Shepard Books

There must have been fans of P.L. Travers's Mary Poppins who were unhappy when the Disney movie based on the book was released in 1964. Changes made to a story when translating it to film can be jarring and are often for the worse. Movies are so often paler versions of the novels that preceded them. But in this case the reverse is true: Walt Disney's classic film is much, much better than the original book. Readers coming to the book after seeing the movie will, I think, be bored and disappointed with Travers's story.

The character of Mary Poppins in the original book is similar to her portrayal in the movie: she is proper and vain and easily irritated; she possesses magical powers whose limit and source are never explained; she is wont to play mind games with the children. In the book, however, despite the children's affection for her, she is not a particularly likable character. It is easier to like the softer-edged Mary Poppins of the movie. Apart from its portrayal of Mary Poppins herself, the book differs markedly from the movie. Some of the differences are insignificant: in the novel there are four Banks children rather than two--Jane and Michael have a pair of twin siblings who are about a year old; Mrs. Banks in the book does not spend her time cavorting with suffragettes; Travers's Bert is not a chimney sweep. The most important difference, however, is this: the story that Travers tells lacks a story arc. Mary Poppins comes to the Banks's home at the beginning of the book. She leaves at the end. The intervening episodes are filler: the chapters could be rearranged or omitted without any loss to the storyline. This in itself would be okay, if less than ideal, except that the middle episodes are, many of them, excruciatingly boring.

Mary Poppins the film, on the other hand, tells the story of the transformation of Mr. Banks--who hardly figures at all in the novel--from a work-obsessed martinet into a man who understands the importance of family, who recognizes the ephemerality of childhood, whose value system has been shattered and rebuilt for the better. Mary Poppins is the agent of this change, but the chimney sweep Bert is also responsible for some of Mr. Banks's growth. The climactic scene of the movie, wherein Banks's transformation is effected, is a small one: his children apologetically surrender to him the tuppence that had caused such a stir at the bank, where he works, leading to his being fired. Ironically, it is this gift of a tiny sum of money that finally turns Mr. Banks, who has been obsessed with the accumulation of wealth, into a man for whom wealth is secondary.

I understand that it's not really fair to find Travers's book lacking because it differs so significantly from a movie that was released thirty years after its publication. But it is impossible not to compare the book to the iconic film and to find it, well, nothing special. Disney injected heart and depth into a mediocre story that had, for reasons that elude me, attracted an audience. In so doing he turned the commonplace into something extraordinary.

-- Debra Hamel

Thankfully this book does not have a nanny that is anywhere near as
annoying, or bursts into song in the same way as the painful movie.

She behaves much more as you would expect, telling the kids off a
lot. She does include them in a bunch of strange happenings and outings
to many different locations.

Mary Poppins is the absolute best book I have read in a while. Mary Poppins is the worlds favorite nanny. The main characters in the book are the children; Jane, Michael, the twins (John and Barbara) and of course Mary Poppins (the nanny). There are a few neighbors and odd people Mary Poppins know, but not mentionable. My favorite chapter was The Day Out. It was so magical and entertaining! I would recommend this book 9 and up, because some things children wouldn't get and others might think it was boring. The chapters "Full Moon" and "The Dancing Cow" were very boring, but good to read.
Anyway, if you want a good book to read this summer, read this book! So creative and enjoyable!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are expecting the Disney's Mary Poppins, you are best making another reading selection. Unfortunately, my expectations may have tainted my reading experience. The book is filled with fun imaginative adventures children would enjoy. However, Mary Poppins is stern and hard. Her tightly guarded compassionate side does pop up during different events, but overall she treats the Bank's children with a harsh and sometimes demeaning hand.

