Oxford Messed Up: a novel by Andrea Kayne Kaufman

Review based on ARC.

Phew, where to start.

Let's see, perhaps the beginning...
The beginning was not the strongest part of the book and I felt somewhat patronized - like the author was trying to both trick me into not understanding Gloria's true relationship with Oliver and giving me obvious clues.  So the first 20-40 pages I read because I was intrigued by the topic, pleased with the title, and because it was easy enough to read... but not because any of the characters were particularly compelling.

Around page 40/50, however, I began to lose sight of "the topic," "the title," or anything but the story, really.  And in the end, that's always what I'm really looking for -- a well told story.  In this case, it was even better because it was accompanied by good writing.  Very good writing (though not spectacular).  There were moments when I felt that the author wanted to educate me, more than share with me the story.  But these moments were few and far in between.  Although the novel IS educational on many fronts, it is first and foremost a story about Gloria, Henry, and Oliver.

I actually cried.  I certainly laughed.  And I read it quickly and voraciously.  It was convincing, not terribly contrived, and redeeming.  I felt strong emotions for Gloria, Henry, and Oliver... I felt *some* emotions for the more peripheral characters Claire, Nicholas, Margo, Gladys, and Frank.... so much so that I even remembered their names!  I will not say *which* emotions I felt for them, but I imagine that, in a conversation with someone else who has read the book, some of my responses will be surprising...

Kudos to Ms. Kaufman.  I appreciate that she did not give into some of the traps that often result in cliched stories and contrived endings ... while still providing a complete and satisfying story.  I won't say more... just, read it.  If you know someone who suffers from any level of OCD, if you yourself suffer from any level of OCD, if you know of no one who suffers from OCD, if you don't even know why I keep repeating those letters.... read the book.  It's a lovely story.  It certainly is as it is touted to be -- a story about "messed up" people, about cognitive behavior therapy, about fatalistic optimism... but it's also just a good story.  A story about people with their own quirks, with their own histories, with their own demons, their own choices to learn and live.

FOUR AND A HALF of five stars.

Haazinu (Listen Up): A Book of Prophecy by Yerachmiel Ben-Yishye

Review based on ARC.

This is an intellectually stimulating novel exploring religious beliefs and personal philosophies. I have read that some readers have been offended or confused, but I found that if you take the novel as it is presented, and do not impose your own or society's expectations on it, it was an enjoyable read.

It explores several aspects of the jewish faith, of which I have limited exposure, purportedly through a group therapy session for the terminally ill. The interweaving relationships of the men in the therapy group, combined with the riddle they ultimately attempt to solve keeps the novel engaging and the reader thinking.

As usual, I do not wish to spoil any of what the reader will discover, but I recommend to someone who is open minded about religious and philosophical beliefs and who is looking for a "thinker."

THREE of five stars.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

Review based on ARC.

The past several months of my life were crazy, and I was looking to a book to allow me full "escape" privileges. Because this book did not quite allow that (I will explain), I was harder on it when first reading it than is fair. In the end, it completely redeemed itself, even to my judgmental eyes.

The book has been criticized as being unrelatable because the characters are "poor little rich girls" living lives that normal teens do not share. I actually do not agree (though I did at first). And I say this as someone who did not grow up around wealth.

The book is broken into 4 sections. One appears at the beginning and end, and is the essential narration establishing the reason behind the other three sections, which are confessions written by/from the perspective of the three eldest girls in a family of 6 children, all grandchildren to the Almighty Lou. Almighty has threatened to disinherit the family because a member of the family has deeply "offended her." The family (the 6 kids & their 2 parents) determine that the three eldest girls are the most likely culprits, and they set out to write their confessions.

The first confession is by Norrie, the eldest girl. This is the part that I can see most people criticizing as "poor little rich girl." This is the weakest part of the book, but a lot of necessary background information comes out in this section, setting up the rest of the book for the more interesting narrations. Norrie is the well-behaved daughter until she meets a boy in graduate school in an evening speed-reading class and falls for him, throwing all caution to the wind, including her family's reputation. This is the part of the book that, while I was going through my own difficulties in life, which were significantly more overwhelming than meeting some guy and not knowing what to do about it, made me annoyed and frustrated that I had to read a book with a vapid protagonist. However, the writing was good enough that the reading was quick and easy and I got through Norrie's tale in due time.

And Jane's story, the second eldest daughter, is much more interesting than Norrie's. If other readers are annoyed by Norrie's story, I recommend at least giving Jane a chance. This is where the story begins to have some interest. Not only is Jane more relatable, but she is interesting and is a dynamic character. Where Norrie's story had the tone of a defensive teenager who just wanted to convince her Almighty Grandmother that her path was the right path, Jane explains her reasoning, but the reader actually sees movement in her character and personality. Much more enjoyable. Even if Jane is not relatable, she is at least interesting!

The worst part of the remainder of the book is that, by the end of Jane's story, I already knew what Sassy's confession would be. So I assumed the remainder of the book would be completely predictable. However, while I was right about her essential confession, I was pleased with the story and the development of her character and others in the book. I was particularly impressed with Standiford's representation of Cassandra (Sassy's tuttee) & their relationship.

