New Hampshire Books

As I mention many times over I'm a fan of John Irving and being a fan of John Irving you get to know his writing style and themes. So of course there's always the free thinking guy with strong women and there are the usual themes of circus animals, love, prostitutes, incest, families, and weird sexual desires. Hotel New Hampshire isn't the best Irving book but he sure knows how to tell a story to make you laugh and interested and totally be into the story. The movie with Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe couldn't compare for some reason even though it was oddly accurate and true to the book. I think it's because the book was just vivid and I loved the story of John and Suzie the bear. I mean there are bears, the opera, and blind men with bears and a brother and sister falling in love and midgets and writers and homosexuality and love and death and a dog named Sorrow which eventually became a stuffed dog which eventually would always follow them. The theme overall is one line... "Keep passing the open windows"... A perfect line to always say whenever there's sorrow following you.

I am so sorry I watched the movie before I read this book. It mostly ruined it for me.
I actually thought that the weird stuff in the movie were a director going ''artistic'', but it turns out all of it is in the novel.

Although most of the novel is obviously fictional (no way would there be a woman in a bear costume or brother and sister getting over their sexual desires like they do , etc) - I found it wonderfully written and believeable in its own world.

Like many Irving novels, The Hotel New Hampshire interweaves growing up in Austria, the inevitable loss of a parent, dancing bears, american lit, and the need to "keep passing the open windows."

How can you put down a book about rape and forbidden love, about long-lost brothers - and a long lost sister too, - about a boy so vividly american that it makes you wonder if you, like he, are a realist in a family of dreamers, doomed to never be adult-enough for the world? Bildungsroman and Irving in its highest yet in 20th century lit, each and every reread brings something different to the table. The Hotel New Hampshire easily sits in the top ten of the best american books of the 20th century.

John Irving is a master of his craft. The Hotel New Hampshire is easily one of his greatest works. Your feelings will be going through a roller coaster. One moment the story is hilarious and at the next it's sad. Then we're treated to heartfelt moments. The book has everything. From a dysfunctional family to all the strange and bizarre happenings that occurs throughout their lives.

The Hotel New Hampshire is told from the perspective of John Barry. The son of a hapless dreamer and laid back mother. John is the middle child in a series of five children. There's his brother, Frank, a homosexual. His attractive sister Franny who he becomes attracted to, and then there's Lilly, his younger talented sister and then there's Egg. To compliment the cast of characters are also a handful of supporting characters. From Freud (not THAT Freud) to a series of prostitutes. The story is told from the view point of John Barry. Who chronicles the lives of his family as they live in three hotels throughout their lives.

There's nothing quite so complicated about The Hotel New Hampshire. Despite the bizarre happenings in the novel, Irving manages to make all his characters entirely believable and lovable in their own way. Each character is distinct. The novel is filled to the brim with humor, both light and dark. When characters meet their end or when something terrible happens to them, you care.

In the midst of his excellent character development, the narrative flow of the story is just right. Because of how bizarre some of the events in the novel are, you won't be able to put it down. It is not a book, however, for those easily shocked or offended by sexual themes. The book has it all.

Never the less, John Irving's "The Hotel New Hampshire" is a fantastic story filled with just about every emotion possible. But most of all, it's full of heart. When you're finished with the book, you'll find it hard not to flip to the very first page and begin reading it again.

Poignant, brilliant, bizarre - you name it's there. Anything with German language, bears, motorbikes and bears, hotels, bizarre deaths, the old lesbian or brother/sister unnatural love is going to go down well, isn't it?
Five stars and counting

This is a book you pick up and don't want to put down. The town is described as such a beautiful place and the people are charasmatic and thoughtful. Not you suspected ignorant bunch of recluses. This is a damn fine book!

What a great book... It had it all... The cute picture perfect town, the sweet town people, the villian, the twisted love story, and the revenge! Yes.... How exciting this book was for me. If you need a good book with it all read this!!!

I slipped easily into the peaceful scene in the opening pages of LAKE NEWS. Descriptions of the lake lulled me into the story, especially the Loons calling through a foggy cocoon of morning dew, savoring the sanctuary of solitude.

Characters immediately began rooting themselves into my mind. I identified with John Kipling's wallowing in the Lake's ambiance, and was properly disgusted with Terry Sullivan. Terry's ugly character was exposed early in the story, through John's memories of him prior to accepting, and during a phone call from Terry. The telephone ambiance was an ingenious preface for cringing through Lily's buying into Terry's nice guy routine, exposing how con artists worm in, not just to the young.

At first, Lily came across to me as painfully naive, probably because I've been there and don't want to recall that vulnerability. Her situation leading up to and through the Boston Post article was dramatized so well my stomach was in nauseous knots. Unfortunately, I was out to breakfast with my husband at the time, anticipating a steaming Denver Omelet with melted American Cheese slithering over caramelized onions and green peppers!

