Book Description
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ house, a cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference to the other. But during the warm, languorous summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks’ duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime.For what the two discover on the Riviera and on a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.
The psychological maneuvers that accompany attraction have seldom been more shrewdly captured as in André Aciman’s frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion. Call Me by Your Name is clear-eyed, bare-knuckled, and ultimately unforgettable.
Customer Reviews:
Call This Novel Great! .......2007-09-17
Rather than shelving a large library of used books in my apartment, I keep a small collection of my favorite books . . . the ones I know that I want to read again and again. "Call Me by Your Name" is now in my small collection with "Middlemarch," "Giovanni's Room," "Gut Symmetries," "At Swim,Two Boys," and others.
If literature is an art that can touch one's soul, then I would say that Aciman's novel is one that thrust a sword into the most tender chamber of my heart and tore open old wounds. The effect was sweet and deeply painful, but after the tears it felt like an awakening. This book is rare and very beautiful.
A Heartfelt and Melancholy Remembrance.......2007-09-16
I'm first to admit that the first 75 pages were challenging...I was losing interest, but so very happy I persisted. (Partially due to the fact that I only brought one book for the plane ride.)
Perhaps part of the difficulty for me was that much of the internal narrative resonated to deeply. It came very close to what I'd imagine the dialogue might have been in my head had this story been my own.
What a beautiful novel! I hope others invest the time to read this ruminative and melancholy but ultimately noble story.
Gripping story.......2007-09-12
Aciman writes a truly gripping and emotionally charged story. I have gone on to read his `Out of Egypt' which is, again, beautiful writing.
Where's the Red Brigade when you need it?.......2007-09-11
I respected this book but didn't enjoy reading at all. I concede that the prose did calm down after a while but I had already turned against the book, and its characters -- I think it's not a good sign if I kept wanting the family to be visited by bandits or an avalanche. I concede, too, that Aciman conveys accurately something about love, first love, the pain of desire. But so does Alice Munro just with a simple sentence about how a character parks her car or takes off her shoe. Really not my kind of thing -- does Aciman have a sense of humor?
Absolutely Beautiful.......2007-09-07
I've rarely ever read a book that was as engrossing as this one. It was a fantastic and wonderful journey.
Book Description
In most discussions and analyses of American teenage life, one major topic is curiously overlooked--religion. Yet most American teens say that religious faith is important in their lives. What is going on in the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers? What do they actually believe? What religious practices do they engage in? Do they expect to remain loyal to the faith of their parents? Or are they abandoning traditional religious institutions in search of a new, more "authentic" spirituality? Answering these and many other questions, Soul Searching tells the definitive story of the religious and spiritual lives of contemporary American teenagers.
Customer Reviews:
Worth every minute.......2007-07-18
Although this book can be somewhat slow at times (it's a book of analyzing statistics, what else would one expect?), it is a great glimpse into the minds of U.S. teenagers. Anyone who works with youth should read this book.
social scientific conclusions about American teenage religiosity.......2007-01-18
First the good news. In their ground-breaking National Study of Youth and Religion funded by the Lilly Endowment, the results of which are published in their new book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press, 2005), Christian Smith (the Stuart Chapin Distinguished Professor of Sociology at UNC and a committed Christian) and Melinda Lundquist Denton of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) document that teenagers overwhelmingly admire their parents as the single greatest influence in their lives, and gladly imitate their religious beliefs. Further, their study showed that teenagers actually like church. The conventional wisdom of teenage alienation from parents and hostility toward religion is an entrenched but erroneous stereotype, they argue.
Now for the bad news. When Smith and Denton asked these teenagers to describe the particulars of their religious faith, they were "incredibly inarticulate" about even the most basic tenets of their beliefs and practices. Rather, the vast majority of kids were abysmally ignorant of the religion they espoused. Here, for example, is the response of a 15-year-old who attends church four or five times a week, when asked to articulate her faith:
"[Pause] I don't really know how to answer that. ['Are there any beliefs at all that are important to you? Really generally.'] [Pause] I don't know. ['Take your time if you want.'] I think that you should just, if you're gonna do something wrong then you should always ask for forgiveness and he's gonna forgive you no matter what, cause he gave up his only Son to take all the sins for you, so..."
This from their scientific survey of 3,290 teenagers (ages 13-17) and parents, and 267 personal interviews, conducted across four years (2001-2005). Smith and Denton conclude that most "Christian" kids really operate with a vague sort of Moral Therapeutic Deism: be nice, don't do bad, for a remote deity wants you to be happy and feel good about yourself. In other words, says Smith, "we can say here that we have come with some confidence to believe that a significant part of 'Christianity' in the U.S. is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition." If these kids reflect the biblical illiteracy of their parents, which I suspect is the case, and if we add to this portrait the depressing conclusions about Christian lifestyles in Ron Sider's The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience (2005), then American born-again believers have a long, long way to go in fidelity to the apostolic way of life.
