Literature Books

I love this little book and use it daily in my personal devotions. It seems that each lesson has direct application to me and or events I encounter during my day. Praise the Lord!

This devotional is a gem. I thought all devotionals were about the same. This one is invaluable for me. He hits the target every time. He chooses a scripture and expounds on it so eloquently and wisely. I am blessed each time I read it. I hate to start my day without it.

Easy to read. Brings me to Gods word daily.I really like Henry Blackabys quote If we walk with HIM closely today, we will be in the center of HIS will tomorrow.

I am very glad I purchased this little devotional. Even though each devotional is very brief, they are always very thought provoking and challenge me in at least one area in which I need to be challenged. Each one is scripture based and not just an inspirational story from someone's life and I like that. My only problem with it is that the print is quite small and not as easy to read as I would like; however, I llike the compact size of the book so that is the trade-off.

I am about halfway through this devotional. Over the time I've been reading it, I have continually felt condemned and have questioned some of the things written in here. I've brushed them aside until now, thinking that if I feel condemned there is probably good reason and that I shouldn't just read "encouraging" devotionals.

However, I must disagree with the one of the statements in this book, that "there should never be dry spells in the Christian life" - April 23. That was kind of the last straw for me. Throwing out blanket statements about what "should" or "should not" be in a Christian's life is very dangerous thinking. Also, saying that dry spells do not exist ignores about half of the Psalms and all of the book of Job. This book continually states that most or every problem in the Christian life is most likely brought on by something you are doing or not doing. I disagree with that statement and believe that God sometimes withdraws the "feeling" of His presence to test our faith. That is not to say He withdraws Himself or isn't with us, but no one can deny that sometimes we just cannot feel Him.

There is some great stuff in this devotional, but I must say I do not look forward to reading it everyday. If anything it has taught me to question what religious leaders say and to make my own opinions about what I believe is true. Read carefully, and decide for yourself.

My 16 month old son loves this book. He started out pointing to the pics and I told him what they were. Now, I ask him to point to the items and he does it. I recommend this book for babies.

We've had this since he was still in utero and from the time he could crawl over to the bookshelf and pull out a book, it's been his favorite. He loves looking at all the pictures and having us say the word that goes with the picture. One of the advantages of a book this simple is that you can do a lot with it (what color is the jacket? Is the boy wearing a shirt? Where does a bear live? etc. etc.) We have several more books from the Priddy Books series and my son loves them all. They have helped him learn a ton of words and at almost 2, he has the language ability and vocabulary of a 3-year-old. Can't recommend this highly enough, or other books in the series (100 animals, My Big Word Book, etc.).

This book captures my 7-month-old's attention. There are lots of "real" babies...my son loves the "familiar faces." I like using the pictures of real things to practice sign language with the baby (colors, animals, baby activities like eating, bath time and meal time).

I have numerous picture word books but I feel this is the best one in my son's library. The pictures are clear, colorful, and large enough for my son to identify. He loves to touch the pages and will actually sit for this book.

My 12 month old daughter loves to read this book. She loves to point to the objects that I ask her to find. Great pictures. Very educational.

This is easily my favorite Classic work of literature. Unlike many of the other classics, such as the Odyssey, Iliad, Aeneid, and others, this book kept my attention the entire time and I couldn't wait to finish. Robert Graves does a tremendous job of translating it into an easily readable version.

book includes the original story of Cupid (Pysche). perfect gift for lovers possessing a sash of intelligence.

Everyone should read The Golden Ass, especially this translation. Just reading it can deepen a person. It's one of those books to be treasured and re-read every few years, finding new insights and humor. The Cupid and Psyche portion is rousing and sly and stands alone. I've given copies as gifts over the years and notice my friends still hang on to them long after.

Apuleius' The Golden Ass, or Metamorphoses, is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety. Composed in the second century, this picaresque work tells the tale of Lucius, a man whose curiosity in magic and indulgence of sexual pleasures leads him to accidently transform himself into an ass. What follows are the various trials and hardships he endures as well as the tales he hears throughout his travels. It is not until the intervention of the goddess Isis that Lucius is transformed back into a man, and he devotes the rest of his life to her cult.