Drooling over the first heated bite, "Yum" released tension as curiosity surged, "How would Lily handle this traumatic situation." I was hoping she wouldn't leap from raw gullibility to a bitter mistrust of journalists. When she met John, she might collect the sum of her sour grapes and dump them onto John's puzzled head, "WHAT'D I do???"

I was hoping John wouldn't mistrust Lily as well, smelling some of the contrived miasma around her aura.

A too frequent situation for budding relationships, learning to determine who and how to trust is a worthy subject for a novel. Trust is a sensitive, potent issue. Even people of the highest integrity can let us down, sometimes having no choice. Maturity seems to solidify after a candidate realizes this; the richness of the human character has capacity for even the best intentions to err and be redeemed.

In a comment posted on her web site, Delinsky notes that only one of her characters was so dark as to be irredeemably evil, which had me wondering which bad guys would be Phoenix-ed from skillfully developed character trash.

In spite of the angst-ridden ride, I wanted to continue; the characters had me hooked; how would they handle the bad raps and smudged reps and grow through them.

Lily had been tossed into a stagnant pond without a pad! The polluted fringes in the political and religious establishments leaped out to protect themselves, abandoning Lily thoughtlessly, heartlessly, and unequivocally. Hoping Lily would eventually submerge smelling like a "rose," I trudged through the dramatically decorated swamp of character assassination by the media.

If LAKE NEWS had been tagged a work of "Good Literature," Pulitzer Prize stuff (which like many people, I can't force myself to pick up), I would have dropped the book into the coal stove, because I'd guess that everyone would come out smelling like the swamp they'd be stuck in, having grown "wise" and deciding to accept the stench as "That's all there is," or "That's REALITY."

Give me a break! (And a chimney sweep.)

Thankfully, Delinsky provided refreshing breaks throughout LAKE NEWS. (Though, I doubt she gives out bonus brooms instead of T-shirts.)

Some novels are solid "live ins." Others are just good entertainment. LAKE NEWS is intense "live in" entertainment. That's part of the reason I craved returning to the town and residents. Of course any plot like LAKE NEWS, relating to issues of writers will call to me, as long as the characters have any life in them at all.

What is LAKE HENRY? The idealized small town atmosphere captured me (and obviously a lot of others), even though I also enjoy big city and exotic settings.

LAKE HENRY's an esthetically appealing, small town to nestle into, with warm, vulnerable characters to live with. Detailed dynamics of personal relationships evolve there with an engrossing ease.

Especially the conversations and unspoken exchanges between John and his father are realistic, telling, rich, and intriguing. Those passages expose Delinsky's instinctive awareness of psychological machinations which she weaves warmly beyond cold conclusions of textbooks. She seems to have lived viscerally, at a level where the phony fear to tread.

LAKE HENRY has it all, including short sensual statements which make the novel's world breathe. As an example among hundreds:

"The sun fell steadily toward the western hills, silhouetting the evergreens that undulated along their crests, spilling shadow down the hillside, and still she sat."

The word choices of "steadily, silhouetting, undulated, spilling shadow" are luscious paint brush slides of oiled color over perfectly cracked canvas. Delinsky's an artist in so many ways.

I loved the way Delinsky began painting the town around Lily's drama. Willy Jake's warning to a reporter from Rhode Island was an inducement to leap into cheerleader mode:

"Signs say no huntin', no fishin', I add no badgerin."

Of similar cheering effect was Charlie's announcement to a cluster of people that DATELINE NBC was in town. No one would have an easy time slithering around behind the scenes in LAKE HENRY, what with the enormous spotlights everyone was slinging around, shining synthetic sunlight on any hint of potential slime getting a foothold on the slippery shores surrounding the lake.

LAKE NEWS characters spew jewels of sentences packed with meaning, or highlighting right ways to balance ambitious goals with the command to "Stop and smell the roses.":

"... fall was definitely in the air. It was worth lingering over, and he would do that, but not just now."

Most readers past 30 know what it took for John to grow to easily make that choice (at the opening of the novel) with just that awareness, a honed instinct sensing what to do now and what to do later. The reader knows he'll deal with that particular "later" at just the right moment.

LAKE NEWS is an emotionally rich, satisfying story, hospitably providing calm spaces of healing within every enthralling storm. The good guys are engaging, absolutely lovable, and real; the bad guys are almost too real, yet their edges soften somewhat as the reader learns their history, seeing how the dark can etch away and overwhelm natural needs to love.

This novel delivers a full-bodied complexity of families, friends, and communities as they labyrinth toward the simplicity of easy intimacy, rooting itself as wounding secrets are released.

In LAKE NEWS journalism was perfectly and simply portrayed at its worst and best. I applauded that accomplishment, as I enjoyed the escape of the reading ride. The medium of newspapers and magazines holds a key to something magical; it's idealized it as a special venue for viewing the world; sometimes it accomplishes the promise of elevation of the art of life.

This book was as refreshing a read as an unexpected brush of coolness into the white heat of an apex summer day, as solstice crests and edges slowly toward fall.

