To Kill a Mockingbird

Amazon.com

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.... When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber

Customer Reviews:

Significant and Memorable.......2007-09-30

This ever-popular, Pulitzer prize-winning novel is written from the first-person perspective of "Scout," a young girl growing up in a small, segregated Alabama town during the Great Depression. I did not read any descriptions of the book before I began it, so it was fascinating as I began to realize what it was about. Its gentle, childlike, Tom Sawyer, heart-of-America cadence drew me in, but provided a counterpoint to the hypocrisy, racism, and bigotry that was revealed in the town little by little.

The writing itself, of course, is excellent, telling the story subtly but powerfully - or perhaps the power is in its very subtlety. In my opinion, this is not the most compelling book I've ever read on this issue, but it is significant and memorable.

bought to kill a mockingbird.......2007-09-27

i bought the book to kill a mockingbird. it was in excellent condition. the price was also very low.

Loved Loved Loved!.......2007-09-23

Anyone who gives this book a chance will absolutely love it! It starts out with childhood memories of Scout Finch that seem to be completely unrelated, but Harper Lee cleverly weaves them together to make a great novel. The novel's point of view is unique and is probably what makes this book a classic. The story is seen through the innocent eyes of a six year old, but is being retold by an older, more mature woman. This allows the novel to have more mature language and ideas, but everything is seen through an innocent child's eyes. It's the best of both worlds, and I promise you, you'll be in tears by the end. It's a heart wrenching novel, and though it may sound repetitive, you'll love this book if you read it!

Perfect-pitch storytelling.......2007-09-12

The recollections of a young girl in a small southern town during the depression. Harper Lee adopts a near pitch-perfect voice of 'Scout' Finch as a narrator thinking back over the events and able to summon the 8-year old Scout to help tell them.
Thought often subtle, Lee keeps her eye on the subject of bigotry - bigotry of race, sex, class, education, family - and, through Scout's eyes, shines a spotlight on its cruelty and shows how the seeds are being planted for tidal changes that are on the way.
It's hard to imagine a better storyteller.

To Kill a Mockingbird.......2007-09-04

I read this book several years ago and lost my copy along the way. My book club selected it for the Oct. meeting so I ordered it from Amazon. Haven't had time to read it again but look forward to doing so

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know

Average customer rating:

Fathers & Daughters
Fathers need to read this book.......NOW!
Very inisightful book
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters
Freightening

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
Meg Meeker
Manufacturer: Regnery Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Jesus of Nazareth

ASIN: 1596980125

Book Description

Using the best medical research, experience from her own practice, and numerous interviews, Dr. Meeker shows why Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters is not a slogan-it's a necessity.

Customer Reviews:

Fathers & Daughters.......2007-09-30

This is an excellent book written by a medical doctor, who shows the supreme importance of a Dad in the life of a daughter. He is vital to her development as a girl and a woman. It took me back to my own relationship with my daughter, who now has her Ph.D. and is a psychologist. After I read the book, and I found myself hungry for each chapter, I am sending the book to my son, who has a young daughter himself.

Fathers need to read this book.......NOW!.......2007-09-28

Don't waste time , read this book as soon as you recieve it! Buy it now!

Very inisightful book.......2007-09-26

This book has been wonderful. I only wish i had read it years ago when all three of my daughters were young (2 r college age now). I now see how many of my defects/wrong assumptions in parenting set the stage for a lot of the heart ache that we went through with my older two daughters. It now makes sense to me and i know how to address the problem going forward. I can not recommmend this book highly enough for every father who wants his daughter to thrive and not struggle to survive. It opened my eyes to how different my daughter's world is from what i knew as a kid. And to how if i do not father her, there is a culture that is desperately trying to teach her that what is important is looking like Paris Hilton, partying, being promiscuous, etc .... The issue is whether i surrender her to that or protect and nurture her. Thanks to Dr. Meeker.

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.......2007-09-17

This book came highly recommended, but had to be one of the worst I have ever read - great title, horribly written - read the first 44 pages, skipped a couple of chapters, and all that was said was the same thing over and over - watch out for STD's, be there for your daughter, here's some examples of girls without fathers who turned out horribly, etc.

Over and over facts are stated about a father staying in his daughter's life - common sense stuff mixed in with a few eye opening facts - don't waste your money on this book!!!!

