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Annie's Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, a Pregnant Teenager
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
60
Author:
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
60
Review Date: 4/26/2007
Felt like propaganda.
Review Date: 4/2/2006
Helpful Score: 2
A decent fantasy novel about a girl who wants to be a dancer because that was her dead mother's wish for her. In the course of the novel, she must choose between what her mother wanted and what she finds her own heart wanting. One event near the end of the novel almost ruins the whole novel, which is a pity, since another scene near the end made it almost perfect.
Review Date: 8/12/2006
You know, this book got some pretty bad reviews on Amazon.com, and up until the last twenty pages, I thought those reviews were totally undeserved.
This book wrapped me up in the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest in the 70s. I smelled the humid air, I saw the blue bus where the characters lived, and the whole thing buzzed and sang with sexual tension. The characters felt real and believable and I liked that Nina focused on just three rather than bogging the story down with unnecessary subplots.
Within the last 60 pages or so, it felt like the story began to lose direction and the author fell into, "Hm, what should I make happen next?" mode.
And then there was the ending.
Which sucked, and was lazy.
This book wrapped me up in the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest in the 70s. I smelled the humid air, I saw the blue bus where the characters lived, and the whole thing buzzed and sang with sexual tension. The characters felt real and believable and I liked that Nina focused on just three rather than bogging the story down with unnecessary subplots.
Within the last 60 pages or so, it felt like the story began to lose direction and the author fell into, "Hm, what should I make happen next?" mode.
And then there was the ending.
Which sucked, and was lazy.
Review Date: 7/17/2006
Helpful Score: 1
This was a YA novel about a girl and a boy who used to be friends but drifted apart during adolescents. They fight a lot and end up under a spell that switches their bodies so they have to live for about a week in each other's lives. I was excited about the concept and hoping for some insightful commentary about gender roles. Unfortunately, the commentary was pretty amateur stuff and the whole book relied a LOT on gender stereotypes. While I understand the need for this to a certain extent in a book like this, this book just never went deep enough to examine why those stereotypes existed.
It was also painfully obvious that the person who had written the book was a man and didn't have ANY experience with being an adolescent girl. While the main character, Emma, was believable enough--I'd met girls like her and didn't expect her to be a representation of ALL girls--the scenes that were "all girl" scenes were grossly unbelievable. Yes, they felt more like a man's idea of girl interactions than real interactions. The devil's in the details, and the details in this one were just off enough for it not to be believable (example: a bunch of 6th grade girls whipping off their clothes in the locker room and running to the showers. In my recollection, 6th grade showering is PAINFULLY embarrassing, girls hunch over themselves in the locker room because they're self conscious about their bodies, and if they DO shower, they do so with their undergarments on, or holding a towel in front of them till the last minute, etc.) I'd like to see Blake Nelson actually do a gender switch and THEN come back to write this novel.
It was also painfully obvious that the person who had written the book was a man and didn't have ANY experience with being an adolescent girl. While the main character, Emma, was believable enough--I'd met girls like her and didn't expect her to be a representation of ALL girls--the scenes that were "all girl" scenes were grossly unbelievable. Yes, they felt more like a man's idea of girl interactions than real interactions. The devil's in the details, and the details in this one were just off enough for it not to be believable (example: a bunch of 6th grade girls whipping off their clothes in the locker room and running to the showers. In my recollection, 6th grade showering is PAINFULLY embarrassing, girls hunch over themselves in the locker room because they're self conscious about their bodies, and if they DO shower, they do so with their undergarments on, or holding a towel in front of them till the last minute, etc.) I'd like to see Blake Nelson actually do a gender switch and THEN come back to write this novel.
Review Date: 4/2/2006
The writing style in this book seemed "off" to me, but I've talked with lots of other people who have really loved it, so I feel confident passing it on to someone who will be able to love it better than I could. :)
Review Date: 4/2/2006
This book was a fantasy that really held about 6 different stories stacked on top of each other to form one novel--so the story was more reminiscent of the Arabian Nights setup than an actual novel. It reminded me of a fantasy I would have enjoyed reading as a kid with Krystl, which made me like reading it now. However, I got tired of the stacked plot near the end and really felt as if things were just "randomly" happening and the book didn't feel very much like a "whole" to me. I almost think the stories should have been featured as 6 separate short stories with a related theme rather than as a novel, because I was looking for a sense of continuity that wasn't quite there.
