Synopsis: A memoir of Ivan Doig’s childhood in western Montana, wrangling sheep and falling in love with words in the company of his father and maternal grandmother. Review: This House of Sky was given to me by my very good friend Karen. She and I have been trading books for as long as we’ve known each other, and I always know that she’ll give me something worth reading.
Synopsis: One girl with four personalities at war for dominance, and her only hope is the doctor who is growing to loathe her. Review: I swear this has never happened to me–I could have sworn I read The Bird’s Nest when I went through my Shirley Jackson phase back in 1998. I found this awesome woman in Canada who found me most of her out-of-print books–except this one–in a used bookstore in Toronto. I knew I didn’t own The Bird’s Nest, but I thought that…
Synopsis: The second in the adventures of gypsy teamster Ki, hired by a wizard to reunite his head with the rest of his body, which have been seized by the menacing Windsingers. Meanwhile, Vandien has contracted himself to a fool’s errand retrieving a treasure of the Windsingers, trapped in a sunken temple. Review: As I mentioned in my post on Harpy’s Flight, it doesn’t seem like Lindholm will be developing an overall mythology, though she is using some recurring characters, and might be continuing some…
Synopsis: After her husband and children are brutally murdered by a god-like Harpy, Ki undertakes an act of vengeance that severs her ties with her husband’s people, and sends her on a dangerous journey up an icy mountain overseen by a malevolent force. Review: Megan Lindholm is Robin Hobb, whom I love. Harpy’s Flight is the first in a 4-book series featuring teamster Ki and her unlikely partner Vandien, and while the storytelling isn’t as accomplished as in her later works, Harpy’s Flight is a…
Synopsis: An awkward teen buys a junky old Plymouth that seems to have a life of its own–and sinister plans for Artie and those he loves.
Synopsis: Restlessness in her current relationship leads a NYC woman to wonder if her family’s legacy has doomed her to unhappiness.
Synopsis: A teenage boy reconstructs the moment he discovered a secret about his past that might prove deadly. Review: Cormier is best known for The Chocolate War (Laurel Leaf Books), a grimly compelling fable about the perils of conformity. I Am the Cheese (Laurel-Leaf Library) has the same air of mystery about it, but it’s a less successful work in my opinion. I read it a bunch of times as a kid, and revisiting it didn’t reveal any new layers.
Synopsis: When a car that shouldn’t drive appears at a local gas station, the police troop that deals with it discovers that it is a portal to another world, one that seems very, very dangerous. Review: I swear I really am reading Anna Karenina. My brain was so fried, however, at the end of this crazy work trip I just took that I needed something for the plane that wouldn’t challenge me. From a Buick 8 is a King that I’d only read once before,…
Synopsis: Idyllic 1930s Connecticut. 13-year-old Niles is dreaming the summer away with his twin brother Holland and their mystical Russian grandmother Ada–but tragedy has a way of striking this family, and it has something to do with the ring Niles holds so closely. Review: What a curious blend of classic Americana and gothic horror! It’s a tale of terror set in broad daylight, amid sunflowers and haymows and Main Street and the train, whistling at its appointed hour. There’s an angel in this book, with…
Synopsis: A writer suffers a car wreck and finds himself in the tender loving care of his number one fan.