A great read that should appeal to a wide audience.
350621
This is an extremely well written book that is both gripping and educational. You get a glimpse into a relatively unknown adventure sport as well as into the lives of sailors on a German U-boat. Those who liked Ship of Gold should really enjoy this.  Don't assume you have to have an interest in diving or boating. I don't. This is a fun book you will care about.
2536520
"Protect" is a fun read.  There's plenty of action but not too much violence.  You know who the good guys are and they're likeable.  I think there's something in this book to appeal to a wide audience.  I also like the short chapters and different fonts for the main characters.
4814100
A fun easy read that is informative.  Believe it will hold the intended audience's interest.  I am recommending that all of my younger grandchildren read it.
3408010
Author, John Calicchia, does a great job writing in a way that can appeal  to all ages. It is easy to read and can interest both fiction and nonfiction readers. The book creatively incorporates Psychological studies that not only Psychology lovers will understand. The book is a fun way to look at and relate to our own world. Mirror world is composed of many short chapters and set up in a way that continuously draws your attention. I would recommend this to those 13 years of age or older. It is a book that definitely will not disappoint!
3162516
Anonymity was intriguing and eye-opening.  The characters are colorful, diverse and caring, making you want to know each one personally.  I enjoyed every page and appreciate the new outlook it gave me about homeless youth in America.  The intertwined story lines of the characters, even secondary ones, bring the story to life. This book will appeal to a wide audience and I highly recommend it.
2043828
The book should be of interest to a wide audience concerned with agricultural development. This would include academics in the social and agricultural sciences, donor agencies and NGOs.
3058172
The writing, witty and fun, carries the reader through a variety of different arguments and proofs.  Though the style is a bit sarcastic, I get a sense that Mr. Knight wants us to enjoy the read and think of life in a  new way.  Despite the entertaining qualities and well discussed thoughts,  some aspects were perhaps just out-of-place rants against Christianity.  The book would do well to maybe drop these attacks and approach  religion/philosophy in a more mature, more intellectual view.  I enjoyed  Mr. Knight's reasoning and his fun examples.  Drawing on knowledge of  physics and philsophy, he presents  some very significant new arguments  concerning the physical as well as spiritual world.  I'd like to see more  from this author.
2817068
This is a great book for the intended audience.  Hope there is a series continuation.
2637369
Taking into account that this book is geared toward younger readers I still found it very entertaining. It melds history, religion, culture, magic into an intriguing storyline featuring straightforward representatives of good and evil that doesn't feature a lot of surprises but easily keeps your attention. The humour provided by the shape-shifting eunuch is an added bonus and I could almost picture those scenes brought to life in animation. An excellent book for its target audience.
1374221
Wonderful personal story of a pioneering family well-told and obviously historically researched. A book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading. The author has blended history, drama, romance, and life lessons beautifully. This story should be appealing to a wide age group, including mature readers. I see an evolution of this author's style and focus resulting in a wider audience.
1368940
This book will appeal to readers of all ages, so don't let the YA designation throw you off.  It's an exciting new series with a fun premise and a lovable cast of characters.  My only complaint is that I have to wait for the next one to come out.  I hope this series becomes a hit so that Hollywood will bring it to the big screen!
608111
This was a great start, that has potential to expand tremendously. I appreciate the different points of views because it allows the reader to step into two roles. The simplicity in the way this is written allows it to be extremely relatable to a wide range of people; though this may be great don't completely lose the factor of certain tenses and missing words; this may confuse the reader. Overall great job
4840019
I am not in the target demographic for this kind of literature. However, even as a middle-aged man, I really enjoyed this read. I enjoyed it on a personal level because of my familiarity with (and love for) the Missouri landscape where the story takes place, and also because of my interest in topics of common interest with its characters- natural history, archaeology, and horses. I enjoyed it as an educator when I thought of how much young people might learn from this book. I really enjoyed it as just a plain reader for the adventure that kept me turning the pages to a satisfying end.
1327657
I think that this book is a fantastic read for all kinds of readers. The story is in itself a great thriller that will keep the attention of everyone who likes the darkest crime books. It will transport you into the world where young women are trafficked as sex slaves and people are murdered ruthlessly. But it will also please more demanding readers who are looking for something intelligent that provokes deep questions.

To sum up, the book is about war between good and evil -- both in the world of criminals and policemen and in the individual minds of several characters. I won't spoil your read by telling you the story. Instead let me point out at least a few interesting ideas that the book subtly conveys.

