Tag Archives: Family Dynamics

The Hungry Season by T. Greenwood

American Literature May 6, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Stricken with writers’ block after the death of a loved one, a writer moves his family to a remote New England cabin to try to rebuild, while a fan makes her way across the country to realize her dream of being with him. Review: I’m a longtime fan of T. Greenwood‘s nuanced character portraits and sticky situations, and The Hungry Season is her best yet. I really can’t say enough good things about this book, which takes an excruciating look at the breakup of…

Try to Remember by Iris Gomez

American Literature May 5, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: When her father’s behavior begins to deteriorate, Colombian immigrant Gabriela tries to hold her family together as best she can. Review: Try to Remember has a lot going for it. Gabi is an appealing protagonist caught in a intense situation, afraid that her father’s increasingly erratic behavior will get them all deported. Iris Gomez’s sharp observations of culture and psychology didn’t go unnoticed by, even though ultimately I never totally engaged with this story. I kind of feel guilty that I got bored with…

Warriors in the Crossfire by Nancy Bo Flood

American Literature April 27, 2010 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A fictional account of the invasion of Saipan in the south Pacific during WWII as told through the eyes of a native boy and his half-Japanese cousin. Review: For the history-buff teen, Warriors in the Crossfire is one to check out. Meticulously researched and well-plotted, author Nancy Bo Flood makes a forgotten incident from WWII come alive with poetic imagery and no shortage of action and adventure. For me, personally, it didn’t grip me as much as I wanted it to, but war stories…

Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman

American Literature March 22, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Hired to teach at a secluded, artsy boarding school, a young widow discovers that mystery and murder roil below the bucolic surface. Review: I wanted to adore Arcadia Falls, but I only got about 80% there. I loved the atmosphere that Carol Goodman created for Arcadia, the creepy boarding school in the middle of the woods in upstate New York. The backstory was most excellent, starting with a 1920s artists’ colony founded by two lesbians, one deeply conflicted and not entirely committed to Team…

The Children of HÃºrin by JRR Tolkien

British Literature March 18, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The tragic tale of TÃºrin TÃºrambar, master of doom by doom mastered, who sought to fight evil but was undone by his own impetuousness and self-aggrandizement. Review: The Children of HÃºrin is a retelling in novel form of the chapter in Tolkien’s Silmarillion called TÃºrin TÃºrambar. I should’ve waited to read this for a year or two, because about halfway through I burned out on all the epic language and tragic plotting. My experience aside, it’s a fantastic story, one of the best ever…

The Memory Thief by Rachel Keener

American Literature March 12, 2010 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: The lives of a runaway who burned down her trailer, and a “Holy Roller” with a shameful secret intersect with life-changing ramifications. Review: The Memory Thief started out strong, but didn’t sustain my interest throughout. Rachel Keener does a great job depicting a world very unfamiliar to my own, but at times her prose is just a bit too much, taking me out of the story. I felt like some of the plot elements were overly familiar, and the direction of the story somewhat…

The Killing Doll by Ruth Rendell

British Literature December 28, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: A lonely young man sells his soul to the devil so that he will grow tall, but it’s his troubled sister who falls under the sway of the occult. Review: The Killing Doll is an odd little book, with more horror elements than can usually be found in a Ruth Rendell crime novel. I’m used to the pettiness of her characters, but usually there are one or two who engage me. I really didn’t connect to any of these people, and was glad when…

Homework by Margot Livesey

Australian Literature December 12, 2009 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Celia’s relationship would be perfect, if it weren’t for her boyfriend’s troublesome young daughter, and when she moves in with them, Celia finds herself caught in the middle. Review: Sort of a chick lit version of The Bad Seed, Homework combines splendid prose with a lackluster plot. I could see where it was headed a million miles out, and it didn’t surprise me at all. I was hoping for more, with such strong characterizations and enjoyable writing.

The Surrogate by Kathryn Mackel

American Literature December 7, 2009 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: A childless couple contracts with a lonely drifter to carry their sole remaining embryo, but little do they know that the baggage she brings includes criminal connections and demonic possession. Review: The Surrogate was simply terrible. Cardboard characters, overstuffed plotting, and an implausible storyline just really got on my nerves.

The Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine

British Literature November 12, 2009 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: While researching a biography on the life of his ancestor, a hereditary peer in the House of Lords on the verge of losing his privileges thanks to a new bill faces his own family demons and uncovers the dark secrets of his heritage. Review: The Blood Doctor was not quite as dark or titillating as some of Barbara Vine’s other books. It doesn’t use crime as the engine for the mystery; rather, the story is fueled by the current Lord Martin Nanther’s obsession with…

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