Windsor Books

My daughter loved it!!!! It was a required reading for school (senior, high school) and she made a 93 on the test!!!!

This was my first Mary Higgins Clark book. I got this with 4 others stories by Clark and this was my least favorite of the four. I listen to them on CD while I walk.

What I didn't like about this story is that the characters weren't developed enough for me. I frankly didn't care too much. The first murder was of Darcy's character and I really didn't feel anything other than curious about how Erin would catch him. When Erin's character was in trouble my only emotion was that the outcome I predicted happened and I was a disappointed.

This book did hold my attention but it was predictable and the characters were not developed. I almost wasn't going to read the other books I got by Mary Higgins Clark based on Loves Music, Loves to Dance.

I really enjoy Mary Higgins Clark, and finally got around to reading this one.

Darcy Scott and Erin Kelley were always the best of friends. They each had a great career. Darcy was a decorator and Erin a wonderful jewelry designer. As part of a project, they were helping their friend Nona research the kinds of people who place personal ads in magazines trying to find their lucky match. Erin answered an ad, "Loves Music,Loves to Dance." That was the worst fate of all. When Darcy was going to meet Erin up for dinner one evening, she never showed up. This was totally unlike Erin, and Darcy knew something was wrong. Later when her body turns up, Darcy is horror-struck. After this happens, Darcy is determined to find out just what happened to Erin. So she manages to retrieve the ads her friend answered, and arranges to meet each of these guys in a safe place.

Darcy better watch out though. One of those ads was the killer's, and Darcy may end up dead. But the gentlemen who seem the most likely suspects are not the one. And the person Darcy believes she is the safest with, may be the biggest killer of all. And the whole time, he has been watching Darcy, and has BIG plans especially for her.

very good novel, not my fav one but it was very good, it was kinda boring in the middle but the end of course as USUAL it was the best!!!!

Darcy and Erin are doing research on the kind of people who place personal ads by answering some personals and going out on dates. Erin chooses one where the man signs himself, "Loves music, loves to dance" and he does - but he's also a serial killer.

This book follows the same old formula that all of Mary Higgins Clarke's books do: A beautiful heroine is stalked by a perverted psycho. She meets a lot of red herrings who could all be the baddie and we won't know the villain's true identity until the minute when our damsel is rescued by Prince Charming. There's no suspense or excitement.

Clark's books are quick reads, good for the beach or a plane trip, but too predictable and poorly written for me to read anymore of them. There are too many characters to keep track of, we're given way too much useless information about them, the dialog is full of grandiose words and phrases that aren't realistic, and we know the heroine will solve the mystery in the end. I like this book's title and the idea of a killer finding his victims through personals, but it didn't hold my interest.

I was pleased with the "used" book I received. It was in very good shape. No dustcover, but I didn't expect one on a "used" book. The binding was in very good condition, and I received it in a timely manner.
Thanks!

An excellent book, Mary Stewart begins to tell the tale of a young
Merlin. Here, Merlin is a boy, son of a Welsh princess. A geeky type of
kid, with an interesting is learning, this marks him as odd. People
think liking this stuff is so odd they begin to talk about him as being
the offspring of a demon!

Demon geek, there you go. No one likes him, if other words, so he
has to leave. He ends up finding his father, Ambrosius, an ex-king, and
studying some more.

Then there is the whole thing with Ambrosius' brother Uther.

Mary Stewart delivers a quick read that takes the reader to the beginning of the Arthur story. Merlin develops from a young, retreating boy to a self-assured (perhaps cocky?) man who can receive visions but cannot control them. The characters are real and well-drawn (I especially liked Ambrosius) and the machinations and battles for control of Britain are handled thoroughly, but from a distance. There is a sense of build-up that does not quite pay off, but will lead the reader nicely into the next book in the series.

Exactly what I was in the market for. A well written fantasy novel that is so convincing you'll think it really happened... I highly recommend this book and the other two in the series.

The first in the four part Arthurian/Merlin Saga. Told by Merlin himself, the book introduces the reader to a divided Britain, and adds some realism to the Wizardry mythology.
The saga continues with The Hollow Hills (The Arthurian Saga, Book 2)

I have read several of Michael Connelly's books. This is among the best of American writing. You cannot go wrong. This is not pulp fiction. In Borsch, Connelly has makes a fascinating character real. The plot twists and turns. Expect to loose some sleep because Connelly makes it come alive and you will not want to hit "stop".

Well written with good dialogue and good character development. Some things were predictable, like the defense lawyer getting killed and the newspaper reporter being the killer.

The plot was good and the story moved along well.

A good read.

Michael Connelly is a writer of thrillers out of the ordinary. His appetite for Hieronimus Bosh, the detective strong personality, endearing, noble sentiments, insightful, human is shared with the reader. "The Concrete Blonde" grips your guts and does not leave you a moment of respite. Stress will go crescendo. Bright story. Rebondissements, surprises, tiredness, ... Nothing is spared to the reader who asks himself who is the killer. Great art. One of the best Connelly.

