Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Invisible Man



Finished The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells. A short and amusing book. It was much funnier than I expected it to be. The humor eventually dissipates as the irritable Invisible Man becomes an invisible madman. The sense of danger, adventure and running across the countryside was very reminiscent of The Thirty-Nine Steps. A good read for vacation or a rainy day.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Freaked



Finished Freaked by J. T. Dutton. This is a teen novel about Scotty Loveletter who longs for a normal, balanced family life, but is instead stashed away in a boarding school by his sex therapist mother who is between husbands. With no one tangible to turn to or lean on, Scotty leans on Jerry Garcia and The Greatful Dead. Their music and the hazy drug culture that goes along with it become the mechanism for Scotty's self discovery. Risky behavior, self loathing, irony and lots of humor are blended here in a poignant portrayal of a kid left to raise himself. I liked this book. Parts are emotionally hard to read, which makes it all the more genuine.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Lost Flower Children



Finished The Lost Flower Children by Janet Taylor Lisle. Two sisters who have recently lost their mother are sent to live with their dotty great aunt. The sisters are very close and are not interested in playing with other children. The younger of the two, Nellie, has many odd habits and quirks, like walking up or down stairs backwards. They find a book written by a previous occupant of their aunt's house which tells the tale of a children's tea party long ago where a band of bad fairies turned all the children into flowers in the garden. If the various missing pieces of that tea set are found and assembled together the spell will be broken. This story gives the sisters something to focus on and work towards. As the set comes together the sisters become more relaxed and social and Nellie begins to shed her odd quirks.