And the end, which encompassed the final few pages of Almighty receiving the confessions and her reaction to them, was satisfying and even moving.

My opinion of the book completely changed by the end. When I receive books directed at a high school audience through the early reviewer program, I read the book w/ an awareness of the intended audience. That being said, I would highly recommend the book to junior high & high school girls. I would also recommend the book to older women who are looking for a little escape and perhaps a little reminiscence of their own high school days.

FOUR of five stars.

Dr. Hackenbush Gets a Job by Ginger Mayerson

This quick pleasure reads like a detective novel.. but without the crime. Dr. Hackenbush is a sarcastic, pessimistic-optimistic, competent, talented 30-something who, at the beginning of the story, loses her ukulele and, as a result, her income. Needing an expensive car repair at the same time, Hackenbush finds herself at a corporate temp agency and is assigned to a difficult law firm to raise enough cash to fix her ukulele and her car.

As someone who has been a temp in a big city, someone who has a love for and a background with music, and someone who has worked as staff in a law firm and, now, as a lawyer... I was impressed with Mayerson's portrayal of the many worlds and the people therein.

The book is set in the 80s and, of course, some things have changed in the past 30 years, but it is still a current tale, highlighting some of the struggles and tensions between artists and the business world, between men and women, and even among people of the same social groups.

The story reads very quickly and the plot is interesting enough, but it is the characters that really move the reader. Hackenbush herself is moderately endearing, and you do care what happens to her. However, I found myself caring more about some of the more peripheral characters - feeling disgust, hope, confusion, and even attachment.

I recommend to anyone who is looking for a light quick read with perhaps a few lessons along the way...

FOUR out of five stars

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Review based on ARC:

When I received this book, I started to read the first few pages, even though I was in the middle of another book and was not able to yet devote my full attentions. Although I had only read a few pages, I found myself constantly thinking about it and eager to start.

After about 60 pages or so, I made the mistake of "doing a little research" on the book at work because I couldn't read it, but I wanted to at least read *about* it, if for only a few moments. I say it was a mistake because, even though I only glanced at a few reviews, it gave away information that I was not yet prepared to have.

However, for those reading this review, let me tell you that I would *not* categorize this book as a "vampire" book as so many have done. Not only is this really a mischaracterization of the novel and its characters, I believe it also diminishes what Justin Cronin has done in creating this epic tale.

The book is analogous to I Am Legend in that it starts in real life and science ("light" science fiction), and, although using elements of the supernatural, focuses on humans, the human perspective and struggles, and how humans might operate in an extreme situation.

The first 200 pages are some of the best pages I have read in fiction in a long time. Cronin perfectly sets up the tragedy that will befall the almost current world in which it is initially set. His descriptions of the characters, major and minor, are impressive. I found myself attached to many of the characters, some of who only graced the book for a relatively short amount of pages. Although the novel initially has several origins and characters with nothing (yet) in common, each line of the story was intriguing and clear, eventually coming together seamlessly.

The next 400 or so pages are very good to great. These pages are set a bit in the future, after the "tragedy" has settled in the world. We find ourselves in a world that is dealing with the consequences of its ancestors. I know I am being somewhat vague here, but I believe this novel would be best read with the least amount of information possible. These pages draw the reader into the daily lives of the characters and their motivations, actions, feelings, fears, and attachments -- without slowing the novel too much. Cronin, again, does an impressive job making his characters real, with real human qualities -- both the good and the bad.

The final 200 (or so) pages, the "climax", are, again, fantastic and wonderfully paced. I could not stop reading these last pages until the novel was complete. The ending is satisfying and yet ensures that the reader will be eager for the next installment in this epic trilogy.

I highly recommend.
(I prefer this second cover for the book, though I received the ARC with the first.)

FOUR AND A HALF of five stars.

FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN A SUMMARY, WHICH I CONSIDER ***SPOILER***:

In short, scientists and the army seek to create super humans that are not subject to the illnesses and typical lifespans of normal humans. A handful of super humans are created from death-row convicts, but in an imperfect and uncontrollable form. These super humans are "akin" to the oft mentioned vampires because of some of their characteristics and weaknesses. Finally, the scientist succeeds in creating the formula and successfully injecting it into Amy, "the girl from nowhere." The super humans break out of their "cages" and run rampant over the country (and perhaps the world).

Pass about 100 years into the future into a world in which the "virals" or "jumpers" reign. A small pocket of humans, protected by "the lights" rule themselves and attempt to survive in the world of the virals. However, the psychological pull of the virals begins to invade the humans at the same time as a few of the humans realize the batteries for the lights are beginning to fail (which would leave them in darkness at nights, when the virals are out).

Several of these humans, along with Amy, embark on a mission to find out what happened at the source of the virals and Amy, and if there is any help to be found there.