Freightening.......2007-09-02

My mother gave me a copy of this book upon the birth of my daughter (she liked the title). Anxious as I was to be a new father of a baby girl, I was excited to have something to read that might help me overcome my fear and anxiety and help me learn how to be the best father I can be. Ok. So since I don't love Jesus, don't vote Republican and don't mistrust and hate everyone who isn't exactly like me or, more precisely, the author, this book was not going to be the book for me. Putting to the side your religious, political and social alliances, why would any new father want to read a book where every 3rd page it seems warns that your new daughter is going to be raped, contract a STD or become a crack addict? Is that helpful? I don't live in a closet. I own a television, computer, etc. I'm aware and, yes, worried, about what's going on out there. It is painfully unhelpful, then, to be bowled over with contrived anecdotal tales and other sensational facts and figures which have the effect, solely, of causing upset. I know enough about Brittany, Paris and Lindsay to know what I don't want my daughter to be. Like so much conservative garbage out there today, this book has the exact opposite effect of what it ought to have. Rather than come away with positive feelings about our little girls, the author seems intent on frightening parents, forcing them to build walls and fences to keep the wolves away from our helpless little lambs.

Average customer rating:

I'm Glad I Discovered Jodi Picoult
Unrealistic Characters
Bit Too Melodramatic For My Tastes
Not great
Love this author, but not this book

The Tenth Circle: A Novel
Jodi Picoult
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 074349671X
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Amazon.com

Bestselling author Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle is a metaphorical journey through Dante's Inferno, told through the eyes of a small Maine family whose hidden demons haunt every aspect of their seemingly peaceful existence. Woven throughout the novel are a series of dramatic illustrations that pay homage to the family's patriarch (comic book artist Daniel Stone), and add a unique twist to this gripping, yet somewhat rhetorical tale.

Trixie Stone is an imaginative, perceptive 14 year old whose life begins to unravel when Jason Underhill, Bethel High's star hockey player, breaks up with her, leaving a void that can only be filled by the blood spilled during shameful self-mutilations in the girls' bathroom. While Trixie's dad Daniel notices his daughter's recent change in demeanor, he turns a blind eye, just as he does to the obvious affair his wife Laura, a college professor, is barely trying to conceal. When Trixie gets raped at a friend's party, Daniel and Laura are forced to deal not only with the consequences of their daughter's physical and emotional trauma, but with their own transgressions as well. For Daniel, that means reflecting on a childhood spent as the only white kid in a native Alaskan village, where isolation and loneliness turned him into a recluse, only to be born again after falling in love with his wife. Laura, who blames her family's unraveling on her selfish affair, must decide how to reconcile her personal desires with her loved ones' needs.

The Tenth Circle is chock full of symbolism and allegory that at times can seem oppresive. Still, Picoult's fans will welcome this skillfully told story of betrayal and its many negative, and positive consequences. --Gisele Toueg

Book Description

Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father, Daniel's life -- a straight-A student; a pretty, popular freshman in high school; a girl who's always seen her father as a hero. That is, until her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. Suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. Could the boyfriend who once made Trixie wild with happiness have been the one to end her childhood forever? She says that he is, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a seemingly mild-mannered comic book artist with a secret tumultuous past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back to protect his daughter.

With The Tenth Circle, Jodi Picoult offers her most powerful chronicle yet as she explores the unbreakable bond between parent and child, and questions whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime -- or if your mistakes are carried forever.

Download Description

Jodi Picoult, the New York Times bestselling author of Vanishing Acts, offers her most powerful chronicle yet of an American family with a story that probes the unbreakable bond between parent and child -- and the dangerous repercussions of trying to play the hero. Trixie Stone is fourteen years old and in love for the first time. She's also the light of her father's life -- a straight-A student; a freshman in high school who is pretty and popular; a girl who's always looked up to Daniel Stone as a hero. Until, that is, her world is turned upside down with a single act of violence. . . and suddenly everything Trixie has believed about her family -- and herself -- seems to be a lie. The Tenth Circle looks at that delicate moment when a child learns that her parents don't know all of the answers and when being a good parent means letting go of your child. It asks whether you can reinvent yourself in the course of a lifetime or if your mistakes are carried forever -- if life is, as in any good comic book, a struggle to control good and evil, or if good and evil control you.

Customer Reviews:

I'm Glad I Discovered Jodi Picoult.......2007-10-04

So, Jodi has written a ton of books, and I finally got around to reading one... I picked up The Tenth Circle when Amazon recommended it because I liked "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates. Plus the Dante reference really piqued my curiosity. While it dealt with a violent crime and the enduring repercussions (topics Oates often tackles), it was a completely different story and occurred a generation later than Mulvaneys. It was a rollercoaster of emotions that never stalled. The additional graphic novel illustrations were a great supplement. I look forward to reading more of Jodi's books and enjoying her great narrative style.

Unrealistic Characters.......2007-08-30

I have read two books by Jodi Picoult, The Tenth Circle and Nineteen Minutes, and I don't plan to read any more of them. In both books, the characters seem exaggerated to the point of being caricatures. They're just not believable as real people. Also, in both books, there is a plot twist at the end which I found completely out-of-character and unrealistic, with very little explanation given by the author.