At first the fairy-tale style of writing got on my nerves (phrases like, "He was but a boy," etc.) but it was so consistent that I fell in with it and actually think it made the book quite charming in the end. The most annoying thing about this book was that the back cover makes it sound like it's gonna be a cool book about a mermaid--and the mermaid is only present in about the first 10 pages. And she never comes back. That's like, false advertising.
Anyway, this book was originally published in 1974 and I can tell it's one of Jane Yolen's earlier books. But it's all right.
At first the fairy-tale style of writing got on my nerves (phrases like, "He was but a boy," etc.) but it was so consistent that I fell in with it and actually think it made the book quite charming in the end. The most annoying thing about this book was that the back cover makes it sound like it's gonna be a cool book about a mermaid--and the mermaid is only present in about the first 10 pages. And she never comes back. That's like, false advertising.
Anyway, this book was originally published in 1974 and I can tell it's one of Jane Yolen's earlier books. But it's all right.
Review Date: 2/14/2008
So, this is a Valentine's version of A Christmas Carol. The premise is that the main character, Ben, hates Valentine's Day ever since his girlfriend Marly died of canceer. It was my first time ever reading a remixed novel, so the phrases and dialogue that came directly from Dickins's original jarred me a bit -- and I kept getting pushed out of the story because the Muppet Christmas Carol stayed so close to Dickins's original language that I couldn't hear anyone except muppet characters saying a lot of these lines . . .
This book wasn't what I'd expected. I'd expected a little more Levithan (I love his writing style) and a little less Dickins. But there were several touches that made this distinctly Levithan, such as the ghost of Valentine's Present being a drag queen and Tiny Tim being portrayed by a gay couple (Tiny & Tim).
Some parts of the story worked really well in this retelling, such as the idea that Marley's "chains" were forged from Ben's inability to let her go after she died. But some parts didn't translate as well: it was hard for me to picture a lot of this dialogue taking place in a modern day high school.
The remix gives the whole story a dream-like, surreal quality, which works well enough with the subject matter. There are equal parts light and dark and it's a sweet, quick read for Valentine's Day.
This book wasn't what I'd expected. I'd expected a little more Levithan (I love his writing style) and a little less Dickins. But there were several touches that made this distinctly Levithan, such as the ghost of Valentine's Present being a drag queen and Tiny Tim being portrayed by a gay couple (Tiny & Tim).
Some parts of the story worked really well in this retelling, such as the idea that Marley's "chains" were forged from Ben's inability to let her go after she died. But some parts didn't translate as well: it was hard for me to picture a lot of this dialogue taking place in a modern day high school.
The remix gives the whole story a dream-like, surreal quality, which works well enough with the subject matter. There are equal parts light and dark and it's a sweet, quick read for Valentine's Day.
Review Date: 4/8/2006
Okay, I admit it--I picked up this book because the girl on the cover looks like my cousin Callie. A story about Joe, a baby girl who was adopted by Dennis after her parents die in the Australian desert. Dennis raises Joe as a boy because he feels a girl would be too 'vulnerable' in his nomadic lifestyle. Joe knows she's a girl, but has been instructed to present herself as a boy to everyone they meet so that she can retain her freedom and safety.
This book was also REALLY slow to get started, and the writing style felt pretty amateur to me. There were scenes near the beginning that I felt could have been condensed, or left out entirely. A lot of painstaking detail about Joe's childhood and another family that would come into the story later. Also, the writer had the REALLY annoying habit of switching perspectives within the same scene. I HATE when writers do that. Dude, you can't be everywhere at once. It makes me dizzy. Where was this guy's editor? Before writing YA novels, Ron wrote for TV series. And you can tell, because the novel feels more like a series of events (a mini-series) than a complete, well-rounded work. This book wasn't really sure whether it wanted to be a story about Joe struggling with her identity (boy vs. girl/adoptive father vs. blood relatives), a story about Dennis having to let his daughter grow up, a story about Joe falling in love, an Australian survival story, or an adventure complete with kidnappings, breakouts, and side shows.
