Amazing Word Choice and Imagery
927038
As a piece of literary fiction, Glow intrigued me for many reasons.  First, the flowing conversation allowed me to stay engaged right there with the story:

Mia had tried again, treading gingerly, not wanting to spoil the beauty of her daughter, not wanting to seed ugliness in her head.
They won't let folks with brown faces work there.  Only pink faces like them.  White folks, she conceded.
Not even you?
Especially not me.
Why not?
Because some folks don't know any better; they weren't taught to do the right thing.

"I'm ten and a half.  You only nine," I say.
"So you're the older one.  Fine by me."
"Don't you forget it," I say.
"I'll remind you to your dying day."
"Don't doubt it.  You a pest," I say. "You like a fly around a horse's eye."
"And you're the one around his ass."
We cracked ourselves up, Mary-Mary and me.

  Secondly, you know how much I love rich word choice, right?  Well, this novel delivered.  Jessica Tuccelli chose just the right words necessary to provide vivid imagery for the reader.

"An epoch later, we heard the double bang of the screen door and Poppa's brogans sweeping across the floorboards..."

"I squinted and imagined the puzzle pieces: the corner of a window, the jutting edge of an oak-shingled roof, a sunken porch, and the top of a crumbling chimney."

"When I deposited the wormy being into his hand, Turner seemed to forget himself as he caressed it.  His jaw dropped, a dab of wet glossing his bottom lip.  He laughed silently as the caterpillar undulated across his wrist and up his forearm."

"That one is unfortunate in death as well as in life.  And now she stuck like nobody's business.  She got nothing left of conscience or reason, just painful rememory and terrible want.  That's the worst state a haint [Southern colloquialism - ghost, lost soul] can be in --wandering so long, there ain't nothing left of their humanity."

  Each chapter held one page on which was printed authentic historical information, in the form of an official document, in order to help stage the cultural mindset, actual laws of the time, racial integration (or lack thereof), census taking protocols.

  This book will appeal to readers who enjoy Southern States in the 1940's, historical fiction, evolution of cultural mores, and engagingly written literary fiction.
4325603
As a person who doesn't read much poetry I was amazed at how Mr. Beck's work captured my imagination in a way I've never experienced before. The thoughts and feelings it conjured up in me not only touched a deep emotional level but made me not want to stop reading until I had finished it. I think this is a wonderful book for both heavy readers of poetry and neophytes who have always been afraid to dip their feet in poetic waters. I'd also be remiss if I were not to mention that going through the book a second time is akin to exploring a magical world only to find new and extraordinary magical items each time you venture through it.

Joe Favale
1412310
I love the imagery of the adventures and experiences contributed to writing this beautiful and thought-provoking because book! A must read!
3691103
Reading this book was like being immersed in a painting, the language sensual, evocative, textured.  Since it is about painting and a relationship transcending time and background events, and because of its unusual prose/poem presentation, it made me feel the dreamlike quality of the experience of life.
I will definitely be reading it again to see if it has the same effect on me.
4945192
Bodkin clacks and clangs words against each other in wonderful ways.  I liked following the main character, Drunk, through this untraditional narrative, and it was exciting to see how a book of poems could collect into a whole.  Fantastic symbols, metaphors and word play jump off each page.  I imagine I will find new stuff to admire and marvel over in future reads.
91113
Words, phrases, certain sayings we use all the time...do you ever wonder where they came from? "A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi" by Chloe Rhodes lets us in on the origins of things we say every day. From A cappella ( in the manner of the choir) to Zeitgeist (spirit of the time), Chic (elegant) to Sarong (covering), any lover of words will love this book. Examples as well as origins are given alphabetically. This would be a great book for any reader, graduate (high school or college), anyone who is crazy about language.

My Mom instilled me with a love of words, and she would have loved this book! No Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware), needed, this is so much fun!

Get this book for yourself, or for anyone whose Raison d'Etre (reason for being) has anything to do with words. You won't regret it!

I received this book from Julie at FSB Associates for review. Thanks!!
1772813
Fantastic writing! The imagery was invigorating.  Would recommend this book to anyone that wants a brain adventure!  The author has a superb imagination. 5 stars.....
601584
I love this book! For me, the imagination then went into finding the subjects for each letter of the alphabet is intriguing. Then, how they are displayed and the beauty of the photography is a delightful experience as I enjoy when reading to the 2 and 3 year olds in my life. For them, they are excited to learn the names of things they see all the time that go beyond the standards we usually use for this age. They are learning new and challenging names to things that stretch and strengthen their oratory skills. Additionally, they are so thrilled to find and identify all the great things Brianna has found and then look for them around the home. Well done, Brianna!  This book will be in my family for a very long time.
2360763
I love this era of the written word.  The stories are brilliantly written and in a style that the pictures you see in your minds eye are so vivid.  Love it and would recommend it to anyone.
208958
I'm a very visual person and every word had me trying to picture the experiences in my mind.  Love the way he wrote this...like he's talking to his neighbor.  Recommending to my book club for future read!
330663
This book is rich in words and imagination. It gripped me from the first second and painted a picture so vivid it could have been a movie!
631474
Stephen Cartwright's illustrations make the 100 words come to life.  Each word has a picture.  Then, the magic of this book is that those pictures  are incorporated into a picture which takes up the top 2/3rds of two open  pages.  Not only can the child associate the picture with a word, they can  associate the pictures with objects in the scenes straight out of family  life.

At the beginning of the book, Betty Root (a language consultant)  explains how the process of learning starts at a very early age.  Once  children are able to recognize objects, they also need to see them in  pictures.  She notes how children will make many associations of words and  objects even before they start talking.

The first words are  "Daddy, Mommy, boy, girl, baby, dog and cat."  The last page has  words like "Sweater, table and window."  Most of the words are  all in a row at the base of two open pages.  The scenes from family life  above, all contain a picture of a yellow duck. The duck is hidden so well  in some places, even I had to really look for it.

This book is also  available in French, German and Spanish.  I love to wrap this book up along  with a baby shower gift.

~The Rebecca Review
281570
The combination of beautiful graphics and a curious mind make this book a fantastic educational experience.  I just happened to see it in a bookstore, picked it up, and couldn't stop reading it until the end.  The quality of the book, even though it is a paperback, is fantastic, and each chapter opens up a new and fun idea.  I notice that Amazon is nearly out of stock.  I suspect that means it's really selling well.  It should.
4128490
Very clever and imaginative visual portrayals of phrases....
4499789
Stephen Zimmer is a master of words. He creates intricate people and places that are both wondrous and exciting.  Beautiful imagery and amazing characters are found in this book. His detail is amazing he writes and you read and can picture the places in the story. He is making epic fantasy as a genre rock. I will say that is one and his others are hefty reads. This one was slower for me to get into then the other series but it was worth it to read through to the end. Wonderful fantasy book. Would recommend to anyone.

Also the art is amazing. Matthew Perry is amazing.
4039213
Great read.....thought provoking....marvelous word and phrase association . This novel became one of my most favorites from start to finish.
2207965
I had so much fun with this book. I love books of quotes and there are some wonderful ones in here. There are quotes from everything from ability to kisses. The introduction gives the reader some insight into the how and why of using this book. Grothe really gets into how important metaphors are to our language and why we use them so much. Metaphors are things that we all have in common with our common language and usage. As a writer I will have this book on hand for whenever I get stuck on a word and want to make sure that I can make it mean what I want.

I give this book a Five out of Five stars.