Even more ridiculous than "The Evil Twin," which I read immediately previous to this one. I think The Evil Twin is the superior horror novel from the Even more ridiculous than "The Evil Twin," which I read immediately previous to this one. I think The Evil Twin is the superior horror novel from the Sweet Valley High Series, but this one is still enjoyable....more
For one of my reading challenges I had the option to read a book with a plane on the cover. I put a bunch of books on hold at the library and The Dog For one of my reading challenges I had the option to read a book with a plane on the cover. I put a bunch of books on hold at the library and The Dog Stars came in first. I've been on a genre kick lately so I was a little concerned about diving back into literary fiction, especially one that I randomly picked out because it happened to have a drawing of an airplane on its cover.
After reading this? I feel like it was fate for me to read.
The Dog Stars has now become one of my favorite books of all time. The writing style resonated with me right away, so from the first few words I was hooked. I would understand completely if the narrative style drove other readers nuts. But for me, it brought an intimacy to the main character - Hig - and his coping with loss and survival.
I'm a crier. ESPECIALLY when it comes to books or movies that feature dogs. So this book? It destroyed me. (In a good way. A catharsis.) I'll never get over the death of my own dog. The friendship between Hig and Jasper, his loyal companion, reminded me the one I had and the one I'll cherish until the end of time. Reading this book stirred up the memories, the good and the bad, that comes with loving someone. Whether that someone be your pet or your partner. But this book wasn't just about loss. It was about love and hope. Family and survival. A story of surviving in a world after disease has killed 99% of the population, and learning to move on. The Dog Stars had moments of beauty and moments of tension. Where I was struck by the lyrical writing of a blossoming romance, and then a few pages later nervously turning the pages because of sudden dread.
So for me, this book had it all. Unbelievable that until a few days ago, I had never even heard of it......more
I never read any of the other Haters series books. Based on the reviews I saw on goodreads, it is not necessary to have read the trilogy before readinI never read any of the other Haters series books. Based on the reviews I saw on goodreads, it is not necessary to have read the trilogy before reading this one. But I just wanted to mention that it is part of a series, in a way.
I'm torn on my rating. It's more like a 2.5 to me. I didn't hate the book but I didn't love it, either. The book got more interesting as the characters died out, sorry to say. This is mostly because the dialogue was clunky and unrealistic. It read, to me, like a B horror movie screenplay. I feel like there were simply too many characters and not enough character development among them. I kept forgetting who characters were (didn't help that some names began with the same letter) and sometimes their motivations were muddled. It took too long for the three core characters to stand out. I simply didn't care for most of the characters because I did not know them.
But the good part of the book was the story itself. It's an interesting and creative concept. I'll probably go back and read the first book of the series because I want to see that event from those characters' perspectives. I hope the dialogue is better, though....more
I really enjoyed this book. It was, as I wrote in a comment to someone, frustratingly mysterious for the most part. The writing was excellent, and I'mI really enjoyed this book. It was, as I wrote in a comment to someone, frustratingly mysterious for the most part. The writing was excellent, and I'm intrigued enough to keep reading. Some parts of the story were more remarkable than others. Particularly:
when the gunslinger is recalling his time in Tull; when the gunslinger and jake explore the basement; (frightening!) when the gunslinger is recalling the moment when he ~grew up (don't want to say anymore)
Particularly the last point, so foreboding.
Overall this book was a 3.5 star for me, but what bumped it up to 4 stars was the last 50 pages. I think the best writing in the book probably took place in those pages. In general, the book became more interesting to me when he encounters Jake and they travel together. But I was worried that the ending was going to be frustrating on the basis that it's the first book in the series. (view spoiler)[Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the encounter between Roland and the man in black, pleased that they were able to meet before the book's conclusion. (hide spoiler)] I was especially into all the philosophical musing.
Will definitely be reading the rest of the series....more
Cute, imaginative story. I really disliked the main character at first but as her character grew up and learned some lessons, I liked her more. For meCute, imaginative story. I really disliked the main character at first but as her character grew up and learned some lessons, I liked her more. For me the book became more enjoyable when the Night Parade started and she began interacting with all the different spirits. The object spirits were my favorite! Even though this is juvenile lit, I think the story is dark and interesting enough to please young adults and adults. ...more
Just as fun as I remember it being. I hadn't read this book since I was a teenager. Back then, I LOVED The Sweet Valley High books. My favorite characJust as fun as I remember it being. I hadn't read this book since I was a teenager. Back then, I LOVED The Sweet Valley High books. My favorite character was always Jessica, even though we are totally not alike.