In the first novel of the series ("The Black Echo"), reference was made to the shooting that got Harry Bosch disciplined within the department. Now it is four years later. The police department is being sued for alleged violations of the suspect's civil rights. As the trial progresses, you learn a little more about Harry's past, and a lot more about the four-year-old case.

This is a novel about serial killers. It is not overly graphic, but you do learn a lot along the way about the porn trade in Los Angeles, the seamier side of life, and the black heart hidden inside some people who appear externally normal. It is a well written novel with some surprises.

If you liked The Black Echo, don't miss this book!

Only Michael Connelly would dream up a story where a beleaguered police detective being sued for use of excessive force would spend every hour outside of the trial tracking down a serial killer. The Concrete Blonde picks up on the back story behind the first book in the series, The Black Echo, in which Harry Bosch it is reported that Bosch had been previously demoted from the elite Robbery-Homicide Division to the Hollywood Division's homicide squad for not having followed the procedure of calling for a back up before shooting and killing a serial murder suspect while the suspect was reaching for his toupee. The Concrete Blonde opens with the scene in which Bosch shot the suspect.

The City of Los Angeles and Harry are being sued by the widow of Norman Church, the man Bosch killed. The widow has a tough attorney and Bosch has a stumble bum from the city attorney's office. The case seeks to exonerate Church from having killed anyone. But Bosch knows better. The evidence pointed to Church being the Dollmaker, a serial killer who applied extensive make up to the victims.

During the trial a shock arrives. Another dead body is found that looks like it has been killed by the Dollmaker . . . but the body is fresher than Church's death. Does this mean that Church wasn't the Dollmaker . . . or is there some, more sinister, explanation?

While Bosch is defending himself in court, another deadly game is being played behind the scenes. Who will win?

For me, The Concrete Blonde nicely captured the strengths of The Black Echo that made that book such a remarkable detective story that introduced this outstanding series. I was glad to see Mr. Connelly return the series to its excellent roots.

Have a ball!

I picked up this book because it's commonly a "banned book", and I have to read a selection of those for a childrens/teens writing course I am taking to polish up my writing for publication.

Judy Blume is one of my favorite authors. From her popular "Fudge" series, to "Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret," she has a fresh way of writing about teenagers and the struggles they go through.

"Deenie" is one such teenager. She's a 7th-grade teenager who loves to hang out with her friends, has a crush on a boy named Buddy, and isn't quite sure how to stand up to her selfish, domineering mother when she insists on taking Deenie to modeling interviews each Saturday when she's rather go to the mall with her friends.
Pretty typical teenager, huh?

However, she is also nervous and unsure (and a bit cruel) in her dealings with the handicapped. For example, one of the girls in her gym class has bad eczema rashes (that are NOT catching), yet Deenie privately calls her "The Creeping Crud" and is afraid to hold her hands in modern dance, and runs to wash her hands several times if she does.

So, it's a bit ironic that she almost become "one of them" when she gets diagnosed with "adolescent idiopathic scoliosis".
What that jumble of words means is that is that she has a case of teenage scoliosis (it progress rapidly during growth spurts) and they have no idea why she got it, especially since there is no sign of it either on her mothers side or her father's.

She ends up having to wear an uncomfortable-sounding metal-and-plastic brace of sorts that is supposed to correct the curvature of her spine while she's a teenager and hopefully prevent the need for surgery to correct it when she gets older. The brace, called a Milwaukee Brace, goes from a sort of metal collar around her neck, to the base of her spine, and she has to wear it for 23 hours, 365 days a week (unless she's swimming or bathing); and that includes sleeping.

This book is often classified as a "banned book," because it deals frankly (yet a little vaguely) on the topic of masturbation.
Deenie sometimes "touches her special place" when she's feeling scared and can't sleep. Then, in sex ed at school, the topic comes up again, and the teacher explains that is normal and not dangerous if young boys and girls do it.

Personally, I don't see what all the hoopla is about. This book was written for teenagers to show them that it is normal to feel scared, unsure about growing up or to have hormones and want to kiss the opposite sex. However, it was written at a time when all that sort of talk was taboo, I guess, and this book is frequently pulled from libraries and reading lists because some parents can't look past those bits, and see the character of Deenie as being a frightened teenager who has to deal with a monumental change.
This book is written for 10-14 year-old kids and it's not really for anyone younger.
However, I would have no problem letting my daughter read this and discuss its content with me when she becomes a teenager.
A great book; no wonder is a classic, even if it was originally written in 1971!

I read this book 29 years ago on the recommendation of my doctor. I was 10 years old and in NYU hospital ready to under go scoliosis surgery. I had worn an ugly, bulky brace from my chin to me hips for 8 months but ended up needing the surgery. It was great to read a book that struck such a chord at a hard time. It was good to know that I wasn't the only kid going through such a thing. If you know a kid who has scoliosis, this is a great book. How often, at that age (9 - 13) do we actually get to read a book that could be written about us and what we are actually going through at that moment?

