Spanish Books Books

This is the greatest book I have ever read taking into consideration The Catcher in the Rye I suggest this book to any one who likes to read an learn about Mexican culture. I'm prouder for being Hispanic!!!!! Victor Villasenor is one of the best authors in literature.

Everyone should read this book, it is the best that I have read

I loved this story! I was hooked from page one. My father is also from los altos de Jalisco, and his family is related to the Villasenor's in Tepatitlan, Jalisco. He states the story is similar to his family struggles, and was thrilled when I told him about this book. Whoever reads this book, especially mexicans,will see struggles in this book which they or their descendents may have had similar experiences. YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK!!!point blank...

This book was given to me by a student at Santa Rosa Junior College in California. I am a Spanish tutor. I must admit that I do not read a lot. But when I began to read this particular book I was hooked. I now spend my free time picking up where I left off. Its is seriously an addicting read and a very intruiging one. I highly recommended Lluvia De Oro for anyone who wants to learn about the people of Mexico and the country's history. I must say it is a rare book that encompasses everything about Mexican culture and brings history to real life right before your very eyes! I think it should be a required textbook for any Culture and Mexican-American Studies class at Colleges all over the United States!

Before i read this book i wasn't very aware of what our ancestors had had to go through back in the days of the revolution. It was a real eye opener for me and educating. You get caught up in all the situations and emotions in the book that you feel how the characters themselves are feeling. After reading the book a sense of pride is installed in you by seeing how despite all the obstacles placed before us we were, and still are, able to overcome all obstacles placed before us no matter how big. Asi es El Mexicano, always giving 100% in everything. I recommend this book to ALL individuals of Mexican descent and those who don't understand us. Satisfaction is guaranteed.

Una relato lindísimo sobre la historia de Mexico, el amor y la vida en general. No dejen de leerlo...Me ha costado conseguir un libro que lo supere.

Este es uno de los mejores libros que Carlos Fuentes ha escrito. Digo que es uno de los mejores pero no el mejor que a esrito. Si te gusta la historia entonces te va guster mucho. Si tienes interes en la historia de Mexico te va gustar mas porque es una novela inolvidable que puedes ver por los ojos de Laura Diaz, una mujer fuerte y sensilla que tiene que luchar para los derechos que hoy en dia apenas las mujeres estan disfrutando. Es una bonita novela que se trata de los cambios que han occurido en Mexico durante el siglo XX. Es muy emocional la historia, especialmente si conoces familia que a vivido los cambios durante los ultimos cien anos. Yo pase el tiempo leyendo este libro y pensando en mi abuelita que hace unos anos fallecio a los 99 anos. Como Laura Diaz estuvo presente para ver los cambios entre el gobierno y los atitudes de la cultura sobre los derechos de los humanos sin pensar si es mujer o hombre. Laura Diaz vive una vida completa con gran amores, familia y todo el tiempo al lado de los famosos y un testigo de la historia de Mexico. Te recomendo este libro para entender la historia de Mexico y como la mujer es parte de esa historia.

La historia de Laura Diaz puede llegar a ser tomada como idealista, pero encierra los deseos de todo ser humano y muy intereantemente nos lleva de la mano de la historia de Mèxico del siglo XX.
Yo soy de Guatemala, pero ambos paises tiene una cultura paralela en el tiempo y con muchos puntos en comun, por algo fueron conquistados al mismo tiempo y por casi las mismas personas.
Tanto en lo social como en lo polìtico este libro pudiera llegara a ser tambien la historia de ambos paises, ambos con revoluciones, represiòn y corrupciònm que hacen que uno se sienta identificado con el tema.
En resumen una lectura fascinante.

