August 2011 Book Challenge - Page 3

[cathe]

Yup -- thought of you for that book :)
 

Originally Posted by NewCrunchyDaddy 

Off to the intertubes to look this one up and download a sample for my Kindle!  Thanks!
 

[Igraine]

49) Deadwood by Peter Dexter. I really enjoyed this book. I am a bit of a sucker for a good western. 

[cathe]

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

Frank Nichols and his wife Dora move to a small Georgia time where Frank will write the story of his notorious, evil uncle and Dora will teach school. Everything is what you would expect in a small southern town in the 1930' -- except for the ceremonial releasing of the pigs into the woods. Is it just superstition or is there a real reason for the sacrifice? When the townspeople decide to cease this tradition, they'll find out. 

I found this book an enjoyable enough read. The writing was good, the story interesting. There were parts that didn't make sense to me (though I will not elaborate as I don't want to spoil) and the first half dragged a bit but the set up was needed. The story speeds up in the second half and things come together nicely; I particularly liked how Franks war experience play into the climax. 

3 1/2 stars

[cathe]

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Elise is entering sixth grade and starting at middle school. Things start off badly as she is covered in scabs from a game of knights gone bad and becomes the target of her locker-mate Amanda. By not doing her homework, Elise antagonizes her teachers and she pushes away her best friend because his childishness is embarrassing to her. Thanks to her loving aunt and uncle, and mysterious notes and keys left by her dead father, she learns to be a butter person.

 

Having a daughter who just started middle school, I was excited for to read this title but for us, it really missed the mark. First, Elise and her friend Franklin--and really the language of the book seem much more 3rd or 4th grade than middle school -- things like a boy with star wars characters in his locker and playing knights seem really quite unlikely in 12 year-olds and I think even a fourth grader would have been embarassed. And was Franklin really that clueless? I just didn't buy it. And there were things like Elise wanting to be a good "homework bringer"-- that works for a 9 or 10-year-old, but not for a 12-year-old. The worst part however was that Elise was such an unlikeable character. It was really hard to feel any sympathy for her at all. I have no idea why Caroline wanted to be her friend--or even want her for a lab partner when she never did her homework and her assignments were such a mess.

 

Other things that bothered me were the lack of research--maybe the target audience won't notice but that is no excuse. I couldn't believe that they were feeding a five-month-old baby her first solids and giving her 4 different foods at once. Any baby book will tell you to feed only one new food at a time to look for allergic reactions. And ice cream from an electric ice cream maker is ready to eat. You don't need to wait hours and hours to eat it.

 

If this had been about 4th graders, I would have given it a higher rating, but as a middle school book, it just doesn't work.

 

[raksmama]

Will there be no September thread?

[cathe]

Here's September's thread:  http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1328912/september-2011-book-challenge#post_16646410