Memoirs of a Bookbat Review

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(More customer reviews)Even as a person who completely disagrees with book banning and censorship in general, I found this book to be a little heavy-handed. Harper and Gray, admittedly, are great characters, but occasionally they just seem too perfect, especially Gray and his family. Harper's parents and their friends, on the other hand, are simply narrow minded and too obsessive about their religion to pay any attention to anything else- you never get the sense that they could be even vaguely nice. Some of the descriptions are good, the concept is great,and Gray's answering machine messages are very funny and lighten things up a lot, but the flatness of the characters and the obviousness of the plot gives it an overall unrealistic feeling. And as much as I disagree with censorship, I don't need the message thrown in my face so hard.

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White Bird Black Bird Review

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(More customer reviews)White Bird Black Bird is a must read for those who want to define the northern areas of Canada by more than ice and snow, blizzards and polar bears in a wilderness. Val Wake brings those areas to life. He is an author of quality who tells a story with a brisk Hemingway economy in the episodes of violence and who shows a sensitive humanity in handling the clash of cultures implicit - and more and more explicit - in the inevitable evolution of self-assertion by indigenous peoples. The plural of that last word is important. I had never heard of some of the "indigenes" before but there are more than one or two in that vast territory and harmony between them takes on much the same complexities as the relationship between new settlers and indigenous inhabitants anywhere. The "other" next door might be even harder to tolerate than the monster in Ottawa. Wake, who knows the Territory well at first hand, has written an intriguing book, well worth a five-star rating.

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Beaming Sonny Home Review

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(More customer reviews)"Beaming Sonny Home" is the first novel I have read by Cathie Pelletier, and I intend to read her entire body of work.
What a storyteller! She is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. This is some of the best writing I've read in my entire life. It is easy to follow, very descriptive about it's characters and everything that evolves around them. She knows how to make a story funny and touching at the same time. Also, this story kept me glued. It was hard to put down as I was having such a good time reading it.
It's about a family, well, mostly it's about, Mattie Gifford, the mother of "Sonny", of the title. To grab the attention of his estranged wife, Sonny kidnaps two women and a dog and holds them hostage in a trailer park. Sonny isn't your usual criminal. He seems like a happy go lucky guy, that just can't get it together. Now he has gone and lost it, really lost it. Although, you can't help but love this character.
Mattie also has three adult daughters that drive her crazy. Even though she doesn't seem to have the same close bond with her daughters as she does with her criminal son, Sonny, you see that there is love in this family unit. Extended family, and Mattie's dead husband, Lester are more characters that come bounding from the story.
This is a writer who knows how to write great characters with strength and integrity. There are so many tender momments sprinkled throughout the story that bring laughter to the lips and tears to the eyes.
The story starts when the crime happens, and follows the family throughout the next few days. It is a great story about relationships and how they evolve when tragedy strikes. Mattie is a character that I can sympathize with, and I admire for the changes she goes through in the story's outcome.
The book reminded me a bit of "Divine Sisters of the Ya Ya", in the sense of the family relationships and the humour. Although, I think that Pelletier is the better writer. She is simply divine, and so is this story.
I am highly recommending this one, it's a good one!

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