December 19, 2016 – Page 2

All Fall Down

December 19, 2016

I couldn’t decide between three or four stars for this one, but ultimately, I decided on three because of one factor: the musicals. I suppose that a five-year-old could have an obsession with musicals. I suppose. Especially one as annoying and precocious as Ellie (thank God they called her Ellie, and not Eloise, most of the time). And I suppose part of the reason that Weiner wove that little thread throughout the book was so that it would make sense when Allison tried to escape rehab, ...

Reviews

Teacher Misery

December 19, 2016

This review was previously published on Goodreads. The title describes this book perfectly: miserable. I kept waiting. Waiting for the light-hearted moments, for the “this is why it’s all worth it” stories. There weren’t any. No, this is just a person who hates her job. It’s hard to say which is most disturbing: the stories she tells about her severely troubled, needy students, or the hateful attitude with which she relives the stories. Ms. Morris has no ...

Reviews

The Reader

December 19, 2016

I really didn’t know what to expect, going into this book. I honestly thought it was simply a morality story based on an inappropriate relationship. And then when I found out that Hanna used to be an SS officer, I was shocked. I had no idea that the Holocaust featured at all in the look, let alone that it featured so heavily. I appreciated that Michael cared about Hanna, even after learning what she did. I think that he wanted to hate her; he wanted to see the awfulness of her actions ...

Reviews

East of Eden

December 19, 2016

Wow. This book was spectacular. I’ve been avoiding writing a review for a while, because I don’t really know what to say. That happens to me often when books are so expansive. This one covered literally decades, with two different families, and at least a few generations of each. It was… well, yeah. Expansive. I’m going to focus on characters, since the story really is character-driven. I loved Sam Hamilton. He was the epitome of good, and I loved him for that. I ...