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth Silver

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  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Crown (June 11, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 038534743X
  • Source: Publisher

Ten years ago, accused of first-degree murder, Noa P. Singleton not once spoke up in her own defense. Now, just six months away from her execution date, Noa is visited by Marlene Dixon, a powerful Philadelphia lawyer and the mother of the young woman Noa was convicted of killing.  Marlene’s view of the death penalty has changed; she is now willing to work to commute Noa’s sentence to life in prison if Noa will do just one thing: share what happened that fateful day.

Up until this point, Noa has refused to share her story. She shares a secret with Marlene, one that ties them both to the murder. Noa feels that Marlene doesn’t deserve the salvation and closure that she so desperately demands.

The author leads the reader through the past revealing Noa’s tumultuous life, raised by her selfish, self-absorbed mother. It isn’t until she’s an adult that Noa ever meets her father.  As the pages turn and the reader learns more about Noa’s life, she develops into quite the sympathetic character. Surprisingly sane despite spending the last decade in prison, the extent of Noa’s intense desire to take the blame for this young woman’s death is truly heartbreaking.

The Execution of Noa P. Singleton is an intense psychological thriller filled to the brim with twists and turns. While the reader knows immediately that Noa is imprisoned, it isn’t until much later in the novel that the crime she is convicted for is revealed.  Learning of Noa’s less than healthy upbringing, readers will want to sympathize with her, but since she is a convicted killer I found myself struggling with who to trust. Both Noa, given her crime, and Marlene, given her emotional connection to the crime, are incredibly unreliable characters.  Through Noa’s flashbacks and Marlene’s letters to her dead daughter, we are slowly given access to the motivations and feelings exhibited by each of these characters. The parallel narratives battle with one another, challenging the reader to come to his/her determination about the culpability and believability of each of the characters.

Silver’s knowledge of the justice system is quite profound. She has her own way of criticizing our current system, particularly on the side of the defendant. Noa had no one to speak up for her when she refused to do it herself, no one to examine the procedures and practices enforced both before and during her trial. Had someone been her advocate, done a little digging around into the crime itself, it is quite possible she wouldn’t be preparing for her own execution.

I found it quite shocking to read that this is Silver’s first novel. Her talent at teasing the reader, revealing information bit by bit and thereby increasing the intensity page by page, seems like it would come from a veteran writer. This skill, and the fact that I was kept guessing up until the very end, has me applauding for this author’s skilled talent.

A completely captivating, intellectually stimulating psychological thriller, The Execution of Noa P. Singleton is the perfect evidence to indicate that this is an author to watch. Highly, highly recommended!

About the author:

Silver, a writer, attorney, and former English teacher, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, the MA Program in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in England, and Temple University Beasley School of Law. She studied capital punishment with some of the nation’s leading anti-death penalty attorneys at the University of Texas School of Law at Austin, where she worked on a clemency petition, and later worked as a Judicial Clerk for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. As part of the clemency investigation, she visited death row, interviewed inmates and met with victim family members. While exploring the provocative and polarizing issues of the death penalty, Silver wanted to present both sides of the issue, and thus her novel was born. Silver’s taut writing, which has brought recognition from Glimmer Train, funding from the NEA, and writing residencies in Spain and France, carries the reader forward to the story’s shocking end.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for providing me the opportunity to participate in this tour. Please be sure to check out the other stops in this tour; I guarantee this book will have people talking!

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Review: The Registry by Shannon Stoker

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  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (June 11, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0062271725
  • Source: Publisher

Years ago, The Registry saved the country from potential collapse. Girls are groomed to be perfect wives and are sold for the highest bid to their potential husbands. Mia Morrissey is about to turn eighteen years old and eligible to be registered. Her childhood was spent preparing for this very moment yet when she receives a warning from her sister who was recently married, her dreams of a fairytale future are destroyed.

Essentially, women are treated as property. They are not allowed to have their own opinions, speak unless spoken to, and must clear every action with their husbands. They are not formally educated, other than instruction on how to sew and cook for their husbands. Marriage is no longer based on love, instead focusing on what the young girl, a piece of property, can give to her husband.