Deenie was an awesome book by Judy Blume because it had regular teenage feelings but more importantly, Deenie had scoliosis, which is the curve of the spine. She must wear a Millwakee brace for 4 years to correct her curve. I have scoliosis too, and I was glad to see a famous author had written about it. It was a very heartwarming book and you really got to know Deenie. I would defenitly recomend it for readers of all ages who need a little inspiration in their lives.

P.S. It's a very quick and easy read, but still has a rich plot and juicy descriptions.Deenie

Do you like to read realistic fiction books? Well, if you do, just keep on reading to find out...
This book is about a girl named Deenie. Her passion was cheerleading. Unfortunally, when she went for cheerleading try outs, she did not make it onto the squad. Deenie felt very disappointed. After her mom, Ma', wanted her to be a model, she refused. Finally, when her mom convinced her to try out to be a model, Deenie felt content that she had an opportunity to be a model. But when she was going to try out to modeling, the teacher said that there was something funny about her posture. Deenie felt as if her world were falling apart. When she discovered that she needed to wear a brace because she had a crooked spine, she felt horrible. She had never worried about how she looked before...
How would she ever face the hard times ahead?
The character I most admired was Deenie. She was decent. When she didn't get to be on the cheerleading squad and her friend Janet did. She didn't say: "I wish you had never been in the cheerleading squad", she just felt proud of her friend Janet. Another character I admired was Janet. She was really kind to Deenie when she was stuck wearing a brace.
I think the author's style was to reveal what it is like to have a disease like scholiosis. When I read the Author's note it said that she had met a girl that had the same problem as Deenie.
I think this was a good book. I like to read books that teach you a lesson. This book taught me that it doesn't matter how you are on the outside, how you look. It just matters how you are on the inside.
I recommend this book to my friends, since they like to read realistic fiction stories too.

Deenie is a beautiful seventh grader whose mother desperately wants her to be a model. Deenie doesn't really know if she wants to be a model, but goes along with her mother's wishes so as not to rock the boat. Whenever she goes on modeling interviews, they seem to always comment about her posture, which makes her mother angry. Deenie promises that she will begin working on her posture. When her school gym teacher notices that Deenie's posture is a problem, she notifies Deenie's parents who take her to a specialist. It turns out that Deenie has adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and that she will have to wear a brace to correct it. So much for her modeling career.

In the tradition of most Judy Blume books, Deenie tackles many issues that teenage girls face. Deenie's mother is constantly harping on her looks and the hopes that she had for Deenie to become a successful model, whether Deenie wanted to or not. She is a typical stage mom who puts both of her daughters into very specific roles: Helen is the brains, Deenie is the beauty. When things don't work out the way that she plans, she takes her frustration out on Deenie. In turn, Deenie wonders if the disease is her fault.

Deenie also has to deal with the issue of being self-conscious about something that is really outside of her control. At the beginning of the novel she focuses on others' deformities: a girl with eczema, which Deenie refers to as "creeping crud," is avoided because of her red and flaky skin; Deenie never makes eye contact with a woman who has a hunchback until her own spine malformation is noticed. Deenie is a story about growing up and maturing, and the change in Deenie from start to finish is evident.

Unfortunately, for some, Judy Blume also tackles teenage sexuality in this novel, which has caused it to be one of the most challenged works of young adult fiction. Personally, I felt the references were mild at best, and completely appropriate. Deenie mentions touching herself as a way of feeling better when things spiral out of control. The subject of teenage masturbation is handled with tact and elegance, and I think people just make more out of it than they should.

As a whole, Deenie was an excellent book, and one I never got a chance to read when I was younger. I'm glad I picked it up now, and can honestly say that it has a lot of good messages for young adults. If you can look past the mild sexual references to the heart of the story, a young girl who has to learn to look past exteriors to see inner beauty--including her own--I think you'll enjoy this story.

Hard to get into. The movie is better except the movie leaves out one of the children and I am sure alot more. Maybe onday I will be able to get into it.

This biography was a pleasant surprise! I thought it would be tedious to read and even harder to sift through the writer's biases. However, Antonia Frasier provided a wonderful insight into not only what Marie Antoinette's world was like, but also her strengths and weaknesses as a queen, mother, and woman. Frasier lent an air of sympathy which kept me enraptured until the very end of the book - not an easy task in a biography!

Fraser's biography is now considered one of the more complete contemporary works on Marie Antoinette's life, and beyond that is a fascinating peek into the end of imperial French life.

We all know the story as well as if it were a Greek tragedy; the beautiful young princess who desired too much, the lascivious old king who left "le deluge" to wash over his descendants, and the harrowing end for the last heir to the thrown in a Gothic prison. Fraser, however, brings all these scenes that make up the story Marie Antoinette and her part in the French Revolution to new life. The narrative flows like a novel while her prose remains slightly detached, ultimately allowing the reader to judge the queen's guilt for himself.