If you cannot read Soul Searching, there are two brief reviews that I enjoyed. See Andy Crouch, "Compliant But Confused," in Christianity Today, April 2005, p. 98; and Michael Cromartie's interview with Christian Smith, "What American Teenagers Believe," in Books and Culture, January-February 2005, pp. 10-11.
Really important stuff, especially "moralistic therapeutic deism".......2006-08-12
A sociological analysis of conducted between 2001 and 2005 at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill under the title, "National Study of Youth and Religion."
According to the research of Smith and Denton, the vast majority of U.S. teenagers identify themselves as Christian, have beliefs that are similar to those of their parents, believe in God, and have a positive general attitude about religion. About half say that faith is important in their lives, and four out of ten say they attend religious services weekly or more often. Most of them have never heard the phrase "spiritual but not religious" or have any idea what that means. "The vast majority of the teenagers we interviewed, of whatever religion, said very plainly that they simply believe what they were raised to believe; they are merely following in their family's footsteps and that is perfectly fine with them" (page 120).
But wait -- there's a problem. What is it that these teenagers have been raised to believe? "Our impression as interviewers was that many teenagers could not articulate matters of faith because they have not been effectively educated in and provided opportunities to practice talking about their faith. Indeed, it was our distinct sense that for many of the teens we interviewed, our interview was the first time that any adult had ever asked them what they believed and how it mattered in their life" (page 133). Yikes! Smith and Denton argue that "we suggest that the de facto dominant religion among contemporary U.S. teenagers is what we might well call 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism'" -- a simple belief in a god (who is not very personal), with an emphasis on moral values and feeling good about oneself. Smith and Denton argue that this "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" is "simply colonizing many established religious traditions and congregations in the United States." (Moralistic therapeutic deism is discussed in detail on pages 162-170.)
Their analysis of moralistic therepeutic deism concludes: "We have come with some confidence to believe that a significant part of Christianity in the United States is actually only tenuously Christian in any sense that is seriously connected to the actual historical Christian tradition, but has rather substantially morphed into Christianity's misbegotten stepcousin, Christian Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. This has happened in the minds and hearts of many individual believers and, it also appears, within the structures of at least some Christian organizations and institutions. The language, and therefore experience, of Trinity, holiness, sin, grace, justification, sanctification, church, Eucharist, and heaven and hell appear, among most Christian teenagers in the United States at the very least, to be supplanted by the language of happiness, niceness, and an earned heavenly reward. It is not so much that U.S. Christianity is being secularized. Rather more subtly, Christianity is either degenerating into a pathetic version of itself or, more significantly, Christianity is actively being colonized and displaced by a quite different religious faith" (page 171).
Wake up, church planters and church builders! I think we've just heard the voice of a prophet speaking.
soul searching..........2006-03-22
excellent content.
rather hard to read due to the font size.
National Survey of the Spiritual Lives of Teens.......2006-03-14
Chris Smith did a marvelous analysis of the religious and spiritual life of teens in the United States. I am using this comprehensive research to assist us as we plan for the teens in our parish. The analysis is "user friendly" and certainly touches on a very important part of the lives of our teens.
Book Description
Middle school is all about change. In the opening section, girls take a quiz to determine how they respond to change, then receive tips on how to cope with the big changes that they're getting ready to face as they start middle school- switching classes, getting up earlier, and having their own lockers, all while learning to manage a new school, new teachers, new friends, and LOTS more homework and activities! The secret to feeling more confident as she starts middle school is having a little insight into what to expect. This book provides that information as well as "Smart Girl's tips" from girls who have already made the grade in the big school.
Customer Reviews:
Not that great... :(.......2007-10-03
I got this book from the library, because even though I'm homeschooled, I was hoping it might give me tips on studying for tests doing homework, and other such things. The only thing in there I didn't really know before was how to place things in your backpack to make it not so heavy. And their schedule for getting ready in the morning was not bad either. Also, the "After School" section, gave you pretty good advice on tryouts and how much is too much activities. But being as to how that's just about two thirds of the book I'd say it's not worth your money. Also they make middle school sound scarier than I think it really is. For example, they said "Picture yourself having a good time in middle school." They make it sound like you're going to a different country! So overall, you might get it at the library, but I wouldn't buy it.
Smart Giirls Guide.......2007-10-03
My daughter started middle school this year and has read this book from cover to cover at least 5 times. She has always liked American Girl books and I don't have to worry about her reading inappropriate material. Highly recommend for any girl starting middle school.