With all that said, there were some parts of this book that were really beautiful. The central characters were well-developed and it was clear Ron really, really loved and cared for them. The relationship between Joe and Dennis was particularly compelling and believable, as was Dennis' reluctance to give up the life he and Joe had always lived. The sense of place and lifestyle was strong, and I felt that Ron really personified certain elements of the setting--the Australian trails, the camels who pulled Dennis' and Joe's wagon, in a beautiful way. There was some real ringing truth about life and the inevitability of change couched in the midst of a plot that was running this way and that.
Another slight point of annoyance: Ron spent most of his energy developing Dennis' character and showing the book's events through his eyes. I feel like that keeps it from being a good young adult novel, since it's set up to make you identify with the adult character. But, I guess it's not surprising that this novel can't decide what genre it ought to be in, either.
This book was also REALLY slow to get started, and the writing style felt pretty amateur to me. There were scenes near the beginning that I felt could have been condensed, or left out entirely. A lot of painstaking detail about Joe's childhood and another family that would come into the story later. Also, the writer had the REALLY annoying habit of switching perspectives within the same scene. I HATE when writers do that. Dude, you can't be everywhere at once. It makes me dizzy. Where was this guy's editor? Before writing YA novels, Ron wrote for TV series. And you can tell, because the novel feels more like a series of events (a mini-series) than a complete, well-rounded work. This book wasn't really sure whether it wanted to be a story about Joe struggling with her identity (boy vs. girl/adoptive father vs. blood relatives), a story about Dennis having to let his daughter grow up, a story about Joe falling in love, an Australian survival story, or an adventure complete with kidnappings, breakouts, and side shows.
With all that said, there were some parts of this book that were really beautiful. The central characters were well-developed and it was clear Ron really, really loved and cared for them. The relationship between Joe and Dennis was particularly compelling and believable, as was Dennis' reluctance to give up the life he and Joe had always lived. The sense of place and lifestyle was strong, and I felt that Ron really personified certain elements of the setting--the Australian trails, the camels who pulled Dennis' and Joe's wagon, in a beautiful way. There was some real ringing truth about life and the inevitability of change couched in the midst of a plot that was running this way and that.
Another slight point of annoyance: Ron spent most of his energy developing Dennis' character and showing the book's events through his eyes. I feel like that keeps it from being a good young adult novel, since it's set up to make you identify with the adult character. But, I guess it's not surprising that this novel can't decide what genre it ought to be in, either.
Review Date: 3/24/2007
Helpful Score: 2
So, I read this book because
a) a kid I work with recommended it to me and
b) it's about falling in love with someone you've never met.
Within the first couple pages, and the first couple name-drops of "Prada bag" and "GAP perfume," I was prepared to hate this novel as thinly-veiled marketing. After seeing all the characters neatly described by their a) hobbies and b) clothes, I expected this novel to have absolutely no depth whatsoever. "Great, another high school novel that would really rather be a chick-flick movie." It's got that "high school glamor" to it that clearly designates it as a book for girls who are too young for high school.
In spite of all that, I was surprised to find a glimmer of depth here, in an after-school-special sort of way. After all that talk about name-brand and all that time describing the protagonists' clothes, the message actually ended up being about challenging assumptions and breaking out of the role that your peers assign to you. What's more surprising was that it almost had a Jane Austen feel, picking up on her penchant for exposing the "charmers" as dangerous and the "misunderstoods" as noble. Although I don't think it was the authors' intention, this book could be interpreted as a modern version of "Pride and Prejudice." And that really tickled me.
So it ended up being less time wasted than I thought.
***
a) a kid I work with recommended it to me and
b) it's about falling in love with someone you've never met.
Within the first couple pages, and the first couple name-drops of "Prada bag" and "GAP perfume," I was prepared to hate this novel as thinly-veiled marketing. After seeing all the characters neatly described by their a) hobbies and b) clothes, I expected this novel to have absolutely no depth whatsoever. "Great, another high school novel that would really rather be a chick-flick movie." It's got that "high school glamor" to it that clearly designates it as a book for girls who are too young for high school.
