frootjoos's reviews
1040 reviews

There are flaws, to be sure. Stephenie is her own tough act to follow. Out of the 4 books in the Twilight Saga, Twilight is the best in my book. There were no expectations then--now, they're astronomical and I think Meyer did the best she could with Breaking Dawn, cramming what could probably have gone on another book or two into one volume. For people expecting the best writing *ever*, it isn't. A lot of it is quite jarring, weird, and unexpected. Although I do remember a discussion I was having with some others about Eclipse last year, and coming up with the exact plot line Meyer uses to close the quartet. The goal was to make people happy, to end the story, and hopefully not make too many people angry. By the looks of ratings on Amazon.com, failure on that last point. Real fans, quit whining, go back and reread your favorite of the first three, and say good night to the series if you must. I enjoyed all seven hundred something pages (more of the middle, told by Jacob) and look forward to rereading them all again.

If you're really pissed, go read [book: Poison Study] by Maria V. Snyder.

I just reread this for the first time in 17 years... I love this trilogy so much! It introduced me to the world of Pern and was one of the few things I have ever been able to give back to my Aunt Debbie to repay her for her kindness in introducing me to science-fiction/fantasy, Isaac Asimov, John Bellairs...

Dragonsong serves both as an introduction for young adult readers to the Dragonrider series, an examination of gender roles and tradition in their society (and perhaps in ours), as well as a loving celebration of music and poetry. It is followed by Dragonsinger and Dragondrums.

New readers may take some effort to adjust to McCaffery's Pern dialect and the strange apostrophied names of the male Dragonriders, but this gets easier with time and is an excellent language learning tool. Readers may learn to pick up on implied meanings, for example: the toilet or privy is called "the necessary".

Solid storytelling is made even more memorable by vivid views of the landscape of the planet, the social order and a brief history of Pern, and dazzling descriptions of the fanciful wildlife, including dragons and fire lizards. This story will captivate and delight even the most reluctant reader.

These stories intertwine in melancholy contemplation of love, twin souls, breaking apart and coming together again. A breathtaking read. Jhumpa Lahiri is right, when you get to the end, you just want to start over again.

I loved it! I couldn't ask for two more engaging main characters, except maybe for Nick and Norah (although they would be for much more mature readers--this is something I would feel comfortable handing to someone under 14)

Similar to [book: Nick & Norah's Ultimate Playlist], the story is told back and forth from the boy's & girl's point of view. I loved the humor, the chicken motif, and the unexpected depth and complexity of the story.

I didn't want it to end! Actually, it sort of ends at a beginning, anyway...

*loved* it