Bit Too Melodramatic For My Tastes.......2007-08-29

This is hard for me because as much as I loathed certain aspects of this book, I couldn't put it down. Despite my best efforts, I got sucked in and had to know what happened next. That says something, doesn't it?

Okay, the premise ... turn on Lifetime or an after school special and you'll get the same kind of story. I won't spoil anything about the book, but Picoult managed to throw in every possible trauma a family could go through in an amazingly short span and then make sure we learned our lessons by practically beating us over the head. But, perhaps such escalation of eccentric plot devices was the point. The mother of her main character is a specialist in Dante's Inferno, and so part of me wonders if this story is supposed to mirror the nine levels of hell, but if so, I think it was done rather melodramatically.

One interesting tool used in this book, however, is actual comic book pages "drawn" by the main character's father who is a renowned comic book artist. Shocker, the comic book is called The Tenth Circle as well. At the end of each chapter are components that make up a larger comic book, which parallel the actual story and play off of Dante's Inferno. I'll admit, Picoult had some impressive concepts going in this book; I simply didn't care for her style of execution.

Listen, I know a lot of people really like this book and love Jodi Picoult, and I can't deny the fact that I could not stop reading. I slapped my forehead the whole way through as the plot got more and more outlandish, but I couldn't stop reading. If an author can keep you going even when you don't want to, they're obviously doing something right.

If you're into Picoult, you'll probably dig this. As for me, as good as she was at hooking me, this'll probably be the last book of hers I read. Just a tad too heavy on the family drama and forced "life lessons" for my tastes.

Not great.......2007-08-27

This novel sounds promising, but there were too many things going on with not enough explanation or reasoning - it was hard to be sympathetic to the 14 year old daughter - or to the mother, both of whom made terrible choices - and neither really faced up to the consequences personally (the mother, clearly, had to pay some dues for her crime) - but I didn't feel the characters grew over the course of the book, with the exception of Daniel, and frankly, I didn't believe in his angst. Overall, disappointing.

Love this author, but not this book.......2007-08-25

I've read most of Jodi Picoult's books, and truly appreciate her mastery of characterization. In this one, however, I feel that there was just too much going on. The premise was promising, and the storyline started out to be very engrossing. I found the whole parallel of Dante's circles of hell with what the father was going through to be very clever and interesting. I thought the concept of using cartoons (since the father was a comic artist) interspersed throughout the book was fresh and new. But overall, there was something missing, a link that would somehow pull it all together. Even though the characters were complex and had intriguing backgrounds, I just couldn't connect with any of them, especially Trixie, who was at the heart of the story. Maybe if I could have felt some sympathy for her, there would have been that emotional attachment to a character to help, but instead I felt nothing. Overall, the story seemed too long and drawn-out and then abruptly came to an unsatisfying end. When I turned the last page, I was left with this empty, unsettled feeling. I realize that I'm not going to love every book by a certain author. I commend Picoult for tackling a very difficult and sensitive subject matter, but this definitely was not one of my favorites.

Average customer rating:

A Book You Just Can Put Down
Slow start
Disappointment
Buried secrets
My Father's Secret War: A Memoir

MY FATHER'S SECRET WAR: A MEMOIR
Lucinda Franks
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 140135226X

Book Description

In this moving and compelling memoir about parent and child, father and daughter, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lucinda Franks discovers that the remote, nearly impassive man she grew up with had in fact been a daring spy behind enemy lines in World War II. Sworn to secrecy, he began revealing details of his wartime activities only in the last years of his life as he became afflicted with Alzheimer's. His exploits revealed a man of remarkable bravado -- posing as a Nazi guard, slipping behind enemy lines to blow up ammunition dumps, and being flown to one of the first concentration camps liberated by the Allies to report on the atrocities found there.

My Father's Secret War is an intimate account of Franks coming to know her own father after years of estrangement. Looking back at letters he had written her mother in the early days of WWII, Franks glimpses a loving man full of warmth. But after the grimmest assignments of the war his tone shifts, settling into an all-too-familiar distance. Franks learns about him -- beyond the alcoholism and adultery -- and comes to know the man he once was.

Her story is haunting, and beautifully told, even as the tragedy becomes clear: Franks finally comes to know her father, but only as he is slipping further into his illness. Lucinda Franks understands her father as the disease claims him. My Father's Secret War is a triumph of love over secrets, and a tribute to the power of the connection of family.

Customer Reviews:

A Book You Just Can Put Down.......2007-10-04

After all the hype and with the authors oh-so-impressive cred, one expects a book that you just can't put down. She delivers a nice, warm story, but by all means, you CAN put it down.

Slow start.......2007-09-10

As I read the other reviews, I realized they are all true. In many ways this is a poignant and touching story. But Franks takes so long describing their disfunctional family and getting to the interesting part -- her father's war experiences and the process of finding the information -- that I almost put it down without finishing it. I'm glad I stayed with it, as Lucinda finally gets to the real story and redeems herself. (I didn't like her at all at the beginning of the story but I forgave her for her honesty at the end.)

