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bookishgrrrl's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great sampling of authors I loved dearly and ones I had always meant to read. I enjoyed the thread between the stories and the different ways in which each author made the theme their own. A neat project and a great way of introducing teens to a variety of writing styles and narrative voices.
valhecka's review against another edition
2.0
Gimmicky and not particularly well-executed; Min's chapter (by Tim Wynne-Jones, which, incidentally, was the reason I got the book from the library - although I missed the hyphen and though that Diana Wynne Jones had had a part in it, and was bitterly disappointed when I realized I was wrong, but read the book anyway) was far and away my favorite, and it had the least to do with the frame story.
margaretann84's review against another edition
3.0
Slightly disappointing and definitely uneven. Some of the stories were great, and the majority of the stories were great--in their own genre. However, mixing fantasy and SF and mystery to tell what is essentially a realistic fiction tale doesn't really work here. Certain stories I would have read more of, for sure (Lev's story and Annie's story, for instance), and I think the world in Akela's story sounded interesting. However, they links trying them together were, for the most part, fairly weak. I appreciate what the authors attempted and it was well-written in parts, but the chapters never really formed a unified whole.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
A bunch of notable authors--Nick Hornby, Ruth Ozeki, Eoin Colfer, Gregory Maguire, and more--got together and wrote a book to raise money for Amnesty International. Each tackles a chapter of the tale of a photographer and the legacies he leaves his grandchildren, as well as the other lives he touches along the way. I really liked it until the last two chapters, which veer too far into the realm of fantasy. B+.
greta01's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
karenrenka's review against another edition
First blogged on Books Beside My Bed
I grabbed this one off the shelf because I saw Linda Sue Park was one of the authors of the book. She wrote the first chapter that set-up the story of the life and legacy of George "Gee" Keane. Maggie and Jason's grandfather "Gee" leaves them each a gift when he dies. Maggie receives a box with shells in little compartments and Jason is left autographs of the many celebrities that Gee photographed over the years. Each gift signifies something to each child, Maggie's need to travel and be connected to Gee and Jason's desire to runaway. I thought the novel would be about how Gee's death changed Maggie and Jason but it is more about how Gee changed everyone he meet.
It is strange that they call this a novel because it felt more like an anthology with an overarching theme and characters, Like an anthology, there were some chapters that I liked, loved, and some that were disappointing. I loved the first two chapters by Linda Sue Park and David Almond. They fit the theme and direction I thought the book would take. It was an interesting collaboration of authors and I would recommend it to someone looking for something different.
I grabbed this one off the shelf because I saw Linda Sue Park was one of the authors of the book. She wrote the first chapter that set-up the story of the life and legacy of George "Gee" Keane. Maggie and Jason's grandfather "Gee" leaves them each a gift when he dies. Maggie receives a box with shells in little compartments and Jason is left autographs of the many celebrities that Gee photographed over the years. Each gift signifies something to each child, Maggie's need to travel and be connected to Gee and Jason's desire to runaway. I thought the novel would be about how Gee's death changed Maggie and Jason but it is more about how Gee changed everyone he meet.
It is strange that they call this a novel because it felt more like an anthology with an overarching theme and characters, Like an anthology, there were some chapters that I liked, loved, and some that were disappointing. I loved the first two chapters by Linda Sue Park and David Almond. They fit the theme and direction I thought the book would take. It was an interesting collaboration of authors and I would recommend it to someone looking for something different.
rhovingh's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars. I don't know whether this book was worth reading or not. It's not at all cohesive (thanks for helping me find the right word, Mom), and not only does the voice change with the authors, but there is no plot, the characters change randomly without any development, and I'm left feeling as if this story is going every direction at once. That being said, I really enjoyed some of the chapters.
We got off to a good start with Linda Sue Park, who set up a story that could go so many different ways. This chapter gets 4 stars.
The next chapter, by David Almond, is really interesting. I really like his descriptions and the voice he uses, but there are some weird parts that didn't really seem necessary. However, this does tie directly in with Linda Sue Park's chapter and for that this chapter gets 3.5 stars.
Next chapter is Eoin Colfer. I have no problem with this chapter by itself but it is the only funny chapter in the whole book, and Colfer made Jason into a character that no one else seemed able to develop. On its own, this chapter get 3 stars, but in terms of fitting in with the rest of the book, 1 star. Absolutely out of place.
