Paper Towns,

Paper Towns, by John Green, is a young adult novel about Quentin and his next door neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. Quentin is your typical nerdy high school guy, but when Margo shows up at his window one night and takes him out for a wild night on the town, he’s sure things are going to change. To some extent, this whole part feels somewhat cliche. Nerdy boy changed by crazy, sexy girl that he’s secretly in love with. But then, Margo turns up missing the next morning. And Quentin believes it is absolutely his job to find her.

We watch Quentin follow a series of clues, and this when it really feels like a mystery novel. At some points I found the book to be completely exhilarating and intense, and at others it seemed just a tad too cliche or unrealistic. Margo does not seem like a real person, and maybe that’s because we see her through Quentin’s eyes. However, it would have been nice to see a bit more of her and get a feel for who she really is. It felt like we were right on the verge of knowing her, but not quite. Maybe that’s how we’re supposed to feel, I don’t know.  But aside from that, I could not put this book down.  Since it read sort of like a mystery, it really added to the intrigue and made me want to keep going.

The ending for me was kind of a let down, I suppose I was expecting something more grand or at least something more definitive. I wanted another concluding chapter to give me some closure, but maybe that’s just Green’s style.

And about the title – it’s quite clever once you read the book.  I really liked the way he tied in different meanings of the phrase “Paper Towns” and what it ultimately did mean in this situation.  And I absolutely loved the use of Leaves of Grass and Song of Myself. Love the idea that how you literally read a poem may not be what it means or what was intended – which is exactly how most people view others in our society. What you personally see in a person may not be who they actually are.  And that’s basically the message of this book – the person that you see may not be who they actually are.

The Once and Future King

When I read The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, I was looking for a good novel that detailed the life of King Arthur. Since there is no definitive work, and I wanted something a little easier than Malory, this one was recommended.

I have to say that I didn’t really enjoy it until after the first section. The book is broken up into four parts, and the first part is about Arthur as a boy, and how Merlin turns him into various animals for his “education.” This is all fun and well, but it’s not all that interesting. And quite frankly, it’s the type of thing where you can read one chapter and then feel no desire to pick the book up again for weeks because you’re not waiting to find out what’s going to happen.

However, once Arthur (finally!) becomes King, it got a lot better. It then chronicles his life with Guinevere, his friendship with Lancelot (there’s a whole section devoted to him), his relationship with Gawaine’s family, and his relationship with his son, Mordred. Overall it’s written well and the pace is pretty good. Occasionally it drifts off into some boring tangent about the history of England or something, but when it’s on track it’s great. Of course, that sort of writing was more common and appreciated when this book was written, but it’s a challenge for today’s readers.

It was also a bit more humorous than I expected. T.H. White can be somewhat sarcastic with what he writes, and it occasionally overlaps into satire of other things written about Arthur and Camelot. Some of the characters are more caricatures than I expected.

The only thing after the first part that I was disappointed with was the ending. If you know the story of King Arthur you know his fate, but it would still be nice to see how this book deals with it and to see it play out. Instead you get one paragraph about what happened: telling rather than showing. I don’t really understand why he would skimp on the ending when he had no problem describing everything else in so much detail.

I would also add that I don’t think this is at all a children’s book, though I’ve seen it classified that way. Not necessarily because of subject matter, but just because of reading level and difficulty.

Mockingjay

Warning:  Don’t read this if you haven’t read the book.  It was impossible to write any sort of review without spoilers.  But if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do!

Mockingjay is the much anticipated third book in the Hunger Games series.  It completes the trilogy, which includes The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

Let’s start at the end and then go back, because really it’s the ending that matters most when you end a series like this.  I didn’t particularly like the ending.  Obviously I expected the book to be very dark, and that there wouldn’t be a miracle happy ending, but to be honest it wasn’t the darkness of the ending that bothered me.  I’m a sap for some good romance and living happily ever after, but was perfectly willing to accept that that wouldn’t be the case here.  No, what bothered me about the ending was this: it just felt too rapid and didn’t provide enough closure.

