Maine Books

The book was sent to me way before the expected time and I really appreciated that.

This was on my son's wish list for X-mas. He was very happy when he recieved it!Thanks.

...If you have one good friend you're luckier."

I loved most of this book. There are a lot of quotes i can relate to and a lot of the emotions the characters go through i have gone through myself. SE Hinton is my absolute favorite young adult writer of all time. Its not quite as good as The Outsiders but i don't think any book could have topped that. I enjoyed reading the book and it gives you a new perspective on things.

My only problem with it (the reason i didn't give it 5 stars) was i didn't understand the ending. I have a vague idea but i don't know why Bryan did what he did.

I think it's a good short read obviously for young adults, but really for anyone who likes a good story.

The main character in my story is a 16 year old boy named Bryon. The other main character in the story is 15 year old boy named Mark but there are other character such as M&M and Cathy. The setting takes place in the 70's. Mark's parents are dead they killed each other. Bryon dad left him and only his mom takes care of him and Mark. Bryon's mom has a thing for taking in strays but she dose not mind. The problem later on in the story is that Cathy's brother goes missing and their best friend gets shot and to top it off Byron mom dose not have enough money to pay her hospital medical bill. Later on Byron gets a job at the grocer y store to help and Mark dose something but he brings home to much money for one night. Later on they found M&M and he took a drug that mad him crazy. Towards the end of the story Byron found out that Mark was selling the same kind of drug that M&M took, and he called the police they took away Mark and the last words he uttered to Mark was `why you doing this to me buddy'.

That Was Then This Is Now

Bryon is a strong, 16 year old teenager in the book That Was Then This Is Now by S.E. Hinton. Bryon has a very special talent which is hustling people in pool. He has been doing this since he was 12 years old. Bryon lives with his mom in a little town in Oklahoma. His best friend Mark is living with him.
There's a reason why Mark is living with him. That reason is that his parents died when he was nine. Mark's parents were drunk and they were arguing that night. His dad got mad at his mom. Then his dad shot his mom and she fell to the ground. Then his mom shot his dad back. They both bled to death. Then Mark went to live with Byron and his mom.
Byron and Mark have been friends since they were very young. They grew up together in the same little town. Byron says there like brothers. Byron is big, tall, and strong. Mark is short and strong. They like to get in fights a lot. Mark hot wires cars to get around town. He has done that since he was twelve.
But they also have a problem. As they grow up they are growing apart from each other. Bryon starts going out with Cathy. Mark starts to get jealous of Cathy because Bryon is spending more time with Cathy. Then Mark starts acting a little weird and Byron notices it. He starts to look a little different. Then his attitude was changing about everything. He starts to talk back to Bryon and he has never done that before. Then Byron figures out why he is acting strange. Mark has a big secret. But you have to read the book to find out what it is.
If you like books about love, growing up, and a little action then this book is for you. This book is very interesting. I think it was very interesting when they protect their friend M&M from the guys who jumped him. I think the author wrote this book so kids won't get in gangs. They won't get a bad life or future. If you read the back it makes you want to read it. I wanted to know what kept them apart so I read the book at home for an hour each day until I got to the end. I was amazed by the ending. The book has 159 pages in all. Its reading level is 4.6.

This book reads like one of those cheesy disaster movies (such as The Posiedon Adventure or The Towering Inferno). We get introduced to dozens of cardboard characters in the slow-paced first half of the book. A few characters become three-dimensional only by folding the cardboard a bit. We hear hints of a curse (yawn). The local fanatical preacher hates the idea of digging for pirate gold, but no one keeps an eye on him or beefs up security (when we know he will encourage or commit sabotage). A mass pirate grave is uncovered, and the main character (Dr. Hatch, an infectious disease expert) cannot figure out that they probably died of a contagious illness.

This book has no substance. Even skimming over some paragraphs I find it too slow-paced to tolerate. I cannot understand the dozens of five-star reviews. Are these commenters such fans of Preston and Child that they post rave reviews for every book?

