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i absolutely ADORE this book. i fell in love with it for the first time when i was 12. i am 18 now, but the storyline and the characters are endearing to me every time i read it i must have read Ella enchanted about five times. the romance between ella and char is innocent, but it captures my heart every time. I was very disappointed when i saw the movie. I dont think the movie captured the essence of Ella and the magic that Levine bestowed in her book. If I could, I'd create a movie that is true to the book and its characters. Even though it is a children's book, it is still accessible to adults (though i am still kind of a child at heart- i LOVE fantasy stories)

1000000% RECOMMENDED

I actually saw the movie before I read the book and I loved the movie, but it's vastly different from the book. It was interesting to see the differences. I can see why some of the changes were made for the movie, but both are great in their own right.

I liked the treatment of Lucinda in the book better than in the movie. In the movie, Lucinda never learned or understood what she did to people, but in the book she did when Mandy tricked her into experiencing what she put Ella through.

I also liked that Ella had to find the inner-strength to break the curse, opposed to having an easy quick fix of undoing it. To be honest, Ella would have probably in more trouble if Lucinda had reversed the spell, so even if she wanted to obey at times, she would then be under a curse to never obey.

I also like that the prince was treated as a real person and given a real personality. Rewatching Disney's Cinderella as an adult, I was shocked how truly vapid the prince was. He had no personality. He was just a stereotypical pretty boy.

It was also nice reading the progression of Ella and Char's relationship, instead of her going to a ball and just falling in love with him.

This is a great book, which I'll definitely read again.

Romance, although also could be fantasy. Upper elementary to middle school. Reading level is supposed to be grade four, but it seems higher to me. 232 pages.

I read quite a bit of this book before I started to enjoy it, but because the librarian recommended it, I stuck with it. The book is the back story of Cinderella, although the reader doesn't realize it until near the end. Instantly, the story of Cinderella--which I never really liked--has a profound truth I now see: When we walk in another's shoes, our perceptions change. Honor book. No illustrations.

Ella Enchanted
By Gail Carson Levine

Ella only wanted to be a regular girl. But instead the day she was born, a curse was bestowed upon her. The gift of obedience. The fairy Lucinda does not think before she gives these silly curses and so when Ella is told to do something, she has to do it. If someone told Ella to kill herself she would have to obey. When Ella's mother gets very sick and dies, Ella is left with Mandy her cook that is her fairy godmother and her father. Ella's father traveled all the time and he doesn't know about her curse. Just like her mother said "Don't tell anyone about your curse." Ella had to obey.
But when Ella's dad introduces her to Dame Olga and her dreadfully bossy daughters, Ella realizes that the elder one, Hattie knows that Ella will do anything she says. Hattie commands Ella to give her the necklace that Ella's mom gave to her. But there is a silver lining on the story. Ella becomes dear friends with Prince Charmont, or as his friends call him, Char. Just when Ella thinks that Char and her are becoming great friends, Ella's father ships her off to finishing school so she can become a true lady with Hattie and the spoiled Olive (Hattie's sister).
Finishing school is the worst place for Ella. She must obey every command no matter how awful or difficult. When Ella cannot stand it anymore she runs away, and decides to quest for her fairy godmother and reverse the spell. But Hattie had forbidden Ella to see Char. So how will she be able to tell him how she really feels when he thinks she never wants to see him again?

Many young girls dream of having a fairy tale life just like the ones that appear in Disney movies such as Cinderella, but what happens when these girls grow into young ladies and expect a little more than your usual fairy tale? In her novel Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine adds a whole new twist to the familiar story of Cinderella. With the use of point of view, characterizations and themes, she achieves to appeal to a budding, young female audience that already has a love for the classic Disney tale.

Point of View
Carson presents a first person point of view that allows Ella to narrate her own story. Her thoughts, her commentary and each of her actions are plain for the reader to enjoy and experience a first hand look into Ella's world. The reader is allowed to relate her character, as she seems more realistic (as far as a fairy tale goes) than ever before, as she goes through every day teenage trials with boys (a prince, to be exact), friendship, fitting in, envy and such problems that still happen today.

Characterizations
Ella
While Disney's Cinderella is an upbeat, optimistic girl that seems to have the whole world set out for her, Levine's Ella is given a whole new dimension as a character. Ella, as a child, receives the "gift" of obedience by the wayward fairy, Lucinda. Forced to do everything she is told, Ella develops a strong, rebellious character determined to become her own person, despite what others command her to do. She may subdue physically, but mentally and spiritually, she is a character that is intelligent beyond her years that refuses to conformity, aesthetics and propriety for the wrong reasons. Carson develops Ella in such a way that her flaws and struggles with herself and others are present. Ella is not a glorified storybook character that has everything going perfectly for her; she fights for what she believes in, she makes mistakes to learn from them and goes through the motions just like her young female audience.

