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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars.
It was beautiful, full of magic and filled my heart with joy.
It was beautiful, full of magic and filled my heart with joy.
Intricate dark story. A family saga with unresolved issues going back several generations. I found the aunt overly creepy from the very beginning.
This book has an excellent premise that is up my alley (family secrets, old house, ghosts), but the writing wasn't there. I wasn't engaged or interested in the story at all. I listened to the audio book, and the narrator wasn't that great, but I had a feeling where it was going to go and didn't care to continue.
Loved the ending....there were parts that it seemed like it was taking a long time getting to the end, but it was totally worth it!
Looking forward to Garth Stein's author night at Thurber House Nov. 24!!
Looking forward to Garth Stein's author night at Thurber House Nov. 24!!
This book should have been amazing. An old house, ghosts, family secrets, a young boy coming of age...but it wasn't. It was kind of boring, actually. The family itself had some interesting characters, but some of them spoke a little too over the top. Condescending almost, and it annoyed me. The family secret wasn't all that scandalous. The environmentalist aspect was ridiculous, and the ghosts were meh. Not my favorite.
I absolutely loved this book. I was curious what kind of book would follow up "The Art of Racing in the Rain" since that is one of my very favorite books. This book did not disappoint me.
This coming-of-age book is not like others in so many ways. A 14-year-old boy named Trevor is dragged away from his parents' failed marriage to visit the ancestral homestead of his lumber-baron grandfather. It becomes apparent that the manor house is haunted and a lot of weird things keep happening. Luckily, Trevor is the curious type and goes exploring and finds clues to his family's past in the hope of helping his parents reunite. There are hauntings, found diaries, treasure, conservation themes and much more running through the book.
This book unfolds the characters and the plot beautifully. It's been a long time since I ran home to read a book because I liked it so much.
I highly recommend it.
This coming-of-age book is not like others in so many ways. A 14-year-old boy named Trevor is dragged away from his parents' failed marriage to visit the ancestral homestead of his lumber-baron grandfather. It becomes apparent that the manor house is haunted and a lot of weird things keep happening. Luckily, Trevor is the curious type and goes exploring and finds clues to his family's past in the hope of helping his parents reunite. There are hauntings, found diaries, treasure, conservation themes and much more running through the book.
This book unfolds the characters and the plot beautifully. It's been a long time since I ran home to read a book because I liked it so much.
I highly recommend it.
What is better than uncovering scandalous family secrets? Uncovering them with the help of your dead great-great uncle. Trevor visits his father's family house, Riddell House, for the first time at the age of 14. The plan is to place his grandfather in a nursing home, sell the estate and use the money to get his family back together again. Soon after Trevor arrives at the house he starts uncovering family secrets and realizes he cannot let his dad sell the house. I loved this book. Trevor is the prefect boy to tell his story. He is intelligent, brave and honest even admitting his confusing crush on his aunt. I am quickly becoming a fan of Garth Stein. Clearly one of the best reads of the year.
I loved "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and looked forward to reading another Stein. There are some shared themes - a family in crisis and the influence of the spiritual world specifically. I think Stein's interweaving of the past and present through the spiritual world was done well and it allowed me to believe the interaction of the living characters with those of the past. There were several places where I couldn't stop listening but I found the ending to be disappointing and a bit too convenient.
I wasn't sure what to rate this book so probably more 3.5 stars as sometimes the narrator a supposedly a 14year old boy didn't always sound authentic as some of his thought and decision wouldn't really I thought be realistic. So it sometimes jarred for me in the flow of the story, that being said I really liked the story itself with the connection of everything being connected to everything and how this in itself is connected to the earth so quite a spiritual look at relationships and family's history which this story is about. I thought at the beginning I wouldn't enjoy this book by the end I felt the emotion connected to this story, it's worth a look
Beautifully written, coming of age, ghost story. I guess it is called magical realism and I love it. No tears but still deep.