Los años con Laura Díaz es como la novela gemela de La región más transparente, porque con ambas obras se puede aprender, analizar y entender la historia de México, sobre todo la del siglo XX; Fuentes demuestra en esta novela su calidad como narrador, su conocimiento del español que fluye en la creación de los personajes y su ambiente. El viaje entre Veracruz y la Ciudad de México que emprende Laura Díaz es un tejido que señala los entresijos de la historia del México contemporáneo. En fin, el lector queda enamorado de Laura, una especie de Beatriz que nos guía por los espacios cósmicos de México.

The 5 stars I give this work is not because I am in love with Fuente's overall work, but because this historical fiction provokes thought and analysis in a poetic way of the life as seen through the eyes and feelings of a woman.
If the reader wishes to to learn the history of a country while becoming enveloped in how a woman, a wife, a daughter, a lover and friend is impacted by the choices made, this is a book to read.

This is one of the very best book of photos that I have seen in my life. I you like photos you would love this book, even if it contains some very crude photos. I think it is a must for anyone enyoying the art of photograf.

these pictures speak a million words: about the beautiful things in life as well as the dark side of life.

One of the best books of photojournalism that I've ever seen. Highly recommended.

It took me a year to get all the way through it. Each image is independently powerful, enough so that I had to spend a great deal of time studying each diptic (a year in total). If you can judge this book by it's cover, then judge it by one word on it's cover - MAGNUM. You won't be disappointed.

This collection of Magnum photographs is amazing. The pictures are broken into differnet thematic or geographic categories--war, environment, famine, etc. While there is very little text and almost no captions at all, the pictures are enough to speak to the subject. It contains both recent photographs and old ones, becoming something like an encyclopediea of photography.

It is a beautiful edition, worth having and will make an excellent, classy present not only for a photography enthusiast, but for everybody.

ES LO QUE TRAE MAS CLIENTES A MI BUFETE !
Pero por decencia, quiero advertirte que un buen manipulador, lleva al hombre ( y a la mujer ) a los delitos y los errores mas increíbles!

MAS VALE QUE TE PREVENGAS A TIEMPO... O QUE TE VAYAS BUSCANDO UN BUEN ABOGADO COMO YO (jeje )

EGOISTA QUE EXISTE...
Yo lo sufrí sin darme cuenta por muchos años...hasta que me percaté de que mi socio me estaba manejando...para su provecho !

Gracias a mi bella esposa que me lo había dicho y no le creí hasta que leí este LIBRÍSIMO !

VIENE EN TODAS LAS TALLAS, EDADES Y COLORES:
Se incrusta en tu familia, en tu trabajo, en tus negocios y hasta en tu círculo social..para que trabajes a su favor !

Suele ser suave y tambien inteligente...
Detectarlo con las claves que nos da este libro, ES VITAL !
A NADIE LE GUSTA SER EL TÍTERE DE ALGUIEN...Y NI SIQUIERA SABERLO !

pero esta obra tan inteligente nos da la receta para desenmascararla y detenerla.
NO TE LO PIERDAS !
Te vas a sorprender de la cantidad de gente que lucha por usarte para su provecho!
¡QUÉ BUEN LIBRO Y QUÉ IMPORTANTE EN NUESTRAS VIDAS!

because the Manipulator are many: You might not even identify them until reading this book... and learning how to avoid people who wants to use you

This is quite unlike any book I've ever read. It is composed of 2 parts. The first is a rambling monologue from a decaying man (or is it woman or animal) named Molloy, in search of his mother. The second starts out as a detective named Moran in search of Molloy. In both stories nothing much happens involving any specific time or place, and the identities of all characters are in question. The only thing that really exists is the language, which turns out to not have much true meaning at all.

Read this if you are looking for an unique style of writing to experience. Perhaps you will learn more about the nature of language and identity, or perhaps you will find it tedious and pointless, but all readers will agree it is experimental and unique.

Where the human will finishes, the absurd begins. It is also the start of the death of humanity. The task of narrating this disintegration is Beckett's purpose in this novel. It is a purposeless task. "The truth is I haven't much will left", says Molloy. How can a novel ever be sustained on that? The disappearrance of mankind leaves the lonely self, a bag of bones, in front of God's mystery. and God's silence.