Another American Girl Success.......2007-01-12
My daughter will be entering middle school next year. As far as books go, this one will help her more than any other I've seen. Every book in this series has been a hit and this one is no exception.
Not that helpful.......2007-01-02
My eleven year old daughter and i read it. It was not that helpful. Everything in there she already knew. I recomend it if you were homeschooled but otherwise it's not that great.
This Book Was So Great!!!!!!!!.......2006-08-27
This book was so great!!!! When I first got this book I didn't know squat, but ever since I got this book middle school doesn't seem that much scary to me anymore. So if your starting middle school then you should buy this book,also if you in 7th, 8th, and even beyond use this book for help throughout your school years!
Average customer rating:
- Light read
- One of Patterson's best books yet on a different level!
- Good vs. Evil
- Come on James!?
- Wow!
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When the Wind Blows
James Patterson
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The Lake House
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Maximum Ride Book #2: School's Out - Forever (Maximum Ride)
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Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment (Teen's Top 10 (Awards))
ASIN: 0316693324
Release Date: 1998-10-28 |
Amazon.com
Taking a break from his phenomenally successful Alex Cross series, James Patterson's When the Wind Blows is as much child's fantasy as it is an adult nightmare. The novel moves away from the gritty Washington, D.C., setting of the Cross books and follows the daily life of Frannie O'Neill, a Colorado veterinarian. After the mysterious death of her husband several years before, Frannie retreated to an isolated life in her Colorado practice. But a series of bizarre events suddenly disrupts her lonely routine. On a personal level, she is shaken by her new tenant--Kit Harrison. Kit's too handsome and too friendly and he's a hunter (or so Frannie thinks). He's also recovering from a devastating personal tragedy, and, as Frannie eventually learns, he's really an FBI agent using his vacation to follow a crucial lead. But Kit isn't the one that's got Frannie concerned. As she says after stopping her Suburban one night to check out something on the side of the road: "What I saw was way beyond my abilities to imagine, beyond my comprehension, my system of belief, and maybe beyond my ability to communicate right now. The little girl's arms were folded back in a peculiar way, but when she lifted them--feathers fanned out." The girl is Max, and the mystery of her wings leads Frannie and Kit into a massive conspiracy involving secret genetic research and the scientific manipulation of the human species.
Patterson, a former advertising executive who coined such catchy phrases as "Nupe it!," knows how to entertain. His chapters are always short (some only two pages), and his writing is clear and unobtrusive; the reading experience is brisk--akin to watching a summer blockbuster. The book is not as dark or as weighty as the tales of detective-psychologist Alex Cross, but while some fans may be disappointed by Patterson's migration from pure suspense fiction, his first-person narrator Frannie, has a quirky realism that keeps this flight of fancy mostly on stable ground. --Patrick O'Kelley
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
When the Wind Blows has one of those outrageous premises that you either buy into (a girl with wings?), or you don't. Fortunately, Blair Brown's narration helps you suspend disbelief. Brown, the multi-Emmy-nominated star of the classic TV series The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, reads the story with more authority than the plot seems to merit. But as urgent and forceful as she is with the central narration, she's even better when reading the first-person passages in the voice of Frannie O'Neill, the widowed veterinarian at the center of this James Patterson thriller. That's when she gives the story real heart, a desperately needed humanity in the midst of all the cloning and genetic tinkering. (Running time: six hours, four cassettes) --Lou Schuler
Book Description
Taking a break from his phenomenally successful Alex Cross series, James Patterson's When the Wind Blows is as much child's fantasy as it is an adult nightmare. The novel moves away from the gritty Washington, D.C., setting of the Cross books and follows the daily life of Frannie O'Neill, a Colorado veterinarian. After the mysterious death of her husband several years before, Frannie retreated to an isolated life in her Colorado practice. But a series of bizarre events suddenly disrupts her lonely routine. On a personal level, she is shaken by her new tenant--Kit Harrison. Kit's too handsome and too friendly and he's a hunter (or so Frannie thinks). He's also recovering from a devastating personal tragedy, and, as Frannie eventually learns, he's really an FBI agent using his vacation to follow a crucial lead. But Kit isn't the one that's got Frannie concerned. As she says after stopping her Suburban one night to check out something on the side of the road: "What I saw was way beyond my abilities to imagine, beyond my comprehension, my system of belief, and maybe beyond my ability to communicate right now. The little girl's arms were folded back in a peculiar way, but when she lifted them--feathers fanned out." The girl is Max, and the mystery of her wings leads Frannie and Kit into a massive conspiracy involving secret genetic research and the scientific manipulation of the human species.Patterson, a former advertising executive who coined such catchy phrases as "Nupe it!," knows how to entertain. His chapters are always short (some only two pages), and his writing is clear and unobtrusive; the reading experience is brisk--akin to watching a summer blockbuster. The book is not as dark or as weighty as the tales of detective-psychologist Alex Cross, but while some fans may be disappointed by Patterson's migration from pure suspense fiction, his first-person narrator Frannie, has a quirky realism that keeps this flight of fancy mostly on stable ground. --Patrick O'Kelley
Download Description
eBook Special Feature: Includes a chapter excerpt of The Lake House. When the Wind Blows, the most brilliant and original "what if" suspense novel to come along in a decade has somehow surpassed the page turning chills of Cat and Mouse and Kiss the Girls. Frannie O'Neill, a young and talented veterinarian whose husband was recently murdered, comes across an amazing discovery near her animal hospital iln the woods. Kit Harrison, a troubled and unconventional FBI agent soon arrives on her doorstep. And then, there is eleven-year old Max--Frannie's amazing discover - and one of teh most unforgettable creations in thriller fiction. When the Wind Blows will not just thrill readers, it will make their imaginations and hearts soar.
