1 to 12 of 12
Review Date: 12/28/2011
An excellent view of a complicated subject from a Christian ob/gyn's point of view. He quotes the Bible in providing explanations about how sometimes abortion is the path God intends. This book was respectful and virtuous. It is however, a product of 1960's Great Britain, sometimes it does not give women enough credit, but it does show the lengths a desperate woman will go to for an abortion - it is a timely wake up call to us all - reminding us that making something illegal will not stop it. We had to repeal Prohibition...
Review Date: 5/22/2011
I began reading the Mortal Instrument books because I wanted to give them to my 15 year old daughter (I wanted to know what she would be reading). Overall, I found the author to be...confused by her own writing. First - she cannot seem to decide what type of book to write, so she gives up and writes a story that includes ALL types of supernatural beings. Give me a break, please find one group you like and stick with it. It was probably a brilliant marketing strategy; people who enjoy vampire, werewolf, angels/demons, fairies...you name it -it is here.
It was predictable (and I am now into the 3rd book, it STILL is predictable). I have not been surprised yet. Several people have commented on the dialog. If this weak dialog and the rare occasional witty quip is what people consider great dialog - they are reading the wrong books. Read Diana Gabaldon, THEN decide if this dialog it good.
The parents are sorely missing until the middle of the 2nd book. This leaves the kids running amuck with no supervision. As a parent, this bothered me; but I think teenagers will appreciate the autonomy the characters have.
Overall, I will be happy to give this to my 15 year old daughter. It is age appropriate and we all read books like this at this age.
It was predictable (and I am now into the 3rd book, it STILL is predictable). I have not been surprised yet. Several people have commented on the dialog. If this weak dialog and the rare occasional witty quip is what people consider great dialog - they are reading the wrong books. Read Diana Gabaldon, THEN decide if this dialog it good.
The parents are sorely missing until the middle of the 2nd book. This leaves the kids running amuck with no supervision. As a parent, this bothered me; but I think teenagers will appreciate the autonomy the characters have.
Overall, I will be happy to give this to my 15 year old daughter. It is age appropriate and we all read books like this at this age.
Review Date: 5/15/2009
Helpful Score: 2
Read it - read it now! But be sure to have Bloodfever close by because you will be ready to begin book 2 as soon as you turn the last DF page. Karen Moning is a fabulous writer who has brought to life an entire world complete with a set of good/bad guys (part of the fun is deciding which is which!), sexy hunks, beautiful locations, lust and despair. There is immenient danger with the promise of redemption. Darkfever is just the tip of the iceburg, these characters come to life and "grip" you. Promise yourself you will read long enough to find out why Mac doesn't eat french fries anymore.....
Review Date: 8/16/2013
Helpful Score: 1
This book is a bit like the train wreck you can't take your eyes off. It certainly demonstrates that even extreme wealth cannot make everything better. On some pages, it is fascinating (like active monkeys at the zoo) - the rich really do live differently. But the book shows a striking dichotomy of life that The author lived. When with her uber-rich paternal grandparents, she had access to the life of luxury, but when she was with her mother at home - they often lived (in later years) in near squalor. The thread that runs through both sides of the family is alcoholism (and other substance abuse). Like other reviewers, I wish more family photos had been included. It is a great fast read when you need something truly different to shake things up.
Review Date: 12/28/2010
I was gifted with an advanced copy of The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. This is Higashinos first major English production and it is GREAT. It is easy to see why he is a hit in Japan. The book is simply written, which belies a complicated plot. The writing style is calm, easy to follow; making it a relatively fast read. I would caution other readers that some knowledge of Japanese culture helps make this more fun to read than it might otherwise be to Americans. I found myself smiling when these obviously Asian people used American slang/colloquialisms. These touches, though, make it easy for any Western reader to follow the story. As long as you can google pictures of a kotatsu table; you shouldnt find anything else mysterious about the story.
The story revolves around an act of (more or less) self-defense that evolved into murder and the subsequent plot to cover it up. We meet Ishigami, a brilliant math teacher, whose exceptional intelligence means his every thought is on a higher plane than most others. There is Yasuko and her daughter, a beautiful divorcee who is the object of Ishigamis unrequited affections. Ishigami has no hope to attain the love of Yasuko; therefore he does not waste the energy pursuing her, but instead is content to love her from afar. When Yasuko finds herself in need of help, Ishigami quietly places himself between her and the police. Ishigami is the mastermind of a complicated cover-up that does not fully unfold for the reader until the last chapter of the book. The plot twist at the end is worthy (in the opinion of this reader) of a Law and Order style BUMP-BUMP.
All the while, an old classmate of Ishigamis (an equally brilliant physicist named Yukawa) is assisting his police detective friend in the investigation. Truly, if Yukawa had not been involved, Ishigamis plan would have succeeded. In the end, everyone involved Ishigami, Yasuko, and Yakawa must decide time and time again what to reveal to the police. Ishigami set a stage and pulled the strings. Yakawa must decide if he will reveal his old friend as the puppet master or let a murderer go free.