When P.L. Travers first wrote Mary Poppins in 1934, she probably didn't know how popular it would be with young people 72 years later. She also probably didn't know that this would end up being my favorite book of all time! I often thought that every book was my favorite (for example, The Wizard of Oz, Bunnicula, Detectives in Togas, Eye of the Storm, The Secret Garden, and the Little Princess) but I now KNOW this is my favorite book of all time. There is just something about this Nanny that I can't explain. I want to read the other books-not only about Mary Poppins, but all of P.L. Traver's books!
It starts when Mary Poppins comes to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane to take care of her charges-Jane, Michael, and the twins John and Barbara-after the other nanny, Katie Nanna, left. She takes them on crazy adventures such as floating in the air with her Uncle Albert, to going to a mysterious gingerbread shop to meet a lady who is nice to everyone, but verbally abusive to her to overweight daughters. Mary Poppins also goes on expeditions herself. She jumps in a sidewalk drawing with her friend Bert (love is in the air in this chapter...) and goes to a zoo at night.
The book (I thought) was much better than the movie. Mary Poppins was portrayed in the movie as a sweet, but stern nanny. She was always loving and was very pretty. In the book however, Mary Poppins is just plain stern. Sure she is always there to help, but she definitly doesn't take any guff. Mary Poppins was also kind of ugly in the book, with a sharp nose and in another book had big feet. I also loved the original illustrations by Mary Shepard (E.H. Shepard's-illustrator of the original Winnie the Pooh Books-daughter). So I thought (even though Julie Andrews did a spectacular job) that the book was better. However they were both suppose to be 27. I saw on the 40th edition DVD that Walt Disney was worried that P.L. Travers would not approve of the new actress Julie Andrews, so he asked her how old she thought Mary Poppins was. To Walt's surprise, she said that she thought of Mary Poppins being 27. It turned out that Julie Andrews was just that age! But I digress.
If you want a book that is sweet and charming, witty and clever, and has good morals, read this book! But if you want something that your young children will understand and cherish, watch the movie. They are two totally different feelings. This book is geared for ages 8 and up, but if you can get your young child's attention, you can read it to anyone, young or old. Children over 12 will understand where Mary Poppins is coming from, and children under 12 will understand where Jane and Michael are coming from. I give it a bazillion stars, but I can only choose 5. I like it because this book is absolutely charming!
I loved this book and I hope you will too...if you have the patience to read my review!

I bought a container of GF cookies and a sticker showed the cover of the book, as the recipe had come from it. The flour mix is great I have substituted it in many of my own personal recipes. I do not like the fact that some recipes call for PHO's but I just change to butter or saflower oil and it still works out fine.

So far, this is the BEST gluten free recipe book I have found. The food tastes more like "real" food than any others I've bought

An April 2008 order resulted in an incomplete copy of this book. The cookbook had 89 pages and appeared to be complete as its final page was blank except for a bar code. Because it was missing dessert recipes referenced in other reviews, I suspected it was a partial copy. Contact with Jules Shepard and reference to Amazon's Search Inside confirmed this. The replacement book was complete but I wanted to alert other Amazon customers of a possible printing run error on this book.

I appreciate Jules giving out her flour mix recipe as I have always liked to cook from scratch. I have had mixed results with the gluten-free pre-made mixes that are on the market. My daughter is gluten-intolerant and very picky about texture and taste. The chocolate chip cookie recipe is a real winner with her. I'm looking forward to trying out other recipes and using the flour mix in favorite family recipes. Thanks Jules!

If you are gluten sensitive and miss the taste of cookies filled with gluten - then buy this book and try the Chocolate Chip Cookie 1 recipe.
I love to bake and have been frustrated since diagnosed - UNTIL I tried this recipe. I was so excited after eating the first cookie, I immediately sent the author an email. Not only did I get a prompt response, but received answers to other baking questions I had. I'm now trying Jules' other recipes and am just as impressed!
Nancy in Sacramento, CA

This cookbook is such a tremendous resource, especially for those newly-diagnosed and struggling to make a drastic lifestyle change. Every time I get a new copy I find myself giving it away!

The fact that Jules gives us the recipe for her own gluten-free flour is astounding b/c it is truly interchangeable with any recipe calling for wheat flour. Have you checked the prices of and tasted other gluten-free flours recently? Costly and nothing to brag about, so I don't understand the previous reviewer's comment about the book being nothing but a plug for her product. Her only 'product' is providing information and recipes for those wanting to cook and eat gluten free.

Go ahead and use the flour recipe found in the introduction to make the scones on pg.94; then you can thank Jules for the generousity of sharing her flour recipe (that she could easily charge for) because you really can't tell that they're gluten-free. And as for the dried beef comment --all I can say is, "where's the beef?" Nowhere in this book could I find a recipe calling for dried beef because, as the reviewer said, ewww.