Customer Reviews:
Light read.......2007-09-29
This particular tome in the James Patterson library is a quick sci-fi romp through the mountains of Colorado. It was enjoyable, even if its premise is silly. I thought the characters were what sold this one rather than all of the crazy stuff going on around them. I almost think I liked Maximum Ride more.
One of Patterson's best books yet on a different level!.......2007-09-21
I loved this book! It was great! I fell in love with the characters. Didn't want it to end. I couldn't wait for the sequel. A must read for someone with an imagination.
Good vs. Evil.......2007-09-17
I love good vs. evil stories except for one thing, they are always predictable. It's not that I want to see the bad guys win, I just wish someone would be creative enough to find a new way to get there. Patterson is a great writer, can hold your interest and make bizarre things seem believable, but the plot, as good as it gets, just doesnt' have a lot to it. I still would recommend it as a good read!
Come on James!?.......2007-07-20
James Patterson writes well and you can just visualize everything - the marks of a great author. But why this book didn't get the 4 stars I would have given it based on story and writing follows - SPOILERS ahead, stop reading if you don't want to know. So, the big reveal is special science breeding super human children. This would be fine if it was super athletic ability to compete in olympics or something. However, the children are bred with....wait for it...wings. Yes, bird wings so they can fly. Are we supposed to honestly believe that wings large enough to enable flight can be tucked back and hidden so that nobody sees them? That is why this is secret, nobody knows the children have giant wings! Come on - all the author had to do was make the research for super muscle strength and it would have been believable.
Wow!.......2007-06-21
At first, I thought Patterson had finally lost it and decided to try his hand at science fiction (which I find very boring at best). However, as I read further, this realistic-fictional story became a page turner rather quickly. The questions this story raised in my mind about the manipulation of human DNA to serve an evil purpose, not only made my skin crawl but forced me to bring this possibility to a conscious level for which I'd rather not. This story made me think while it kept me on the edge of my seat.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book
- I hate poetry
- Exceptional, Coming-Of-Age Memoir
- Elegiac bittersweet poetry
- the quickest of thoughts
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Cherry: A Memoir
Mary Karr
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
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Amazon.com
As a girl idling her way through long, toxically boring summer afternoons in Leechfield, Texas, Mary Karr dreamed up an unusual career for herself, "to write one-half poetry and one-half autobiography." She has since done both, and even when she's recounting a dirty joke, she can't help but employ a poet's precise and musical vision. Her first memoir, The Liar's Club, was as searing a chronicle of family life as can be imagined--tough, funny, and crackling with sorrow and wit. Against all odds, its sequel doesn't disappoint. Cherry finds the teenage Mary still marooned in a family whose behavior ranges from charmingly eccentric to dangerously crazy. (This, for instance, is the Karr version of a note from home: "Lecia Karr's leprosy kicked in, and I had to wrap her limbs in balm and hyssop. Please excuse her.") But here the focus has shifted to Mary herself, furiously engaged in pissing off authority at every turn: flouting the dress code, dropping acid, running from the cops, falling in love.