Linda G. Shelnutt

The heart of this story is about the power of media influence in our society. Journalism is heavily influenced by many factors. LAKE NEWS brilliantly presents a story of the misuse and positive influence of journalism. The believability of the story, the characters, and the setting all add to how enjoyable this book is. Being a NH native I can attest to the truth of attitudes and language presented in the story. I love Ms. Delinsky's smooth writing style; it's effortless to read. A super summer reading choice.

It struck me as mature, very mature. The protagonists weren't falling in love on the first encounter and into bed by the third, the scandals weren't half-hearted, and the promises of hope and reconciliation weren't fulfilled in a hurried way.

The nature scenes in no way compared to those of my favourite book, "Swamp Angel," by Ethel Wilson, which truly made me feel like I was fly fishing in Vancouver, British Columbia, and I didn't really get into the loons, but... that aside, what really makes the novel are the relationships that develop. Being a city girl myself, I was provided with a strong look into what a sense of community was, as well what family meant.

No big love scenes, no passionate dramas to finish the novel off with a flourish, but all throughout, there is the mature satisfaction of a story well-told.

Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann is a lot of little stories woven together and there's is a lot to keep track of. It reads like three condensed books made into one and there is the feel that parts are missing. Jenk instead of being just one of the guys in the Seal team sixteen, is the lead in this story as he encounters Lindsey, a pint sized dynamo working for the Troubleshooters and Tracy the girl of his childhood dreams. Seal buddy Izzy is a very interesting character and his colorful dialogue and strict adherence to the `guy rules' adds flavor to the tale. Everybody's trying to figure out who and what they REALLY want and it all gets a lot clearer when the Seals and Paoletti's Troubleshooters get together for cross training. Bad weather and a serial killer force everybody to really focus. Even if you like spooky, you're still likely to find the grisly serial killer in this story over the top. Though the characters all feel a little too vulnerable and the serial killer is just too horrible for it to all fit together smoothly, it still makes for a good read.

Suzanne Brockmann has once again woven a beautiful story of determination and committment to the "cause". I love how the Seal Team 16 and the Troubleshooters Incorporated work so well together. Once you begin reading the carefully laid out story, Ms. Brockmann never fails to keep you in suspence from beginning to end. Guess who falls in love this time? Purchase this book. You will not be disappointed!

I usually don't start out my reviews saying what I don't like, but I will this time just to get it out of the way. I felt at times that there was a little too much going on to follow the main plot of the story. And secondly, I wish that the love triangle (possible quad-rangle LOL) between Deck (the brutish hunk), Sofia (the abused concubine turned agent), Dan (the newly enchanted hunk) and Dave (the best friend who wants to be more, but is too afraid to ask) would have come to some sort of head, so that I could look forward to it's resolution in future books. With that said, I will say what I did like about the book.

I have recently started reading Suzanne Brockmann and never find myself bored with either her plots or her characters. Her novels are filled with intrigue, romance and characters that overlap in all of her stories. "Into the Storm" was a wonderful addition in the Troubleshooters series. Lindsey (sexy Asian American) finds herself attracted to vertically challenged/Ryan Seacrest look-alike, Mark Jenkins, who of course thinks he is in love with his high school crush, Tracy. Tracy, of course is running from a bad relationship and hoping that her leaving will cause her wayward ex (Lyle) to come looking for her with a big engagement ring. Failing at her new job, and wanting what she thinks is best, she is picked as a hostage for the a special assignment with her new co-workers. Well of course the story isn't that simple. Following a night of intense romance, Mark realizes that perhaps Tracy isn't who he wants, but Lindsey is....the problem is, he can't convince her (she has a little baggage) that a relationship with him would be best. Izzy, Mark's bestfriend, decides that although he shouldn't be attracted to Tracy, he is and maybe one harmless night of fun, will be ok. Tracy, feeling once again betrayed by her ex, looks for revenge sex as a means of paying him back. But soon discovers that she likes Izzy probably more than she should.

Needless to say, a series of events leads to Tracy's disappearance and a serial killer's unmasking. So between the serial killer, the romances, the action and potential future stories, I enjoyed this book and suggest that you read it as well. While multiple storylines can make the story slightly overwhelming, there is enough future potential to keep me reading future installments in this series.

This is my first Brockman book. I understood she wrote romantic suspense. I've read well over 200 pages and so far haven't caught a whiff of either. The only suspense so far is which of the incredibly attractive characters will hook up together, rather like a junior high for supermodels obsessed with who "likes" who. Those who are attracted to someone pretend they aren't or can't bear to be in the same room with them, what with all the sexiness flying around. As for having sex, that's great as long as it can be labeled "meaningless." Without suspense or romance, it's just pages and pages of people gossiping about each other. I can get that at the office.

