Bennett Books

This is another great book that my daughter loves!!! The colors really keep her interest and we love it!

This is great advice for parents of young children -- not only because it is true and instructive, but also because it can be easily practiced in the real world of hectic family life. The authors help you use everything -- from a trip to the grocery store to a trip cross-country to see Grandma -- to reinforce learning for your little ones. It's scholarly thought seen through a giant common-sense magnifying glass. The message is all about simple, practical ways of making your child's world the kind of fertile soil that lets her bloom and grow in her learning. Bravo!!

This book is not as depressing as the first, I was dissapointed, it sucks, but I give it 5 stars none the less for it not being stupid

Benjamin Bennett of the University of Virginia is one of the nation's very best, and Beyond Theory shows why. Bennett probes the question of irony in 18th-century German Literature insightfully and at times humorously. I am not a specialist of German Literature, but reading this book made me want to study German ! Bravo Mr. Bennett!

Having ridden in Utah, Colorado for over 30 years, this book is an excellent comprehensive guide to the best places.

As a boy is set to celebrate his 17th birthday, some strange,haunting memories are stirred up as he is reminded of the arson death of another 17 year old, supposedly started by our hero 12 years ago when he was only 5. Is his mother's new male friend, the father of the victim, really harassing and threatening him, or is this just imagination gone wild!? You won't really know until the very end, but we get some unique family history, psychiatric treatments, and a lot more! A short, very creepy read worth a few hours!

John Bennett's novel, Bodo, is a history of our time, via the life of a relatively normal youth traumatized first by invading and occupying forces in his native Germany, immediately after World War II, then by normal, dysfunctional family and community life in small city Texas, then by the implosion of the California hippie rebellion.

I can't decide which is more impressive, Bennett's brilliant artistry--mostly acute naturalism, interspersed by superbly lucid short-hand imagery--or his understanding of a soul, and of the America in which that soul tries, first, to fit in, then to transform it for the better by single-handedly making a miracle, then, again, to fit in, then, one more time, to break through despite convention.

The main character, Bodo, occasionally thrives, for instance as a popular and influential disc jockey in Louisiana, with a lover and possessions most youths would envy. But he drives away in a sport car, or rides a motorcycle away from success, just as he drives or motorcycles away, or escapes from his crashes into normal and abnormal failures or torment by people who will not put up with anyone ignoring the conventions of, or attempting to transform what they have adapted to, which depends on everyone agreeing that absolutely anything else is dangerous, perverse, wrong, crazy.

If you're struggling to keep something alive, in a what's now a world-wide society that depends on what you're trying to keep alive being either killed or forced to keep itself entirely hidden, this book will help you survive without participating in the conspiracy to kill off what you value most, in your self. It's very sober, beautiful, enlightening, disturbing, stunning. Hungry for such--it's so rare and valuable--I read it straight through, ten hours.

Reviewed by Neha Kashmiri (age 13) for Reader Views (6/08)

"The Bonemender's Choice" is the third in a series by Holly Bennett. Not having read the first two books in the series, I'll admit to being lost for the first few chapters and the last few chapters. But that doesn't matter since I thought "The Bonemender's Choice" was so good I'll probably go to the bookstore for the first two books in the series.

In "The Bonemender's Choice," Dominic, a member of the Krylian royal family, is hit with the loss of his kidnapped children by Tarzine pirates. His sister Gabrielle and her Elfin husband, Féolan, with the help of Yolenka, a Tarzine dancer with her own plans, set off on a sea journey to unknown land.

Meanwhile, the book also follows the children, Madeleine and Matthieu DesChLnes, on their journey to their doom. Or so they think. The harbor town where the children were supposed to be taken is ravaged with the Grey Veil, a plague that slowly chokes its victims to death. Can the children survive the disease and Turga's pirates?

When Dominic and the others reach Turga's lair nothing is as they expected. They might have to leave Yolenka at Turga's island. How are they supposed to sneak the children off the island without the vicious pirates noticing? Even worse, Madeleine has gotten the incurable Grey Veil from an almost-assault by a pirate. And it's spreading to other loved ones. Gabrielle's healing powers are needed more than ever. And she has to choose, who lives? And who dies?

I have to say that "The Bonemender's Choice" is an intriguing book full of unique characters. I wish that the book was longer. Fans of the series will probably love the surprise for Féolan at the end. I was shocked, though, that the book said that the book was for twelve year olds. Some parts are for a bit more mature audiences. Just some, though. I can't complain, really, it was a great book. There are a lot of characters and the third person point-of-view changes often, almost every three paragraphs.

I recommend "The Bonemender's Choice" to fans of the first two books and fantasy lovers.

Readers met Gabrielle, the half-Elf princess of Verdeau with a talent for healing, in Holly Bennett's The Bonemender. Now she's back in THE BONEMENDER'S OATH, along with many characters whom readers of The Bonemender will be glad to see back in its sequel. The war between Gabrielle's people and those of the mysterious Greffier across the Krylian mountains is done, but Gabrielle's struggle to keep her people together and herself alive, while keeping to the oath she swore as a bonemender, is far from over. She's not alone, however; she's got Feolan, the Elf she loves, Derkh, the boy from Greffier whose life she saved during the war, and her family.

Speaking of her family, Gabrielle's brother Tristan has troubles of his own. He's fallen in love with Rosalie, but he's not alone in wanting her as his wife. The dark and dangerous LaBarque wants Rosalie for himself, and he's crazy enough to do whatever it takes--unless Tristan can stop him in time, saving himself as well as Rosalie.

Aside from their personal troubles, there are politics to consider for the people of Verdeau. They want peace in the Kryllian Basin, after the war in which many of their people, including Gabrielle and Tristan's father, the King, were killed. However, the Greffaires might have different ideas about what is to come.

Objectively, THE BONEMENDER'S OATH is not an exceptional book. The writing isn't breathtakingly brilliant, nor the plot. Still, though, everything mysteriously comes together to make a powerful story that will grab the reader's attention and refuse to let go! I read this book in one sitting, and I know I won't be alone in that. It is recommended to have read The Bonemender before reading this novel; I don't know how confusing it would be to someone who has not read that, but certainly more so than to someone who has. THE BONEMENDER'S OATH will meet the expectations of readers of Holly Bennett's previous book, with the same great characters and way of drawing you in completely; it is a highly recommended read for fans of fantasy!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

In the first installment, Fionna, I was so enthralled at the wonderful surprises around every corner. So much fiction today both in books and movies is predictable and slow reading. Fionna keeps you intrigued throughout the story.

Mrs. Rutherford continues with Fionna's story and draws you in to her joys and trials. You not only learn about the history of the time period, you again, feel like you are reading a personal journal about the struggles that all women face, regardless of the time period they've lived in.

Both books are wonderfully well written.
Bonnets and Aprons: Fionna