First love, you may say, heart sinking in chest: what more can possibly be said about such a subject? Actually, a great deal. To read Cherry is to realize how rare it is to find a teenage girl portrayed on her own terms. As a chronicle of female adolescence with all its longings, fantasies, cruelties, and fears, Karr's memoir goes darker and deeper than any book in which the protagonist doesn't end up dead. She turns a savage eye on her own hypocrisies and failings, and we like her all the more for them. We even end up fond of Leechfield, easily the toughest, smelliest, nastiest little burg ever to appear between the covers of a book--"a town too ugly not to love," her father called it in The Liar's Club. Growing up in such a place is necessarily about getting the hell out, but it's also about inventing a new identity with which to make your escape. That's the blessing Karr's wise friend Meredith bestows after a particularly harrowing (and harrowingly funny) acid trip: "I see big adventures for Mary. Big adventures, long roads, great oceans: same self." Cherry is the story of how Karr begins to acquire that self, however fumblingly--a big adventure for Mary, as it is for all of us, and one we never finish as long as we live. Perhaps that's the book's greatest pleasure of all: it hints there's more to come. --Mary Park
Book Description
From Mary Karr, author of the bestselling The Liars' Club: the vibrant--often hilarious--story of her tumultuous teens and sexual coming-of-age
Mary Karr told the prizewinning tale of her hardscrabble Texas childhood with enough literary verve to spark a renaissance in memoir. The Liars' Club rode the top of The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, and publications ranging from The New Yorker to People magazine picked it as one of the best books of the year. But it left people wondering: How'd that scrappy kid make it outa there? Cherry dares to tell that story. Karr picks up the trail and dashes off into her teen years with customary sass, only to run up against the paralyzing self-doubt of a girl in bloom.
In this long-awaited sequel, we see Karr ultimately trying to run from the thrills and terrors of her sexual awakening by butting up against authority in all its forms. She lands all too often in the principal's office and--in one instance--a jail cell. Looking for a lover or heart's companion who'll make her feel whole, she hooks up with an outrageous band of surfers and heads, wanna-be yogis and bona fide geniuses.
Karr's edgy, brilliant prose careens between hilarity and tragedy, and Cherry takes readers to a place never truly explored--deep inside a girl's stormy, ardent adolescence. Parts will leave you gasping with laughter. But its soaring close proves that from even the smokiest beginnings a solid self can form, one capable of facing down all manner of monsters.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-03-27
I bought this book because I loved her first one "The Liars' Club" so much. To be honest, had I started with "Cherry" I probably would not have been interested enough to read anything else by her. But by the end of "The Liars' Club" you feel as if she's a close friend so you want to read "Cherry" to find out what happens in her life after that. She's also a poet, but I'm not a fan of poetry so I can't tell how if her poetry books are any good. I highly, highly recommend "The Liars' Club" and then "Cherry".
I hate poetry.......2006-09-13
...yet I halfway want to buy Mary Karr's entire body of work out of sheer gratitude for her having written this, and Liar's Club.
While I agree that it's no sequel (did anyone imply it should have been?), the narrator was still herself, just as honest and affecting as ever. In fact, while each stands alone, Cherry refers to Liar's Club just enough to make you feel even closer to the story. Like, when John Cleary was riding his bike behind the pesticide truck, I was like, "Oh, I remember this! I wonder who's going to pass out?"
The Sex Club chapter! I would have read a hundred pages of the phone book if I thought something like that was waiting at the end. Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, her dad came out and started talking to the cat.
Exceptional, Coming-Of-Age Memoir.......2006-08-14
Mary Karr relives her teenage years in a small, working class town in Texas. The book is wonderful as Karr hits all the right notes while focusing on familiar, universal adolescent experiences--first loves, strained relationships with parents, friends growing apart, etc. Cherry is filled with great little truths, and Karr has a great voice.
I think this book would appeal to people who liked Tom Perrotta's Bad Haircut or the Rob Reiner movie Stand by Me.
Elegiac bittersweet poetry.......2006-06-23
Mary Karr's Cherry is a fantastic remembrance of an adolescence which her parents had very little influence over during the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s in the Port Arthur, Gulf region of Texas. This is the follow-up to her much lauded memoir The Liars' Club which chronicled her younger childhood and the family relationships which made The Liars Club so acclaimed for its frank take on youthful sexual experimentation. Cherry focuses more on the full range of experiences during her childhood rather than her sexual development or personal or development, or any particular aspect of her adolescence.
Karr is a fantastic writer, let it first be said. The detail which she recounts, perhaps from diaries chronicling these events, 25 to 30 years previously, but probably to some degree from her own memory, is astounding. She has the ability to plunge to the emotional core of things and elide the parts of that experience which might best allow her to connect with her readership. Karr captures, with bittersweet memories, the wistfulness and feelings that loom so large as youngsters and shape us as adults. She has a rare sensitivity but also, owing to her voracious literary appetite, the vocabulary to express her feelings with an ease most writers can not dream of.
