I bought this book on Amazon to read with my niece as I try to learn more about traditional Igbo folktales. It was pretty good. The stories were fun aI bought this book on Amazon to read with my niece as I try to learn more about traditional Igbo folktales. It was pretty good. The stories were fun and the illustrations were beautiful. Especially helpful were the Igbo-English translations of some of the phrases at the end of each story. My only real criticism is that some of the songs that were written in Igbo were never translated into English. I think they were also important to understanding what was happening a lot of the time.
Overall, not bad for a self-published work by what seems to be a kid. ...more
An interesting and short read. It gives you a look into life in Henry VIII's court. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if it weren't an epistAn interesting and short read. It gives you a look into life in Henry VIII's court. I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if it weren't an epistolary novel, but that's more about personal preference. I would never recommend this book to anyone under the age of about 13. It's definitely not for most of the American Girl crowd....more
I am officially going to start reading these books with my 6-year old niece. While it is obviously written for children, this book is WELL-written. ThI am officially going to start reading these books with my 6-year old niece. While it is obviously written for children, this book is WELL-written. This is my third book in the American Girl historical series (to coincide with my 3rd historical doll in the collection) and it is my favourite so far. Kit is spunky, brave and smart. She is also thoroughly human, allowing things like pride and jealousy to get in her way. She isn't perfect, but the point is that she always learns from her mistakes. This volume also boasts a memorable cast of secondary characters and solid portrayals of life in the Great Depression. Highly recommended for children....more
My second foray into the world of American Girl books started with the purchase of the new Melody Ellison doll. The doll is absolutely stunning and thMy second foray into the world of American Girl books started with the purchase of the new Melody Ellison doll. The doll is absolutely stunning and the book itself was a very decent read. Melody is realistically rendered as an African American child growing up in the 1960's. Patrick also managed to make me care about Melody's family. You can feel their closeness in the scenes at Poppa and Big Momma's house. You develop a soft spot for Melody's relationship with her older brother, Dwayne. You cringe at the tension between Dwayne and Daddy over the former's singing aspirations. Most significantly, you can't help but feel something in the pit of your stomach when Melody - only nine years old - is stunned into a sad silence because of the evil, racist acts of adults.
I give this book a higher rating than Rebecca Rubin's because it makes good use of subplots and the characters just feel more authentic. I am obviously not within the target audience for this book, but I can still appreciate that it would be quite good for children. Especially since it weaves in the themes of racial prejudice and civil rights which are so rarely dealt with in children's fiction. I may pass this particular volume along to my niece. Four stars....more
**spoiler alert** EDIT: ***I was very saddened to learn that the author of this novel, CJ Omololu, died of colon cancer late last year. Even though my**spoiler alert** EDIT: ***I was very saddened to learn that the author of this novel, CJ Omololu, died of colon cancer late last year. Even though my reception of this particular novel was not the best, she was talented and I was looking forward to reading more from her. I would like to offer my condolences to her family.***
It's actually more like 2.5 stars.
Pros -This book has an excellent premise. It grabbed me from the start and I knew just based on it that I had to read this novel.
-Omololu seems to credit her sons for her ability to write male characters. If this is true, this credit is certainly well-earned. Her male characters are reasonably compelling. They are, ironically, more compelling than the female characters in this novel.
-The first half of the story is intriguing. I couldn't put it down
Somewhere after the first half, however, everything seemed to come off the rails.
Cons -The plot became increasingly unbelievable as it wore on. And somewhere between Dylan getting murdered and Lexi getting arrested, the story lost a great deal of its steam and urgency.
-I had a hard time caring about many of the characters because the majority of them felt flat and underdeveloped. I get that Lexi is supposed to be a Type A personality, but other than her obsession with going to Stanford we don't see any evidence of that. We are TOLD who she is rather than shown. That is the biggest problem with most of these characters and their relationships. We're TOLD that Ava is a superficial party girl - not shown. We are TOLD that Zane and Lexi are close - not shown. Hell, even the father's relationship with the lawyer (who - by the way - is a pointless character) is tacked on without any real explanation for its existence.