In spite of all that, I was surprised to find a glimmer of depth here, in an after-school-special sort of way. After all that talk about name-brand and all that time describing the protagonists' clothes, the message actually ended up being about challenging assumptions and breaking out of the role that your peers assign to you. What's more surprising was that it almost had a Jane Austen feel, picking up on her penchant for exposing the "charmers" as dangerous and the "misunderstoods" as noble. Although I don't think it was the authors' intention, this book could be interpreted as a modern version of "Pride and Prejudice." And that really tickled me.
So it ended up being less time wasted than I thought.
***
Review Date: 8/28/2017
The author is a career coach, so I think she tried to translate a lot of the exercises she does with clients to the pages of this book. And while I think they'd work better in a coaching context where you could get feedback, this is a decent alternative for those who can't afford or don't have access to coaching.
What I really wanted from this book was some guidance on promoting myself as a writer, and "Hungering and Thirsting for Justice." There was a lot that was relevant, but the way it was written just had me thinking more about career development than book promotion. And I actually already do pretty well in the career development area; I'm a decent public speaker, I interview well, etc. I'm the kind of introvert that does well in social situations if the roles are really clearly defined -- as they often are in work situations -- but I really despise "in-person" networking. And reading this book doesn't make me inclined to like it any more, although it does help me remember that there are a lot of alternatives to that that I can excel at as an introvert, like social networking.
So, I'm glad this book exists, even if I didn't really get what I wanted out of it. I still wouldn't mind getting my own copy someday so that I'd have time to work through some of the exercises as they relate to the marketing side of my writing career.
What I really wanted from this book was some guidance on promoting myself as a writer, and "Hungering and Thirsting for Justice." There was a lot that was relevant, but the way it was written just had me thinking more about career development than book promotion. And I actually already do pretty well in the career development area; I'm a decent public speaker, I interview well, etc. I'm the kind of introvert that does well in social situations if the roles are really clearly defined -- as they often are in work situations -- but I really despise "in-person" networking. And reading this book doesn't make me inclined to like it any more, although it does help me remember that there are a lot of alternatives to that that I can excel at as an introvert, like social networking.
So, I'm glad this book exists, even if I didn't really get what I wanted out of it. I still wouldn't mind getting my own copy someday so that I'd have time to work through some of the exercises as they relate to the marketing side of my writing career.
Review Date: 4/2/2006
Helpful Score: 2
Hm. That's right, Hm.
I just finished this book and I really hated the ending, which pretty much dampened my opinion of the whole book, because the only reason I kept reading was because I hoped the ending would somehow "redeem" the rest of it. Well, it didn't. It sent the rest of it to the toilet.
This book is about a woman who is constantly worried that her bisexual boyfriend is going to leave her to become "fully gay" and in the midst of this emotional vulnerability, she leaves him to live with a prostitute she met through her employer--an old lady she keeps house for who had an affair with said prostitute. The back of the book makes it sound like it's a story about a woman's self discovery, but really it's just a dark and dirty book about sex, drugs, and death. It's very dark and walks a very fine line between being trashy erotica and literature. It's hard to read on several levels--on one because the prose is sort of weird and on another because the subject matter and characters seem really disjointed. It seemed kind of like the writer tried to start 4 different stories and didn't really want to finish any of them.
"The problem with being a modern woman . . . is that you have to pretend to be stronger than you are."
And
"I decided that all this was my fault because I was the worst kind of person; a pretty girl with high expectations who wanted more, but couldn't define more and prayed it wasn't just a matter of marrying money. I heard the incessant traffic on Bush Street, thought of heroines in novels. They were always optimistic and naive whether they were old women or whores. They were always beautiful, as if only the lovely had courage enough to go out into the world. They were smart in a dumb way. They did crazy things becaus eof love and in the end always realized something stupid that was obvious all along."
AND
"I am the worst kind of person, attractive, overeducated, raised with middle class delusions of grandeur. But it's not just me; family life in America sucks, because if you're even a bit smart, the pressure from your family to jump classes is excruciating."
I got the feeling that the author of this really loved Sylvia Plath and wanted to see if she could accomplish the same feat of a whole book consisting of a beautiful woman complaining about the mess her life is.