Apuleius' storytelling is lively, witty, an often sexually explicit. Indeed, many forms of fetish are showcased within the pages, including beastiality. More often than not, the novel indulges readers in their guilty curiosities while also providing hilarious and adventurous prose, with a splash of red-streaked violence thrown in for good measure. However, despite being written nearly two-thousand years ago, what may shock the modern reader most is how approachable and familiar is not only the humor but also the sentiments and sensuality of these Roman characters. It is not difficult to imagine Lucius' world.

The Golden Ass offers readers a romp through ancient Rome through the eyes of a contemporary while also entertaining. It is also a highly revealing documentation of religion and magical belief in Greco-Roman polytheism, and contains the only complete description of the initiation into a Mystery cult. The true essence of the novel is that it is a fable culminating in the religious transformation of the individual and the embrace of salvation (soteria). However, the pagan salvation was not one of the afterlife, but of this life, and involved changing one's perspective of the world and also of life and death. The ass in the ancient world was seen as the most base of animals, an utter slave to its desires, and Lucius' transformation at the end should be read as symbolizing his overcoming of those passions.

The Golden Ass is bawdy and shocking, but also intelligent and satisfying. Graves' translation is fluid and easy to follow. The prose is as enjoyable (and perhaps rewarding) to read today as it no doubt was nearly two-millennia ago.

This is certainly an entertaining reading experience and Robert Grave's translation makes this 1800 year old novel come to life for modern audiences. The book is full of stories within stories, a device that I found very entertaining and reminded me of the best works of A.S. Byatt. The story within a story approach allowed for multiple wild digressions of the most fantastic types. Stories of magic, murder, rape, incest, poison, bribery, theives, beastiality, orgies, homosexuality, and all other manner of hair-raising encounters populate the multiple stories within stories.

Yet there is certainly a strong central theme and storyline in the plight of poor Lucius, the attorney turned into a donkey. The world and humanity are seen anew through the eyes of an ass.

The book does take one major departure with the longer story of Cupid and Psyche, skillfully told. The book ends with another change of pace when Lucius devotes himself to the gods, especially the goddess Isis/Diana/Artemis, the White Goddess.

I think the book was excellent and would never have survived so many centuries if each age did not find the human condition to be much unchanged despite the wild and wooly tales encountered here.

This is one of the bases for the movie "Wonderland" but reading this book will creep you out on J.M.Barrie. You might never really like Peter Pan again. Author had access to his papers, letter, diaries etc. Very weird stuff.

I read this book over 15 years ago in an attempt to find out who the author of Peter Pan really was, and what his life was like. It was not a pleasant or easy read. I wanted to forget all about it and just have the enchantment of "Peter Pan," but as with the real life of the author and photographer of "Alice in Wonderland," the truth can wound deeply. But lies and half-truths can never reveal the relationship between biography and art, so one must often face much disturbing information in order to understand the art itself. This is not to say that art is reducible to biography; it is not. There is, nevertheless, a kind of dialectic (God, I do hate to sound so gawdawful jargony, but when it so plain, other words just do not work) between the life of a genius and the art of the same individual. The truth of art can only come from the struggle between an artist's vision and the life that made such a vision a necessity. Yes, a necessity: there are those artists whose lives were so fraught with sheer catastrophe that revelation through a skewed fantasy can be so powerful as to take on a "life" of its own. And this is why it is so grievous to "paint-over" the unpleasant details of such a life. There was a recent film with an appropriately disturbing title: in the attempt to not really "find" Neverland in Barrie's life, the art itself is drained of its truly tragic roots. At the time such "nice" little fantasies are presented, they seem so harmless, but they are not. Successful attempts to eradicate truth can also eradicate the depth of the art itself. "Neverland" is a word that begs a little attention: a land where children "never grow up." This is not to say that they physically die - no - instead they live their lives, as did Barrie, in a desolate, lifeless, and desperately lonely "land" and try, from within their internal isolation, to bring others along for the rides to nowhere and "never." Where else could such a person bring another? If one lives in "Neverland" of the mind, there is nowhere else to lead another - nowhere else to go. And if we do not face unpleasant truths as they are revealed in the crucible where life and art meet, we learn nothing further from the art. It is better, actually, to know nothing of an artist's life than to be fed untruths. I would suggest the readers either read this book and/or see Peter Pan, but would urge them *not* to see Peter Pan after experiencing a false represenation - no matter how "well-performed" the falsehood is presented. The play or story would be meaningless. The truths, whatever you choose to make of them are here in this book, like it or not. And once the genie is out of the bottle (such as when you have been fed a disingenuous Hollywood film or other disingenuous account), to refrain from the truths of an artist's life is a violation of the art. No one can any longer understand or be truly moved by Peter Pan, much less try to interpret it based upon a sugar-coated Hollywood paint-job. And the effect goes on: if other artists were inspired by Barrie's work (perhaps because it touched the nerves of their own catastrophic lives), and all we have is a candy-coated film, their art and whatever in their lives might have inpired their interest in Barrie's work is also distorted. I do not know if truth sets anyone "free," but I do know that untruths distort and harm. And then the distortion goes on . . . This book cuts deep, but struggles for truths, which is what a biography of an artistic genius should try very hard to do.