First it is the idea of free will versus limitation by our physical handicaps. Someones dreams are thwarted by a silly mole on his nose, then the same man changes dramatically after a heart transplant. Another character, Double Ugly, was born with a scarred revolting face and ended up with a scarred revolting mind as well. But the picture is not as dark as it may seem when we look more closely at two cases of sociopaths which are important parts of the whole story. Both sociopaths are incapable of empathy. They cannot experience the feelings of love and compassion. There is the bad sociopath who uses and tortures innocent people, but there is also the good sociopath who has learned to respect the law and even risk his life out of mere respect of duty. His emotional poverty even makes him less vulnerable and thus better equipped to deal with the bad guys. When I was reading about this good sociopath, I could not help but think about Immanuel Kants duty-based ethics, which has been puzzling its critics as a standard too narrow for compassionate and loving beings.

Both characters seem to have the choice to decide whether they want to serve good or evil. Both turn to powerful maternal figures from their childhood, mother and aunt, who were kind to them, when seeking some answers regarding empathy they do not possess themselves. But it is up to them to decide whether they will remain limited by their own handicaps or whether they will respect the moral output of the empathy of others as their moral guide -- the way blind people accept the fact that there is a colorful world they cannot see but may need to know about.

I would like to emphasize that this book is a thriller, not an essay on free will. The ideas that I have just mentioned are just a small part of the highly entertaining story. But I personally see it as an interesting bonus that the book poses these age-old philosophical questions.
1974453
I just finished this amazing story that will have broad appeal for a wide variety of readers.

It is a dystopia. Wade Watts lives in a slum called the Stacks outside of Oklahoma City. The Stacks are piles of mobile homes, RVs, and other such vehicles that house those too poor to live anywhere else. Wade is an orphan who is theoretically cared for by his aunt who care manifests itself in taking his food vouchers and having her boyfriend of the moment take anything else of value that he might have.

While Wade's real life is bleak and hopeless, his online life in the OASIS is something very different. The founder of the OASIS, which is a very souped up version of Second Life, died and left a contest in place. The winner will get his whole multi-billion dollar estate and control of the OASIS too. Everyone spends most of their available time in OASIS. That is where they go to school, and work, and spend their leisure time too.

Wade immediately begins searching for the treasure. To find it he has to become an expert on the founder - James Donovan Halliday - and has to become an expert on all the things Halliday loved. Halliday was a geek who loved science fiction authors (I have actually read quite a number of them), 1980s movies (I have heard of them but not seen them), and all sorts of video-games (which are totally a mystery to me).

Cline lards the book with all sorts of 1980s pop culture details. It made me want to check out some of the videos, games, and stories that he mentions. Those who are hunting for the prize must collect three keys. The book is divided into three parts. Each of them revolves around the hunt for one of the keys.

It is an adventure novel. Wade isn't hunting alone. He also has some online friends on the hunt too. Aech is his best friend. Although they have never met in real life, they spend a lot of time together learning about the 80s and playing lots of those classic video games. Another friend is Art3mis. She is a popular gunter which comes from contracting egg hunter. Wade, who is known in OASIS as Parzival, has been following her blog and has developed a massive crush on her. There are also two other hunters who are of importance in the story - Daito and Shoto. While the five are rivals, they are still friendly.

It is a romance. Parzival falls in love with Art3mis. He has gotten to know her online. She doesn't believe that he could love the real her. She wants to concentrate on winning the prize. She wants to use the money to feed the hungry. She tries to discourage all of Parzival's attempts to get to know her.

But the real rivals to their search are the sixers who are employees of IOI, a megacorporation that wants to win the contest to take over OASIS and change the parameters. There plan to institute a fee structure would price most people out of it. The leader of the sixers is Sorrento. IOI is willing to go to great lengths to win the contest. After all, the winner will have great power and wealth. In fact, they are willing to resort to murder. A good part of the story has to do with the way Wade manages to stay one step ahead of IOI in the real world while pursuing his search for the keys in OASIS.

This was a gripping adventure, a celebration for geeks everywhere, and a great romance too. I recommend it to readers of any of those genres. I can't wait to see the movie!
4562499
Michael Snyder manages to make an interesting and entertaining novel for general consumption.
He will reach a wider audience with this book than his excellent articles as found on activist post
and other internet sites.
3033025
Reel Heroes is a great read for multiple audiences. The informative and sophisticated dialogue between Smith and Allison provide insightful analyses of fictional characters that anyone interested in heroes or film would enjoy. But by analyzing heroes in the most recent, major film productions, Smith and Allison broaden their audience to any movie-goers. Because of this, I felt confident in recommending the book to a few of my friends, and each one got something different out of Reel Heroes that they loved. Reel Heroes is excellent for providing reviews of the most up-to-date films, as well as sparking conversation and providing novel insights about the characters in the movie that you just saw.