Sandra Colter Colter itibaren 25040 Gisole-Palobbie BS, İtalya
A few days ago I talked about how Joanna Kenrick didn’t really stake the right stance towards her (sensitive) writing topic in Red Tears. Coincidence threw Adrienne Maria Vrettos’ first novel Skin (about anorexia, self-esteem, loss and survival) in my lap and if this book proves anything, then it’s that Vrettos succeeds where Kenrick failed. Skin also deals with one of those traumatic and tragic (teenage) topics – anorexia – so it could easily have been another complaint ‘I can’t deal with life’ fest. Luckily, it’s not. It’s a sad story, for sure, but it’s not straightforward, pathetic, or stereotypical. Part of this has to do with the fact that Vrettos doesn’t focus just on anorexia (if anything, I’d say this is Donnie’s tale first and foremost and Karen’s story second). Instead, Vrettos focuses on Donnie, a 14-year-old boy who’s caught in the middle between his parents’ disintegrating marriage, his sister Karen’s anorexia, and his life as an outcast at school. Donnie is almost an invisible entity, safe for his voice in the novel, of course, which speaks convincingly. I hesitate to mention the novel again, but Donnie reminds me a lot of Melinda Sordino in Speak. She too had found a way to almost become invisible. Both come out of their isolation through a cathartic experience (in Donnie’s case it’s the arrival of 2 new kids – twins – at his high school). Skin shows that a teenage story of rebellion and survival in a world full of chaotic emotions still works today if you find the right approach (point of view really does seem to matter when you talk about sensitive issues ) and if you have it in you to create powerful characters, like Donnie.
Meh. Made me chuckle a bit, but the characters verbal ju-jitzu was so unrealistic it was hard to stay involved. Like a book version of "Juno". Different story but the preciousness & self-awareness of the characters is the same.
I was so excited to receive this follow-up book to Alison Pace’s Pug Hill and I was not disappointed! A Pug’s Tale was everything I was expecting and more. I love the combination of the art world, New York’s Central Park, and of course the pugs. Readers will not be left out in the cold if they haven’t read the first book featuring art restoration expert Hope McNeill. This is a great story on it’s own with minimal references to the first. However, I am sure that new readers will fall in love with Hope and Max and want to stay in their world a little while longer (so I encourage them all to read Pug Hill as well). A Pug’s Tale is a fun light read yet has the perfect amount of intrigue to keep you guessing. The combination of Hope and her intuitive pug Max is unstoppable. I don’t want to give away anything, but the ending is set nicely for a potential follow-up in the series. I know I won’t want to miss it.