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brandilarsen's reviews
46 reviews
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
5.0
A classic. If you had an eighth grade English teacher kill it for you, go back and read it. It's scary, vivid, brilliant, and intense. A must-read for anyone who loves literature.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
5.0
Even in translation, his prose is so deep it feels like poetry. Read it, read it, read it.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
5.0
This is the kind of book that I'd like to take a swim in because it's so amazing. Read it.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A perennial favorite. Holden is a boy you both want to hug and strangle. There's a prototype short story that's especially fun to read alongside it.
Milagros: Girl from Away by Meg Medina
Let me first disclose that Meg Medina was one of my writing teachers. Even if I didn't know her, I would still think this book is amazing.
Milagros is the title character, a feisty 12-year-old who is the only survivor after a terrible attack on her home, a gorgeous island in the Caribbean that is so tiny it can't be found on a map. Before the attack, she lives with her mother, a mysterious avocado farmer who can cure anything using her salves. After the attack, Milagros sails in a dingy to a cold island north of Maine where she is taken in by a kind couple and their obnoxious, jealous daughter. In her new home, she's treated with suspicion until she learns how to make her own way.
This book is stunning. The writing itself is funny, lush and heartbreaking, often in the same sentence. Milagros is a character in whom you can see yourself and the places are written with such precision that you feel like you're there. The use of magic sprinkled through the novel makes it sparkle.
It's the kind of book that makes you want to hug everyone you love. It's an amazing read.
Milagros is the title character, a feisty 12-year-old who is the only survivor after a terrible attack on her home, a gorgeous island in the Caribbean that is so tiny it can't be found on a map. Before the attack, she lives with her mother, a mysterious avocado farmer who can cure anything using her salves. After the attack, Milagros sails in a dingy to a cold island north of Maine where she is taken in by a kind couple and their obnoxious, jealous daughter. In her new home, she's treated with suspicion until she learns how to make her own way.
This book is stunning. The writing itself is funny, lush and heartbreaking, often in the same sentence. Milagros is a character in whom you can see yourself and the places are written with such precision that you feel like you're there. The use of magic sprinkled through the novel makes it sparkle.
It's the kind of book that makes you want to hug everyone you love. It's an amazing read.