Disappointment.......2007-06-16

You asked me for comments. Perhaps I was expecting more focus on the father. If one enjoys home videos of other families, this book might be of interest.

Buried secrets.......2007-06-13

I almost wish Lucinda Franks chose not to write this book.It was fairly obvious from the start that her father didn't want to remember his role in war..at one point she even asks him if he was a nazi sympathizer.definitely not.My goodness Ms. Frank,leave the poor old guy alone.The book tells a lot about her father and a lot about his daughter.When one of his old buddies phones her and said her dad needs living expenses, some extra cash, she responds that she and her husband have to maintain 3 houses, she can't send dad a few extra dollars..she visits , sees a pile of rancid leftovers in the refrigerator and proceeds to reheat the freshest one for her dad's meal..Golly Lucinda, buy and roast a chicken, peel a few potatoes, buy some canned vegetables.. how hard can that be? Poor dad wears K-mart clothes, so order something for him from Lands'End, you don't even have to go to a store. Again, this is a book that didn't need to be written.

My Father's Secret War: A Memoir.......2007-05-30

I found this book to be very well-written, powerful and thought provoking. I can't even imagine what I would have done or felt in the authors situation. Reading this book made me re-evaluate some of my thoghts, feeling and actions as my mother was dying of cancer. The historical aspect of this book alone makes it worth reading, but if you are dealing or have dealt with someone afflicted with cancer or alzhiemers, this book can make you both laugh and cry.

Average customer rating:

A Dirty Job is Minty Fresh
Nice book, like bear.
I actually recommened it to my friends
minty fresh
Hilarious

A Dirty Job: A Novel
Christopher Moore
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060590270
Release Date: 2006-03-21

Book Description

Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant -- you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male.

But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child.

Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie -- exhausted from the birth -- turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . .

People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it.

Christopher Moore, the man whose Lamb served up Jesus' "missing years" (with the funny parts left in), and whose Fluke found the deep humor in whale researchers' lives, now shines his comic light on the undiscovered country we all eventually explore -- death and dying -- and the results are hilarious, heartwarming, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Customer Reviews:

A Dirty Job is Minty Fresh.......2007-10-02

I am a huge fan of Christopher Moore, and in particular, this book. It is in my top ten all time favorites. A Dirty Job is the type of book you will read more than once just to see what you missed. I read this one first and felt the need to possess more of his novels. I actually own two copies because I keep on passing them on to more people.
Charley is a grim reaper who believes he is the ultimate Death. The descrptions and prose are laugh-out-loud funny, to the point where I had tears running down my cheeks. That rarely ever happens. The suppporting cast of characters are such that they should get their own books. It is well written with a type of sarcasm that is impossible to write let alone pull off.
I have and will keep on recommending this book to anyone with an interest in(first and foremost) great writing, quarky characters and a great sense of comic timing.

Nice book, like bear........2007-09-10

I want a sequel. No, that'd probably be bad. I want a continuation of this book. As in, I want to get off my chair, thumb to the end of the book and find 200 or so unread pages just waiting to be devoured. Chris Moore's imagination knows no bounds, from dark seductresses who live in the sewers to tiny walking creatures assembled from different body parts of different animals. This is a great book, my first from Chris and it's whet my appetite for some more. One of the funniest authors, and a rare one too; his writing never gets old.

I actually recommened it to my friends.......2007-09-05

I got to the "kitty" part and laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I had to stop and email my friends to tell them to pick it up. Two of them plan on reading it, or something else by him soon.
On a less light note, it made me feel better about the whole death thing. I'm going through a tough time with a family member facing his mortality (he's 85) and this is just what I needed to give me hope of an after life!

minty fresh.......2007-08-30

What impressed me most of this book is the excellent dialogue, riotous to say the least. The story is original, interesting, and profound while at the same time seeped in absurdity. Solid set of well developed and memorable characters, both male and female, and a rich setting (San Francisco). The story revolves around the true secret about what happens to our souls upon death. They go into an important material possession which is retrieved by a Death Merchant to then be sold at a rummage store to another soulless human who possesses it and continues the upwards journey of the soul to a higher level. I did not realize that how it works. Upon the death of his wife, Charlie Asher (if they ever make a movie of this novel, it would have to be Paul Giamatti) becomes one such merchant-perhaps even more than that- and with the assistance of other death merchants fights beings from the underworld attempting to steal the souls to gain power and take over the world, classic battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The style of the novel is a blend of Tom Robbins, Elmore Leonard, Kurt Vonnegut, and simply a style of its own making. This writer is awesome and I shall right away purchase and read another of his novels.