Prince Charmont
When the thoughts of a charming prince come to mind, what is available is only the idea of a charming prince who is just there to both save the day and marry the girl. While in most fairy tales, the female lead character usually overshadows the male equivalent; Prince Charmont is far from hidden. Carson develops Char (as he is cleverly nicknamed) in such a way that he breaks away from the usual princely stereotypes by adding a little more to his personality but still maintaining the characteristics that would most likely still make any female weak in the knees. When Ella first meets Char, she keeps her distance in a demonstration of respect of his nobility, but he refuses to be regarded of higher ranking and asks to be addressed as any other person. He is kind hearted and humble but still he holds strong and true to the convictions that he is instructed as a young ruler. One example of this is when he pauses the beginning of a military journey to get on his hands and knees to help a merchant whose cart is overturned, instead of leaving off and ignoring the lower class. Another defining characteristic is that he, like Ella, struggles to create his own identity under the overpowering shadow of his future as the ruler of the kingdom of Frell. Char's authentic infatuation for Ella and his deep respect for her are what make the reader believe him as the true charming prince.

The Fairy Godmother
One may expect a flick of the wand and a bibidi boppidi boo to describe a fairy; Carson declines to this generic view. Mandy, Ella's fairy godmother is described as aging, overweight, speckled with freckles and frizzy hair. She hides her true identity from Ella and for the first 16 years of Ella's life, she is known as the kitchen maid and nanny. Her real self is only discovered after Ella's mother died and Ella is left to the care of no one but her father. The way that Carson portrays Mandy is in a stern, parental way so the reader can see her as a mother figure for Ella, more than just a fairy godmother that provides every single wish. Carson makes Mandy out to be a lovable character towards the reader because she nurtures and takes care of Ella while still remaining firm to what she thinks is best for her goddaughter.

Themes
In this novel, Carson explores themes that are of interest to a young female audience. One of these is the search for an identity and a place in the world. Carson develops her main theme as Ella is trying to establish herself as a person with her beliefs and convictions, and not just become a pawn to anybody's game that has knowledge of her curse. She demonstrates to the audience that they do not have to conform to a popular idea and encourages the reader to form opinions by gaining knowledge by Ella's example of maintaining her integrity and refusal to ignorance.

Another theme that goes hand-in-hand with the one mentioned before is integrity, being true to who you are. Carson encourages this by making Ella such a strong character that even though she is forced to be someone else, in her mind, she is determined to be who she truly is. Char is also another example of integrity. He is a prince, a trait that may give way to arrogance and to discrimination by status, but he denies any association of himself as a person to his nobility.

With these different literary aspects, Gail Carson Levine creates a fairy tale all her own that only alludes to the commonly known storyline. She creates a story for young girls to be immersed with such believable characters in a fictional world that teach very valuable lessons while also having those key elements that happen to draw the audience in.

This excerpt does a great job revealing the realities of war. It provides the perspective of the ones on the front line and does a wonderful job displaying the uncertainties that go along with warfare; however, it was a bit hard to follow at times, and it seemed a little "jumpy". Overall, great job!

I was an undergrad theatre major at the University of Iowa when Peter was a grad playwriting student there. His plays were entertaining, often darkly funny, grounded in a strong sense of narrative, and most of all intensely focused on ethical concerns... in particular the fundamental question of how to be a decent person when faced with untenable choices. It seems appropriate that he would turn his attention to the current Iraq war, which unfortunately provides many ways to explore that question on both a macro and micro scale.

I've only read the excerpt provided online here, but I was very engaged by the story and curious to find out where the war would take these fictional people. I found myself hoping that the character of Ryder finds a way to retain his humanity in a dehumanizing situation. More than that, I hope that Peter's work gets the chance to reach the wider audience it deserves.

I want to read more, to find out where Peter Ullian's deconstruction of situational ethics comes to rest, or if it does at all. Regarding comments about gratuitous sex and violence in Ullian's narrative: first of all, there isn't really any sex. The male characters think about sex constantly, which is what most men do in real life. As for the violence - exploding arms, dead kids - that sort of insanity happens every day in Iraq. It happened every day in Vietnam. I'm sure it's happening all over the world as we speak... and plenty of times there aren't even any American troops involved.