With their lack of will, it becomes difficult to distinguish one person from another. Consciousness becomes impossible. It has to be filled with stories. Any kind of stories; true, false, meaningful or not. The writer is somebody standing at an observation post. His mother is the breeder of a foul race, humankind, now nearly extinct. Man is now neither man nor beast. And the writer merely observes this and tries to understand. Which is difficult, because things become nameless just as names describe nothing. What to make with words which are not meanings or references but particles of an ever disintegrating reality? "And even my sense of identity was wrapped in a namelessness often hard to penetrate".

The narrator wonders about his reality, both as an author and as a human being. His lack of command over words destroys the world, which becomes unnamable or "foully named". One solution, if one is passionate about truth, is to speak little. Can it be that we are not free, not free to speak? If human life is a burial ground, the narrator, like the author, has chosen to be a mere spectator. The thing to contribute to life is merely our "presence", only. We can study while we are here: anthropology, astronomy, magic... it is just a manner of killing time. If man is alone, then the world may be at an end. Still, all things in it hang together, as if by mystery. And this, instead of proving a solution, only adds to our sense of wonderment. And it can never be spoken, but there it is.

In this state, thinking is asking oneself questions merely for the sake of looking at them. This is the spirit of the "incurious seeker", the one who is finally prepared to learn.

In Part Two we meet Jacques Moran, a private detective who is to narrate his own experience of pursuing Molloy. Knowing that he has been chosen to perform a unique task, he becomes anxious. As different from Molloy, the detective seems to be an ordered, rational man. Nevertheless, he is beset by the same kind of questions that rouble Molloy. For instance, he is engaged to accomplish a mission that he cannot fully understand. Like Molloy, he has a problem with the purposefulness of life. But while Molloy has surrendered his will completely to the absurd, Moran's is a rationality which is just about to crack, and his process of psychic disintegration is started as he first gets in touch with the Molloy affair. Life becomes inenarrable. People become multiple. Two Molloys Morgan has to follow: the one inside himself and the one outside. Life becomes a stage of mirrors. Which is the true reflection?

Vagrancy can be described as a state of the mind. It is synonimous with the anguish of absolute freedom. As our lives become "worse" year after year, is it not by force of habit that we persuade ourselves that they improve when they actually decline? Moran never finds Molloy, but he un-finds himself. He un-changes his life. The only way forward seems to be a long way back.

This is a fabulous dramatic interpretation and realization of Beckett's greatest novel (really two loosely connected monologues). The actors are superbly in character and have the appropriate voices to convey the self-satisfied bewilderment of Molloy and bewildered self-satisfaction of Moran. It's a fitting cliche that this Audiobook brings the novel vividly to life. My only quibble is the recording quality, which is good, but does not attain Naxos' highest standard of transparency.

I recently heard Cornell West, a Princeton professor, say during a talk that he would take Chekov over Beckett any day. "Chekov's deeper--Beckett's smarter," he said. Perhaps true (though I don't really know how he's thinking about it). But I tend to think Beckett is both DEEP and SMART.

So in terms of the "greatest novel of the 20th century," I pick this one. Ulysses is sprawling, difficult, experimental, and obviously more influential than this novel. But when you "don't understand" something in Ulysses, it's probably just because it depends upon an obscure reference--or a combination of words you only half know--or something Joyce is simply withholding from the text. When you "don't understand" something in Beckett, it's because Beckett is MYSTICAL.

One of my favorite passages in this book consists of six straight pages of Molloy's describing how he tries to arrange six pebbles ("sucking stones") in his four pockets so that he can suck them in the same order over and over again (eventually, his "solution" is, if you will allow me to quote from my imperfect memory, "to throw away all of the stones but one, which I soon lost, or gave away, or threw away, or swallowed"). What other writer could pull this off?