I know some readers find Fraser too sympathetic to Marie Antoinette considering all the transgressions, but I challenge anyone not to be moved by Marie Antoinette's love for her children and loyalty to her family.

Wonderful book about the Queen of France. From her early days as the Arch Duchess of Austria, to Dauphine of France to finally the Queen of France. It follows her life (journey)to her death. It also gives insight into the last surviving member of King Louis Auguste and Queen Marie Antoinette, Marie Therese.

I have read many books on the Dauphine over the years and this is one of the best.
It covers in detail all of the daily life of a queen and the sacrifice she made by becoming a queen.
It seems that the paparazzi today are angels compared to what the people of France and all of Europe did to their monarchs.
The book is well researched, and well done and like all good books on her, this one doesnt speculate but clarifies the life of this often misunderstood young woman.
I recommend it highly.
But be warned - it is very detailed and there are tons of people to keep track of,
Even so, it reads well and you never get bored with it.

I teach school and the students love Judy Bloom books. We read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing first and the kids couldn't wait to read Superfudge.

What's most pleasing about this book is how funny and true to life it is. Peter is a normal older brother suffering the mixed feelings of having an annoying little brother, and the chaos they all get into is hilarious! It's good for older siblings and little kids that just went to have a good laugh. It's a good-spirited book that actually covers many different and hilarious topics.

Still a classic after all these years - perfect for your tween-aged nieces, daughters, etc. Fun, light, clean, and easy reading for kids.

My kid's and I listened to this book on CD during our morning drive to school. I was shocked and disapointed that the author plainly tells children there is no Santa Clause (she's wrong of course). I found it reprehensible that she would take this position in a children's book.

'Superfudge' is the sequel to 'Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,' another classic children's story. This book would make a great gift for an older child. A funny and wierd book about two brothers. Peter the oldest brother does not get any attention, while his brother, Fudge, is wild and spoiled.

Twelve-year-old Peter Hatcher and his family are moving to Princeton for a year. Peter and his brother Fudge don't always get along. Their mother is going to have a baby soon, adding more uncertainty to their lives. Will the baby be like Fudge? What could be worse for Peter?

The story moves quickly, keeping the reader's attention, and is filled with humor. The reader will definitely appreciate Blume's talent for writing a good tale.

Kate Atkinson manages to find humor in many of the terrible and strange situations that a person can go through. I will admit that the characters are a bit hard to follow because of the order in which the author adds footnotes. She skips back and forth from great-granddaughter to great-grandmother, however, I enjoyed slowly finding out what happened to each individual character. I fell in love with Ruby Lennox (the main character) and the clever way the author tells her story. If you are offended by someone finding the humor in disaster, this is not the book for you. If you are like me, you find the humor in life, I think you'll enjoy this book tremendously.

You know it's bad when you go online to see what the big secret is when you're halfway through the book. But that's what I finally had to do with this book. I just got overcome by curiosity. Or possibly driven mad by all the vague hints and innuendo. (And yes, all my suspicions were correct.) If you're looking to find the answer, you'll have to look elsewhere (I suggest Wikipedia), but at least now you know you're not alone in not being able to wait for the big reveal.

Aside from all the secrets, this book is populated by a vast and confusing cast of characters. Told in alternating chapters between the life of Ruby Lennox (who narrates her own story from the moment of conception) and the stories of her maternal antecedents (told in the third person), we learn about several generations of women who make bad decisions in marriage and what happens to them as a result. Needless to say, this isn't a particularly cheerful book.

I really enjoyed Emotionally Weird, but I can't stand Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I have about 100 pages to go and although I plan to finish the book I'm certainly not looking forward to it.

I can't figure out how this book won any awards or was considered to be good by anyone. Unlike some other reviewers, I really like the third-person stories about Ruby's ancestors; it's Ruby's own story that I find completely unbearable. First of all, it's hard to develop any investment in the characters when you are told from the outset most of the things that are going to happen to them. I guess there is something interesting about a story being told this way, though. What really made it impossible for me to like the book was the incredibly cutesy asides in Ruby's sections.

Some of the cutesy asides are supposed to be funny because they're about child-Ruby not knowing things the reader presumably knows, like when she wonders why no one will tell her what Durex is. It is really hard to find these funny because after a while reading a book about someone who doesn't know anything just gets annoying. You can't even use the excuse that Ruby is a child, because the narrator is simultaneously Ruby-as-a-child and some older version of Ruby looking back. Don't worry, Ruby-looking-back is also responsible for many cutesy asides. Some of the cutesy asides are just irritating because they're not necessary--"Buck and Bunty! What a wonderful-sounding couple they would have made--I can almost see them." Others are terrible puns/references: "Auntie Babs prides herself on being a good cook and suffers none of the Strindbergian gloom that Bunty experiences when cooking. (Or perhaps it's Ibsenesque--perhaps Bunty is also trapped in a doll's house? Just a thought.)" I can't believe that other people were able to wade through this writing without going crazy.