This was my favorite book growing up. I have read and reread it many times and still as an adult will pick it up now and then. I passed my copy on to my daughter who also loved it and gave it to her niece. I loved the fact that Philippa overcame so many obstacles such as being what she thought was clumsy, homely which she wasn't and losing her mother at a young age, shyness etc. Her description of her boarding school was excellent and interesting considering the timeframe was post WW11. I highly recommend it for a young teen.

I started AND BOTH WERE YOUNG because I knew it was about a girl who leaves for school. Since I am about to leave as well(except for college) I thought it would be an interesting read. I was not disappointed.

Flip and Paul are beautiful characters, full of doubts and pain. However, in each other they find answers to their doubts and a balm for their pain. Watching their relationship unfold is sweet in every way first loves should be.

L'Engle's writing is beautiful and captivating. My mind had little room to wonder. Although the book is classified as young adult, I feel like any age will find it as a great read that can transport them out of their surroundings into the snow-covered country of Switzerland.

I started AND BOTH WERE YOUNG because I knew it was about a girl who leaves for school. Since I am about to leave as well(except for college) I thought it would be an interesting read. I was not disappointed.

Flip and Paul are beautiful characters, full of doubts and pain. However, in each other they find answers to their doubts and a balm for their pain. Watching their relationship unfold is sweet in every way first loves should be.

L'Engle's writing is beautiful and captivating. My mind had little room to wonder. Although the book is classified as young adult, I feel like any age will find it as a great read that can transport them out of their surroundings into the snow-covered country of Switzerland.

Phillippa (Flip) Hunter has to go to boarding school in Switzerland. It's not as if she wants to, she's being forced to go because her father will be away on trips in China all year with the awful Eunice (who consequently is not that awful.)Flip believes that Eunice is trying to replace her mother, who died the previous year in a car crash, and as such completely dislikes her. Since Flip is being sent to boarding school without her own consent, it is quite normal that she despises it. She never knows how to reply to the girls, she can barely participate in gym due to her stiff knee, and some of the girls find her quite strange. One thing that consoles her is a French boy named Paul who has seemed to have an awful past that he can't remember. (Paul was in concentration camps when he was younger; the book takes place a few years after World War 2.) Flip helps Paul overcome his past, and learn to live in the present. Another person who really helped Flip in the beginning of the book was Madame Perceval, the art teacher. Madame Perceval was quite understanding of Flip. Flip was an excelling student in art, and as such she was planning to become an artist like her father. Throughout the book, Flip grew and matured while helping everyone around her, and realized that she didn't need somebody else to instill faith into her, as she could find it on her own.

When young Philippa (Flip) is forced to leave her father, and her home in Connecticut, and begin attending a Swiss boarding school, she couldn't be more heartbroken. She knows instantly that she isn't like the other girls at school. She isn't sophisticated, or knowledgeable about boys. In fact, even the thought of boys leaves her tongue tied. The only time Flip really feels good, is when she's by herself, wandering in the mountains, or sketching. But when she meets a French boy named Paul during one of her walks, everything changes. As their friendship (and relationship) grows, Flip's self-confidence grows with it. If only they didn't have to hide their romance. After all, only seniors were allowed to date, so Flip and Paul's romance is forbidden. With new obstacles being faced everyday, Flip now has to help Paul confront his past, if she hopes to one day have a future with him.

L'Engle has done it again. AND BOTH WERE YOUNG is an amazing book written with characters who are poised, confident, intelligent, exciting, and intriguing. Flip is a female character who any teenage girl can relate to. What with her spunky, and spirited personality. Paul is the guy whom every girl will fall in love with, and feel sorry for, as they continue reading. This is a must-have book for all L'Engle fans. Especially those who loved CAMILLA.

Erika Sorocco

I haven't the faintest idea of whether this book is good or bad. All I know is that my 12-year old granddaughter loves the series, and she has managed to be a teriffic kid despite it, and anything that gets her to read is a good thing.

Remember the first season of "Desperate Housewives"? This first installment is better than that! The first book of this highly addictive series starts with former BFFs Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily receiving disturbing e-mails and texts from someone called "A". "A" seems to know there deepest, darkest secrets from their past and their present. Could "A" be Allison, their former Queen Bee and frenemy who mysterious disappeared a few years ago without a trace? Unexpected twists, turns and the girls' bond over an incident dubbed "The Jenna Thing" force them back together to solve the mystery of the person behind the mysterious texts while trying to keep "A" from exposing their damaging secrets. The subject matter (eating disorders, underage drinking, underage sex , homosexuality, shoplifting and cyberbullying), which seems to be the norm for most young adult series these days may seem off putting to sheltered teens and adults. Alternately, the mature subject matter can also provide opportunities for discussion, awareness and how peers and parental pressure contributes to these issues.