I found this book to be a well-researched and moving account of not only Barrie's life but also the lives and deaths of the original "Lost Boys". After reading this book, I read Peter Pan again in a whole new light and enjoyed it even more. I think reading this book is essential in order to fully appreciate the entire Peter Pan experience as it truly helps to bring the characters alive.

Having found this little book before the advent of the film "Finding Neverland" I was able to read it originally without comparing it to the film, always a good thing. The film, of course, changed much of the true story as films usually do. This book standing alone as far better, but note, it is not a happy story with a happy ending, it is a tragedy, and no one is left unscathed.
The photographs, almost all, were taken by Barrie himself, and are absolutely wonderful. He had a natural artistic sense, and his unposed photos of the five Llewelyn Davies boys, Michael, George, Peter, Jack, and Nico at their play, stay with you. They are dressed in the Edwardian clothes of the time, or in costumes they wore in the elaborate make-believe games they played with their childlike grownup friend Mr Barrie, and those are truly memorable in themselves. Often they are playing with J.M. Barrie's large dog, and one can't help but think of the big dog, Nanna, in Peter Pan, it's acutally quite eerie, seeing that the play "Peter Pan" itself wouldn't be written yet for years.
J.M. Barrie came from a lower class Scottish family, and in childhood lost an older brother to illness. His mother took to her bed griefstricken, for a long period, and once, trying to cheer her, young Barrie put on the older brother's clothes and went to see his mother. For just a moment she thought it was the older brother, and he seemed to see happiness in her eyes; for all his life, the message stayed with him, the boy who would never grow up was the loved boy.
He was a strange, brilliant, gentle, childlike man. Highly regarded in his own time, considered a great playwright, equivilent to George Barnard Shaw in his day; and very prosperous due to his books and plays, married, but childless, and probably not very happy in his marriage which would end in divorce, one day in Kensington Park he saw one of the five young Llewelyn Davies brothers. They struck up a friendship, based on Barrie being quite willing to talk to a child on the child's level. Soon after, he met the rest of the family, who were impressed to meet the famous playwright. Their family was also upper class, well to do, but would soon lose their father to cancer, they would thenceforth be in precarious financial straits. Barrie immediately became a combination father/ big brother to the boys. He also became close friends with their mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, but not, I suspect, to the degree the movie implies. It was all about the boys, their innocence, and something he wished to capture and hold on to. His obsessive photography of them makes that clear.
Tragedy struck again, unbelievably, when their mother died of cancer as well, at a young age, after a relatively brief illness. By then Barrie was such a part of their lives that his continued influence, and the benefit of his money in seeing to it that all five boys finished school in the manner befitting their "class", was accepted by the boys' extended family. He stayed involved in all their lives indefinitely, though it is interesting that he had his favorites, and the two who were not favorites resented and disliked him as they grew older.
The book stops with the boys' growing up, though he did stay involved with them as a surrogate parent. Tragedy did hound the family, but unlike some reviewers I am not sure that it can be blamed on JM Barrie's role in their lives. In fact, without him, financially they would have far worse off.
It is true the boy named Peter resented that the play was named "Peter Pan", and of course he was teased at school, and Barrie probably should have thought of that. (Of course without Barrie he most likely wouldn't have been at Eton to be teased.)
Two footnotes: all the proceeds of the play went to the Children's Hospital in London for 100 years, until recently with the 100 years anniversary, the copyright ran out, and now it is in the public domain. No proceeds of his biggest success ever went to Barrie.
Also, the girl's name: "Wendy", was first used in the play. It was an unknown name before that. Barrie used it in memory of a young daughter of a friend who was named Wendy, and who died at age 5. (Not known where that family got the name from, or if it was a nickname.) It was not a name known previously and "Peter Pan" popularized it.
Its an excellent book, an opening via the photographs into another long-gone time, a sad story, but not I believe, due to Barrie. I believe he meant well, and tried his best to be a friend to that unfortunate family. He had his demons as do we all, but to "love" children, in that era, to befriend them, and even play with them when they were pre-teens, could still occur without any implication of perversity; and even to sleep with a child, the concern of one reviewer, was, at the end of the Victorian world, seen as a pure and innocent act, like a parent and child might sleep together...I think it is hard for us in our cynical age to see things as the late Victorians/Edwardians did. No whisper of scandal or of anything improper ever came from any of the five boys, their family, servants, or anyone else connected with them; and I think had there been it certainly would have come to light. I believe he truly loved the boys, and they in turn, after he knew them several years, and had observed their play and their natural talk and style, influenced him to write his masterpiece "Peter Pan".

