Monday, August 24, 2015

Monday, August 24: A Few Post-Weekend

Marry, Kiss, KillMarry, Kiss, Kill by Anne Flett-Giordano
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Certainly a lively plot, but Flett-Giordano tries a bit too hard for the sparkling repartee and Chandler-esque "crackin' wise, see?" dialogue--it gets annoying. Example: one character makes a tasteless remark and another comments that it was offensive "like dry-swallowing an elephant tranquilizer." Or "The sex that night was baby-bear's-bed good." Classic mixed one: "she was stumbling like a new-born colt after a couple of martinis." Colts? Martinis? Really?

Bodies end up everywhere, and character development is heavily of the "tell, don't show" variety, but it would be an entertaining book to find in a summer rental.

Girls' Poker NightGirls' Poker Night by Jill Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nearly gave up on this due to its super short, super zippy one-liner format, but am ultimately glad I stuck with it, as Davis manages some really interesting character development in the last third of the book. Davis is a funny writer, and it was nice to see her turn a laugh-track into a more rewarding and reflective novel about relationships, friendships, and trust. Stick with it!

Treasure IslandTreasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic, beautifully structured and paced story written when young adult writers didn't think their readers were stupid. So much to recommend it--listening to the story, which I've known since my father read it to us numerous times as kids, the miles flew by. Highly, highly recommended. Why has no one given this a serious, historically appropriate rendering like Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle's Pride and Prejudice? It could be fantastic!

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