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ocie's Reviews (413)
I could actually hear this kid's voice in my head as she writes her letters. Great junior fiction novel, with real issues woven into the whimsical stories written as letters to "Mr. Williams."
The beginning of this book kind of made me roll my eyes--The chick was obsessed with a guy, and I really didn't want to read another teen romance. But as I got further in, I was surprised by the Sci-fi/mystery. The book is all about finding the truth behind a shady chemical company. I liked the Native American culture that flows through the book. That mixed with the almost believable science makes it better than your ordinary YA book.
I read this book about 10 years ago and when I found it again I had to reread it since I didn't remember much about it. I didn't think very highly of it before since it's a romance, but my opinion went up after I read it a second time.
Collie is a freelance writer who has the job of writing a series of articles about some of the local food in small-town Texas. She arrives in her first town (her home base for the articles) and is not impressed by the tiny town. What follows is a series of local stories and recipes, car trouble, friendships, and matchmaking.
What really sets this book apart, and why I loved it so much this time around, are the stories. Collie hears all sorts of stories about the people and community of San Saline, Texas. From the pastor who works a second job to raise money for his baptistery to the women's luncheon that started off as a meeting to get the vote for women, the stories pull you in.
Flowing through Collie's experiences and found stories is True McKittrick, the local eligible bachelor, who Collie doesn't like at first (the feeling is mutual), and who the bed and breakfast owner OF COURSE tries to set Collie up with.
The romance plot was a bit cheezy, but mostly pure fluff. It's got plenty of laughs (and cow kisses), even if the romance goes just a little too fast.
Still, it's a feel-good book that I found myself enjoying more the second time around.
Collie is a freelance writer who has the job of writing a series of articles about some of the local food in small-town Texas. She arrives in her first town (her home base for the articles) and is not impressed by the tiny town. What follows is a series of local stories and recipes, car trouble, friendships, and matchmaking.
What really sets this book apart, and why I loved it so much this time around, are the stories. Collie hears all sorts of stories about the people and community of San Saline, Texas. From the pastor who works a second job to raise money for his baptistery to the women's luncheon that started off as a meeting to get the vote for women, the stories pull you in.
Flowing through Collie's experiences and found stories is True McKittrick, the local eligible bachelor, who Collie doesn't like at first (the feeling is mutual), and who the bed and breakfast owner OF COURSE tries to set Collie up with.
The romance plot was a bit cheezy, but mostly pure fluff. It's got plenty of laughs (and cow kisses), even if the romance goes just a little too fast.
Still, it's a feel-good book that I found myself enjoying more the second time around.
I can't write a review of this book without spoilers. So be warned, MANY SPOILERS ahead.
It's 2005. Jolene flies Black Hawk helicopters for the military. Her husband, Michael, doesn't support her military career, but says nothing about it. The story is about what happens to Jolene, Michael, and their two daughters when Jolene is deployed to Iraq.
It took a lot of self-coercing to read past the first few chapters. Michael is a complete dick who manages to blame everything, including his own absence from the family (due to work) on Jolene. He's a self-absorbed prick who can't even be bothered to make it to his daughter's track meet, even though he could have and he promised her he'd come. He has been having doubts about their marriage (blaming Jolene for it) and right before she gets deployed he tells her he doesn't love her anymore. No fictional character has ever made me so mad before.
Jolene's 12-year old daughter Betsy is pretty dramatic, acting out against her mom most of the time. I gave her a pass since she's a preteen, though I thought all the bitching was a little overdone.
Of course, everyone is mad at Jolene when she gets deployed. It's her fault, why can't she just quit or say no thanks, she's a horrible mom for leaving her family. The only people who support her are mother-in-law (a saint) and her best friend, who is also getting deployed with her.
The second part of the book is all about Jolene's experiences in Iraq, with lots of letters home. She writes to her daughters, not to Michael. It's also about Michael having to step up to the plate and actually be a father for once. His character development is actually pretty redeeming. Right before Jolene comes home, he writes her a letter saying he loves her and wants to try again with her when she gets back.
Unfortunately, he sends the letter the same day Jolene's helicopter is shot down and she sustains damaging injuries. She is flown to a hospital in Germany, where her leg is amputated.