I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I never fully anticipated the true nature of the cover up. It knocks the breath from you as it does Yasuko when she learns of it.
I highly recommend The Devotion of Suspect X to everyone a great mystery read!
The story revolves around an act of (more or less) self-defense that evolved into murder and the subsequent plot to cover it up. We meet Ishigami, a brilliant math teacher, whose exceptional intelligence means his every thought is on a higher plane than most others. There is Yasuko and her daughter, a beautiful divorcee who is the object of Ishigamis unrequited affections. Ishigami has no hope to attain the love of Yasuko; therefore he does not waste the energy pursuing her, but instead is content to love her from afar. When Yasuko finds herself in need of help, Ishigami quietly places himself between her and the police. Ishigami is the mastermind of a complicated cover-up that does not fully unfold for the reader until the last chapter of the book. The plot twist at the end is worthy (in the opinion of this reader) of a Law and Order style BUMP-BUMP.
All the while, an old classmate of Ishigamis (an equally brilliant physicist named Yukawa) is assisting his police detective friend in the investigation. Truly, if Yukawa had not been involved, Ishigamis plan would have succeeded. In the end, everyone involved Ishigami, Yasuko, and Yakawa must decide time and time again what to reveal to the police. Ishigami set a stage and pulled the strings. Yakawa must decide if he will reveal his old friend as the puppet master or let a murderer go free.
I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but I never fully anticipated the true nature of the cover up. It knocks the breath from you as it does Yasuko when she learns of it.
I highly recommend The Devotion of Suspect X to everyone a great mystery read!
Review Date: 8/20/2009
Fabulous! Don't let the beginning fool you - it IS the correct book, you did not miss anything. It begins slightly confusing, but keep reading and it will all make sense.
Review Date: 1/7/2011
I liked this book as a whole. I enjoyed the story line and was anxious to see how it ended but its' large time gaps and leaps into the future without logic made it difficult for me to grasp the story as reality sometimes. I suppose this is just a personal preference, but I like a story that flows so seamlessly that I believe it might be happening nextdoor. This was stilted and jerky in places. I did, however, enjoy it overall - I just had the feeling the editor made the author trim the story to fit onto less pages.
Review Date: 10/18/2015
I didn't actually mean to read this book when I did; but when I was checking the reading order of the series, this one had high marks all around, so I dug in. I read it in 2 days (I normally give myself 4 days for a book of this type - 5 if I am busy at work). It was a really fun read! It was a departure from the other DH novels, in that it focused on characters from other arenas. Ash makes a few fun appearances as do several beloved DHs from past books. I REALLY appreciate the heroine though! I am thin but my BFF (for over 30 years) is a lovely Full-Figured woman. I LOVE that this book featured someone who looked like her. Someone who worried about the same things she worries about, someone who is often left in the cold by romance novels. This is definitely an underserved, underrepresented population. This book featured the standard hunk-of-a(nearly)-man who carries the standard baggage all heros carry, with the standard, "will-she-love-me-for-who-I-REALLY-am" worries; but he loves the woman who is often ignored. Overall, this was great to read and I recommend it - especially for the female reader who isn't built like a supermodel~ you won't be disappointed.
Review Date: 6/17/2011
Kind of weird lots-of British slang. Overall, a strange but fun read
Review Date: 5/23/2022
This book was quite a surprise. I expected a lot of sex and a flimsy storyline from this type of book, but got a well thought out action-mystery. Would recommend it for anyone who likes action-mystery types but is looking for a shorter book. It also is education about Vietnamese Immigrants and gives the reader a look into a Little Vietnam neighborhood.
Review Date: 2/3/2012
This book does not politicize abortion, it just tells stories like mine. The truth - in their own words, unvarnished and without an agenda. Making something illegal does not stop it at all, it creates a flourishing underground. The anti-abortion movement has forgotten about Prohibition! This should be required reading for every politician who aspires to be a lawmaker. Everyone who does not have a uterus should read this book; if women began attempting to regulate testicles - this entire debate would vanish.
No one wants to have an abortion.
If the pill is 99% effective and you have 30 years of active fertility (lets say from ages 15 to 45) and you cycle 13 times a year (every 28 days) and you NEVER miss a pill (married or not), then you have 390 chances in your life when it is possible to become pregnant - if you use the pill faithfully - you will face 3.9 unintended pregnancies during your life. About a third of all American women will have an abortion before they are 45 years old. This book reminds us what it would be like if this critical health service is not available. It also demonstrates that each story is different but each is filled with desperation. Uniquely, this book also interviews adult children whose mothers died after illegal abortions and shows us how it affected their lives. We also hear from police and District Attorneys and coroners who arrested people and saw them after they died of injuries sustained a the hands of unskilled lay people doing what many doctors would have done, had they not feared the legal ramifications. It is fascinating - these people are from all walks of life and backgrounds and religious beliefs. I do not believe anyone would be offended by the contents of the book. Pro-Choice or Life, both, will benefit from this reading. It does not take a stand either way, it is as if the author simply put a recorded in front of the interviewees and asked them to tell their stories. The book shows both gratitude and regret.
