1 to 5 of 5
Review Date: 5/4/2014
I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. I finally came across a book, a whole series actually, by Meg Cabot that I really dontAbandon Meg Cabot like. Abandon, which is based on the myth of Persephone the Greek Goddess of the Underworld, just didnt do it for me.
The story centers around Pierce Oliviera, a teenage girl who has a near death experience. The book loosely covers the following two years through flashbacks, which was my first problem: too much jumping around. Normally I dont mind flashbacks in a book. They are an important tool to add structure and interest to a story. Unfortunately the flashbacks in Abandon seemed oddly placed to me. Add this to the fact that I took two whole weeks to read the book (my problem) and I had a difficult time keeping track.
My second problem had to do with the tone of the book. I was interested to see how Cabot treated the dark subject matter of death and the Underworld. She has done dark before in Jinx and The Mediator series which I enjoyed very much. However what made these previous books work were the heroines who faced the dark subject matters of danger and death head on with feisty determination. Unfortunately Pierce Oliviera did not embody the typical Meg Caboty spunk and her attempts at perky humor just fell flat.
Given Pierces situation I guess I cant blame her. The poor girl did die, visit the Underworld and then came back to life which sounds pretty traumatizing. Not only that but the next two years are fraught with creepy and dangerous experiences that she narrowly escapes thanks to John, the mysterious guy she met in The Underworld, who may or may not be into her. That said, I still had a hard time feeling sympathetic for Pierce. She came off as too victimized for me.
In loyalty to Meg Cabot I am planning to finish the series. In fact I have already read book 2, Underworld, which I did find a little better. Full review is pending.
If you are interested in Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Persephone, I highly recommend these books. Also a bit of practical advice: read the books in large chunks of time so you dont get lost in all the flashbacks.
The story centers around Pierce Oliviera, a teenage girl who has a near death experience. The book loosely covers the following two years through flashbacks, which was my first problem: too much jumping around. Normally I dont mind flashbacks in a book. They are an important tool to add structure and interest to a story. Unfortunately the flashbacks in Abandon seemed oddly placed to me. Add this to the fact that I took two whole weeks to read the book (my problem) and I had a difficult time keeping track.
My second problem had to do with the tone of the book. I was interested to see how Cabot treated the dark subject matter of death and the Underworld. She has done dark before in Jinx and The Mediator series which I enjoyed very much. However what made these previous books work were the heroines who faced the dark subject matters of danger and death head on with feisty determination. Unfortunately Pierce Oliviera did not embody the typical Meg Caboty spunk and her attempts at perky humor just fell flat.
Given Pierces situation I guess I cant blame her. The poor girl did die, visit the Underworld and then came back to life which sounds pretty traumatizing. Not only that but the next two years are fraught with creepy and dangerous experiences that she narrowly escapes thanks to John, the mysterious guy she met in The Underworld, who may or may not be into her. That said, I still had a hard time feeling sympathetic for Pierce. She came off as too victimized for me.
In loyalty to Meg Cabot I am planning to finish the series. In fact I have already read book 2, Underworld, which I did find a little better. Full review is pending.
If you are interested in Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Persephone, I highly recommend these books. Also a bit of practical advice: read the books in large chunks of time so you dont get lost in all the flashbacks.
Review Date: 4/17/2014
Helpful Score: 1
I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. I finally came across a book, a whole series actually, by Meg Cabot that I really dont like. Abandon, which is based on the myth of Persephone the Greek Goddess of the Underworld, just didnt do it for me.
The story centers around Pierce Oliviera, a teenage girl who has a near death experience. The book loosely covers the following two years through flashbacks, which was my first problem: too much jumping around. Normally I dont mind flashbacks in a book. They are an important tool to add structure and interest to a story. Unfortunately the flashbacks in Abandon seemed oddly placed to me. Add this to the fact that I took two whole weeks to read the book (my problem) and I had a difficult time keeping track.
My second problem had to do with the tone of the book. I was interested to see how Cabot treated the dark subject matter of death and the Underworld. She has done dark before in Jinx and The Mediator series which I enjoyed very much. However what made these previous books work were the heroines who faced the dark subject matters of danger and death head on with feisty determination. Unfortunately Pierce Oliviera did not embody the typical Meg Caboty spunk and her attempts at perky humor just fell flat.
