Vermont Books

The witness is irresistible it is packed with action. It is about a little black girl and a jewish girl that are in this little town in Vermont when the KKK come to town. As the bystanders of the town watch as their town crumbles. But in the end the bystanders become the heroes. The witness is a great book to do a book report on. Karen Hesse won the New berry Award for her book "Out of the dust." The witness was written for Jean Feiwel . I recommend this book to students in 6th, 7th, and [...] because it is perfect for a book report. This book is historical fiction. I strongly recommend this book!

The witness is irresistible it is packed with action. It is about a little black girl and a jewish girl that are in this little town in Vermont when the KKK come to town. As the bystanders of the town watch as their town crumbles. But in the end the bystanders become the heroes. The witness is a great book to do a book report on. Karen Hesse won the New berry Award for her book "Out of the dust." The witness was written for Jean Feiwel . I recommend this book to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade because it is perfect for a book report. This book is historical fiction. I strongly recommend this book!

[...]
How would you like to live in where the KKK is like Leona and Ester had to when they were young? That was in 1924.In the book Witness by Karen Hesse, the blacks and Jews were aware of the KKK and watching there backs closely. Mr. Harish gets shot by KKKmember and dies. Ester, Mr. Harish' daughter could have got killed to if she was leaning back a little because she was sitting on her fathers lap. I can't tell you if any one else dies because of the KKK. If you're in to historical fiction you would like this book.
[...]

This is a really good book.As I was reading this book I felt as if I was in the Vermont town. It showed me that not everyone agreed with the ku klux klan and that they sometimes they had to had to join even though they really didn't agree.

In discussing the subject of Hate with my eighth grade students, I use WITNESS as an introduction to this difficult topic because of its brilliant subtleties that infuse the subject with multiple perspectives that tells a complete story. Highly reminiscent of the adult play THE LARAMIE PROJECT (which tells the story of Matthew Shepherd -- the young gay man who died after being beaten to death tied to a fence post in Wyoming), the two stories work together to weave a portrait of America that is harsh, cruel, hateful, sad and ugly, but lead to a greater Hope, where justice, clear-headedness and a deep sense of humanity will prevail.

WITNESS wisely puts the voice of the story into different characters: the innocent, the wise, the evil, the confused, the bystander, the individual whose feelings and opinions are affected by the events and people around him/her -- an individual who is tested, and passes.

Do not hesitate in introducing this book to middle- and high-school students. Discuss it with them and let them see the pain and disgusting nature of humankind. Let them discover that humankind can come to its senses and redeem itself from the terrible injustices it serves up. High school students who can handle some pretty harsh language can then move onto THE LARAMIE PROJECT and experience a similar feeling dealing with an real-life incident of Hate and its repercussions, but in modern terms.

The book (perfect as reader's theatre in the classroom) is recommended at the highest level. Excellent storytelling in a pitch perfect form.

This love story was very enjoyable to ride along and enjoy--yet, realists as many of us are believe it's almost too good to be real. I felt Ms. Delinsky hints she believes she felt the same way. The ending didn't ruin the "too good to be real" love story, it imitated love stories that are few, but all too true, around the world. As someone mentioned in another review, "it was a daring story line!"

This story is comforting--yet disconcerting too (for someone like me whose marriage was wrong from the start)--because Tom and Bree had what we all seek and yet few find. Would living through grief of utter devastation be worth a love described as theirs? Given the choice, seriously, I would say yes. I have never come close to feeling or receiving anything close. To love another and be loved in entirety is a life worth having lived, no matter the length. I think this was the point of the book. Ms. Delinsky's story line might have developed from a philosophical discussion like this one one night with her friends.

Finally, when the father returned to the son, although I expected and awaited it, I did not expect it exactly where Ms. Delinsky placed it. I plotted along with her, and in my dreams I conjured up Bree's last wish too. It must have been exciting to know where you placed that climatic one line, "...standing a short distance across the newly tamped snow was his father" created a storm of emotions for your friends and editor, knowing it would do the same to us, your readers. Did you cry as you typed that one line, Ms. Delinsky? Did you suck in a gasp of breath and stop typing and hold your hands together? Right then, Oh! I was sucked in. I suffered more tears in empathy for all those living there at that moment, knowing what was in each heart! I anguished with relish. I may not forget this story. Ever.
Another great book of hers and one closer to home for me is "Coast Road."

This tearjerker will draw you in and make you feel connected to the characters. You'll need the Kleenex while reading this book!

I loved this book very much. The story was grabbing and intriguing and I felt drawn and connected to the characters. While the ending is very sad and I didn't understand why it happened was affected really deeply, even though it was just a book, I felt that it was a really powerful ending. I understand how many people could dislike the book because of this, but I enjoyed the book so much. Any book that can make me cry that much obviously is well written.