Oh my gosh. This book rocked. So much happens to the 4 friends right after "the jenna thing" and after alis disappearence that it is so suppensesful and just amazing at all the stuff going on with them. I'm just now working on the flawless but I'm not putting this series down until I find out who A is and Who Ali's killer is but I think A is Ali's killer but who knows.

A great ya read (even for an adult like me) that includes murder, mystery, drama, and even a bit of intrigue. I kept wanting to pick this book up and read it, even when I was supposed to be doing something else. The short chapters were great to read quick tidbits here and there and not be lost within a chapter. I liked how after almost every text or email the story went back to the 7th grade time frame to explain what it meant then and how it linked to what was happening now. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of this series!! :)

I passed up and read the inside of this books flap several times before picking it up and actually reading it. I was totally put off by the cover, because frankly, I thought it looked silly. Even the title sounded completely ridiculous. But this just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover! I finally decided to give it a chance, and I was glad I did. I've actually read the book several times, because each time you read it, you pick up on something new, and catch something you might not have noticed the first time around. Its full of suspense, and will keep you up all night reading it, because you'll be wanting to know what will happen next, and the suspenseful, edge of your seat, wanting to know what will happen next feeling, will continue throughout the rest of the series, so don't forget to read the following novels as well!

The book is revolves around four high school girls: Aria, Hannah, emily, and Spencer, who were once best friends, but became distant from one another after the mysterious disappearance of their best friend Ali, who went missing during the summer after 7th grade. They all hold a terrible secret, having to do with the reason that Ali may be missing, along with their own personal secrets that no else knew....except for Ali that is. They all lead seperate lives, until they begin receiving mysterious text messages from a person only known as "A" in which she reveals all their deep, dark secrets, and uses these secrets to blackmail them. Could it be....is Ali back? Or is someone else onto them? Someone who saw them the night that changed their lives forever...

I recommend this to pretty much everyone to read, because it is highly enjoyable, but I especially recommend this book for those of you who are fans of the Gossip Girl series because this series reminds me of that one. Granted, its completely different in some ways, but it has the same air of mystery, seeing as how the person described as "A" is annoymous, just as the mysterious blogger in "Gossip Girl" who always knows everything about everyone. So its pretty much a darker, more twisted verison of "gossip girl".

This slim volume helps a beginning writer to use Word's capabilities to the max. His suggestion to use columns to lay out ones book cover saved me many hours of keyboard abuse. The book is a very quick read, furnishing the writer spot solution for his most common format problems, thereby making the book a handy reference.

I used "Perfect Pages" to format my book, "The Magi of Futurity" for print-on-demand publishing. The instructions were clearly defined and easy to follow. This how-to guide is a great addition to anyone's library who wants to use Word to design and format a self-published book.

Perfect Pages and Aiming at Amazon are must reads for anyone considering self-publishing and/or POD. With the right software (and of course writing skills) you will be able to publish a book and get it listed on Amazon after reading these two books.

The cover looked home-made and hokey, so I really only purchased this book because of the enthusiatic reviews.

I have to admit that this is a pleasant case of not being able to judge a book by its cover. The content is well organized and filled with great tips for layout and design. Definitely worth a read by self-published authors.


J.D. Mosley-Matchett, Ph.D.
Author of A month of Marketing Technology tips

After using one of the most prominent POD/vanity press companies (and deciding I could do better myself), I started to learn about self-publishing.

Eventually, I found Aaron's books and, more important, his recommended model for POD. The good news? They really advanced my understanding about this field--very quickly.

More good news? Using Aaron's idea (Word + POD + Amazon), this book helped me when I was at an impasse with Word (2003) and completely stumped and frustrated. (If you've ever been in this situation, you'll know this is no small recommendation.)

If I recommended 3 books for POD authors, two of them would be Shepard's.

So, why only 3 stars?

