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cmasson17's review against another edition
5.0
A great window into our recent history. A complete novel with great characters, plot and mystery. 2006 BOY
ncrabb's review against another edition
1.0
The fictional Madeleine McCarthy was eight the summer the family moved into the house on the air force base in rural Canada. Her dad is the new base commander, and she’s moving to the new place with her parents and older brother. The new school year promises to be fulfilling indeed.
But the new school year turns into a nightmarish experience for Madeleine. She is one of the girls singled out by the instructor to stay after ostensibly to improve their standing in the class. They learn instead to do back bends while he clinches their hips between his knees. He teaches them to do any number of other things involving what he calls his “muscle.” If you read this, you’ll get the picture; if you don’t, you won’t miss a thing. Not a thing.
There’s a little American girl on the base, too. She’s there because the U.S. sends its members as part of a military exchange program to Canadian installations apparently. No one points the finger at this despicable teacher, and the little cadre of fourth-grade girls remain his victims off and on throughout the year.
Before this ends, someone strangles the little quiet American girl, and a young man in the community is wrongly arrested and pays a terrible price for something he didn’t do.
This is a story that could have been far more effective told in a third of the space and time this took. There are long rambling passages in here that make you want to scream. To her credit she captures the time nicely. You learn more about the Cuban Mistle Crisis than you ever want to know, especially from a dubious fictional perspective. This felt like some kind of never-ending political hate rant. The Apollo program was evil because it harbored and used Nazi war criminals. Ok. But is it necessary to make that point over and over throughout the book? (Massive yawn and frustration abundant here.)
Madeleine grows up to be a character I mostly detested. I didn’t think she was all that funny as a standup, and I sure didn’t need to read about her tedious lesbian love affairs. For the record, they were tedious because they were tedious, not because of any sexual preferences. No one should have been subjected to her interminable therapy sessions and her breakup with a neurotic lover.
The book was barely interesting enough that I needed to read to the end to see how it finished. But just barely. It’s extremely rare when I celebrate the deletion of a book from my phone or Victor Reader device. But I relished making good use of the delete button for this. It was actually cathartic and satisfying on so many levels. After nearly 12 and a half years on my hard drive, I finally got to wipe it off there. It most emphatically never should have been there in the first place!
But the new school year turns into a nightmarish experience for Madeleine. She is one of the girls singled out by the instructor to stay after ostensibly to improve their standing in the class. They learn instead to do back bends while he clinches their hips between his knees. He teaches them to do any number of other things involving what he calls his “muscle.” If you read this, you’ll get the picture; if you don’t, you won’t miss a thing. Not a thing.
There’s a little American girl on the base, too. She’s there because the U.S. sends its members as part of a military exchange program to Canadian installations apparently. No one points the finger at this despicable teacher, and the little cadre of fourth-grade girls remain his victims off and on throughout the year.
Before this ends, someone strangles the little quiet American girl, and a young man in the community is wrongly arrested and pays a terrible price for something he didn’t do.
This is a story that could have been far more effective told in a third of the space and time this took. There are long rambling passages in here that make you want to scream. To her credit she captures the time nicely. You learn more about the Cuban Mistle Crisis than you ever want to know, especially from a dubious fictional perspective. This felt like some kind of never-ending political hate rant. The Apollo program was evil because it harbored and used Nazi war criminals. Ok. But is it necessary to make that point over and over throughout the book? (Massive yawn and frustration abundant here.)
Madeleine grows up to be a character I mostly detested. I didn’t think she was all that funny as a standup, and I sure didn’t need to read about her tedious lesbian love affairs. For the record, they were tedious because they were tedious, not because of any sexual preferences. No one should have been subjected to her interminable therapy sessions and her breakup with a neurotic lover.
The book was barely interesting enough that I needed to read to the end to see how it finished. But just barely. It’s extremely rare when I celebrate the deletion of a book from my phone or Victor Reader device. But I relished making good use of the delete button for this. It was actually cathartic and satisfying on so many levels. After nearly 12 and a half years on my hard drive, I finally got to wipe it off there. It most emphatically never should have been there in the first place!
caledonia's review against another edition
5.0
I am absolutely gutted.
C.W. it deals with on page child molestation in part 1. Part 5 talks about the murder of a child done by other children.
C.W. it deals with on page child molestation in part 1. Part 5 talks about the murder of a child done by other children.
schaeferme24's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
1.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Bullying, Grief, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Rape, War, and Adult/minor relationship
laneamagya's review against another edition
5.0
Set in Canada during the Cold War, the novel follows the family of a Royal Canadian Air Force officer named Jack, who becomes wrapped up in military intelligence supporting the US in the space race. The most engaging character in the novel is Madeline, the eight year old daughter of Jack and his Acadian wife Mimi. We follow Madeline, her brother Mike, and the kids on living in Centralia, the Canadian airbase where their families are stationed. The book is very well researched, veers from the local to the international and back again with great ease, and is a gorgeous read. And it will break your heart.
And now I'm going to spoil something about the plot, because I wish I had known a bit more about what to expect. The book jacket won't tell you this. So keep reading if you want the warning I wish I had had.
Movies warn you in advance if they contain violence, cursing, sex, or any of the other things that varying people find objectionable. Books rarely do the same. One of the major plot points of the novel is sexual abuse of children. It can be painfully shocking to have such subject matter come at you from left field in books and movies. In this book, I initially assumed I was paranoid, and that the kids would be relatively safe. As the abuse scenario unfolded, I was mortified. And I was crippled with anger at the parents who failed to notice their children's suffering and at the criminal who was changing these kids utterly. MacDonald is a stellar writer, and her characters draw you into their minds. So I was worrying about the kids whether I had the book open or not. If that is going to be too difficult for you, don't read the book.
And now I'm going to spoil something about the plot, because I wish I had known a bit more about what to expect. The book jacket won't tell you this. So keep reading if you want the warning I wish I had had.
Movies warn you in advance if they contain violence, cursing, sex, or any of the other things that varying people find objectionable. Books rarely do the same. One of the major plot points of the novel is sexual abuse of children. It can be painfully shocking to have such subject matter come at you from left field in books and movies. In this book, I initially assumed I was paranoid, and that the kids would be relatively safe. As the abuse scenario unfolded, I was mortified. And I was crippled with anger at the parents who failed to notice their children's suffering and at the criminal who was changing these kids utterly. MacDonald is a stellar writer, and her characters draw you into their minds. So I was worrying about the kids whether I had the book open or not. If that is going to be too difficult for you, don't read the book.
mightymaggie's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't been able to finish this book and I started reading it... three or four months ago? I thought I could just slog through the sexual abuse storyline, but I had to stop reading at the point where everything goes to hell, for the sole reason that NO ONE TELLS ANYONE ANYTHING. Incredibly frustrating to read. I want to finish eventually, because the writing is amazing and I found the historical fiction so interesting. I haven't read anything that describes so well what it is like to live on a military base!
buras12's review against another edition
3.0
There is an excellent book hiding somewhere underneath so many unnecessary pages
cpratreads's review against another edition
4.0
Really really enjoyed it! I was amazed at how easily she could switch between the adult and child views of the world. I was also in awe of how she had me stuck in the mind for young Madeline up until the final chapters when everything was suddenly clearly different. A great and powerful read, and I'm on my way to get her other book!