It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a book. As most of you may know, I’ve set myself a “challenge” of reading the Century Trilogy back to back. Well, I think that may have been a mistake. I am currently on the second book, and whilst I do really like it, I find myself only being able to read small chunks at a time. Now, this may have more to do with me starting substitute teaching and being exhausted every day, but I also believe there may be a psychological aspect due to the “challenge” aspect that I set myself. I decided to try and remedy this by reading something completely different.
To make my lunch breaks in the day a little more interesting, I took a short (about 250 pages) book to read. This book is by one of my favourite authors, so I knew I’d enjoy it. Richard Yates’ ‘A Good School’ is often described as the 70’s version of The Catcher in the Rye. I tend to disagree with this statement; Catcher in the Rye focuses on teenage rebellion in a society that is blatantly against the main character. A Good School focuses more on a society that is providing everything for the main characters, at least on a surface level.
The plot revolves around a group of adolescent school boys in a private prep school somewhere in Connecticut (most of Yates’ novels are set here and it is funny as I live here also, I can both what he is saying, and the complete opposite end of the spectrum!) that endeavors to churn out the best of the best in terms of future success stories. However, the plot spends an equal amount of time looking at the lives of the teaching faculty of the school – for they too are both entrenched and disenfranchised by the idea of this “good school”.
What I love about Yates is that he isn’t afraid of showing a broad emotional spectrum; pride, greed, vulnerability, anger, passion, and many other emotional states are portrayed in this short novel. With Yates, it may seem that he is all about doom and gloom, but really, he is about realism. These things happen every day, these emotions get felt every day, these consequences happen every day. There is no writing for the sake of shock value with Yates – everything is genuine and realistic.
Yates wrote this book in the 1970’s, but set it in the early 1940’s. This ability to set a story in a time in which it applies perfectly, and yet have it also apply to the time in which it is published, is ingenious. For a short novel, it really does pack quite the punch. If you find yourself wanting a short read, but also a read with substance, I really cannot recommend this enough.
~ Pegasus.
A Good School: A Novel
Month: November 2014
Review: Hazardous Duty (Squeaky Clean Mysteries #1) by Christy Barritt
Since I’m on a mystery roll, I scoured my early kindle purchases for a fun cozy mystery title. Hazardous Duty fit the bill. It reminds me of Evanovitch’s Stephanie Plum books – but subtler, cleaner, and with a smidge of God talk in there.
Gabby is a crime scene cleaner, so she runs into murders and mayhem all the time. Difference is, usually no one tries to kill her! Gabby tries to help a friend and solve a crime while maneuvering around politics and a dirty politician. Between trying to save her own life, spending time in her apartment house of quirky friends, and trying not to fall in love with a man anything like her loser dad, Gabby is a little bit scattered and a lot scared!
Thanks to two new friends who happen to be male, good-looking, and on the right side of the law, Gabby makes it to the end of the book alive. On her way, a little seed of faith is planted, and I can’t wait to see where it takes her in Book 2.
This is a deal at 99¢, and so good that I gladly paid $10 for book 2. 🙂 Yes. I did.
-Calliope
Review: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
Okay. So anyone that knows me probably thinks I’m giving this five stars just because it’s Pat Rothfuss….well…yes…and…no….I guess it gets five stars because I don’t think any other author could have written a book like this and have it work! However….I was prepared to rate it lowly regardless of who wrote it….so yes, it gets five stars but only because, for me, it was a five-star read….
As I was reading this I felt like I might have to only give it three stars…
I know Rothfuss has been a bit worried about this short book…
Some will say he should have been because they feel it’s awful…it doesn’t have a plot, it doesn’t have a beginning, it gives no history of the main character…it doesn’t even have any characters…it only has one…Auri….
However, I didn’t find it awful at all….and for those that are disappointed….that Rothfuss has nothing to be proud of…..
I have a few thoughts about that….Rothfuss should be proud of this book because he, himself, loved it…in the end, isn’t that really enough? I initially wrote this review before reading Rothfuss’ personal note at the end….he states he wrote this story to find out more about Auri…the way he talked about this book it was almost as if the story wrote itself….he didn’t know where it was going, he only wrote where it took him….at the end of the day he didn’t think others would like it….he didn’t think it was a book that could be published….but HE loved it…..
Second of all….
He should also be proud that all he said about it is true…it’s not a real story…it doesn’t contain any spoilers….it doesn’t make a lot of sense…it won’t make any sense if you haven’t read The Kingkiller Chronicle…he was honest and up front about what this book wasn’t…..
No…it’s true….this isn’t a typical story….it doesn’t follow any format that stories are supposed to follow. It’s very different….it’s very unconventional…but no more so than Auri is herself. For that reason alone I don’t think it could have been written any differently and still fit with who she is…..