And I think it's not very cool that B. Allen told everyone reading the reviews the ending. It was one of the biggest plot turns, and what is the point of anyone reading it now? You should at least write SPOILER on it.

Also, this was my first Barbara Delinksy book, and it did NOT turn me away from her. I'd love to read more.

I must agree with B. Allen, I was very disappointed with the ending of this book. I would be very careful who I gave this book to. The ending is very sad (and might depress anyone, especially if they are pregnant or in the hospital). And not only sad, but I felt very cheated by it. I would like to think that if a "being of light" gave anyone three wishes, the outcome of those gifts from something so wonderful would turn out a lot better. But they were a rip off, and frankly, so is the book. Shame on you, Ms. Delinsky. You could have done a lot better with this book's premise.

I went into this book wondering if the tragedies hinted at on the summary would be physical disabilities or something she would encounter after her accident. I was pleasantly surprised to find her doing so well and returning to a "normal" life. The interaction between her and Tom was really great and the descriptions of her near death experience were very interesting. Part of me had a feeling that this book would end in a bad way, but after she had the baby things seemed to be okay.

I was absolutely appalled to turn the page and read that she'd died - it was all I could do to finish it with the hope that somewhere it'd be a mistake and she'd come back. The book and not to mention my several days after reading it were ruined for me. I still can't get over this. It just feels like a cop out to end it that way - the wishes could have been worded better and it had the potential to be this really amazing uplifting story, but instead it failed miserably and I am still so bothered by the whole thing. I have 2 other Delinsky books that I am now avoiding because I can't take anything else of hers if I am going to feel this same way.

While I would give this 1 star to represent the anger and upset I am feeling towards this book, I only give it an additional star for the fact that the rest of the book was enjoyable.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four
I wish I hadn't bought this book
T'was wasteful and a bore

The book PROMISE NOT TO TELL was a quick read.It was written so well i felt as if i was in the book. I'm a sophomore in high school and in a honors English course. This book is one i would suggest to my teacher. Any one at any age would be compelled to the book simply after the first page. It is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and with your head deeply buried between the pages. I enjoyed the twists and turns in Kate's life that keep me wanting more. I feel that anyone could relate to one or more of the hardships shown in the book, bullying, money issues, cliques, rape, abuse, sexual confusion, and even prejudice. It is a story i will remember for a long time and a book i will share with everyone i know. I strongly recommend PROMISE NOT TO TELL.

Kate returns home to care for her mother with Alzheimer's, but her return coincides with a murder that closely mimics a murder from Kate's childhood. Kate's remembers her small-town childhood and her friendship with the murdered "Potato Girl" while she explores what has become of her old family and friends and their possible connection to the recent murder. Promise Not to Tell is a promising combination of small rural town and ghostly murder mystery, but this potential is buried under mediocre writing, unremarkable characters, and an unbelievable plot twist. I was disappointed by this entirely mediocre book, and I don't recommend it.

Many aspects of this book--the small-town setting, the farmer's daughter, the ailing mother--aren't to my tastes, but I was open to trying something new and intrigued by the combination of a ghost story and a murder mystery. Unfortunately, the only good thing I have to say about this book is that the premise intrigued me enough to pick it up and, having picked it up, it was a fast and forgettable read. Promise Not to Tell is well-intended, and it has some promising aspects--including the premise and characters (which are a brave, unusual choice) and the intended themes. But all of these aspects are for naught: the book is dragged down into mediocrity, and the best thing about it is that it's soon finished and forgotten.

McMahon's writing style is amateur and undeveloped, and so it reads swiftly but leaves no lasting impact. It expresses the themes so blatantly that they become bland and meaningless. The narrator's constant dishonesty and weak sarcasm is vaguely irritating. The characters are sometimes promising, sometimes unpleasant, but largely--like the writing--forgettable. The plot does not redeem these factors: the book builds to pleasant (if exaggerated) suspense, but the final twist and reveal is so arbitrary and so unexplained that it's unbelievable and ruins everything that comes before. The book isn't outright bad or begging to be mocked, but it is entirely mediocre. It offers nothing, and it's not enjoyable to read. I had no idea what to expect from this author, but I certainly expected better of a book with such high reviews. I don't recommend it to any audience.

Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon is the story of Kate Cypher, a nurse working in Seattle. She receives a call from some old friends back home who tell her that her mother, who suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's, is rapidly deteriorating. Kate goes home to confront the difficult situation with her mother, who does not want to go into a home. However, there are other issues waiting for Kate upon her return. 31 years earlier, Kate's best friend, Del Griswold, was murdered, and the killer was never found. Now there is another murder that is frighteningly similar to Del's - is it coincidence that it happened right after Kate's homecoming? And what really happened the day that Del was murdered?