Also, the secret about her past that Ruby doesn't know is pretty obvious almost immediately. Atkinson insults the reader's intelligence for hundreds of pages with crap like "My Gillian, my pearl;" I mean, how stupid do you have to be to not get that? The only thing I can think of is that this is supposed to be similar to Ruby not knowing what Durex is--the reader is supposed to know something Ruby doesn't know, although why Atkinson would want to frustrate her readers so much I don't understand.

The action of "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" starts in 1951, when its narrator, Ruby Lennox, upon her conception exclaims "I exist!".

Ruby, a daughter of Bunty and George, tells the story of her life from the very beginning until adulthood. Her family - the parents and two elder sisters, Gillian and Patricia, live in York, in an apartment, which Ruby calls "Above the Shop" - as owners of a small pet store. Each family member is a character, from always upset, embittered Bunty, openly fornicating George, malicious Gillian who meets her tragic fate too soon, to the oldest sister, Patricia, a teenage rebel who turns out the sane, independent woman following her own path after cutting all her ties with the family.

The main narrative is woven around the "Footnotes" which alternate with ordinary chapters, but really are full, rich chapters in themselves. The footnotes go back in time, always triggered by some seemingly meaningless item encountered in the main story - a photo, a button - and recall the lives of the maternal side of Ruby's family - her great-grandmother Alice, who one day disappeared from her children's lives and was supposed to be dead (the real events of the day of her disappearance are revealed late in the book, as many other shocking or unexpected details about the Lennoxes), her grandmother Nell, unlucky with her boyfriend choices and finally settling for second best, and -last but not least - her great-aunt Lillian, strong and opinionated, living her life to the fullest. I liked the structure of this novel, Ruby's brisk, eloquent, flowing sentences, the dark humor, showing nonchalantly throughout the whole book, the brilliant portrayal of the English people of this complicated, yet average family living during the long and variegated decades of the twentieth century. I also liked, and pondered on, the different shades of grief shown her - perhaps the most important theme throughout the whole novel.

The two facets of the novel, the present and the past of the Lennox family are firmly placed in history. The background of pre-war England and the torrents of World War II are essential to the developments in the family, and at the same time round up the novel and make it wholesome and rich. A plethora of secondary characters, who are, nevertheless, fully developed (like Auntie Doreen, a beautiful portrait), and unexpectedly connect with the Lennoxes, is a plus in my opinion. The prose flows smoothly, the novel is absorbing and hard to put down.

I agree with the previous reviewers on two faults of this novel. First, Ruby's omniscience from fetal life and her incredible eloquence and knowledge, are funny when contrasted with the fact that she is still a child and much of her thinking is characteristic for a child (imagination, her own creative visions of the Cupboard and explanations of things she does not understand, her confusion and enthusiasm for life...), and fun to read, but not very believable. This is not so bad though, it is a question of style and Atkinson's style is original and fresh, largely because of Ruby's voice. Second, much worse in my opinion, is the introduction of the most shocking news in the novel. I agree it is a gimmick and made the story "too much" for my taste - it just went over the edge, while without it the novel had a chance to be really perfect. There were just enough secrets and just enough ends that come together, without the central revelation. This is a pity, but considering it was a long-form debut, "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" deserved the Whitbread prize and deserves the four stars I give it.

This is a weird and wonderful and amazingly talented bit of writing. I'm not surprised to see the controversy in the reviews here on Amazon. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is a difficult story emotionally - and uses some extremely unconventional tropes and techniques that can be hard to swallow. But it is a brilliant depiction of family dynamics, English culture, and the weird twisted nature of love.

The first hard to swallow trope is the omniscient fetus. Fetal Ruby Lennox has complete awareness of her mother's thoughts and emotions and full vision of the world around her mother - not to mention an excellent grasp of the English language (and even a good background in modernist literature - Ibsen and Strindberg are specifically cited by the fetus (!)) It's tough to get behind this - but I chose to suspend my issues and go with it. Fortunately that part ends very soon.

The second tough to follow aspect is the footnotes section that follows each chapter - really a whole separate chapter that takes place in a different time and generation - but relates thematically in often cryptic way. This weaving back and forth among the generations gives the novel a meandering feel - and takes some of the wind out of the sails of the narrative flow - but something is also gained. By braiding the different narratives across time, it adds to the emotional impact when they come together.

My third big issue with this book is that the coincidences of long lost family members showing up as unrelated characters takes on a bit of a ridiculous quality in the final moments of the book. Atkinson uses lost family members to good effect earlier. She manages to throw in one more at the end who shows up (unknown to any of the characters - but known to the reader) as a nurse at a final deathbed scene and I just felt it was too much. If I were the editor I would have recommended cutting that one.