I just finished this book and I really hated the ending, which pretty much dampened my opinion of the whole book, because the only reason I kept reading was because I hoped the ending would somehow "redeem" the rest of it. Well, it didn't. It sent the rest of it to the toilet.
This book is about a woman who is constantly worried that her bisexual boyfriend is going to leave her to become "fully gay" and in the midst of this emotional vulnerability, she leaves him to live with a prostitute she met through her employer--an old lady she keeps house for who had an affair with said prostitute. The back of the book makes it sound like it's a story about a woman's self discovery, but really it's just a dark and dirty book about sex, drugs, and death. It's very dark and walks a very fine line between being trashy erotica and literature. It's hard to read on several levels--on one because the prose is sort of weird and on another because the subject matter and characters seem really disjointed. It seemed kind of like the writer tried to start 4 different stories and didn't really want to finish any of them.
"The problem with being a modern woman . . . is that you have to pretend to be stronger than you are."
And
"I decided that all this was my fault because I was the worst kind of person; a pretty girl with high expectations who wanted more, but couldn't define more and prayed it wasn't just a matter of marrying money. I heard the incessant traffic on Bush Street, thought of heroines in novels. They were always optimistic and naive whether they were old women or whores. They were always beautiful, as if only the lovely had courage enough to go out into the world. They were smart in a dumb way. They did crazy things becaus eof love and in the end always realized something stupid that was obvious all along."
AND
"I am the worst kind of person, attractive, overeducated, raised with middle class delusions of grandeur. But it's not just me; family life in America sucks, because if you're even a bit smart, the pressure from your family to jump classes is excruciating."
I got the feeling that the author of this really loved Sylvia Plath and wanted to see if she could accomplish the same feat of a whole book consisting of a beautiful woman complaining about the mess her life is.
Review Date: 3/15/2008
If I'd been an editor on this book, I would have changed the title to True Confessions of a Young Catholic: Take this Bread and take this Whine.
Matthew Lickona has the blind faith that is the luxury of those who benefit from the system. He admits that he doesn't "understand the Church's teaching on birth control," but then goes on to say, "But what's it matter if I understand it? I don't have to understand it, I only have to follow it." But you don't have to get pregnant, do you?
As for my proposed subtitle: Matthew whines. He whines a lot. He whines about wanting to have sex with his wife while she's ovulating (and he tries to goad her into it, despite the fact that they've agreed to practice natural family planning). When they cut it too close and she ends up with an unplanned pregnancy, he prays for a miscarriage (how pro-life of him). He whines about what a hypocritical sinner he is for praying for such a thing. He doesn't get his wish, which means he gets to whine about how his oldest son doesn't properly love the Church. He whines about how modern church music is too "upbeat." He whines when a priest adapts the text of the Eucharistic prayer. He whines BIG TIME when a lesbian couple comes into Church and by their mere presence distract him from the Mass. He whines when the majority of his congregation are Latino or Vietnamese. He whines because his brother is holier than him. He whines because he and his wife don't have time to make fancy meals when they entertain because they've got too many kids (4, two boys, and two girls, the latter of which are NEVER given much screen-time in his memoir). He whines because his mother-in-law is pagan and thinks the Church is unjust for not ordaining women (Matthew puts up a feeble defense of the Church patriarchy here). And finally, he whines because he doesn't have very many friends (I can't figure out why).
He flagellates himself for the sins of lust and wrath, but what his character really smacks of is pride. "It's hard to be a good Catholic, but LOOK HOW HARD I TRY!!!!" Even when he attempts to make himself vulnerable by expressing some very deep faults (including his short temper with his kids, which comes across as borderline abusive), the tone remains prideful: "I'm so humble that I can admit my terrible sins." A direct quote from Matthew while talking about his pagan mother-in-law: "I want Mom to see something attractive in the faith, something she wants and does not have. I want her to see in our lives evidence that OURS is a living God, one who acts in the human heart in a way the goddess does not."
My God is better than your God, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.
I can appreciate Matthew's spiritual seeking, I just wish it would take him a little further than the Pope's back yard.
Matthew Lickona has the blind faith that is the luxury of those who benefit from the system. He admits that he doesn't "understand the Church's teaching on birth control," but then goes on to say, "But what's it matter if I understand it? I don't have to understand it, I only have to follow it." But you don't have to get pregnant, do you?