But if that’s not enough…
Here’s the kicker…
As I read this short novel I felt small ripples in my heart…much like walking on thin ice and feeling it start to crack underfoot…at about 70% I felt it shatter…I so felt for Auri…I ached for her…I felt that she was real…I can’t even begin to try to make anyone understand this beautiful wreck of a girl. Or how such a tiny slip of a girl can be so powerful. I can’t explain how something so shattered can be so breathtaking in its beauty…
But damn it…Pat Rothfuss can…NOW THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!!!!!
Finally….As I hit the last bit of this story all I heard in my head was:
“In madness there is beauty”. I don’t know where that came from. I’m not even going to search it on google…all I know is that it sums up this book in five words…
“In madness there is beauty”
It’s madness that Rothfuss stepped outside the box and took a chance on something so different….and finally….in Auri herself there is madness….
but again….
“In madness there is beauty”….
“In madness there is beauty”…..
Until next time…
Urania xx
Buy it now The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
Review: Even the Moon has Scars, by Steph Campbell
“The stars. They all burn out eventually. But that big guy up there,” he pulls back and points to the moon. “Even he’s got scars, and he’s still keeping on, right? I’ll be okay, Lena. We’re both going to be okay.”
WOW! This is one of those books that make me sit back and think, one night really can change everything. Whether they’re physical or emotional, everyone has scars, just as the title says. How to choose to heal yourself, is what makes the difference.
Synopsis
Two strangers.
Two broken hearts.
One night to set each other free.
Almost dying from an undiagnosed heart condition means every second of your life is a precious gift to be guarded.
Lena Pettitt was born a miracle.
And her parents never let her forget it.
Even if that daily reminder kept her from experiencing the one thing they were trying to protect most–her life.
Gabriel Martinez’s heart has been ripped out.
His pride has been stomped on.
Oh, and he now has an arrest record that’s caused an even bigger rift between him and his DA mother. All for a love that wasn’t really true.
Now he’s exiled to his grandmother’s, working on his late grandpa’s old Corvair, when a shivering girl knocks on the garage door. Lena, left alone for the first time ever, has locked herself out of her house. Gabe knows he could help this girl get back inside her house–but that may mean missing the next train to Boston to pick up the part he’s spent eight weeks tracking down. She can wait for him at his grandmother’s or…
A few hours, an aluminum valve cover, and some strong coffee later, neither Gabe nor Lena can feign disappointment when they race to the station and arrive just as the last train home from Boston is pulling out.
As jaded as he is, Gabe can’t deny the fact that he’s excited to spend the night exploring a city he knows nearly every corner of, with a girl who sees magic in the simplest things.
Lena has been waiting for her tiny world to crack open her entire life. Now that it’s finally happened, she finds the only thing she can focus on is the unexpected tour guide who opens her eyes to possibilities she never imagined.
All they have is this one night, together, under the bright moon in a city full of hidden beauty.
It’s one night that will change how they see the world and the paths their hearts will take forever.
Lena always hated being under her parents microscope and always looked after. She hasn’t been alone, in her entire life. So a night of freedom, seems like heaven to her. Even if it was all an accident.
I totally understood how Lena was feeling, being sheltered all the time. But when Gabe started to take her places, we started to get a glimpse into his life and how broken hearts can come in many forms. His home life was not pleasant, to say the least. My heart was breaking for the things he had heard over and over. No one should have that. This boy was so unsure of himself, that he would just about anything to feel love, even if it meant chasing after one wrong thing after the next.
I am so glad they had this night to explore and learn about each other. They learned how to fill in the cracks of their broken pieces.
This was a very sweet story, with enough emotion to keep me happy. One night changes everything. Love can heal even the deepest of scars. Well done, Steph. Well done.
~Melpomene
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Review: Letting Go, by Molly McAdams
“Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting. It’s accepting, forgiving, and being emotionally ready to keep moving.”
I’ll admit, I was a bit scared to read this latest Molly McAdams book. She has a habit of throwing us for a devastating loop that we never see coming. And this book had plenty loops. But she has a way of healing us as well, after all the destruction. So this left me quite fulfilled.
Synopsis
Grey and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend, Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle down.
It’s true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy them both?
Right off the bat you see some destruction. The prologue had my heart racing and breaking. But I just knew that if I held on tight, Molly would take care of my heart and in the end I would be okay.
When your life changes in the blink of an eye, and all the plans you made are thrown out, you will need time to move on. This story is about that. It’s about learning to let go and keep moving. It’s about forgiving others, even when their mistakes have made your life totally upside down.
Grey has suffered for two years trying to move on. She couldn’t have done it without Jagger. He’s been her constant companion since she was a little girl. So without his shoulder to lean on and his strong arms to hold her together, she would’ve fell apart.
Jagger has loved Grey for as long as he can remember. But she has always belonged to Ben, so he stayed back and had to watch. But when his best friend dies suddenly and his girl’s life is sent spiraling, he stays by her and helps her, even though all he wants it to tell her that he loves her. But to tell her too soon would set her back, so he remains her friend and hopes that someday they can be closer.
