Book Description
Fourteen-year-old Trisha Driscoll is a gender-blurring, self-described loner whose family expects nothing of her. While her mother lies on the couch in a hypochondriac haze and her sister aspires to be on The Real World, Trisha struggles to find her own place among the neon signs, theme restaurants, and cookie-cutter chain stores of her hometown.
After being hired and abruptly fired from the most popular clothing shop at the local mall, Trisha befriends a chain-smoking misfit named Rose, and her life shifts into manic overdrive. A “postmillennial, class-adjusted My So-Called Life” (Publishers Weekly), Rose of No Man’s Land is brimming with snarky observations and soulful musings on contemporary teenage America.
Customer Reviews:
A Teenage Lesbian Romance.......2007-05-21
This young adult novel lacks the all-tied-up ending, much like real life. You'll love watching the teenage lesbian relationship evolve.
"After high school comes life. Don't ask me what I'm supposed to do with it.".......2007-04-29
Tea is spot-on at getting inside the head and life of fourteen-year-old Trisha, aimless, frustrated, and rather trashy resident of a decaying Massachusetts mill town. Her hypochondriac mother never leaves the sofa except to dig her welfare checks out of the mail, her relentlessly optimistic older sister is a graduated hairdresser whose goal is being selected by a reality TV show, and her view of the world is filtered through the local mall -- where, with the assistance of her sister's Olympics-level lies, she manages to get a job at the most popular teen clothing store. Until she's fired before lunch the first day. But all this is a character-establishing lead-in to Trisha's discovery of Rose, a scrawny, fearless, adventuresome girl with a lesbian mother and a cigarette voice. The relationship between the two -- established within hours of their introduction and apparently played out before the next morning -- will have evangelical parents screaming to their local library about the "homosexual agenda," but, hey: This is life. The author also has an ear for sardonic description (a vodka/energy drink combo?) and an eye for painting character portraits that come to life. Don't worry about the putative morality these girls don't much subscribe to -- just enjoy the book. It's a messy, questing coming-of-age you won't soon forget.
Rose of No Man's Land.......2007-03-28
This was an excellent novel! Very unique writing style and point of view.
Why, Michelle Tea, why? .......2007-01-08
This book made me want to stab my eyes out. I read Valencia a few weeks ago, and was hoping for more of the fabulously insightful and beautiful descriptions ("Iris went through girls like a slash and burn farmer." How cool can you get?) that made it a good book. The drama of all of the sex and drugs and love was certainly exciting, but left alone, it would have been somewhat pointless. This is precisely why I do not understand why Michelle Tea would abandon her poet's voice to become a fourteen-year-old girl.
As a piece of YA fiction, this book is perhaps somewhat better than the rest because it's different. It's not neat and tidy (because since when is reality?), and it doesn't perpetuate all the gender roles and heterosexist crap that so thickly pervade teen pop culture. It's nice to hear from someone other than a straight, feminine middle-class white girl for once.
PS: I don't even believe the person who wrote the official Booklist review even read the book (or Valencia, for that matter). Some of those statements about the plot are flat-out wrong. But now I'm just being picky.
Nice Read.......2007-01-02
So I wasn't planning to read another Michelle Tea book after Valencia, but it was a Christmas gift and I read this in about three days. I liked it, but it was kind of awkward. The word "wicked" as in "very" is thrown around way too much, which is kind of annoying, and Michelle Tea did this thing that I don't really understand if it was supposed to be some kind of irony or what, but she described all these stores in the story, without using their real names. Hot Topic became Dark Subject or something like that, and Jack in the Box became Clown in a Box. It was just kind of weird. It was a fun read though, right up to the amusing, repeated use of the name of the store where the main character got a job for an afternoon, called Ohmigod! The whole story takes place over a couple days, mostly one, though, where Trisha (main x-ter) meets this weird little freak named Rose and they have a bit of an adventure with crystal meth and booze and all female make out sessions. It's discovery for Trisha and entertainment for the reader, but at the end of the book, I'm kind of like "Ohmigod! What was that? Is there a point to this story? Does there need to be? What's the deal?" Like I said, I had fun reading it, but just like Valencia, I have mixed feelings about it and its worthiness. I just wonder, if Michelle Tea weren't sort of famous in this particular region of the literary world, would this story have even gotten published? I don't want to be the nitpicky bitch about her writing, but I couldn't help but be totally distracted by some of the typos and spelling errors that were just really bad and "wicked" obvious. Who edited this thing? With all due respect, I kind of wished I had borrowed it from the library, since there's only so much room on my bookcase. I do like Michelle as a writer and enjoyed this story, but I think she could have put more thought into this book and the details I mentioned.