If you can read only ONE thing by Beckett, read this--above the plays, above any of the early or late novels.

Molloy is a novel that influenced the writing of novels to come after it. Samuel Beckett was among many of the writers after World War II who experienced "the anxiety of influence" and the shadow of Modernism. It was among many novels written in the 1940's that defined a space for new literature to exist in, where it had never been quite before. Modernism on the whole was perhaps not as experimental as we would like to think, and actually most of its authors were conservatives and reactionaries. James Joyce was not though, that is why he is the most influential writer of the 20th century. Joyce's main contribution was radical literary activity, using some Modernist techniques, creating his own language, and bringing all of history and science and literature into one book.

Samuel Beckett on the other hand was concerned with language itself, its ability to express ideas or to mirror reality, and those concerns have become our own. Molloy is both about the writing of the novel and the search of a character, and perhaps by the end of the novel we still do not know what has happened. Beckett introduces new elements into the serious novel such as the detective story and the self-reflexive narrative. And like a mystery story, Molloy is a search for the self, for truth, for a modern idiom, but unfortunately without arriving there.

Going back further than Joyce, to the 19th century where the bourgeois novel form was more or less firmly established by writers such as Dickens and Eliot, it would be interesting to compare that literary institution with what I will call "the Post-Modern novel" or Beckett's novel. In a standard 19th century novel we look for such conventions and characteristics such as plot, characterization, time, place, linear narrative, character motivation, and excellent use of the English language. If a novel does not live up to these expectations, we refer to it a bad novel or a novel which prattles. These conventions of the novel have fooled us into thinking it mirrors reality and experience. Modernism's achievement in such writers such as Joyce and Proust is to go beyond the 19th century novel and exist as a work of hyper-reality. One can use such a work as Ulysses to be directed through the city of Dublin since it is more real than "real." But one should not make the mistake of "Academic criticism, . . . (which) uses the word "realism" as if reality were already completely established (Robbe-Grillet 155)." Experience is both fictional discourse and fact "and it is never possible to decide which of the two possibilities is the right one (De Man 23)."

If Joyce is going beyond realism, Beckett goes the other way with his literature, which can be called the literature of disappointments. Rather than plot, there is storytelling without progression; instead of characterization, there is lack of character depth; there is no specific time or place, we often wonder where we are, whether months or days or hours have passed; instead of a linear narrative, or progression from birth to death, there is a narrative that goes astray, diverts, digressions, yet these are interesting detours; and instead of a strong literary language, there is the bare essentials of language, sentences out of a primer, or "writing degree zero." Beckett commits these errors or disappointments for very good reasons that I would like to show here.

Beckett's main concerns as a writer are involved with the problems of writing itself, the futility of expression, the power of language, the death of the author in terms of Foucault: these were the problems that many writers dealt with after Joyce. Alain Robbe-Grillet claims that "Before the work, there is nothing: no certainty, no purpose, no message (141)." This was such an attitude of a writer at the time. For Beckett, the "anxiety of influence" is there as well; but for Beckett he will be influenced by Joyce by an extent; he will distance himself and his work from Joyce's; he will deal with other problems. If Joyce is trying to expand the potential of language and literature, Beckett will contract, he will reduce literature down the level of language. He will grow anxious about the writer's position in the world that he will reject, a position which other writers have ignored. Beckett will ask himself "why should I write?" And "what should I write about?" And better yet "how do I write?" The novel Molloy is the result of all Beckett's anxiety to write a novel. "It is also a parody of the novel itself, a middle-class form. . . "(Gontarski 309). The style of it itself suggests all that. The novel is a promise of what literature could be.

Lawrence Durrell has a beautiful mind. He's fun, very intelligent and witty. His biography is fascinating and he is uniquely qualified to write these novels, The Alexandria Quartet, set in the Mediterranian. The strengths of the novels are their evocation of the place and time, the characters and their lovely, loving interractions. Some of the observations on art and love are a bit of a stretch, however. Durrell himself is composite of the characters Darley, Balthazar and Arnauti. He's Irish by nationality but he grew up around the Mediterranian.

