which I liked, but the characters were exaggerated and the narrative ...
599427
Haven't finished watching it. The script was literary, which I liked, but the characters were exaggerated and the narrative very drawn out. Hugh Grant was good in the part I saw.
1726552
The story was good but some of the situations bordered on absurd. The main character was likeable but several of the other characters seemed more like caricatures than people with all of their character traits, good or bad, being highly exaggerated.
While the small town setting was sweet, the presentation of it was a little judgmental.
Overall it was an okay read, interesting but a bit hackneyed.
2005788
It's a quick read and an interesting concept. Alice is in a mental hospital, being blamed for a fire that killed her boyfriend, which was actually set by her twin sister Celia. In attempt to keep the twins together, Alice has regularly covered up for crimes Celia has committed, which only makes it harder for her to convince anyone of her innocence. Nothing is really as it seems and the truth slowly comes out throughout the book.

But the book was only average, and I thought the twist at the end was rather obvious throughout. The narrative is split between the present and the past detailed through journal entries. This part bothered me because the journal entries were very unrealistic in the way they were written, as a novel with dialogue and imagery that seems pretty unlikely in someone's journal.

This would be a good read if you're looking for something easy, maybe a book for the pool, but not if you're looking for something with a bit more substance or original.
4064104
I was not overly impressed with this book.  While it had some fascinating parts, other parts were dull and I actually found myself skimming the text rather than savoring the words, as I would do with a novel I enjoy.  (The author seems to like lists: lists of zoo animals, lists of contents in lifeboat, lists of maladies of a castaway.)  But mostly, I felt ambivalent about the story.  If it is fiction, then the whole "author's note" at the beginning is invented and Pi is not a real person.  If it is a true story, then why is it classified by Amazon.com under "literature and fiction"?  If it is supposed to be an allegory, I feel it has too much realism to work as an allegory (eating tiger feces -- what is allegorical about that?)  If it is supposed to be true-to-life, then what's with the "botanical discovery" and other such bizarre events?  And the whole thing about his name never becomes relevant to the main events of the story.  I felt the book came closest to making sense with Pi's "alternative story" at the end, but even that is thrown into doubt by the remainder of the book.  I could not feel for Pi because I could not pull any sense from his confusion.  He suffered, yes, but where exactly is the tragedy?  With the story having so many unstable moments, the narrator becomes unreliable, and I felt like I was being scammed.
1504435
I liked the setting a lot more than I liked the characters. Overall the book was okay, but the characters were either overblown or almost nonexistent. It was amusing while I read it, but I probably won't bother with the sequels.
2314126
An easy "chick lit" book about a busy working mom commuting to NYC from NJ. I really enjoyed some of the characters in this book, but every time I started getting into a story/plot line the author would drop SO MANY brand names that it was distracting "He wore Warby Parker glasses", "in his OP shorts and Ray Bans", "Wearing an Orla Kiely sheath". Like almost every other paragraph. It came off as pretentious and lazy.

The parts of the story that seemed the most believable were the parts about her father and nuclear family - those characters seemed very real. Her husband and children seemed a little 2 dimensional. Overall, I enjoyed the book, it was just a little cheesy and over the top in parts and came off as a thinly veiled story about her own life (which apparently, it was). Definitely worth picking up from the library, but I wouldn't spend money on this one.
3983044
the characters are a bit two dimensional. One of the main viewpoint characters, Reva, is hard to believe or hard to suspend disbelief for. I actually liked one of the protagonists better. She was also 2-dimensional but maybe she will have more of a role in book 3, which I will read next.
314729
The characters in this young adult general fiction book were engaging, and I liked that the author dealt with hard teen issues like the pressure to succeed academically and the temptation to cheat. However, parts of this novel didn't seem realistic to me (mainly how the adults acted, like how clueless they were about to how to identify cheaters stealing quiz answer keys).

Also, while I appreciate the message of "stand up for what's right and God and close Christian friends can get you through" in these "Raise the Flag" novels, the author always has the worst possible realistic consequences happen. Several times as a teen, I stood up for what was right against the tide, and I was surprised by how the backlash was more minor than I expected. If I'd read these novels back then, I think I wouldn't have dared to do that since I'd be turned off by the nearly unbearable consequences portrayed in these novels as the result for doing what is right. So I'm not sure I'd encourage a teen to read this series.
1845386
Fun Home is not a book I would've picked up for entertainment. As required reading for a class, the book tells an okay story about the author's life with her father from childhood to young adulthood. However, there are several instances where she parallels what happened to something from literature (for example, works written by Marcel Proust or James Joyce). These pretentious portions distracted me from the rest of the story and made reading the book excruciating. Meanwhile, the drawings include realistic detailing. A few sections were so realistic that I wonder if the author drew them or scanned real photos and converted them to ink drawings.
4492639
What I liked (with a caveat) about the book: Stella, the protagonist is no one extraordinary --- though she may have lived through what she felt like were extraordinary times (who among us doesn't?) --- this novel puts forth the proposition that everyone has a story worth telling. And I believe in that premise. It's just that some stories are more universally appealing. I feel that this one, while an accurate snapshot of one woman's life in the mid-late twentieth century, is not a truly classic story, and will be quickly dated.

What appealed to my reading tastes less: the overall tone and feeling that Stella was constantly settling, in life and in love. I wanted her to find SOMEthing to relish joyously in her life, or give up on having a relationship altogether, or...throughout most of the book she seems to be suffering from a jaded ennui that I find depressing.
4719748
I wanted to give this a higher rating, but just couldn't do it.  The narrative was okay, it was interesting, and somewhat of a isolated historical narrative.  But it wasn't really an entertaining story, and it wasn't a complete historical narrative.  It was a very narrow view of that historic time and place, and it wasn't nearly as entertaining as it should have been or could have been.