That has bothered me with the other two books in the series as well, but I wrote it off as part of a series, and an author trying to lead directly into the next book and keep the readers on the edges of their seats.  But now there’s no reason to do that.  More answers, more details, even more time to mourn the deaths would have been nice.  From the moment that Katniss shoots Coin on, I was disappointed with the book.  I wanted answers: did everyone really think that Katniss was just mad when she shot her, or did they realize what District 13 was doing?  Should we take everything that President Snow said as true?  Who else was on Coin’s side, and did District 13 cause any other problems later down the road?  It almost felt like the war wasn’t really over when the book ended, though the epilogue seems to say otherwise.  Katniss seems to be able to get through life, but what is the state of the world like?  Has there been any more fighting or war?  Maybe that’s a lot to address, but one of the things I hate most about reading a book is unanswered questions.

As for Katniss’s personal ending, it was okay.  Kind of inevitable, of course she’s not going to be magically happy all the time and live a fairy tale life.  Kinda obvious that she would end up with kids, I knew it the moment in the first book that she swore she never would.  But I suppose her consenting to it is at least an indication that things are better in the world.

Now on to other stuff.  I knew the book would be dark but even I was surprised at just how terrible things were.  A lot of things, like the government control, I had likened to 1984.  To me, 1984 was a book that was truly horrifying.  However, the horrors and terrors in Mockingjay were so much worse, it almost made 1984 look like child’s play.  I’d like to think that our world and our society will never deteriorate to such a state, but perhaps that is naive thinking.  I’d like to think it’s true.  Of course there will be pain and there will be war, but to such an extent?  I can only pray that humanity can withstand it.

The romance: I had been looking forward to seeing the resolution of this a lot, and it was definitely downplayed.  It wasn’t nearly as important as in the other books.  In the end, I actually had the resolution I was hoping for (I was Team Peeta), but it wasn’t particularly satisfying.  It almost felt as if Katniss went with Peeta out of default, not because she had genuine feelings for him.  He was there and had been there for her for so long that it just seemed obvious.  I could never really picture her with Gale, but I would have liked to have seen a least a little more happiness with Peeta for her than what we were given.

I was surprised in the beginning to see how unwilling Katniss was to really be a rebel.  She didn’t want to do anything, and the impression I had in Catching Fire was that she was really starting to embrace the rebellion.  It seemed like a surprising shift in her personality, but then again it did seem believable.  It just wasn’t at all what I was expecting to read when I started.

The fates of the victors.  In the earlier books, even in the face of something as brutal and terrible as the Hunger Games, there was always a bright ray of hope that things would be okay for at least one person.  One person would live and would be rewarded and able to live a decent life.  And then we learn that even the victors were never left alone or untouched.  Haymitch lost everyone he loved.  Johanna.  Finnick’s terrible fate.  And when we learned that, it showed me how truly dark this series is.  That’s when I knew that there was no chance of a happy ending.  The war might end just as the Hunger Games always ended, but nothing would ever get better.

District 13 made me angry the entire book.  I am not sure if I would have fought for them if I was Katniss.  Their strict security measures were a turn off, but after the incident with Katniss’s prep team I was so angry.  These people were clearly not a threat and were doing no real harm.  They were just scared human beings, and look how they were treated.  District 13, to me, was just as bad as the Capitol.  And maybe that’s one of the points Collins was trying to make.  But then is there no good in this world?  Can we never hope for someone to be fighting for justice instead of power?  It is hard for me to see why people like Katniss would go on with the fight, although they may have had no other choice.  But considering District 13, who wants to live like that or fight for that?

Finnick.  His character grew on me so much as we learned more about him.  To lose him was a terrible blow, but worse to consider that he had been reunited with Annie.  I cried a lot.  But I can accept it as part of what happens in war.  I just hated that we didn’t really get to see what happened afterward.  One brief line about Annie and Finnick’s baby, which tore my heart.  To picture her, mentally ill and heartbroken, with a newborn child.

What happened to Peeta was almost too terrible to think about.  To me, that’s the worst fate imaginable.  To be so mentally altered as to not know what’s real and what isn’t.  His love seemed so strong in the earlier books, for something like a love so powerful to be changed is truly terrifying.

I was kind of surprised at the deaths.  I had predicted that the major death would be Gale.  And very possibly Haymitch.  But never Prim.  From the beginning, the series has been set in motion because of the need to keep her alive.  For her to die seems so cruel.  It almost screams that none of this should have happened in the first place.  Katniss could have let Prim go into the Games and died, and without Katniss involved the rebellion would not have had a face.  In the end she lost Prim anyway so it seems like all they worked for was futile.  I can’t even be pleased about the rebels winning because District 13 is so creepy.