I really enjoyed Promise Not To Tell. The pacing was quick, and at a concise 256 pages, there really was never a dull moment. The author foreshadowed well, increasing the reader's anticipation, but never gave too much away. It is frustrating when an author's use of foreshadowing actually ruins the book due to poor placement and revealing too much information (Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain is the best example I can think of for really irritating foreshadowing).

The book was definitely spooky and a little bit creepy, but it definitely wasn't too scary for those of you that have difficulty with horror novels (like me.) Besides the unfolding of the mystery, the element I honestly liked best about the book was its length. Too often, my main complaint about a novel is that about 100 pages could have been trimmed off without any significant impact on the plot or character development. While I don't mind long novels, I'm a big proponent of the idea that a book shouldn't be any longer than it really needs to be. McMahon seems to have had that same idea in mind when writing Promise Not to Tell.

I also think McMahon did a great job portraying school children. As much as many of us liked to romanticize our childhoods, the fact is, kids can be incredibly cruel. I think many of us, especially those of us who enjoy escaping into books as we've become older, have been at the receiving end of taunting and bullying. I think through the way the author writes Del and Kate, she really drives home the point of how cruel children have the capacity to be. It's very well written, but not horribly uncomfortable to read, which is a welcome surprise.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it!

The author did a great job! I could not put it down. Each page gave a new clue so it keeps you hooked. I recommend this to everyone!!!

Howard Frank Mosher did a great job of setting his book in New England. The characters were well rounded, the reader was given a lot of details on the area and the town was a small New England town. However with such great work on the back ground the book needed a little more umph. The book didnt actually start till about chapter 14. There was a lot of detail that the reader could have done without. Once it became a murder mystery in a small town it became quite good. It had a lot of twist and turns. People were betrayed and others learned the meaning of life. If you have a long weekend stuck in doors this is a great book. If you plan on a fast read think again.

This book was extremely boring to be honest with everyone who reads this review. It took FOREVER to pick up. It picked up after Chapter 14 which was basically TORTURE!! The trial though was great. The author did a well done job when he wrote the trial and all that. After that the book ended up drawing you in and you wanted to know more. The only thing is that it picked up in chapter 14 as I already said and there were only 21 chapters. But the little I enjoyed I loved. I believe most people would like this book due to the trial but they will suffer until they reach there. I think the author just wrote about a bunch of stuff that was irrelevant to us the readers. Prejudice though is one of the main topics of the book and it was greatly portrait and described by the author which I do give him 5 STARS on it. Just how he wrote about the racism I picture most of the New England states being racist back in the day and a little bit still today even though not to the point of killing. I name this novel a New England Novel because of the setting and the characters and the happenings. A+ on that Mosher, but sorry I will have to Give you a D+ for making me fall asleep!

I gave this book three stars because I found it was a dramatic tail taking place in a small upstate Vermont town. However the first half of the book seemed to drag and was spent on unnecessary character development. This is definetly a good book, just do your self a favor and start reading it from the middle.

I thought this book was a bit like getting on a roller coaster and taking the long slow clime and then suenlly you are set flying. For anyone who likes thrills such as a roller coaster I recomend this New England novel.

A very To Kill a Mockingbird-esque story about a small town in 1950s Vermont that is suddenly shaken by murder. The suspect is the town's new black preacher, Rev. Andrews. While traditionally pre-Civil War New England was a haven for escaped slaves, abolitionists, and of course advocates of freedom and equal rights (going all the way back to colonial America, which was New England), modern small New England towns, even today, tend to have a very minimal black population. Kingdom is no exception. So while most New Englanders pride themselves on their racial-tolerance and acceptance, it is very rarely tested.
Though be fore-warned it can be a slow-read.

I cannot stop thinking about Martha Horgan, Morris' protagonist in this novel.

"A Dangerous Woman" is not only well-written, it's complex in a way that readers cannot quite figure out why they are both drawn to and repelled by Martha Horgan and the people whose lives are altered by her.

The story is gripping, the characters well developed, and Morris' novel touches on some important social issues. I loved this book, and look forward to reading more by this author. Hopefully, they will be as compelling.