Book Description
A long-overdue look at how men are responding to the gender revolution, this book presents a richly nuanced picture of the varied ways that men are reassessing their commitments to work and family life.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of info, but no real point........2003-03-02
Summary:
No Man's Land is the result of over one hundred interviews the author (or her graduate student assistants) conducted with men in the New York metropolitan area. Gerson is interested in the changing roles of men as regards work and family. In order to discover how men's roles are changing, she analyzes the interviews and ultimately comes up with the following:
There are essentially three types of men in terms of their commitments to work and family: (1) Those that are oriented toward Breadwinning; (2) Those that are oriented toward Autonomy; (3) Those that are oriented toward Family Involvement.
Breadwinners are men that are the primary wage earner for their families. They express their concern and love for their family by working long hours to make enough money to support their family. The long hours usually mean that they don't really spend time with their family, but they consider this a way of showing their family how much they love them.
The Autonomous are men that are not interested in family. They may find fulfillment in their work or in things outside of work, but they are more interested in finding their own fulfillment than in creating or maintaining a family.
The Family Involved are men that have put their families before everything else. They may reduce the hours that they work or purposely avoid promotions so they can spend more time with their families. These men may not make as much as the Breadwinners, but they are more interested in spending quality time with their families.
Of course, Gerson does make the point that men can shift from one path to another (e.g. from Breadwinner to Autonomous or vice versa and so forth) or can kind of mix paths, but it is easiest to understand men from these perspectives.
And, though she never really comes right out and says it, the main reason for why men end up where they do is because of job opportunities (at least, that is the impression you get from reading the book). What is meant by this is that some men climb the corporate ladder quickly. If they had a family when they first started this climb, then they become Breadwinners. If they didn't, then they become autonomous. If they start climbing the corporate ladder but then get stuck, they may become Family Involved. And, a lot of men that are not successful in work and thus are fearful that they can't support a family turned toward Autonomy.
The book ends with the author making some vague comments on how the workplace (and the world for that matter) should change so men can more easily be Family Involved; I guess that is assumed to be the ideal.
My Comments:
As I said before, there is a lot of information in this book and it really is pretty easy to read. The problem is that the information isn't really presented in a format that makes patterns in men's lives distinguishable. Every time she offers an example to illustrate a point, it is followed by another example two lines later that contradicts the previous one. And, even though Gerson categorizes men into three categories, she also points out that you can move between these rather fluidly or you can combine categories - which makes the categories almost meaningless.
But the biggest problem with the book is that she attributes men ending up in these categories to men's success in the marketplace. Now, it may be a bit extreme to say that she is claiming that men's financial success is really the only factor; she talks about how some men have orientations towards being Breadwinners or being Autonomous from very young ages, but there is no discernible pattern in how these men end up - they are just as likely to go from having a Breadwinner orientation to becoming a Breadwinner as they are from having a Breadwinner orientation to becoming Autonomous. So, the impression you end up with is that your job is going to determine your orientation toward your family rather than your family or desires for a family determining your job.
Gerson does ultimately spill the beans about her bias: men should be Family Involved and workplaces should change to allow that to happen. I must admit that I don't disagree with her, but as an academic, is she supposed to have an opinion on things? I don't know, that's a question that is beyond my ability to answer.
Anyway, I would like to say that the book is insightful and informative, but the conclusions are just not very convincing. Some more quantitative studies have found evidence for her claims and some have contradicted her claims. Some very recent work shows that most men have a traditional attitude towards family - they are Breadwinners regardless of their financial situation.
I think Gerson makes a good argument for men having possibly conflicting roles and definitely having conflicting demands, but she never really makes clear what is driving all of this. Perhaps her data won't allow her to do that. If not, then even though the book is interesting you could argue that it hasn't really given us more information than we had before.
Amazon.com
Fans of Batman are lucky to get Greg Rucka--the talented, gritty young author of Keeper and Finder, among others--sharing time with their favorite licensed character in this novelization of DC's complete No Man's Land comic series. (And fans of Rucka--assuming they get around to reading this at all--will still likely hold the opinion that Atticus Kodiak could take Batman in a standup fight any day.)
DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes
Book Description
All hope abandon, ye who enter here.
Gotham City: a dark, twisted reflection of urban America. Overcrowded, overbuilt, and overshadowed by a continuous air of menace, this gothic nightmare is a breeding ground for the depraved, the indifferent, and the criminally insane. It's also the object of one man's obsession. Forever scarred as a child from witnessing the brutal murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to protecting this city from its many predators, taking a form to inspire hope in the innocent...and fear in the guilty. He is the masked vigilante known as the Batman.
With Police Commissioner James Gordon, these two men have always fought to preserve law and order, side-by-side, struggling against a pervasive and relentless criminal element, working together to hold the line.
Until now.
Leveled by a massive earthquake that has left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been completely cut off from outside aid, transformed into a lawless battleground -- a No Man's Land -- where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all.
Gotham now teeters at the edge of the abyss...and Batman is missing.
