Synopsis: Judith Wallerstein began a long-term study of the effects of divorce on children 25 years ago, and this book presents a portrait of the history and present of 5 children of divorce, and 5 who lived in families with similar dynamics where the parents did not divorce.
Synopsis: The trials and travails of an Upper East Side nanny as the family she cares for repeatedly violates her boundaries.
Synopsis: A super-stressed high school senior bombs on the SAT, blowing her chances for Harvard–until she gets a text message from someone calling himself “The Taker” and promising to get her within 150 points of perfect. Review: High concept premise that fails in the execution for a lack of emotional honesty insight. Perhaps fans of the Gossip Girls series will find The Taker meaningful, but when compared to something like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Catalyst, also about a stressed senior, it’s only as deep as a…
Synopsis: A collection of essays by a bemused New York woman whose life might not be “Sex and the City” glamorous–but whose observations are “Seinfeld” acute.
Synopsis: Christine Vachon is an independent film producer, and in this book she tells the story of how she made films like Far From Heaven, Boys Don’t Cry, and more.
Synopsis: A young mage-in-training with unprecedented powers performs a forbidden spell and looses a shadow from another realm that intends to destroy him. Review: The writing in A Wizard of Earthsea is beautiful, and the world is wholly original. However, this books gets a little too fantasy-ey for me. It’s got a lot of Magic, and not that that much adventure. It’s much more about the ideas than it is about character development–which is fine. It’s just not what I prefer.
Synopsis: A brainy high school senior narrates the events that led to the death of her charismatic and disturbed teacher. Review: I stayed up until 1:30 am last night blazing through the last 200 pages of the book, in a state of amazement (and not a little jealousy) over the superb plotting Pessl married to her delicious prose and intriguing characters.
Synopsis: Snapshots in the life of a slightly depressed young woman with low self-esteem. Review: I loved Sittenfeld’s debut novel Prep, and had high expectations for this one. I was pretty disappointed. Hannah is passive and largely disinterested in life, and this just doesn’t make for a compelling main character, unless her passivity is what the story is about. But Sittenfeld doesn’t have a strong premise, nor has she engaged with some of the ideas that pepper the narrative. The book feels loose and disconnected,…
Synopsis: We live in the Age of Show Business. Postman’s book is a history of discourse that presents the case for the preeminence of the written word over visual media, and outlines the ills inherent in a visually-driven society. Review: I was somewhat familiar with Postman’s general ideas, having been friends with one of his protegees for many years. However, this is the first time I have read him for myself, which is a shame because I have an advanced degree in cinema studies. My…
Synopsis: When a betrayed wife discovers that her husband’s mistress could be her (much younger) twin, she convinces the mistress that they should switch places and see how the other half lives.