A Dangerous Woman is a rich characterization of a woman in need of love, support, understanding, security and warmth. This novel is one of the most brilliant that I've read so far this year and it's now the tenth month. The extra-ordinary depth of it's author, Mary McGarry Morris in her understanding of the heroine is outstanding and she delivers her punches with passion and tenacity. We follow Martha through her ordeals, from teenage insecurity through to early thirties bewilderment. We grope blindly along, knowing that there is a tragedy coming and wishing that we could avert it, but it's impending doom is fate and Martha must face hers alone. While Martha can be annoying, gratingly stubborn and insensitive, most of the time she is written about in such a way that you just want to wrap her in your arms and protect her to save her from herself. The novel left me with the huge provocation of how we are in control of our destinies and how we affect those that witness our lives around us. I can't rate this novel high enough. It's compelling, absorbing and brilliantly written and can teach you things about yourself that you may not already know. A must read on anyone's list. I loved it!

Within the first fifty pages or so, I was totally aggravated by Martha. She has suffered a traumatic childhood and adolescence, sure - but could she be any more annoying? It was easy to understand how the people around her react as they do, and why children still taunt her in the street now that she's a woman of thirty. It's as if there is some socially-deficient fog clouding her brain, making her honest to the point of incurring violence. She remains, to the end, an unlikable character.

That, however, is part of what makes her story a fascinating read. I resisted the urge to toss this book aside in favor of the Ramsey Campbell paperback sitting on my nightstand, and by the hundredth page I was still annoyed by Martha - but I had to know what would become of her. From the opening paragraph, we know that she's going to kill someone . . . but who? and why? and will she lose her painful sense of honesty?

Morris does a fine job of getting the reader inside Martha's head, (much in the same way that Mr. Campbell does), though very unobtrusively. It was only toward the end of the book that I found myself, while still disliking Martha, at least understanding her. I even felt a passing moment of triumph when she held to her grating sense of truth in the final pages.

This is not one of those books I would keep on my shelf for future re-readings - I honestly couldn't bear Martha for another 300 pages - but it makes me wish I hadn't sold Ms. Morris' VANISHED to the used book-store without ever reading it.

Compelling and heartbreaking, Morris weaves a haunting tale of a lonely young woman's losing battle to gain social acceptance, love, respect, and a healthy life of her own. Alienated and ridiculed by her small community, the origins of what make Martha Horgan so strange and different from those around her are unknown. The "dangerous" qualities referred to in the title put off those around her and ultimately lead to her undoing: her belief that the truth must always be known, under all cirumstances, her inability to function around others in society, her tempermental outbursts, and her undying fixations on people. Martha is richly drawn in three-dimensions as a character both frustrating and sympathetic, unlikable yet lovable, exasperating yet endearing, and ultimately, all too human. Morris does a superb job of painting those inhabit Martha's world as equally complex and contradictive, particuarly Frances and Mac. These two judge Martha for her abnormalities, yet their own distorted belief systems and foilables are all too abundent, and their own behavior quite questionable at times. In many ways, they see reflected in Martha the qualities they fear the most about themselves. Morris does an elegent job of depicting the culture of their community and the adverse reactions of "normal" society to those who are different. I liked that Martha's mental illness remained undefined....it was an interesting way of highlighting that people are afraid of what they can't label, not all diverse people can be placed in a tight category, and it raised questions of whether or not the base of the problem was biological or the result of her life experience. Overall, a worthy read: thought-provoking and well-written, sensitive yet brutal, yet not a difficult or lenghty read by any means.

I couldn't put it down, I was so enormously enthralled by the lives of these people! This was an amazing character sketch of an entire town and their denial of the truth and how that changed everything.
Martha is a sad creature who needed someone to believe her, love her and show patience with her. Perhaps she came close - but, not until it was too late.
Maybe this book will make you lean over your neighbor's fence and say hello. Maybe it will help you open your heart to someone you don't understand.
I always rate books and movies in my mind by this question, "Am I a better person for having read this book or seen this movie?" The answer in this case is YES!

This outstanding novella is a master class in fiction writing -- perfectly paced, perfectly plotted, filled with dark, sardonic humor, age-old themes, and unlikely heroes. Or to put it another way, it's a Coen Brothers movie turned into prose: combining the questing gumption of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with the dark modernization themes of No Country for Old Men, populated with the small-town heroes and thugs of Fargo. It's elegantly simple, the outcome is rather predictable, and yet it's impossible to stop turning the pages.

Set in the depressed backwoods of Vermont logging country over the course of a summer day, the story kicks off when the town sheriff discovers a haggard young woman asleep in her car outside his office. It seems a local thug named Blackway scared off her boyfriend, killed her cat, and is stalking her. Unfortunately, as the sheriff points out, there's not a whole lot he can do unless she has a witness to any of this -- which she doesn't. Unwilling to send her away emptyhanded, he suggests she go to the old sawmill, where a crippled old-timer sits court amidst a revolving cast of local men, playing cards, drinking beer, and generally passing the time. There, he suggests, she will find someone to go with her and talk to Blackway.