This sounds really negative.  I loved the first two books.  I’m torn about this one.  I think it’s just because of how completely dark it is.  I can’t really find any ray of light to give hope.  And while war and all of these things are terrible, I still want to believe that there is some good in the world.  I prefer a world where a girl like Anne Frank can still believe that people are good heart, despite what has happened.  But Mockingjay gives me nothing, no hope.  Sure, people live.  Katniss and Peeta are together.  But it’s not written or presented in a way that gives any reassurance or hope.  People do go on living for a reason, despite all of the horrors and pain our world can present.  But where is that reason here?

Whatever my personal reaction, the book was really well written and definitely succeeded in its attempts to terrify and horrify me.  A lot of people will probably disagree with my negativity!  In some ways it was absolutely brilliant.  But just so dark.

Catching Fire

This sequel to The Hunger Games is just as exciting as the first book, and it also adds something new to the series and gives more meaning to the story as a whole.  By the end of the first book you certainly had a hint as to where this one was going, and it does so with full force.

At the end of The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta just barely made it out of the brutal games alive – and together.  In the beginning of Catching Fire, they are forced to go on a Victory Tour to all of the other districts.  During this tour it becomes clear that some sort of rebellion is brewing – and Katniss, willing or not, is the face of that rebellion.

**Spoilers ahead**

One of the biggest shocks, whether it is for the reader or for Katniss and Peeta, is the 75th Hunger Games.  Since it is a “Quarter Quell,” they always do something special.  This year, it turns out that all of the contestants in the hunger games will be chosen from the past victors.  Since Katniss is the only female victor from district 12, she’s automatically in.  And joining her will be either Haymitch or Peeta.  I could not imagine having to go back into the hunger games after doing it once.  I would not have been nearly as strong as Katniss, and it creates quite a scary situation for the readers.

The other issue going on in the book, aside from the rebellion, is Katniss’s love life.  At the end the Hunger Games she wasn’t sure what she was feeling.  In this one she seems to be drawn to Gale but ends up engaged to Peeta.  We don’t know who she will end up with, but it seems like she would prefer to be with Gale over Peeta.  The major problem I have with that is that the readers don’t feel much of a connection to Gale.  We don’t see too much of him, and when we do we don’t always see a loving, caring individual like Peeta.  It’s hard to know what will happen in the third book, but it just seems like Collins is in a difficult situation if she wants to create a relationship the readers will appreciate.

The ending of this book is terribly suspenseful.  The end of the Hunger Games truly felt like the ending to a book, even though it did have a sequel.  This feels like only a part of a story, the same way that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince doesn’t feel complete until you read Deathly Hallows.  We are left in the middle of the action, wondering what is going to happen, and whether some of our favorite characters are even still alive.  Now that’s a cliffhanger.

Overall the novel was just as good, if not better, than its predecessor, and just as engaging.  The writing style is good, the plot is great, and the characters seem real.

The final installment, Mockingjay, will be out this Tuesday, August 24th.

The Hunger Games

This is a young adult novel with a surprisingly disturbing plot summary.  It takes place in the future, when our country is forced to participate in “The Hunger Games,” a televised annual event which puts 12 girls and 12 boys between the ages of 12 and 18 into an arena to fight to the death.  The main character of the story and our narrator, Katniss, is a 16 year old girl from the poorest district in the country.  When her twelve year old sister is selected to compete, she volunteers in her sister’s place.  It is an almost certain death for Katniss, who goes off with the other boy selected from her district, Peeta.

What happens before and in the arena is somewhat sickening and almost as brutal as can be expected.  However, the best thing about this book and what it really has going for it is the suspense and excitement.  It is very well paced so that you want to continue reading but you don’t ever feel overwhelmed by what’s happening or tricked by the author’s cliffhangers.  With Percy Jackson he would leave off with cliffhangers but not resolve them for another fifty pages, which was frustrating.  It all seems very natural.  Of course, a fight to the death between 24 teenagers is bound to be suspenseful.  But that being said, I absolutely devoured this book.  I read it straight through without stopping except for dinner in about six hours.  This is the definition of a page turner.

