Imagine a world where you can wipe out your memory. You can wipe out the memory that your father committed suicide. That is the background of More Happy Than Not. A young boy who is growing up in a poor neighborhood is working hard to have a normal life with his friends. In the meantime, he finds a new friend that is now competing for his attention with his girlfriend. I may have given too much already, but there are some twists and turns that did make me do a double take. It's a good book that is unique in its plot with current, relevant themes.
4/5 stars
Imagine a world where you can wipe out your memory. You can wipe out the memory that your father committed suicide. That is the background of More Happy Than Not. A young boy who is growing up in a poor neighborhood is working hard to have a normal life with his friends. In the meantime, he finds a new friend that is now competing for his attention with his girlfriend. I may have given too much already, but there are some twists and turns that did make me do a double take. It's a good book that is unique in its plot with current, relevant themes.
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5/5 stars
Amazing, amazing, amazing. Who would have thought that a lengthy book about a man who is court ordered in Russia to live the rest of his days in a hotel would be so good? This story line shows how friendship, romance, and most importantly family are created not always by conventional means, but usually by circumstantial awareness. The Gentleman (I forgot his name since he has like 10) has a fairly good demeanor during this time period, and while he takes advantage of the time by establishing a routine, we see that all the interactions between people are connected through a thread. There are impressions made on people that effect his life in large ways. We also see that the fact that he has not stepped out of the hotel in years, he is still able to discern the happenings of the culture around him. Now, let's talk about the writing of the book. So many times we see that people must have taken a creative writing class, learned about figurative language, maybe even the benefits of alliteration. And then it either becomes over done or contrived. Not so with Amor Towles. His writing is beautiful. It has the right amount of description along with the flowery language needed to keep the story light and airy (although, don't be deceived- there are nail biter moments). Read it. 3/5 stars
There are so many book about coming out, but few rarely explore the "going in" (is that a thing?). Ramona, a 6'3" senior lives with her pregnant sister Hattie and her often-working father in a trailer park. Their home was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, but that was so long ago, she barely remembers it. Her good summer friend, Freddie, who used to come to the area only in the summers is now living in the small town. Ramona is now torn between liking Freddie, a boy, or keeping true to her defined self of only liking girls. It's something I never really thought about. There were many facets in the book, yet somehow wasn't as rave-worthy. I did like Ramona and loved Ruthie, Hattie, Saul, and of course Freddie, but it seemed like there was just something that felt flat. Not sure what it was. Good writing, good character development and plot. I guess there wasn't anyone in particular that I was rooting for, despite all the characters being likeable. hmmm. 4/5 stars
Hermione is a captain of the cheerleading squad. And she is pumped, ready to go for her final year. She is at camp, and while there, is given a date rape drug, and now is living in the aftermath. She is a fighter, though, as she finds out who her support is, what her family really means to her, and of course, the varying degrees of respect from her classmates. There are several cool things about this book. One, Hermione, depite all the horrible things, was able to survive. Maybe because she can't remember the assault, but regardless, it seems to give hope to those who have suffered it. Two, awesome friendships. Amazing friendships. Three, I liked that it was not a book about people blaming her for coming forward. Many books accurately portray the victim as a person who basically tattled. Yes, that happens, but this book is less about other people's reactions. And finally, four, although it is about cheerleaders, it's a story that debunks the brainless cheerleader stereotype and proves that a team is essential. 3/5 stars
Who knew that there was a crazy disease out there that affects mostly children and is that devastating and eventually fatal? Sammie has it, sadly, and she is full of hope that she can overcome it. She is the valedictorian, her heart is set on NYU, and she is going to be the national debate champion. But the genetic disease is rapidly taking hold. So Sammie writes a "memory book" so when the future Sammie loses her memory, there will some semblance of personality. In the midst of everything, this is a book that shows the importance of living a normal life as much as possible. It's sweet book, quick, and sad. The only thing I didn't understand is that with dementia and hallucinations progressing, she seemed to be very sound of mind. It would have been interesting to go more into that side of the issue. But maybe the author had another route in mind. 4.5/5 stars
This was a lot of information in one book, and as the authors said, they even had to condense some of it. I'm thinking I may need to go to Monticello to truly appreciate the book. I'll admit the length was daunting, but I can see that it couldn't be much shorter to get the real feel of what it was like in the post colonial/ pre civil war days. Summary in the nutshell: 10 year old (I think) Martha Jefferson is tasked by her dying mother to take care of her father. So she takes it to heart and basically does all the things the wife of a diplomat would do (within reason, of course). At first she tries to cope with her father's grief of the passing of his wife, and then she just wants to know that Thomas Jefferson loves her. And then, while in Paris and newly turned 16, she finds that she loves her father's secretary, William Short. But alas, she has to pick between her slave-owning father and the abolitionist love of her life. She goes back to Virginia with her father. The she marries a Randolph who could have been great, but was in desperate need of therapy. Then Thomas Jefferson became President, and Martha became the woman of the White House, or wherever they were at that time. And then she came back home and lived with her plethora of children and father. Small nutshell. Things I learned: * Depsite the appearance of southern gentility, they were often in debt with their creditors (future credit card holders?) * I knew this before, but it was very apparent in the book: Men being able to be utter jerks to wives was extremely permissible and expected at time. GRRRR * Some slave holders wanted abolition, but it was too strong of a current to free them, including the slave-owning Thomas Jefferson. * France did NOT believe in slave ownership. (viva la france!) * lots more, but I don't want to give it all away. If you have 23+ hours, the narration is fairly good if you want to listen to it on Hoopla. Very heavy Southern Drawl. When did that happen? When did the colonists turn their cool sounding British accents to a drawl? Just wondering. |
AuthorI'm a high school librarian. I love to read. Really. Love. To. Read. Archives
December 2023
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