If you love your daughter you will tell her your stories and share this book. Most of the tragedy the book portrays was due to the secrecy surrounding abortion. Well, that and men's control over a woman's access to birth control..Ever read the Handmaid's tale?
No one wants to have an abortion.
If the pill is 99% effective and you have 30 years of active fertility (lets say from ages 15 to 45) and you cycle 13 times a year (every 28 days) and you NEVER miss a pill (married or not), then you have 390 chances in your life when it is possible to become pregnant - if you use the pill faithfully - you will face 3.9 unintended pregnancies during your life. About a third of all American women will have an abortion before they are 45 years old. This book reminds us what it would be like if this critical health service is not available. It also demonstrates that each story is different but each is filled with desperation. Uniquely, this book also interviews adult children whose mothers died after illegal abortions and shows us how it affected their lives. We also hear from police and District Attorneys and coroners who arrested people and saw them after they died of injuries sustained a the hands of unskilled lay people doing what many doctors would have done, had they not feared the legal ramifications. It is fascinating - these people are from all walks of life and backgrounds and religious beliefs. I do not believe anyone would be offended by the contents of the book. Pro-Choice or Life, both, will benefit from this reading. It does not take a stand either way, it is as if the author simply put a recorded in front of the interviewees and asked them to tell their stories. The book shows both gratitude and regret.
If you love your daughter you will tell her your stories and share this book. Most of the tragedy the book portrays was due to the secrecy surrounding abortion. Well, that and men's control over a woman's access to birth control..Ever read the Handmaid's tale?
Review Date: 2/3/2012
This book does not politicize abortion, it just tells stories like mine. The truth - in their own words, unvarnished and without an agenda. Making something illegal does not stop it at all, it creates a flourishing underground. The anti-abortion movement has forgotten about Prohibition! This should be required reading for every politician who aspires to be a lawmaker. Everyone who does not have a uterus should read this book; if women began attempting to regulate testicles - this entire debate would vanish.
No one wants to have an abortion.
If the pill is 99% effective and you have 30 years of active fertility (lets say from ages 15 to 45) and you cycle 13 times a year (every 28 days) and you NEVER miss a pill (married or not), then you have 390 chances in your life when it is possible to become pregnant - if you use the pill faithfully - you will face 3.9 unintended pregnancies during your life. About a third of all American women will have an abortion before they are 45 years old. This book reminds us what it would be like if this critical health service is not available. It also demonstrates that each story is different but each is filled with desperation. Uniquely, this book also interviews adult children whose mothers died after illegal abortions and shows us how it affected their lives. We also hear from police and District Attorneys and coroners who arrested people and saw them after they died of injuries sustained a the hands of unskilled lay people doing what many doctors would have done, had they not feared the legal ramifications. It is fascinating - these people are from all walks of life and backgrounds and religious beliefs. I do not believe anyone would be offended by the contents of the book. Pro-Choice or Life, both, will benefit from this reading. It does not take a stand either way, it is as if the author simply put a recorded in front of the interviewees and asked them to tell their stories. The book shows both gratitude and regret.
If you love your daughter you will tell her your stories and share this book. Most of the tragedy the book portrays was due to the secrecy surrounding abortion. Well, that and men's control over a woman's access to birth control..Ever read the Handmaid's tale?
No one wants to have an abortion.
If the pill is 99% effective and you have 30 years of active fertility (lets say from ages 15 to 45) and you cycle 13 times a year (every 28 days) and you NEVER miss a pill (married or not), then you have 390 chances in your life when it is possible to become pregnant - if you use the pill faithfully - you will face 3.9 unintended pregnancies during your life. About a third of all American women will have an abortion before they are 45 years old. This book reminds us what it would be like if this critical health service is not available. It also demonstrates that each story is different but each is filled with desperation. Uniquely, this book also interviews adult children whose mothers died after illegal abortions and shows us how it affected their lives. We also hear from police and District Attorneys and coroners who arrested people and saw them after they died of injuries sustained a the hands of unskilled lay people doing what many doctors would have done, had they not feared the legal ramifications. It is fascinating - these people are from all walks of life and backgrounds and religious beliefs. I do not believe anyone would be offended by the contents of the book. Pro-Choice or Life, both, will benefit from this reading. It does not take a stand either way, it is as if the author simply put a recorded in front of the interviewees and asked them to tell their stories. The book shows both gratitude and regret.
If you love your daughter you will tell her your stories and share this book. Most of the tragedy the book portrays was due to the secrecy surrounding abortion. Well, that and men's control over a woman's access to birth control..Ever read the Handmaid's tale?
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