The Alexandria Quartet is one of the great works of the 20th century, especially if you wish you had lived in a simpler time and more interesting place, and had some interesting loves. Almost up to Ulysses, maybe not quite so pretentious.

I'm re-reading the series in order. "Justine" was a fine introduction and scene-setter: "Balthazar" somehow had less impact, though the life and passing of old Scobie make a hilarious thread running through it. But "Mountolive" comes to life with a vengeance! It may have something to do with his opportunity, in this version of the story, to draw with a very sharp pencil some of the products of the English society that he scorned - yet there is a strong sense of sympathy for the diplomat David Mountolive, trapped in a world of illusion and deceit.

This is the volume where some of the hidden currents swirling under the surface of the other two are exposed. Many surprises: many motives revealed: and above all, many wonderful set-pieces. There's the desert festival of Sitna Damiana, with the amazing transfiguration of Narouz. The bitter meeting between Mountolive and his former love, the then-beautiful younger Leila, where now after many years and the ravages of smallpox, "He saw a plump and square-faced Egyptian lady of uncertain years, with a severely pock-marked face and eyes drawn grotesquely out of true by the antimony-pencil." And the unforgettable discreet transaction between Nessim and Memlik Pasha: Nessim's "offering" is almost too elegant to be called a bribe: it is an addition to Memlik's prized collection of Korans, this one an "exquisite little Koran wrapped in soft tissue paper: he had carefully larded the pages with bank drafts negotiable in Switzerland."

But above all, the final apocalyptic revelation, the full, dark blossom of total treachery and death makes an unforgettable climax. This is the one that deserves to be called a "page-turner."

Now I have two small caveats or alerts to record. One is a little piece of trickery that Durrell uses all the time, which is effective until you notice it, then you say "Oh, not again!" I almost hesitate to mention it - should I lessen others' pleasure? but heck, this is a review! It's simply this: the excessive use of the word "great."

See, it adds a sense of importance to whatever it describes. How many times does "the great car" bear them silently along the Corniche?" What a different impression it makes to have someone draw up the "great iron gates" instead of just "wide" or even "black" or "imposing" iron gates? It's not an annual duck-shoot on Lake Mareotis, it's "the great annual duck-shoot." And on and on...Mountolive sits at the "great desk," in Mountolive's English family home his mother spends her time in front of "the great fireplace..." Oh well. We can forgive him this considering the wonderful work as a whole.

The other alert is that today's reader may be startled to see the n-word used in several places, with all its accustomed freight of stereotyping. In this respect Durrell was a product of his society and generation, unfortunately.

But five stars anyway for an extraordinary reading experience.

Oh - something I just noticed here...someone tagged the book with "spanish!" I've noticed before how people can read a book - or see a DVD - and get MAJOR things totally wrong!

I am amazed by how different the first three novels of Durrell's ALEXANDRIA QUARTET are from one another. JUSTINE, the first, is a highly subjective account, by a writer drunk on words and sensations, of sexual intrigues among a small coterie in Alexandria in the later 1930s. BALTHAZAR, the second, adds other points of view and offer longer vistas to show the same entanglements in a rather different light. The third, MOUNTOLIVE, embraces many of the same characters over the same period of time, but its texture is entirely different, reading much more like a normal novel. Although Darley, the original narrator, makes occasional appearances, this book abandons first-person narrative entirely. In a further move towards objectivity, it focuses on a professional diplomat, Sir David Mountolive, who is appointed British Ambassador to Egypt at about the time the overlapping action begins. But the book begins several decades earlier, building up Mountolive's personality, showing the man of feeling behind the professional neutrality of his facade. As a much younger attaché at the start of the novel, he became the lover of Leila Hosnani, the mother of powerful brothers Nessim and Narouz, who are as important to this book as they were to BALTHAZAR. Leila's friendship, continued through the years by correspondence, is a powerful force drawing Mountolive back to Egypt, but ultimately a liability when he has to act in an official capacity towards the end.