This is the last part of the book. Jolene comes home and has to cope with PTSD and depression, and the feeling that nothing is worth it anymore. It pushes her family away from her, including Michael, even though he tries time and time again to tell her that he wants to stay with her.
At this point, I didn't want to stop reading, but I was really hoping for a really good ending. If the ending wasn't all butterflies and rainbows, I'd be very angry.
THANK GOD everything works out in the end. Jolene gets through her depression and lets her family in to help, she accepts Michael back, and gets on the road to recovery.
There isn't a whole lot of good things in this book. But it's pretty realistic, as far as PTSD and therapy goes. I learned a lot about the military and about the mindsets of people and how scary is it (and was in 2005 especially) when a loved one is deployed to the front lines.
It's 2005. Jolene flies Black Hawk helicopters for the military. Her husband, Michael, doesn't support her military career, but says nothing about it. The story is about what happens to Jolene, Michael, and their two daughters when Jolene is deployed to Iraq.
It took a lot of self-coercing to read past the first few chapters. Michael is a complete dick who manages to blame everything, including his own absence from the family (due to work) on Jolene. He's a self-absorbed prick who can't even be bothered to make it to his daughter's track meet, even though he could have and he promised her he'd come. He has been having doubts about their marriage (blaming Jolene for it) and right before she gets deployed he tells her he doesn't love her anymore. No fictional character has ever made me so mad before.
Jolene's 12-year old daughter Betsy is pretty dramatic, acting out against her mom most of the time. I gave her a pass since she's a preteen, though I thought all the bitching was a little overdone.
Of course, everyone is mad at Jolene when she gets deployed. It's her fault, why can't she just quit or say no thanks, she's a horrible mom for leaving her family. The only people who support her are mother-in-law (a saint) and her best friend, who is also getting deployed with her.
The second part of the book is all about Jolene's experiences in Iraq, with lots of letters home. She writes to her daughters, not to Michael. It's also about Michael having to step up to the plate and actually be a father for once. His character development is actually pretty redeeming. Right before Jolene comes home, he writes her a letter saying he loves her and wants to try again with her when she gets back.
Unfortunately, he sends the letter the same day Jolene's helicopter is shot down and she sustains damaging injuries. She is flown to a hospital in Germany, where her leg is amputated.
This is the last part of the book. Jolene comes home and has to cope with PTSD and depression, and the feeling that nothing is worth it anymore. It pushes her family away from her, including Michael, even though he tries time and time again to tell her that he wants to stay with her.
At this point, I didn't want to stop reading, but I was really hoping for a really good ending. If the ending wasn't all butterflies and rainbows, I'd be very angry.
THANK GOD everything works out in the end. Jolene gets through her depression and lets her family in to help, she accepts Michael back, and gets on the road to recovery.
There isn't a whole lot of good things in this book. But it's pretty realistic, as far as PTSD and therapy goes. I learned a lot about the military and about the mindsets of people and how scary is it (and was in 2005 especially) when a loved one is deployed to the front lines.
I didn't really want to read this book. I read it for three reasons.
1) It's been made into a movie and my sister really wants to see it with me
2) Every year I try to read one book I normally wouldn't give two glances at.
3) It's on PBS's Great American Read list.
Ready Player One is about a video game quest to find an easter egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS, the worldwide virtual reality. Whoever finds the easter egg gets control of the OASIS, as well as the VR's creator's wealth (It's in his will).
The main character is Wade Watts, a high-school graduate who is the first person to find the first clue. The race to find the rest of the clues begins and becomes more dangerous as the mega-company IOI sends it's drones in to find the clues and sabotage everyone else's attempts to complete the quest.
This book was, for lack of a better term, dense. Lots of information, very much like a biography, with little dialogue. Not that that's a bad thing, it just got a little tedious to read at times.
The thing I really didn't like about the book is all the 80s pop culture references. I don't like 80s pop culture. And there is a LOT of it. This book is absolutely SATURATED with it. Which is weird because I'd expect that from a book taking place in 2018 (or 2011, when this book was published), but not in 2045, when the book takes place. Now that's just my personal opinion. If you like that stuff, you'll probably love Ready Player One.
