Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin

We really should talk about Kevin. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is a novel by Lionel Shriver and was the winner of the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction. It is a seriously disturbing book, but at the end, is so worthwhile.

The story is told in a serious of letters from Eva, the mother of a 16 year old who has committed a massacre at his school, to her estranged husband. As with all tragedies, the one question that everyone has is "why?" Why did this happen? Why did Kevin take a weapon to work? Why did he target those that he targeted? Why didn't his parents know that something was wrong? Through all these letters, Eva attempts to understand the role she and her husband may have played.

This sounds great, but Eva is far from a reliable narrator. She is not a sympathetic character, and it can be hard to trust what she says. In her letters, it becomes clear that she didn't really want a child and she never really connected to her son. She is quick to blame Kevin for things and to make him out to be a monster. Was he? Was he a 2 year old sociopath? We never really know. Eva's husband never responds to her letters, so we can only see things through her eyes. This makes for difficult reading, but I found it really satisfying. It is obvious that Eva is not reliable, but it also seems obvious that her husband is quick to condemn Eva for ever saying anything bad about Kevin.

We find out that there are numerous episodes in Kevin's childhood that suggest something may be wrong with him, but Eva and her husband can never agree on this. The family is quickly fractured, with the two males against Eva. This sounds terrible, and you can feel Eva's pain in her letters, but because she is not reliable, we never really discover the truth.

What I liked most about this novel was that it told a gripping story, but it doesn't offer easy answers. "We Need To Talk About Kevin" makes it clear that there are numerous features that lead to a tragedy and we many never know exactly what called it.

5 stars.

Ahhhh, Books.

YAY

Another Giveway: Have you entered?

http://whatchyareading.net/2011/11/05/saturday-giveaway-17/

Mega Giveaway

What an amazing giveaway at onceuponatwilight.com. 35 books!

You should participate!

I Love Giveaways

I Love Giveaways. Today's is hosted by Dark Readers.

http://twitter.com/#!/Yrdsblib/status/128892815576010753

http://twitter.com/#!/Yrdsblib/status/122749342338658304

I've just entered the Daughters of Smoke and Bone Giveaway done by Dark Readers. Have you?

Bout of Books

I have just finished a read-a-thon hosted by the blog "On a Book Bender". It gave me a chance to read as much as I could in a short period of time. Here is a recap of what I read:

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. This is the story of a both the building of the Chicago World's Fair and a serial killer operating there at the same time. It is a good story, but the teacher in me had a problem with all the times there were no sources cited.

Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela Choi. This is the story of a Chinese American woman who wants to break away from the "Hello Kitty" life she has been living. She does this by hooking up with a serial killer. This book had great potential, but it just wasn't really what I was looking for.

The Vampire's Warden by S.J. Wright. Sarah, who has been in charge of the family inn since her father's death receives an odd introduction to her heritage. She discovers that a plot of land on her property is the resting place and detention place of vampires. Again, this book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't live up to it.

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy. This is a YA book that is the story of Will Henry, the assistant to the Monstrumologist - a man who studies monsters. In this novel, the doctor and Will are hunting and fighting anthropophagi - monsters with no heads and mouths in their abdomens. I liked the idea of this story, but I disliked the character of the doctor so much that I don't think I can read any more in the series.

A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow. This is a murder mystery set in small town Alaska. Kate Shugach is a former DA investigator who is called in when two men go missing in the bush. The twist to this story is that there is a lot of family drama among the closely knit Aleut community. Not a bad story. I would read more by Stabenow.

Vacations from Hell collected authors. This is a short story anthology with stories of, what else, vacations from hell. There are vampires, and murderers, and ghosts ... I really liked this anthology and my buy it to put in the school library.

Red Glove by Holly Black. This is the second in the Curse Workers series that began with White Cat. I had been unsure of White Cat, but thought I would give this one a try. I doubt that I'll read any more in the series. Another YA novel about the paranormal - just my style, but the characters in this novel are so unpleasant that it's really hard to enjoy the book.