First, because Word 2007 is so VASTLY different from the previous versions that this book deals with, that the title should clearly show this ISN'T for Word 2007 (his website has information, but not enough).

Second, using Aaron's book, I was able to create a POD book that really looks "professional" to the typical book buyer. From cover design to layout, it took a long, long time to adjust all the things you need to use Word well, but...the result is very good (even librarians have complimented it).

So, this could easily have been a 4- or even 5- star review. The problem is that Aaron is advocating and representing POD and yet he doesn't practice what he preaches with his OWN books. "Perfect Pages" really DOESN'T look "perfect"--i.e. "professional". The cover isn't right, and some of the layout choices say, "amateur" and "self-published".

He obviously has the knowledge and skills to do better. This book should be an EXAMPLE of "best practices" given the goal and the readership. Sadly, it isn't.

So...3 stars for his own presentation--plus some well-deserved praise--will have to do. Hopefully, "Perfect Pages For Word 2007" will be better.

This is an excellent book for aspiring writers who want to publish a children's book, rich with advice and seasoned with experience.
I found it to be thorough, honest, and enormously helpful. Not only does it contain all the information I was looking for, but it also contains answers to questions I hadn't thought of... plus lots of helpful hints.
My copy of it is already "marked up" (the highest sign of appreciation for any book of mine) with notes and high-lightings. I've already read it twice and I know I'll be reading it again.
-Hannah K. Knott

All the other books like this are 1000 pages of self-indulgence by their authors. Aaron Shepard keeps it short and to the point.

I confess I have three of Mr. Shepard's books. Why? Because, they are all straight to the point. The advice is not padded with trite page fill, such as, "Paint you home office mauve so you'll feel relaxed while writing." You can pay for a thicker book, but you won't get more information. The Business of Writing for Children gives you the facts you need to set off on the pathway to success. What else do you need?

just wrote my first children's book did not know what to do with it after I was done. Great links and hints on how to get your book published through a publisher or to do self-publishing.

"The Business of Writing for Children" is an exceptional guide for all writers. There are loads of books on the market that deal with writing, but Aaron Shepard's work is a diamond amongst lead pellets. He shares his real life experiences that have led him to become a world renowned author. Reading the book was like being able to sit down face to face with a children's lit superstar to teach me all about the business.
There are several features that make Shepard's book superior to others in the field.

First, the book is a step-by-step guide. Shepard presents a logical sequence of events to follow to accomplish your writing goals. Second, Shepard shares the lessons that he learned as a new author struggling to get his work published to the accomplished writer he is today. Third, he lays out how to format your work in the manner that editors look for. Fourth, he provides unique strategies to make your manuscripts stand out on editors' desks. Fifth, Shepard explains how to get your work to editors who do not take unsolicited work. Sixth, the book gives an array of ideas to market your work and yourself. These are only a few of the things that I found to be extremely useful in this book.

Additionally, the book is not filled with fluff. It is only about 100 pages long. Some of the other books on this subject are hundreds of pages long. I found that all of the larger books available are filled with a lot of useless information; whereas, Shepard only supplies useful and relevant information. I appreciated his approach because I felt that I needed a straight forward approach to help me on my writing journey.

My parents and I have listened to all the CDs with the greatest enthusiasm over and over again. The quality is pretty good and the speeches are not extracts, but played in full. Barring few, I have found most of the introductions to be very informative and well presented. I am glad this collection includes both of Dr King's most famous "I have a Dream" and "I've been to the Mountaintop" speeches - I had noticed that most audio tapes include only one or the other, or both in extract form. I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in great speeches. Also, one may access American Rhetoric website for the transcripts of these speeches to follow with the powerful voice of Dr King.

this is by far the greatest speeches made by dr.martin luther king jr, that change america by far every true american should have a copy of it. i enjoy listening to it over and over again,

I really enjoyed listening to the authentic voices of Dr. King and others on this CD. It has been an essential resource for my students, faculty and staff as well as very important to my community. I have been able to relearn and share the CD with many different settings during Black History month as well as with in the context of the King Holiday in January. This material and the authentic way it its delivered has made the "Black Experience" that much more real to every one I have shared the CD with.

I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed this version of Dr. King's speeches.

Receipt and quality of our recent purchases were prompt, and the condition of the items orders were actually better than described.