The only other thing I didn't like about the book was how easy it was to complete most of the tasks. There was maybe one part that got me like "oh crap what now?" but for the most part Wade pretty much glides right through. And when he does come upon hardships, the book pretty much glazes over how he overcomes them, and what he's feeling/thinking when he fails.
I did like how gripping the story was. No matter what issues I had with it, it kept me reading. I had to know how it ended. And the ending is pretty good, if a little predictable. There's a little plot twist at the end, which I won't reveal, but that I love.
Good book, just not my type.
1) It's been made into a movie and my sister really wants to see it with me
2) Every year I try to read one book I normally wouldn't give two glances at.
3) It's on PBS's Great American Read list.
Ready Player One is about a video game quest to find an easter egg hidden somewhere in the OASIS, the worldwide virtual reality. Whoever finds the easter egg gets control of the OASIS, as well as the VR's creator's wealth (It's in his will).
The main character is Wade Watts, a high-school graduate who is the first person to find the first clue. The race to find the rest of the clues begins and becomes more dangerous as the mega-company IOI sends it's drones in to find the clues and sabotage everyone else's attempts to complete the quest.
This book was, for lack of a better term, dense. Lots of information, very much like a biography, with little dialogue. Not that that's a bad thing, it just got a little tedious to read at times.
The thing I really didn't like about the book is all the 80s pop culture references. I don't like 80s pop culture. And there is a LOT of it. This book is absolutely SATURATED with it. Which is weird because I'd expect that from a book taking place in 2018 (or 2011, when this book was published), but not in 2045, when the book takes place. Now that's just my personal opinion. If you like that stuff, you'll probably love Ready Player One.
The only other thing I didn't like about the book was how easy it was to complete most of the tasks. There was maybe one part that got me like "oh crap what now?" but for the most part Wade pretty much glides right through. And when he does come upon hardships, the book pretty much glazes over how he overcomes them, and what he's feeling/thinking when he fails.
I did like how gripping the story was. No matter what issues I had with it, it kept me reading. I had to know how it ended. And the ending is pretty good, if a little predictable. There's a little plot twist at the end, which I won't reveal, but that I love.
Good book, just not my type.
SPOILERS AHEAD
People have been telling me for years that I'd like this book. I finally got around to reading it and...wow.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is about the lives of the Nolan family. Francie in particular. It's about their struggles and triumphs, how Francie and her little brother Neely grow up in the slums of Brooklyn.
I don't usually read books like this one. There's no main issue, it's simply a book over time about the family and Francie's love for reading and writing. Oh, it's about much more than that, but that's what it centers on.
It begins when Francie is 11 years old. She and Neely collect junk and scraps and sell it for pennies to the local junk man. There are flashbacks to establish their parents' and grandparents' backstories to fill in and round out the story.
What to me is very remarkable about this book are how the characters, mainly Francie, her mother Katie, and her Father Johnny are portrayed through their thought process.
It's Johnny's ambition that he teach his kids all he knows so that when they reach his age, the'll know twice as much as him.
Katie is similar, in that she desperately wants her kids to be educated, because she and Johnny never finished their formal education.
Knowledge and education are two of the most important things to these parents. They can't give their kids much, so they do what they can to make sure they grow up smart.
Francie's thought process is at first fanciful, as you'd expect from an 11-year old child. The part of her that struck me the most is how she listens to what people have to say, but for the most part she forms her own conclusions and opinions. For example, when she sees women bullying a young single mother for daring to show herself with her baby, she is told that there is a lesson with that girl. But what is the lesson? She concludes that since the women are bitter and hateful towards the young mother, the lesson is that she shouldn't trust women because while they should be helpful and supportive of the young mother, they do everything they can to make her miserable.
While this conclusion may not be entirely accurate, it shows that Francie is a free thinker and does not blindly follow the crowd or have her opinions handed to her.
Perhaps the best example of this, and also my favorite part in the book, is when Francie's English teacher tells her that the stories she wrote about her father are ugly, trash.
Francie has written several very good compositions for English, receiving A's on all of them. And then she writes four very true stories about her father, and being poor in Brooklyn. Her teacher hates them. She doesn't believe life can be as hard as Francie writes it, and tells her that she must burn the stories, and tell herself that she is burning ugliness.
