Caddy Ever After: Review Haiku

Another winner --
But why name it for Caddy?
She barely shows up.

(And a non-haiku aside: I love, love, love, that McKay's characters speak in parentheses.)

Caddy Ever After by Hilary McKay. McElderry, 2006, 218 pages.

Helen of Troy: Review Haiku, in medias libros

Yep, it's a long one,
But why so many typos?
Shame on you, Viking.

Helen of Troy by Margaret George. Viking, 2006, 624 pages.

The Overachievers: Review Haiku

Let me never be
A helicopter parent.
Poor little smart kids.

The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids by Alexandra Robbins. Hyperion, 2006, 439 pages.

The Year of the Dog: Review Haiku

Earth-shattering? No.
A little obvious? Yes.
Still, a good girl read.

The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin. Little Brown, 2006, 134 pages.

A Dirty Job: Review Haiku

Death merchants battle
Morrigans, hellhounds, and grief.
Moore's a sick monkey.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. Morrow, 2006, 387 pages.

Fly By Night: Review Haiku

Books, locks, Birdcatchers:
A good yarn, but overstuffed.
Not up to hype.

Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge. Harper, 2006, 487 pages.

Stuck in the middle of...: Non-Review Haiku

Started Fly By Night
But stuck in the middle now
Is it not All That?

(more to come once it's done)

Bread and Roses, Too: Review Haiku

Katherine Paterson:
Master of storytelling.
Still, "good-for-you" book.

Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson. Clarion, 2006, 288 pages. (Note: cover art here is not actual cover art.)

Politics Lost: Review Haiku

I hate politics --
"Not another election!"
Joe Klein explains why.

Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized by People Who Think You're Stupid by Joe Klein. Doubleday, 2006, 256 pages.

Bye Bye Black Sheep: Review Haiku

Good mystery spoiled
By loud, intrusive soapbox.
Oh, Ayelet Waldman.

Bye Bye Black Sheep (A Mommy-Track Mystery) by Ayelet Waldman. Berkley, 2006, 259 pages.

The Loud Silence of Francine Green

Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it. But I couldn't help feeling that Karen Cushman's latest was written not with a pen, but with a hammer.

• It's Newbery material! WHACK!
• It's about intolerance! WHACK!
• It has timely relevance for our government today! WHACK!
• Jews and liberals have long been persecuted! WHACK!
• Hey, Nina Lindsay -- see what a great writer I am! WHACK!

Again, I liked it: Francine is frustratingly likable, and the contemporary references added some fun. But man -- leave a few things for the reader to figure out, eh?

The Loud Silence of Francine Green by Karen Cushman. Clarion, 2006, 225 pages.

Resurrected: One-Sentence Reviews

I'm back from the dead -- or vacation, anyway. Here's a brief encapsulation of what I read over break (and after break, since it's been so long).

Blind Faith by Ellen Wittlinger. Love her work; this one was just okay.

Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. Beachy Hallmark-y goodness.

Sand in my Bra and Other Misadventures edited by Jennifer Leo. Some funny, some not as funny, all pretty much enjoyable.

Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston. Oooh, good stuff.

The Love Curse of the Rumbaughs by Jack Gantos. Seriously creepy, and I don't think I mean that as a compliment.

Why Moms Are Weird by Pamela Ribon. Still in the middle of this, actually, but it's a good read.

So these are all pretty useless, as far as reviews go, and the further away I got from this blog, the less interested I became in it. Is it because I realize I'll never be one of the cool bloggy kids? Is it because it's just another thing on my list of things to do? Who knows. Part of it is surely time: I know if I don't post within a day of finishing a book, I'll forget whatever I was going to say (hence, the useless scribbles above).

So posting may be sporadic, or nonexistent, for a while, until I figure out if this is worth continuing.