Okay, here's my armchair review:

With incongruous detachment, Ullian depicts an existence where "real" is a trainwreck of people and processes that don't belong together, and "ideal" is a faraway abstraction that propels the world like an invisible puppetmaster. Soldiers allegedly sent to free the Iraqi people from a tyrant train to do so by watching porn and listening to death-metal (apparently, that's typical in reality - during the Gulf War, Slayer was used as a soundtrack for Marine training maneuvers in Saudi Arabia). The only in-depth discussion among the characters is about country music. Cross-cultural understanding? Forget it. Would any of these guys bother to learn Arabic or read about the Five Pillars of Islam? I don't think so. The people they've been told they're freeing are "impassive, inscrutable" (from narrative). In a situation requiring immediate action, the unit leader lets his mind wander into random associations and memories, to the point where the "embedded" female journalist accompanying the unit has to render medical attention to another soldier.

I want to know where Ullian is going with this. The absurdity of existence? The ultimate subjectivity of moral/ethical frameworks? The pointlessness of nationalism? Is there a political agenda? Is the message here that everyone just bad and clueless? I'm curious now.

My first of two beefs with Ullian's prose is that his characters' dialogue is a little too Pynchon-esque: affected overemphasis and a deliberate lack of contractions. My second beef is that the characters' memories are less, well, personal than they could be. If Ullian is trying to convey his views on politics and society through the recollections of characters, and sometimes it's a little stilted.

Overall, I was intrigued and I want to read the rest of it.

Ullian has a talent for balancing the absurd and the tragic, to grimly wry effect. His cast of warriors, juiced on action movies, porn and video games, would seem like some out-there postmodern creation if they weren't so obviously reflective of the America they came from. Instead, the author has created a narrative of soldiers as products of the American culture they have come to spread. Ullian's portrait is ambivalent-- there's no denying the dark edge of his soldiers' sex-and-violence media mikvah in preparation for battle, but the men themselves remain reflective, human and sympathetic.

To Repair the World by P. Ullian opens with an argument of over what qualifies as 'real' country music. This debate introduces two of a host of characters, several with 'classics' names. To have a Ulysses, a Cassandra and Achilles on one mission together screams doom.

The settings, while as realistic as I can imagine them being for never having been in a war zone, fought for validation with the comical nature of the dialog. This wasn't funny ha-ha stuff, but really bordered on forced soudning. It read, in fact, very much like the interplays of Joseph Heller's 'Catch-22'. If the author means to update that story for contemporary times, more than 'insert Iraq detail here' needs to occur. The vibe of 'Catch-22' may be timeless, but it was a commentary and reflection on the times it was produced not just a darkly-humorous accounting of the absurdities of war life.

As I read through the excerpt it felt as if the author was inconsistent with portraying this story as serious or satirized. When I felt it leaning one way, it'd go back the other. This really hit home when Luther's arm was blown off and Curtis struggles with whether to stop the vehicle to tie a tourniquet. Curtis then goes on this drawn out political and moral thought line, while Luther is bleeding out. This was just too awkward given the uncommitted tone to that point.

Overall, though the author clearly is a talented writer, his attempt at putting his own modern stamp on a familiar tale just didn't sit right with me.

This excerpt from "The Silence of Trees" draws the reader into the world of Nadya and keeps you wanting to learn more about what her future will bring. The writing is impeccable and makes you feel as if you are walking right next to her as she travels through the woods to find the gypsy camp.

I can't wait to read the remainder of the novel to see how Nadya's encounter with the voroshka impacts her life and those around her.

...this book to anyone who likes well-written literature. This powerful story would be interesting for readers of any age, upbringing or nationality. Can not wait to read the whole book, those first 14 pages are very impressive. Thank you.

A refreshing story that isn't often told. Great to see a Ukrainian story told from the eyes of a woman about a time that some of us don't know enough about. Will be waiting for the full book!

Just like a dream - I can fully live it myself. Can't wait for the rest....

Thank you!

The subtle beauty of this story pulls the reader in with whispers of magic and fairy tales. We meet our heroine, 16-year-old Nadya, who always has her head in the clouds. She is only vaguely aware of the tension in Ukraine, distant talk of war, and is concerned by more mundane things. Her wish is to steal over to the Gypsy camp and have a "voroshka" tell her fortune. Many of her friends have heard wonderful tales from the fortune teller, but Nadya's mother forbids her to go. Headstrong Nadya decides to go anyway, stealing into the dark night when her family is sleeping. The seduction of the Gypsy camp turns sinister when Nadya meets the voroshka, bruised and bloodied from a brutal encounter with Russian soldiers. The excerpt ends here, but we know there is more sorrow to come.

The writing in this piece is masterful, resonant, and haunting. It has an element of magic that makes it seem like a whimsical fairy tale, but whimsy is soon overcome with the dark words of war and brutality. It's a multi-layered story that drew me in with the powerful writing. Action is not at all lacking in this excerpt - I read eagerly to find out what happened to Nadya. My heart is actually still pounding from Nadya's adventures - if this book was available at Borders, I would be there right now buying it.

