Ms. Moyes is an accomplished storyteller. The narrative ...
354180
Ms. Moyes is an accomplished storyteller. The narrative,though disjointed, pulls the reader along to a grand finish. Her characters are varied and believable.
870689
Liesel Meminger's life is flipped topsy-turvy after seeing brother die while they journey to meet their new foster parents. Her love of books and reading grows out of an initial theft carried out at her brother's funeral. It is with this that the lovely story of the Book Thief begins. With keen reluctance, Liesel enters the quiet burg, Molching. Not knowing what to expect from her adoptive parents, the Hubermann's. What she ultimately finds are her loving foster parents Hans, an accordion playing painter, and Rosa, a strict but fair mother.
Her real stories are to be had in company of a boy named Rudy with whom she shares many adventures like stealing fruit and other food during the wars hard times. Her hunger for the written word also sees her thievery extend to the Mayor's library, aided by the willing Rudy. Seeing her relationships with Rudy and her foster father blossom is the best part of the book. Hans takes it upon himself to teach Liesel to read and write during the oppressive times of Nazi rule.
Markus Zusak does a fantastic job of painting the horrors and injustices of war and narrowing their focus to the daily lives of the people Molching's people. Never have I before, as a reader, been so invested and had such an affinity for the central characters and their plight.
Zusak's vanilla writing style with its short punchy chapters allows the reader to follow the central thread of the plot without distraction. One unique aspect of the narrative is that it is told from the point of view of Death. It is an interesting and ambitious perspective on the unfolding events, and Zusak makes it work. Death's narration portrays an overworked, ruthless but somehow compassionate being. Another feature of Zusak's writing is the interspersed plot revelations, often pertaining to the demise of certain characters, before the events actually transpire. The foreshadowing serves to cushion the blow for the reader when events take a disheartening turn.
This book is an instant classic, and should be mandatory reading for adolescents and adults alike
3478118
Narrative of Sojourner Truth is an amazing book; It's the second of such narratives I have read. It seems poorly organized, but when one considers that this is a narrative of a lady who at a point in her life couldn't get her head around dates and numbers, one realizes it couldn't have been done better. Truth's narrative, like that of Frederick Douglas, gives me vicarious trauma of the appalling evil of slavery imposed on otherwise good people by a system so cunningly worked out to call out the brute in humanity. A system that now exists in a subtle form but not less efficacious: it has morphed from allowing people get away with murder without reason at all to allowing people get away with murder with trifle reason.
888888
I greatly admired the three previous books by Mary Gaitskill that Ive read: she writes evocatively, plots clearly and by the end of one of her fictions you feel like you know its inhabitants. You feel for them too. The protagonists of her stories have complicated lives. They don't lead easy lives and they feel conflicting emotions. She is a master storyteller. But in her previous writings at least the ones Ive read her observations have seemed to me distanced, not written  --felt, rather-- inside the characters. Thats not easy to argue because she really does delve deeply into the psyches of her characters but Ive always felt that she is more the observer than a partisan. I guess Im saying I find her writing perceptive, even emotionally fulfilling, but I don't find it nor the authorial personality that lies behind itwarm. Hot (= strong emotions), yes. Warm (= caring and involved), no.

Until this novel, that is. The Mare has all of Gaitskills signal excellences especially her observations of how imperfect people relate to reach other, the subterfuges they employ to keep from being exposed as what they know they really are, which is damaged goods, and the stratagems they use to hold themselves together. But as well as that, it has heart. You feel that Gaitskill really cares about her subjects and the result is that you care about them as well. The story is told in short alternating chapters, some no more than a paragraph or two long, by a series of narrators but mostly two. The one, the most important one, the one you care for most, root for, is an eleven-year-old, Velveteen Vargas, who travels up state to spend a few weeks as a Fresh Air Fund kid with Ginger and Paul. The rest of the time she lives in Brooklyn with her volatile, abusive mother and her little brother. Velvet is brown and Ginger and Paul are white no one could appear more white in Velvets eyes than blond-haired Ginger, who glows with a sort of radiance around Velvet and dispenses advice to her that may work well in her world but doesnt in Velvets much more dangerous one. Gingers past seems always about to creep up on her:  she was an addict and abused woman in the not too distant past before Paul found and rescued her. Too much stress in any part of their life and it could come unraveled. She quickly grows to care deeplyabout Velvets life too but at bottom, really Velvet is her lifeline. When Velvet falls in love with horses she is a natural with them-- Ginger champions her dreams of competition riding.

Theres more to it than this: the horse Velvet rides is damaged too, its face scarred by past abuse; Velvets mother, Silvia, is abusive and often mean but behind all her hurt, shes loving and strong; Paul has to deal with a wife whos drifting out of control, her fantasy life about Velvet taking over and shoving out their own relationship. The ending is positive but not pollyanesque. Velvet gains something permanent maybe, its not surefrom the experience. Everyone moves on with their lives but by this point, the book ends. Its like life: you deal with each part as it happens.

