This book was an informative read of dysfunctional families, drug use, skate boarding, hard rock bands, altered relationships, and attempts at change. Perhaps, this book would interest young adults. As a senior reader, I felt that it was a wasted read.

Miller shines in this psychological drama. His debut novel gave me a view clear picture of Moscow. I was able to visualize the city, climate, politics, and characters. Thankfully, he limited his characters in number, so that I wasn't confused attaching the long Russian names to the characters.

Nick, the main character and an attorney, seemed very gullible. I found myself telling him to wake up. This novel would make a good airplane trip read.

Mathilde Kschesinskaia, narrated this historical fiction, at age 99. It was a tumultuous time, in history, for the Russian people and the royalty. The narrative was very informative and at times lively. I found that reading this novel took my full attention, because of the lengthy sentence structure and the multitude of Russian names and places. I am not sorry that I read this book, but for me, it wasn't a page turner.

In her debut novel, the author has created a fairy tale-like story and setting. As a reader I felt she left room for my imagination also. It is a story of sadness, love, humor and betrayal. Carolina's dreams were an interesting part of the narrative, as well as her relationships with Pietro, Turri, Liza and Giovanni. It was an entertaining read.

Over the years I have had an interest in the persecution of perceived witches, based on their healing abilities, physical and mental illnesses, or their religious beliefs. This historical fiction was very enlightening. The main characters were well defined, some of the lesser ones never seemed to develop much for me. The narrative at the end of the book left me very uncomfortable, even though I knew this was probably true. An educational read, but not an enjoyable one.

Savage Lands is a historical page turning novel of France's attempt to settle and claim the Louisiana territory. Her main characters, Elizabeth a casket girl, and Auguste a poor cabin boy, developed into very strong characters. It is a story of hope, survival, betrayal, fear, and strength. The history of the slaves, the local Indian tribes, the attempt to cultivate the land,and the other immigrants, all held my attention.

Clark's prose is at times almost poetic. She keeps the drama of her story flowing by intricately weaving parts of the present into future chapters. Her author's notes at the end of the book were very informative. They detailed the actual history of the time. Clark now has me hooked, I will have to read her other novels.

State by State, a book with an essay for each state, is a literary work first, and secondly a historical work. Fifty eclectic writers have presented their assigned states with different focuses, i.e. personal, historical, comical, complimentary, and insulting.

If you enjoy the travel writings of Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, or Bill Bryson, this is your book. If you enjoy periodicals, such as The New Yorker or the Oxford American, this is your book.

It is a book to place next to your chair, so you can read a chapter every so often. I plan to re-read my copy in that fashion.