Some of the best adventure stories are about pioneers leaving all that's known and embarking on a new life. "Electra Lucas: Crisis in Space" is that kind of story. A massive ship, the HOPE, carries passengers and crew to establish the first off-Earth colony in the Alpha Centauri system. While the colonists and crew are deep in cryo-sleep, an eight-year-old boy wakens and fends for himself on the ship for five years.

When the ship's systems arouse the captain and crew, they follow the boy's trail. There are many questions to be answered: what did the boy smuggle into his sleeping tube and why was his cryo-sleep aborted? Does he have a companion on the ship? What will he be like after five years alone? Will the welfare of the new colony be at risk? Why are the colonists leaving Earth?

This opening from author Keith Zabalaoui reads like the adventure story it clearly is. As in the best sci-fi, the technology is woven seamlessly into the story. The HOPE is a collaboration by forty-three nations and carries everything needed to establish a self-sustaining colony; I was fascinated by the eco-domes, eight complete ecosystems tended by hovering robot-drones. So much more to be learned about this future-world -- I wish I were reviewing the entire book and not just an excerpt.

However intriguing the premise and plot, this opening owes much of its success to Zabalaoui's crisp, allusive writing. All the reader's senses are engaged: "The ship's intercom trilled... " "...the colors, the smell of the loam laced with pine and dampness, and the myriad sounds of life..." Leading the way to the lost boy, "the drones ... floated like glowing breadcrumbs in the sky." The characters are well-rounded for this early stage of the story and I look forward to seeing how they deal with their predicament.

Premise, plot, characters, terrific writing -- and a fifth star because I wanted this story to go on and on.

Linda Bulger, 2008

This exciting, captivating, and intelligently narrated Science Fiction story pulled me right in just within just a few paragraphs.

I loved this story for a lot of reasons; one of them being that the story was scientifically believable. Travel faster then the speed of light, hyper space jumps, travel backwards in time, and similar "Space travel cheating" might be fun if you don't know much about Science, but can be irritating and boring if you do. Zabalaoui displays true imagination and creativity when he comes up with an interstellar space travel concept that is scientifically plausible and still tickles your imagination. This makes it possible to relax so that you can allow yourself to become absorbed in the story.

Zabalaoui describes interstellar space travel as it actually might happen a hundred or a few hundred years from now, and that was one of the reasons this excerpt was so enjoyable. The ship seems to be travelling at a speed of about 30% of light speed which indicates to me that Zabalaoui understands Astro-Physics. In my opinion the best Science Fiction is scientifically plausible. Zabalaoui also succeeds in creating a sense of awe with his entertaining and grandiose descriptions of the ship, the domes, and the systems. I found the descriptions of the gigantic space ship with all its features and controls to be mesmerising and delightful.

The other reasons I loved this story was the clever and intriguing plot which grabbed my attention instantly, and the way Zabalaoui was able to make me strongly empathise with the characters. I simply had to find out what would happen next. Once you start reading this story it is impossible to stop.

***************************SPOILER ALERT***************************
**However, the plot details divulged below are already mentioned in other reviews**

The story begins with a frightening drama when an eight year old boy awakens prematurely while in cryogenic sleep and ends up wandering the space ship totally alone for five years. Eventually the systems awaken the senior officers when an alarm is set off. They soon discover that the young boy has been alone on the ship for five years, but they don't know where he is. They begin searching for him and awaken his parents. As a parent myself, I could imagine the tremendous helplessness and worries that the parents must have experienced when they realized that their boy has had to survive on his own for five years without any contact with other humans. What has happened to their little boy and where is he?

When this story is finally published I am going to be among the first customers.

A great beginning that promises an adventurous trip. This is the type of story that would appeal to my grandchildren as much a it did to me. I would hope that it continues the line of adult/child understanding, and close relationship, as Keith implies, and am anxious to know where and what the story will reveal.

Imagine a space ship built specifically for colonization on another planet, one that could be taken apart in space and reconstructed on the planet below. A space ship so large people move about on trams, with almost all species of insects and animals from Earth on board. And people who can take on animal characteristics, such as a man with zebra stripes and fur. Where people are put to sleep in cryotubes for the duration of the trip. But what if there's an intruder on board for five years, roaming the space ship while the other human inhabitants sleep? What would happen to this lone person? How would they survive?

This is absolutely one of the best Amazon Shorts I've read to date. Zabalaoui creates his futuristic world in such a realistic fashion it is easy to imagine becoming part of it. His visual imagery and colorful descriptives enhance this thrilling plot, which leaves the reader hungry for more. Highly recommended.