I listen to these over and over, can't stop listening to Dr. King. Very moving and the things he said and did were all so real. Our generation of now needs to hear his speeches. You really want this collection!!! I'm buying a couple more as gifts.

"Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" book has positively influenced me since I was a child forty years ago. The great lessons to be learned in this charming book are those of frugality, love of family, resourcefulness, cheerfulness in the face of adversity, loyalty, charity and diligence. They don't write these books like they used to, but they should! I also recommend the works of famed, best-selling novelist of yore, Booth Tarkington, another charming and witty American writer--a Hoosier, from Indiana.

I recalled reading and loving the book as a child. We recently listened to the audio version of the book, as narrated by Bernadette Dunne, 9 hours of tapes, on a 700 mile journey from PA to Indiana with four young children in the car. The children were totally enthralled. Four hours in, Daddy would have driven the car into a tree to end the misery had the tale not turned the corner from a horribly contrived and predicatable shower of sugar to a joyful over-the-top opportunity for satire. Anyone who does not understand this description just look up the Monty Python sketch entitled "Four Yorkshiremen" on YouTube for enlightenment.
The children were utterly disappointed in the anticlimactic and contrived ending but since that time the story has provided endless joy around the home. Complaints about the lack of familiar luxuries are answered with quotes or verbal satire of the characters from the story. Even the youngest child will repeat "Oh, Mamsie, could we please have twigs or hard raisins for breakfast?" when a complaint of an improperly toasted PopTart is voiced. So, as you sip from your handleless teacup, waiting for "your ship to come in", we only hope you garner one tenth of the enjoyment we have experienced after surviving an entire reading. If you don't "I'm sure I don't care".

I purchased this book after I read Cheaper By The Dozen and it was mentioned there. I plodded through the first several chapters hoping it would get better and it did. I can't wait to read the next one.

I bought this book as a gift b/c I remember loving it as a child. This edition is very poorly edited & filled with typos. There are even several sections where whole paragraphs are repeated. Its obvious this publisher doesn't care enough to have someone proofread the editions they sell.

"The Five Little Peppers" are Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie. Their father died when Phronsie was a baby and Mrs. Pepper struggles to earn enough money to support the family. Despite their poverty, they are a loving family, full of spirit and adventure. Ben and Polly do what they can to support the family, but a bout with measles threatens the well being of the entire Pepper clan, especially Joel and Polly. The family has other adventures and befriend Jasper King during one of them. This friendship will enrich their lives in ways they never thought would be possible.

It's always interesting as an adult to reread a book that I loved as a child. When I was young I thought how much fun the Peppers had and longed to belong to a large family. As an adult, I realize how poor the family really was and how quickly the children had to grow up. As a child I thought how terrible it was that Polly couldn't read for days on end because of the measles; as an adult I realize the Peppers couldn't even afford to buy books.

First published in 1881, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" is old-fashioned (the doctor even makes house calls!), but still enjoyable. The Peppers are all delightful children, with Joel being the most honest of the bunch as he complains about having to eat the same food every day. Margaret Sidney was a talented author, who could make even inanimate objects, such as the stove, seem alive. The children's adventures may seem simple to today's young readers, who are used to Harry Potter and the like, but it's a refreshing change.

I bought this book for my niece. She didn't even know that it was used. She was very pleased.

So suspenseful. Gosh my heart was racing towards the end of this story. You find out some very valuable secrets such as "The Jenna Thing" and remeber that comprimise Ali made with Toby that led Toby to confess to setting off the fireworks. Well Ali had to keep his secret in order for Toby to keep Ali's, Spencer's, Hanna's, Aria's, and Emily's secret, which is revealed and those secrets are juicy, lets just say chapter 37 is revealing.

So begins the second book in Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series. This one focuses on desperately-seeking-perfection-Hanna, while still intriguing its readers to solve the mystery of 'A': both the the death of and the cryptic messages that Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Emily are still receiving. I have my suspicions, but Shepard shoots down my theories with the turn of every page. If you enjoy the drama of a high school clique mixed with the suspense of a Lifetime Movie, then you will love this series. I can't wait until I can get my hands on #3: Perfect.