After two years, Grey finds out how Jagger truly feels and is unable to wrap her mind around that. She has always felt something for him, but she feels like she’s cheating on Ben, if she goes for Jagger. Soon she finds herself unable to deny to pull they have toward each other and they find out if they are strong enough to move on from Ben and move on to each other.
He was my best friend. He was my protector and healer. And I was so in love with him.
Their families and friends prove to have just as much drama as they have, and then some. I was quite happy with all the drama that they brought to the table. Definitely had my heart dropping in a few places.
~Melpomene
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Review: Matched by Ally Condie
This is the first book in my November reread. I’m reading it with my daughter. I like finding books that we can read together and discuss what’s happening. It makes her excited to read and if that’s what I have to do, I will do it.
Synopsis
Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander’s face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate… until she sees Ky Markham’s face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it’s a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she’s destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can’t stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society’s infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.
I remember reading this, for the very first time, and sitting down, in a Tim Hortons, crying my eyes out. This book had so many parts that made me feel like a teen myself. The situations that Cassia was put into, were so unfair, my heart was breaking. To not be able to choose your mate, has to be one the hardest things a person would have to deal with. And then to find out, they may have been wrong, and someone else might have been the person for you, that would make a young person go nuts. You don’t know who to believe. You find yourself drawn to the one who isn’t your match. You realize that the life your leading isn’t ideal anymore.
“Do not go gentle into that good night.”
Cassia starts to realize that the life she has isn’t the life she wants. She wants to choose. She wants Ky. She knows she can’t have him, but the heart knows what it wants. She notices things are changing and to change with them, would be to accept this world, and she isn’t sure she can do that anymore.
Watching Cassia and Ky grow closer, was so sweet and innocent. My heart was breaking for Ky and the life he has had. He has lost everything and was taken to a place where he is nothing. But when he meets Cassia, he knew he found his place. But nothing is your own and everything around you can be taken away, including those you love.
This is book one in the series. Thankfully all the books are out, cuz I totally forgot what happens next!! It’s not a cliffhanger, but we are left hanging just a bit. So I am jumping right into the next book, and my daughter can try to catch up, but I have to keep going!!
~Melpomene
Buy Matched
Review: Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky
Preteens and teenagers…growing up and finding your place in the world. Trying to figure out who you are, what role you’re going to play and where you fit in. Normal, run of the mill stuff for most kids. But what if you really aren’t who everyone thinks you are? What if you’ve been given a role to play that doesn’t truly mesh with what your heart tells you about yourself? This is the story in this wonderful debut novel by Amy Polonsky.
Meet Grayson. He’s an even-tempered, sweet young boy living a very difficult life. He lives with his aunt & uncle because his parents died when he was just four, a mere baby. And although they love him and treat him as one of their own, he’s always felt the loss of his mom and dad. That alone would be enough to make most kids question who they are. But there’s more. You see, Grayson also struggles with his very identity. He’s always been drawn to “girlie” pursuits, whether it’s adding a princess to his drawing or wearing girls’ clothes. He knows, however, that this goes against society’s expectations and norms so he hides it. So he exists in his own little world. He gets by without too much trouble or grief from the other kids. He goes to school and does things with his family from time to time. But when he’s alone, he dreams about wearing pretty skirts, soft colors, and sparkles.
Then one day, Grayson takes a chance. He steps outside of his comfortable little box and tries out for the school play. New worlds and friendships are opened up for him along with new challenges. And he, along with his family, are forced to confront some hard truths. Things will never be the same for Grayson, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Grayson’s story is both heartbreaking and heart-lifting at the same time. It filled me with hope while also making me weep. It’s an important story, one that must be told and should be read by anyone who comes in contact with young people. It’s a reminder that what you see on the outside isn’t necessary the truth. And seeing the world through Grayson’s eyes shows us that we are all very different while also being very much alike in our hopes and dreams.
~Thalia
Buy It Now: Gracefully Grayson
Review: Otter Bay series by Julie Carobini
Hearkening back to November 2013… Must have been a cold day like today when I decided to warm up with some Julie Carobini books set at the beach.
I just finished a few books in the Otter Bay series. Set in a small town on the northwest coast, Otter Bay offers a tiny Main Street with the necessities: a coffee shop, a diner, a church. A little further out of town are the Pines, some cottages, and some winding mountain roads.
All this beauty provides the backdrop for new beginnings. Whether it’s Diner owner Peg’s niece Holly looking for her family, or Gage and Callie starting a life together, or Suz learning to be a single mother — and (gasp) start dating, the water in Otter Bay has heart-and-soul-cleansing properties.
Heartfelt family dynamics, strong but sweet heroes, and heroines searching for something – or someone – recur in the Otter Bay novels. This series is similar to Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series, but with a slightly (non-preachy, yet inspired) Christian slant.
Julie’s novels uplift me, give me hope…
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Random Book Muses 