Earth is taking its first steps into deep space. The Hope, the most advanced ship ever built but still called The Forlorn Hope by some pessimistic wags back on earth, is carrying Earth's first interstellar pioneers to Alpha Centauri. The scientists and their families on board, as yet deep in a cryogenically induced suspended animation, are on a one way no return trip to establish earth's first colony outside of our own solar system. As the basis for a sci-fi novel it's a simple enough idea - a cynical potential reader might even say mundane and too often repeated. But Zabaloui has opened his story with an exciting flourish that will grip a reader by the lapels and haul him head first into a superbly written and entirely gripping hard sci-fi introduction. One of the cryogenic sleep tubes has failed and young William Bonnie, only 8 years old when he entered cold sleep, awakens and finds himself alone on the ship. Five years later, the computerized systems awaken the Hope's senior officers who are shocked to discover that an eight year old boy has been wandering the ship alone for five years. The excerpt ends as Bonnie's frightened but absolutely determined mother attempts to find the boy who, now thirteen years old and possibly mentally unbalanced as a result of his long time alone on the ship, may not even recognize his family.

First time author Zabaloui seems to have already mastered the basic writing dictum of "Show, don't tell". His descriptions of the ship, the mechanical failure, the bio-domes and the environmental controls are wonderful and are bound to delight any hardcore sci-fi geek to his very toes. I was especially fond of Zabaloui's unique idea of genetically enhancing the members of an elite military unit called "The Wild Ones" - an increase in their speed, endurance, perception and toughness was engineered by the addition of certain animal genes which also, of course, altered their appearance in rather startling fashion (I could already picture what a movie director and his special effects team might do with this. It brought back very happy memories from a time long, long ago and a place far, far away. Do you remember the bar scene in the first "Star Wars" movie?)

If the purpose of an opening chapter in a novel is to hook the reader, draw him into the story and provide an overall framework for the story to come, Zabaloui has certainly succeeded. No doubt about his writing skill - he's already proven that. Now if his imagination is up to the task of providing a novel length plot that is up to the standard of the opening chapters, then Zabaloui will have a winner on his hands. I'm in and I'll certainly be in the line to buy a copy of the finished story when he's found his publisher.

Highly recommended.

(P.S. I'm just dying to ask Mr Zabaloui if the similarity in his young hero's name to the original name of Billy the Kid was intentional).

Paul Weiss

I was in love with Katia Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov from the moment I first saw them skating together. Their classic routines were perfect enough to win many world championships including a 1988 Olympic gold medal in Calgary Canada.

Romance eventually blossomed and the beautifully matched pair were married in April of 1991. Their daughter, Daria Sergeyevna Grinkova, was born in my favorite Morristown NJ a little over a year later.

Reading Katia's memories of their life and love still brings tears to my eyes.

I recommend this book for its portrait of pure innocence enframed in the magical world of ice skating.

What a wonderful story this was. I love to watch skating and have not missed watching an Olympics since I was a kid. I am familiar with a lot of the skaters mentioned in this book. I thought this story was so touching and full of emotion. Katia considers her life with Sergei almost too perfect. They were so in love and their life together was indeed a fairy tale. I commend Katia for being able to pick herself and go on with her life no matter how difficult after Sergei's unexpected death in 1995. I thought the comparison between Russian and American customs was very interesting. This was an enjoyable and heartwarming read.

I remember watching this pair when they were competing. I wasn't an ice dancing fan, but they were so incredible to watch, I started watching any competition they were in. When Sergei died, I was devastated for Ekaterina. When her book came out, I read it, and cried all the way through. But really, it isn't a sad ending. I find it to be very inspirational to see how Ekaterina faced the worst that could happen, and came out on the other side with a wonderful attitude and will to go on. It is now 12 years later, and this book STILL makes me cry, and still inspires me.

I read this book lastyear in the Hardcover edition and I cried. It is such a moving, loving, tragic, and heartwarming story full of love that a young widow had for her husband and skating partner and the child Daria that they had together. It told of their skating years, marriage, how they met, and came to america along with the tragic death of her young husband Sergei. I couldn't put this book down. A great story that you will love. Well written.

I'm really glad I found this book at a library book sale last year. Though this story is no longer current news, I hadn't forgotten about the tragic death of Sergey Grinkov or watching him perform with his wife Katya in the 1994 Winter Olympics. And even though the world has long since moved onto other headlines and stories of interest in the figure skating world, the love story told in this book is truly timeless. As a Russophile and a historian whose field of expertise is Russian history, it was a double joy to read because of all of the descriptions of Russian culture, the differences between Russian and American customs, and what life was like in the late Soviet period and the early post-Soviet period. (Although I have to say that the transliteration style wasn't completely pleasing to me; for example, I don't think I've ever read any other book where a double O is used in place of the letter U, as in Ligooshina or Katoosha, and I'm still trying to figure out how the nicknames Serioque and Katuuh are supposed to be written in Russian characters.)