If you look past the distracting mannerisms of these issues you are rewarded with a brilliant representation of history and family dynamics. Poverty, war, love, abuse, all impact the lives of - particularly - the wives and daughters of this family and produce some thoroughly believable and familiar characters. The emotionally distracted, sometimes adulterous, bad mother is pretty familiar to a lot of people in life. I have never met this character better portrayed than Bunty is here. The dynamics amongst sisters is also spot on. Not since Stephen King have I admired realism in kid dialog so much.

Even better is the miraculous way the narrative braids and interrelates across generations. Atkinson manages to complicate the narrative every time it seems wrapped up a in a bow. A couple of these complications come across as shocking haunting revelations. Atkinson's vision is brilliant and stays with you long after you finish this book. That's my bottom line for a good novel. The central theme is trauma and then recovery (and sometimes redemption). Some have complained there's too much tragedy in this book. They should read some English history. The last hundred years of European history is soaked in blood. Sure it hurts to get to know characters who go through the horrors of the first and second world wars. I'm sure there are plenty of families with body counts similar to the Lennox's across the generations. It's pretty silly to argue historical validity in a novel that's basically magical realist. There's a lot of death and emotional trauma in this book. How the surviving carry on - sometimes by recovering and sometimes by bearing emotional scars - is the central theme of this book and it had a lot to teach me. Some have complained about the neutral, almost uncaring tone of the narrative when presenting the violent scenes. I have to admit I loved this tone. It makes the tragedy much easier to take - and it also serves the narrative. Detachment and repression are basic human survival mechanisms to trauma. The general thrust is ultimately redemptive, however - and this book accentuates the positive, particularly in the end.

Ultimately, while I acknowledge some flaws, I conclude that this novel breaks new ground and creates a new style. It's a towering achievement and really great read. Normally I'd consider the flaws and give such a book 4 stars - but I feel this is really 4.5 stars and deserves the 5th to counter the low rating by those that didn't get it.

This book was important for me to read, because it followed Darkest Hour, but all that incest of made me sick!!! Also, Clara Sue isn't even showing her sexy self! Nothing wrong with a little chubbiness!!!!!

I really thought that Lillian was going to be THAT sexy blonde MISS AMERICA? Instead she had gone soft... Well with those gorgeous blonde locks turning into a short curl, not the mention her girly ho blue eyes have gone grey, and her sex appeal has lef the building! I HATED GRANDMERE! I miss my GLAMer!

Frankly I didn't know how Dawn -as I read on a little birdie told me that she was supposed to be madam of- would inherit the HO (I won't tel)?! Love this book, it left so much to be told?!!!

"Dawn" started out strong, grabbing my attention and kept me going. At times I could guess what was going to happen next but there were still a lot of surprises.

What I did not like about this book were the likenesses it had to other books by V.C. Andrews. In this series there is a wicked, stern, tight-lipped grandmother, incestual relationships implied as well as made into reality. Must we repeat "Flowers"? Surely V.C. Andrews had other ideas for plots for her books. Let's branch out! I ended up just skimming past those parts in the book.

Aside from the sexual encounters, I thought this book to be a pretty good read. It kept me going with it's hints of deceit because I wanted to find out the truth as well.

Every one in our household enjoys these wonderful books by V.C. Andrews. They are very interesting and always a thrill to read.

Let me say that this novel is what got me into reading V.C. Andrews in the first place, though the details of the Cutler series never stuck out in my mind like "Flowers in the Attic" or "Petals on the Wind", or the Casteel or Landry series. As for "My Sweet Audrina", though the story was refreshingly original, I just never connected with the characters like I connected with Catherine Leigh Dollanganger, my favorite V.C. heroine because of her strength and passion. I read the first three Dawn books in three days, I couldn't put them down, I was so drawn into the story, and that is worth a lot.

However, what hurt this book is Dawn falling in love with Jimmy (and he with her), who she knew as her brother for the first fifteen years of her life, and the way she was able to just turn off her less than sisterly feelings for Philip just like that didn't make a whole lot of sense either. That kind of thing takes time and even then, especially if you've already been intimate (even if you haven't gone all the way), I don't know if those feelings ever really go away, even if you fall in love with someone else. Actually, I think Jimmy and Dawn getting together is actually weirder than her and Philip getting together, even if they were blood-related. Heaven's story was more believable, in that the boy, Tom, she had loved as her brother, she still loved as her brother, even after she found out they weren't blood-related; and her uncle Troy, with whom she had not only slept with, but already fallen in love with, she loved that way still, even if it is supposedly wrong (I am not sure if there is anything in the Bible about uncles not being able to marry nieces--I have heard it's only wrong if it's aunts marrying nephews, but I'm not sure). I agree with Corinne Foxworth Dollanganger (Cathy's mother from "Flowers in the Attic") that a lot of rules are man-made, for she and her half-uncle (really her half-brother, as you later find out) married in a church. But I digress.

Yes, Jimmy having always wished that Dawn was too pretty to be his sister was much creepier to me than Philip's obsession with her.

