World of Wonders by Robertson Davies

September 24th, 2007 · No Comments

Synopsis:
The premature baby of Fifth Business was kidnapped by roustabouts, grew up a circus performer, and has grown into the greatest magician in the world. His life story offers the final piece to the question posed in The Manticore: “Who killed Boy Staunton?”
Review:
Robertson Davies’s masterful Deptford Trilogy deserves to be on more must-read lists. [...]

Popularity: 42% [?]

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Tags: Canadian Literature

Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

August 18th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Synopsis:
After a teenage girl’s abusive father is released early from prison, she fears that she will be victimized again.
Review:
I hold Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak to be the perfect YA “problem novel.” These novels take a teen in jeopardy facing off against a social issue, and show how the protagonist overcomes the situation. In [...]

Popularity: 26% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Tin Angel by Shannon Cowan

August 6th, 2007 · 4 Comments

Synopsis:
Accused of murdering her family’s benefactor, a teenage girl caught in the legal system explains what led to her arrest and indictment.
Review:
Author Shannon Cowan has done a remarkable job researching the Canadian legal system viz. young adults around the time that Tin Angel takes place (late 1960s). However, the emotional component of the story [...]

Popularity: 36% [?]

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Tags: Canadian Literature

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie Farrell

June 19th, 2007 · 2 Comments

Synopsis:
Upon discovering that she has a great-aunt who’s been in a mental institution since the age of 16, Iris has to decide how much she’s willing to allow her life to be changed.
Popularity: 43% [?]

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Popularity: 43% [?]

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Tags: British Literature

What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles

June 15th, 2007 · No Comments

Synopsis:
Trapped in a coffin, popular teen Cass McBride works to find a strategy to reach freedom, even as the police trace down dead lead after dead lead.
Popularity: 36% [?]

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Popularity: 36% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits

May 21st, 2007 · 2 Comments

Synopsis:
When Mary was 16, she may or may not have been abducted and raped by an older man, whose life was ruined by her accusations.
Popularity: 74% [?]

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Popularity: 74% [?]

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Tags: American Literature

Contemplating Structure, Time and the First-Person

April 11th, 2007 · 1 Comment

In another incarnation I spent some time teaching screenwriting, which, as you may know, is all about structure. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that there is no screenwriting without structure. Typically, that means three acts highlighting a tightly causal chain of events with linear narration. In films that [...]

Popularity: 30% [?]

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Tags: On Reading