When a husband is found for Mia, she suddenly decides that the life that has been arranged for her is less than ideal and she runs, taking her friend Whitney. Whitney has only a month left on the registry before she’s turned over to the government, living the life of a slave for its bidding. The two enlist (blackmail) Andrew, one of Mia’s father’s farmhands, to aid in their escape. Andrew just has a few weeks left before his mandatory four-year enlistment in the military and he intended to travel around the country, taking advantage of his last days of freedom.

Running from The Registry is rare and deadly, to both the potential wife and any accomplices. Mia’s husband, Grant, will stop at nothing to get Mia back, even if it means killing anyone who stands in his way. While the trio attempts to escape to Mexico where the registry doesn’t exist, Grant uses his influence to track down Mia, leaving several dead in his wake.

While I was intrigued about the premise of The Registry, I couldn’t get over a number of issues that tainted my opinion of this book. No one seems to know much about the origin of The Registry, other than it has been in existence for nearly a century. What was once the United States is now broken up into regions. Young girls are led to believe there is nothing beyond the area in which they reside, not realizing there is an entire world free of The Registry.  Granted, the life that we lead presently is so far from this dystopian world, yet I found it hard to comprehend how and why a nation would continue to practice such archaic beliefs.

Additionally, I found the main character, Mia, uninteresting and frankly quite annoying. She quickly alternates between a strong and independent young woman and a whiney teen who seems to lack in common sense. I felt no connection with her and only found myself rooting for her because I strongly detested the future she was destined to fulfill.

And then there was a love-triangle. That, too, was cheesy, over the top, and immature.  This title definitely leans a little bit more toward the young adult than I thought it would and this could potentially be why I was able to connect or have any vested interest in the characters and storyline.

The Registry is the first in a planned series, the second book due out in Winter 2014. While I can’t say I won’t read it (for I am truly interested in learning more about the origins of The Registry) I won’t rush out to buy it on release day.

I received a copy of this book as part of my participation in a tour with TLC Book Tours.  Check out the other stops in the tour…perhaps others will have a better opinion of this title.

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Review: A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

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  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Putnam Adult (May 30, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 039916216X
  • Source: Publisher

It’s Memorial Day weekend in 1938. Following family tradition, Lily Dane has left her life in New York and returned with her family to the oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island. Her plans for a peaceful, relaxing summer are changed when the Greenwalds return to Seaview. A painful past full of heartbreaking events comes rushing back to Lily.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald once played a big role in Lily’s life. Budgie was Lily’s best friend; they grew up together sharing many fond memories of Seaview. Nick was once Lily’s fiance, their relationship destroyed seven years ago. Nick and Budgie have recently married, an event that raised quite a few eyebrows and stirred up the gossip in Seaview.

Budgie has returned to Seaview in the hopes of reconstructing her family’s old house…and her relationship with Lily as well. Always one to be the center of the social scene, Budgie takes it upon herself to try to set Lily up with Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton, a “friend” of hers from their college days. Despite this, Lily’s love for Nick cannot be diminished and despite Budgie’s attempts to push her on Graham, Lily can’t stop thinking about Nick. The two are forced to revisit the events that pushed them apart, facing the emotional devastation that ended their relationship. Both are bound by intense emotional obligations, yet when the true circumstances are revealed, both see one another in a completely new light. A a horrific hurricane looms, Lily and Nick must face and overcome their own emotional storms, changing their lives forever.

The setting of this novel plays quite the integral role in this story. A calm, serene beach in the path of a looming hurricane. It’s not hard to draw the connection between what is happening in the setting to that of Nick and Lily’s relationship. This setting is also what will draw readers to embrace this novel. Who can resist a warm beach in the summer, warm sand under your toes?