Given Pierces situation I guess I cant blame her. The poor girl did die, visit the Underworld and then came back to life which sounds pretty traumatizing. Not only that but the next two years are fraught with creepy and dangerous experiences that she narrowly escapes thanks to John, the mysterious guy she met in The Underworld, who may or may not be into her. That said, I still had a hard time feeling sympathetic for Pierce. She came off as too victimized for me.
In loyalty to Meg Cabot I am planning to finish the series. In fact I have already read book 2, Underworld, which I did find a little better. Full review is pending.
If you are interested in Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Persephone, I highly recommend these books. Also a bit of practical advice: read the books in large chunks of time so you dont get lost in all the flashbacks.
The story centers around Pierce Oliviera, a teenage girl who has a near death experience. The book loosely covers the following two years through flashbacks, which was my first problem: too much jumping around. Normally I dont mind flashbacks in a book. They are an important tool to add structure and interest to a story. Unfortunately the flashbacks in Abandon seemed oddly placed to me. Add this to the fact that I took two whole weeks to read the book (my problem) and I had a difficult time keeping track.
My second problem had to do with the tone of the book. I was interested to see how Cabot treated the dark subject matter of death and the Underworld. She has done dark before in Jinx and The Mediator series which I enjoyed very much. However what made these previous books work were the heroines who faced the dark subject matters of danger and death head on with feisty determination. Unfortunately Pierce Oliviera did not embody the typical Meg Caboty spunk and her attempts at perky humor just fell flat.
Given Pierces situation I guess I cant blame her. The poor girl did die, visit the Underworld and then came back to life which sounds pretty traumatizing. Not only that but the next two years are fraught with creepy and dangerous experiences that she narrowly escapes thanks to John, the mysterious guy she met in The Underworld, who may or may not be into her. That said, I still had a hard time feeling sympathetic for Pierce. She came off as too victimized for me.
In loyalty to Meg Cabot I am planning to finish the series. In fact I have already read book 2, Underworld, which I did find a little better. Full review is pending.
If you are interested in Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Persephone, I highly recommend these books. Also a bit of practical advice: read the books in large chunks of time so you dont get lost in all the flashbacks.
Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn't Go Away
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
14
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
14
Review Date: 6/20/2011
Helpful Score: 5
There is nothing worse than a headache. I get them occasionally, usually as a gift from Aunt Flo. Even the smallest headache can make me completely useless and miserable. Luckily they never last for more than a few hours and can be knocked out with a few Tylenol and a nap.
Jennette Fulda, the poor dear, is not so lucky. Shes had a headache for years. Years! Eeeeck!
Ive been reading Jennettes blog for a long time so I knew about her headache and I knew she wrote a book about it. I resisted reading it at first because I thought: a memoir about a headache? Seriously? But Jennettes clever book trailer finally intrigued me and last month I added Chocolate & Vicodin My Quest for Relief From the Headache that Wouldnt Go Away by Jennette Fulda, to my Amazon order. Im glad I did.
Jennette has a witty, easy style of writing that makes reading about even a headache enjoyable. I went into the book thinking it would come off as whinny and full of self-pity but to my delight it wasnt like that at all. Jennette hooked me from page one as she took me on a tour of what must have been half the waiting rooms in Indianapolis seeking the advice of neurologists, chiropractors, allergists, acupuncturists and massage therapists. She reports on her experiences clearly and candidly in a conversational style that makes you feel like youre talking to your best friend. Jennette also has the simile down pat. A little too pat for my taste actually which is my only criticism of the book.
I read the book in a weekend, unable to put it down. Even though I already knew how it all ends from reading her blog, a little part of me still had hope that Jennette would finally cure her headache. SPOILER ALERT!!!! She doesnt. But what I wont give away is the revelation Jennette comes to at the end of the book. Its a piece of wisdom anyone could all benefit from (I sure did) and fortunately you dont need to suffer from a chronic headache to have it.
Jennette Fulda, the poor dear, is not so lucky. Shes had a headache for years. Years! Eeeeck!
