What Fred Read

On an initial glance, I probably wouldn’t read this book.  However, after reading the summary I was a bit intrigued.  It’s the sci-fi element that gets me, I guess.  On a basic level, the story is about the value of beauty that we hold, both as a society and individually.  But put that question onto the future, a future where everyone is required to undergo beautification surgery, and I’m there! The book is really more than you might think.  It’s definitely an adventure, as well as a comment on society.  I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Pretties, in this trilogy.  I recommend it!

This book has a couple or few stories going on that intertwine as the plot builds.  There’s love, perhaps, both lost and gained.  There’s confrontation on several levels among characters.  One character seeks to buck a school tradition.  The title plays into the “demons” both inner and outer that the characters must face and either overcome their cowardice or succumb to it.  It’s an engaging read, a bit thoughtful.  Not really a fun story, just because there are some real character issues going on.  I would recommend it, though.

I wasn’t quite sure about whether I wanted to read this or not.  I haven’t read a James Bond novel before, but I was a little intrigued and the cover, I thought, made it an inviting read.  Having taking the plunge, thankfully not as some did in the story, I’m glad I read it.  It was, for me, a page-turner and I definitely wanted to finish reading it.  I think there was a good balance of character development and action; I’m not particularly into getting deep into some characters.  It’s the storyline that keeps me engaged, and Silverfin did that.  If you enjoy adventure, this story has it.  I recommend it!

What a great imagination!  I love thinking about these thing, trying to come up with ways to explain the why or the how.  Here, we’ve got a quite interesting story about the source of our dreams (and the nightmares) and it’s so eloquently done.  Woven in is the story of an angry boy and a woman who tries to connect with him.  A nice, well written story.  The disappintment comes in it’s being so short.  I recommend it.
I have not read much Lowry other than The Giver, which stands as one of my all-time favorites.  I was able to see Lois Lowry speak here in Knoxville at the grand ‘ol Tennessee Theater.  It was nice.  I coudn’t, however, stand in the extremely long line to get her autograph.

Deliciously creepy! (It’s been a while since I read this, but I wanted to add it to my list here for the record.) Coraline’s decision between her real life and the duplicate she discovers becomes a fight for her survival as “creepy” mom and dad want to keep her. I need to reread this. Illustrations by Dave McKean enhance the creepiness.
Neil Gaiman, if you didn’t know, has done the Sandman series of graphic novels. Coraline received many awards.

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