Hilarious.......2007-08-27

I've read three and this is the best Christopher Moore book so far. It's full of quirky and clever mouthed characters that, at one point, left me laughing in tears on the couch. I recommend it for anyone who's looking for a humorous fiction to pass some time with.

Average customer rating:

Distant Land Made Near
mostly boring
WHY ISN'T THIS BOOK BETTER KNOWN?
Nostalgia
I trust you will be just as Wowed as I was!

The Distant Land of My Father
Bo Caldwell
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156027135

Amazon.com

The Distant Land of My Father begins like a fairy tale: "My father was a millionaire in Shanghai in the 1930s.... On the day he was born, in the province of Shantung, neighbors presented my missionary grandparents, the only Americans for miles, with noodles in great abundance and one hundred chicken eggs, in honor of their son's birth." To the young Anna Schoene, life in Shanghai is indeed magical. There are servants, a luxurious villa, a beautiful mother who smells like Chanel No. 5, and a young, handsome, polo-playing father. Unfortunately, her father is also a smuggler and speculator who loves his freewheeling life more than anything (or anyone) else. Despite warnings, Schoene refuses to leave Shanghai even after the Japanese invade, and his wife and child retreat to Los Angeles; later, he survives imprisonment and torture only to once again choose Shanghai over his family--this time with the Communists moving in.

Bo Caldwell's sepia-toned evocation of 1930s Shanghai is lovely and physical, and given the built-in drama of its setting, this first novel ought to have the vividness of a classic movie. Yet the characters remain oddly flat while world events swirl around them. Great chunks of historical exposition seem largely undigested, while Schoene's final change of heart fails to ring true. In a sense, however, these shortcomings are beside the point. The Distant Land of My Father is above all a tragic romance, albeit one with an unusual love interest. Schoene is so besotted with Shanghai that his wife and daughter are scarcely as real to him as the city itself. --Mary Park

Book Description

Anna, the narrator of this riveting first novel, lives in a storybook world: exotic pre- World War II Shanghai, with handsome young parents, wealth, and comfort. Her father, the son of missionaries, leads a charmed and secretive life, though his greatest joy is sharing his beloved city with his only daughter. Yet when Anna and her mother flee Japanese-occupied Shanghai to return to California, he stays behind, believing his connections and a little bit of luck will keep him safe.
Through Anna's memories and her father's journals we learn of his fall from charismatic millionaire to tortured prisoner, in a story of betrayal and reconciliation that spans two continents. The Distant Land of My Father, a breathtaking and richly lyrical debut, unfolds to reveal an enduring family love through tragic circumstances.

National Bestseller

Customer Reviews:

Distant Land Made Near.......2007-08-13

This is a truly remarkable first novel. The author, Bo Caldwell, has made the city of Shanghai of the 1930's come alive, not only in he visual aspects of the city but in the ambience of the time. The dharacter of the young girl is so well developed that it is difficult to believe that this is not autobiographical rather than fiction. Her complex and conflicting emotions about her father are completely believable and even vicariously experienced in a sense. The character of the mother, too, is welll developed and, like that of the daughter, very sympathetic. My only adverse criticism is that the character of the father is not sufficiently developed to be completely convincing.

mostly boring.......2007-06-29

While the premise of THE DISTANT LAND OF MY FATHER intrigued me - an American family living in Shanghai in the 1930's when the Japanese invaded China - this book took way too long to pull me in. Although written in the first person, the author's writing style is detached and impersonal. This book reads as if it's a piece for the evening news - telling the reader this or that detail, offering only small glimpses of the main characters' inner lives. The reader is told, not made to experience, what's going on. Also, the author's overly-detailed writing bored me to tears. The research Caldwell did preparing for this book was quite evident, but it would have been appreciated more if she hadn't gone on for pages upon pages detailing a barrage of Shanghai minutia - i.e., the order of streets and buildings were so thoroughly detailed I had to pinch myself to stay awake. (This book was my book-group's June selection, which is the only reason I kept on reading.) Finally, somewhere around page 250, the plot became suddenly more engaging and I found myself actually interested in the characters and what was to become of them.

In the end, I found THE DISTANT LAND OF MY FATHER a somewhat interesting read. But this book could have been wonderful - had the author written in a deeper point of view, and made the dialogue more engaging from the start.

WHY ISN'T THIS BOOK BETTER KNOWN?.......2007-06-23

This book is wonderful and unique, it is hard to believe it is fiction - Bo Caldwell has us seeing, feeling and smelling Shanghai and Southern California in the 40's and 50's. This book should be made into a movie - at the very least it should have been a number one bestseller for weeks on end. Everyone I have recommended it to has been blown away. I am looking forward to her next effort.