Seen in its own terms (and it almost does stand on its own), MOUNTOLIVE is a political or historical novel rather than a romantic one. But it requires some knowledge of the European presence in the Middle East. By the end of the First World War, Britain essentially administered both Egypt and Palestine. By the time of these novels, Egypt has been granted independence, although Britain still wields great influence in its affairs, but the British mandate in neighboring Palestine will remain in force until 1947. And even within Egypt, Alexandria is a special case, where European influence is almost more important than Arabic. The leading figures in the novel, as in Alexandrian society, are not primarily Moslems, but Coptic Christians together with some Jews and numerous expatriates. The potential tensions between these various groups, only lightly hinted at in BALTHAZAR, become the mainspring of the plot of MOUNTOLIVE, which takes on elements of a spy story. Once more, this new perspective casts a new light on everything that we had seen before, giving an added real-world dimension to its characters.

The greater time-span of this novel means that we can see events through to at least a provisional conclusion. The first two-thirds of the book are brighter, more inspiring, than anything in the tetralogy so far. The major characters ride waves of passion, inspiration, ambition, determination. But almost all these bright starts come up against limitations, if not outright failure. The miracle is that this trajectory does not make MOUNTOLIVE depressing. Durrell's writing is a fine as ever, but now it is active rather than static; he seems less concerned with philosophy and description, more with character and action. In particular, the book is structured around a number of two-person encounters, each distinctly different from the others, exquisitely well observed in terms of the interplay of character, and often taking surprising turns. Not even the desert ride in BALTHAZAR, for instance, can match the drama of Nessim's final confrontation with Narouz. None of the sexual activity in JUSTINE can touch the sad bedroom encounter between Pursewarden and Melissa, whose very failure proves so pivotal to the plot. And at the very end of the book, as the characters find themselves trapped in situations of their own making, Durrell returns to his earlier virtuoso style with a vengeance, creating an atmosphere of nightmare that propels the action towards a climactic tour-de-force, even while sounding the knell of earlier hopes.

But there remains the promise of the last book, CLEA, to move the action forward and provide a true ending. The painter Clea has appeared in all three books so far as a touchstone of balance and grace. If any of her qualities infuse the book that bears her name, Durrell must surely achieve his own kind of benediction.

This series so far - - "The Alexandria Quartet" - - has been one of the most interesting and wonderful things I have ever read. Memorable in every way. To be savored and remembered. Just simply a dazzling accomplishment by Durrell. "Mountolive" is written in 3rd person, unlike the first two, and it explores more of the motives and facts of the same people in the same time period - yet another layer - than of emotions and longings. And now we finally get to the bottom of Nessim, Justine, Narouz, and Pursewarden. And we learn of the conspiracy behind the first two novels, and we learn of Mountolive's life. All these people are so alive in my mind, Mountolive being such a sad, pathetic man. Yet once again Egypt and Alexandria take center stage. What a writer this man was!

I read this book before reading the other 3 in the quartet, and I absolutely loved it. It made reading the others irresistible, and yet I believe this third edition is the best. The love stories are incredibly deep and diverse, and Durrell's writing is both beautiful and inspiring.
Mountolive is an Englishman working with the Foreign Service who comes to know his Dionysian self in the humidity and turmoil of early 20th century Egypt. He falls in love with his married hostess, and this relationship leaves him capable of loving only one woman and one place. The other notable couples portray a stunning array of what drives people toward love. A desire for power drives Justine and Nessim together as it does much more subtlely in the vignette about Amaril and Semira. This book stands out on its own but leaves you dying to find out more about these rich characters.