While I’m typically turned off by love stories in general, the feeling I had after reading Williams’ previous title, Overseas, allowed me to take a chance and dive into this novel.  As I suspected, I was quickly wrapped up, nearly obsessed, with Nick and Lily’s love. Perhaps because it is a love that is true and classic, one that has succeeded in standing the test of time. Using chapters with alternating time periods, Williams so eloquently builds up each of the characters, detailing their transformation and emotional evolution over the past several years.

The characters are extremely rich in this novel. Williams is quite successful at balancing Budgie’s outrageous and obnoxious behavior with the serenity, calm and innocence found in Lily.  How the two could have been friends for so long is beyond me! And the love triangle/square!? Wowser. It was quite intense, I found myself furiously turning the pages to find out what was going to happen.  And the passion? Well, you’ll see for yourself.

My only complaint would be the ending.  I’m ecstatic about what transpired but thought it was an easy means to get to the desired ending. That said, the rich beauty and beautiful writing throughout the novel, the truly dynamic and captivating storyline, really won me over in the end.  If you are looking for a beautiful, rich novel to take you away this summer, this is the title for you. Highly, highly recommended.

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Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

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  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 2, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 0061950726
  • Source: Publisher

Molly Ayer is in foster care, about to “age out” of the system. When she steals a book from the library, she’s forced to do community service to avoid placement in juvenile hall.  She agrees to help an elderly woman named Vivian clean out her attic, filled with decades of possessions and memories. As the two begin the task, they soon understand that they are more alike than it may appear on the surface. Vivian opens up to Molly, sharing a part of her history she’s kept silent about for decades.

As a child, Vivian was orphaned after a horrendous fire tore through her family’s home.  As a young Irish immigrant with no surviving family, she was sent on a train that left from New York and traveled out west, known as the orphan train. Thousands of other children embarked on trains like this,  their future unknown. Many were matched with warm, inviting families. Others, like Vivian, weren’t treated as part of a family but instead workers or caregivers for younger children.

Told in alternate point of views, switching from present time to the late 1800s/1900s, both Molly and Vivian share the experiences and situations that brought them to their current place in life.  When their relationship begins, Molly sees Vivian as a wealthy senior citizen that couldn’t possibly understand the challenges she is going through. While she is placed in a foster home, the relationship she has with her foster mother is less than inviting. Like Vivian, who was a constant outcast due to her red hair and Irish heritage, Molly (a Penobscot Indian) feels shunned due to her own heritage. As the bond between these two individuals is cultivated, they each see a bit of themselves in the other, an understanding that not many others share.

Orphan Train is a heartwarming novel rich with dynamic, sympathetic characters and rich historical detail. All of the characters, including the secondary, become alive on the pages making the reader easily forget that they are fictional entities rather than actual living people. It is impossible not to form a connection with Vivian and Molly and celebrate the connection they have found in one another.

I originally learned about orphan trains while reading The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty. Since discovering this often unfamiliar part of our country’s history, I have become fascinated with the subject matter. I was pleased to see the amount of information Christina Baker Kline has on her web site about this topic, including the actual journey Vivian would have taken on the orphan train in 1929 to historical background information the author discovered in writing this novel. While this novel is rich with historical detail, the reader never feels like they are being lectured or overwhelmed with historical facts. Personally, I wanted to know more about the orphan train system, a subject matter I plan to do more research on myself.

All in all, Orphan Train is a novel is one that will resonate within me for some time. To hear of the journey taken by these orphan children and what they had to endure to find a home is incredibly heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Vivian came alive within the pages of this novel. While I am not adopted, she has inspired me to learn more about my own heritage for she has proven the power and importance of honoring and celebrating one’s heritage.

This is a novel that is full of discussion worthy topics perfect for a book club, including love, resilience, endurance and more. Highly, highly recommended.

Orphan Train is the May book club selection for She Reads. Join us Thursday, May 23rd for an online discussion about this title. Click here for more information.