She does indeed find someone to go with her, but not the person the sheriff thinks. Instead, two locals -- a crafty old-timer and a dour young colossus -- agree to help her. The odd couple are entirely unlikely heroes, and as she travels with them to various motels and bars to track down Blackway, she grows increasingly uneasy about what she's gotten them into and their ability to emerge unscathed. Meanwhile, the story continually returns the reader to the sawmill, where the Greek chorus of local men discuss this and that, gradually filling in a newcomer on the lay of the land, and just what a sticky situation the young woman is in. The overall effect is of a slightly surreal, somewhat mythic confrontation, all deeply tinged in black humor and a rural noir sensibility reminiscent of Scott Wolvern's excellent short stories in Controlled Burn. Brilliant stuff worthy of multiple readings.

That was some book. It was? Wasn't it? Suppose so. What was? The book. You said it. This book had me laughing at almost every page. If you read it then you know what that first sentence is all about. If you haven't then you should. Never a dull moment with this one. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

I thought this book was OK, but not as great as some of the reviews stated. It's a quick, somewhat comical and quirky little book, but I would not say it was gripping, as some of the reviews stated. The method of dialogue became a little boring towards the end of the book. It was OK, but definitely not on the list of books I would recommend.

Castle Freeman's Go With Me is complete hit for me, mordantly funny, sly, great dialogue, fine indeed. This is one to pass along to your friends, or you could wait for December when it would make a terrific gift. I wouldn't wait, though. It's just that fine.

Being a New Englander, I recognized the people in this book! It captures the tone and atmosphere perfectly. We New Englanders (especially the old timers in small, remote towns) are a breed in ourselves. Why use 10 words when 1 will do - and when you live in a small community, experiences are shared and remembered together. This book tells the story of one day in the life of such people - with flash backs explaining story line and setting characters. I loved it! Great read - would like to see more such stories from the author.

This book provided insights about others' camping experiences. Thus I could compare it with my own camping experiences (mostly at BSA camps). It takes alot of courage to handle the rigors of camping, in my opinion.

Although the sleep-away camp that I went to was rather different than the one Michael Eisner attended and lovingly described in this book (the rustic Keewaydin located in Vermont), nevertheless, I definitely related to Eisner's remarks on how summer camp can simultaneously foster in children independence, interdependence and constructive competition. I liked the way the book jumped around from generation to generation, to show how the benefits of the camp experience are timeless. His ode to the camp owner (forever known to campers and staff as "Waboos") is quite touching, especially his depiction of present day, close to 90 year old, Waboos, who's almost blind. My enjoyment of the book was certainly enhanced because one of my favorite activities as a camper was canoeing, which is a cornerstone of Keewaydin. I'm very curious as to how the two boys known as Q and Pepe, who were able to attend the camp as a result of a charity that the author finacially supports, are doing these days.

"Camp" is a charming little book, especially for someone like me who was also, to some extent, shaped by summer camp.

Eisner's descriptions of his experiences as a camper really hit home for me, I would recommend this book heartily. Coincidentally I also was a Beaverbod (attended Camp Beaverbrook) run by Amee and Niha and Mr Mahnke's Brother. The experience described in Eisner's book is much more "East Coast" than my own experience but still rings true if you ever went to summer camp. His descriptions of the aging Camp Director and the emotions he evokes are great. Good read!

Eisner's book is a wonderful reflection of his experiences over many summers at a prominent northeastern "sleepaway camp." Being a northern Californian, I was not exposed to this particular genre of camp experience, but my brothers and I were fortunate to attend a wonderfully similar enclave three hours north of us called Camp Beaverbrook, which featured most of the same experiences (save for the wonderful natural lakes) that Mr. Eisner recounts. Our camp directors, "Amee and Niha" (Bob and Marion Brown from Orinda, California) built the place by hand and created a wonderful place for young people ("Beaverbods," we called them) to grow up and learn to live with others. Mrs. Brown even wrote her own reflective book called "Past Tents," which is unfortunately out of print. If you enjoyed Mr. Eisner's book, you should also see the movie "Indian Summer," which never ceases to bring a tear to my eyes.