Great book for bilingual ed. or children learning English or Spanish. Very elementary level. Clear drawings and nice labeling in English and Spanish.
edconnectionsllc.com

I have purchased several Spanish books on Amazon and as always make many of my purchases based on the reviews of those who have gone before me. My daughter is trying to teach my granddaughter how to speak Spanish and she loved this book. Of course she loved sucking on the corners too but it was colorful, well planned out and joyful.

We bought this book because my son loved "Mi familia y yo" by the same author. This one has a bit more vocab to get hold of, but we are slowly getting to learn the body parts. Love it that both languages are side by side. Another great resource from Gladys Rosa Mendoza.

This is an excellent book with respect to teaching young children Spanish! My granddaughter will be three years old next month (01-15-08) and there is nothing she cannot say in English, so teaching her Spanish is fairly easy. She is familiar with the language since I speak to her. However, she finds it more fun to speak when we use the book. In the back of the book there is a section that teaches the reader how to pronounce the words for the children in the event that the reader is also learning. I am fluent in Spanish, but did not teach my two boys. I am now teaching my two grandchildren; books like this are a perfect way to help children and adults learn.

There are actual complete sentences in this book in both English and Spanish (not true of a lot of board books), which is perfect for this age and level range. This will be a great addition to Flip Flop Spanish workbook (level 2, not released yet) to help review or even introduce body parts.

I use this board book in my Spanish toddler and 4-7 year old classes, and the students love translating from Spanish to English and back again as I cover the other sentence, or if they can't read yet, guessing what Spanish words will be on that page because of the pictures. It's sturdy and well-illustrated. A great teaching resource.

Sra. Gose
Author of Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 & Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 2

I just finished the book last night and was very pleased with it. It's about certain kids that are gifted in having nightmares! Yes, that's right... nightmares! There imagination is so great that they can actually create a portal and bring the nightmares here to earth! Charlie is one of these kids. He's been an outcast since he can remember because all the kids think he's a freak. His parents have been overly protective of him because of this and don't want him to leave the house. Then pops in the Nightmare Academy. A place where Charlie just might fit in. At the academy, Charlie's gift (and the other children's gift) is used to help protect Earth from all of the creatures of the Netherworld. Is this a place where Charlie can fit in? Will he be able to use his powers to help? How much trouble can he get into? You'll have to read it to find out.
I found this book a very easy read. It kept it's pace and was never boring. I highly recommend this book and can't wait for the next one to come out!

Nightmare Acadmy is a very fun read out loud book. My sons, ages 8 and 9 were very entertained with the over the top antics of some of the characters; they were quite taken by the orginality of the book. The very menacing figure of Barrakas and the tense confrontation scenes added some real spice to the narrative. They both were asking about the sequel as soon as we were done, as high a recommendation as they can give, and they would stay up after lights were out making up their own Nether creatures. I would caution for children much younger than the recommended ages as the scene where the hags steal memories is very creepy.

My problem is the language. This book is recommended for 9-12 year olds. There is frequent use of saltier language than I like for this age range. Hell and God are used as epithets, which would make me testy enough, but Mr. Lorey also used the word p***. Was it really necessary in a children's book? Does everyone have to push the envelope of the lowest common denominator? Some one should take the high road, for pity's sake! Parents do a read ahead. I was able to edit most of it as I read but I may never have known if I didn't read it aloud.

Nightmare Academy, Book One: Into the Nether by Dean Lorey is a good read. The flowing style kept me reading for many hours trying to find out what happens next in the story. It has a very interesting and creative story imaginable. Mr. Lorey created a frightening world where you can find many unique and hideous creatures. This book is for young adults but I as an adult found it to be enjoyable to read. If you like Harry Potter, then you would probably like this book too. Read it and find out how good it is. I recommend this book to everyone. Cant wait for book 2 to come out.