High-school level writing, OK mystery, amateurish character development, fun action. It was alright, that's it.

Love these authors together, always a great little read that will keep you going back for more. Still have to say the Pendergast novels are the very best...so more of them if you please! You'll enjoy it...take it to the beach or on an airplane...you won't be bored.

It was a great premise. Good characters and an easy to read style that kept me turning the pages. However, I kept waiting for the book to really start. I was expecting something spectacular to come with the turn of the next page. As the amount of pages left began to dwindle it became apparent that it would never come. There was a twist to the story. One in which I saw coming well before it was revealed.

After reading The Relic and Brimstone (both books by Preston and Child and with the fictionilized character Pendergast) I decided to read something different. Believe me, this is probably one of the best books I have ever read. A true adventure. You will not be able to put it down until you have finished reading.

This is one of the best performances of A Christmas Carol I've ever heard....highly recommended.

Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, forever old as well as new, arrived in a timely manner and in factory new condition. Thank you. I give you a five star rating.
Earl Woodham

Cute book to add to my table of Christmas Stories. Will make a cute addition this Christmas.

I ordered 30 copies of this Dover Thrift Edition of A Christmas Carol and used them as stocking stuffers at work.

This is a great item for the price, lower than some greeting cards, and I suspect appreciated a tad more than the usual overflow of candy around at holiday time!

Everyone has their favorite version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Make this dramatic retelling yours. At about 2 hours, its perfect for listening in the car while running around during the holidays or on your MP3 player while putting up Christmas lights. I plan on listening to it every year from now on. Patrick Stewart gives voice to every character, including the narration, and gives the kind of performance which I have come to expect from an actor of his immense talents.

Stephen King does not disappoint in this audio cd BUT, the narrator really sucks. She is the sheriffs wife (sorry cant think of her name and I already got rid of the cd's) her voice is annoying after about 30 minutes. I have both the book and the movie but could not take the narration in the cds. I was really disappointed. Granted I am spoiled because Frank Muller really is the only narrator that was ever really able to bring out the creepy-ness of King's stories. I would have preferred they try to get a narrator that does not sound like a they are 1,0000 years old and a deeper pitch to their voice.

With books like this one from King , you do much better reading the thoughts in the minds of the characters. This one will keep you up at night reading. Another one that i loved. I highly suggest this one.

This is a story about two deaths. Dolores Claiborne is the housekeeper for a wealthy lady, and the police are investigating her death.

There is the killing of a husband in the past, and the police suspect Dolores of causing this death, as well. The novel then goes into the backstory of the relationship between the two women, and what is really going on.

Since I have never actually read a Stephen King book, I figured I should pick one up just to see what he's all about. I spent some time trying to figure out which one to take on - one of the real classics, perhaps, or something more unknown? In the end my wife suggested I read this one, given my criteria of "a minimum of supernatural stuff please".

I was impressed - it was really good! The book is told entirely first person and is the account of the woman (Dolores Claiborne) as told to two police officers about her involvement with a murder. The thing I really enjoyed about this book was the real humanity in it. Dolores' character is right on - she has great voice and depth, and is highly believable from beginning to end. You can see how all the events of her life came together to shape the character who is telling the story. I guess people call Stephen King a Master of Suspense for good reason - who would have thought that going to the bank could invite such tension?

My favorite parts, though, were the sad reflective bits that made Dolores really seem alive. All the characters, really, were how I thought they should be. Her family members were well developed, and the bit players still had their quirks that made them a little more interesting.

One thing that I think King tried to capture, but could have done better (or did I just miss it?) was the setting. I would expect the quirks of living on an island to be much more prominent, but it didn't seem like he was able to get much more specific than just a small-town atmosphere. Every so often he'd mention something to remind you that this place wasn't actually attached to the mainland, but it didn't seem enough.