I went to camp too. Camp Hawthorne in Raymond, Maine. This book is the best and a worthwhile read for any parent with a kid at camp or any parent considering sending their kid to camp. It's likely even better for kids like me who went to camp because no matter what experience Eisner describes, the same memories come rushing back in all their fun and splendor. One of my camp friends always used to say he was going to write a book about camp called "Camp Camp." (A generic book he had in mind.) He always said no one would believe what great fun and experiences we had. He never wrote the book but I am extremely happy that Michael Eisner has. It is no samll wonder he has been so successful (say what you might about his last few difficult years - those years were difficult for anyone in business.) He actually came through them in good shape and there's a reason he did. Nothing is as tough as that first canoe trip that you lead. If you forget any one of a number of items it can turn three days into ten. Kudos to Eisner for writing about camp in all its splendor, honoring those who gave kids like us the time of our lives, and carrying on the tradition through generosity usually reserved for only the finest of America's institutions. He's got his heart and him money in the right place!

The book begins during a particularly severe Vermont winter when 75-year-old Sarah Lucas' husband, Charles, dies. Sarah, grief-stricken, delves into her past, remembering the Great Depression, a time when her parents welcomed countless friends and relations into their home. Sarah also thinks about mistakes she made as a parent. She decides to open her home to a motley crew of characters which include: her own teenage granddaughter; an Israeli pacifist; a young mother and child - all of whom seek shelter and comfort in Sarah's empty home.

I absolutely loved this book. It is a beautiful portrayal of elderly life, love, and loss, with life lessons to be learned by all.

I loved the premise of this novel but was so disappointed in how it was developed. First of all, there were way too many characters and too little character development. I loved the thought of Sarah's house becoming a refuge for the displaced, but somehow much of it did not ring true. I must admit to skimming some of the book when the too-loose plot seemed to just drone on and on. And the ending - I did not like it at all.

But the cover art....gorgeous!!!

Kate Maloy has an extraordinary gift for rendering physicality in evocative and beautiful ways. The story she tells, of a 75-year-old woman whose grief for her lost husband transmutes into a broader and more encompassing love for a variety of stray "cuckoos" who land in her nest is engaging and hopeful. The real reason to read this book, though is the sharp, stunning realism of the physical details--the erotic interactions, especially between an aged couple--something we almost never see in literature--and the unexpected but deeply felt beauty of a bobolink in the woods; a passionately angry child; and even, in one of the novel's most stunning moments, a pile of moose droppings. The language is a joy from beginning to end.

I found this book in my local library as I was stocking up on books to read for the summer. I am absolutely amazed how many people gave this book such high marks. I struggled to finish the book as I felt it was lacking in sufficient and realistic character development, a focused plot, creativity and realism in characters' problem solving strategies, and included an unrealistic and hokey ending that made me laugh at its absurdity.

There were way too many characters introduced in this book, none developed well enough besides Sarah. There were several beautiful scenes that demonstrated her relationship with her husband Charles, but overall, the plot wandered and didn't get to the "meat" of the story until too late in the book. Once characters began facing their problems, they were solved too neatly. I found myself shaking my head many times thinking, "teenagers don't act that way" or "a mother would never allow her daughter to do that". The mother-daughter relationships and the ridiculous discussions with the teenage girl about drugs and sexuality did not develop in a natural way. Extraordinary situations (i.e. a group of teenagers living in Sarah's cottage for several months without direct adult supervision) were entirely unbelievable for me.

Ms. Maloy had a thoughtful premise in writing this story, but her true purpose gets lost amongst an army of characters, cheesy dialogue, and unrealistic development of the plot and problems. It's been a long time since I've struggled to finish a book because of these issues. Not a book I'd recommend. You can find Ms. Maloy's message in so many other stories and books, that it's not worth the time for "Cuckoo". To discover a stronger read having to do with a friendship between an older and a younger woman, try "Astrid and Veronika"...it's a beautiful and well directed story. Then compare to "Cuckoo". Hope this helps!

It is rare indeed for a novel to have as its protagonist a 75 year old woman, and for that alone, I applaud Kate Maloy. The writing is lyrical and lovely. Maloy says of Sarah, "Her memories were like beads jumbled loose in a box, unstrung." A crisp and clean image of a woman's mind who has seen "thousands of days."

Sarah and Charles, married over 46 years, have a loving, albeit imperfect marriage - there have been ups and downs - particulary following the loss at birth of their son, Andrew. They raised three children, and as Charles becomes the primary parent to Charlotte after Andrew's death, there is an estrangement between mother and daughter, as there is between Charles and his son David. Again - all very real and credible. They have dear friends, Peter and Vivi. The setting - in rural Vermont - is described so eloquently and vividly that it almost operates as a separate character in the novel. In one scene, Sarah and Charles, with snowshoes and supplies slung over their shoulders, embark on a winter walk, up to a high cliff, with a full view of the Green Mountains. The narrator remarks of the couple: "The silence between them was as familiar as their faces, their bodies, and the synchronized rhythm of their days." Alas - if we could all have such days - another lovely image.