I got this book for my sons ages 9 and 12 as they had just finished "Skullduggery Pleasant" and couldn't find anything else they really liked. One after the other (oldest first)they sat down and finished "Nightmare Academy" in one sitting. Video games were left to the side as they were too interested to see what happened at the end of the book. What more could you want?

A very absorbing tale and the start of a thrilling new series. Great characters and even cooler creatures. Plus a page-turning plot that I found tremendously satisfying. It really transported me to an exciting place -- which is what all good fiction is supposed to do. Can't wait for the NEXT book in the series. Lorey is a YA author to watch!

This is a beautiful and touching story. By the way, this book was originally written in Portuguese, the author is part of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. This story was inspired by her baby daughter, whose skin was actually very white but different from her brothers who had darker skin and loved her very much. This story shows that skin color doesn't matter and we can love one another despite of our differences in any level.

My daughter is African and Mexican American, so we love books that celebrate African/Latin heritage and this does it beautifully. The illustrations and the rythm of the writing are so well matched. This is one of our favorites.

This book is great. The illustrations are awesome and the story is beautiful. I bought it to read to my foster children. It's basically about a white rabbit who meets a young black girl and wants to know what he can do to be black and beautiful like her.

A very sweet story.. beautifully illustrated! As a bilingual mom of a 5 month-old baby, I enjoyed reading this book. Although the title suggest a book in Spanish, it's actually beautifully written in English.

A beautiful, dark-skinned little girl who lives near the seaside is the inspiration for this utterly charming tale about differences and the acceptance of others. Nina Bonita has "eyes like two shiny black olives", hair that is pitch black and curly and skin that is "dark and glossy like a panther in the rain". When her mother arranges her hair into tiny braids, she looks like a princess of Africa or "a fairy from the Kingdom of the Moon".

One day a white rabbit, with pink ears and dark red eyes, inquires, "What is your secret? What makes your skin so dark and pretty?" Since she doesn't know what to say, Nina Bonita answers that when she was a baby, black ink spilled on her. The rabbit pours ink all over himself and, sure enough, he is black... for a while. Then the rain washes all the ink away. Nina says, "I drank lots of hot coffee" and the rabbit drinks so much coffee that he can't go to sleep, but he doesn't turn black; "I ate lots of blackberries", so he does, but he doesn't turn black, although he does get a terrible stomach ache. The rabbit is very discouraged, at a loss of an explanation until Nina Bonita's mother exclaims, "She looks just like her grandmother!"

The riddle is solved! The rabbit suddenly understands that if he marries a black rabbit, they will have bunnies in all shades of black, white and gray. And that's exactly what happens, baby bunnies in every shade. The softly-colored illustrations of Nina's seaside life reflect the subtle nuances of a tale of color and differences, imaginatively written with great wisdom, a simple lesson about acceptance. Luan Gaines/2006.

These prayers are timeless. What a comfort these prayers have been to me during great times of need.

I agree with the other reviews and would just like to add that when you say the prayers in her books; out loud naming the people to whom the prayers are for, you will literally see modern day miracles happen.

I'd just like to say thank you to Germaine Copeland for helping those of us along who may not know quite what to say.

This is an excellent way to study appropriate ways to pray according to the scriptures and learn how to approach the Lord through his words and remind the Lord of his promises and it stands as a reminder to the reader of what the Lord has made available to us through the Bible and it strengthens our resolve to pray thru and to believe that prayers actually do work when we pray according to God's word.

Copeland listened to God and created prayers for every situation that you can use to work out your issues. The prayers help to ease the tension, anxiety, and pressure of daily life. There are times you may not have the words to speak to a friends situation but PRAYERS THAT AVAIL MUCH give you a starting place. This book should have a place in every Christian home, church, and library. Effectual fervent prayer brings results...try it daily.

PRAYERS THAT AVAIL MUCH is loaded with helpful material for anyone desiring to enrich the experience of praying. I especially recommend the chapters at the end of the book on the prayers of Jesus and the prayers of Paul.