I've usually found the heroine's love interests in these novels attractive, and though Jimmy was a great guy (not to mention in uniform for awhile), I couldn't get past the stupid name of Jimmy Longchamp. I like James, but that last name needed to go.

I think this story was set (at the beginning) in 1978, and were Southern aristocrats really this obsessed with going by first and middle names? I thought it was a bit over the top. They acted like Dawn No-Middle-Name was a weird name. Maybe the GW just had too much fun with names. Authors tend to go overboard with naming their characters sometimes.

I did cringe at the description of Laura Sue (a pretty, useless thing, and Dawn's natural mother) as resembling a Dresden doll, and some of the metaphors to the themed titles sounded a bit silly (though I was so into the story, I don't have any examples).

I think there are twins in the first five V.C. series (two in the Dollanganger saga and two in the Landry series: Ruby and Gisselle, and Ruby's sons, Jean and Pierre), save the Casteel (though don't quote me on that), which averages over a set of twins per series! I know the GW was trying to copy V.C.'s style, and there's nothing wrong with trying to emulate (for the sake of continuing her legacy, but don't copy!). There have already been two evil Grandmother Olivias, and whereas there was the grandmother Jillian in the Casteel series, there was Lillian in this one. I'm not really complaining about the similarities, as long as the GW gives each character their own voice and personality, but he didn't give Dawn much of a personality (he gave it all to Clara Sue). Now Cathy had a personality!

Another similarity is that all the women (save Heaven), have an artistic talent. Out of all the series, the Dollanganger and the Casteel series were the most original and I think that's because they are probably the only two that were the original ideas of V.C. (even though I think she died before finishing the Casteel series).

So, even though there are a lot of similarities (and Fern's character added nothing to this series), it is still well worth the time and money I spent on it.

As all of V.C. Andrews books reveal...there are many twists and turns along the way of life. Dawn, a girl who finds herself torn between what she once thought as truth, and what she now knows as truth, is shown that life isn't always what you believe it to be. There is a slow start to this book, which makes one sort of believe that nothing too bad will happen. However, when it comes to it, we learn there are many secrets in the Cutler family, and Dawn is just one of them. To write much more would spoil everything entirely. I would personally recommend this book to a teenage girl trying to discover who she really is. Also, I would recommend this book, and the entire series to anyone willing to get a taste of what lies and deceit are in a family.

Cheapest price I could find and I looked through several sites. The book is in great condition. It took took a long time to get to me. Longer than most other books I ordered at the same time.

The story is set in southern Mexico in the early 20th century. The protagonist is a beaten-down catholic priest who drinks too much and fathered an illegimate daughter. He is torn by the reality of his sin and the product of that sin, a beautiful little girl. He is a wanted man and tries to fulfill his calling as he hides from the law. At that time in parts of Mexico the church was being persecuted by the government and religion was outlawed. Churches were razed and priests were forced to renounce their faith and take wives or face the firing squad. The book is not about theology and doesn't glorify the church.

It is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a very human being caught up in circumstances he can't control and trying to do the right thing in impossible situations. He struggles daily with doubts about his effectiveness and his very reason for continuing to resist. The author shows the humanity of the fugitive priest as well as his persecutors. The priest, although protesting that he is a coward, follows the hard path of righteousness as he comes to see it and triumphs in the end.

I found it fascinating.

Graham Greene probably is one of the most intriguing writers to me. I can't say I like the story itself, but his ability to write such complex matters as sin, martyrdom, frailty, politics, and many more and weave them so coherently with interesting characters is just amazing. Just think of the name whiskey priest! The poetry in his prose and insightful reflections is beautiful as well.

(4.5 stars) Graham Greene's most elaborate and personal examination of the good life--and the role of the Catholic church in teaching what the good life is--revolves around an unnamed "whiskey priest" in Mexico in the 1930s. Religious persecution is rife as secular rulers, wanting to bring about social change, blame the church for the country's ills. When the novel opens, the church, its priests, and all its symbols have been banned for the past eight years from a state near Veracruz. Priests have been expelled, murdered, or forced to renounce their callings. The whiskey priest, however, has stayed, bringing whatever solace he can to the poor who need him, while at the same time finding solace himself in the bottle.

Constantly on the move, the priest suffers agonizing conflicts. His sense of guilt for the past includes a brief romantic interlude which has produced a child, and though he recognizes that he is often weak, selfish, and fearful, he still tries to bring comfort to the faithful. Pursued by a police lieutenant who believes that justice for all can only occur if the church is destroyed, and by a mestizo, who is seeking the substantial reward for turning him in, the desperate priest finally decides to escape to a nearby state in which religion is not banned so that the police will stop killing hostages taken in the villages he has visited.