Critically acclaimed author Greg Rucka brings his talents to DC Comics' most complex and darkly compelling cast of characters. Powerfully written, this epic saga reintroduces and redefines the Batman mythos for the millennium.
Customer Reviews:
Great read.......2007-09-27
Great read. I left the comic book scene right after this happened in the comics and was able to catch up easily with this graphic novel!
A good Build up to Volume 4..........2007-07-16
First of all, I found volume 3 far better then volume 2.
This Volume is worth a read and those missing Nightwing and Robin will be glad to see their return. Also, there is a great story involving poison Ivy and Clayface and even Superman makes an appearance. Very enjoyable.
If you found Volume 2 to lack some of the qualities of Volume 1, as I did, Volume 3 renews faith in where this epic story is going.
I gave it 3 stars simply because at the same time...It didn't blow my mind. Sure there were some great twists to the story,
The new Batgirl and so forth but generally this is still a build up to the
next Volume.
Also, another reason why I took a Star away from this is because this volume does not include Nightwing #35-39 which deal with Nightwing going to BlackGate, It's simply mentioned in this volume but not shown at all.
Hope this helped!
A Fair Ending..........2007-05-19
So, the first couple volumes of "No Man's Land" were excellent, possibly the best part of a series I have ever read...then came volume three. Starting with volume three, each story was hit and miss. Some were good, others were mediocre, and some...far below the 'good' line. This one is pretty much more of the hit and miss. However, it has a great ending that I'm pretty sure would please anyone who likes Batman at all. Not as great as the first couple volumes, but definatly not a waste of your time or money, "Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 5" gets a 3 out of 5.
Great Read!!.......2006-11-10
The story line is captivating and the fact that all of the characters you know and love are brought togther in such new and unique juxtapositions makes this worth recognition.
Someone hired Bane to ripen Gotham for the taking-.......2006-04-20
Bane makes an appearance in the No Man's Land and Batman must discover his purpose there. Does Bane want to once again be the "king" of Gotham? Or is he merely taking advantage of a new opportunity?
Someone is making a move and materials are being sent in. There is a light at the end of the No Man's Land tunnel. In addition, Joker and Two-face are still running wild.
No Man's Land is a take-no-prisoners look at Gotham if it reverted to the days of feudalism. It is an interesting "social experiment" on the part of the writers, and an intriguing plotline.
Customer Reviews:
Montana Reader.......2004-08-18
An aging gunfighter, Frank Morgan, meets a wagon train on its way from Indiana to the gold fields of Colorado. Morgan suspects that their wagon master, Steve Wilson, is not what he portays himself to be and after enjoying the company of the train's members for the evening, he bids everyone a safe journey and leaves the train. Fearing treachery from Wilson, Morgan follows the wagons. His suspicions were confirmed when he found all of the men and boys killed, and wagons, women and girls missing. This sets the basis for Morgan's determination to find and rescue the women and lead them to their desired destinations. The plot includes women slavery, heartless killers, plenty of gunplay, a young Texan Ranger and a kind-hearted couple who helps Morgan when he needs it most. The character development is crisp, and the warming love between the aging Morgan and widower Dixie Carpenter leaves the reader cheering for a long, sucessful future for the two and for an answer to Morgan's growing desire to end the violence that hounds him.
You'll enjoy this one.
Customer Reviews:
Shake it baby...........2007-07-09
This volume has just about anything you could possibly ask for and almost every Bat character in the Bat universe. Nobody escapes the disaster, the book ends on a high note...at least higher than one might expect, but as soon as you pick up No Man's Land you see that things only get worse.... Moving story and well worth the read, it does stand on its own but you must buy all of the NML volumes if you want some sense of closure.
prelude to No Man's Land.......2007-05-21
I was collecting comics at the time this story arc came through, and enjoyed it throughly. It shows you just how hard the caped crusader had to work to try his hardest to save his city. I reccomend the whole No Man's Land collection for anyone who hasn't read it yet.
Well put together.......2006-07-07
Batman can handle criminals. But how can he fight a Earthquake? How can he fight the natural destruction of a city?
A lot of crossovers nowadays are pathetically poorly coordinated. But Batman: Cataclysm is very well coordinated and flows pretty well. If you don't read the writing credits you wouldn't be able to tell how many different writers were involved. The main story following Batman, Oracle, Nightwing and Robin are intersepersed with vignettes starring Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul and others. One of the few week points is a vignette starring Robin is put in out of order. In it Robin, while rescuing trapped victims, says in the narrative that he hasn't found his family, but about five pages before he was reunited with his family. But most of the story flows well, and it's believable. Batman and Alfred are trapped in the Batcave well below ground. How do they get out? The Batmobile exit is blocked, the stairs up to the mansion is blocked, the access to Robin's house is blocked. So how do they get out? It's handled very clearly and as realistically as any comic book can get.