As for my proposed subtitle: Matthew whines. He whines a lot. He whines about wanting to have sex with his wife while she's ovulating (and he tries to goad her into it, despite the fact that they've agreed to practice natural family planning). When they cut it too close and she ends up with an unplanned pregnancy, he prays for a miscarriage (how pro-life of him). He whines about what a hypocritical sinner he is for praying for such a thing. He doesn't get his wish, which means he gets to whine about how his oldest son doesn't properly love the Church. He whines about how modern church music is too "upbeat." He whines when a priest adapts the text of the Eucharistic prayer. He whines BIG TIME when a lesbian couple comes into Church and by their mere presence distract him from the Mass. He whines when the majority of his congregation are Latino or Vietnamese. He whines because his brother is holier than him. He whines because he and his wife don't have time to make fancy meals when they entertain because they've got too many kids (4, two boys, and two girls, the latter of which are NEVER given much screen-time in his memoir). He whines because his mother-in-law is pagan and thinks the Church is unjust for not ordaining women (Matthew puts up a feeble defense of the Church patriarchy here). And finally, he whines because he doesn't have very many friends (I can't figure out why).
He flagellates himself for the sins of lust and wrath, but what his character really smacks of is pride. "It's hard to be a good Catholic, but LOOK HOW HARD I TRY!!!!" Even when he attempts to make himself vulnerable by expressing some very deep faults (including his short temper with his kids, which comes across as borderline abusive), the tone remains prideful: "I'm so humble that I can admit my terrible sins." A direct quote from Matthew while talking about his pagan mother-in-law: "I want Mom to see something attractive in the faith, something she wants and does not have. I want her to see in our lives evidence that OURS is a living God, one who acts in the human heart in a way the goddess does not."
My God is better than your God, nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.
I can appreciate Matthew's spiritual seeking, I just wish it would take him a little further than the Pope's back yard.
Review Date: 4/2/2006
"I was . . . like a jigsaw puzzle piece that can only go in the middle, waiting for the others to fit around it and make it whole." - Haven, "That Summer."
This was my light, bedtime reading for the past few weeks. I expected it to be a teen romance, because Hollywood made a romantic comedy out of this book ("How to Deal"). I was thrown a little off when it was not in fact a romance--it was a story about sisterhood. I could go on a tangent here about Hollywood devalueing female/female relationships, but I won't.
I really liked the premise of this story. It takes place over one summer when everything seems to be changing for 15-year-old Haven--her parents have recently divorced, her mom wants to move, her best friend has turned "bad girl," and her sister's getting married. In the midst of this, her sister's first boyfriend shows up in town and reminds Haven about the way her life used to be simple. It's basically a coming of age story.
Unfortunately, it didn't live up to its potential--the characters felt like they walked onto the page from a bad sitcom (or maybe a bad romantic comedy . . .), the prose was clunky, the dialogue was really awkward. It reminded me of something I would have written when I was 16. I sort of expected more, because its part of the "Speak" line, which I assumed were exceptionally high quality books. But I've actually only ever read one "Speak" book ("My Heartbeat") and just heard high praise for "Speak," which started the line.
That was tangential. The end of this book was nice and really redeemed a lot of it for me, so I didn't feel like it was a complete waste of time.
This was my light, bedtime reading for the past few weeks. I expected it to be a teen romance, because Hollywood made a romantic comedy out of this book ("How to Deal"). I was thrown a little off when it was not in fact a romance--it was a story about sisterhood. I could go on a tangent here about Hollywood devalueing female/female relationships, but I won't.
I really liked the premise of this story. It takes place over one summer when everything seems to be changing for 15-year-old Haven--her parents have recently divorced, her mom wants to move, her best friend has turned "bad girl," and her sister's getting married. In the midst of this, her sister's first boyfriend shows up in town and reminds Haven about the way her life used to be simple. It's basically a coming of age story.
Unfortunately, it didn't live up to its potential--the characters felt like they walked onto the page from a bad sitcom (or maybe a bad romantic comedy . . .), the prose was clunky, the dialogue was really awkward. It reminded me of something I would have written when I was 16. I sort of expected more, because its part of the "Speak" line, which I assumed were exceptionally high quality books. But I've actually only ever read one "Speak" book ("My Heartbeat") and just heard high praise for "Speak," which started the line.