The way the the story plays out is not completely predictable, but also not completely random or all that surprising.  Although it is a young adult novel, the author, Suzanne Collins, does not shy away from death.  And really, how could she, given the premise of the book?  However, I have to say that the way she did it is absolutely perfect for this novel.  I consider myself a very emotional, sensitive, squeamish person, but I still loved this book.  While it was a little sickening, it was not so sickening that I couldn’t read it.

The touch of romance thrown in also adds a lot.  **Spoiler alerts ahead** Katniss and Peeta develop a fake romance to win support from the viewing audience of The Hunger Games, and their love in such a horrible situation, real or not, is extremely touching.    The whole time you are guessing if they mean what they say or if they are just saying it for support.

I also think The Hunger Games could very well be a commentary on entertainment on today’s society.  The book the games are enjoyed by viewers who treat it as a big reality show or exciting movie, while in reality it is a terrible, brutal event.  It’s like Survivor gone horribly wrong – though is Survivor really so many steps away from this?  Perhaps Suzanne Collins is trying to show the dangers of such reality shows as entertainment and how human nature can get so savage just out of boredom.

My one complaint about the book would be that I’m not completely satisfied with the ending.  We don’t even see Katniss reunite with Prim, her younger sister.  Of course, there is a sequel so I’m sure we’ll get to that, but even in series I like to see a decent amount of closure in each book.  The romance is also left as a cliffhanger, which is inevitable, but we don’t really see much depth of Katniss’s struggles with her feelings.  Having only read the first book, I’ll say this now: I don’t really get how there could be much struggle at all.  She is supposedly deciding between two boys, Peeta and her old friend Gale.  However, we simply don’t see enough of Gale to side with him or understand her feelings for him.  The outcome of her romantic struggles is supposed to be decided in the 3rd book, due out August 24th.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Another interesting thing of note is that the book is written completely in the present tense from Katniss’s point of view.  This takes a little while to get used to, but seems to work once you get into the groove of the book.

This book is part of a trilogy, with Catching Fire as the second book and Mockingjay as the third.  Catching Fire is currently available and Mockingjay is coming out on August 24th of this year.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is the newest book by young adult author John Green, and it’s co-written with David Levithan.  The book is about two characters, both named Will Grayson, who meet up for the first time randomly one night.  It follows both of their lives – when they are apart, and when their lives intersect. This is about all the book jacket tells you about the story, and that description really leaves a lot out.  For instance, you would have no idea that one of the main themes of the book is homosexuality, and it also deals with depression.

We are first introduced to Will Grayson #1, a teenager who gets by in life by abiding by the rules of “shutting up and not caring.”  His best friend Tiny Cooper is literally huge and fabulously gay, and is in many ways the opposite of Will.  Will Grayson #2, however, is moody, depressed, and secretly gay.  All of their lives change one night when Will Grayson #1 and Tiny go into Chicago to see a concert and Will Grayson #2 goes into Chicago to meet his online lover Isaac.  Once all of their lives intersect, things are never the same for any of them.

In general Will Grayson, Will Grayson is a really good, intriguing book, and its biggest strength is that the authors seem to truly understand the adolescent mind.  From the description you could think of a lot of stereotypical characters: the extremely gay, always in the spotlight friend, the depressed and moody Will Grayson.  But there is so much more to them than just these simple definitions.   The characters have real depth to them and the situations are realistic.  It’s the type of book that you can’t stop reading because you want to know what happens next.  And ultimately it has a good message to carry with you in life.

One of the only problems with the novel may be that because the characters are so real and so faulty, it’s hard to like any of them.  Will Grayson #1 is infuriating because he refuses to care about things or people in his life for most of the novel.  Will Grayson #2 is downright mean sometimes, and Tiny Cooper is annoyingly self-centered; the type of guy that goes through dozens of boyfriends and is convinced he is completely heartbroken every time.  The only truly likable character is Jane, and while she certainly has her faults as well you like her anyway.  The others… maybe by the end you like them, but it’s certainly hard to get started.

Another huge plus to this book is the format that it is written in.  Every chapter alternates between Will Graysons as the narrator.  Odd chapters are Will Grayson #1, even chapters are Will Grayson #2.  This could certainly be confusing, but the characters are so different that you can usually tell right away who’s talking, even if you don’t look at the chapter.  This is partly due to the fact that John Green wrote all of the odd chapters and David Levithan wrote the even chapters, and their writing styles are slightly different.  Also, Will Grayson #2 writes in all lowercase, and instead of using quotation marks for speech he writes the character’s name and a colon, like in a script.