Its difficult to write about a book this rich without simplifying the story, and the messages it gives, too much. Suffice it to say it is rich and very rewarding.
3606125
Francine Rivers is a gifted storyteller. Whether writing contemporary or historical fiction, a common thread runs throughout each--strong characters and the faith that sustains them. Her Mother's Hope is a compelling story of a mother and daughter with very different personalities, but more in common than either of them realize.

Marta Schneider grew up in the beauty of Switzerland but her life was not easy. Fiercely independent and ambitious, despite her father's authoritarian attempts to crush her spirit, Marta's dream is to one day own her own hotel or boardinghouse. Her mother is loving, but physically weak, encouraging Marta to search out the usefulness of each situation and to trust God for the results. Her younger sister, Elise, is beautiful, but timid and fearful of anything outside of the comfort of her home. And it is the tragedy that takes place in Elise's life that plays a pivotal role in the rest of Marta's.

When Marta marries and has her second child, Hildamara Rose, she sees the same frailty in her daughter that was in Elise. Determined that Hildie, unlike Elise, would grow up to be strong and independent, Marta is stricter with her than with her other children. While this comes from love, Hildie sees it differently, and while she respects her mother, she feels like nothing she does can ever please her.

Pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse, Hildie works hard to accomplish it. When she falls in love, the walls she has put up to protect herself from her mother's seeming indifference jeopardize the relationship. Even after she is married and has children, the misunderstandings between mother and daughter are carried over into Hildie's interactions with her own children. Can these patterns ever be broken?

Her Mother's Hope reminded me of some of my favorite inter-generational novels by Lynn Austin, such as Eve's Daughters and All She Ever Wanted, as well as Leota's Garden, an earlier book by Rivers.  It's fascinating to have a wide angle view of a person's life and to realize how the actions and decisions a person makes affect not only themselves, but the generations that come after. Seeing a situation that two people experience from both of their viewpoints makes me realize how easy it is for us to misunderstand each other and how important it is to give each other grace.

As in life, there are no neat ends tied up in this novel, and I greatly anticipate reading the second part of this story in Her Daughter's Dream.

--reviewed by Sheryl Root for TitleTrakk
3075357
Moyes work is unlike anything out there.  Her stories are original and captivating.  I cannot put them down.  She draws such beautiful characters and settings that you soon feel you are part of the story.  If you have not had the pleasure of reading and of Moyes books, I strongly recommend them. They make you feel alive with emotion from the first page until the last.
1405485
Artfully, crafted narrative that follows the detailed life of a strong woman. The brilliant storytelling by the author brings Paramals character to life. She makes you feel all of her emotions and hope for her success. A well written and rounded novel.
934086
This story is engaging and skilfully told. Rachel and Lacey, despite a significant age difference, are drawn together by circumstance and life events. They form an unlikely but believable friendship. Both have a past littered with loss and each shoulders a burden in the present. The narrative POV switches easily from one to the other; snapshots of life events allow the story to unfold, keeping the pace lively and weaving past and present seamlessly.

The writing is powerful, often poignant and heartfelt, with the vulnerability of each laid bare. As a reader, I was keen to know what made these individuals the people they are. Parts if the story are really emotional; in turn heartbreak and pleasure, sadness and regret, happiness and laughter.

There's a strong sense of location, the descriptive passages are evocative with a real feel for country living in a tight knit and introspective community. I found I cared about both characters. There are a couple of final twists which carry the story through to a very satisfactory conclusion. It's a book that haunts you after you finish reading; it calls you back to think about some of the issues raised. What more could a reader ask for? A little gem and I loved it. Thank you.

Copy of my amazon UK review.
1759269
In "Of Better Blood," Susan Moger addresses a subject which has been largely ignored by historians: an attempt to create a "master race" -- in the U.S.! Like most people, I had thought that sterilization and isolation of so-called undesirables (physically and mentally handicapped) was an invention of Nazi Germany. Not so. The author's novel brings the history of the eugenics movement to these shores. The book is the story of Rowan, born into a wealthy family but abandoned by her father when she contracts polio. Suddenly, she is a cripple--an inferior being--who ends up in a carnival freak show. It is a touching story of Rowan's friendship with a "carny" girl and their joint travails.

