Category: Book Reviews
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The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton – A Book Review
The Lock Artist pleasantly surprised me. While I realized it was a crime/mystery novel, I never expected it to have so much heart, such great characterization, nor did I imagine the plot would be so tightly woven. The protagonist of the novel, Michael, is a young man who refuses to speak due to a past…
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No Fear In My Classroom by Frank C. Wootan – A Book Review
By and large, No Fear In My Classroom offers one man’s opinion on how to deal with fear in the classroom and fearful aspects of being an educator. While many of his points are possible, most of them are unlikely to occur and could needlessly frighten you. As he says, though, it’s always good to…
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The Bronx Kill by Peter Milligan – A Book Review
The Bronx Kill is a graphic novel released through Vertigo’s crime imprint. In case you’re not aware, Vertigo is a division of DC Comics, aimed at mature readers and offering mature content. Not pornographic, mind you, just a little bit more adult-themed. Think of DC as network television, and Vertigo as HBO. Peter Milligan delivers…
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Valeria’s Last Stand by Marc Fitten – A Book Review
I have to admit that I only chose to read this book because I liked its cover, so nothing could have prepared me for just how much I would love it. Valeria’s Last Stand takes place in a tiny Hungarian Village during the modern day. It features Valeria, who is an old woman and the…
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The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection by Martin Page – A Book Review
This story features a man named Virgil who comes home to find a woman he can’t remember breaking up with him on his answering machine. Great premise. Unfortunately, the rest of The Discreet Pleasures of Rejection is a disappointment. Virgil is your classic egocentric, neurotic, delusional sort of character who believes himself to be far…
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Bones of the Moon by Jonathan Carroll – A Book Review
I’ve read Carroll’s Land of Laughs and found his characterization very impressive in that particular book, although I felt his plot bottomed out toward the ending as it abandoned those previously established traits. With Bones of the Moon, however, I never really connected with his protagonist, Cullen James, or her friends and family. While they…
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Horse Crazy: The Silver Horse Switch by Alison Lester – A Book Review
Intended for young readers, Horse Crazy is the story of Bonnie and Sam, two young girls living in the bush of Australia. Though they don’t have their own steeds, they do everything they can to ride their fellow townspeople’s horses. One night, a wild horse jumps the fence and switches places with Sam’s father’s horse…
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Nasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette Winter – A Book Review
Though not particularly full of machismo, I am not prone to cry, but this book made the old eyes water just a bit. Based on a true story during Taliban-occupied Afghanistan, Nasreen is a little girl whose parents are taken by Taliban troops. She retreats within herself, no longer smiling or talking. Desperate, her grandmother…
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