Calculating God, by Robert J. Sawyer (2000)
Aliens finally do visit Earth, and they bring with them scientific proof of the existence of God. Another book from Robert J. Sawyer that reminds me how much I like science fiction.
Dream When You're Feeling Blue, by Elizabeth Berg (2007)
Ug! What is THIS? I go to Elizabeth Berg for books that feel like TRUTH. She has a way of writing that makes me wonder why no one else writes like that. But this! This is a book written in the hopes of reviews that say "The author makes the past come alive!"
I think we're all familiar already with the romanticized World War II era. Our boys overseas, and the homesick, send-Mom's-cookies, gee-Sally-you-sure-are-some-kind-of-pretty! letters they wrote. Our girls back home, and their painted-on stockings and factory jobs and hope chests and rationed sugar. Best of times, worst of times, everyone pulling together for the common good of the nation, greatest generation. Fathers calling their sons "Son" and giving speeches about God and country. Mothers warning their daughters about getting the milk for free. We GET it already. There is no reason to bring this alive again in the exact same way it has already been brought alive so many times before.
Dream When You're Feeling Blue is about Kitty, whose true self is nothing more than "Ooo, handsome servicemen! Ooo, pretty dresses! Ooo, I can't bear to hear about s-e-x!" The author uses Kitty like a marionette, forcing Kitty to perform the story the author has in mind, a story of familial love, romantic sacrifice, and stifling schmaltz. The story is meant to reveal a deeper side to Kitty's character, but it is clear Kitty is only being put through the motions.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore (2002)
Laugh? Oh dear yes. This cheerful account of Jesus's childhood has a non-mean-spirited "It's fun to laugh!" attitude that I think would keep it from offending most people. But some of you--and I think you know who you are--are far too serious-minded for this kind of hee-hee joke-fest and should give it a big pass. Here is a little test: Do you think the title is funny? If not, move along, sweet cheeks. The rest of you are in for a big treat.
The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart (2007)
Perhaps you are waiting impatiently for the seventh Harry Potter book, driving everyone around you crazy with your leg-jittering and day-counting, and you need something good to read to pass the time. Perhaps you have never understood the appeal of the Harry Potter books, and you need something else to read while everyone else is busy reading the seventh book. Either way, I have just the book for you.
I suppose it must be said that you will find this book in the children's section of the library, but that is only because children may also enjoy it, not because adults won't. This story of four children recruited to help save the world is excellently written, with wonderful plot and characters. I was sad when it was over, and I am very glad to hear rumors of a sequel. Perhaps six sequels?
The Post-Birthday World, by Lionel Shriver (2007)
The author is female. I hasten to tell you this right away, in case you share my dislike of female narrators written by male authors: so few authors can pull off writing as the opposite sex.
In chapter one, Irina goes out for dinner with a male acquaintance to celebrate his birthday. Toward the end of the chapter, she feels powerfully tempted to kiss him, even though she has been living happily with her boyfriend Lawrence for seven years. In chapter two, Irina wakes up, miserable: she feels guilty about kissing the other man, and she finds she has fallen out of love with Lawrence.
In chapter three, Irina wakes up, relieved: she is glad she resisted the temptation to kiss that other man, and she feels a renewed love for Lawrence. And voila, the author had my complete attention.
The rest of the book alternates chapters: first a chapter of the storyline in which Irina gave in to temptation, then a chapter in which she resisted it. I was interested all the way to the end, although I found I felt a little ill over all the bickering.
The Secret of Lost Things, by Sheridan Hay (2006)
As I read, I thought, "If I am going to have to read all these letters written by Herman Melville, there had better be a Big Worthwhile Pay-Off at the end." There was not.
After her mother dies, 18-year-old Rosemary goes to New York City. She finds a job at The Arcade, a huge used book store. Her co-workers include Arthur (fat, and always panting over male nudes in art books), Pearl (a pre-surgery transsexual), Oscar (skittishly asexual), her boss George Pike (who refers to himself in the third person: "George Pike doesn't tolerate theft!"), and the store's manager Walter Geist (a socially-inept albino). This is a great set-up, and for a few chapters I was thinking, "I LOVE this!!" Then it fell apart into shards of ickiness, sadness, and extreme social discomfort.
My biggest complaint is the aforementioned lack of pay-off. There are mysteries right and left, and do we get satisfaction? No, we do not. A fiction author has the ability to give us the whole slice of bread, and so I am not happy with crumbs.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - NO spoilers, by J. K. Rowling (2007)
NO spoilers in this review. Can you believe the cheeseheads who are deliberately trying to spoil it for people who don't want it spoiled? Makes me despair for human nature.
It is pointless, if you have read seven books in a series, to continue to talk about the quality of the writing. Obviously it is competent enough to carry the story, and that is what matters here. J. K. Rowling has a gift for storytelling, a gift for describing things so that you see them as if in a movie.
I don't know about you, but I've been worried that the seventh and final book would be a letdown. What if I didn't like the ending? What if it fizzled? Well, I did, and it didn't. I was satisfied. I read it and was glad. I wonder what kind of series J. K. Rowling will tackle next?