Have read previous books by SB, and must say this was one of the better ones I've read.
Remember thinking when will the girl go missing, and when she did, was happy with the tempo on how they got to find her.
Am not sure there's a story for Izzy and Tracy but am sure they'll link up some how, as will Tracy and Decker.
Would recommend this book to anyone who has never read SB before.

The first half of "Death Benefits" is much better than the second. Unfortunately, a great character, special security consultant Max Stillman, unaccountably becomes stupid in the final third of the book. He's way ahead of the main protagonist, John Walker, and the readers in the first part of the book, then way behind both Walker and the readers in the last part. I knew what was going on in the town Walker and Stillman were investigating 100 pages before they figured it out. Case in point, when Stillman and Walker saw that the local police department -- serving a tiny hamlet of around 400 people -- had something like 18 police cruisers and a professionally staffed police department, they only thought it mildly interesting. (In reality, a town of this size would likely have one cruiser, maybe two cops tops, and they'd likely be of the minimum-wage lifer variety.) The other problem is that somehow Stillman, a professional security consultant, Walker, an insurance analyst helping Stillman, and a gonzo computer hacker accompanying them, somehow went out on an investigation without anyone carrying a cell phone.

No, I'm sorry, I love Thomas Perry's work usually, but this one badly fell apart about halfway in.

I had to take an unexpected trip recently and someone handed me this book to fill the time. I'd never read anything by Perry before, but now I'm going to be seeking out his earlier work and watching for new ones. It's a thriller that's big on character as well as action, and I'm amazed it hasn't already come out as a movie. John Walker is an analyst in the headquarters of a San Francisco insurance company, a small-ish, old fashioned sort of outfit that competes successfully with the conglomerates by concentrating on service. A young woman, a rising sales person in the Pasadena office with whom he had had a brief relationship eighteen months before, seems to have skipped out in the middle of a $12-million-dollar fraud, and Max Stillman, the company's "security expert," takes Walker along on his investigation. The case, which now includes a murder, is brought to a not very satisfactory conclusion less than halfway through the book -- obviously, there's more to come. Walker is sent off to the company's Miami office to help out in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane, where he stumbles upon a very similar scam and hollers for help. Stillman quickly arrives in Miami and the chase is on again -- and Perry brings new meaning to the phrase "criminal conspiracy." Along the way, Walker gets involved with a young female hacker whose boss supplies Stillman with illegally obtained information for his work, and she gets caught up in the massive fraud case as well. All three principal characters are nicely developed, with Walker becoming less innocent and more active as he learns from Stillman, and the details of the insurance business and how ingenious insurance fraud can be are interesting as well. The puzzle takes awhile to solve, . . . and I think I'll just stay the heck away from little New Hampshire towns.

I once accidently got a subscription to "GQ". I found it very interesting, since apparently what men want most is to be like James Bond. Drop a man off in a strange city and he wants to go to the right restaurant, order the right drink, have woman throw themselves at him, and most of all, win the admiration of other good men. Oh, and fight evil, too.

Thomas Perry want to help you with this. He not only wants to tell you the right drink, he wants you to win the respect of the bartender ("The Pursuit"), to successfully hide from the Mafia ("Butcher's Boy"), and to become the perfect mass-murderer ("Sleeping Dogs"). His books are practically how-to manuals for coolness, as long as you don't let sissy things like morality get in your way. In this book, "Death Benefits", he wants to show you how wrong you are to want a secure job at an insurance company when you could be chasing criminals across the continent with your dashing boss, limitless expense account, and adoring female colleague.

The book has an interesting 3-part structure, starting when young innocent John Walker is lured away from his cubicle when a former girlfriend disappears and is accused of fraud; he agrees to help the free-lance investigator Max Stillman because he wants to clear the woman of involvement in the crime. While doing that, he has to help out at the company's Florida branch when a hurricane comes roaring in, and while there, stumbles upon clues that lead him to a small New England town where the solution to all his questions may lie..... Walker is an engaging character, and you can't help but root for him to "find himself" as he solves these mysteries. The problem is that Perry finally over-reaches with the small New England town, stealing his plot, improbably, from H.P. Lovecraft, with regrettable results.

If you aren't a "GQ" kind of man, you might even get tired of Max Stillman, who fights crime with methods the police aren't allowed to use, and triumphs over evil while making loads of money. He's not even slightly believable, so it may seem a waste of time following his exploits and writing down tips in case *you're* ever a free-lance crime-fighter. I personally prefer the old-fashioned police procedural, where I may learn something real about crime and punishment.

This was a good read. It wasn't a story in which you could predict what was going to happen. I enjoyed it. I also liked the Jane Whitefield novels by this author.

I have been gobbling up Thomas Perry novels ever since discovering his Jane Whitfield series, so I only glanced at the cover when I picked this one up from the bin. I have to confess I was let down when I saw that it was about the insurance industry--what could be more boring? But "boring" is exactly the wrong word to use to describe this wonderfully exciting novel. I was hooked from the first few pages and just could not put it down. This is one of those suspense thrillers where you love the characters and are so swept up in the story you forget to make dinner for yourself. The disappearance of a woman who looks as if she is involved in a scheme to peculate millions leads a former lover on a quest to uncover her fate, and he soon finds himself embroiled in a deep conspiracy. This is believable, a book about greed and love, that will fascinate you.