Moger weaves a great story, providing fast pacing with suspense at the end of each chapter urging the reader to turn to the next page. The writing is exquisite, with wonderful sensory details of places from a New England carnival, to a Cape Cod beach, to a mysterious island off the coast of Maine. The book is labeled YA, but I got caught up in the tale and at no time found it beneath my tastes as an adult reader. This is a wonderful book. I recommend it to everyone--from youngster to adult.
3576522
I could not put this book down,  Ms. Moyes has a way of telling a story to keep you enthralled.  And the twists at the end are definitely unexpected.  I have read 3 other books that she has written and have never been disappointed.
127406
I am enjoying the narrative style. Ms Coplin is a splendid story teller. The story is compelling as a well done mystery would be yet there are too many possibile paths to take. You just keep reading and let the story take you along.
2236228
This is a terrific can't-put-it-down read, extremely well written. Moyes is a master of descriptive prose and story-telling, and her characters have great depth. This book also tackles a controversial topic (though I won't write any spoilers here) with courage, sensitivity, and intelligence.
331914
Despite being told from the perspective of eleven-year-old Luz, Loteria is not a book for children or young adults.  The story Luz tells is tragic.  Reading her own words makes the truth about why she is in a government facility and how she is connected to her family's falling apart are even more tragic.  For as much as she thinks she knows about life and the world, the fact that she is so naive about what's happened comes through all the more.  Loteria is beautifully illustrated by the cards that spur on Luz's memories and the story moves at a frenetic pace at times, jumping from memory to memory.  The whole truth seems hidden even as all is revealed, which is frustrating.

But Zambrano's debut shows his potential as a storyteller even if the perspective and world view seems skewed at times.  Luz is a straight talker, no-nonsense narrator who tells it like she sees it until the very moment you want her to be totally honest and isn't.  Reading between the lines is sometimes blurry and the book almost demands a second reading to understand the fullness of Luz's existence.  Capable and compelling at times, Loteria falls short in the very moments it ought to be strongest.  Still, worth reading for the uniqueness of perspective and worth looking at for the elegant Loteria card illustrations.
287952
Creative nonfiction combines the relating of historical fact with the storytelling skills of a novelist. The advantage of creative nonfiction is that it both entertains and informs the reader, and in Great Lakes Skipper the author proves that he possesses the dogged intelligence of a historian as well as the narrative skills of a born-storyteller novelist. The reader lives closely with the books characters -- and the choices they must make -- and also vicariously partakes in a time and place that still holds lessons for today. More impressive yet is the fact that the book focuses on the authors own ancestors. Quite a feat, and Stark pulls it off handily. I had trouble putting this one down.
4177293
In Ms. Moseleys third novel, the reader is drawn in deftly until it is impossible to turn the pages fast enough. Then, when all the pages have been turned, the reader wishes for more. Moseley is a true story teller.

In A Stillness of Chimes, which in itself is a title worthy of thought and curiosity, we meet three main characters: Laura, Sean, and Cassie. Their stories begin when they were children in the little town of Prospect, Georgia. As time progresses, Laura moves away, but must return to her home town when her mother dies, to finalize her household. Sean and Cassie are still there, and their lives interact again, as they did when they were young. The reader watches as Laura tries to distance herself from Sean, her first love, and finds it extremely difficult.

While Laura is adjusting to the loss of her mother, she begins to hear reports that her father, who was thought to have drowned when she was a teen-ager, has been seen around town. Of course, this is difficult for her to believe. Why would her father have deserted her and her mother? Laura cannot come up with a reason.

Throughout the story, Laura tries to discover whether or not her father is still alive. Relationships between the characters lead the reader to understand their personalities. The beautiful relationship between Laura and Sean, and between Laura and her friend Cassie develop as the book progresses. The ending is explosive and well worth the read to get there.

As usual in Ms. Moseleys books, we meet well-developed, quirky characters. Her use of dialogue to tell a story is impeccable, as is her character development. Hers is definitely a show, don't tell approach to writing, and she can really tell a story.

If you enjoy reading about real people, with a twist of mystery here and there, you will enjoy this new novel by Meg Moseley.
2283562
This is one of those oh I'll just read one more chapter books, and then you get sucked into Moyes' usual vortex of romantic intrigue.  Always, cool and written in "British" English, Moyes has a way of making you feel British and understand the lingo.  I happened to have the Flu and read it over the Labor Day weekend, so luckily I had this book, so the weekend wasn't so bad.  Download it, you won't be disappointed.  I've only read one other of Moyes' book "Me Before You", so I think you don't necessarily have to be a fan of her's to get into this book.  However, this book made me an official fan, and I've downloaded "The Girl You Left Behind."  So, yeah, that's another story...
4876007
Piper Hughley compose an excellent narrative that advocate to analyze the entangled history of Reconstruction beyond being preachy. While reading this story, several times I found myself in tears about this lovely narration between Virgil and Amanda. The way how they raised their daughter and they wants the best for her. They also dealt with financial crisis and the medical crisis with Amanda. Even though Amanda and Virgil disagree oftens but they does that from a foundation and the power of love and respect. I am looking forward to read the next book The Representative Revolt in The Home To Milford College Series.