Scan barcode
dlberglund's review against another edition
5.0
This is billed as a young adult book, but I wish more adults would give young adult novels a chance. I loved it. The chapters are all written by different authors, and most have different narrators from each other. They are all linked however, even if it takes you a few pages to read it. The ending, by Gregory Maguire, was a surprise to me. I want to know more about the authors' process together--how much did they collaborate and map out the direction that the plot would take? How much was independent? Add to it that part of the profits go to Amnesty International, and you've got a winner.
everydayreading's review against another edition
2.0
Read my entire review here: http://everydayreading.blogspot.com/2008/04/click-ten-authors.html
librarianna81's review against another edition
3.0
shelfnotes.com
Dear Reader,
I was really excited for this book. It had a lot of promise! So many great authors, and all working for such a great cause. And, I did love most of it - there were some great and beautiful "sub-stories", and the writing was beautiful. However, for those of you who have read A Tale for the Time Being, you'll understand what I mean when I say things got a bit unexpectedly weird. I was hoping for a great resolution to the mystery, but was pretty disappointed by what, ultimately, the explanation turned out to be.
However, the characters almost made up for any of the story's shortcomings. I don't think I'll soon forget the tale of the girl and her mother who live alone on the seashore, or the one of the teenager who feels so alone in her despair until she meets a photographer who captures her story with a large piece of jagged glass. Or the Russian prisoner who receives unexpected kindness. I think the main characters - Maggie and Jason, and their grandfather "Gee" - framed the story really well. I'm quite interested to know if the authors all conceived the entire story together, or if they wrote their chapters in order, with no idea where the book would go (even if they tried to gently guide things one way or another). Knowing that would make the story even more strong to me, I think - knowing one way or the other. I remember trying to write a story like that once or twice in my past, and being disappointed to see where my partner had taken the tale I was trying to tell. Each author only gets so much control over the book, which I found endlessly intriguing - especially because, as a writer, I certainly love having control of my own stories!
I'd recommend this to writers especially, because I think they'd be fascinated to watch how ten different authors approached the same novel. (And luckily, their different narrative styles don't disrupt the flow of the story in any way.) I think it was a very interesting read, just not quite up to the par I was expecting.
Yours,
Arianna
Dear Reader,
I was really excited for this book. It had a lot of promise! So many great authors, and all working for such a great cause. And, I did love most of it - there were some great and beautiful "sub-stories", and the writing was beautiful. However, for those of you who have read A Tale for the Time Being, you'll understand what I mean when I say things got a bit unexpectedly weird. I was hoping for a great resolution to the mystery, but was pretty disappointed by what, ultimately, the explanation turned out to be.
However, the characters almost made up for any of the story's shortcomings. I don't think I'll soon forget the tale of the girl and her mother who live alone on the seashore, or the one of the teenager who feels so alone in her despair until she meets a photographer who captures her story with a large piece of jagged glass. Or the Russian prisoner who receives unexpected kindness. I think the main characters - Maggie and Jason, and their grandfather "Gee" - framed the story really well. I'm quite interested to know if the authors all conceived the entire story together, or if they wrote their chapters in order, with no idea where the book would go (even if they tried to gently guide things one way or another). Knowing that would make the story even more strong to me, I think - knowing one way or the other. I remember trying to write a story like that once or twice in my past, and being disappointed to see where my partner had taken the tale I was trying to tell. Each author only gets so much control over the book, which I found endlessly intriguing - especially because, as a writer, I certainly love having control of my own stories!
I'd recommend this to writers especially, because I think they'd be fascinated to watch how ten different authors approached the same novel. (And luckily, their different narrative styles don't disrupt the flow of the story in any way.) I think it was a very interesting read, just not quite up to the par I was expecting.
Yours,
Arianna
awildgoose's review against another edition
4.0
I love this book because I questioned the charaters so much. When it came to the charater of Gee I didn't know if I should love him or hate him. On one side he's a loving grandfather, a touching man, on the other side a major player. Who is the real Gee? Why would he have so many families? But yet Gee was a good man. He really did care about his families and he touched so many people, helped so many people, all over the world. But why would he cause his families such pain? By having more then one family he hurt them, and he was never ever fully there for them. These questions I have asked myself over and over again. You know a book is good when it makes you question things llike this did. That is why I like it so much.
brandnewkindof's review against another edition
4.0
Ten short stories all interconnected but not quite the same, but ten different authors. Some really fantastic writing about photography, a fairly compelling if a little weird plot line, and an ending that startled the hell out of me, in a good way.
roryandjessread's review against another edition
Hmmm....this one was just ok. My favorite sections were those by Eoin Colfer, Nick Hornby, Tim Wynne-Jones, and Greg Maguire. Definitely different from any books I've read recently.
cencula's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the premise of the book and enjoyed several of the characters. You can definitely tell each chapter is written by a different author and I liked some better than others. It's hard to rate this book because while I loved the beginning the ending was overly sci fi and didn't wrap up the story in a satisfying way.
latad_books's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this many-authors story. Interesting to see how each author touched on George "Gee" Keane. And good to see where Maggie and Jason progress to from their initial grief at the beginning of the story.
hartstrings's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little skeptical at first, this book was written by 10 different authors and I wasn't sure how it was come together. I was pleasantly surprised. The story was more consistent that I thought possible, and I liked everything but the ending...