In Rosewood, Pennsylvania, live four girls: Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer. Flawless, by Sara Shepard, shows their lifes, and what can happen when life gets going. When their best friend Ali disappears, things change. Their group of friends separates. A few years later, the girls start getting messages from a mysterious person named A. Whoever A is, she/he knows them well, and is forcing them to do certain things, or their secrets will be spilled.
Flawless is not your normal chick-flick about high school girls and their love lives. It's up to date in technology, and stays in touch with normal high school activities and personalities. The plot lines stay juicy, and there is always something happening. The reason for that is each chapter flips back and forth between the girls, showing how each of them is taking in life. That gives you more ways to think about some of the same things.
Not quite everything was great, but close. Because Flawless switches between girls every chapter, you can get confused about you are talking about. Also, some of the characters are very similar in personality, so you can classify them as the sweet one, the aggressive one, the good girl, the rebel, and things like that.
There isn't only Flawless. This is the second book in Sara Shepard's series. The first novel is Pretty Little Liars, the third is Perfect, and there is Unbelievable still to be released. This is a series that you will never get bored with.

I read a lot so i don't ussually like series because by the time the next book comes out i forget what the first one was about. But this book catches you up to speed really fast and it is well written just like the first. It was a really good book i recomend it for people who like The Clique, A-list, Gossip Girl, and authors like Sarah Dessen.

I'm using this book this semester in my Intro to GLBTQ Studies course. I speed read it this summer, ordered it for my students, and now have just re-read it. I was moved to tears by Loffreda's quiet argument and refusal of simple, pop-psych explanations. Her writing challenges both gays and straights, and the arguments many use to explain Matt Shepard's murder as a function of Wyoming's benighted 'culture of hate.' It's a wonderful book that I look forward to assigning, and reading, again. Thanks Beth!

Having been a student in Laramie and enjoying Dr. Loffreda as a favorite professor, I knew I might struggle to look at this book with an objective, critical eye. I think that I was successful, and still I couldn't put it down. Though people talk about Matt Shepard's murder around here regularly, I learned a great deal from this piece, besides being quite moved as well. One reviewer on here says she doesn't tackle the "hard questions." Well, to do so would probably have been rather presumptuous and ultimately impossible. The community and even the nation still struggles to answer, or even articulate, those hard questions. So Loffreda is wise to stick to the facts, yet infused with genuine emotion and testimony from those involved directly and peripherally. Her discussions of the political repercussions is incredibly illuminating and thought-provoking, and I think this is (and should be) the book's primary aim. Sometimes it is difficult to read, but only emotionally. Loffreda's eloquent but never flowery prose makes it otherwise a great reading experience.

I was disappointed. Having heard that the writer, an English professor, had approached her project like a reporter--that she had interviewed Laramie townspeople and M.S.'s fellow students and had quoted them extensively--I was hoping that the town and campus would come alive on the page, like they would in the hands of a good novelist. Doesn't happen. All the voices she quotes sound interchangeable (the quotes sound cleaned up), and the characterizations are watery, indistinct. She's no Janet Malcolm. The other weakness is the author's prissy, scolding tone, in which she appears, annoyingly, every few paragraphs, invariably announcing her appearance with "It seemed to me..." constructions, all of which end with her officiously correcting some misconception that has seized (a) the people of Laramie, or (b) the people outside of Laramie. All of which would be tolerable if she had anything genuinely original to say. But she didn't. It's the same tired postmodern, deconstructionist-era, gender/sexuality-is-a-social-construction rap you've heard a million times.

Like "The Laramie Project", this book is about Laramie, and the larger society of the prairie and mountain West of Noorth America. It is not a biography of Matthew Shepard, nor is it remotely intended to be. That reflects a deliberate decision to respect not only his privacy, but also that of a lot of his friends and relatives who have wanted to keep their memories of Matt to themselves. This can be debated: in the end Romaine patterson and Judy Shepard have thought they do him a better service by trying to tell what he was like as a man, so that he doesn't get lost in various agendas requiring him to be either a plaster saint, or a irresponsible adventurer if not worse).

Either approach will attract its critics. However, as a biographical matter, there is something which must be faced. Matt Shepard was a Westerner of Wyoming, and it was home to him. He wasn't the one out of place in Laramie. Without some understanding of that community and region, you will not understand him.

