Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
I’m a little embarrased to admit that I’d never read a Judy Blume book. I know Superfudge and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret were big hits when I was growing up. But I never picked them up, despite the fact I read a lot at that age. And now, I have a son in 4th grade. And he was reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. So I decided to read it too. And here’s my takeaway: Fudge is a terrible human being. […]
The Hidden Hand or Capitola the Madcap by E.D.E.N. Southworth
FLAMES AND FURIES! Get ready for hundreds of pages of exclamations, ejaculations, and interjections! But really, there is a lot of ejaculating in this book. The Hidden Hand was originally published in the 1850s in serialized form, but later published as a book in 1888. This is an overly dramatic, noir-styled, mustachioed twirling romp in which the characters only seem to speak in all caps and exclamation points. And to give you a feel of the writing, I will be ejaculating several times throughout this […]
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Did you know Panem was pronounced “PAN-EM?” I sure didn’t. You emphasize both syllables apparently. That’s a benefit of listening to the audio book. But you know what might not be a benefit of an audiobook? Hearing a man trying to do female voices. Now, I’ll admit that I listen to audio books at a fast pace, which obviously affects the vibe. But I couldn’t help think that the females in this book sounded like female South Park characters. And it gets worse when some […]
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
This book made me kinda mad. But it’s partially my fault. Apparently it’s a sequel and I’m not sure how I didn’t know that going in. For those who live under a rock, like me, Jennifer Egan wrote A Visit From the Goon Squad. Did you know there’s a sequel to that? Yeah yeah. I’m not convinced you need to read one to get the other though. Based on Egan’s style of writing, which is to say, eclectic. There are a multitude of characters with […]
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Your words are kindling, twigs covered in wax, soaked in lamp oil, sticky with tar. Your breath is a match, scratching along sandpaper… Whisper break the silence, one word, then two…with every word spoken a loud victory. The words burst into flames, the silence, broken.” This imagery from the novel’s foreward was so powerful and poetic, and the story hadn’t even started yet! But what a great story it is, and beautifully told – even though one doesn’t think of freshman year of high school […]
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
This was a quick, fulfilling read and based on it, it makes me want to read Catriona Ward’s other novels. The House on Needless Street is her most recent, published in 2021. It’s one of those books that you’re better off going into blind, which kinda makes for a tough review, but I’ll do my best. Suffice to say, there’s a murder and the story revolves around it. It’s a story told from multiple viewpoints, including a cat’s. And I have to tell you, when […]
