The Pact

Almost a week ago I finished The Pact by Jodi Picoult.  I was much happier with the ending of this book.  There were still no winners, but it didn’t end with the outright tragedies as the other two books I’ve read by her.  I am giving this one a 7.5.  I guess at some point I am going to have to start telling why I rate something the way I do instead of just arbitrarily assigning numbers, but for now, arbitration works for me.  I would have to clearly define a list of things I look for in a book to have a rating system, but as you know, I read for enjoyment only.

I am getting ready to start the book suggested by Buck George a few weeks ago.  I’ll let you know how I like it…

Handle With Care

Okay, I finished Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult Friday night.  I have to say that I was not surprised by the ending as the way the story was written, I kind of expected it.  I have rated this book a 7 on the 10-point scale since it was so well written and the WHN bug bit me.  However, I am wondering if there is a trend to the writings of Ms. Picoult.  I am not the kind of person who wants a happy ending all the time, but I am also not the kind of person who doesn’t want a happy ending either.  Based on the two books I have read by her, her subject matters are serious, the books are wrought with tragedy of some kind, and there are no happy endings – just bittersweet closures.  Since this appears to be a trend, I have started another book by her to see if that is the case.  The book I am reading now is The Pact, and I can tell you right now that it is a tragic story also.

Now, don’t get me wrong about what I just said, her stories might be tragic, but they are well written, and I have been bitten by the “What Happens Next” bug which is always good.  But I must say (SPOILER ALERT for Handle With Care)  that I was incredibly unhappy that the story focused on a lawsuit about wrongful birth, tore the whole family apart, they win the freaking suit and then the child that was the subject of the lawsuit dies???  I mean, the scene where she dies is a well written and well thought out scene, but I was incredibly disappointed all the same.

So, I have promised Buck George that I will read a book he has highly recommended, and I will be starting that book as soon as I am finished with The Pact.  I am sure it will be a great book since Buck recommended it to me.  I’ll let you know when I know!

Until next time…

Julie and Julia and Other Books…

So, I finished Julie and Julia a day or two after my last post.  Overall, I liked the book.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give it a 6.  I was kind of disappointed in the ending overall.  The story just fizzled out.  There was no real climax.  She had no revelation at the end of the year of cooking that helped with the situation in which she decided to start the year of cooking in the first place.  I did like the main character.  She reminded me of myself with the cussing…  However, I would never let my house get as bad as she indicated in her story…  LOL!

The book that followed was Water Witches by Christopher Bohjalian.  I enjoyed this book.  On the scale, it gets a 7.5.  The story is centered around a man who married into a family of females that have the ability to divine water from the ground.  He is a lawyer for the ski resort in the town of Vermont in which the story takes place.  The opening lines of the book are:  “Some people say that my wife’s sister is a witch.  My father, for one.  My brother, for another. “  I really like the opening page on this book.  It intrigued me from the beginning.

Then I read The Last Child by John Hart.  This was also a good book.  On the scale, it gets a 8.  The story is centered around a little boy whose twin sister has been kidnapped and whose father left months before to try to find her.  His determination in finding her and bringing her home is riveting.  This book held my interest until I finished it.  I am interested in reading the other two books he has written.  I think I will request them from the library in the near future…after I read all the other books I have borrowed!

Currently I am in the middle of Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult.  The story is interesting… I can’t give it a scale number yet, but I will say that this is the first book I can remember reading in which every main character in the book is telling the story to the person the story centers around in the second person voice.  It’s really interesting to read from a technical standpoint.  The story is really good so far.  The subject matter is difficult too, which gives me my own personal conflict at different places in the story…and that is always a good thing from the perspective of a writer…

I am really going to try to be more consistent on this blog…so, don’t give up hope, dear reader (I know there’s only one…  and I know who it is…).  I’ll be back in a day or two to scale my current read…