Though the book begins and ends sadly, in between there's a lot of happiness and love, making this into a beautiful heartfelt love letter to a wonderful person, skating partner, friend, lover, husband, and father. The love between Katya and Seryozha is so pure and genuine, nothing like the type of superficial and problem-plagued celebrity relationships we're used to hearing about. It even made me a little jealous of their storybook love story! All throughout, Katya is very honest and open, about their relationship, the world of young skaters in the Soviet Union, what goes on behind the scenes at the Olympics, the hectic life on the road of skaters, and how difficult it was to constantly have to leave their daughter Darya behind while they skated. While I'm sure there are some things she chose not to write about, overall a very detailed and honest life and love story emerges. She was so lucky to have this wonderful man, who was so much more than just an athletic partner, for (what was then) half of her life.

Because the love story is so beautiful and like a dream come true, the reader can really feel her deep grief and sorrow expressed at the beginning and end of the book. It's a terrible thing to lose the love of your life, the father of your child, the only person you've ever skated with for the past 13 years, when you're only 24 years old. This beautiful love story isn't diminished for me by knowing that Katya has since moved on with her life and found love again. She had a child with Ilya Kulik six years after Sergey died, and married him a year later; it's not like she jumped into his bed soon after this book was published! (And since Kulik is six years younger, he would have been a bit too young for her then anyway.) When you're widowed at such a young age, you should hardly be expected to be in mourning forever, and it may help the more current reader to not feel quite so sad at the end, knowing that this intense pain and sorrow isn't such an overpowering force in Katya's life anymore. And new husband or not, there's no denying that her first husband, her first love, was indeed the greatest love of her life.

I loved this book. It was the fist Shannon Hale that I read and I have since read many more. I also read part two Enna Burning and I am working on part three, River secrects. This is a must read. She is a wonderful author.

I love this book. Read it twice, finally own it. It is a YA book that actually teaches values. You can't go wrong with it or any other Shannon Hale book!

I'm a thirty something mom and I thoroughly enjoyed this book! What a great read. If you're looking for a happy distraction- this is it!

Shannon Hale struck gold with this book. It had a great story line and great characters. I literally couldn't put it down. It had plenty of fantasy as well as genuine characters whose problems you can relate to.

The Goose Girl is an amazing novel, maybe even the best I've ever read. It is not at all like a normal fairy tale where the beautiful princess sits and waits for her handsome prince charming to rescue her, she succeeds because she has skin white as snow and lips red as blood, or her fairy godmother appears, shoves her in a pumpkin, and sends to the ball. The novel is great because Ani learns how to save herself, look her fears straight in the eye, and not run.

Some books are like the best of cats, they end up in your lap whenever you have a spare moment; they seek your company even as you desire theirs. Stealing Karma will be that book that one gives to a dozen friends - and they will all be grateful for it. Amazing.

Aneesha Capur's novel, Stealing Karma, is a story brimming with characters and situations that feel fresh, unexplored, and compelling. The dynamics here may mirror others in contemporary fiction concerned with domestic complexities, however, Stealing Karma spins them on their head and uses the cultural milieu to show us human interaction as we have never seen it before. I want to be here, in this world, and get to know its characters and how they will ultimately resolve the issues they face. The writing is clear, lyrical, steeped in place and feeling, and makes you thirst for more. Capur offers a delightful antidote to the kinds of fiction we have seen so much of in the past few years. This is a book that many readers of all backgrounds will be sure to find satisfying.

A pity that one can only read a few pages of what promises to be a most interesting story! Capur catches the reader's imagination and holds it with tantalizing imagery and dialogue, moving the plot forward, leaving one wanting for more. What happens to Mira? How does she cope? I look forward to reading the novel in its entirety.

In a world where so many of us have been driven by a sense of adventure or desperation or opportunity to seek our fortunes abroad, Stealing Karma weaves the story of the expatriate into the life of Mira who loses nearly all connection to India after she leaves for Africa. Mira is suddenly widowed and the precariousness of her adopted world, her erstwhile world of choice, is stark. In her excerpt, Aneesha Capur skillfully sets the plot for the reader: karma will transform the comfortable, even opulent, lives of Mira and her young child. But Mira now belongs to neither the world she left nor the world that has left her.......

