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Reviews by Jan

The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition, and Get a Truly International Education
by Maya Frost

An approach that is not for the weak of heart (11/13/2009)

I wanted to really love this book, but for me it came up a bit short. I have a daughter in her junior year attending a Waldorf High School who would like to study abroad as a full-fledge university student in another country. While I found some of the stories encouraging, I …more

Valley of the Lost
by Vicki Delany

Valley of the Lost (12/27/2008)

Funky characters, beautiful setting and interesting plot turns made this an OK mystery. I liked the flowery and very descriptive writing in the beginning, but it got to be a little too much by the end. I read the first two thirds of the book easily, but it took much longer …more

How to Build a House
by Dana Reinhardt

Interesting, but not exceptional (3/26/2008)

The book had an interesting and easy to follow plot with many unique characters. I would only recommend this book to someone in High School (or older) because the mature themes would not be relevant or appropriate for younger readers. I am a few years younger then the main …more

Life Class: A Novel
by Pat Barker

Life Class (1/10/2008)

I had great hope for this book given Pat Barker had won the Booker Prize and I quite enjoy works that deal with WWI. What a let down! I found Part One extremely hard to get through (and not very interesting) and the end very disappointing. The only decent part was the small …more

Mozart's Sister
by Rita Charbonnier

Mozart's Sister - Lacking in depth (10/12/2007)

The book was generally well written, but got a bit boorish. Because I knew nothing of Nannerl Mozart when I started the book (I didn't even know Wolfgang had a sister), I found the first half quite appealing. I like the way Charbonnier moved between the narrative and the …more

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Book Jacket — Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus

Praised by *Parade* and *The New York Times Book Review*, this debut features a 1960s scientist turned TV cooking star.

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