Prompted by the movie "Finding Neverland" I wanted to learn more about the Davies family and their relationship with Barrie. My research lead me to this book. The tragic story of the boys and Barrie was an eye opening read. Birkin is an artful weaver of ancedotes, interviews and history. While I was reading the book I got lost.I started feeling like I was an intimate friend of the families, instead of curious observer. Furthermore, Birkin's website has been updated with more pictures and media files. The website coupled with the book really saturates you into the life of the 5 boys and the mindof the man who loved them very much. A beautiful account of a flawed and tragic life.

This book is about a girl who partnered with a shy artist, uses thought to convey messages to him to draw what she sees, They end up going through time in a sorts, back to the time when woman were persecuted for being "witches" This book is a great read and i really enjoyed it. I picked it up when i was in middle school from the library (im going into college now) so my memory of it is a bit warped. But the title of the book and what it was mainly about has stuck with me for so long its in with my favorites, and if i ever come across it again i will be sure to pick it up.

it was an awesome book i read it 4 times then when i moved i lost the book and i cant find it anywhere (...)

I first read this book in 6th grade and instantly fell in love with it. It was one of the very few books I was not only able to get through, but couldn't put down. I woke up early to read it during breakfast before school, I read it during recess, and then hurried to the library after school to read it in privacy. It isn't the kind of book I can go back to now as a college student and enjoy as much, but at the time I was happy to read it over and over. It really is a very imaginative story with many interesting subjects intertwined. I would especially recommend it to girls in 6th - 9th grade who are interested in history and the fantastic.

I picked up this book from this book sale, and from the sound of it, it seemed pretty exciting. But once I started reading, it didn't sit well with me. ESP and medieval 'time travelling' is great and all that, but it didn't have the emotional aspect of it. The 'link' Juniper and Dylan shared weren't exaclty expressed properly. Overall, it wasn't what I was expecting. You may like it, but it wasn't my type of book.

I bought and read this book about eight years ago. I still have it and have read it many times. The mind is a wonderful tool and this book was one of the first pieces I ever read that had anything to do with the ways of the it, and the ignoring of the norms associated with the use of the mind. Spirituality and mind and body energies are essential to many people today. I fell in love with the personality of the characters... I have since reading this book, made a promise to myself to name my first daughter after Juniper.It is a great book for any ages.

Cindy Guidry lives in Neverland. Living and working in Los Angeles is difficult enough; try dating there. Guidry is a smart, funny, sexy woman who is trying to get in touch with her own power as she approaches 40. She's knows it's in there, somewhere. But it's hard to feel powerful when you live in a town where everyone is judged by appearances, and most of those are plastic.

I really enjoyed Cindy's voice. This is a book written by a clever woman who realizes that most of the men she meets are bombarded with too many choices on a daily basis. They can no longer make a decision about anything, especially the most important one of all, the decision of commit to a mate.

Guidry takes her readers on an enjoyable ride through Hollywood as she starts to put the pieces of her life together (accompanied by a Dave Matthews soundtrack) all the while feeling like she's the Last Single Woman in America.