After reading the manuscript review by Publishers Weekly provided in the Editorial Reviews concerning the novel `Stealing Karma' by Aneesha Capur I couldn't wait to read the nine pages submitted to Amazon's ABNA contest. Here is a book containing a plethora of subject matter near and dear to my heart; prophetic dreams, Hindu deities, astrological omens, African tribal beliefs and Jungian psychology and reincarnation. It was almost too much to ask for.

With such high hopes in place I must admit that I was extremely disappointed after reading the excerpt. Not because the writing is bad or the story uninteresting. To the contrary, both writing and storyline are excellent. The disappointment experienced was due to the discovery that none of those tantalizing spiritual/occult matters already mentioned were included within the available nine pages.

Moving beyond my initial dismay, I did enjoy this excerpt and look forward to reading the novel at some later date. The characters are well developed and I found Mira an intriguing, beautiful and incredibly sympathetic figure. To create such an alluring and complex character in a short nine pages is a credit to the author and makes the reader hungry for more pages to explore.

So B. It is such a creative story. Telling the story of a girl and her dysfunctional mother, this is the kind of story that makes even the strongest eyes weep like you've just stuck them in a vat of the strongest onion juice.
Okay, that was lame. But, 'So B. It' is an amazing novel, especially to read to classrooms of YA readers. Even some guys I know have read the book and liked it!
'So B. It' is an exceptional book and I would recommend it to anyone. It's a short, quick read, and is definitely worth your time.

My twelve-year-old daughter loved this book and nagged me for months to read it. I wasn't expecting it to be so compelling and rewarding. Sarah Weeks has a great ear and heart, and her characters are eccentric and vividly drawn. I highly recommend this book for teens and their parents.

I enjoyed this book very much! It's a little different. I agree with Amazon on the age range, sort of. I'm not sure about nine year olds but maybe 5th through 7th grade?

I like this book because it is like a mystery because she wants to know her mom but she is living with a girl that they lived next door to. Will she saw pitchers of her mom and was disarmed to find out were she was at. She found out were she was and wanted to see her so she razed money she got a bus ticket and went to were her mom was and could not finder for a long time and then one day she figured out how it was. And then her mom died.
So I thank you should read this book If you like mysteries. It is the best book in the world!!!

So be it is a amazing fiction book that i know you should read. The best thing about this book is it controls your feelings. For example Heidi has a disabled mother. Heidi loves to play slot machines. Therefore, since this story takes place in Nevada Heidi tried a slot machine.
But then Heidi won money from the slot machine. She also wanted to find the meaning of soof and she did by communicating with Bernadette on the phone. She was also trying to find out about her past and she used to ride the bus to where her mother used to go.

This is a very wonderful version of the classic story by Margery Williams. The illustrations by David Jorgensen make the book especially inviting and personal. It is the only version we would ever buy for gifts.
Thank you,
Nancy Martin

I read this book years ago at the home of a child for whom I was babysitting. Recently I remembered it and read it to my 9 year old granddaughter and my 7 year old grandson, and we all enjoyed it very much. Its message spans the generations.

I was very happy with the book. Although it was small it was a wonderful addition. I ordered for friends as well.

This is my favorite childhood book EVER! I have it stashed in my bookcase and when ever I feel nastalgic or sentimental I open up its worn pages and let the happiness seep through me. The truth and pureness in this children's novel will bring tears to your eyes. Read this book to your children and you will get constant: "Oh, what happens next?" and/or "Don't stop reading NOW, I have to know the next part!" I love this book, it will warm your heart and the illustrations are sweet, too. Thank you mom for reading this book to me, it was a real experience. :)

"The Velveteen Rabbit" is a parable, a story about that refining fire: redemptive love. The Velveteen Rabbit gave himself in love to the little boy. In return, the little boy loved the rabbit completely. This love caused the rabbit to begin to look around and question what was real. In questioning what was real, the rabbit ultimately believes himself real and wishes himself real. Once real, he achieves a new life and he revisits the little boy in his new form. Despite this new form, a quiet act of recognition passes between the little boy and the rabbit. By the conclusion of the story, the reader is led to believe that the rabbit will continue to watch over the little boy protectively and love him as the little boy continues to grow.

First published in 1922, this was Margery Williams (Bianco)'s first children's book. Spanning a career of nearly 40 years, "The Velveteen Rabbit" was the most successful of her approximately 25 works. The dedication, "To Francesco Bianco from The Velveteen Rabbit" is addressed to Margery's husband. Margery collaborated with artist and illustrator, William Nicholson (Sir William Nicholson (1872-1949)), who was better known as a portrait painter in his later career, but was also known for the woodcuts and poster work he produced in partnership with his brother-in-law, James Pryde.