That was tangential. The end of this book was nice and really redeemed a lot of it for me, so I didn't feel like it was a complete waste of time.
Review Date: 7/31/2006
Helpful Score: 8
This book was like a lesbian tour of 19th century England. I was fascinated by the historical context even as I wondered how accurate it was. The writing was very vivid and the sense of "place" very strong--from London's theaters to London's slums--which made me convinced the author had done her research. This is often pegged as an 'erotic' book, and while I understand why that term is applied to it, the long stretches between erotic scenes were actually my favorite. The sexual tension at the beginning of the story, as Nancy falls in love with a woman for the first time, brings you quickly through the first 150 pages. A curiosity about whether she'll ever reunite with her first love pushes you through the last 350. For such a long book, it was a remarkably quick read.
The descriptions and character development were excellent; I was also impressed by the way the author adopted a 19th century tone. The writing style, with its occasional vague-osities and passive voice construction, fit very well with the time era--the lesbian, erotic Jane Austen. (Of course, many would say Jane Austen was a lesbian anyway.) I admire Sarah Waters for attempting to mimic a 19th centurty tone, and for being able to keep that tone consistent through the book, even though the subject matter itself was very different from what was published back then.
The story was rather melodramatic at places and reminded me a bit of the type of stuff I was writing at 16, which made it fun. It also kind of smacks of "first novel," which also made it fun. It's also VERY queer, which may have made it funnest of all--we've got all sorts of lesbians, cross-dressers, gay men, even a 'dyke tyke'. And within its queerness, it keeps all the characters multi-dimensional and doesn't fall back on stereotypes. And the ending was very satisfying.
The descriptions and character development were excellent; I was also impressed by the way the author adopted a 19th century tone. The writing style, with its occasional vague-osities and passive voice construction, fit very well with the time era--the lesbian, erotic Jane Austen. (Of course, many would say Jane Austen was a lesbian anyway.) I admire Sarah Waters for attempting to mimic a 19th centurty tone, and for being able to keep that tone consistent through the book, even though the subject matter itself was very different from what was published back then.
The story was rather melodramatic at places and reminded me a bit of the type of stuff I was writing at 16, which made it fun. It also kind of smacks of "first novel," which also made it fun. It's also VERY queer, which may have made it funnest of all--we've got all sorts of lesbians, cross-dressers, gay men, even a 'dyke tyke'. And within its queerness, it keeps all the characters multi-dimensional and doesn't fall back on stereotypes. And the ending was very satisfying.
Review Date: 10/29/2006
I liked this book better when I just read the jacket description. It's about Rose, a slave girl who's parents marry her off to "the Thing," a monster that lives in their master's attic, in exchange for her freedom. I was hoping this book would give me shivers, but it fell short in the creepy department. I sort of expected it to follow a Beauty and the Beast progression (girl sees beauty in the Thing and comes to love him), but it followed more of a Phantom of the Opera progression instead: girl realizes that, because Thing has been mistreated his entire life, he's turned into someone with a twisted soul, and she comes to loathe him. Unlike Christine, she never excercised much compassion for the Thing. At times her prejudice was irritating, but I mostly understood it because she was forced into this marriage against her will.
There were a lot of elements that didn't seem to tie together at the end, which may be because this is a prequel to another book or may be just because Dia Calhoun has a habit of introducing lots of fantasy-genre type goodies without following through with them. At any rate, I did get a strong sense of place and parameters for this story, which I appreciated. But it never lived up to the potential it promised.
There were a lot of elements that didn't seem to tie together at the end, which may be because this is a prequel to another book or may be just because Dia Calhoun has a habit of introducing lots of fantasy-genre type goodies without following through with them. At any rate, I did get a strong sense of place and parameters for this story, which I appreciated. But it never lived up to the potential it promised.
Review Date: 4/2/2006
Lots of people I've known have really loved this book, but something about the writing style just felt a little "off" to me. I'm hoping it will find a home with someone who falls in the camp of loving it and will appreciate it more than I do. :)
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