The real strong point of this story though is the artwork. Almost every comics artist can draw a decent figure but there are a sad number of artists who don't or can't draw backgrounds. But the Batman creative crew is occupied by artists who can draw buildings and scenery. As Gotham city is an essential part of the Batman mythos this probably isn't a coincidence. As such the scenes of the destroyed city are amazing and horrific. The falling skyscrapers, Wayne Manor split down the middle, rubble two stories high are all handled well, and you really feel how intense it is for these people to lose their city, their home.
I was really impressed with this work. The story continues in the No Man's Land story arc, and after reading this I definately want to go read those.
bring down Gotham.......2004-03-16
What we have here is a major earthquake that pretty much destroys Gotham. You get to see what Batman and company would do in the face of a major natural disaster. On a scale that we've never seen (after all, they do close it off). It's a great story with really good art. It helps keep Batman from becoming stale.
Interesting comic book, with a few flaws........2002-07-11
The greatest entity about Batman: Cataclysm is that it had excellent artistry; most of the pictures/scenes made sense, and are clear. For the most part, this book contains well-thought writing, which makes it better to understand . Although, there are a couple cons in this book that I must share with you. There are about four grammar errors, and some of them may keep you mind-boggled for the rest of day/night thinking about what they were trying to express. Once you get to meet Ra Al' Ghul, he can make the story confusing because of his wording. Overall, this book will get very exciting with its art, and knowing if you're a Batman fan, you'll love this book.
Average customer rating:
- Wars
- No Man's Land
- No Man's Land Book Review by Carmen
- No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story
- A nice twisted and mind boggeling war story
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No Man's Land
Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Manufacturer: Blue Sky Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Soldier's Heart : Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers
ASIN: 059038371X |
Customer Reviews:
Wars.......2004-12-18
1... This book is about a 14 year old boy named thraser who wants to enlist in the army. But, hes not old enough, but hes does it anyway to prove that hes not a coward and can do it.It tests him in ways that he never imageined.
2...This reflects me by not everything that i think that i could do doesn' mean that i can do it.
3...I pick charization beacuse he does everything in his power to get in the army.
4...I recommened this book to anyone who likes reading Historical fiction books. I dont.
No Man's Land.......2004-05-18
A fourteen year boy, by the name of Thrasher, is to young to enlist in the Confederate army. That doesn't stop him. He enlist in the Congfederate army anyway. He wants to prove to his father he is not weak or cowardly. Now he has a chance to be a hero, but when he leaves for Virginia, he is tested in ways he had never meant for. If you haven't read this I think you should. It is Historical fiction so it is interesting to hear what it was like with modern events back then.
No Man's Land Book Review by Carmen.......2004-05-04
Thrasher pulled his knife from its sheath and raised it over his head but before the knife could fall, another roar sounded from the rushes. Out charged a female gator. The she-gator hissed, and interest flickered in Pap's eyes a sort of amusement that now they'd have two gators to reckon with. Thrasher gripped his knife tighter, ready to kill the gator, to hack through its spine, to be a man but his feet wouldn't move. He stood transfixed. Then the she-gator rammed Pap, pushing him into the water.
In Susan Bartoletti's book No Mans Land, Thrasher wants to prove to his dad that he can be a man and is not weak. All his life his father has been telling him that he doesn't do things well enough. One day his father got attacked by alligators. Thrasher thought that this was his chance to show his father he can be a man. Even though Thrasher was only fourteen, he joined the Confederate army. He joined it with his friend Baylor. Thrasher did a good job doing his duty and working together. He also realized it wasn't easy growing up. A lot of exciting and interesting things happen in this great book.
This book is a great book for all boys ages 8 and up. Boys will enjoy this historical fiction book because it includes information on the Civil War. It's very exciting which tempts you to read on. It is exciting because Thrasher (only fourteen years old) joins the army. This makes you wonder, will he get caught for being too young?
No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story.......2004-03-21
No Man's Land: A Young Soldier's Story, is a great book, especially for kids. It has the action to keep kids interested, but also at the same time teaches them about the Civil War. I currently have this on my favorites shelf, as well. I own this hardcover copy that I had signed by Susan Bartoletti. Great Book. *****
A nice twisted and mind boggeling war story.......2003-10-23
A twisted and mind boggeling war story will unfold befor your eyes! Its about a young kid named Thrasher Magee who is only fourteen and is way too young to enlist in the army. Thrasher sets out to the town church after being confrunted by his father on why he shouldn't enlist. When he gets there he sees a lot of men that he knows from the town waiting to enlist. As Thrasher closes on the church he starts to think to himself. What if someone i know sees me there to enlist? What will they tell me? To go home where i'm needed and let the men fight the war? But when he gets to the croud of people they just looked at him and nodded their head in approvel. From that point on Thrasher considered himself as a soldier. This book puts you right in the middle of the battle and with such realistic detail you can even smell the grass. This book is suited for all ages 10 and up. It gives you a bite out of history.