The novel focuses on Sarah's eventual rebirth after the death of her beloved Charles, and here is where I believe the novel falters and strains credulity. Sarah's obsession with "photographing the ugliest stuff I could find in nature," in which she finds beauty, is completely credible as a way to deal with her grief. But - when Sarah opens up her heart and her home to a seemingly never-ending retinue of needy souls - although it fills the reader with admiration and inspires all of us to be our best selves as we deal with grief and loss and life's many challenges - how many 75 year old widows do you know that, number one - would even be given the opportunity to take in all these needy souls and number two - would have the room, the wherewithal, the energy, or the resources to take in all these needy souls?

If the point is to alert the reader to the endless possiblities for growth at the tail end of life, it is a lovely and endearing message. But, the climax, in which Sarah faces mortal danger and manages to respond like Superwoman, strains credulity to the breaking point.

That said, I recommend the novel as a beacon of hope, especially for those who have suffered loss. Maloy tells us at the end of the novel that love always brings loss, and of Sarah, Maloy writes, " . . . love was where she would put her energies, . . . There wasn't a thing she could do about loss." A worthwhile message for all of us.

I didn't really have any expectations for this book when I started reading it. It was just a book I picked up that looked different than the books I'd been typically reading; you know, try new things. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I was hooked, almost from the first pages, by the immediacy of the narration. The writing style is really very engaging, stream-of-consciousness-esque... I found it very compelling to read such a convincingly written portrait of a young girl raised by such very different people.

At any rate, I found this to be an extremely fascinating and unsettling novel that was more than definitely worth my time. I have recommended it to several people; I now recommend it to you (imagine my finger pointing at you).

I found this book a joy to read. I had been looking for a beautiful book and I found one. I loved the narative from the eys of a child. Offill has found the childlike innocence we all once had, and from this comes the trusting and beautifully gullible nature of Grace. A personal recommendation if you liked this one... look for Suzanne Cleminshaw's, The Great Ideas.

i loved this book. the writing was incredible. also, i thought the narrator, a young girl, was very believable, and telling the story from her perspective makes the story all the more moving. there is a lot of creativity here, especially in the character of the mother. read it!

Another bittersweet book about a child in unusual circumstances. Grace is an eight-year-old girl whose mother, Anna is both a dream (for Grace) and a nightmare (for Anna herself). The mother and the father, Robert seem an interesting pair, she creative, bold, irrational and he patient, mainstream and rational. This is the tale of Anna who eventually goes mad, of Grace who doesn't understand that her mother is out of the norm, and Robert who loves but doesn't understand his wife and who eventually must be the stabilizing force for his daughter. The story is a sweet one as Grace is introduced to wild scientific, anthropological, linguistic, and mysterious theories by her mother (and her geeky teenaged babysitter). In fact, much of what Anna teaches Grace is that science can explain one side of an argument as often as it can explain the other side. I loved the various scientific puzzles, the imaginary language that Anna makes up for them, and the tales of hyena-men, gazelle-boys, and living dinosaurs. What is sad about it all is that as Anna's behavior becomes more manic and unstable, it all seems reasonable to Grace (who would not know better) who is blindly loyal to her mother. The family begins to dissolve when Grace's father begins to focus too intensely on his science (to the neglect of the family) and Anna takes Grace on a road-trip. The fact that this novel is written in Grace's voice is beautiful and is a hard feat that the author accomplishes admirably. The fact that the author manages to weave in themes of (animal) extinction, mental collapse, and the disintegration of a family is brilliant. It was so refreshing to read a book involving a child that was truly loving (even though it involved troubled souls, they clearly loved their little girl) and did not involve any hostility.

The reader gets a definite sense of the narrator's age in Jenny Offill's debut novel, LAST THINGS. She views everything she relates to us openly and unflinchingly, as a child would do -- and the things she doesn't completely understand are naturally colored with the myths and stories told to her by her increasingly deranged mother, combined with extrapolations produced by her own imagination.

Grace's parents are incredibly mismatched. Her father is a complete realist, grounded in science and fact. He works as a teacher in the small Vermont town in which they live, until his objections to a prayer circle held within earshot of his office draw the disfavor of the administration. At one point, we are told that he proposed to her mother with the words 'You're the only woman I've met that will never bore me'. That's certainly proven to be true. Her mother -- who is an ornithologist working at a nearby raptor center -- is given to spouting native myths and beliefs from the far corners of the earth, sometimes obviously inventing stories on the spot to validate her increasingly odd actions. She sometimes speaks and writes in a language invented for her by her father, and attempts to teach it to Grace. When her pronouncements and beliefs begin to seep into her daughter's behavior at school, she vows to home-school young Grace, and the girl is pulled further into her mother's fantasy world.

