BOOK REVIEWS
My book reviews are alphabetized by title – click on the book’s title for a full review. I rate books using a five-star scale:
5 stars = Wonderful, you MUST read this! 4 stars = Great, would recommend 3 stars = I’m glad I read it but would not recommend others read it 2 stars = I’m NOT glad I read it and wouldn’t recommend it to others 1 star = Absolutely horrible
When I review a book, I hold it up the standards of it’s genre. While I expect books that are considered “literary fiction” to be well-written and plotted, I am not going to compare a trashy paranormal romance novel to Shakespeare. I’m of the opinion that it’s okay to read books just for fun and not every book I read needs to be a candidate for the next great American novel. My reviewing philosophy for books is similar to Roger Ebert’s reviewing policy for movies:
“What it means is that the star rating system is relative, not absolute. When you ask a friend if Hellboy is any good, you’re not asking if it’s any good compared to Mystic River, you’re asking if it’s any good compared to The Punisher. And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if Superman (1978) is four, then Hellboy is three and The Punisher is two. In the same way, if American Beauty gets four stars, then Leland clocks in at about two.”
A
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
5 out of 5 stars
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
4 out of 5 stars
Airhead by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden
4 out of 5 stars
Ape House: A Novel by Sara Gruen
5 out of 5 stars
The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen
3 out of 5 stars
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
4 out of 5 stars
B
Bad Faith by Gillian Philip
4 out of 5 stars
Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier
2 out of 5 stars
Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris
4 out of 5 stars
The Beach House by Jane Green
3 out of 5 stars
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
Kid Konnection – I highly recommend this book.
Being Nikki by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
Big Boned by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
4 out of 5 stars
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
4 out of 5 stars
The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
3 out of 5 stars
The Bread of Angels: A Memoir of Love and Faith in Damascus by Stephanie Saldana
4 out of 5 stars
C
City Boy by Edmund White
1 out of 5 stars
D
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
4 out of 5 stars
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
3 out of 5 stars
Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand by Andrew Gottlieb
3 out of 5 stars
E
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
4 out of 5 stars
Every Last One: A Novel by Anna Quindlen
4 out of 5 stars
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
4 out of 5 stars
F
Falling Out of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky
4 out of 5 stars
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
2 out of 5 stars
G
The Gendarme by Mark Mustian
4 out of 5 stars
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwork
4 out of 5 stars
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
5 out of 5 stars
H
Half Life by Roopa Farooki
4 out of 5 stars
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5 out of 5 stars
Her Fearful Symmetry: A Novel by Audrey Niffenegger
3 out of 5 stars
Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf
2 out of 5 stars
Hungry for Happiness by James Villas
3 out of 5 stars
I
Illyria by Elizabeth Hand
3 out of 5 stars
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5 out of 5 stars
An Inconvenient Elephant: A Novel by Judy Reene Singer
3 out of 5 stars
Invisible River by Helena McEwen
2 out of 5 stars
J
K
Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian
4 out of 5 stars
Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian
5 out of 5 stars
L
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
4 out of 5 stars
The Last Supper: A Summer in Italy by Rachel Cusk
1 out of 5 stars
The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow
4 out of 5 stars
The Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald
4 out of 5 stars
Life with My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone
2 out of 5 stars
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
4 out of 5 stars
M
The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry
4 out of 5 stars
My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares
5 out of 5 stars
N
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
2 out of 5 stars
Night Road by Kristin Hannah
3.5 out of 5 stars
O
P
Plan B by Jonathan Tropper
4 out of 5 stars
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
3 out of 5 stars
Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomanical, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase by Jen Lancaster
3 out of 5 stars
Q
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
R
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
2 out of 5 stars
Ready or Not by Meg Cabot
4 out of 5 stars
Rebel Yell: A Novel by Alice Randall
3 out of 5 stars
Runaway by Meg Cabot
3 out of 5 stars
S
Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
3 out of 5 stars
Specials by Scott Westerfeld
4 out of 5 stars
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
5 out of 5 stars
Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist’s Quest to Discover if Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster
4 out of 5 stars
Swapping Lives by Jane Green
3 out of 5 stars
T
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
5 out of 5 stars
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
5 out of 5 stars
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
5 out of 5 stars
Truly, Madly by Heather Webber
4 out of 5 stars
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
4 out of 5 stars
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4 out of 5 stars
U
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
4 out of 5 stars
V
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion by L.J. Smith
3 out of 5 stars
W
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
4 out of 5 stars
What the Rest of Us Can Learn From Homeschooling by Linda Dobson
4 out of 5 stars
X
Y
You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know by Heather Sellers
5 out of 5 stars
You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
4 out of 5 stars
