Since it is the memorial day weekend and I’m lazy today I thought I’d just do a couple of quick reviews.
First up is Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver. Normally, unless the cover is really pretty I tend not to talk about them. I have to say that I am not a fan of this cover, it doesn’t really convey what the story is about so, in this case – don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Vanishing Girls is about two sisters who are extremely close despite their radically different personalities. Dara is the wild younger sister while Nick (Nicole) is the steady, more sedate sister. Their closeness is has been tested due to Dara’s relationship with Parker, a boy both girsl ahd been best friend’s with since a very early age. The strained relationship is then shattered as the result of a car accident. The story is told in before and after segments from the viewpoints of both Dara and Nick interspersed with the occasional e-mail, blog post etc. Intertwined in the plot is a little girl, Madeline Snow, who goes missing. Eventually Dara goes missing as well. Nick tries to piece what is going on with Dara while trying to cope with the aftermath of the accident. Eventually the story lines of Madeline and Dara missing will intersect.
So my very quick thoughts on this book are as follows. I loved the relationship between the sisters. I liked that they were very close for most of their lives and the initial thing that puts a strain on their relationship, Dara’s relationship with Parker, seemed genuine. I was appalled at the lack of parenting and while I understood why there had to be some distance between the girl’s mother and her paying attention to what was going on, it still bothered me that she was so uninvolved. I also think that Lauren Oliver could have a second career as a writer of adult novels if she so chose. The writing, characterization, and plotting were well done. My one real quibble with the book is that the ending has been done enough in other novels that I felt a little cheated and let down. Overall though another very good book from Ms. Oliver.
The premise of The Call is that Ireland has been shut off from the rest of the real world for 25 years. The Sidhe have sworn revenge on those people who exiled them from the many colored land and they have mainly chosen to take revenge on Ireland’s . At any given time an adolescent can be called to the grey land where the Sidhe now survive, there to try and survive the Sidhe. Few survive and those who do frequently return altered either mentally or physically. For the individuals who have been called the ordeal lasts for a day, for those back home the ordeal lasts 3 minutes and four seconds.
Our story follows Nessa, a 14-year-old girl living with the aftereffects of polio, along with other students who attend Boyle Survival College to prepare themselves for their Call. At school they learn about the Sidhe, and practice survival and defensive techniques Nessa works her hardest so that she might surive when she is called. Almost everyone but Nessa assumes she will die due to her disability. Nessa has allies including her best friend Megan and Anto, her pacifist, vegetarian love interest. She also has enemies in the school – Connor a bully who secretly fancies her and his cronies.
Mr. O’Guilin has created a fantastical and grotesque world for the Sidhe. Monsters and animals are made from twisted human bodies. Nessa is a tough and resilient character. She trains harder and uses unusual ways to survive the training at the school. The imagery is particularly compelling and Nessa is such a great character that you cannot help but root for her. Many of the supporting characters are also excellent. I’m also a sucker for all things related to Irish mythology so overall this book was a win for me. I did feel that the ending was a little rushed and I also think there might be a sequel as some things were definitely not resolved. Highly recommended for those with strong stomachs and who are not squeamish about violence.
I approached this book with some trepidation, as it seems to be beloved by so many people so I feared that it might have been overhyped.
“Ove is fifty-nine. He drives a Saab. He’s the kind of man who points at people he doesn’t like the look of, as if they were burglars and his forefinger a policeman’s torch.” His neighbors have also called him the neighbor from hell. He is one of those sticklers that insist that rules are to be followed, that one puts one foot in front of the other and that if one does a job, one does it well.
Ove’s story is told in alternating chapters, we learn of his upbringing along with some of the injustices Ove had to cope with. We also learn who he met his beloved and now deceased wife Sonja. The chapters set in current day are often hysterically funny. At one point, I was sitting on a bench next to someone and just let out a huge belly laugh. Imagine an image of a large, cranky man rushing out his front door in nothing but his underpants and a shotgun. While this may not seem funny it works, trust me. The marital relationship of his two new neighbors veers toward the farcical and the wife Parveneh should have been irritating as all heck and yet the whole story works. Underneath it all Ove has a huge heart of gold and he and his neighbors all have that underlying decency we all wish was really true in the world. Sometimes the world really does need a story full of whimsy and pratfalls coated with a dash of poignancy. An excellent read for summer or for any time you need a smile.
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