She may get stuck with the easy "chick-lit" label, but Cindy Guidry has written a book filled with enormous humor, wit and poignancy -- and a well-earned understanding of relationships between men and women. Her trenchant observations -- on her own life, the men in it, her career, her family -- take no prisoners, including herself. More importantly, I loved her voice: the one of that smart, way-funny girlfriend who always tells the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, and god bless her. Men will be pleasantly surprised by their un-chick-lit treatment here, if they ever read it (mine have, and responded overwhelmingly positively -- "She gets it!"). Definitely a worthy read.

I have never found a book in which the writer (and narrator in this instance) seemingly gave forth so many of my own thoughts. I always considered myself to be a little too jaded, cynical, or critical, and am now glad to see there is a whole generation of us. Cindy Guidry shows there is really nothing too depressing about not knowing what you want to be when you grow up and, guess what?, there are lots of us out there. To heck with Generation X, it's Generation Cindy Guidry all the way!!!

Having been a former lover and devout follower of the series "Sex in the City" and having had to settle for vacuous attempts to fill that time slot or reruns on TBS ever since, I am looking forward to seeing this book and the idea behind it coming to life on HBO.

You get it all here..answers to the dating Universe and some.. I laughed, i cried and i was shocked at the honesty..very refreshing indeed!
.. highly recommended from this Goddess (and not just a chick read guys).

If you're a guy and you cringe that this might be another MEN SUCK book written for only women to read and rally together around the flagpole of self inflicted injustice, this is the book for you. Although she has her complaints about men, this is a refreshingly fair-handed, often sympathetic book about both men and women and their attempts to find and understand each other in this isolating cyber-world. While there are bestsellers as well as entire television networks dedicated to the proposition that MEN SUCK, Guidry offers the possibility of individual empowerment and an unflagging belief in Love, all the while making you laugh out loud about waxing and nail polish and cats and other things men don't generally care about. Men really do want to know what women think, and Guidry tells us in a way both entertaining and enlightening.

Saadia Aschemann's poetry is direct and earthy, the product of an artist who has clearly studied her craft and then gone on to push the envelope and create a delightful writing personality of her own. There is no hasty `free verse' tossed in to fill pages--no, Aschemann obviously crafts her work as a painter fills his canvas or a sculptor works her stone. Each poem is a musical accomplishment that reflects the best of her when she turns it over to her audience--and each deserves a `Bravo!'

As has been noted by other reviewers, "lavish Lines/luscious lies" provides the reader with tantalizing clues on the historical background of many styles used by the author, such as the dreamy poem, "Sestina," after which she draws us back to its origins in the twelfth century.

I enjoyed how Aschemann conspires with the reader to enhance their enjoyment of her work, such as with the poem, "Hush." "Read in a Whisper," she insists and, if you haven't, you look around in hopes you haven't given something away.

For anyone wanting something new and dynamic in the world of poetry, poet Saadia Aschemann is just the thing for you.

These passionate words float over the lips, dance on the tongue and caress and warm the inside. This book paints 21st century color into the character, zest, and rich beauty of wine, woman, song and much, much more.

Cleverly set in vibrant poetic forms, every syllable has deliberate purpose, meaning, and punch; like a great bass player setting the groove in a hot band. Lavish Lines certainly grooves word for word.

The book's virtue lies in the intoxicating rhythm of those beautiful words; weaving life equally into the precious and mundane moments of life. Sex, wine and passion share the stage with family, boredom and neurosis. Their interplay makes for magic days and nights that lift the human spirit and make them interesting and lovely and so damn worth living.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/REYMYLJ29TSR5 lavish Lines/luscious Lies[[ASIN:B000XEBVXS

Flirtations and Booze - A Short Collection of Poems]]

Saadia's flowing verse is like a viking ship of Valkyries coming to take you away. You know they're going to rough you up, but you can't stop staring at their shiny metal bikinis and hoping they'll kiss you first. She is a talented writer and poet who paints pictures of experience and emotion with her words. Her writings keep you thinking and feeling all the way through. I loved this.

