Marilee

Lost my interest by the end

Reviewed: 11-05-18

I love Fiddler, but this didn't capture me. I finished it, but I didn't find the songs to be accessable. Perhaps if the entirety of the novel had been read outloud, it would have felt more like a complete and engaging story.

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Facinating in small doses

Reviewed: 05-23-12

I haven't finished this book yet. I fully intend to, but it is taking me a while because I can only handle it in small doses. While I'm not at all squeamish when it comes to blood and gore, her discussion of decomposing flesh can become a little much. That said, for those with unbridled curiosity about what happens after death, this book has a lot of interesting information.

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1 person found this helpful

Magic in the modern world

Reviewed: 05-23-12

Straight to the point - I love that this book is set in the modern world. Characters google, shop in (or shoplift from) Walmart, and use technology in a way that is unique to this millennium. This is not evident at the start of the book as the first 20 minutes or so are set on the North compound, separate from the rest of society. Once Danny leaves the compound, though, we see him discover and develop his magical skills within our world.

As a big fan of Ender's Game, I was not disappointed with The Lost Gate. While I don't feel that it has the depth of Ender's Game (that's the English teacher in me talking), I really enjoyed it and will certainly buy the sequels as they become available.

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1 person found this helpful

At times confusing, but overall entertaining

Reviewed: 05-23-12

My husband and I bought this book because we too have been expats and in many ways miss that life. These expats are nothing like us though, which made the story much more interesting than if the book were about my expat life. We certainly enjoyed the book, evidenced by our desire to get in the car to drive somewhere, anywhere, so that we could continue listening.

Like many others have already mentioned, though, the book is confusing. Perhaps this would be one that would be better read than listened to. Often we had to pause the book to ask one another "when" in the story we were. Despite that, it was a good read, and if you don't have time to buy the book and read it in a comfy chair, the audio book is an acceptable alternative.

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Don't bother with the excerpt - just buy the book.

Reviewed: 05-23-12

My mother has recommended many books to me over the last few years and I am ashamed to say that I haven't read any of them, except for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. While we don't normally share a common appreciation for literature (she likes gritty true-to-life stories and I like happy fiction), we both loved this book. My dad even liked it so much that when their road trip ended but the book hadn't, he sat down in the living room to finish it.

Being in epistle form, this book is slow to start. You don't have the advantage of a narrator to give exposition or character information, but if you can hang on for the first 20 minutes, you'll find it worth your while. Each letter is identified at the start with the writer and recipient and, with different narrators for the different characters, I never had to waste time trying to figure out who was speaking. The ending was a bit fast, but as there is no way to narrate in the moment in epistle form, it still worked out wonderfully.

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Taken back in time

Reviewed: 05-23-12

I really enjoyed Moon Over Manifest. Jenna Lamia's narration was exceptional (I loved her in The Help). I especially appreciate how they chose to narrate this book. They used different narrators for the different parts, making the transition from main story to newspaper to letters seamless. When moving from past to present, the book always included the date, making it easy to follow along.

I was swept back to a simpler time where everything costs a dime, but a dime was hard to come by. While I am happy that I wasn't born in the depression, it was great to be able to experience just a taste of it with this book.

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4 people found this helpful

And the fun continues!

Reviewed: 03-15-12

I was so pleased that Carolyn McCormick narrated the second and third Hunger Games books. I loved her in The Hunger Games and she continues to bring the characters to life here. I enjoyed the book as well, although it ends in a cliff-hanger, so I'm glad that I had the third book ready to go!

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1 person found this helpful

Narrator is fine, but the book was a letdown.

Reviewed: 03-15-12

As an English teacher who never read Nineteen Eighty-Four when I was in high school, I felt compelled to read it now. I certainly enjoyed parts of the book, but some sections, especially the extended section where the main character is reading directly from the book, was rather boring. It didn't add to the movement of the story or add any information about his society that I hadn't already figured out. I also felt the ending droned on and I was begging the narrator to kill the character off just so I wouldn't have to listen any more. I'm glad I can say that I've read it and I have nothing bad to say about the narrator, but it's not anywhere near the top of my list of loved books.

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7 people found this helpful

So good I dread to watch the movie

Reviewed: 03-15-12

I love this story and the narrator is awesome! I've seen the previews for the movie and can't imagine how it can compete with Carolyn McCormick's performance. I especially love her voice for Effie Trinket!

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1 person found this helpful

I love this story!

Reviewed: 03-15-12

I use this story with my English 9 class, not just because it fits so well with my curriculum, but because it is such a good story. I first read it as part of my children's lit class in university and found myself enjoying it so much I read the remaining books in the series just for fun.

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7 people found this helpful