52/100

The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
This is another book I grabbed from the library because it looked interesting. I couldn't even be bothered to finish it. I think it tries to hard to master rebellious teenage angst. There is so much going on it is like one constant trip. Go Ask Alice it isn't.


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51/100

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Memoirs are typically not my favorite type of book. But, that being said, I finished this book in less than 24 hours on a trip from Florida. Jeannette Walls tells the story of her dysfunctional yet loving (?) family. While reading some of the reviews, many people found her story to be unbelievable. This didn't really bother me. I almost hope she made some of it up because it doesn't seem right for someone to have to live like that. I hated her parents by the end, even though I am sure that was not her intentions. I would definitely recommend this book.


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50/100

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This story reminded me a lot of The Green Mile. A young black man finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when he is part of a murder. In 1940's Louisiana, this is reason enough to be sentenced to death. The main defense used in his favor is to compare him more to a pig, than to a man. Although this didn't help in sentencing, it does make Jefferson feel worthless. He withdraws from his family before his death. His family demands that the local teacher make Jefferson think himself a man and ask God for forgiveness before death. As expected, everyone else learns from Jefferson more than the other way around. Good read.


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49/100

The Wave by Todd Strasser

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
This book was recommended to me by the 8th grade literature teachers in my school. A teacher at a high school wants to teach his students about the Nazis in a way that will grab their attention. He decides to implement a "cult" called "The Wave." Before long, the students begin to attack others who do not belong to The Wave and The Wave grows to epic proportions. Although this concept was based on a true story, I found it to just be too tidy. It wraps up with a pretty bow at the end, yet still teaches everyone a lesson just like a bad after school special.


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48/100

Rattled by Debra Galant

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Choosing this book was completely a judging a book by it's cover choice. I was at the library and happened to see that this book had something to do with New Jersey. Upon reading it, I didn't really think it was that representative of NJ. For one thing, the house the main character described would NEVER sell for half a million dollars.

The main characters in this book were incredibly annoying. The mother is incredibly materialistic and annoying. The father does not seem to like his wife or his own son. And the son is so annoying that even his own parents don't like him. No one really changed all THAT much by the end of the book, but somehow I enjoyed it and wanted to finish it. A very easy read.


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47/100

A Hole in the Universe by Mary McGarry Morris

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A friend at work gave me this work over the summer. I read the first few chapters and then left it lying around in my car for months. I didn't really want to finish it, but one day I was bored and the book in my car was all I had. I am glad I picked it back up. Once I got reimmursed in the story, I was really interested in finishing it.

The story is about Gordon Loomis, a large man who just got out of jail for murder. As a teenager, he was an unwilling accomplice in the murder of a young pregnant girl. Now Gordon must find a job and a way to integrate himself back into society. Across the street from him lives Jada, a 13 year old street smart girl who lives with her drug addicted mother. It was frustrating at times to see how much Gordon had to deal with and also how inept he was at simple tasks. I felt like the book ended a little too open-ended for my liking.


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46/100

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The descriptions that people gave about the goriness of this book did not lie. But luckily, I like a little gore!



The main character of this book is a cocaine addicted pornographer. While driving high and drinking, he hallucinates and crashes his car. The resulting fire leaves him horribly deformed. In the hospital, he thinks of fail-proof ways to kill himself. One day he is approached by a psych patient who claims to have known him before. The two wind up falling in an interesting version of love.



This is the not the type of book that I usually like because it has far-fetched time travelly type sections and stories told by a character dealing with the past. But somehow I really enjoyed it.


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