On Becoming Fearless by Arianna Huffington
My review of Arianna Huffington’s On Becoming Fearless… in Love, Work, and Life appeared on BlogCritics today. I usually don’t read books like this, but it actually wasn’t terrible.
Category Archives: American Literature
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Synopsis: After the death of the beloved king, a land falls into chaos and war, and one young boy finds that his destiny is inextricably linked with that of his people. Review: The Dragonbone Chair is the first in an epic fantasy trilogy that borrows from Arthurian legend and the myth of Prester John, among others, in a vaguely medieval world where dragons are not yet a memory. I found book one to be a very slow start to a series that got rave after…
What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney
Synopsis: A young woman still dealing with the knowledge that she was kidnapped as a child discovers an upsetting truth about the woman who stole her. Review: What Janie Found is the fourth book in a series about Janie Johnson, which began with YA classic The Face on the Milk Carton. Imagine while eating your cafeteria lunch you see your own face on the side of a milk carton as a missing child–that’s Janie’s story. It’s a powerful book (and was made into a fabulous…
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Synopsis: New step-sister Amanda wants to teach David and his younger siblings all about practicing magic, but when they learn that their house was once haunted by a poltergeist, no one can tell what’s made up and what’s real. Review: The Headless Cupid is the second of the three YA books I’m reading for the Banned Books Challenge. I was only familiar with Snyder’s The Egypt Game, which I remember as being cryptically creepy, the perfect read for a curious fourth-grader like myself.
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
Synopsis: By refusing to sell chocolates in the annual school sale, one high school freshman learns whether or not his universe can bear to be shaken. Review: The Chocolate War is the first of my books for the Banned Books Challenge, hosted by The Pelham Library. I have read Cormier’s books a number of times since first encountering them in middle school, and I’m still amazed at the power that they have to shock, wound, and enlighten.
The Ruins by Scott Smith
Synopsis: A jungle adventure turns into a nightmare when six tourists find themselves trapped in a clearing, unable to leave without being shot by Mayans, and finding a gory secret that brings new definition to the word flesh-eating. Review: I had to finish The Ruins during the day time, because I really did not want to face the heebie-jeebies again tonight. This book is scary, y’all–one of the scariest I’ve read in quite some time. It’s scary like I like, too, not just gore and…
One Door Away from Heaven by Dean Koontz
Synopsis: Young Leilani has a deformed hand and a brace on her leg–and she’s just told her alcoholic ex-con neighbor that her differences are why her deranged doctor stepfather and whacked-out druggie mother are going to kill her unless she’s abducted by aliens when she turns 10. Review: I read this book because it was recommended by Wesley Smith, a leading voice against utilitarianism bioethics, which is the concept that death is the optimal choice for anyone living a less-than-perfect existence, physically speaking. Rather than…
The Keeper by Sarah Langan
Synopsis: In a rotting-down town in nowheresville Maine, a woman with a broken mind haunts the minds of the inhabitants, tormenting their dreams and leading them to make deadly choices. Review: I picked The Keeper up after reading about it on SciFi Wire, but I have to say I was disappointed. The writing is assured, and Langan demonstrates considerable ability in bringing the reader inside the characters’ heads. She’s also not afraid of going for the gore, and some of her imagery will be sticking…
Luck of the Wheels by Megan Lindholm
Synopsis: Gypsy teamster Ki agrees to ferry a most disagreeable boy to another town, and discovers a world of trouble when she and her companions find themselves in the middle of an uprising. Review: Luck of the Wheels, the fourth and final installment in the Ki and Vandien Quartet, is the best Lindholm I’ve read so far. Here, she pushes her protagonists as far as they can be pushed, taking the kinds of story risks that make her books so accomplished. She’s not afraid to…
The Limbreth Gate by Megan Lindholm
Synopsis: A gypsy woman is drawn into a shadow world to fulfill the destiny created for her when she was briefly kidnapped as a child. Review: The Limbreth Gate is the third installment in Megan Lindholm’s Ki and Vandien Quartet, and is perhaps the most conventional of her books. The plotline is a familiar one–a shadow world opens up, sucking the main characters in–and while Lindholm doesn’t exactly take it to new heights, she does deliver a solid, well-written, suspenseful fantasy tale.