Karr took many drugs during this time and spent much of her free time, during her sophomore and junior years (1972-1974), apparently, in an altered state. That being said, she was, it seems a very good student and also, shockingly for her milieu, rejected the opportunity to serve on the drill team. Her recitation of these memories and acknowledgment of her drug usage make only serve to ground her memoir in realism, as many have indeed used drugs, although perhaps not to the extent Karr did. Karr's honest accounting does not particularly glamorize drug usage. She is not depicted as particularly happy while she is taking drugs, and indeed her usage is not a broader developmental choice. She took drugs, it seems in part, because of her parents' absence in her life and her largely unfettered freedom. In addition, her mention of numerous friends who died too young or ended up in jail betrays regret and unhappiness about her naivety and the absence of positive role models. However, it is to Karr's credit that she does not shy away from drug use and acknowledges it, recognizing the attraction that it posed, while not endorsing its use at any time.
Overall, Karr recounts her experiences honestly and openly. What distinguishes Karr, as mentioned, is her articulateness and sensitivity to the shared feelings she might have with readers. She has many interesting experiences and never fails to link herself to the shared experiences she might have with others.
the quickest of thoughts.......2006-06-20
yet another 'messed up girl grows up' memoir. it's sentimental and well-written, but as a guy, i found it hard to relate.
Book Description
The acclaimed author of The Cloud Atlas returns with a wondrous second novel. Set in a small beachfront Catholic high school, narrated by a beautifully complex heroine–theology teacher Emily Hamilton–All Saints is at once a mystery, a love story, and a powerful rumination on secrets, temptation, and faith.
All Saints
By life’s midpoint Emily has seen three husbands, dozens of friends, and hundreds of students come and go. And now her classroom, long her refuge, is proving to be
anything but.
Though her popular, occasionally irreverent church history course is rich with stories of long-dead saints, Emily uneasily discovers that it’s her own tumultuous life that fascinates certain students most. She in turn finds herself drawn into their world, their secrets, and the fateful choices they make.
A novel of mystery and illumination, calling and choice, All Saints explores lives lived in a fragile sanctuary–from Emily and her many saints to a priest facing his own mortality and a teenager tormented by desire. Told with grace and compassion, this is a spellbinding novel of provocative storytelling.
Customer Reviews:
Does teenage trauma compromise later life decisions?.......2007-09-15
Met Emily Hamilton-thrice divorced, reasonably taut, menopausal teacher of religion in a California Catholic high school perched just by the sands. Enter a trio of students-Edgar, the scenic man-boy exploring his options; Paul, the sensitive scholar who longs for acceptance and Cecily, the "good" girl who pines for Edgar. Or is it Paul?
Mr. Callanan weaves these characters into a rich stew of hormones, regrets, and true tragedy. Emily's past is strewn with rash decisions-a teenage pregnancy, a 24hr. "starter" marriage, remarks that are meant to be clever and leave a trail of hurt. And her future is not going much better...
While you might get perturbed by Emily and her decisions throughout the story, you do want to find out what happens to her when all is said and done. Rather like a long-time friend who takes life's shortcuts but would give you the shirt off her back. And Father Martin, the Catholic priest who plays a significant part in Emily's life, is a joy. Would that we all know a character like that in our lives.
I'm confused . . . .......2007-09-12
While I'm no great literary mind, I can usually appreciate a good book. I remember learning in English 101 that in a good story, the main character goes through a change during the story, finds the meaning of life, reunites with a long lost love, etc. Not sure that happened here. At least not that I could tell. If someone can explain to me how it did happen, please do. I would only recommend this book to those who are fans of films that are critically acclaimed, but the general population doesn't like, or doesn't get.
Haunting and engrossing. .......2007-06-12
I loved the bleak-yet-teeming landscape of Liam Callanan's Cloud Atlas. Now he's succeeded in following his own tough act with All Saints. Teen angst, religious mystery, secrets, desire: what's not to be engrossed by? His particular triumph in this case is the sustained voice and character of Emily Hamilton, whom I looked forward to spending time with every time I opened the book (which was not that many times, since it was hard to put down).
More great characters.......2007-06-09
Callanan has again created some wonderful characters with very interesting stories to tell. I especially love his Catholic priests who are a terrific mixture of the divine and the world they have lived in (or through). While I laughed out loud many times, the story is absolutely wrenching. Read Cloud Atlas too.
All Saint's - a wonderful read.......2007-05-30
This is a book that is difficult to put down. The story is told within the context of biblical history and modern Orange County, CA, an unusual combination. The author uses engaging humor to develop the adult characters and wonderfully captures the awkwardness of the personal growth of the teenage characters as they absorb life lessons. The story followed many unexpected paths that intrigued and provoked thought. Forty people at my company gathered to read the book and the author was kind enough to join us for a discussion. The author is as engaging as the book itself.
