ampersandinc's reviews
1315 reviews

I LOVE Cathie Pelletier so I was really looking forward to reading this book. I wasn’t disappointed. Cathie Pelletier has a way of looking at the various relationships between the folks in a small town and making you really care about the characters. Yes, they can be petty and small but they can also really come together and help each other when it becomes necessary. The book was about slights (real and imagined) and love found later in life and just life in general. It was lovely to spend time with these people.

I realize I’m developing a bit of a reputation as a fraidy-cat, but holy cow this was scary! It’s a zombie novel, told through the perspective of three teens, and I was on the edge of my seat from the first page. It’s very long, and definitely not a pick for reluctant readers, but for anyone who likes a good scare, this is excellent. I think Smith is an incredibly accomplished writer, and will go on to become a very big name!

This little treat of a book is a revamping of a Chronicle classic. A sweet compendium of Jewish traditions, wisdom, and humour. I sold this book for many years with great success. This package with updated wisdom and design is sure to be a perfect springtime pleaser. Just in time for Passover! Can we say Mazel-tov!

(3.5 stars) : All sorts of fun stuff here about publishing plus truthful comments on the nature of long term relationships.

The note that I have in my catalogue for this book is that it’s for the Rookie Magazine crowd, and I think that’s spot on. It’s a very well-written novel about a young woman learning about her deceased, estranged mother. The descriptions of LA are quite visceral, and I will definitely be recommending this to a lot of my friends.

The story was very reminiscent of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. The characters and the historical setting were very interesting and it was great to see the Canadian connection to the liquor smuggling during the U.S. prohibition. The story moved at a good clip and has some very unexpected twists and turns.

I have to say I read this book in 2 days (and it isn’t a short book). The story gripped me right from the start and it was great to see the changes in the eponymous main character. Lucien Bernard is a struggling architect in Paris during WWII and is asked by a client to devise a hidden hiding place that could hold a person. He realizes that it is probably for a Jew (he has ambivalent feelings about Jews) but he needs the money so he does it. As the book goes along Lucien comes to realize that he is actually saving people’s lives and it affects him deeply. There are a lot of tense moments in the story that keep one turning the pages. I would highly recommend this book.

I am a big fan of Cathleen Schine, author of The New Yorkers and Three Weissmanns of Westport so I was excited to read a new title. Her style is deceptively light as she follows the orphaned Fin into his new life in New York with his free spirited sister, Lady. The time is the 1960’s and the place is New York City.

This is a wonderful story about a little girl becoming a lover of spelling. Beatrice has great conversations with her grandmother, and spreads the love of spelling to all her classmates as well.

Why haven’t I heard of Jincy Willett before? I think that is going to be the reaction from anyone who reads Amy Falls Down. It is a well written, laugh out loud novel about an aging writer who falls down (not a plot reveal – it’s in the title) and gives an interview while not being in her right mind. The interview garners attention, Amy gets more attention and that gets her even more attention. For a reclusive writing teacher, not in the first bloom of youth this signals a lot of life changes in a short amount of time. I want to read her backlist now.