Average customer rating:
- Parallel Stories
- Postcards From No Man's Land
- "Nothing in Amsterdam is What it Appears to Be"
- Touching.. not everyone could enjoy it though.
- Excellent Book
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Postcards From No Man's Land (Dance Sequence 5)
Aidan Chambers
Manufacturer: Red Fox
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1862302847
Release Date: 2007-01-23 |
Book Description
Jacob Todd is abroad on his own, visiting his grandfather’s grave at the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem in Amsterdam. There, he meets elderly Geertrui, who tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal, which completely overturns Jacob’s view of himself and his country, and leads him to question his place in the world. Jacob’s story is paralleled in time by the events of the dramatic day in World War II when retreating troops were sheltered by Geertrui’s family.
Customer Reviews:
Parallel Stories.......2007-06-20
There are two parallel stories in this book--one the present day story of Jacob, and one the story of Geertrui, a girl who was living in Holland during World War II. In journal form, Geertrui tells her own story, how she was a teenager living in a region of Holland that was occupied for a time by German soldiers. The people of her town desperately wanted to be liberated and welcomed the British soldiers who came to liberate them. However, after much fighting, they had to fall back for a time. One soldier, Jacob, was badly injured and unable to retreat with the rest of his men, so he stayed behind and Geertrui, wanting to help, nursed his injuries.
Over the course of his stay with her, Geertrui fell in love with Jacob despite the fact that he had a wife and child at home in England. They had a brief but romantic affair, which Geertrui still treasured as her one true love for her whole life.
The present day Jacob is an English teenager who lives with his grandmother, Sarah. She was the real wife of the Jacob soldier Geertrui fell in love with. She also desperately loved her husband and was grateful to the people who took him in when he was injured in the war. Geertrui has invited her to Holland to observe a ceremony at the cemetary where her husband was buried, but after injuring her hip, Sarah can't go. She sends her grandson Jacob to stay with Geertrui's family and to go to the ceremony. While in Amsterdam, though, Jacob not only learns more than he would have liked to have known about his family history, but also begins to question his own identity.
I liked Jacob's struggle with his identity and the way the gay characters in this book are so matter-of-fact about themselves and their lives. I thought Daan was a great character--very complex and interesting. I liked how he interacted with Jacob and brought him out of his shell.
The style of this book was a little confusing at first, with the story flipping back and forth without any real connection. I also didn't like the long quotes from real soldiers' experiences who had nothing to do with the story being told here. And despite his search, I felt like Jacob's identity was still unresolved at the end of the story.
Postcards From No Man's Land.......2006-03-17
A fifteen year-old English traveler named Jacob Todd travels to Amsterdam to visit his grandmother who is dying of disease. He meets a stranger in an old restaurant; a girl named Ton. In the end of the conversation, Jacob discovers that the girl is actually an older boy. After Jacob is bewildered by this event, he is mugged by a teen in a red cap. Meanwhile, in the late era of World War II in Europe, teenage Geertrui is living in the occupied Dutch city of Oosterbeek, Holland. But on one day, something will change. The Allies are coming! Throughout the streets of Oosterbeek, the Germans are being constantly pursued by the Allied troops, while the streets of Oosterbeek are in chaos. Two English soldiers arrive at the home of Geertrui, and they ask her family if they can use her home as a watch tower, since the Germans are only a couple of miles away. One of these soldiers is called Jacob, and his last name is also Todd. In the present, Jaocb visits his relative, Van Daan Riet, and finally gets to visit his grandmother, Geertrui. In 1945, the Germans have re-occupied Oosterbeek and air raids have caused destruction in the town, and Geertrui's basement becomes a makeshift hospital. One day, though, one of the patients is the original Jacob Todd, who is badly burned. Geertrui must care for him, and while this happens, they fall in love. However, they must leave for the Germans are becoming more ruthless. After he recovers, he suddenly dies of a heart attack. In the present times, Jacob meets a girl named Hille, and they fall in love as well. Jacob also visits his grandmother, Geertrui, again, where she tells him about her life with the original Jacob Todd during the war, and gives him a diary about it. He also gets a pin that was on the coat of his grandfather, the original Jacob Todd. Postcards from No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers, is a great historcial-fiction novel due to its great action, its suspense, and its great ability to describe an actual event.
Postcards From No Man's Land is a great historical fiction book because of its great detail and action. When the battle for Oosterbeek begins, the battle is uniquely described to the best possible. The battles described could create a picture in any person's head that would make them want to buy and read the book for hours and hours until the enitre novel has been read. Postcards From No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers, is a great novel to read becasue of this.
