boring...I feel so awful writing a mediocre review of When the Moon is Low, but it just didn't grab me. I found the writing stilted and a bit sophomoric, characters didn't grab me. That said, the story is good and demands to be told.

Brace yourself is right. There are no words available to do this lovely, sprawling book justice. It touched me and taught me and had me marveling at the beauty of love - seeing it in a completely different light. Jude St. Francis is a marvel - he at turns had me sobbing, fearful, in pain and infuriated. "Life" is not an easy book to read, but it's SOOOO worth it. I can't think of another book I've EVER read that had the same effect on me (except maybe "The Goldfinch"). Yanagihara is a fabulous, fabulous writer, and "A Little Life" is the book of the year for me. That she is able to juggle the scope of such a story, and yet make it feel so personal, so involved, so real and close.

"He would have kept living his little life; he would have never known the difference..."

And the cover...it's so wonderful, so much what I think Jude would look like...

P.S. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC! Many thanks!!

I ADORED The Shore. It's less a short story collection than beautiful glimpses into not so beautiful lives. You get a real sense of place, you can smell the crab and the chicken plant, and the desperation. "...but stopping for a pack of smokes because you don't ride into battle unarmed." I was touched and mesmerized and constantly surprised. I felt the pathos and found some characters pathetic, ugly, mean and selfish. I read in wonderment. My highest praise: it's so very close to The Goldfinch status. In any event, I found it a terrific, emotional experience, WAY more than just being a book that I read.

My copy did not have the family tree, and I do think I'd like to see that now, but it didn't bother me not having it while I was reading. I typically do not pick up story collections, but The Shore may have me changing my preferences. Simply put, I stand with my original description...stunning. I'm still savoring and mulling and basking in the experience.

The Silver Witch started out quite nicely - I liked the characters of Tilda and Seren, and the way Brackston switches the narrative between the two. I appreciated the tension Tilda experiences as she struggles to accept/believe, understand, and then harness, her new found powers. I really enjoyed the glimpses of 900 A. D. Celtic life and the present day environment of life around a lake in Wales. But Brackston lost me when Tilda does battle with the ghost of a witch, and screams "Seren says hi." Really?

Boring. "Mary Bowser" just dragged for me. I didn't see or feel the characters come alive on the page. To be fair, I only made it to page 84, but I simply found myself slogging through.

I'd torn between giving Cloudland a 3.5 - 4. I was compelled to finish it, because I was invested and curious as to the identity of the murderer. Yet by the time "he" was revealed, I felt a little deflated, and I'm not sure why. I found Olshan's writing to be very good...descriptive, evocative and with great imagery...his dialogue and even storytelling, not so much. I imagine it must be difficult to write from the perspective of the other sex, but I think he succeeds quite nicely. I liked Catherine very much...appreciated her candor and self-awareness. I didn't find the other characters to be as fleshed out, particularly Paul, Breck, Prozzo and Matthew. I did, however, like Henrietta and Hiram. Overall, a good read but not sure I would recommend. And I feel bad about that, if it makes sense! Thanks for the opportunity to review.

I LOVED Sweeping Up Glass. I read over half of it the day I received it. It's reminiscient of To Kill A Mockingbird, but its story certainly stands alone. I loved the character of Olivia ... and there wasn't a false note throughout the entire book, nor was it predictable.

The book elicited such emotions from me ... fear, anxiety, happiness, and sadness. I will be recommending Sweeping Up Glass to everyone...I can't say enough good things about it. It's a wonderful, wonderful book.

Well done...very well done. I'm exhausted...at 534 pages, I have been thoroughly engrossed in the lives of Marion and Shiva stone for close to a month. This book had tons of layers...lots of heart and love and warmth and heartbreak and squirm-inducing scenes. cutting for stone is the sort of book I love...crossing time and generations and taking me to places I've never been and will probably never go. and the title is great, too. even it contains tons of layers.

A few minor quibbles...I never felt as though Marion was a REAL character...he almost seemed too perfect. I found it hard to believe his pure and true love for Genet. Shiva was hard to know, too, and I thought some of the story got lost in the medical details. Also felt it dragged a bit during their childhoods. Other characters - Ghosh, Thomas Stone, Hema, sister Mary Joseph, even matron - were much better fleshed out than Marion and Shiva and had better "stories." still, cutting for stone is captivating. Read it.

I did not care for this book. i found the writing to be insipid...the characters' voices (Eva and her daughters, Naava, Dara and Aya) all seemed the same. I did not find that they were truthful to the time or the atmosphere. i found myself thinking, are they really saying these things and in this way? I didn't care for any of the characters, save Aya, and I couldn't bring myself to care about them. I am so disappointed in Eve, I had hoped it would be similar to The Red Tent but it was just so poorly written that I couldn't get past it to enjoy the plotlines. I really wanted to give it 2 stars and I wish there were a designation between poor and average. it just didn't work for me, on any level.

I SO enjoyed this book. I thought the premise was intriguing (Errol Flynn fathering a child in Jamaica), although Flynn is not the main character, and actually, comes off as sort of a self-absorbed, pitiful character. the book was rich with details about Jamaica, of which I know little. I always enjoy multi-generational tales, especially ones that take me to another time and place. I found myself thinking about the characters when I wasn't reading, and didn't want the book to end. I enjoyed the dialogue and even if I didn't like all the characters, I came to care about them. I don't know that I would have picked the book on my own, so I really appreciated the opportunity to read and comment on it.

Hmmm...well, i found this book to be very well written, with beautiful descriptions and haunting images. the author has clearly done her research, and i was fascinated by the botanical aspects. i also liked the trial sequences interspersed between flashbacks. i wanted to keep reading to find out what happened, but i certainly didn't enjoy it. I found the characters sophomoric, and not very well developed. while I don't consider myself to be a puritan, or even overly religious, one or two of the plot points were very offensive, inappropriate and disturbing, even. Some ending threads tie together a bit too neatly (for example, one character who comes off as very negative in the beginning becomes a grandfather figure, with no explanation or development). I gather the book will be marketed towards teens, and perhaps if I were a teen, the book would've worked for me; on the other hand, having children myself, I'd definitely want to discuss the book with any young readers before, during and after!

Initially, I was a little bored by and with Mozart's Sister, but about 2/3 of the way through, it began to come alive for me. Although some aspects of the narrative wrapped up a little too conveniently, I found myself enjoying the last 1/3 of the book. I must say I might've given up on it, had I not committed to a review! Some of the characters could have been more fleshed out, and I found one or two scenarios/plot points to be overly contrived. A solid 3 for sure. I will be interested in reading other reviews when the book is released.