The only other small negative that I have is the ending of the book.  The whole time it’s building up to this big surprise ending, and the ending certainly is a surprise, but it’s slightly confusing.  You’re left wondering, “What exactly just happened?”  And that’s not exactly the most satisfying way to end a book.  They traded explanation for suspense, and I could’ve used just a little more explanation for the ending.  Maybe someone can explain it to me, but I was a little confused, though it was still touching.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters

I’ve already given my review of the first Percy Jackson book, The Lightning Thief.  The rest of the books in this series follow a similar pattern and style, but are still interesting in their own right.

Sea of Monsters, the second book in the series, puts us back with the same similar characters we met in book 1.  Once again our heroes have a quest – this time, Percy and Annabeth must rescue their friend Grover, along with the help of new friend (and Cyclops) Tyson.  They journey south, towards Florida, and enter the sea of monsters (well, what did you think the Bermuda Triangle was?).  They meet a series of monsters and challenges, all stemming from Greek mythology.

If you’ve read The Odyssey, you’re going to have a very good idea of what’s going on in this book.  While I admired The Lightning Thief for its ability to bring together mythology in a clever and modern sense, Sea of Monsters seems almost as if it is simply a modern re-telling of The Odyssey, using the same monsters and often the same methods of escape.  Neverthless, many of the things that Riordan did in the first book are still strong here.  Most notably, he is skilled at leaving us wanting more.  He drops tantalizing bits of information, such as the fact tht Annabeth doesn’t like Tyson for some reason, and every time she is about to tell Percy why she is suddenly cut off.  While this can be frustrating for the reader, it certainly serves its purpose as a hook to get readers to read on.  If you liked the first book in the series, you’re bound to like the second one as well.

The Lightning Thief

When I was student teaching in a 7th grade classroom, all of my honors kids were reading one series of books – The Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan.  “Miss Kolacki, you have to read this!” I was told over and over again.  One teacher told me the books were really enjoyable.  Another teacher told me the book is just a rip-off of Harry Potter.  It was popular enough that I was intrigued, so I bought The Lightning Thief, the first book in the series.

I have to admit that it was certainly better than what I was expecting.  It does have some simlarities with Harry Potter (in fact, enough to make a whole other post about, which I will do at some point in the near future).  But there are some unique elements here too.  Percy Jackson is a 6th grader who has been different his whole life, but can’t quite figure out why.  When he starts getting attacked by random monsters that no one else is able to see, he starts to suspect something is up.

It turns out that Percy is a demigod – his father was one of the ancient Greek gods, who are still alive and well, and have moved Mount Olympus to New York City (The Underworld is in Los Angeles).  Because of this, Percy has special talents and powers, but he also has an unfortunate aura that attracts monsters to him.  He’s given a quest and the rest of the novel is a description of his adventures with his friends Grover and Annabeth in their attempts to complete the quest.

The book is written in a certain style so that it’s clearly meant for kids.  While Harry Potter might attract adults and people of all ages, The language and technique of The Lightning Thief is dumbed down a bit, and there are jokes that only a middle schooler would find funny.  However, even though you’re pretty aware you’re reading a children’s book the whole time, it’s still a good read and very enjoyable.

The other fun aspect of the book is the amount of references to Greek mythology.  The author, Rick Riordan, taught Greek mythology for awhile and clearly knows his stuff.  He’s able to incorporate it into a modern setting.  If you’re familar with a lot of mythology, it can be fun to read along and guess exactly who this monster is that Percy has just met up with, or guess what’s going to happen to him based on the names and allusions.

Another great thing that many books lack is an element of suspense.  This is certainly one of those books you don’t want to put down, and you’re continually dying to know what happens next. While you might not be as fulfilled afterward as you might be with a powerful, meaningful classic, you’ll definitely enjoy reading the book – and looking forward to the next one.  Be warned, though, that these books are so popular there’s probably a long waiting list at your library.  That’s why my copy of the second novel, The Sea of Monsters, will be arriving shortly from Amazon.com – at only $4.40 a copy, it’s a price I’m willing to pay to find out what happens next to Percy Jackson.

Are you a re-reader?

Some people read books, really enjoy them, but have no real desire to read them again.  Perhaps they have good memories, and don’t want to read the book again because it will be too repetitive and they already know what’s going to happen.  Other people read a book and enjoy it so much that they want to read it again – and again, and again, and they end up with well-worn copies of their favorites.