The illustrations were executed in pen and ink with watercolor wash and, for the most part, appear as full page illustrations, or in some cases, a two page spread. The illustrations of the rabbit, standing very tall and inert, with his paws stuck out straight in front of him, are very touching evoking feelings of sympathy for the rabbit just on sight. The use of strong light and contrasting shadow is also very convincing in conveying a feeling of melancholy and, in some spots, unreality. My favorite part of the book is when the rabbit sheds a real tear and at the instant the tear touches the ground, a mysterious flower begins to grow. That, too, is conveyed so well by way of illustration. This is a very lovely story well illustrated.

What a wonderful title and an intriguing excerpt. I await the completed book to finally find out what happens. Ms Coulter's previous books never disappointed and I'm sure this newest one will be no exception. Please publish it soon. I look forward to a pleasant, relaxing day of reading Precarious.

I am moved by what I've read so far. I am already invested in this young man, and I want to know more, to know how the story progresses and ends.

In her opening words Ms. Coulter presents the reader with a blend of fact, remembrance, and family lore that form the memory of Marcus her protagonist. "He didn't know exactly where he was born. But he's been told..." Ms. Coulter does not tell us what is true and what is not, leaving her reader to reflect on the blurring of the past that confuses and confounds the universal human experience of searching for the truth of one's own life to understand it and perhaps gain some larger knowledge.

Ms. Coulter's prose is sparing. Cliantha, Marcus's mother, wears "a smart houndstooth suit...each piece $11.98 at the twelve-dollar store." This sharp recollection, as though retrieved from a dream, is telling. Like other descriptions it is brief and neat; the reader, however, sees it perfectly and feels that he is there.

The movement, at the end of the chapter, to the voice of the attorney is intriguing. The reader is left eager to continue, to turn the page, and follow the life of young Marcus now perhaps in some difficulty.

Precarious by H. Coulter introduces the story of Marcus and Eliza, first by bringing the reader up to date with Marcus.

Abandoned at birth, found by a stranger, then reclaimed by his mother, Marcus is set up for a life of uncertainty from minutes old. His path over the next few years is tied in with his child-like mother who's fantasy of a better existence for them isn't met with reality. By the time Marcus is nine-years-old he is in the 'system' surrounded by temporary siblings, care-takers, and case workers. His secret hope is that his mom is finally coming to get him (now that she's broken up with her latest boyfriend), but for the reader with any knowledge of those who end up in the foster system for a long term, they are often in for the long haul.

All of this early tale is told to us by Eliza Couvillion, we come to realize, as the excerpt wraps up with her brief introduction.

The characters presented are sympathetic and evoke sentiments of concern and pity. As the reader, I began to share in Marcus's cling to hope--hope that his life will at least improve with a twist of fate.

The writing is engaging and the story well paced. While it isn't necessarily the type of tale that would jump out at me to read, once I got going, I was interested in seeing how it played out.

Hope Coulter's excerpt, Precarious, is a rich and vivid beginning to what is no doubt an exceptional novel: with such a strong opening - an invitation to continue - how could it not be so. The images painted in these first few pages are captivating: the red plastic shopping cart at Target, "Swiggins" wig askew, the trip to the grocery store to browse for a meal when there wasn't enough money to buy one.... These are images I can see as if they'd happened in my own life, with depth and clarity, and in three dimensions.

But the sensory delights don't stop there: like a tune you find yourself humming as you drive down the road, I've got the sounds of Precarious speaking to me, reminding me there's lots more to read. The songs of Cliantha, with the percussion of her shoes as accompaniment, the cars speeding down the 'short' street, then what I know is a high-pitched, annoyed, jerky sound of reverse gears of impatient drivers foiled in a short-cut, the toilet that runs when you don't jiggle the handle.... I know these sounds, and they draw me further into the story. The voices are clear and right on target, "honey I look good," and the kids talking about the 'retard' bus, and the way the kids in the foster house talk to each other about waiting for the phone. The language is superb - I can hear this book and all its characters.

The smells and feelings Hope Coulter evokes are further evidence of a gifted southern storyteller in the finest tradition. Cliantha's perfume 'unspooling' through the rooms, the smell of coffee dripping in the morning, and the pangs of hunger Marcus struggles to cope with are deftly and delicately described.

So many images that keep popping up in my mind, making me wonder if I've forgotten something, only to realize that I've forgotten to read the rest of the novel. The tones of the voice of a familiar and rich storyteller call the reader back for more. Ms. Coulter's skill as a writer puts her readers at ease that she will spin this yarn in the finest fashion. And like the smell of coffee dripping in the morning awakens my appetite for a steaming cup and the day before me, my senses are stirred by Hope Coulter's delicious excerpt. I need answers to so many questions this taste provides. I very much hope this novel will be published soon.