-Zane is a character that I actually liked. The snippets of him that we got throughout the first half were always interesting and hinted at a complex character. Unfortunately, the second half of the novel sees him turned into Lexi's devoted bulldog and nothing more.
-I understand that human beings do not always make the best decisions for themselves and others. But I hate it when the action of a mystery/suspense novel is driven by the stupidity of its main character(s). That is the case here. Lexi continually makes bad decisions that get her into more and more trouble. Why, for example, couldn't she just warn Eli about the killer when she was able to? What did it matter if others were around? Instead, she waits and leaves him in a back alley hoping to talk to him later. And why did she choose to continue Ava's already stupid charade with the police about Alicia? Those are just some of MANY frustratingly poor decisions that Lexi makes throughout.
I really wanted to love this book. It's premise is so awesome. Unfortunately, it never lives up to its promise. ...more
Being the avid doll collector that I am, I decided recently to wade into the world of American Girl's historical line. The dolls are beautiful, and eaBeing the avid doll collector that I am, I decided recently to wade into the world of American Girl's historical line. The dolls are beautiful, and each one comes with a book featuring three stories about her, her family and friends and her time period. I'm not big on historical fiction unless it also falls into the category of mystery. I am also well beyond the age group that these stories are intended for. But I already owned it anyway, so I figured I may as well read it. I had fun.
Rebecca Rubin is an engaging character. She's fun-loving, shrewd and oh-so-theatrical. Unlike some other characters that I have read (*cough*Flavia de Luce*cough*) Rebecca is a believable child and not a grown woman crammed into a child's body. We get to see her childish problems set against a backdrop ridden with uncertainty and calamity. It's surprisingly interesting.
I won't be buying any of the other books in the series. Again, I only read it because it came with the doll. But as far as children's historical fiction goes, this book is not half bad....more
I tried, but this book is just too banal for my tastes. It's great if you want to know about Ghanaian culture and customs. But the writing and the chaI tried, but this book is just too banal for my tastes. It's great if you want to know about Ghanaian culture and customs. But the writing and the characters fall so flat that I just couldn't force myself to stay interested....more
**spoiler alert** I hate to be so harsh with an Agatha Christie novel. They are usually so good. So tightly plotted.
In fact, I would argue that the se**spoiler alert** I hate to be so harsh with an Agatha Christie novel. They are usually so good. So tightly plotted.
In fact, I would argue that the setup for this mystery is Christie's most brilliant and engaging. An encounter with a seemingly crazy old lady on a train becomes much more significant when it turns out her suspicions may be founded. I was really disappointed, however.
The first disappointment came with the characters. Unlike a lot of Christie's more well-crafted works (Death on the Nile springs to mind), none of the characters in this novel were particularly engaging. I found that I didn't really care about any of them. -Dr. Thomas, Mr. Abbot and Mr. Ellsworthy all bled into one very uninteresting person. Except for Ellsworthy's rather tacked-on occult connections, they were indistinguishable. -Though Wayneflete is kind of a confidante to Luke (and ultimately the murderer), I found her to be a very dull character. -Lord Whitfield was so pompous that he became a caricature instead of an actual character. -Rose Humbleby could have been a very interesting character. I enjoyed what little we were given of her. Unfortunately, she was used as a plot device, relaying information.
If I'm missing other secondary characters, it's because I didn't find them memorable and forgot about them.
Adding to this, I didn't even like Luke or Bridget. Luke was about as sharp as a volleyball. I was constantly frustrated with his inability to see what was right under his nose as well as his determination to blame people just because he wasn't fond of them. Prime examples of this are his judging both Whitfield and Ellsworthy.
I didn't like Bridget for the most part because I felt that she was a bit of a Mary Sue. Christie tried too hard to make her look cool and smart.
