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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Soooo good...
"I do still believe that books can save you."
"I do still believe that books can save you."
Charming and touching. And while the book was written 10+ years ago sadly the underlying theme is relevant again.
Libraries and books can save you!!
Libraries and books can save you!!
A reluctant librarian with ties to the Russian mob accidentally kidnaps a kid to save him from his evangelical parents. Once the action got going, I just got more and more frustrated with the main character for not...doing anything. The author tried to use the character's backstory and childhood to explain her actions (or lack thereof) but I was just annoyed.
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Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Characters - 4
Believability for type and topics - 2
Similarity to other books - 4
Writing Style - 3.5
Excitement Factor - 3.5
Story Line - 4
Title Relevance - 2
Dust Jacket Art - 3
To read or not to read? If you enjoy books about books and mystery's, this is definitely your book. But if you're not someone who enjoys an endless story with many answers, I would pass.
Movie? None
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.46. I think it was more deserving of a 3.33.
Published on January 1, 2011
Pages: 234
Publishing Company: Viking Publishing
Number of books by author: 15 Novels
Genre: Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Books About Books
This is a book that I would recommend, but only to a specific audience. This book was good, and I laughed out loud a few times - but it was the type of book that requires two things - the right mood, and the right reader. I feel like this book could escape someone's interest if they didn't care for mystery-like novels.
The characters were well done, but I just wanted more. I wanted more about Ian's parents, because we never got any information about the dad (was there a dad? Was he as conservative as the mom? If there wasn't a dad, is that why the mom reacted the way she did?) and I felt like that hole in the story could've been filled with one sentence. But we focused primarily on the mom, but her presence wasn't filled well. She was sporadic, and when she was involved in the story, it wasn't clear how close her and Ian were, since often the babysitter's name was mentioned or re-mentioned in passing.
The believability really killed me in this book. This is the crime-junkie in me coming out, and that's what really hurt me throughout this process. The story was missing some crucial moments... say for example, an amber alert was never called out for a missing 10-year old boy?! And furthermore, this book was written 6 years ago in 2011, so it's not as if this book was written in the 80s and the technology isn't around. Easily, the technology that would've been needed to track this boy, could've been brought in quickly -even for a small town. But it never was, and I felt like this could've added to the story itself, as well as the excitement factor.
It was a unique story, nonetheless. We see a young librarian facing her world of books, and trying to make them a reality for this little boy, Ian. When in reality, she's trying to make him her reality. Maybe the tone of that story line is slighted in the beginning, but it's definitely an interesting idea that Lucy is indeed a psychopath. If nothing else, her odd family history could account for her strange social behaviors. In addition, we know she likes to make lists, but who makes a list with a list of instructions or choices, and then gives them back to themselves? It was an odd thing that was written into the book - these poems, or lists. I didn't really understand the purpose of them, so in general, I skimmed and skipped these few pages of the book. The story was getting a bit repetitive in the middle, anyways, and these little snippets of "personal writing" didn't help alleviate that feeling. Towards the end, we saw more excitement come into play, but it was all very gradual, and there wasn't a moment of true climax. Which led to a serious lack of closure. I would really love to see a novella about where Ian and Lucy ended up - did they reunite? Did he get to live out his personality? All these questions that a writer can answer, and we just got shut out with a "I wish you well, I wish you the best," type of create your own ending.
The title didn't really mesh well with me... someone have any idea what's at play there?
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Twitter @Rainbow_Reviews
Gut Instinct Rating - 4
Characters - 4
Believability for type and topics - 2
Similarity to other books - 4
Writing Style - 3.5
Excitement Factor - 3.5
Story Line - 4
Title Relevance - 2
Dust Jacket Art - 3
To read or not to read? If you enjoy books about books and mystery's, this is definitely your book. But if you're not someone who enjoys an endless story with many answers, I would pass.
Movie? None
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.46. I think it was more deserving of a 3.33.
Published on January 1, 2011
Pages: 234
Publishing Company: Viking Publishing
Number of books by author: 15 Novels
Genre: Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Books About Books
This is a book that I would recommend, but only to a specific audience. This book was good, and I laughed out loud a few times - but it was the type of book that requires two things - the right mood, and the right reader. I feel like this book could escape someone's interest if they didn't care for mystery-like novels.