As the reader, I was very angry at the teacher, and worried that Francie would listen to her. Everything the teacher said was false, and horrible, and Francie should never have had to listen to it.
She goes home and thinks about it. She tries to write a story the way she thinks her teacher will like it, but realizes that it's what she's written before, only fictionalized and too silly. She ends up burning all her A papers, telling herself, "I'm burning ugliness."
It's so important for Francie to realize that not all of her elders' views are true and should be followed. Francie is truly a free thinker here. Which is perhaps my favorite part in the entire book.
The book continues to go through Francie's life until she goes to college. This part of the book is a little less interesting, but still very gripping.
All in all I loved this book, even though life books aren't really my thing. I can't see myself reading it again, but the feeling of comfort and satisfaction I got from reading this book puts it at my top 10 greatest books.
People have been telling me for years that I'd like this book. I finally got around to reading it and...wow.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is about the lives of the Nolan family. Francie in particular. It's about their struggles and triumphs, how Francie and her little brother Neely grow up in the slums of Brooklyn.
I don't usually read books like this one. There's no main issue, it's simply a book over time about the family and Francie's love for reading and writing. Oh, it's about much more than that, but that's what it centers on.
It begins when Francie is 11 years old. She and Neely collect junk and scraps and sell it for pennies to the local junk man. There are flashbacks to establish their parents' and grandparents' backstories to fill in and round out the story.
What to me is very remarkable about this book are how the characters, mainly Francie, her mother Katie, and her Father Johnny are portrayed through their thought process.
It's Johnny's ambition that he teach his kids all he knows so that when they reach his age, the'll know twice as much as him.
Katie is similar, in that she desperately wants her kids to be educated, because she and Johnny never finished their formal education.
Knowledge and education are two of the most important things to these parents. They can't give their kids much, so they do what they can to make sure they grow up smart.
Francie's thought process is at first fanciful, as you'd expect from an 11-year old child. The part of her that struck me the most is how she listens to what people have to say, but for the most part she forms her own conclusions and opinions. For example, when she sees women bullying a young single mother for daring to show herself with her baby, she is told that there is a lesson with that girl. But what is the lesson? She concludes that since the women are bitter and hateful towards the young mother, the lesson is that she shouldn't trust women because while they should be helpful and supportive of the young mother, they do everything they can to make her miserable.
While this conclusion may not be entirely accurate, it shows that Francie is a free thinker and does not blindly follow the crowd or have her opinions handed to her.
Perhaps the best example of this, and also my favorite part in the book, is when Francie's English teacher tells her that the stories she wrote about her father are ugly, trash.
Francie has written several very good compositions for English, receiving A's on all of them. And then she writes four very true stories about her father, and being poor in Brooklyn. Her teacher hates them. She doesn't believe life can be as hard as Francie writes it, and tells her that she must burn the stories, and tell herself that she is burning ugliness.
As the reader, I was very angry at the teacher, and worried that Francie would listen to her. Everything the teacher said was false, and horrible, and Francie should never have had to listen to it.
She goes home and thinks about it. She tries to write a story the way she thinks her teacher will like it, but realizes that it's what she's written before, only fictionalized and too silly. She ends up burning all her A papers, telling herself, "I'm burning ugliness."
It's so important for Francie to realize that not all of her elders' views are true and should be followed. Francie is truly a free thinker here. Which is perhaps my favorite part in the entire book.
The book continues to go through Francie's life until she goes to college. This part of the book is a little less interesting, but still very gripping.
All in all I loved this book, even though life books aren't really my thing. I can't see myself reading it again, but the feeling of comfort and satisfaction I got from reading this book puts it at my top 10 greatest books.
I usually enjoy World War Two books, but I especially enjoyed this one from the viewpoint of an 11-13 year old girl (and death of course).
I think any book that highlights one's love of reading is a book I can enjoy.
I think any book that highlights one's love of reading is a book I can enjoy.
This was a neat little in-between story of the Forgotten Ages series. It gives a bit of Nurian history/background, which I found helpful to the overall image of the Emperor's Edge world.
A little vague and confusing, but I liked the amount of Sci-fi. Not sure if I'm going to finish the series, but we'll see.