Postcard's From No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers, is also a definite choice to read because of its large amounts of suspense. From the beginning of the novel, there was a great hook that would make the reader wonder what would happen next. Another example is during the march away from the re-captured city of Oosterbeek. Geertrui and Jacob must go to a faraway farm to escape the Germans, just because Jacob is an English soldier. There is a very close call, as one German almost finds Jacob. There is also another part where the war rages on, and at any minute the Germans might destroy Geertrui's house. Suspense like this is child's play compared to the suspense in the rest of the novel, which will keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat.
Postcards From No Man's Land, by Aidan Chambers, is excellent because it accurately and vividly depicts World War II. The whole setting takes place in a city, taken over by the Nazi Germans, that is finally being liberated by the Allies in an attempt to invade the Axis Powers. However, the author does an exceptional job of depicting the harsh and cruel life of war. It also tells the brutal conterattacks conducted by the Nazis in order to gain all of their lost lands. If you are looking for a novel that will take you right into the action of the battles, this book is for you!
Postcards From No Man's Land is a fantastic novel to read because of its thrills, its action and adventure, and most imporatntly because its gives a great description of how brutal a war can be. Even though there were some disturbing moments that are not very appropriate for younger children, it was still an extraordinary book that is about a young girl who tries to survive a war, and a teenage boy who wants to find out about that girl's past. I rate this novel a total of five stars out of five.
A. Chappell
"Nothing in Amsterdam is What it Appears to Be".......2005-11-22
Postcards from No Man's Land is a well written novel wrote in the perspective of two characters throughout the story, and how their lives change while living in Amsterdam. The first main character, Jacob Todd, is a seventeen year old American that goes to Amsterdam for a remembrance in honor of his grandfather, and other fallen soldiers of the war fifty-one years earlier. As it turns out, Jacob has a horrible time trying to adapt to the different customs of Amsterdam, and ends up becoming mugged on his first day there. Now he is without his coat, or what they call an anorak, and without any money on a cold rainy day, he has to find a relatives house in the lonely streets of Amsterdam. The second main character, Geertrui, is Jacob Todd's grandmother, and her story is told in her point of view during the war. While the war is ending, things start to happen with her and another Jacob Todd that is kept secret from everyone else. Follow the story as the present Jacob Todd tries to learn about his family's past while in a foreign country that he knows nothing about.
There were many things I liked about this book including the way it was written in the perspective of two characters at two different time periods. I also liked how the book used a variety of vocabulary words, but the only negative about that was that I may have not have known the meaning of the words. The only dislike I had of the book was trying to remember and to follow what was happening to the other characters while reading the chapters because you would be stuck for reading about Geertrui during the war for two chapters, then you would start all over again with two chapters about Jacob Todd in present time.
I can not think of any other books like this one, or any other authors that write like Aidan Chambers does because I think that this book is a one of a kind, kind of book.
Touching.. not everyone could enjoy it though........2005-03-06
I read this book over the course of 2 days where it completly sucked me in.
The story was very complex. The main character, Jacob, discovers that his grandfather had cheated on his pregnant wife (Jacob's grandmother)during WW2 and had a child with her. The grandfather, also named jacob, comes across as a decent person though. No one ever knew this untill Gertruii, the women who had his illegimate child, tells relatives the truth after her husband dies and she is termianlly ill. Both Jacob's grandmother and Gertruii still after all these years mourn the death of his grandfather.
It is a very emotionally complex story. Jacob discovers things about himself and family that to him are surprising and life changing.
I was able to appreciate the story but I didn't overly enjoy it.
Excellent Book.......2005-02-07
I am currently a senior in high school and was recommended this book by my English AP teacher. Postcards From No Man's Land is a wonderfully delightful book. From the first chapter, the reader is captivated by the young, curious, and wise Jacob Todd. I am seventeen, like Jacob, and felt a great connection with Todd. He experiences so many situations that occur everyday in my life. It is comforting to know that an adult author, like Aiden Chambers, can capture these "awkward" moments in one's journey from childhood to adulthood.
Not only does this book allow for perspective from a young man, but also from a young woman, living in the 1940's named Geertrui. I, myself, felt most connected to her. Geertrui, is brought up in a very traditional, structured home, where her life has revolved around the morally accepted ideas of maternal instinct and marriage. She is very inspirational throughout the novel and opens young Jacob's eyes to a whole new part of the picture.
Overall, there are not enough words in the English language for me to describe my appreciation and love for this book. I urge everyone to at least read it once, and then hand it over to their teens to read. It is definitely an eye opening book.
Enjoy!
AroChica05@aol.com
P.S. *Readers* This book does discuss some serious topics, everything from euthanasia, sexuality, to infidelity. I urge you to first read the book, before handing it over to your young adult, as to adequately prepare for possible questions that may result. :o)
Average customer rating:
- Best Comic Book Novel Thus Far.