I found Saadia's clever poetic word play a pleasure to read. Her inner-voice is playful, flirtatious and sensuous. I enjoyed these short works as they each left me with a pleasant vibe, I looked forward to her next piece. Saadia's muse often eminates from "spirits" she befriends. At the end of her book, you find yourself likewise wishing to share a drink with this new friend you have met.

What would we do without the amazing life of Laura Ingalls and her family?! The Little House Collection has been a favourite of our household for the past couple of years. We are still reading avidly and enjoying watching the series on dvd. Fun to share my childhood memories with my little ones.

Easy, interesting and colourful words. A pleasure to read.

The whole LITTLE HOUSE series provides a perscription for daily living-- your basic 'How-To' manual: for practical survival skills; recognizing value in the smallest things; appreciating the gifts and pleasures of life; accepting each trial we may encounter. What a textbook!

These are handsome books - heavy stock paper, full color Garth Williams' illustrations, with Williams' illustrations on the cover (not the more modern real-life photos from other sets). This set, for some reason, only has the first 5 books, but the last 4 are available a la carte in the same nice full-color/heavy-stock/etc format. Not sure why they don't package all 9. This is a really nice collector's edition and very gift-worthy.

My mother-in-Law loved the books when she was growing up and I thought the television show was okay. So when my daughter seven, that's what grandma wanted and I didn't object. We started with the scholastic b+w set and it didn't draw my daughter in as much as this does. The pictures really pop out more in color and even though my daughter's a fairly good reader, the pictures make the difference for her. It might help that the stories are all of her as a child rather than also an adult-type person as in the complete set. The content is just fine, although a little scary at times, and I hope she's learning to notice how good things are now. (I can't imagine living in a sod house!)

What can I say? Everyone knows how wonderful these books are and if you don't, you will just have to read them for yourself. I am reading them to my 2 and 5 year old daughters. Surprisingly, they both listen well and beg me to read more (although my 5 year old will sit and listen while the younger loses interest after awhile, but hey, she's only 2) I am having as much fun reading them for myself a I am sharing them with my girls. Every morning after breakfast, we curl up on the couch or by the fireplace and read. And now my girls love to dress up and play Mary and Laura Ingalls and I think thats just wonderful. I don't have any boys but I imagine little boys would enjoy them as well (especially Farm Boy) And if you don't have kids, but just like to read, get them for yourself.

Read this book while its still available! Its language is so simple yet it touches you with a ferocity thats unthinkable!
I could relate to every charecter and that was the most freaky part!

The charecters in this book are rich and full of life. The plot is very engaging and what more can one say about a book thats so beautiful it makes you weep with joy!

Bravo Leavitt and the rest of you read it!

While not as good as his short stories, and awkward and somewhat amateurish in a few places, this is a good, strong first novel. Ideally I would give this one a 3.5, but since that's not an option, I'll err on the side of generosity. This novel explores coming out, family dynamics, and the selfish yuppie attitudes of the 80s.

Author David Leavit writes a brillant novel that I had a hard time putting down. While Phillip is confronting his changing relationship with his lover, Elliot, his father Owen is finally, confronting his homosexuality. Highly recommended. Each character is richly developed and textured, they feel like real people that you know. While the film is good, it uses London as a backdrop rather than the book's all-to-real-modern-urban life set in New York and in the transistion looses something.

I read this book for a class, and enjoyed it much more than I ever expected, especially in retrospect. I think it takes a little time to really get into, especially because Leavitt jumps back and forth between the three main characters and storylines, but once you get into the rhythm of the story, you are drawn in. Leavitt does a great character study of Owen, Rose, and Philip, and by the end of the novel, I felt like I knew them. Leavitt has an accessible wrting style, but the book itself is very literary and complex. For a first novel, especially, I think it's exceptional.

Fair warning: I'm going to reference the end, or rather lack of ending in this review.

Leavitt is noted for his short stories, so it isn't much of a surprise that "The Lost Language of Cranes" is a short story padded into a novel that in sort of an ironic twist winds up being too short, ending before any of the issues put forth are resolved.