Deborah Ellis' chapter was really good, both on its own and in terms of fitting in. 4 stars.
I hated Nick Hornby's chapter. Hated it. 0 stars. just lame.
Roddy Doyle's chapter was a bit hard to follow with all of the characters and names and such, but was good anyway. I liked that he chose to tell the story of one of Gee's photographs. 3 stars.
Tim Wynne-Jones' chapter was pretty intense, and a little bit unexpected coming after Doyle's chapter. It felt unlike any of the other chapters, but I liked it. I didn't like how he completely changed Jason's character, but it's good that someone followed through on Colfer's chapter. 3 stars.
Ruth Ozeki's chapter was very good, directly tied in to Linda Sue Park's chapter. 4 stars.
Lanagan's and Maguire's chapters were my least favorite, except for Hornby's. Really, they had an impossible job to do, which was tying up the million loose ends and trying to give the story one direction. I feel like these two chapters fit together, but were really disjointed from the rest of the book.
The problem with this book is that some authors seemed to try to make there be an overarching plot, while some authors were just interested in telling small stories, separate from any others. Even worse, Hornby's chapter tried to fit in with a bigger plot, but nobody else used anything from it, and it seemed to out of place. So...take out Hornby's chapter, ask Colfer to tone down the outrageousness of his chapter, and change the last two chapters. Then you have a story without as much of a plot, but way more interesting and really actually more cohesive. The chapters in this book that I liked, I really liked. But they couldn't make up for the really bad/boring chapters.
We got off to a good start with Linda Sue Park, who set up a story that could go so many different ways.
Spoiler
I really liked the story of the shells, and I liked that this book could have been about Maggie going to those places to put the shells back, or could have been about Gee.The next chapter, by David Almond, is really interesting. I really like his descriptions and the voice he uses, but there are some weird parts that didn't really seem necessary. However, this does tie directly in with Linda Sue Park's chapter
Spoiler
by telling the story of how Gee got one of his shellsNext chapter is Eoin Colfer. I have no problem with this chapter by itself but it is the only funny chapter in the whole book, and Colfer made Jason into a character that no one else seemed able to develop. On its own, this chapter get 3 stars, but in terms of fitting in with the rest of the book, 1 star. Absolutely out of place.
Deborah Ellis' chapter was really good, both on its own and in terms of fitting in. 4 stars.
I hated Nick Hornby's chapter. Hated it.
Spoiler
I honestly think that the whole "family in France" thing was just a plot device. Even though at first I was like, "OK, I don't really like this, but I'll see where it goes", but it just didn't go anywhere useful to the plot. at all.Roddy Doyle's chapter was a bit hard to follow with all of the characters and names and such, but was good anyway. I liked that he chose to tell the story of one of Gee's photographs. 3 stars.
Tim Wynne-Jones' chapter was pretty intense, and a little bit unexpected coming after Doyle's chapter. It felt unlike any of the other chapters, but I liked it. I didn't like how he completely changed Jason's character, but it's good that someone followed through on Colfer's chapter. 3 stars.
Ruth Ozeki's chapter was very good, directly tied in to Linda Sue Park's chapter. 4 stars.
Lanagan's and Maguire's chapters were my least favorite, except for Hornby's. Really, they had an impossible job to do, which was tying up the million loose ends and trying to give the story one direction.
Spoiler
But that being said, I think they could have done better. I didn't like that they were set in the future; that was super confusing. Especially Lanagan's, because some words were Australian, and some were futuristic, and I was really mixed up.The problem with this book is that some authors seemed to try to make there be an overarching plot, while some authors were just interested in telling small stories, separate from any others. Even worse, Hornby's chapter tried to fit in with a bigger plot, but nobody else used anything from it, and it seemed to out of place. So...take out Hornby's chapter, ask Colfer to tone down the outrageousness of his chapter, and change the last two chapters. Then you have a story without as much of a plot, but way more interesting and really actually more cohesive. The chapters in this book that I liked, I really liked. But they couldn't make up for the really bad/boring chapters.
jdyschmdt's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a great book. It's authored by ten different authors. Each one takes a chapter and each chapter tells part of the story of George Keane from different people that he's interacted with. From his granddaughter to subjects of his photography we find out who George Keane really is and what really matters most in life.