Average customer rating:
- I think this is funny
- Kind of Funny
- Mortified
- pathetic alright
- Mundane, Repetitive, No Variety
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Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic.
David Nadelberg
Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1416928073 |
Book Description
Share the shame.
In the days before blogs, teenagers recorded their lives with a pen in top-secret notebooks, usually emblazoned with an earnest, underlined plea to parents to keep away. Since 2002, David Nadelberg has tapped that vast wellspring of adolescent anguish in the stage show Mortified, in which grown men and women confront their past with firsthand tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Simon LeBon.
Following the same formula that has made the live show a beloved cult hit, Mortified the book takes real childhood journals and documents and edits the entries into captivating, comedic, and cathartic stories, introduced by their now older (and allegedly wiser) authors. From letters begging rescue from a hellish summer camp to catty locker notes about stuck-up classmates to obsessive love that borders on stalking, Mortified gives voice to the real -- and really pathetic -- hopes, fears, desires, and creative urgings that have united adolescents for generations.
Customer Reviews:
I think this is funny.......2007-09-04
I first must admit, that I have a piece in this book, and I've been in the show. So my opinion might be biased. But even though I cringe at my entry I find everyone else's funny. I love the idea, and bummed I didn't come up with it first. What is funny is that it's true. Every word written is taken from someone's actual diary/journal/letters/poems etc. It's not a piece of fiction, because sadly some of this stuff just can't be made up.
Kind of Funny.......2007-04-15
There are a few gems buried in here. But is it worth buying the whole book to get to them? I don't know. These diary/journal entries will take you back to the not so distant past and I could have written some of them myself!
Mortified.......2007-03-08
I enjoyed this book throughly. The only disappointment that I had was that I thought it was going to be funny throughout but yet there seemed to be some very sad parts. Even though I found myself unable to put the book down.
pathetic alright.......2007-03-08
Very few really enjoyable stories in here. Sadly, people are just so self absorbed as teenagers that it was hard to be sympathetic with them
Mundane, Repetitive, No Variety.......2007-02-23
I sat and read this book in an evening. Practically all of the entries were from people that were of a certain cultural background (Jewish) and from a certain area (Massachusetts). It would have been nice if there would have been more varied situations, i.e. students from large vs. small high schools, racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds. Great concept, but it falls short. Also, a lot of the entries were really similar... there's got to be more teenage craziness out there.
Book Description
The Music May Have Stopped, but the Party’s Never Over.
Bar Mitzvah Disco. Everyone's Invited
Pick up your table card and come be our guest on this journey back to a time when style, music, and lust went hand in hand with a Day-Glo necklace, a pair of Z Cavaricci jeans, and Vuarnet shades. In this parallel universe, tall girls slow-danced with short boys at arm’s length, suburban break-dance pioneers vied with Lionel Richie fanatics for dance-floor space, Aunt Edna came ready to mount an assault on the dessert buffet in her best lime-green polyester pantsuit, and the phrase “the higher the hair, the closer to God” took on a whole new meaning.
With special appearances from:
AJ Jacobs, 99 red balloons, Ben Lee, the California Raisins, a well-intentioned Burt Reynolds impersonator, Jessi Klein, Joel Stein, DJ Squeak E. Clean, members of Foreigner (circa the Agent Provocateur tour), Sarah Silverman, OJ Simpson, Noah Tepperberg, Wendy Spero, the cast of Breakin’, Mark Ronson, Steve Fortgang and southern Florida’s number one Bar Mitzvah band
Bar Mitzvah Disco is an irresistible journey, two parts Fantasy Island to one part Vegas, rife with gorgeous girls, piles of cash, and ungracious thank-you notes presented straight from the source.
Customer Reviews:
EVERYBODY WANG CHUNG TONIGHT.......2007-07-01
This book is so much fun. Beyond the great photos that are too campy to be believed, this book is jammed with the reflections of others on their mitzvah experiences. No poignancy here, just a lot of laughs.
fantastic.......2007-01-30
This book is awesome - it perfectly captures this bizarre subculture of over-the-top celebrations of puberty among Jews in the 1980s, primarily in the New York metro area. If you are one of the chosen people that celebrated Bar and Bat Mitzvahs during that time, you will laugh until it hurts reading this book.
Kitch at its best.......2007-01-10
Loved the Disco Bar Mitzvah. Great collection of antecdotes and fantastic photographs. Oh Vey, to be 13 again - NO WAY.
Highly recommend this book.
Oh my god, I know them!!!!.......2006-12-18
I just received this book for the holidays. I was going to bar/bat mitvahs in the early eighties and throughly enjoyed this book. Then came the photo. I graduated junior high with the entire table!!!
