Describe your latest project. Norton has just published The Autobiography of Fidel Castro, a novel that took seven years of my life to complete as I...
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Meet Finn. He's slowly fading. His hair is getting whiter. His skin is paler. And he doesn't want to go to school or see people or do any of the things he used to do before The Terrible Day That Changed Everything.
Finn has this thing for name meanings. Findlay stands for "fair hero". Finn doesn't feel like a hero, he feels like a failure. He wasn't able to stop The Terrible Day That Changed Everything. Maybe that's why he's disappearing. So in a combination present-day journal/everyday story Finn tells us about his life now and then.
That's really all I can tell you because the story depends on you reading it. Finn talks to you. He shares with you. He waits for you. He wants to tell you about his family and his hopefully one day soon girlfriend but right now best friend Meli.
The Last Invisible Boy is sad and hopeful and beautiful.
There were so many lines to write down and remember:
p. 5 - I'm vanishing in bits and pieces, like a disease that will not kill me but will erase me.
p. 36 - I love happy endings. I just wish there were more of them.
p. 44 - Most people think that Meli is my girlfriend, probably because I tell them she's my girlfriend...
p. 95 - Here's something I know. I'd give the whole world...for one more visit with my dad...
It's just so simple and moving. You should read it. Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back.
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(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Kimberly Cameron, aka Skim, is a high school student trying to make sense of what's happening this year. She thinks she wants to be Wiccan so she visits a "circle" with her friend Lisa. She feels like an outcast and the only person who understands her is Ms. Archer, whom everyone else feels is weird. Lisa and Ms. Archer help Skim get through the year, each in her own way.
I thought Skim was enjoyable and felt the writing and pictures went well together. Due to mature themes, I would recommend this one for high school and above.
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(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
Joyce and Gina are best friends ending their junior year of high school. They are determined to make this summer one of transformation. They want to look better, prettier, to stand out and be noticed. When they go back to school in the fall, they want people to say Wow. Who wouldn’t want that?
What steps are you willing to take to be “pretty”? Joyce’s Aunt Gomo offers her the chance of a lifetime. She will pay for Joyce to get her eyes done. Get her eyes done? Will that work? Is that all she needs to be beautiful? Joyce has a decision to make. Will the surgery get her what she wants?
The Fold follows Joyce on her quest for popularity. She has to decide how far she wants to go to get what she wants.
Although this story has a great premise, it is predictable and slow-moving. Joyce’s obsession with John Ford Kang is unrealistic based on what he writes in her yearbook. Her loathing of her sister Helen is selfish and has no basis and knowing what we do about Gomo – leads us to the conclusion long before we get there.
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(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Spanking Shakespeare alternates between laugh out loud hilarty and heart-holding somberness. The format was inspired: alternating between Shakespeare's "memoir" and Jake's book. You felt as if you were getting an inside look at the whys and wherefores of Shakespeare and his family.
I also loved the main character and his brother's names: Shakespeare and Ghandi. Funny, funny stuff.
Check out Jake Wizner's website and create your own obituary! www.jakewizner.com
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(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
Coe Booth nailed the problems of poverty. How do you NOT sell drugs when your family is almost homeless? What do you do when your mother isn't taking care of you? What about your girlfriend/boyfriend? Will they still love you when you have less to offer? Does it matter if you go to school?
This book was a fast, easy, and realistic read. Coe Booth painted a picture that I won't soon forget. I can't wait to read her next book!
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(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
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Customer Comments
brainlair has commented on (5) products.
The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman
brainlair, February 21, 2009
Meet Finn. He's slowly fading. His hair is getting whiter. His skin is paler. And he doesn't want to go to school or see people or do any of the things he used to do before The Terrible Day That Changed Everything.Finn has this thing for name meanings. Findlay stands for "fair hero". Finn doesn't feel like a hero, he feels like a failure. He wasn't able to stop The Terrible Day That Changed Everything. Maybe that's why he's disappearing. So in a combination present-day journal/everyday story Finn tells us about his life now and then.
That's really all I can tell you because the story depends on you reading it. Finn talks to you. He shares with you. He waits for you. He wants to tell you about his family and his hopefully one day soon girlfriend but right now best friend Meli.
The Last Invisible Boy is sad and hopeful and beautiful.
There were so many lines to write down and remember:
p. 5 - I'm vanishing in bits and pieces, like a disease that will not kill me but will erase me.
p. 36 - I love happy endings. I just wish there were more of them.
p. 44 - Most people think that Meli is my girlfriend, probably because I tell them she's my girlfriend...
p. 95 - Here's something I know. I'd give the whole world...for one more visit with my dad...
It's just so simple and moving. You should read it. Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back.
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Skim by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
brainlair, January 21, 2009
Kimberly Cameron, aka Skim, is a high school student trying to make sense of what's happening this year. She thinks she wants to be Wiccan so she visits a "circle" with her friend Lisa. She feels like an outcast and the only person who understands her is Ms. Archer, whom everyone else feels is weird. Lisa and Ms. Archer help Skim get through the year, each in her own way.I thought Skim was enjoyable and felt the writing and pictures went well together. Due to mature themes, I would recommend this one for high school and above.
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
The Fold by An Na
brainlair, January 17, 2009
Joyce and Gina are best friends ending their junior year of high school. They are determined to make this summer one of transformation. They want to look better, prettier, to stand out and be noticed. When they go back to school in the fall, they want people to say Wow. Who wouldn’t want that?What steps are you willing to take to be “pretty”? Joyce’s Aunt Gomo offers her the chance of a lifetime. She will pay for Joyce to get her eyes done. Get her eyes done? Will that work? Is that all she needs to be beautiful? Joyce has a decision to make. Will the surgery get her what she wants?
The Fold follows Joyce on her quest for popularity. She has to decide how far she wants to go to get what she wants.
Although this story has a great premise, it is predictable and slow-moving. Joyce’s obsession with John Ford Kang is unrealistic based on what he writes in her yearbook. Her loathing of her sister Helen is selfish and has no basis and knowing what we do about Gomo – leads us to the conclusion long before we get there.
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner and Richard Ewing
brainlair, January 5, 2008
Spanking Shakespeare alternates between laugh out loud hilarty and heart-holding somberness. The format was inspired: alternating between Shakespeare's "memoir" and Jake's book. You felt as if you were getting an inside look at the whys and wherefores of Shakespeare and his family.I also loved the main character and his brother's names: Shakespeare and Ghandi. Funny, funny stuff.
Check out Jake Wizner's website and create your own obituary! www.jakewizner.com
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
Tyrell by Coe Booth
brainlair, January 5, 2008
Coe Booth nailed the problems of poverty. How do you NOT sell drugs when your family is almost homeless? What do you do when your mother isn't taking care of you? What about your girlfriend/boyfriend? Will they still love you when you have less to offer? Does it matter if you go to school?This book was a fast, easy, and realistic read. Coe Booth painted a picture that I won't soon forget. I can't wait to read her next book!
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)