- Super Reader
- Great!
- Another fantastic batman novel
- Great Book
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Batman: No Man's Land
Greg Rucka
Manufacturer: Pocket Star
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Batman: No Man's Land, Vol. 1
ASIN: 0671774557 |
Book Description
GOTHAM CITY: a dark, twisted re?ection of urban America. Overcrowded, overbuilt, and overshadowed by a continuous air of menace, this gothic nightmare is a breeding ground for the depraved, the indifferent, and the criminally insane. It's also the object of one man's obsession. Witness to the brutal murder of his parents, Bruce Wayne has dedicated his life to protecting this city, taking a form to inspire hope in the innocent...and fear in the guilty. He is the masked vigilante known as the Batman.
Now the battlefield has changed. Leveled by a massive earthquake that left thousands dead and millions more wounded, Gotham City has been transformed into a lawless wilderness -- a No Man's Land -- where the survivors are turning against one another, and where the city's protectors are torn by a crisis that may consume them all.
Customer Reviews:
Best Comic Book Novel Thus Far........2007-09-14
This is by far the best Comic Book Novelzation that I have read thus far. This book isn't about Batman as much as it is about the supporting characters of the franchise. There is no one character that takes the spotlight in the No Man's Land but Commissoner Gordon defintely has largest slice of the pie. The opening monologues by Oracle are written from a great view of the character which combines her history as Batgirl into them. The relationship between Gordon and Batman goes to a another level. Two-Face as a warlord is simply brillaint, and the political games between the warning factions in Gotham City will have any conspiracy fan sitting on their rear end reading this book.
Super Reader.......2007-08-07
I had not read No Man's Land in comics when I read this, and was very impressed. At times a highly emotional story Rucka has performed admirably. A decent novelist in his own right, he has produced a Batman novel that is sometimes horrifying in its own right. It is also fairly lengthy for a hero novel, being closer to 500 pages, than 400, because of the epic it is covering, and not large print and lots of spacing, either.
Really good.
Great!.......2007-06-11
They should novelize comic book stories more often! After reading the Infinite Crisis novel, I searched for more "comic to novel" adaptations. So I check this out... Man, am I glad I did!
Another fantastic batman novel.......2006-10-16
I first heard about this story from the DC Comics web site, which stated what had happened to Gotham, not to the people residing in it. I see this as a direct sequel to Dennis O'Neil's "Batman: Knightfall" due to the fact the story takes place after Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham to reclaim the Batman title. Rucka shows his talent in how smoothly he shows the character's relationships.
This is a must-have novel for any Batman-fan or some one into a gripping tale of reclaiming a destroyed city.
PARTY ON, DUDES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Book.......2005-12-16
This is a great story about justice in a forgotten city, destroyed by an earthquake and overun with crime Batman and several others try to bring justice. This story alternates points of view many times through out the story from Batman to Penguin and everyone in between. Action and adventure fill the story with few dull moments through out it.
This story isn't a tough read and once you get into it its hard to put it down. The book can be confusing at times with all the different points of view but than again that is also what makes the story so interesting. The story is told from the first person by all of the many characters. Batman along with Batgirl and what is left of the Gotham Police Deparment fight villians such as Two Face, Penguin, Poisen Ivy and many more. It is a great read and i higly suggest it.
Book Description
Throughout the galaxy, an ancient network of interstellar portals has been reactivated, instantly linking distant planets and civilizations. Back home in the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet can devote all its considerable resources to coping with the Gateways crisis, but in the Delta Quadrant, there is only the Starship Voyager®....
Just as Voyager enters an unusually hazardous region of space, the ship and its crew are confronted with a flood of lost and disoriented starships from all over the galaxy. Accidentally transported incredible distances by the unpredictable Gateways, the diverse alien castaways regard each other and Voyager with hostility and suspicion. Captain Kathryn Janeway suddenly finds herself struggling to hold together an extremely fractious fleet of dislocated alien vessels even as the newly awakened Gateways hold open the prospect of finally bringing her own ship home!
Download Description
Throughout the galaxy, an ancient network of interstellar portals has been reactivated, instantly linking distant planets and civilizations. Back home in the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet can devote all its considerable resources to coping with the Gateways crisis, but in the Delta Quadrant, there is only the Starship Voyager®.... Just as Voyager enters an unusually hazardous region of space, the ship and its crew are confronted with a flood of lost and disoriented starships from all over the galaxy. Accidentally transported incredible distances by the unpredictable Gateways, the diverse alien castaways regard each other and Voyager with hostility and suspicion. Captain Kathryn Janeway suddenly finds herself struggling to hold together an extremely fractious fleet of dislocated alien vessels even as the newly awakened Gateways hold open the prospect of finally bringing her own ship home!