The police pursuit of the priest is paralleled by their pursuit of a "gringo" murderer, a man so base that he thinks nothing of murdering children, yet the priest even sees value in this man's life, and when the gringo, the mestizo, the lieutenant, and the priest finally come together, Greene's philosophical and religious analysis reaches its climax. For all their faults, the priest is often heroic, the murdering gringo still has a soul worth saving, the mestizo (a Judas figure) offers the priest a better chance to see God, and the lieutenant eventually sees the priest as a human, not simply as a symbol.

Greene's novel is beautifully constructed--intricate, filled with symbols and parallels, yet often sensitive and moving. Though the action moves through an almost unremittingly bleak landscape and the sense of dread is positively palpable throughout, the novel eventually reveals the "power" and the "glory" of faith. In this sense, the novel is as much a philosophical and religious tract--specifically an examination of the Catholic faith--as it is a human story. While some may find the novel dogmatic and the priest's agonized self-examination sometimes tedious, others will find the novel uplifting and inspiring. n Mary Whipple

The Third Man
Our Man in Havana: An Entertainment (Twentieth Century Classics)
The Human Factor (Everyman's Library Classics)

Like Mr. Attenborough, Graham Green has roamed the world. His interests were not primarily plants and animals, but representatives of the human species, often those profoundly flawed. His novels are set in Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, and more. His characters play out their drama against these exotic backgrounds, the expatriates and the natives, and almost certainly it is an interaction between these groups that is a dynamo which drives the novel forward. I used to think that "The Quiet American," set in Vietnam, was his finest, but after re-reading "The Power and the Glory," I would rank them equally.

It is pre-World War II Mexico, anti-clerical forces are reigning, and therefore the agents of the Catholic Church are outside the law, often literally hunted, and if caught, executed. The two principal characters are reflected in each noun of the title, a police lieutenant who vows to bring in the last functioning priest in the province. This is the principal thread of dynamic tension that unifies the novel. There is a similar thread within the hunted priest himself. He is considered a "whiskey priest," with a fondness for brandy, and he has a daughter. Does he really want to escape his pursers, or does he believe his capture would be just punishment for his sins? It is a many-faceted issue that is used to explore his character.

Graham also populates his novel with numerous minor characters, mainly part of the human detritus that has washed up in this developmental backwater. There is an American dentist, barely surviving with his antique tools; a steamship captain, his wife and their precocious daughter; and a German-American couple who have opted for Mexico instead of submitting to conscription during WW I. There are also the natives, a "half-cast" who haunts the priest, and a touchingly stubborn Indian woman with her dead infant.

In reading Greene, and particularly such a novel on the Catholic Church, it is important to reflect that according to his biographers, Greene himself was both Catholic, and profoundly flawed. Along with the works of Carlos Fuentes, this is a quintessential book on Mexico, and therefore a vital read for all Americans in particular.

I thought Mayday was a unique look at the nightmare of what would happen with a loss of pressurization at such a high altitude, creating basically a zombie world. This book is very suspenseful and exciting. I highly recommend it even though it is a bit different than Demille's other works.

This book is fabulous however I think Thomas H. Block should be given the credit as he wrote the book. Nelson DeMille only edited it and a job well done. It is certainly a must read for any one who likes this type of story. Just don't take it when you are planning to go on an airplane. As a former airline employee I was drawn into the story and never let out. It is fabulous.

A supersonic commercial aircraft flying at 62,000 feet and carrying 300+ passengers is accidently drilled through during a test of a new navy missile without a warhead. Decompression causes brain damage and the surviving passengers become violent. Suspenseful plot- well-presented - great writing - a 5-star work in its genre.

Haven't you always secretly thought you could land the plane if you had to? If, like me, you have had that fantasy - the attendant comes down the aisle asking if there is anyone on board who has flown a plane and her eyes come to rest on you - and the next thing you know, you are behind the controls, trying things out - in my case, with a handsome, incapacitated copilot at my side, guiding me every step of the way - then this is the yarn for you! DeMille and Thomas Block are sticklers for accuracy and realism, and you will soon find this book an extension of your arm, as your hand clings to it wherever you go. I read it through a trip to the airport, a healthfair and Fall Festival at my grandaughter's school!

When you can't put it down, it's a winner. Interesting and seeming a bit scary in its realism is the thinking, approach and actions of the insurance company, the military and the airline when confronted with the thought of a planeload of brain damaged souls. Unfortunately, some of those scenes are probably not far from the truth, in the heat of a potential disaster.

There are a number of situations which make you wonder what you would do if ever faced with a similar event. Would you take the drastic action one passenger does, or would you ride it out and hope for the best for your family? There's lots to think about when you finish that last page -and you'll find yourself continuing to think about this story as you hear the news of the day, or see a 747 fly over.

This was a great read. I wish all books were as captivating as this one was!

I read Mayday hot on the heels of finishing Full Story Insideand now I'm exhausted. More conspiracy theory and excellent research that creates the perfect back drop to a breathtaking thriller in the sky. As another reviewer stated this does have a strong lean towards Clive Cussler, which is no bad thing.