Thankfully for me there wasn't a whole lot of supernatural stuff. Some, yes, but from what I understand it was to set up a connection to another book. It didn't detract, although without much intention of reading the other book, it also didn't add much : )

The only other problem I ran across was in the written dialect. It took a couple pages to get used to, and after that it flowed well, but there were some places where it wasn't consistent and that bugged me (e.g. referring to a truck as a "pickup truck" half the time and a "pick-em-up truck" the other half). And the New England expressions were fun and all, but I felt some parts could have benefited from a more serious tone.

All in all - great read, and from what I hear pretty different than his usual. I'd recommend it.

Dolores Claiborne is an unusual novel. The story is told by Dolores herself from start to finish as she tells police about a murder she committed and one she did not. Even when the police speak to her, the reader only sees Dolores's response. For nearly 400 pages, we hear one voice in one long chapter. We follow her life primarily through her troubled family life and job as a housekeeper for a stern woman named Vera Donovan. Dolores has been accused of murdering Vera and to help convince the police she didn't do it, she confesses to murdering her husband years earlier. She gives a candid account of a fairly miserable life leading up to the day of Vera's death.

This book obviously represented an experiment for Stephen King. No chapters, no voice but that of Dolores, all of it told as a flashback, etc. By all rights it shouldn't work, and the thick Maine accent of the narrator should have been the final ingredient in a recipe for disaster. Yet, somehow, it does work and works well. Dolores is a tough, salty, old woman but she has her good points. She's a tireless worker, fair-minded, and she tries to be a good mother and wife. Unfortunately, her husband is far too wretched a specimen to allow her marriage to work and her boss begins to lose her grip on sanity, which exaggerates her already harsh attitude.

Dolores Claiborne is not a horror novel so much as a character study. I used to think that was unusual for a King novel, but I'm starting to realize that he actually doesn't write nearly as many pure terror novels as his reputation would indicate. Still, it is suspenseful in parts and you quickly come to care about the characters and what happens to them. I would recommend the book whether you're a long time fan of the author or just looking for something different to read.

Awesome, awesome murder mystery. I could not put the book down. The shockers keep coming at you and the ending is completely unpredictable. Very well written. Very intelligent mystery. Read this!

This book is a must-read for everyone who has tired of the formula "thrillers." The conclusion is a total surprise, even to those of us who paid attention and usually can guess the end. The character development was reasonably thorough and the plot progression was filled with unexpected twists and turns. The complexity of the relationships added credence to the conclusion. This is a book that will haunt its readers for awhile. Alice Blanchard has a unique gift that leaves her readers wanting more.

This is one of the finest debuts I've ever read. Blanchard's voice is crystal clear and powerful. The book seems to come from a genuine knowledge of the circumstances. Complex characters and situations that arrive on the page from depth of experience. I am often left so cold by these banal, calculated police procedurals; they are so dull. Not this one. There's a beating heart at the core of this wonderful book. Do yourself a favor; read Darkness Peering by Alice Blanchard. It's a sure thing.

Blanchard's "Darkness Peering" is one of the single best debut thrillers I've ever read. It's original, powerful and utterly brilliant, with that raw energy of a writer discovering their talent right in front of our eyes. Great book.

This was an awesome read. Constant suspense. Characters were all believable. The author led you to believe that there were several possibilities of who the killer was. I did not even suspect the actual culprit. Well done in keeping the reader guessing and then surprising them at the end. I would definitely recommend this one.

This is a simple book of a Little Sal, and Little Sal's mother, and Little Bear, and Little Bear's mother, who get mixed up with each other on Blueberry Hill.

It's very realistically written and illustrated, and the exciting part isn't too scary for little ones.

I will note that it's a bit long - maybe better for kids with longer attention spans than shorter ones. If they're as young as Little Sal is, it might be better to wait a year before reading :)

I don't understand the positive reviews here or the caldecott award. The sketchings are artistically done, true, but in a way an adult can appreciate intellectually; they don't really evoke emotion. The story is a yawner.

I loved this book as a child so I got it for my
grandchildren. They aren't as impressed with
the pictures from 1950 as I was, but still is
a good story.

sweet book for little kids. It is an excellent book to read aloud to your children and grandchildren. It is about a girl out picking berries for her mom and it shows a baby bear doing the same for his mom.