Patrick
4705720
I had high hopes for this book before I opened it after seeing all the rave reviews. I was left fairly disappointed. That being said, I did enjoy reading it. The prose is plain (the comparison one reviewer on the inside cover made to Faulkner and McCarthy is absolutely absurd) but clear and easy to follow, and the story is interesting enough that I sped through the book in just a few sittings. I enjoyed the non-linear story telling. That being said, the plot was at times predictable and at other times implausible. I think the story's ending got wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly. The characterization is shallow and largely one dimensional. Rarely were character's motives sufficiently fleshed out and too often did the author develop his character by telling rather than showing.

If you're looking for a quick and entertaining read that won't require heavy concentration, this may be what you're looking for. But don't go into it expecting great literature.
2261275
I almost didn't stick with this book after reading the first few chapters, because it was overly-narrative at the beginning. I was concerned that it would be a "tell vs. show" book.  In spite of the drama of the story, the characters were flat, and while the narrative vs. dialogue did improve, I felt as though the characters and situations were created to support a story.  I enjoy novels that let the story play out through the characters. I felt that some of the scenes were too contrived to be believable.

Although the story was melodramatic, I did finish the book in order to see how it would end.  The account of Job may have been an inspiration, but it was not a retelling of Job's experience in modern times.
4717379
Phoebe moves into her step father's ancestral home in England and discovers her family is not alone, and whatever is living with them wants her baby sister. I'm lukewarm about this book. It reads quickly, and the writing style is professional and engaging. Phoebe, is an admirable character who loves her family, but she is honest about being a little jealous of her baby sister. She reads as realistic and relatable. There is a nice little twist to the narrative that many readers will enjoy. The problem for me was really that, even in this context, the explanations for the haunting seemed so far fetched and my disbelief couldn't extend that far. I think middle school readers are more likely to appreciate the light horror and suspense of Haunted, and they are less likely to be bothered by the weak back story. Language and situations are appropriate for grades 7 and up. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
232903
After reading so many positive reviews I was looking forward to this book. The characters looked intriguing and the storytelling device - alternating two completely different story lines and gradually tying them together - is one that I enjoy. Unfortunately, I found the whole thing rather lackluster. The characters were fine, but I didn't find myself emotionally invested in them. When the two stories converged, my main thought was "Oh. Is that it?"

Not a horrible book - just. . . .ok.
4616256
I was predisposed to love The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1, as alternate history is a favorite genre, and famous character mash-ups a particular favorite as well. Volume One introduces a "menagerie" (as they are often referred to) of otherwise famous literary characters brought together to help Queen and Country with dangerous tasks in a somewhat steampunky Britain of an alternative history. Two characters, Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain, are favorites of mine from their original novels and I loved the idea of them having more adventures.

This graphic novel has many literary references, both in the text and illustrations, which is a delight for a book nerd. The pseudo-Victorian style and parody of Victorian serials used throughout the novel was highly amusing for a fan of that era and added an extra level of enjoyment.

Character development and setting introduction took the first few chapters ("issues") and was pretty well done. The personalities of the five members of the League were nicely established and tantalizing hints given about the world from both the illustrations and the text. I became quite fond of the characters, even the amoral Griffin, and was eagerly awaiting plot development.

When the plot did develop, however, it was unsatisfying. Perhaps because so much time had been spent developing characters and world, very little time was able to be given to generate a decent plot. It was a messy, mishmash of explosions and overaction (not to mention overacting) and made very little sense. If it was meant to be a parody of Victorian fiction, it didn't read like any of the multitude of Victorian novels I have read.

The art was nothing spectacular. While there were some scenes drawn with "hidden" references, these occasional treats did nothing to add to the story. The illustration of the panels is a very straightforward, comic book style, with no artistic angles or composition. The lines are harsh, the backgrounds busy, the colors generally unappealing. There were even times when panels were so busy with so many irrelevant details, that it was hard to find the action. I certainly did not feel that I was reading a graphic novel where the art is vital to the storyline; I felt as though I were reading a comic book.

Despite my interest in the characters, the lack of a real plot line and the average art made this very promising premise a mediocre read. I truly am interested in the characters, though, and may still give the second volume a try to see if Moore and O'Neill were simply getting established with this volume.
3436198
Even the main character had enough of all the crazy stories and lies, being bombed, punched, shot at and threatened.  I tell ya', it was enough to almost walk away from the book.  Almost....  But it was a fun and quick read.  And if you like stories about New York and Prohibition, and a lot of twists and turns and side stories that don't really add much to the story, then you'll enjoy this one.

And I might have believed the lure of the "dame" in this book, if she had been a better developed character.  But, unfortunately, she was very stereotyped, and I could not understand and could not believe her allure.

All of the twists, turns and lies were a bit much for me.  Actions and reactions and situations were way too unbelievable.  It was almost slap-stick material, but it wasn't funny--wasn't written to be funny.

And one side story in particular seemed to be forced into the book to add pages.  I'm not saying the book was hard to follow; it was not.  There were just too many lies told, too many characters, a very street-smart, but very gullible, main character.  And there is so much going on in the story, character development lagged behind, and characters were forced to be somewhat superficial and shallow.

And there was one assumption that the reader was forced to make, that was not logical at all.  If I say more, I'd be spoiling the story for you.

You may like this book.  While I did read to its conclusion, I won't be following this series any longer.