Anyway, this book is absolutely ridiculous. The premise is daytime soap worthy. It makes about as much sense as one, anyway. I'm rating it so highly because I enjoy this dumb thriller. The writing isn't that bad. The characters are as predictable as always, but that's what you get with these old book series. Jessica is gonna Jessica! BTW. It's super gross that her boyfriend in this book was a 23 year old and she was 16. I felt like the book glossed over that aspect of their problematic relationship, but at least there was actually a paragraph about birth control when she was contemplating losing her virginity to the creepy boyfriend....more
Getting to read Salem's Lot for the first time, right before Halloween, has been one of the most pleasant reading experiences of my life. If I could gGetting to read Salem's Lot for the first time, right before Halloween, has been one of the most pleasant reading experiences of my life. If I could give this book more stars than five, I would. Salem's Lot is a spooky and evocative vampire tale; at times, I was anxiously turning the page, worried who would succumb to Barlow next; other times, I was delighted by the beautiful imagery of the text.
I can't believe it took me this long to read Salem's Lot. So if you haven't yet experienced the terror and beauty of this novel, what the hell are you waiting for?
Below, one of my favorite passages from the text (NOT a spoiler):
"It stays on through October and, in rare years, on into November. Day after day the skies are a clear, hard blue, and the clouds that float across them, always west to east, are calm white ships with gray keels. The wind begins to blow by the day, and it is never still. It hurries you along as you walk the roads, crunching the leaves that have fallen in mad and variegated drifts. The wind makes you ache in some place that is deeper than your bones. It may be that it touches something old in the human soul, a chord of race memory that says Migrate or die — migrate or die. Even in your house, behind square walls, the wind beats against the wood and the glass and sends its fleshless pucker against the eaves and sooner or later you have to put down what you were doing and go out and see. And you can stand on your stoop or in your dooryard at midafternoon and watch the cloud shadows rush across Griffen's pasture and up Schoolyard Hill, light and dark, light and dark, like the shutters of the gods being opened and closed. You can see the goldenrod, that most tenacious and pernicious and beauteous of all New England flora, bowing away from the wind like a great and silent congregation. And if there are no cars or planes, and if no one's Uncle John is out in the wood lot west of town banging away at a quail or pheasant; if the only sound is the slow beat of your own heart, you can hear another sound, and that is the sound of life winding down to its cyclic close, waiting for the first winter snow to perform last rites."
Not my favorite book in the series so far, which isn't to say that the writing is bad or anything - the series is consistently good. If the series wasNot my favorite book in the series so far, which isn't to say that the writing is bad or anything - the series is consistently good. If the series was a TV show, this might be considered the "filler" episode. I still liked the story quite a bit, but I'm more excited for the next one!...more
I liked this book, although I might have liked it more if I was younger. I think people who aren't necessarily into 3.5 stars but I will bump up to 4.
I liked this book, although I might have liked it more if I was younger. I think people who aren't necessarily into horror would enjoy this book as it isn't just a mindless, gory slasher but also a (bitter)sweet tale of navigating friendships, relationships and family as a teen. (I just read over my review and I feel like that line makes it look like I think that horror is mindless and gory. I don't think at at all - horror is my favorite genre! - I just meant that if you are concerned that it IS a mindless gory slasher then you shouldn't be because it is not mindless although it is a little gory. :)
Anyway, the book wasn't scary, and that's fine because I didn't expect it to terrify me. It was definitely suspenseful at times though.
As for the mystery of who the killer was: (view spoiler)[I'm a little unsure how I feel about the killer's identity being revealed about halfway or so through the novel. On the one hand, I continued to believe there was someone else involved, so my suspicions over certain characters didn't go away for quite a few chapters. That kept up the suspense and tension for me. Also, I didn't guess the killer was going to be *that person* at all. On the other hand, knowing that the killer was David kind of made the rest of the book not that fun anymore? I have to think about this some more. (hide spoiler)] But ultimately, I think the story could have gone a predictable route and I respect that it didn't.
I REALLY liked the main character, Makani; she actually behaved and sounded like a real teenager. I also appreciated that the author included diverse characters. All the characters were written really well IMO and that'll definitely be enough to make me want to read more from this author....more
Overall I thought this was a compelling read. If you take what he writes to be true, then this is a pretty scary book. After reading his descriptions,Overall I thought this was a compelling read. If you take what he writes to be true, then this is a pretty scary book. After reading his descriptions, hypnosis transcripts and polygraph results, I'm definitely convinced that something happened to him and his family.
Where the book lost me was in the odd discussions of ancient gods and reports of "visitors" throughout the ages, and some of the claims from the colloquy of abductees. I can pretty much believe that some people have been visited/abducted by alien beings (or those from another dimension). But some of these claims... No. It got kind of ridiculous at the end of this book. I did enjoy the Epilogue, though....more
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