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Review: Zombie, Illinois by Scott Kenemore

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  • Paperback: 392 pages
  • Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing (October 1, 2012)
  • ISBN-10: 1616088850
  • Source: Personal copy

When the dead begin to rise, the most unlikely of coalitions form between a pastor from Chicago’s rough South Side, a young reporter, and a female musician. As if an attack from the walking dead wasn’t enough, the trio uncover a conspiracy by a group of dirty alderman to overthrow the city, using the chaos created by the attack to do so without notice. It is this trio and their unique knowledge of the city that can attempt to save the city they love from this corruption while simultaneously escaping attacks from the walking dead.

Setting is an incredibly important aspect of this story. The author’s love of Chicago is clearly evident in his portrayal of this fine city, showcasing it in a way that truly adds to the development of this novel. It isn’t just a zombie novel, but an author’s love story about his favorite city. Having grown up just outside Chicago, I found myself appreciating this novel on a completely different level than I expected. Quite possibly one of my favorite parts of the novel is when a notable figure in Chicago’s mob history makes an appearance, rising from the dead for a brain-noshing experience of his own.

A little lighter in tone than Kenemore’s previous title, Zombie, Ohio, this title takes place around the same time. For unknown reasons, the dead begin rising from the ground. In the case of the zombies in Chicago they begin walking in from the lake, victims of the mob having been swimming with the fishes for decades. The gore and vulgar language are a little more intense in this novel, quite suitable for the setting, however.

The characters Kenemore created are wholly unique in and of themselves, each able to give a completely different viewpoint.  Forcing them to work together to survive, the way they relate to one another adds a bit of levity and a comical spin on an otherwise dark and desperate story line.

Once again, Kenemore has created a zombie novel that is a step above the rest, a novel that isn’t simply only about a band of the living rising up against the dead.  He just  happens to use it as a background to write about a city he loves, political corruption and all.

If you are looking for a zombie novel with a taste of political corruption, this is the novel for you. Highly recommended.

 

zombieawarenessmonth

 

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Frightful Friday: Red Moon by Benjamin Percy

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Frightful Friday is a weekly meme in which I feature a particularly scary or chilling book that I’ve read that week. The featured title this week is Red Moon by Benjamin Percy:

  • Hardcover: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (May 7, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1455501662
  • Source: Publisher (via Netgalley)

Set in an alternate world, Red Moon describes a world in which lycans walk among us. Infected by prion called lobos, the protein spreads through the human body like an infection.  The contamination is wide-spread: an entire region called Lupine Republic is set aside for those infected.  Those forced to reside in this large-scale containment camp survive by mining the uranium that was discovered after the containment zone was created.

There are other lycans that maintain a fairly normal life. They work with us, go to school with our children, ride planes. They are forced to take a highly addictive drug called Volpexx to control the “change.” Yet in some instances they attack and these situations are what have caused the strong feelings of hate toward the lycans.  Now, once they are discovered, American lycans are treated like criminals despite never showing any evidence of threat.

Narrated by three individuals, Percy shows three unique aspects to this story. Patrick Gamble survived a lycan attack on board a plane by hiding beneath a body of one of the victims.  Claire Forrester is a teen lycan striving for a normal life, seeking revenge after her parents are killed in a government raid.Chase Williams is a politician who is adamantly anti-lycan, even after he himself is infected.

Using these three vastly different characters, Percy shows how our country has consistently treated various subsets of the population different, throughout the generations and continuing into modern times. It isn’t hard to draw the connections between the world within Red Moon and our current cultural climate.

While I would claim this is truly a horror novel, Percy does add some…literary tones to the story that makes it hard to classify it in just one genre. The writing is extremely descriptive and detailed, toning down any overly harsh or graphic segments within the prose. Percy’s novel has truly take the typical werewolf tale outside of the box, beyond the typical comfort zone. He clearly wants this to be much more than just a horror novel, but a story with a lasting and pervasive social message. The thing is, there is a lot of horror out there (Stephen King’s The Stand) that does this, yet people can’t see past the horror category to accept it as anything of substance.

While I commend Percy for his work, there is a great deal of meat (pun possibly intended) to this novel, both in word count and in message. There were parts that I felt seemed to drag on a bit and then also things that I felt could have been detailed further. It almost feels as though this is two novels condensed into one. Perhaps if they had been two individual pieces, Percy could have expounded upon some things without having to restrain his word count. While I appreciated the entirety of this novel, the potential for readers’ interest to wane is great simply due to the page count.

