The Gates: A Novel by John Connolly

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'll be honest, I only picked this one up because of the pretty cover. I didn't even realize that it was a YA book. I get what he's going for here and at times it was entertaining. But, for the most part, it didn't really hang together for me. He tries way too hard and it really isn't that funny.


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Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A quick, entertaining read--I raced through it in one day. It is an odd mix of the everyday, mundane details of work in an hospital and a mafia tale. Somehow, Bazell gets this to work.

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Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These characters are deeply flawed and, as a result, not particularly likable for large sections of the book. Oddly enough, that didn't stop me from enjoying it. The Berglund family is an interesting bunch and we see their relationships change and develop (and fall apart) over the years. I especially enjoyed the book because a large part of it is set in St. Paul and two of the characters are Macalester alumni!

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Harbor by Lorraine Adams

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. That first chapter just grabs you and shakes you around for a bit.  The book follows Aziz Arkoun's struggle as an illegal immigrant in Boston and then contrasts it with his life back in Algeria.  Great characters and a fascinating and tragic story.

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All Other Nights: A Novel by Dara Horn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great historical fiction about a Jewish Union spy during the Civil War (more fiction than history). Jacob Rappaport, the main character, spends most of the novel working for the Union secret service behind enemy lines. Even though the book is set in the middle of a huge event, it is really much more about Jacob than the Civil War. He lets life take him where it will and grows up quite a bit along the way. We don't get epic stories of huge battles.  Instead we see how wartime is affecting Jewish families in the south and how it changes the path of Jacob's life.

This is the second novel of Dara Horn's that I have read and she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

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Bretz's Flood: The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the World's Greatest Flood by John Soennichsen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great biography of Bretz. I love the scablands of Eastern Washington because they are such a fascinating geological landscape, but also because of the fascinating human story behind it. Bretz was lucky enough to live to see his theories proved right and accepted by the scientific community. The book does a wonderful job of presenting the details as Bretz found them so that you can see exactly how he unraveled the mystery.

Soennichsen does more than just explain Bretz's brilliant and controversial career. By the end of the book you have a great sense of his quirky and cranky (but ultimately kind) personality. Geologists, former students, and family members all weigh in.

Definitely an enjoyable read.

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Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Kingsolver writes beautifully about nature and does such a lovely job of weaving it into the human stories. Although I really enjoyed reading about the two women characters, I think my favorite was 80-year-old Garnett Walker. His relationship with his environment is much more complex. In some instances, you could almost call him an environmentalist--he clearly loves the chestnut trees that used to grow in rural Zebulon County. But, he also uses chemicals on his trees and is very old fashioned about a lot of things. Kingsolver does a great job in writing shades of gray into what, on the surface, you might think of as a very black and white character.

Verdict: great characters, beautiful descriptions, and interesting structure.

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