Customer Reviews:
What???.......2004-06-22
I don't know what to say about this book. For a Star Trek story, it was good, not the greatest thing but a good book. For a Voyager story it was even better, Janeway's ability to lead and conquer impossible situations shines though in this book. For the Gateways series... this book was useless.
I'm a huge Voyager fan, so this was the very first Gateways book I read. After reading it I thought it was phenominal, Janeway, all alone in the Delta Quadrant, happens upon SEVERAL other ships now also lost with her. Some of them friendly, some of them hostile, some of them at war back on their home planets, and some of them (the Hirogen) who are supposed to be enemies but don't seem to be. And then the end (in book 7) was "WOW."
But, now I've read three other Gateways books (TNG, DS9, and NF), and I have found that the Voyager installation in the Gateways series really had absolutely nothing to do with the Gateways in the other books. The only link is that you find out where the Iconians got the Gateways to begin with. But the Gateways in Voyager were not of the same sort as those in the other series, making this a useless read if you want to follow the Gateways series specifically.
My recommendation here is if you like Voyager and want to see some typical Janeway diplomacy and tough-as-nails leadership read this book. But if you are only getting this book for the Gateways' series skip it.
Least A Part of Gateway Series.......2002-06-09
This book stands alone as much as any of the 5 Gateways I've read, except that like the others, it says "to be continued" in book 7. However, the story to this point does have some partial conclusion. It is a good Voyager story and involves all the crew, but a lot of focus is on Janeway's dilemas leading the caravan. I must say it isn't totally clear why ships from all over the galaxy would want to follow Voyager the direction they are going, especially since danger lies that way. But once you get past that, OK.
Very Good book............2002-02-22
This is a very good book. It has Captain Janeway in a very sticky stitution. She must lead a fleet of alien ships through a dangerous sector of space and most don't trust or even like her! This book is good on how it has Janeway and the crew deal with slavery, greed and just plain rotten people. Seven has some interesting sceens in this book which makes it even better. The books first two chapters are a little slow but it picks up. An all around good Star Trek adventure.
Good Voyager story.......2002-01-05
I am usually wary of anything that deals with the Voyager series. The few Voyager novels that I have read though have been superior to the TV series. This is one of those novels. The author captures what was really the best qualities of the series and the characters. Here all the characters have something to do not like the TV series where it became the 7 of 9 show. Nothing wrong with that but variety would have been nice. Here we get to see Janeway as a strong leader. Not someone that sometime became irrational as shown on the show at times. Janeway and Chakotay have a strong bond here which I approve but differed from the series finale. This is more appropriate and logical not the crazy pairing they did at the end. I also liked the fact the author show us all these different alien species and some of the older ones of the TV series. The book has good action and has some cute, light moments. It is not perfect but the Gateway series has definately picked up from book 2 and has done well after that. Hopefully book 6 will be good too.
Unnecessary segment in the "Gateways" series.......2002-01-03
I was greatly disappointed in this book for several reasons. Most significant was the fact that it is only very vaguely related to the others in the series; the action in this book adds nothing to the saga begun by Kirk and his crew in book one. This book and it's concluding chapter in book seven could be omitted with no loss. Add to this the amateurish writing, uncharacteristic action, and embarrassingly poor dialogue, and the reader has little reason to waste the time or money on this installment.
Average customer rating:
- Classic Robb White
- Good
- Great but confussing
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No Mans Land
Harold Pinter
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Pinter, Harold
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Customer Reviews:
Classic Robb White.......2005-06-23
This book tells the tale of a young marine toxicologist who discovers a sunken WWII sub chaser in the lagoon of a Pacific atoll where he is studying the local fauna. It seems the island is covered by a "taboo" in local legend that keeps people away not just from the island, but also the immediate area. While this causes some problems, the trouble really starts when the subchaser is uncovered by a typhoon that washes away much of the sandy bottom of the lagoon. There is something on the sunken subchaser that people are willing to kill for.
It is in many ways this book is classic Robb White. A young man (early 20s) on his own, sunken treasue, sailing, and a bit of WWII intrigue thrown in. Not his very best work in my opinion, but certianly enjoyable and well written. The characters are fairly well developed, and the plot consistent, with a few very nice twists. It felt a lot like "Secret Sea" in many ways, just aimed at a bit older audience.
I read many of White's books as a "pre-teen" but never read this one, as I could never find it. I ran across it at our local library, and was happily surprised how enjoyable it was reading a "new" White book as an adult. Like most Robb White books in this day and age, it will be hard to find (not as hard as some of the early ones tho), but its worth a look if you liked his other works.
Good.......2001-09-20
It is a good book. Read it. Very interesting and fun too!
Great but confussing.......2000-04-12
This book was very good. It was very complex and made you think a lot. It was an odd book but I like odd books. I gave it four stars because it was confussing and hard to understand. But overall it was great.
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