Category Archives: American Literature

Easy on the Eyes by Jane Porter

American Literature July 22, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: At 38, TV personality Tiona Tomlinson is starting to be considered over-the-hill, and she’s not going to give in and get plastic surgery. Review: Jane Porter writes chick lit for women on the cusp of middle age, and her stuff tends to have some substance to it. Easy on the Eyes is an easy read, and I appreciated its message about how our culture is so awful to women as they age. I also liked that her backstory included a Daniel/Marianne Pearl-type marriage and…

How Children Learn by John Holt

American Literature July 20, 2009 Superfast Reader 3 Comments

Synopsis: John Holt’s diary of classroom observations. Review: How Children Learn is far too dense for me to critically analyze. Suffice to say I am really enamored of his respect for children, and inspired by his philosophies on facilitating learning. The closing paragraph of the book sums it up: In my mind’s ear I can hear the anxious voices of a hundred teachers asking me, “How can you tell, how can you be sure what the children are learning, or even that they are learning…

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

American Literature July 17, 2009 Superfast Reader 6 Comments

Synopsis: A princess who can talk to animals sent to marry a foreign prince is replaced by her lady-in-waiting in a nefarious plot, and ends up caring for geese while she figures out a plan. Review: The Goose Girl was simply wonderful. Shannon Hale’s writing is poetic, subtle, and complex, and she really knows how to spin a good yarn. You won’t find any feisty foot-stamping redheads or skinnily sinister villains or gushily girly love interests. Ani’s lady-in-waiting Selia used the fact that Ani was…

Accidentally on Purpose by Mary F. Pols

American Literature July 15, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: The true story of 39-year-old film critic who has a one-night stand that leaves her Knocked Up. Review: Accidentally on Purpose is heartwarming, honest, and achingly real. Mary F. Pols is a fantastic writer and she managed to avoid many of the pitfalls of the autobiography by just letting the story tell itself. I was most interested in her relationship with Matt, her 29-year-old unemployed, directionless baby daddy. In many ways she tried to parent him, too, only to have to let go and…

The Straits by Jeremy Craig

American Literature July 10, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: After losing his mother and his sister in a devastating hurricane, high school student Jim now faces losing the FEMA trailer he shares with his aunt, so he turns to gambling to win the money to save them. Review: I just had to review The Straits, because author Jeremy Craig lives in my neighborhood! A mutual friend told me about the book and it sounded right up my alley. I really enjoyed it. The Straits refers to the trailer park where Jim and his…

Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

American Literature July 7, 2009 Superfast Reader 5 Comments

This is a guest post by Superfast Toddlers awesome babysitter Namiko, a teenage girl who loves loves loves to read. She reminds me a lot of myself at her age, and we swap books back and forth. Synopsis: When Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is told to leave the only home she has known, the ThÃ©Ã¢tre Illuminata, she is given one chance to prove that she is a valuable member of the company. Review: I re-read a lot. Itâ€™s just the way I am, but I donâ€™t…

West Oversea by Lars Walker

American Literature July 2, 2009 Superfast Reader 16 Comments

Synopsis: In 1001 AD, an Irish priest travels with a famed Norse hero to Iceland, Greenland, and parts unknown, in the company of a wicked talisman that gives him the second sight. Review: West Oversea takes the tone of a saga, only with an accessibility that had me turning pages like a madwoman to find out what new wonder Lars Walker would create for me. I want to read everything else he’s ever written! Lucky for you, the publisher (Nordskog Publishing) has given me 2…

This Wicked World by Richard Lange

American Literature June 30, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Fresh out of jail and trying to go straight, ex-bodyguard Jimmy Boone’s curiosity is piqued by a mauled pit bull, leading him to a cache of counterfeit money, a pissed-off stripper, and a conman looking to retire at any cost. Review: I wasn’t sure that I would like This Wicked World, being that I typically prefer British crime novels written by women to American crime novels of any kind. It did not take long for me to get totally sucked into the book, however,…

A Morning Like This by Deborah Bedford

American Literature June 25, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When David learns that he has a daughter from an affair, and that she needs a bone marrow transplant from his son, he confesses all to his wife and tries to put his marriage back together. Review: I really did not care for A Morning Like This. I felt like David expected cheap grace just because the child from his affair had cancer, and didn’t think he needed to do any real work of repentance. He was just awful to Abby, not allowing her…

Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley

American Literature June 22, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A guy decides to write a chick lit novel, and finds love and loses himself along the way. Review: Ms. Taken Identity could’ve been a big huge miss. It’s a great concept that the author could’ve coasted on. Happily, Ms. Taken Identity has humor, heart, and a whole lot of smarts. Mitch is a PhD candidate with a 750-page magnum opus that nobody wants to buy. On a lark, he decides to write chick lit because in his mind, any idiot can do it.…

reading is my superpower

i read all the books