Nostalgia.......2007-05-07

Strained relationships between middle-aged parents and their daughter are the focus of a story whose main interest for me was the reliving of the period from WWII into the 50s and 60s, with some mostly accurate information about the customs and values of a now-longago time in Shanghai and Southern California. As I am a resident of the Pasadena area the local geography brought to life a story that was otherwise not terribly compelling of a daughter's ambiguous relationship with her father and grandmother. The somewhat shady experiences of the father in Shanghai were perhaps purposely not clearly defined. All in all, it's a nice book to take and read on a long trip.

I trust you will be just as Wowed as I was!.......2007-02-23

Let me first explain how I came upon reading DISTANT LAND. I was in Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena, CA and noticed the book being promoted.

I actually bought it thinking it was a memoir and only upon getting it home realized that it was a fictional memoir, in fact a first novel. Then I noted in Vroman's magazine that each year the city of Pasadena picks one book for the whole city to read, so that the city has a common cultural experience. For 2007 that book is DISTANT LAND. At the time I did not know the city of South Pasadena plays a significant roll in the narrative. Then next I had to over come the fact that I am not particularly found of novels told in the first person as DISTANT LANDS is narrated by Anna who we meet as a young girl in Shanghai in love with her surroundings and with her father. A Father who appears at ease with being a blond, blue eyed native born Chinese (born of missionary parents). The novel is epic (taking place from the late 30s to the early 80s), yet intimate and a very unique emotional telling of Anna's life and her Father's love of Shanghai which we discover consumes him as he commits one poor value judgment over another. The book is brilliant in creating a sense of place and character, you are constantly surprised and will find the last 100 pages will rip tears from right out of your eyes. I understand this is Ms. Caldwell's first novel and it is simply an amazing, entertaining, and enlightening achievement in what some might classify as an historical novel. But it is really in the end an intimate story of emotions, choices, and consequences, told through terribly real people that have to learn that love is

overcoming the serious faults of those we should (and must) love. The distant land of Anne's father may have been Shanghai, China, but it was really the emotional distance she felt when her father chooses his love for Shanghai over her and her mother. You come to fell this must be a true memoir as is so believable. This is an outstanding book and I trust you will be just as Wowed by it as I was.

Knuffle Bunny (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))

Average customer rating:

hilarious
A Book to Appeal to All Ages
If you love to hear your children laugh read this book
Great, short bedtime book
Parents will love getting asked to read this!

Knuffle Bunny (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards))

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0786818700

Book Description

Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes somebunny was left behind . . . Using a combination of muted black-and-white photographs and expressive illustrations, this stunning book tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddys in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong. Mo Willems is a six-time Emmy Awardwinning writer and former animator for Sesame Street, and the creator of Cartoon Networks Sheep in the Big City. Both his first book for children, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and his fourth book Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale won prestigious Caldecott Honors from the American Library Association. The New York Times has called him "the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's". Mo lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews:

hilarious.......2007-10-02

I read Knuffle Bunny for my children's literature class and I literally laughed out loud from it. The pictures are comical and perfectly expressive and Trixie is a riot. Mo Willems truly encaptured the actions/behavior of a child in such a situation in Trixie...going boneless....genius. Every child should read this book. I highly reccommend it.

A Book to Appeal to All Ages.......2007-09-11

On a whim, I checked this book out of the library this summer for my youngest son, who is five. When I read it to him, we were both delighted. We laughed our heads off and read it three times back to back. I then brought it home and read it to my two older children, ages 12 and 8. They also thought it was hilarious. My 12 year old actually read it several more times that evening. Later that night, my husband and I read it and laughed over the illustrations. This is the classic story of parents and children everywhere. We could identify with both the parent and the child who lost the "lovey."
A huge thumbs up from our whole family.

If you love to hear your children laugh read this book.......2007-08-19

This is a fast read and it makes my daughters ages 2 and 7 laugh so hard every time they hear it. The art doesn't appeal to me personally but my kids seem to enjoy it. I enjoy the story. I don't see it as " a child misbehaving 90% of the book". I laugh at how parents misunderstand children and every suffer for it. Have to sign off because the girls are insisting I read this book right now because it is "hilarious".

Great, short bedtime book.......2007-08-01

This is a short, fun book. Not much to it but the story is fun. I like to have short books around near bedtime so my son doesn't make me read through a long one like Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. The back jacket also has a mug shot of Mo Willems, the author. The picture looks a little like me and when I first read it to my son he thought it was me.

Parents will love getting asked to read this!.......2007-07-27

If you have a toddler, you are going to laugh your head off when you see the page where the kid goes "boneless"!! Oh yeah, we have all been there, and it is every parent's nightmare. You can read this book every night to your kids and never get sick of it! Buy it for your kids, buy it for new parents (Just to freak them out about what they are in for!!), and buy one to read to your future grandkids, too. If you don't love it, you are taking life too seriously!!