I found both to be incredibly rude and selfish to Lord Whitfield. I don't care if he's arrogant, it didn't excuse their behaviour or Luke's flippant attitude with him about it. The romance itself was unbelievably cheesy and unrealistic. It happened too fast and made me roll my eyes every time it was brought up.
On top of the lack of good characters, I also figured out who the murderer was long before anyone else did. Once Whitfield started bragging about Providence, you knew that it couldn't have been him. And the only other person it could have been was Miss Waynflete. The fact that Luke couldn't figure it out makes me question his abilities to perform as a police officer.
I give it two stars because I liked the setup and Agatha Christie is an excellent writer....more
Ms. Davidson seems like a very nice woman. But she can't write worth a hill of beans. This book had such a great concept behind it, buWhere to start?
Ms. Davidson seems like a very nice woman. But she can't write worth a hill of beans. This book had such a great concept behind it, but Davidson's terrible writing spoiled the final product. There was absolutely no plot. After Betsy becomes a vampire the novel degenerates into a series of unrelated vignettes. She basically spends the rest of the novel whining about being vampire queen. The final battle is laughably anti-climactic and emphasized what a waste of time this book was.
I could have dealt with the non-existent plot if the characters had at least been interesting. There is not a single memorable one in this novel. And Betsy herself is so annoying that I found myself hoping that she would get killed. She's supposed to be 30 but she acts and thinks like an very shallow, spoiled and stupid 13-year old girl. It really made me wonder what Sinclair could have possibly seen in her besides a chance to be king.
Though this is the only work I've ever read in the genre, I am certain that there is MUCH better paranormal romance out there.
I've heard that this is the best book in the Undead series. If this is true, I'm not going to bother reading any of the others....more
Wow. It's been a long time since I have been this baffled about the hype surrounding a book. I think I'll just use points. *This book was something thaWow. It's been a long time since I have been this baffled about the hype surrounding a book. I think I'll just use points. *This book was something that a good mystery novel should never be: slow. The murder was discovered in the 2nd chapter but the true investigation and suspense didn't start until about 180 pages into the book! The entire first half of the book is filled with the introduction of many inconsequential characters and Flavia riding around on Gladys. That is unacceptable as far as I'm concerned. *Bradley really needs to take it easy with the similes. There was one in every other sentence. It was extremely annoying and added nothing to the story. To me it seemed like an attempt on his part to make the novel "literary". What made them more annoying was their obscurity. Now, I would like to consider myself a well-read person. I understood pretty much all of the allusions made. But I had to think about each one and that would often distract me from the narrative. *The characters are nothing more than stereotypes. Ophelia, the superficial teen. Daphne, the bookish nerd. Colonel de Luce, the distant-but-fragile father and widower. The list goes on. *Furthermore, some characters manage to be downright unbelievable. Thirteen-year old Daphne de Luce has read Frazer's The Golden Bough? Really? ALL of it? And how is it that Flavia thinks, talks and acts like an old woman when she is only supposed to be 11? I don't care how precocious she is supposed to be. She seems far too jaded and knowledgeable about the world to be as young as that. *Don't even get me started about Flavia. Why would a police inspector open up so much to a little girl? Wouldn't Miss Mountjoy have boxed Flavia's ears for being such an impertinent little girl when she asked about her uncle? Instead, Bradley wants us to believe that the woman would break down and tell Flavia everything over hot chocolate and biscuits. *On top of everything else, the mystery itself was really uninteresting. Maybe I've been spoiled by reading too many Agatha Christie novels but I didn't have any deep desire to uncover the murderer in this novel. I actually had it figured out long before Flavia did. There was a lack of suspects and the murderer was basically the only person it ever could have been. I honestly felt let down by the end of this novel. It was as if I'd read through nearly 400 pages for nothing.
Needless to say, I'm not too keen on reading Flavia's next outing as a sleuth. If I do end up reading it, it will be a library copy. I certainly won't be buying it like I did this first one. Oh well. Alan Bradley is a good writer - just not a good mystery writer. And at least it has a nice cover....more