As a Westerner, although from a very different part of it, I very much appreciated this book. Beth Loffreda is a newcomer, but, unlike many, has spent the time to know and understand the Prairie/Mountain West, without losing a proper objectivity. Its nuances and currents can be easily lost in the presence of stereotyping (something gays would know about), some f which is certainly designed to adavnce agendas of any all varieties. It is easy to idealize; it is easy to denounce. It is much more difficult to describe and understand. She does it very well.

I have seen it written elsewhere that the only two questions which matter are: 1) what happened to Matthew, and 2) what were the motives for his death? I suggest that this book gets us a lot further along towards answers to those questions than some critics might imagine.

If, indeed, it is to be argued that Matthew's fate arose because of some peuliarity of the place where he was killed, then that peculiarity should be assessed. Under examination, it's not an easy question to answer. Simple denunciations of "the usual suspects" doesn't work., and the ones which might matter lie more deeply than that. As far as I have been able to trace it, the answer seems to me to cut either way, It can be argued that there are things about the society which leave young men with no way to express themselves emotionally except in anger, esepcially where other males are concerned. Against this, there is a greater day-to-day tolerance for individuals who are recognized as contributing to the community, whatever unpopular thing they may be or think. That community mya have the habit of overestimating its tolerance (and I think that's a fair criticism of the place), but it has its own reality. Matthew himself, a son of that area, had attained his own position there before going to Switzerland, and showed eveery sign of resuming it when his life was cut short.

As to the motivations of his killers, it has to be said that neither of them posess enough insight or understanding of themselves ever to give us a proper explanation. That doesn't lie within their limited abilities. If we are going to find anythinh more than our own suppositions and yes) prejudices, we'll have to try and find it in their communities.

This book is well worth whatever you need to do to read it.

Those looking for a journalistic treatment of this subject, exposing sensational details and vivid personalities, will be disappointed in this book. It is an even-handed, somewhat reserved reflection on the events that swept the people of Laramie, Wyoming, into the national spotlight when Matt Shepard was murdered in October 1998. While there are several themes in the book, the chief one is the hysteria of the national media, which transformed the story of a young man's beating and death into a horrific hate crime, with all the over-simplification, instant analysis, and easy generalizations of highly competitive news organizations. Understanding the vast complexity of the social context that the murder emerged from and its meaning in terms of the people who make up the fabric of that community have been left for more thoughtful observers, writers and thinkers like the author, who can with greater knowledge, sensitivity, and analytical abilities address the central question, what REALLY happened?

Given the polarizing issue of sexual orientation, it's easy for readers to fault Loffreda for her refusal to reduce the subject to a black-and-white matter of homophobia. She makes an interesting argument about hate crimes, using Matt's murder as a way to show that the notion of a crime motivated purely by hate is an abstraction, and what really motivated this murder was a whole tapestry of motives having to do with social class, intent to rob, upbringing, a macho culture, and a depressed social and economic environment. If you boil it down to anything, what seems to be at the root of the crime is a simple wish to bully, intimidate, and victimize someone perceived as weaker. Where is the hate and where is the bias in all this, she wonders. It's there, yes, but so is much else that can't be addressed by labeling it as a bias crime.

Much of the book is also an attempt to represent the distinctive "lifestyle" of gay men and women living in a rural, thinly populated state, where being "out" is not an option, and there is a generally held belief that homosexuality does not exist there. Involved as she is with the gay community in Laramie, the author is familiar with many gay men and women who appear in the pages of her book, each expressing varying responses to the murder of one of their own. What's instructive is that "gay community" is a misnomer here, where there essentially is none. There is little organization and few resources to make a difference either socially or politically. Instead, national organizations and their celebrity representatives swoop in to capitalize on Matt's murder in the interest of their own agendas, both pro- and anti-gay. Matt gets "lost" in many ways, and this is only one of them.

Loffreda does not set out to win back Matt Shepard, but she does a lot to recover Laramie itself. She reclaims a town in its own terms, not those of the media. While she struggles with residents' resistance to change and the inappropriateness of their responses (emphasizing emotion rather than action), she acknowledges a wide-spread decency, a feeling of remorse, and a genuine wish to overcome complacency. For the gay men and women of Laramie, not a lot changes. There is still fear and anger, to go along with invisibility. But there is also love of this place on the wind-swept prairie, and a belief that for all its drawbacks, this is home.

I recommend this book for its attempt to undo the damage done by the occupying army of the national media. In that respect, it makes an interesting companion to the film "Bowling for Columbine."