She has hundreds of books and everytime I visit she would ask me to read her this book. She loves the illustrations... especially the seal!

At its foundation, HERE IF YOU NEED ME asks the timeless question: Why? Why does God stand by indifferently while bad things happen to good people? Kate Braestrup brings the abstract musings to concrete reality as she chronicles her sometimes unenviable tasks as a chaplain to the Maine Warden Service. Is there any sense to the deaths she witnesses (after the fact) in the Maine woods, lakes, ponds, and streams? People from Maine are affectionately called "Mainiacs," but Braestrup defends the very God many others question in this book. That defense, along with the mix of upbeat and heartrending real-life stories she shares, make the book worth a trip upstream.

Braestrup doesn't kid herself. By the end of the book, she admits to many paradoxes, including her own. Only through the tragedy of losing her own husband, a state trooper with a dream of becoming a minister, does she herself follow that path and become a chaplain with the Warden Service (a vocation she comes to love). If nothing else, Life -- some might say God -- is ironic. Still, Braestrup would insist, He is love as well.

Perhaps less successful is her blending of abstract, theological questions with rather frank descriptions of the body human (both alive and dead). But there are those who would argue, with some degree of truth, that this is exactly her point -- humans make a fetish of the body at the expense of the soul. Her mission, then, is to bring the corporeal down to size. The trouble? If that sort of thing bothers you, the going may get rough despite all the philosophical smelling salts along the way.

Overall, a worthy effort. Fine writing and an honest voice overcome the sometimes disconcerting jumps of this episodic memoir to create a work that should please both fans of religion and fans of the outdoors. Recommended.

the author tries to approach her subject with interest, but alas it is only hers, a disappointing read.

Kate Braestrup decided to become an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, after her husband suddenly died in a car accident. With humor, she portrays herself as "The Plucky Widow," as she completes her seminary training and accepts the position of chaplain to the Maine Warden Service. She is chaplain to game wardens, not prison wardens. Her role is assisting victims and families during search and rescue missions in Maine. She relates detailed stories of these missions, and the varying spiritual needs of families, game wardens, police officers and search victims. There are tales of lost children and found children, bereaved families and families that curse the newly dead. With vivid detail, empathy, and occasional wit, she examines loss, tragedy, hope and meaning especially through difficult times. Her stories are powerful testimony to ordinary people giving and receiving love during times of loss and tragedy.

I first read the excerpts from this book in Oprah magazine, and when I saw the book on the shelf I had to buy it. What a lovely, warm, compassionate person. She wrote about a lot of issues that I struggle with, and I felt better almost immediately after I read her thoughts and philosophy. What a lovely little book.

Well written. Prose was warm, welcoming, open... like a chaplain. The author strikes me as thoughtful, introspective - a seeker. I liked her voice, her sensibility, her intelligence, her pragmatism, her joy and her sense of humor. Being a widower myself, I was especially interested in her book - though I rarely read spiritual (i.e. inspirational) stories. And I learned a few things. For example, I never considered the discrimination chaplains endure (regarded as part cop, part clown) or the intangible authority they posses (collar, prayer). But though sometimes engaging, the book left me flat. Sense the author intended to write about a spiritual quest, yet her story read more like a sermon (complete with parables featuring Samaritans and villains, triumphs and tragedies, morals and psalms). And like most sermons, there was insight - even wisdom - but no soul searching, no epiphany. In short, the author did not get personal. I was left feeling I did not really know anyone - not her family, friends, old husband, new husband, or even the game wardens. She mentions, but does not explore, why so many of her fellow students in seminary school had just suffered personal loss like her. Nor does she explore how or when she decided to start dating... the awkwardness of being a middle-aged mother & widow looking for a partner, sleeping with another man, and having to tell her kids about her new friend -- excruciating moments for most single parents. Finally it would have been interesting to delve deeper into the paradox of her new life. The author freely admits she would not be a chaplain if not for her husband's death. What if going back in time and saving her husband's life meant she would must go back to her old life and remain a full-time mom (no seminary, no new friends, no new relationships, no new husband) - would she give it all up? Or what if her husband suffered a coma (instead of death), then made a full recovery and insisted she go back to being a full-time Mom? Or what if the future was revealed and the author secretly learned her job would lead to an early death (e.g. accident)? Would she condemn her kids to face yet another tragedy? Or would she opt for a safer (and less fulfilling) job? I suspect the author would remain a chaplain in all of these scenarios. Is that righteous? Or selfish? What does that say her? And all of us?

