ampersandinc's reviews
1315 reviews

I finally read Cinder by Marissa Meyer! After all the recommendations I was afraid my expectations would be too high and that I would be disappointed but I definitely wasn’t. In fact Scarlet has now moved up on my to-read list. I had a very animated discussion with one of the librarians after the Skylight presentation as I had presented Scarlet and she was hoping for an ARC. Alas, I was unable to help her but we had a great book chat!

Meg’s mother has told her fanciful tales about her upbringing, but Meg is more interested in truth. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Meg feels it is time to learn the truth. The truth, however, is not very happy and Meg realizes that she loved her childhood just the way it was. There is a love element, but it isn’t as saccharine as some chick lit books.

I never knew it was possible to thoroughly enjoy a book while not liking any of the characters, but it is. Lookaway, Lookaway is a novel about the disintegration of a Southern family. Each member of the family is seriously flawed yet they all make compelling reading and I literally could not put the book down. I guess reading about the foibles and troubles of others helps one get through the rough spots in their own life.

This book was so charming and funny! It’s about a boy who’s a child model and he hates it! It’s a great story, and even though there’s a bit of a moral to it, I never felt preached to. And this kid has the best voice. I can’t wait to read more from this debut author.

A popular hit at the CGTA – a lovely book for spring. A terrific design book, that appeals to many different stores. Garden inspired decorating ideas for your home. Beautiful on the outside and in.

This book is pretty dark. It reminded me of a juvenile version of My Abandonment. Carey is raising her sister in the wood because her drug addicted mother has abandoned them. Unlike, My Abandonment, things work out much better for Carey and her sister. There are certainly some very mature themes in the novel. Carey’s mother pimps Carey out in order to make money for the next hit and Carey has to do some pretty hard things in order to survive. It is gripping though and I think teens will be hooked.

I could not stop laughing!

The latest from long time contributing style editor of the Huffington Post , Lesley M. M. Blume. This book will have you recollecting your favourite forgotten words, phrases, names and facts. Preparing you to shine at your next social gathering with fast-talking, vintage inspired conversation!

The main character feels remorse about the death of her mother, but I never did figure out what exactly happened. She takes an obsessive interest in a burn victim from nearby forest fires. He turns out to be a teen with mental illness. I’m not sure that I understood or believed her compulsion to save him. She suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome and feels a like a bit of an outcast. The plot twists in the end as they are trying to figure out the identity of this boy, who has amnesia. There are many references to Dante and I don’t know if that works for the age group. I think I studied that in university.

I liked Tamar. Her family situation is quite sad: a depressed father and new age mother dealing with the death of Tamar’s twin sisters. The stress seems to bring on balding. It’s an unusual topic for a teen book, but it works. She does have a friend that supports her and the love that develops is tender. There are lots of humourous moments to balance out the serious issues of loss and social angst