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| Photo by Annie Mole courtesty of Flickr (Creative Commons) |
In order to make it easier for me to track the vast array of blogs that are now on my Google Reader, I will write a weekly round-up for certain categories. For instance, on Sunday I will introduce a new feature that will focus on recipes published by local bloggers, and which will run every Sunday. Another category that comes up frequently is books reviews, so starting today I will provide a weekly summary of book reviews that have been written by local bloggers.
Novels and Memoirs
Maria of I Believe in Story highly recommends The Book Thief by Markus Zusak a story narrated by Death and which revolves around Liesel Meminger, a young foster living in Nazi Germany. She also has great things to say about A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway, the renowned author's classic memoir of his time in Paris in the 1920s.
Donald Ermen, who pens the blog The Bookworm at the Ottawa Sun, writes about Under the Dome by Stephen King, the massive novel that runs over 1,000 pages. The books tells the story of a small town in the northeast United States that suddenly has a enormous dome placed over it, trapping all of the residents inside. While noting that he is not sure if this is one of King's better works, he did seem to enjoy it.
I also write book reviews and highly recommend Nancy Richler's latest novel The Imposter Bride, which tells the story of a mysterious European woman who arrives in Montreal from Palestine just after World War Two. It soon becomes clear that the enigmatic woman is not who she says she is, and when she disappears while her daughter is still a baby the reader is left with a series of questions: Who is this woman? Where did she go? And perhaps most importantly, at least for her daughter Ruth who is now a little girl, why was she abandoned?
Young Adult Novels
Kathy from A Glass of Wine gives readers a heads up about the novel 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil. The novel centers on a teen named Josie Byrne whose parents are divorcing and who is having trouble with her boyfriend and school. When it appears that she has hit rock bottom, she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo that occur at the same time 3:59 am. One morning when she wakes up she looks in the mirror and sees that the reflection is of Jo. For readers looking for another recommendation, Kathy also notes Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts, which describes an Earth that will soon be destroyed by an oncoming asteroid, with disaster being unavoidable.
Emilie's Book World looks at Mind Games by Kiersten White, a tale of two sisters who are trapped in a school that uses the extraordinary power of its girl students for corporate espionage. She also discusses Notes from Ghost Town by Kate Ellison, which tells the tale of 16-year-old Olivia Tithe who is visited by the ghost of her first love ... or has she really lost her mind, like her mother, and is not seeing ghosts at all?
Ciara from Lost at Midnight Reviews writes about Light by Michael Grant, the sixth and final book of the Gone series that is set to be released on April 2. It tells the story of a world in which everyone over the age of fourteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, and the fallout from this.
Pingwing's Bookshelf revieww Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, a fantasy novel about the Kingdom of Goredd in which dragons and humans mistrust each other, as well as Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff, which has this synopsis:
The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.... With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again."Poetry
While I have not found an independent review of this book, Ottawa poet and literary blogger Rob McLennan has announced the publication of his new poetry colleceiton Trace this month.
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