While Meredith Hall in "Without a Map" tells a sad, interesting story, I found myself struggling to get through the book. Undoubtedly, she was treated abysmally by her parents and friends when she became pregnant at 16 years old. This family and community "shunning," along with giving up her baby for adoption, stays with her through the course of her life. Very sad, poignant stuff. But, she reminds us, practically every paragraph, over and over, that she is in pain, sad, alone, detached, etc.

There are very interesting, meaty parts of the story. She buys a fishing boat with a boyfriend and fishes through a storm, she walks through Europe to the Middle East with no money, she cares for her mother through a terrible terminal disease. But these moments are dragged down by the over emphasis of her feelings. Meredith also chooses to ignore chronology again and again, and also leaves huge holes in her story - just when we are rivited by her story, she jumps to a whole new part of her life. For instance, one chapter ends with her in the Middle East, broke, practically naked...then, she decides to go home. The next chapter starts and she has two children. How did she get home? How did she meet and fall in love with the father? What changes in this empty person's life to open up to another human and decide to create a new life? It is a mystery.

While there is some good stuff here, and Hall is a talented writer, I found this to be a tedious attempt. I needed more meat, less gravy.

Having read some of the reviews, I get the sense that those born of later generations or those who led sheltered lives have difficulty conceptualizing what it was like for a young girl who found herself in Meredith Hall's circumstances. One review even stated that abortion was not an option. Actually, it was -- a dangerous, often fatal, backstreet option performed mostly by unethical practioners under unsanitary conditions.

Hall's parents were like many of those times but fortunately not all. Some, rather than shun their child and cast her out, tried to help her, but all so secretly, making arrangements for her to go away for "a long visit," or "to care for a sick relative," in a far away town.

Faced with shame and censure by the community, many would react as Hall's did with devastating affects on the girl. Some of the reviewers could not understand why Hall could not just, as we say now, suck it up and move on. I tended to feel that way myself at times while reading the book, but I do understand that not everyone is able to do that. She had lost the love of her parents, and lost the child as well. Those are two heavy losses right there. She also lost the only way of life she had known.

Some reviewers felt that Hall lacked feeling in her telling of her story, not expressing warm emotion in other relationships in her life. I believe rather that the trauma of loss caused feeling to be bottled deeply within, beyond her reach for many years. Perhaps that was what the killing of the chickens was about. I found that to be a highly difficult chapter to read, but perhaps it was an important one. Killing of living creatures with names, seemed to represent the killing of her spirit, all her girlhood hopes and dreams that she had experienced. Laying out their bodies was like laying out all the losses. It was after that that Hall seemed able to finally move on.

People react differently to different experiences. Another book that readers of Without a Map might enjoy is Stolen Fields: A Story of Eminent Domain and the Death of the American Dream a memoir that traces the effects of a catastrophic event through several generations of a family.

Did not like it. Writer seems to bounce from story to story. I could not really get into this book and ended up reading two other books in between. This book will probably end up on my yard sale box:(

Without a Map: A Memoir Meredith Hall is so young and so unprepared for motherhood at the age of sixteen. In 1965 pregnancy out of marriage was so taboo. No one came to this girl's assistance. Everyone shunned her - parents, school, community and church. She has spent her whole adult life searching and the events of her life are forever influenced by that incident. This book lends iself to discussions of so many topics( relationships, identity, the sixties vs the present, adoption, and survival to name only a few.

Meredith Hall writes "The whirligig [water bug] can synthesize these two distinct realms [above and below the water's surface], creating a cohesive picture of the world above and the world below. I've always envied this ability. Imagine being able to see what is before you and at the same time what lies beneath the surface, the obscured, the unannounced, the threatening.

"I wish that I had had these eyes, had been able to see both realms: what was at the surface and what might lie below, the warning signs. At sixteen I'd held only one view: my mother loved me."

Like Hall, most people have to have the wind knocked out of them before they change their worldview. The lucky ones have someone who comforts them until they're able to breathe again.

Hall isn't lucky...when she is sixteen. She's seduced by an older boy's attention, gets pregnant, and is rejected by her parents, whose worldview won't allow them to do anything else. A girl who gets herself pregnant even their girl)is forever trash. Their family doctor agrees with them. He tells Hall "Don't try to tell me who the father of this baby is. I know you have no idea. Girls like you never do."

How many girls have heard this? How many will hear this?

Age, distance, and writing talent have permitted Meredith Hall to examine her life from above and below, and then relate what she believes contributed to the way she was treated and her inability to change the course of events. It's not all her mother's fault, her father's fault, her own fault, or even society's fault. It's more complicated than simple blame.