The characters were well done, but I just wanted more. I wanted more about Ian's parents, because we never got any information about the dad (was there a dad? Was he as conservative as the mom? If there wasn't a dad, is that why the mom reacted the way she did?) and I felt like that hole in the story could've been filled with one sentence. But we focused primarily on the mom, but her presence wasn't filled well. She was sporadic, and when she was involved in the story, it wasn't clear how close her and Ian were, since often the babysitter's name was mentioned or re-mentioned in passing.
The believability really killed me in this book. This is the crime-junkie in me coming out, and that's what really hurt me throughout this process. The story was missing some crucial moments... say for example, an amber alert was never called out for a missing 10-year old boy?! And furthermore, this book was written 6 years ago in 2011, so it's not as if this book was written in the 80s and the technology isn't around. Easily, the technology that would've been needed to track this boy, could've been brought in quickly -even for a small town. But it never was, and I felt like this could've added to the story itself, as well as the excitement factor.
It was a unique story, nonetheless. We see a young librarian facing her world of books, and trying to make them a reality for this little boy, Ian. When in reality, she's trying to make him her reality. Maybe the tone of that story line is slighted in the beginning, but it's definitely an interesting idea that Lucy is indeed a psychopath. If nothing else, her odd family history could account for her strange social behaviors. In addition, we know she likes to make lists, but who makes a list with a list of instructions or choices, and then gives them back to themselves? It was an odd thing that was written into the book - these poems, or lists. I didn't really understand the purpose of them, so in general, I skimmed and skipped these few pages of the book. The story was getting a bit repetitive in the middle, anyways, and these little snippets of "personal writing" didn't help alleviate that feeling. Towards the end, we saw more excitement come into play, but it was all very gradual, and there wasn't a moment of true climax. Which led to a serious lack of closure. I would really love to see a novella about where Ian and Lucy ended up - did they reunite? Did he get to live out his personality? All these questions that a writer can answer, and we just got shut out with a "I wish you well, I wish you the best," type of create your own ending.
The title didn't really mesh well with me... someone have any idea what's at play there?
I had really looked forward to this book however i just couldn't get into it. Found it boring and not quite sure of the characters.
I liked a lot of things about this book, but hesitate to give it 4 stars.
It was well-written, and replete with literary references that, while intelligible, were not obnoxious, self-indulgent, or in-your-face.
It did seem to have a political agenda (gay rights). Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I felt a little preached to, which was annoying.
It was well-written, and replete with literary references that, while intelligible, were not obnoxious, self-indulgent, or in-your-face.
It did seem to have a political agenda (gay rights). Not that there's anything wrong with it, but I felt a little preached to, which was annoying.
This was a fun book. It was recommended to me and I am glad it was. It is the tale of a children's librarian named Lucy who kidnaps/is kidnapped by a 10-year old boy named Ian. They run away together on this cross-country trip from Hannibal, Missouri to Vermont. Along the way they have encounters with her Russian mafia father, her boyfriend Glenn and a variety of people. I am not sure if the journey was more of a self-discovery for Ian or Lucy but I think Lucy. She discovers more about herself and her family history. I am not sure if Ian really learns anything but atleast he gets away from his family for awhile. There is a message here about being who you are and that it is ok to be gay and books are great. All good messages and not shoved down your throat. They are told with humor and insight. I liked the characters in the book; they are quirky and fun. I have to admit that the book did start out pretty slow for me and didn't really pick up until they hit the road, which was about 1/3-1/2 way into the book. But the story was fun and enjoyable. Not very realistic, but fun. I was a little shaky about the ending because there didn't seem to be any consequences for either Lucy or Ian and it was just a bit too easy but overall it was a good book. I would recommend it to my library friends.
This book kind of threw me for a loop at the end. I spent much of the novel somewhat frustrated on a variety of levels with the author. I even contemplated not finishing. Then, the end sucked me in and I'm much happier for having finished it. The moral of the story, the finest point. I'd certainly recommend this to others.
Awww! There's hope, after all, for the ones who might get lost in their own homes. At least, according to Rebecca Makkai.
Many confusing feelings about this book and I get the theme that you can't change who you are but ultimately it just evoked a lot of dread. Kidnapping a child from a parent who is trying to religion the gay out of him. Eek. I did enjoy Lucy's Russian gangster family.