Llew's Reviews

Finally, I read a raving review about a book which actually deserves it! I loved this book – it was the perfect mix of humor, insightfulness, and reality even though it involves a talking cat.

Also, can I just say that this is book #53 so this makes the first New Year’s Resolution which I’ve ever kept. Go me! Although, I think I usually read more than this but it’s been one of those years. All in all though, this will be one that I’m going to try and keep doing. Of course, if things keep going the way they are I might have to start reviewing cereal boxes.

Even though there’s one more book out in this series, I think this might be the last one I read. The first one was so clever and hilarious! But now it’s just so getting tired, but I wanted to give it one last try. Le sigh.

Seeing as Ms. Hinton wrote one of my favorite books from when I was a teenager, I was very excited to start Hawkes Harbor. That excitement lasted… all the way up until I actually began the actual reading of it. Hinton definitely didn’t Stay golden as it were.

This is the third book involving vampires that I read this year, and by far the worst. Her telling from a man’s perspective no longer works for me. Even the situations that didn’t involve the undead, seemed very unrealistic to me. She had characters of both genders acting in ways that just didn’t seem believable. It wasn’t a complete waste of time, because about three fourths of the way through I started caring enough about the characters to see it through the end. However, it was still completely disappointing.

But then again, I also loved Theodore Dreiser’s ‘American Tragedy’ when I was younger so perhaps it’s only my past taste that is to blame.

What I learned most from this book was: don’t live in Alaska, just visit.

I don’t know if it’s because the author’s job is writing obituaries, but this book just seemed to be story after story of someone dying in her small Alaskan town. There were some good parts as well, but they seemed so few and far between. It was a little akin to “Marley and Me” but with more of a homage to where she lives than is ever hinted to in Marley.

Of course, they both end with a dog dying which might be why Miss Flannery always seems to be giving me discouraging looks whenever I am writing something.