Perhaps her readers will borrow her whirligig eyes to look at the lives of people they know. Perhaps their new understanding will breed compassion.

Note: I wouldn't change a word of this memoir.

Hello young reader, my name is Kristina and I just finished reading ''The Heart of a Chief'' by Joseph Bruchac. Its a great book that teaches you how Native Americans live, their religion, and their language. It takes a long time to get into the story it has good details and descriptions. You may like it but I didn't think it was very exciting because it took a long time to get into the story. Let me tell you more about tis inspiring book of Native Americans. The boy's name in the story is Chris Nicola. He goes to school every day and he lives in a house on an Indian Reservation. Another thing you should know about Chris is that he is a Native American. At school, he has been selected to lead a group project and all his teachers like him, including Coach Takahshi.Chapter 12 is my favorite. During Chris's presentation, he talked about the sport's team's names like the New Jersey Negroes or the Jacksonville Jews. These are names that Chris finds offensive. He lives with his grandparents, Doda and Auntie, and his sister, Celeste. His grandparents believe in something called the Manogies. The Manogies can take any form of any small animals like a squirrel, chipmunk and any other small animal. There have also been some very sad and devastating events that have happened in Chris's life. Some of the sadness that has happened in Chris's life is the death of his mother due to a car accident. Chris's father has been away and he has not been able to take care of Chris and Celeste. Doda and Auntie are so old that they could die in their sleep. All of this makes Chris feel lonely. Anyway, its a really good book and I recommend this book to anyone who loves to learn.

"Heart Of A Chief" is a great book and I would give it four stars. It has great description and great diologue. In this book you experience the feeling of sadness and laughter. The main character is Chris, who is a Pennacook Indian and lives with his aunt and his grandfather. The biggest problem he faces is that his mother died and his father is an alchoholic. Chris' father is the chief of the Pennacook tribe. His family lives on a reservation and people are trying to build a casino on their property. While this is happening Chris is a new student in his school. Soon he becomes the leader of a group project. They chose a very interesting topic but you'll have to read it to find out. My favorite part is on page 153 when Chris says: "The heart of a true chief beats with the heart of the people." I think it's really inspiring because it's telling us to think of other people. I would recommend "Heart Of A Chief" to anyone because it teaches about respect and leadership. Overall this novel tells you that you can achieve anything you set your mind too.

Hello, my name is Colin and I've just finished reading the book "The Heart of a Chief".The book is very funny in some parts and in others sad.My favorite part of the book is 'Before we start our presentation' I say 'I would like to tell a story my uncle told me. A Pennacook man drives into a gas station.The gas attendant comes out and sees that the man is Indian.'Shall I fill it up Chief?' the gas attendant says.
'No' the Pennacook man says 'just give me ten dollars worth Mr. President.'"
I think that the book is a very good book, I give it 5 stars. I give it 5 stars because the story is about modern-day Indians,unlike most books. So you might want to read "The Heart of a Chief," if you really like what I have talked about. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about modern-day Indians such as the main character of the book named Chris Nicola.

Hello, my name is Colin and I've just finished reading the book "The Heart of a Chief".The book is very funny in some parts and in others sad.My favorite part of the book is 'Before we start our presentation' I say 'I would like to tell a story my uncle told me. A Pennacook man drives into a gas station.The gas attendant comes out and sees that the man is Indian.'Shall I fill it up Chief?' the gas attendant says.
'No' the Pennacook man says 'just give me ten dollars worth Mr. President.'"
I think that the book is a very good book, I give it 5 stars. I give it 5 stars because the story is about modern-day Indians,unlike most books. So you might want to read "The Heart of a Chief," if you really like what I have talked about. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about modern-day Indians such as the main character of the book named Chris Nicola.

Hi, I'm Rahul and I just finished the book The Heart Of A Chief. I give this book five out of five stars. It's about a boy named Chris who's having a tough time facing many problems. His dad is an alchoholic, his mom's dead and if thats not bad enough the elders are planning to build a casino on his reservation. Chris lives with his grandparents (Auntie & Doda). At school Chris is doing a report with 5 others about Indian names for sports team mascots.They plan to invite reporters to school. But to find out more about what happens to the plans of the casino,the report and Chris you should read this book . After reading this book I learned how diffucult life can be on a reservation. I would recomend this book to a friend because it gives a different perspective on modern day Indians. My favorite part is the end of the book p153 ''People are shaking Doda and Auntie's hands.They are smiling at me and shaking my hand too.I hear their words of praise and I thank them And I know that whatever happens to me from now on, Whether it is good or bad,I will always remember this:that the heart of a true cheif beats with the heart of the people.'' This is my favorite part because it sums the book up and shows that Chris is a true Chief.

Very well written and quite enjoyable. The combination of fact and fantasy, science and science fiction, make for a delightful page-turner. I look forward to reading more from Jeremy and am already planning my next purchases!