The gist of the story is that Owen and Rose have been married for 27 years, but now they're facing a crisis. Their Manhattan apartment is going co-op forcing them to either buy or move, a predicament I think few outside of New York City really understand. At the same time, Owen has been disappearing for long stretches of some days, especially Sundays. We soon learn he's going to certain X-rated theaters for a little homosexual hanky-panky. Owen is homosexual--always has been--but is trying to keep it from Rose and his son Philip. Although it turns out Philip is also gay, but has been keeping it from Mom and Dad. He gets involved in a serious relationship with Eliot, adopted son of a writer Philip admired. Before long, Philip is "coming out" to his parents, which inadvertantly causes Owen to come out. Mayhem ensues.

When I mentioned this book is padded, in particular is the sidebar story of Eliot's roommate Jerene. She came out to her adopted parents years ago and they soon disowned her. Since then she's been working on a never-ending dissertation until she decides to say the heck with it and work first as a bouncer at a lesbian club and then as a counselor on a gay helpline, which Owen later calls. While her life may serve as comparison or contrast to Philip and Owen, it doesn't contribute a whole lot to the story of Philip, Owen, and Rose.

Most of the writing is good, but some of the dialogue is clumsy. My belief is if anyone in a book or movie says, "I feel..." without being in the presence of a therapist, it's a red flag for poor dialogue. It's not natural for people to say, "I feel like..." in my experience. At other times the characters spouted dialogue that seemed too melodramatic. But with a first novel you can't expect absolute perfection.

Now what really annoyed me about the book is the lack of a decent ending. The book ends with Philip and Owen being outed, but everything is up in the air. We don't know what's going to happen between Owen and Rose; will they stay together? Eliot breaks up with Philip, who soon is spending a lot of time with his friend Brad; are they going to become serious? Not even the issue of the apartment, mentioned so prominently throughout the book is resolved. What good is an ending that doesn't end anything? It feels arbitrary to me. Maybe with a little less padding there would have been more space to focus on more important issues.

Except for some insights into the gay nightlife scene of 1980s New York City, I didn't think this book told me a lot I didn't already know. Mostly I thought it was a bland novel, but a worthy first effort.

This was a great read; wonderful story about African-American history that young children will understand and appreciate, and that adults may learn a great deal from. Good length, tone, and wonderful illustrations. I sent the author a note and she provided me with a great reading guide via email!

Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria was an inspiring story that reminds us to never give up on our dreams and also to dream BIG and leave the rest to God. As a freed slave, it seemed highly unlikely that Martha Ann would ever be in the company of Queen Victoria. But after 50 years of dreaming, PREPARATION and ridicule, Martha Ann got just want she wanted -an audience with the queen. Not only is the story true, it is inspirational to everyone not just children. Kudos to Kyra Hicks for bringing the story to light and inspiring us all to dream BIG!

Readers of all ages will find Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria a fascinating journey through history as told through the eyes of our heroine, Martha Ann, who both captivates and inspires her audience. Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria is a must read especially young people as it teaches the importance of setting goals and following through on the work necessary to achieve them. Bravo to Ms. Hicks who had the foresight and the passion to share this most remarkable story.

What a privilege it was to read Kyra's latest work to my 5 year old. She absolutely loved it, asking so many questions and commenting on the beauty of the book itself. This book was such a treat for both me and her! It's educational, uplifting and sweet. I encourage my daughter to always reach beyond the stars and this book reinforces that. We will read it again and again and share it with others! Thank you Kyra.

Martha Ann's story is not only an inspiration to all, it is also a true story. A story reminding us that with determination, hard work, and confidence even the most seemingly impossible dreams can come true.

Born about 1817 in eastern Tennessee, Martha Ann Ricks was a slave. Her father was a traveling preacher who learned about the American Colonization Society, an organization that assisted blacks in beginning again in a new place - Liberia.

When Martha Ann was 12, her family had finally saved enough money to buy their freedom and they moved to Liberia. Once there Martha Ann was able to go to school where she joyfully learned how to read. At home her mother taught her to sew. However, these happy times came to an end all too soon when African Fever took the lives of her mother, father, and sisters.

As an adult and a married woman, Martha Ann went to the market with her husband where she saw British naval ships patrolling the coast to stop slave catchers from kidnaping blacks. So impressed was Martha Ann by the ships and Queen Victoria for sending them that she determined to personally thank the Queen for protecting her people.

An impossible hope? Yes, but Martha Ann fulfilled her dream.

Highly recommended for young readers.

- Gail Cooke