There are no words to describe how happy I am with this book, except to say that reading it was pure enjoyment.
Disco Review.......2006-02-24
Cool book. I took it to work to show all my gentile co-workers and they loved it.
Book Description
Like her much-acclaimed previous novels, Susanna Moore's Sleeping Beauties is set in Hawaii, whose shimmering beauty and melancholy traditions are both seductive and dangerously hard to leave. Or so they prove for Clio, who marries a well-known Hollywood actor--providing her with the promise of escape from the entanglements of island life.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
The third book in Moore's Hawaiian trilogy maintains her hig.......1999-08-10
Using the same characters that appear in the first two books of her Hawaiian trilogy (My Old Sweetheart and The Whiteness of Bones), Moore continues to explore the dilemma of tradition and culture --- and what one is to do with these precious things. Her love of nature is manifest, as in her earlier books, but her attempt to discover what it means to be a woman is moving and heart-breaking. Whereas The Whiteness of Bones seems to be a milder, dress-rehearsal for her later novel, In the Cut, this book is concerned with the importance of cultural history --- it can't be an accident that the heroine's name is Clio, who is also the muse of history. It's also very sexy --- Clio marries a movie star and tries to escape her heritage by running off to Hollywood. I don't understand why this book is never mentioned when Moore's work is under its (sometimes controversial) discussion...
Customer Reviews:
Visionary ideas but a mediocre read.......2007-01-15
Teaching in high-poverty inner city schools is no easy task. In the classroom, one often tries to fight students' incredibly low achievement with solid remediation. However, it becomes painfully clear that school lacks relevance to students, who are faced at a tender age with poverty in their families and violence in their communities. One may wonder how to teach students the academic skills they need and invest them in schoolwork at the same time. Alfred Tatum, in this text, shows us that these two challenges can actually be tackled in one stroke.
Tatum's central idea is that a careful choice of texts in the literacy classroom can make this possible. For his black male students, texts that address "turmoil" - the word Tatum uses for violence, poverty, and a sense of powerlessness and invisibility in poor black communities - achieve this end. Tatum makes a convincing case for this by giving personal examples of how such empowering texts of the black male experience can change the lives of young black men. He recalls transformative experiences in reading from his own childhood and from his work with others that convincingly illustrate how certain texts can turn reading into a reflection on masculinity, coming of age, and being poor and black in a racist America. This gives reading a sense of relevance and authenticity impossible with most traditional texts in American classrooms. Tatum combines this with copious reading lists (though I wish he would have compiled them into one long list for easy reference) that provide ample fodder for an English teacher planning a curriculum.
The greatest strength of this book is that it lets the reader peer into Tatum's own eighth grade English classroom, where he does the work of "closing the achievement gap" for his black male students. The seventh chapter brims with Tatum's own instructional methodology. His concrete methods for literacy skill development, infused oh-so-subtly with culturally sensitive cues that elevate them above mere decontextualized drill, were amazing. To me, this chapter felt like sitting down with a cup of coffee and talking shop with a first-rate teacher. As a high school math teacher, I became envious of the English teacher's situation, where skill remediation can be integrated so seamlessly with topics relevant to students' lives.
Unfortunately, for the strength of its ideas, Tatum's text has many of the typical flaws of a text in academic education (or, more broadly, a text in the social sciences). It is cluttered with jargon, stilted classifications of simple ideas, and vacuous figures and diagrams. What takes Tatum pages to say would take only a few sentences in the hands of a better writer. Entire chapters seem to address esoteric theoretical aspects that never seem to get through to the reader. Tatum, the English teacher, is meticulous with his proofreading and grammar. Try to find a typo, dangling participle, or example of faulty parallelism: I have yet to find one. But his prose is surprisingly wooden, often tiring the reader with its deadpan repetitiveness. In a more egregious example, Tatum repeats an unepigrammatic sentence four times, interspersed with vague references to government research:
"Achievement gap data indicate that a large percentage of black males are failing to meet NAEP criteria for reading at the proficient and advanced levels. This is why I believe we need to strengthen text discussions with our black adolescent male students. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice tell us that a high percentage of black males are arrested or incarcerated. This is why I believe we need to strengthen text discussions with our black adolescent male students. Data from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate a high percentage of black males are unemployed. This is why I believe we need to strengthen text discussions with our black adolescent male students. Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that college enrollment is declining for black males. This is why I believe we need to strengthen text discussions with our black adolescent male students." (112)
It is too bad that Tatum lacks the skill as a writer to give his message a persuasive punch. Tatum's strategy to build literacy, self-awareness, and academic motivation through empowering texts is remarkable for its sensibility and promise. It deserves a wide audience and enthusiastic application in American inner-city classrooms.
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