Average customer rating:

Disappointed
Great book!
Witty and Sharp
Growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor
"Ask Again Later Surpasses "Girls' Poker Night"

Ask Again Later: A Novel
Jill A. Davis
Manufacturer: Ecco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060875968
Release Date: 2007-02-20

Book Description

Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. For her, the best thing about a family crisis is the excuse to cut and run. When her mother dramatically announces they've found a lump, Emily gladly takes a rain check on life to be by her mother's side, leaving behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life.

But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn't run fast or far enough. One evening, while her mother calls everyone in her Rolodex to brief them on her medical crisis and schedule a farewell martini, Emily opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face. How do you forge a relationship with the father who left when you were five years old? As Emily attempts to find balance on the emotional seesaw of her life, with the help of two hopeful suitors and her Park Avenue Princess sister, she takes a no-risk job as a receptionist at her father's law firm and slowly gets to know the man she once pretended was dead.

From the brainy, breezy writer who "writes like a professional comic" (The Onion) and is "hard to stop reading once you start" (USA Today) comes a laugh-out-loud tale that confirms you can recover from your parents, the bad habit of missed opportunities, and men who romance you with meat. When opportunity knocks, it's time to stop running and start living.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointed.......2007-08-23

After reading Girls Poker Night several years, I was highly anticipating her next novel. However, after reading this book, I am very disappointed. The book has no flow to it, it is not humorous, and the topics are scattered, making it difficult to stay focused. In summary, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a read similar to her other book, Girls Poker Night!!

Great book!.......2007-06-29

This is a great book, full of laugh-out-loud funny scenes. I enjoyed it immensely and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect summer read.

Witty and Sharp.......2007-06-28

Ask Again Later is a witty, sharp novel, a light read that is not overly fluffy. The novel is narrated by Emily Rhode, a recovering lawyer who keeps her emotions at a distance. She's in therapy, she's taking care of her ailing mother (stage one breast cancer), she's walked out on what could be the love of her life and she's walked away from her career. But she's handling it, somehow, with a marvelous detached humor; she's a wonderful, witty, likeable narrator. I really enjoyed this novel (much moreso than Girls' Poker Night); it's a quick read that is still satisfying. Perfect summer fare. Enjoy.

Growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor.......2007-05-30

Remember when you were a child and you could trust your most difficult questions to the wisdom of the Magic 8-Ball? The protagonist of Jill A. Davis's second novel frequently echoes the refrain of that childhood oracle. Whenever thirty-something Emily Rhode is queried by friends on how she is doing, her familiar refrain is that of the Magic 8-Ball: "Ask again later."

It's easy to see why this is the case. Emily is a harried corporate attorney who has managed to tiptoe through the minefield of her life, careful to avoid any major skirmishes or hard decisions. She's currently skirting along the edges of a romance with a divorced co-worker as she goes about her hectic job. But when she learns that her mother has breast cancer, her whole tentative world is turned upside down.

Emily has grown up in a not-so-unusually dysfunctional family in New York City. Her dad left the family when she and her sister were just children, and he's been like a phantom ever since --- someone she never really knew. Emily's mother, a woman with a penchant for dramatics, responds to her stage 1 cancer diagnosis by calling everyone in her address book to tell them she's going to die.

Over-dramatized or not, the news of her mother's illness shakes Emily to her core. And since her socialite sister is of little help as she struggles to fit her new baby into her overly crowded social schedule, Emily quits her high-pressure law job, flees from her potential love interest and moves back in with her mother to care for her during treatment.

A strange byproduct of her mother's illness is her renewed relationship with her distant father. In an effort to help out during this difficult time, Emily's dad offers her a nice, low-pressure job as the receptionist in his office. Slowly she begins to learn about this mercurial man she calls her father. But as soon as her mother starts to recover, she is hit with an unexpected loss that forces her to face her fears and fully participate in her own life.

Davis, author of GIRLS' POKER NIGHT and a former writer for "The Late Show with David Letterman," tackles real-life issues and infuses these rather somber moments with requisite levity and humor. Emily is a relatable woman, paralyzed at the prospect of taking chances and making choices. She has drifted through life by avoiding taking risks, but when a life-altering event occurs, Emily learns to confront and later embrace the life she has long been avoiding. As she observes, "Eventually the training wheels have to come off and it's always a surprise when you find that you don't need them."

ASK AGAIN LATER is about growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor.

--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller

"Ask Again Later Surpasses "Girls' Poker Night".......2007-04-16

Often second novels, particularly second novels after a successful first novel, are disappointing. "Ask Again Later" belies that expectation. Jill Davis's characters are even more alive, more memorable, and the reader cares about them even more. Without seeming a bit contrived, the novel follows an engaging and amusing plot throughout its various, but never meandering paths. The jump cuts are perfectly timed; the dialogue, perfectly pitched. We know these characters. Above all, readers are left awaiting a third novel.