Ive been reading Jennettes blog for a long time so I knew about her headache and I knew she wrote a book about it. I resisted reading it at first because I thought: a memoir about a headache? Seriously? But Jennettes clever book trailer finally intrigued me and last month I added Chocolate & Vicodin My Quest for Relief From the Headache that Wouldnt Go Away by Jennette Fulda, to my Amazon order. Im glad I did.
Jennette has a witty, easy style of writing that makes reading about even a headache enjoyable. I went into the book thinking it would come off as whinny and full of self-pity but to my delight it wasnt like that at all. Jennette hooked me from page one as she took me on a tour of what must have been half the waiting rooms in Indianapolis seeking the advice of neurologists, chiropractors, allergists, acupuncturists and massage therapists. She reports on her experiences clearly and candidly in a conversational style that makes you feel like youre talking to your best friend. Jennette also has the simile down pat. A little too pat for my taste actually which is my only criticism of the book.
I read the book in a weekend, unable to put it down. Even though I already knew how it all ends from reading her blog, a little part of me still had hope that Jennette would finally cure her headache. SPOILER ALERT!!!! She doesnt. But what I wont give away is the revelation Jennette comes to at the end of the book. Its a piece of wisdom anyone could all benefit from (I sure did) and fortunately you dont need to suffer from a chronic headache to have it.
Review Date: 4/1/2019
Overall great storytelling and sparked my interest in the subsequent books. However, as far as the romance is concerned, meh. I did not like the chemistry between the two main characters.
Review Date: 5/4/2014
Helpful Score: 1
This book came highly recommended to me by a family member. You must read this, she said, its so good. I couldnt put it tiger tigerdown. That said, I still resisted the book for several months because of the subject matter.
Tiger Tiger is Margaux Fragosos memoir documenting her childhood years when she fell prey to a pedophile. While disturbing, I too found the book very compelling and read it in a single weekend. However it wasnt the subject matter that held me. The book was so well done I just had to finish it.
I think we can all agree that child molesters are the worst brand of evil and Peter Curran was one of the most insidious of his kind. He first met Fragoso at the neighborhood community pool when she was aged seven. Because she already had an unhappy home life and was starved for affection, Fragoso was immediately drawn to Currans attention as he carefully manipulated his way into her family dynamic, slowly sneaking the abuse in under the very nose of Fragosos mentally ill mother and alcoholic father.
Fragosos childhood coping mechanisms of storytelling and withdrawing into her own made up fantasy world shed light on how she was able to write so beautifully later on. I can best describe her style ashealthy. The level of acceptantance with which she tells her real life story actually made it easy for me to take. She began the book in her early twenties, shortly after Curran died, but did not finish it until several years later. My guess is she went through many years of healing and while I would certainly read anything else from her in the future I would be most interested in her story of recovery.
While I did enjoy this book I feel funny about recommending it to anyone. The few people I discussed it with immediately dismissed the book due to its subject matter which is perfectly understandable. However, if you are willing to give it a try you may be surprised as I was to find that Tiger Tiger is not a story evil but rather hope.
Tiger Tiger is Margaux Fragosos memoir documenting her childhood years when she fell prey to a pedophile. While disturbing, I too found the book very compelling and read it in a single weekend. However it wasnt the subject matter that held me. The book was so well done I just had to finish it.
I think we can all agree that child molesters are the worst brand of evil and Peter Curran was one of the most insidious of his kind. He first met Fragoso at the neighborhood community pool when she was aged seven. Because she already had an unhappy home life and was starved for affection, Fragoso was immediately drawn to Currans attention as he carefully manipulated his way into her family dynamic, slowly sneaking the abuse in under the very nose of Fragosos mentally ill mother and alcoholic father.
Fragosos childhood coping mechanisms of storytelling and withdrawing into her own made up fantasy world shed light on how she was able to write so beautifully later on. I can best describe her style ashealthy. The level of acceptantance with which she tells her real life story actually made it easy for me to take. She began the book in her early twenties, shortly after Curran died, but did not finish it until several years later. My guess is she went through many years of healing and while I would certainly read anything else from her in the future I would be most interested in her story of recovery.
While I did enjoy this book I feel funny about recommending it to anyone. The few people I discussed it with immediately dismissed the book due to its subject matter which is perfectly understandable. However, if you are willing to give it a try you may be surprised as I was to find that Tiger Tiger is not a story evil but rather hope.
1 to 5 of 5