I actually am willing to let quite a bit by in terms of reality when reading a book. But this was beyond willing suspension of disbelief. First the entire ocean flash freezes while leaving a man in the "protection" of a boat intact? The amount of energy required for that to occur is phenomenal.

Taking some breaths and reading further I was treated to characters so mono-dimensional that they should be able to hide from the rampaging dinosaurs by turning sideways.

The villains at the end have a weak spot that is so ridiculous given the current human level of technology that it made me wonder if the protagonist's were welding potatoes guns.

Jeremy Robinson has done it again with his new, explosive action/adventure novel that will keep you turning pages well into the night. Antarktos Rising plunges the modern world into the savage, ancient earth of eons past. Through a series of cataclysmic events, the continent of Antarctica is transformed into an apparent paradise while most of the inhabited earth is destroyed through a massive freeze. In order to survive, the nations of the earth race to claim the formerly frozen Antarctica as their new home. However, as teams from the various countries race to the center of the now tropical Antarctica, they find that the land is not the only thing thawed from the eons of deep freeze--so were some of the indigenous species that once roamed and ruled the continent. The journey to the center of Antarctica--now known by its ancient name of Antarktos--is the least of mankind's goals. Once they start, they must survive some of the most deadly obstacles ever faced. Jeremy Robinson takes you on their journey step-by-step through the spine tingling adventure with each turn of the page, making you wonder how the team can get out of their current danger. He scarcely gives you time to catch your breath before the team encounters a new, more deadly danger. If you have a list of books to read this summer, put Antarktos Rising at the top today.

This is one book you can not put down. It is fast paced and a great read. I had to order the rest of his books just to see if he will be a great writer as I believe he will be.

I enjoyed reading this book, but found the whole storyline a bit implausible. How can a flood/freeze event kill off half a continent and yet leave one person alive? Having said that, the story is kind of a fun story and contains a lot of "what ifs" which make it an interesting read. The story doesn't dig too deeply and doesn't give a lot of details, which makes for a quick read.

Tricia Miles runs the bookstore Haven't Got A Clue in Stonham, NH, with her cat Miss Marple. Life is going along great until her sister Angelica unexpectedly arrives in town. While she makes appetizing dishes, the relationship between them is strained, and Tricia wonders when Angelica will leave so life can go back to normal.

Doris Gleason, the owner of Cookery, a neighboring cookbook store, is found dead in her store, and an antique cookbook Doris had recently acquired is missing.

The local political race is about to divide the town in two, and Sheriff Adams seems bent on pinning the murder on Tricia. With the help of her employee Ginny and Mr. Everett, a store regular, Tricia sets out to find the real killer and get her life back. Can she do it without putting herself or others close to her in danger?

I enjoyed the small-town setting of this book and that it was set around a bookstore. The characters were fun, and the cozy mystery was easy to read. I recommend this book.

Murder is Binding is a great start to a new cozy series about a town in New England that seeks to resurrect itself by creating a quaint street full of bookshops of all types, with the hope of attracting tourists. This first book is about a murder or two that involve the owners of a mystery bookstore and a cookbook store. You meet up with the usual cast of "normal characters", quirky characters, sinister characters, possibly guilty characters and a couple of bodies.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next book in the series. The book is well written, the central idea of the series offers promise and the characters are fun. The only drawback to this first book is that the murderer and final salvo are easily discernable early in the book. The author drops some not-so-subtle hints that make the solution-guessing process too easy for the reader. However, the storyline, the sharp writing and series idea shows much promise.

I was pretty disappointed by this book. The characters didn't seem real to me at all, and the solution to the mystery was fairly easy to guess. And why, oh why, does the heroine have to go off with the murderer?

The premise seemed good, but in practice the book was weak.

This is a really fun mystery. The characters are unique, and the coziness of the small town adds to the flavor of the book.

From time to time when I need some fluff, I enjoy a good cozy mystery. Loving books, bookstores and life in a sleepy New England town, Murder is Binding, by Lorna Barrett, seemed like the perfect book for me. It is the first book in Booktown Mystery Series. I was not disappointed.

Set in fictional Stoneham, N.H., the streets in this town are lined with bookstores (my dream town). Tricia Miles is a mystery bookshop owner, who soon becomes a suspect when a fellow bookstore owner, Doris Gleason is murdered---stabbed to death and a rare cookbook is missing. Determined to clear her name, Tricia, and some other locals help her to try and clear her name.

This was a really fun cozy mystery. The book had quirky characters, was plot driven, and had me anxious to turn the pages. I can't wait for the second installment: Bookmarked for Death, scheduled to be released in February of 2009.

This book was an easy read, and quite entertaining. It reminds of a book recently read; but I can not place it at the moment. (A story of 3 kids being raised on their own, as their mother is in jail for killing the father. The oldest son trying to find himself... What is the name?) Anyway...

I enjoyed the book, as it seems Hershon, took her time writing and going one layer deeper into the lives and personalities of her characters. It starts with the relationship between 2 brothers, wherein we *never* really know what the differences e between them, except "jealousy". The relationship turns bad, and the book takes a turn at the same time, focusing on the youngest sister and how she deals with the outcome of one bad night.