Children usually remember events clearly but in a spotty way -- when speaking of memories, they tend to bounce from one to the next, not concerned (as an adult narrator might be) with beginnings and endings, with smoothing out the rough edges of memory. They remember the parts that have the greatest emotional effect on them, either directly or obliquely. Offill has reproduced this tendency by giving her young storyteller an accurate voice -- it's not a stretch for us to imagine that we're listening to the story through Grace's own words. That being said, the writing is very polished and effective -- as the book spirals through scene after scene to its climax, the effect is very much like a wild dream that comes with the fever of an illness. It's a powerful current that draws the reader in, making the book difficult to put down.

It's an interesting ride -- but there's an aching sadness left at the thought of what the shenanigans of Grace's parents are doing to her, to what sort of long-term effects they might have on the impressionable psyche of an 8-year-old girl. It makes me wonder if the two of them gave any thought to how they would raise a child once they had one. Her mother is hopeless, and her father, although he's a bit more grounded in reality, seems completely clueless in relating to his daughter. I can't imagine her emerging from this ordeal without having a fairly skewed view of the world.

It's an odd little book -- but very skillfully written, interesting and entertaining. Sometimes it's pretty scary to look as an adult through the eyes of a child -- it makes for a compelling read.

In ten chapters, which each serve as a vignette, Robert Newton Peck is able to bring to life his boyhood in rural Vermont. This book shows the friendship between boys that most American males have always wanted. In these humorous and touching stories, Rob, the narrator, and Soup are caught up being in trouble because that is what simply makes their friendship and life so much fun. There are some great teachings in these pages on generosity, forgiveness, justice, courage, honesty, love, and responsibility. Each chapter is only about six to eight pages long and is introduced with one of Charles C. Gehm's excellent drawings. These individual chapters are the perfect type to be read to children at bedtime or on wet and cloudy weekend afternoons.

My sister-in-law said that she used to read these books. She bought a couple for my son for Christmas and I had to read them. They are humorous and a good read!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this again after nearly twenty years since the first time. It reminds the reader of a simpler time in all of our lives when the biggest problems we faced were bullies, cute girls and our parents. I suggest this book to both children and parents alike as an excellent family read.

Peck relates growing up in rural/small town Vermont with a best friend who gets him into lots of trouble. Humor and pranks abound in between lessons learned.

I found this book somewhat by chance in my local library. It looked interesting...sort of like a modern version of Tom Sawyer, and that's exactly what it was. Boys in particular will love these books, because they chronicle the life of boys as it really exists - dirt, worms, clubhouses, alternately loving/hating girls, playing pranks, and just generally getting into and out of various and sundry mischief.

"Soup" is essentially an autobiographical account of author Robert Newton Peck's experiences growing up in rural Vermont in the 1920s. While he has no doubt greatly embellished these accounts to make them larger than life in these books, they are enormously fun and charming nonetheless. The young Peck (Rob in the stories) recounts life with his best pal "Soup", so named because he is embarrassed by his real name (Luther) and only comes running when his mother makes the dinner call of "Soup's On!" Hence, his nickname Soup became a permanent ID and also the namesake for this wonderful series of books. Soup is the mischievious ringleader in most of the misadventures, with Rob the younger and more naive sidekick.

My son loved these stories as I read them aloud to him. For road trips, we would find some books from the "Soup" series on tape and listen to those, and they invariably made the miles go faster.

As a parent, I loved the stories not only because they are hysterically funny, but because they are nostalgic and take me back to my own childhood when the pace of life was slower, things were simpler, and children were somehow less worldly wise, without the craving for 24/7 electronic stimulation. Sigh.

Peck imparts a wholesomeness to us in these books and my child never complained that the stories were sappy or lame. We both loved the recurring characters from book to book, such as the boys' teacher, and the portly Miss Bolund, the school nurse who shows up in her tiny, highly unreliable car at regular intervals. There's also the school bully - who happens to be a girl - and can whump just about any boy in the county.

Very occassionally (as in once or twice) there is content that some parents may find slightly objectionable - such as the boys experimenting with smoking or swearing. However, as a christian parent I never found any of these things problematic because the context was always quite clear that what the boys were doing was wrong and the book never comes across as condoning such behavior. It's more like the stories we've heard of kids who try smoking, only to end up turning green and vowing never to touch the foul things again. So, think in terms of Mark Twain...not something that tries to be "hip" by being PG-13, or going to the other extreme and bending over backwards to be politically correct and preachy.

In summary, I whole-heartedly recommend these books. There are a dozen or more in the series. They build on a fine tradition first given to us by Mark Twain in "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn," portraying boyhood the way it was and forever should be.