Average customer rating:

Poetic with Beautiful Illustrations
Great Kid's book
Perfect Bedtime Story
Worthy of an Award - a review of "Owl Moon"
Teacher's Favorite

Owl Moon
Jane Yolen
Manufacturer: Philomel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Amazon.com

Among the greatest charms of children is their ability to view a simple activity as a magical adventure. Such as a walk in the woods late at night. Jane Yolen captures this wonderment in a book whose charm rises from its simplicity. "It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went owling." The two walked through the woods with nothing but hope and each other in a journey that will fascinate many a child. John Schoenherr's illustrations help bring richness to the countryside adventure. The book won the 1988 Caldecott Medal.

Customer Reviews:

Poetic with Beautiful Illustrations.......2007-09-16

Words are not enough to describe this beautifully written and illustrated book. You should experience the descriptive, poetic words and haunting drawings of a young boys rite of passage. All ages would enjoy the well told story. This is a must read!

Owl Moon

Great Kid's book.......2007-04-19

My grandaughter fell in love with this book from the library and Granpa had to buy it for her birthday. It is very well illustrated and well written, Granpa never tires of reading it to her, as she never tires of hearing it. In a market filled with children's books of dubious merit or worth, this is well worth it, to read, to buy, to have in the library of a young reader on her way to a lifetime of reading.

Perfect Bedtime Story.......2007-01-05

I ordered this book based on the reviews found on amazon. I was looking for a nature oriented book for my 2 year old son. This has become, by far, one of our favorite family bedtime stories. The illustrations are beautiful. The story is heart warming and real. My husband loves to read it as much as I do. This is a classic in our library and will remain so for many, many years.

Worthy of an Award - a review of "Owl Moon".......2006-11-19

I like Jane Yolen's work - the children do too (lol). But Owl Moon is probably the most poetic of her works that we have read. The word choice and imagery is wonderful; soft and soothing. You can hear the crunch of snow, and feel the biting cold.

Like the others I give it 5 stars, and would add that it makes for a good bed-time book.

Five Stars. Top notch Read-aloud. Artwork is nice, in darker shades than Yolen's other works. Perhaps not quite as nice in detail, but well suited to the story.

Teacher's Favorite.......2006-11-07

I love this book! It has also been loved by my pre K students every year. I always look forward to reading it to my class and I can't say that about a lot of preschool literature. This story takes my suburban kids on an adventure that, unfortunately, many of them will never experience. It's educational, exciting, and a little spooky (but not too much). Don't hesitate to add it to your collection.

Average customer rating:

Delightful journey
Fabulous in every way!
Very good, I agree with previous reviews
inheritance
A Fabulous read by a new author

Inheritance
Natalie Danford
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Release Date: 2007-01-09

Customer Reviews:

Delightful journey.......2007-09-21

This is a delightful story that Natalie Danford has given us. The journey both across the miles and across the years is enticing, characters most believable. I read a review of this book many months ago and finally rewarded myself with the book. It would make a good movie as well, as we will probably see in the future.

Fabulous in every way!.......2007-07-10

Wonderful story, wonderful characters, plus a lot of interesting info about the Italian city of Urbino, about which I knew very little. If you love Italy -- or just good fiction -- you'll love this.

Very good, I agree with previous reviews.......2007-06-07

Well-written, intriguing book...one caution, if you have a soft spot for cats, as I do, be forewarned.

inheritance.......2007-04-05

This is a generally very well-written and appealing novel. The main character is Olivia, a young American teacher. Upon her father's death, she discovers in his nightstand a 50 year old deed to a house in her father's native Italian village of Urbino. Her father (Luigi) emigrated from Italy to America under mysterious circumstances shortly following World War II. The house had been deeded to Luigi's father During World War II by a local Jewish family to prevent confiscation by the Nazis with the expectation it would be returned to this family following the war. Discovery of the deed leads Olivia to return to Urbino, not only to discover her roots, but also to claim ownership of the house and profit from its sale. There she learns of an apparent betrayal of the Jewish family by her father.

Natalie Danford, the author, effectively alternates chapters between Olivia's quest and her father's past life. My major annoyance with this book is that the author has an unfortunate tendency to lapse into romance novel prose ("she'd noticed last night when they'd been naked that he had just the right amount of (chest) hair"). However, the plot is extremely clever, the characters intriguing and well-developed, and there are interesting cultural and historical angles to the book. Finally, the conclusion of the book, in particular, is ingenious and satistfying.

A Fabulous read by a new author.......2007-02-21

Though easily read in a day or two, I slowed my pace to savor every word. Luigi and Olivia lept off the page and I traveled with them to the United States and then back to Italy. For anyone who has ever wondered what life was like for their immigrant parent, this story provides insight.

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