The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire

This is one of those novels where you care... but then you don't. For some reason, as interesting and extraordinary as the characters were supposed to be, most of the time I could not bring myself to *really* want to know what was going to happen. Maybe because they were *all* written as extraordinary, they all became ordinary within the novel.

I will be more specific. You have a stereo-typical evangelical christian who gets conked on the head while sneaking in the basement of the neighboring catholic church with, of all things, a statue of a catholic figurehead, her "slutty" and "stupid" daughter, her bully son, and her other highly effeminate, "confused" son. After being hit in the head, Leontina (the mother)'s behavior becomes bizarre---though never quite bizarre enough---cutting off the beginnings of her words, acting like a child in many ways, and eventually shutting down (much more interesting examples exist, but I do not wish to spoil any of the story). This all happens while her children, 17, 15, and 13 (ish.. I am not sure of the age of the youngest), are "taking care of" her and attempting to move forward and grow in their own lives. Just to add a little more, the daughter is also suffering from a boyfriend who is suddenly unavailable, as well as being the object of grown men's attentions.

And that's just one of the story lines. The other centers around three gay guys in this small new york town who need to practice for their singing group in a building housing a dozen or so elderly nuns. One of the guys, who also happens to be the musical director for the catholic church in which Leontina hit her head, is fighting demons from his past, another of the guys is fighting his too-catholic parents as well as a life-threatening disease, and the third is jewish.

In under 300 pages, the book became a series of events instead of a novel wherein the reader could actually feel attached to any of the characters. In the end, it was difficult to feel anything---sympathy, joy, laughter, pain---for the characters because they had all become caricatures of who they could have been.

Criticism aside, Maguire is still a great writer with interesting approaches, good ideas, and a nice use of words.

I would recommend this book to people whose favorites books are among the "drama" or "life" books.

THREE of five stars

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Review is based on an ARC.

Well, this was actually disappointing. It started off really well. It had a similar feeling to Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which I quite liked. But after a few hundred pages, I felt like I was re-reading, over and over again, the same passages, the same stories, at times even the same words. In addition to its repetitive nature in the story and sentences, the foreshadowing became so transparent and unsettling that I found myself, for the first time EVER, flipping to a later point in the book in frustration and disgust.

The book isn't bad. At all. I just didn't feel like it was really ready for publication. In addition to several typos and grammatical errors, the book needs more finessing and could probably lose 200 or so pages (with a tightening up of the story and rewriting several areas). Although untrue, it felt as though the author started out tracking two lives over a few decades, but then felt like she had to throw in some real drama to make sure it was, I don't know, exciting enough? But the result was a weakening of the original structure with a climax that fell far short of being climactic. It was also hard for me to believe the sincerity and steadfastness of a friendship that was *defined* but not *portrayed*. It was never quite convincing that either of the girls actually *cared* for the other and weren't, instead, merely acting out of jealousy or obligation.

In the end, I was surprised at how quickly my impression of the book changed... at 250 pages, I still felt it was quite good and I was planning out who I would recommend it to first... at 330 pages, I found myself turning pages with a scowl on my face. Even so, I still tore through the pages. I can't give this book a horrible rating because it simply wasn't horrible. But it was a bit too simplistic to have left any lasting impression.

On the plus side (there are plus sides!), the book was very easy to read, fun (most of the time), and informative. The information and facts on the political landscape through the decades, while sometimes forced and awkward, were also interesting and placed the reader fairly quickly into that decade's mindset. I was also impressed with the author's ability to write from the perspective of the girls in each decade relatively convincingly... Her portrayal of teens in the 70s was equally convincing as her portrayal of young ladies in their mid 20s in the 80s.

Overall, an average rating for an average book.
THREE of five stars.

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-ha Kim

This novella is a deftly written foray into a person's decision to end their life... and the "assistant" who aids with both the decision and action. I thought the author did an impressive job of examining the differing perspectives of people whose lives are all, in some way, intertwined. He managed to both set apart the differences of the characters into separate tales, and then knead their similarities back again into a single story. I've had limited exposure to Korean literature, but if this is a fair representation, I can't wait to read more!

FOUR of five stars

The Sister by Poppy Adams

Review based on ARC (Advanced Readers' Copy).

This was a fascinating book, by all accounts. The narrator of the book appears, at first glance, to be a "normal" elderly woman, waiting for her sister after almost 50 years of absence. The story she tells is strange and traumatic, yet as the novel progresses, the reader becomes aware that there is not just a little bit hiding below the surface. Through inconsistencies in the narrator's story (not, however, in the author's) and questions almost begging to be asked (though, notably, not answered by the narrator), the reader becomes aware that there is an entire iceberg waiting to be discovered. I found myself quickly drawn into the story--particularly into that which occurred in the past. The only complaint I really had was that there were a few occasions where I felt the author spent just a little too long on scientific details (the butterfly/moth details). In the end, I did understand why this was done, but I felt that this result could easily have been accomplished with just a *little* paring down, leaving the reader feeling fully satisfied, yet not bogged down. All in all, a great read and very refreshing to find something unformulaic and original! Recommended!

FOUR of five stars.