Don't get me wrong, it's a decent book. But it could have been much more. The author quips she likes being a chaplain since it allows her to be interested in her ministry, but not invested. That's how she seems to have approached her book. She's interesting... but not invested.

Today I am in a very happy and abusefree relationship, but between 1975 and 1997 I was in several abusive marriages/relationships and know out of my own experience how hard it is to get out and to overcome the fear to spend the rest of your life alone (and in relative poverty) in the worst case.
So when I discovered "Eden Close", my first Anita Shreve book, I enjoyed reading it and was very touched by the story at the same time.

Then her second novel was translated into German and I bought "Strange Fits of Passion" and read it over and over again, once a year. Fortunately more books on that topic came out (Nancy Baker Jacobs, Joy Fielding etc) and in 1996 I was so inspired that I wrote my own rather autobiographical book which is at the same time a romance novel with lots of fiction, humor and suspense, too.

Reading all these books and finally writing my own book helped me to get the courage to leave Mr. Wrong and to start a better life.

For all these reasons I became a big Anita Shreve fan reading all her books (in German) and I still order them once a year at amazon.de although I moved to the US a few years ago. Her prose, her unique writing style is so beautiful that I don't want to miss any word and rather read the (very excellent) German translations.

However I never found her later books as compelling as the first three (Eden Close, Strange Fits of Passion, Where and When) which might have something to do with the fact that they are pretty much variations of the same theme (young girl/woman lives on Rye Beach in NH at the turn of the last century and meets a man that her parents don't accept etc).

I enjoyed "The Pilot's Wife", because it was taking place in the present time, not in the past, but after "Pilot's Wife" I was hoping and waiting for another novel as fascinating and breath-taking as "Eden Close" or "Strange Fits of Passion", but they are all turn of the Century Rye Beach novels set in the same house on the beach in New Hampshire. It's nice in the beginning, but gets repetitious now.

So I do hope that Anita Shreve will read my suggestion to write in-between all her Rye Beach books another novel as compelling as "Strange Fits" or "Eden Close" again.

BTW I know the Maine coast, because I lived in Maine for a few years and I recognized Jonesport most likely being Shreve's inspiration for St. Hilaire in "Strange Fits". And on the way to Jonesport right on the beach there is a house very similar to Maureen's rented house in the novel...

Strange Fits of Passion is my second Anita Shreve read. I bought it simply because she wrote it and then realized it was about an abusive husband and a battered wife that flees with his child....After I realized that I was not too thrilled... I'm not too keen on that sort of plot.... I have to admit though it was much better than I expected - simply because of her descriptions. Shreve is a talented descriptive writer and her prose draws you in. Each chapter of the book is an interview of sorts of the characters in the story which is performed by a reporter that covered the story after it took place. This format kept me interested and the reader gets to see the story in the light of each character's opinion. I did enjoy this book, but it was one of those that after you finished reading it you are like....o.k. it's over lets start reading something else - I enjoy things that make me think a little more or at least wish it wasn't over...

I just discovered Anita Shreve and so far all of her books are great!

I am a big Anita Shreve fan and was overjoyed to see there was a novel I'd overlooked. I love her main character's perspective in this novel. We forget how different things were for women back in the '70s. This may seem like a short while ago but reading this book made me realize how far we've come and yet how far we still need to go. I particularly like how the author allows each of her characters to narrate, giving the small town a collective voice.