I do plan on listening to the audio book; reviews of Percy’s narration have steeped my interest. Perhaps this is a novel meant to be listened to as opposed to being read. Perhaps I’m just rambling and have no idea what I’m talking about.

In any case, I do recommend this book due to the social commentary and the “out of the box” thinking regarding werewolves and lycans. Do bear in mind the page length; your patience will be ultimately rewarded. Recommended.

Listen to a clip of the audio book. Yep, sounds like horror to me!

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Review: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

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  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin (February 26, 2013)
  • ISBN-10: 1250012570
  • Source: Library copy

The year is 1986 in Omaha, Nebraska.  Park is a sixteen-year-old part Asian boy living in a mostly white community. He’s not an outcast but due to his interest in alternative music and comics forces him to stand apart from the others. One morning, a new kid climbs on the school bus. Eleanor has bright red hair and a unique taste in clothing. It’s almost as if she is trying to draw attention to herself. Unaware of the politics of school bus seating, Eleanor instantly becomes the target of bullies riding the bus. Attempting to put an end to the confrontation, Park orders her to sit down next to him. For the longest time, they ignore one another. Park tunes out the world, headphones blaring on his head, flipping through pages of his favorite comics. One day he notices Eleanor reading along and their relationship begins to change.

Soon he begins to bring in comics for Eleanor to borrow and their joint interest sparks conversation. As Park begins to learn more about Eleanor, their friendship begins to evolve into something more. Eleanor is one of five children living with their mother and abusive step-father. She’s forced to wash her hair with flea shampoo and must hurry to take a bath right after work for fear of being accosted by her step-father. She was kicked out once before, forced to live with friends of her mother, and she fears the same will happen. Now that she has someone who understands her, appreciates her uniqueness, she doesn’t want to put an end to the life she has now, even if it means dealing with her step father’s verbal abuse.

Eleanor and Park quickly bond. Both ostracized for various reasons (Eleanor for her appearance and Park for his ethnicity) the two are drawn together. The unavoidable challenge is whether or not their relationship can stand up against all the elements driving them apart.

There are so many things that I loved about this book. Set in the late 80s, I was instantly taken back to my own youth with flashbacks to Esprit tote bags and the alternative music that was just starting to become popular. Eleanor and Park were the most adorable couple. They were genuine teens with real teen issues. I instantly felt a connection with Eleanor. Growing up, I didn’t always have what other kids my age had, I didn’t have the trendy clothes and had to be creative with what I did have. Fortunately, my home life was far more stable than hers but I still found aspects of her life to which I could relate.

I think it’s tremendously important for young adult novels to have characters like Eleanor and Park so teens growing up with issues have someone with which to connect. I don’t read a lot of young adult, mainly because I feel that some of the popular titles create unrealistic worlds for the teen readers with overinflated characters they are unable to connect with. Perhaps they have a better life or are economically privileged and can have whatever they want. But what makes this title brilliant is the fact that Eleanor and Park do not have this fairy-tale life. They are genuine. While their fate wasn’t necessarily a happy one, it was real, not artificially constructed to leave readers with a happy ending.

Additionally, while it was set nearly thirty years ago, it is my belief that young adults can still connect to the characters. Setting it in this time frame allows the author to avoid some of more modern issues teens are dealing with now, instead focusing on the wonderful relationship between Eleanor and Park.

I was devastated when I finished reading this book. I didn’t want to cut the ties to Eleanor and Park and the life they had together. Eleanor and Park reminded me what it was like to be a teen again, a time when I thought not having the right clothes or the right friends meant the end of the world. It allowed me to see just how lucky in life I am, this book is a true gift. It has been quite some time since a book has left me feeling this way, a testament to Rowell’s writing.  I recommend this book highly to all readers, even if you do not typically read young adult. Eleanor and Park will have a resounding effect on your soul. I know they did with mine.




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