The Kneebone Boy

Week 6: The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

I'm a week behind, so I am posting back-to-back reviews today. Now I think I will be caught up.

My husband grabbed this book last time we were at the library, and read it pretty quickly. I like to read what he reads, and I noticed this book was by Ellen Potter, who wrote the first book I reviewed this year, SLOB. I liked SLOB and I liked this one. I'm going to give it three stars. It's kind of interesting how it is written, reminds me a lot of how she wrote SLOB, also of When You Reach Me, with a little Lemony Snicket worked in.

This style of writing is almost like a new trend in Juvenile Fiction, they are tantalizing, mysterious, page-turners that demand to be read in one sitting, because you just can't put them down! Because of the mystery element, you also can't review them properly, because anything and everything divulged would completely ruin the reading experience. All I can say is read them and enjoy!

Just remember, everything is not as it seems (cue theme music from The Twilight Zone).

A Thousand Acres

Week 5: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

I grabbed A Thousand Acres off the shelf at the library having heard nothing about it. I chose it because of the little gold Pulitzer Prize sticker it was sporting. I can’t say that I like to read Pulitzer winners because they are usually really great books that appeal to me…because usually I don’t like them. I am just curious what contemporary novels are chosen to win this prestigious honor. It’s kind of like watching the Oscars, and then watching the Oscar winning films. Usually they just make you go, “wwhhaaat?” The same is NOT true for the Newberry winners. You can rest assured that if you pick up the medal winner, or an honor book, it is going to be great.

Back to the review at hand; I gave this book two stars. I didn’t care for it. I knew the story would be depressing, because the back cover divulged that it was based loosely on Shakespeare’s King Lear, and we all know how that ended. But that was not necessarily a turn-off for me. But the novel just fizzeled and died for me. It was almost like the author was trying too hard to make her story follow Shakespeare’s plot. I think it would have been so much better if she would have gone her own direction, and I actually did like her writing style.

The story is about an aging, and somewhat eccentric farmer and his three daughters, whom he decides to divide his life’s work amongst, that being his one thousand acre farm. The youngest daughter (a lawyer) expresses some hesitation, and is immediately cut out of the deal. This event sets off a domino effect of basically depressing things happening to the family, at the same time drudging up horribly depressing things from the past. THIS IS A SPOILER ALERT: but when the book finally ends, pretty much everyone but the narrator is dead. And it isn’t like all the heavy stuff is plot thickening, or high drama…it’s just like one thing after another, just endless waves of bad luck for the family. Maybe that is what life is like for some families, and maybe this book would appeal to such people, if anything, to make them feel better about their lives.

However, if you want something enlightening, or meaningful, or upbeat…skip this one.

I wish I had a great book recommendation for you each week, but the fact of the matter is, you do have to sift through some sludge to find the gems. Hopefully I'll have some good ones for you soon!

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

Week 4: The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

I was pretty excited to start afresh, and try to read something I enjoyed more than my two failed attempts last week. I can't say that this book really did it for me. I actually feel like I got tricked by Barbara Kingsolver (who I have mentioned before). As I mentioned, she has written a few of my very fav. books (she has also written several I didn't care for). Anyway, when I glanced at the cover of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, her name jumped off the front of the book, raving about the author. After I was finished with the novel, I was sort of thinking....um, did Barbara actually read this book? Then when I read who the author thanked at the end of the novel, numero uno was none other than B.K. her "hero". So, flattery can get you places, and maybe someone awesome will say something awesome about something mediocre that you did.

Ouch, that was kind of mean. But this book was only a two star for me.

It follows the adolescence of a young bi-racial girl (her mother is white, and Danish, her father is Black), who ends up orphaned (sort of), and living with her black side of the family. She then goes through an identity crisis, trying to find where she belongs. It's a fantastic topic to write about. But if you are interested, I would recommend the memoir The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. McBride goes in his book where I wish Durrow would have. Maybe I would have liked it better if I read Girl before I read Color. But probably not. As a side-note, I just got a novel by James McBride today at the library, so I will be posting what I thought about it soon! I'm pretty sure it's going to be amazing.

Back to Girl. Here was the problem...everything was underdeveloped. The characters...allllll of them. The plot. The conflict. It just wasn't enough. If you are going to tackle a novel that deals with race, hereditary achoholism, domestic violence, murder/suicide (think parent killing kids/self)....you better be ready to go there. Back. It. Up. This book had no back. I don't know how else to say it (this is why I don't write books). It's like the story starts with this ghastly event (think of the title), then sort of tries to ride on it without adding anything else to the mix the entire book. It's weird.

I already finished my book for this week, but I'm blogging at the library cause we're having internet problems, so I don't know when I'll get around to posting it. Hopefully this week!