Which camp do you fall under?  I know that I’m definitely a re-reader.  One of my “reading flaws” is that I’m so eager to find out what happens in a book, I rush through it to get the information I crave.  When I go back to read the book a second time, I can pick up all the neat little details I missed.  I can also discover new things that I didn’t realize the first time.  And even though I might know what’s going to happen, I can enjoy reading the book all over again, and get that wonderful feeling that comes from reading a great book – no matter how many other times I’ve read it before.

I probably have a stack of over 20 books at home that I want to read.  In addition to that, though, I probably would want to re-read at least half of the books on my shelf, already read and put away.  Do I re-read books?  Often, yes.  Sometimes this is frustrating because I want to get to new stuff – but those other books are books that I can depend on.

So what’s the stuff that gets chosen for a re-reading?  Sometimes it’s something for school that I have to re-read, but this time I get to look at it in a different light, and study it from a different angle.  Another good example is the Harry Potter books.  Those novels I could read literally hundreds of times.  Part of it is because Rowling puts so many little details in that I want to pick them up and discover something new every time.  Then there’s also the fact that I love these books and get a great feeling from reading them.  That feeling doesn’t go away just because I know the ending.

I also have re-read The Great Gatsby a few times, and some of Fitzgerald’s other works.  I adore his writing and it provokes really strong emotions in me, emotions that come out by reading those words, no matter how many times I’ve read them before.  I also find myself going back to books that have challanged by thoughts and provoked me to disagreement, such as Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead.  Even though I might not agree with Rand’s philosophy, I find her book interesting, and I can’t help but think about it and why I disagree with it.  Finally, there are books that I read a long time ago, or so quickly, that reading them a second time is almost like reading them all over again: often books I read for the first time in high school, such as To Kill a Mockingbird.

So what are the books that you find yourself coming back to and reading again?  Do you like re-reading?  Or can you make an argument for why you only want to read books one time?

In Hovering Flight

In Hovering Flight is Joyce Hinnefeld’s first novel, and of particular interest to me because Dr. Hinnefeld is a writing professor at the school I attend, Moravian College.  I’ve had her for a poetry writing class and she runs the school writing center where I work, so I was very excited to experience her first novel.

The main character is named Addie, and the book centers around her, her husband Tom, her daughter Scarlet, and Addie’s best friends Cora and Lou.  In the very beginning we find out Addie has just died of cancer, and the novel that follows is a series of flashbacks from the perspectives of various characters.  We get to know their personalities, hardships, and relationships in bits and pieces as the story progresses.

Addie is a bird lover and an artist, who later becomes an activist.  She meets her husband Tom when he teaches a “Biology of the Birds” class at her college, and their love of birds and nature brings them together.  At times it is difficult to relate to the strong feelings the characters have towards these birds, but the lengths that they go to in order to fight for what they love is both moving and somewhat frustrating.  The character of Addie is certainly a frustrating one.  We want to like her but her actions are sometimes so extreme that is difficult to do so, especially when we see how these actions affect her family.

One thing that is really apparent in this novel is that Hinnefeld certainly has a way with words.  Her writing is beautiful and descriptive, making her prose seem almost poetic.  She manages to create a delightful atmosphere of mystery, constantly leaving you wondering what the next piece of the puzzle is going to be.

However, the novel is very slow to start and difficult to get into until around page 50.  The biggest flaw is the way that the flashbacks are handled.  They happen sporadically, with little or not introduction to the fact that it is a flashback, and they don’t happen in any particular order.  Without some sort of time line or more definitive way to keep track of time, the reader is left with some confusion about the events.  While Hinnefeld has some wonderful characters here, their growth and our appreciation of them is somewhat stunted by the fact that we mostly see them through inconsistent flashbacks.  Addie in particular is introduced as a rather quiet, innocent, sweet young girl, who we see later camping out in protest for weeks or running from the law.  Though we see a little bit of her change through her pregnancy and Scarlet, it is still not enough to completely understand her character.

Despite the flaws, if you can get past the slow beginning the book becomes engaging and is a fairly quick read.  If you’re a bird lover, nature lover, or artist, I would especially recommend this novel.  Though it might not be a life changing read, it is well written and is at times emotionally touching.