It's a fun, suspenseful read, as Lila (the youngest) searches for herself, her brother and a better understanding of "Family".

I would give 3.5 out of 5 stars...

Perhaps I define "page turner" differently than other readers. I chose to read this book based on the glowing reviews, each of which referred to it in one way or another as a "page turner."
I disagree, but I still found this book to be well worth reading.

It was not until the last 1/3 of the book that I was hooked into sitting down for a good long uninterrupted read. The first 2/3 of the book alternated between too much description (which equals boredom to me) and interest in what would happen with the characters. I must say that every time I teetered on the edge of giving up on the book (despite the fact that it is obviously well written), Hershon would throw something out there just enough to get my attention.

Part of the problem is that I started the book expecting lots and lots of suspense and intrigue. What Hershon gives you instead is lots and lots of poetic description and slow-moving character development. Which is not necessarily bad, just not what I expected.

Once I recovered from my disappointment that the book was not going to be the page turner I craved, I began to emerse into Hershon's world. By the end of the book, I was moved.

My advice to readers looking for the classic page turner is to ignore the majority of the blurbs on the book itself (soft cover version). What you should expect from this book is a slow, poetic, and beautiful portrayal of loss and the bonds between a brother and sister.

If you have ever experienced distance from a family member after a tragedy, you will certainly relate to this book.

This was not what I expected, given the reviews. Haute Literature it's not, for sure, and I found the pace a bit tedious. Because I have so little time, and every chance I get to read is precious, I was annoyed at the conclusion of this book, as I realized that my time would have been better spent. I was never dying to read it, and I was insulted at the juvenile nature of some of the plot developments, particularly at the end.

Yikes--where do I begin? There was not one well-developed character in this entire book! The plot begins promising enough, but the characters are so blah and undefined that I ended up not caring at all about what happened to them. Ms. Hershon spends page after page on mind-numbingly dull details that add absolutely nothing to the plot or characters. I saved this book to read on my vacation and was very disappointed. Read The Lake of Dead Languages instead--it is a thousand times better!

I lived in New Hampshire for four years, so I thought it would be fun to read a book set there. The story was ok...not great, not terrible; it was entertaining, but certainly not prize winning fiction. It's the story of two brothers, one girlfriend, an accident?, and how a little sister responds to it, both immediately and later in her life. On the jacket, it's described as, "exquisitely sexual," which leaves me puzzled and bemused. Sure, okay, if that's what it takes to sell the book, put it on the jacket. Perhaps somebody else will find it more arousing than I did.

I enjoyed this book because of Jewett's turn-of-the-century language and simply accurate descriptions of the people living in a fishing town. Although some may wish for a more detailed plot (or any plot at all), "Pointed Firs" is an escape to a seemingly more innocent time. The characters struggle with many of the same issues we do: relationships, war, disease, and death. However, their sense of community, faith, and attitudes toward the sea form and strengthen their relationships with each other. Jewett is worth a read, merely for the beautiful way she creates a picture with the English language.

This book is full of timeless short stories that can either be read as a whole story or separately.

Sarah Orne Jewett's THE COUNTRY OF POINTED FIRS is a visitor's tale. Set in the fictional Maine coast town of Dunnet Landing where the author/narrator has settled for the summer to write. As a visitor, the narrator inevitably recounts only the pieces of history she comes in contact with through her landlady and the people she meets in the community. The stories are portraits, bits and pieces, of lives that exist outside the narrator's brief visit. As a result, the reader feels like a companion on this holiday. The novella moves at the pace of a quiet seacoast village, and is refreshing to read for that very reason. Like a vacation, outside cares fade while focusing on the lives, habits and landscape of this place. The writing is finely wrought. A real affection for a place and people one knows briefly shines through the work and makes one wish for a time and place when travel, life and writing unfolded at a the speed of a long walk.

Some editions incorporate other stories written about Dunnet Landing into the body of the novella. This can lead to a change in the narrator's voice that is incongruous with the rest of the work. Look for a version that preserves the order of one of the early publications with other short works in a separate section.

Jewett's Country of the Pointed Firs seemed like a good choice for reading while summering in Maine. Indeed her character who narrates the book is a woman author spending the summer in a small seaside Maine town.
Sara Orne Jewett gets a mention in American literature classes as a local color writer. This book demonstates her style with its descriptions of the Maine countryside, village life in the 1890s, and insight into the lives of island dwellers and retired fishermen and sea captains.
There's not much that would be considered a plot, just casual meetings with interesting characters in the area. To glimpse life in coastal Maine more than a centruy ago, this is the book for you.
I look forward to visiting the author's home in South Berwick. It's a national historic site.

This is a beautifully written story. The author provides the reader with words that one can sink his teeth into. The characters are so well described that I would know them if they walked in my door. A beautiful escape from everyday life !!