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Reviews by Elizabeth L. (Salem, OR)

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The Age of Miracles
The Age of Miracles: A Novel
by Karen Thompson Walker
Special (5/19/2012)
This wonderful novel is a great addition to similarly themed books ("Children of Men"), movies ("Last Night" of 1998), and TV (Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Inner Light"). Told (freshly) from the perspective of a child, it tells of a difficult coming of age …more
The Land of Decoration
The Land of Decoration: A Novel
by Grace McCleen
Beautiful and Strange (4/11/2012)
The book is well paced and well-written, full of lovely imagery and clever wording without being pretentious. But the subject matter is hard - poverty, bullying, mental illness. Still I would recommend it.
A Partial History of Lost Causes
A Partial History of Lost Causes: A Novel
by Jennifer duBois
Slow Going (1/20/2012)
Perhaps it was the short days and ensuing light deprivation (like Russia!), but I had a very hard time finishing this book. The main problem is that the two major characters do not meet until 200 pages in and even then they exist in parallel more than together. And they are …more
The Dressmaker
The Dressmaker: A Novel
by Kate Alcott
Disaster of a Book (11/1/2011)
This book was disappointing. First and foremost, the writing itself was poor. Secondly, the characters acted oddly and while their motivations were eventually explained (clumsily), it was definitely too little, too late. And sadly the plot relied on instant relationships of …more
The Borgia Betrayal
The Borgia Betrayal: A Poisoner Mystery Novel
by Sara Poole
Enjoyable WIth Vivid Characters (6/17/2011)
This is the second in a series, and while I read the first book, Poison, in anticipation of this one, it was not necessary to do so. In fact, this book was blessedly free of the clunky exposition so common in sequels!

Minor quibbles with the book are: on more than one …more
The Tudor Secret
The Tudor Secret: The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
by C. W. Gortner
Not His Best (3/21/2011)
The premise of the book - behind the scenes Tudor England between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I - is very promising and the book is well written. However I found it off putting that the main character - a squire - would be introduced to so many luminaries and become part of …more
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    From the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, a novel exploring family, identity, and the shaping of destiny.
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