Anita Schreve is one of my favorite authors-- commencing the day I read The Pilot's Wife--there was no way that I could have anticapated the ending of that book--a complete surprise. Following that read, I purchased her book Fortune's Rock's --another great read
Strange Fits of Passion was so good that I had difficulty putting it down.
I highly recommend it.

Fudge a Mania by Judy Blume is a fiction book. I think that this book was really interesting because I didnt expect Fudge to like Sheila and try to marry Sheila. I think you should read this book because it is funny and its interesting. By Jamilex Dones

Fudge-A-Mania ,a fiction book by Judy Blume, is all about this five year old boy named Fudge. He plans to go to Maine and spend three whole weeks with the Tubmans. Peter is Fudge's brother. Fudge, his mother, father, Toosie, and Muriel all went to Maine because they are going on a family vacation.

This book is good because it's funny. I also like it because my favorite parts are when Sheila was trying to tie a ribbon around Turtle's neck but Turtle kept drooling. Also when Fudge ate to many raspberries and he got sick.

I think other people will like the book Fudge-A-Mania because it's silly and fun to read. La'Lonnie W.A

This story is called Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume. It is a fiction book. It's about a 5-year-old named Fudge wanting to get married to Sheila Tubman! Plus Fudge's big brother hates her. I also think it's a funny book like when Sheila calls Fudge "Fudgie-poo." I think you'll like it because it's a comedy. -Jade Juliano

Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner is a realistic story about a kid named Little Willy and his Grandfather who live on a potato farm. One day Grandfather gets sick because he didn't pay his rent. So Little Willy, who's ten years old, takes care of Grandfather and his farm.

StoneFox is a good book because it tells an excellent story that will make you cry. I recommend Stone Fox
because you will want to read it over and over again. -Mondy Cameau

Do you like funny books? Then this is a book for you. There is a lot of events going on like will Fudge get married? Read to find out. For readers who like funny books.

Antonio
3rd grade

That Camden Summer contains a vicious rape scene. I will never buy another book by this author. I do not read romance novels for violence. And to think she writes Harlequin romances!

This was a "romp", which I thoroughly enjoyed and hated to see it come to an end.

I can't exactly pinpoint why I didn't LOVE this book. I guess it took a long time for me to start to like Roberta. I thought she was too abrasive at first to Gabe, who was sweet, strong and understanding (a trademark of Spencer's men it seems), but it was still a good story.

Description from the back of book:

The year is 1916. The place is a tiny New England village called Camden - where a newly divorced woman learns that love can be more special the second time around...

When free thinking divorcee Roberta Jewett returns to her hometown of Camden, Maine, she discovers that small-town folk consider a divorced woman little more that a prostitute. Condemned by her mother and scorned by neighbors, she nonetheless perseveres in her struggle to forge a good life for her little girls and herself. Behaving like no "respectable" woman would, she gets a job as a county nurse, learns to drive, and buys her very own Model T. Embittered by her painful marriage to an unfaithful husband, she has no intention of being any man's victim again. So when widowed carpenter Gabriel Farley begins work renovating her house, Roberta's first response to him is blatant resentment. But Gabriel's quiet, vibrant masculinity soon finds a way to soothe Roberta's heart.

And in the ultimate test of will and devotion, she must depend on the man she has grown to love and summon the courage to stand up to the entire town.

* This book was so great. I can't tell you how many times it brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't put it down & it's a definite keeper. The story is wonderful & sad at times but Roberta doesn't let the bad things overrule the life she's worked so hard to keep exciting for her girls. I don't see how anybody wouldn't love this book. I HIGHLY recommend.

This was one of the "newer" novels from Ms. Spencer I read and I was a little hesitant because it was newer..But so far I have read this book TWICE and would read it again in a heartbeat. I always like writers who can pull a reader into the book or novel to the point you see yourself there. That is what happens with this one. I traveled back in time and lived with Roberta and the kids and laughed and cried with them. I would have to say the most enjoyable parts of the book were when Roberta wanted to buy a car (how scandalous!!) and her first driving lesson. This is a love story, but it is also an adventure. Buy this, you will enjoy it.