Jenny Pox by JL Bryan. This book was on the Goodreads list of Amanda, the wonderful woman responsible for this read-a-thon. I was immediately struck by the idea of a girl who is poisonous to the touch. Anyone who touches her dies. I liked most of the book - the struggle to be accepted, how so many people reject those who are different etc. There is a teenage love triangle with a twist. I enjoyed most of the book but (spoiler alert) the mass killing at the end really bothered me. I would have read the second in the series, but now I'm not sure I want to.

The Mating by Nicky Charles. This is the first of the Lycan trilogy. I actually read the third book first and worked backwards to this one. The story is good - a young werewolf sent into an arranged marriage with the Alpha of another pack and how she adjusts - but the way that Charles deals with the relationship between Elise and Kane bothered me. It was too chauvinistic for me.

So, those are brief reviews of my read-a-thon books.

I am now the teacher-librarian at my school. It's only for a year right now, but it could be longer. I have so many ideas, and will be spending lots of time reading. I hope I will also get time to blog about what I'm reading.

Check out this giveaway! I love the idea of this book!

http://claire-legrand.com/2011/08/25/the-suitcase-seven-giveaway-part-6-steampunk/

Check out this giveaway:

http://whatchyareading.net/2011/08/20/saturday-giveaway-7/

I so want to win. I never win anything. :(

I'm Back!

Good day, all.

It's been a long time since I've updated my blog here, and I thought that a beautiful (if slightly rainy) Saturday would be the perfect time. I don't want anyone to think that I've neglected my reading; I've just neglected my blog. Bad me. I have done lots of reading, but for some reason, nothing that I've read struck me as blog-worthy. I've decided that a series that I was introduced to not too long ago would make a good blog entry, so this post will be about angels and demons. Not Angels and Demons, the novel by Dan Brown, but angels and demons in general.

Cassandra Clare is the author of the series called The Mortal Instruments. She has written four books in the series so far, and there are more to come. These are YA novels, but they are quite well-written. In fact, it was one of my grade 10 students who introduced me to the series. I always want to stay current with what my students are reading, so I picked them up. I really enjoyed them. Cassandra Clare has created interesting and believable characters and a story that really flows.

The main premise of the series is that there are half-human, half-angel beings known as Nephilim, and their job is to protect humanity from demons. Our heroine, Clary, doesn't know that she's one of these Nephilim, so when demons come into her world, she's very surprised. What I really enjoy about the series is that Clare doesn't shy away from controversial topics. There is a hint of possible incest (are they or aren't they; will they or won't they) as well as a closeted gay character who eventually comes out. Strong female characters are also part of this series.

Is it perfect? No, of course not. I recently finished the fourth in the series City of Fallen Angels, and I was quite disappointed. I felt that the series should have been a trilogy, and then Clare could have moved on to something else. The conflicts seemed forced and the problems not quite as believable. I read a blog post that Clare wrote on goodreads.com, where she explained that she meant to do everything that I had a problem with, but to me, the fourth book reads like a money-making opportunity more than a true continuation of the series. Suddenly, instead of being a unique series, I'm finding hints of derivation. Now, Jace and Sebastian are linked and if one dies the other dies. Ummm, J.K. Rowling called - she wants her plot line back.

On a more positive note, I read the first of Clare's prequel series Clockwork Angel, and I was back to being a fan again. The characters are different for the most part, and this story is set in Victorian London. It's full of the Victorian character that I really like. Again, the problems and conflict seem much more organic; not forced as in City of Fallen Angels. I guess I'll just have to wait to see if she can keep this up. All in all, Cassandra Clare was a good discovery and I recommend her books to people who enjoy well-written fantasy novels.

Braaaiiiiins!

Yes, I'm going to be writing about zombies. I've recently finished the book "World War Z: the oral history of the zombie war" by Max Brooks and it just blew me away. I'm not actually a big zombie fan (I'm more of a vampire girl), so I only read this because it was the book club choice for last month. I reluctantly picked it up, and then I couldn't put it down.

The books is the story of the survivors of the zombie apocalypse. It is really well-written and well-researched. I know, it may sound a little silly, research for a zombie book, but because of the nature of the book, research was key. The premise of the story is that the narrator is hired to write a report about the world's reaction to the zombie invasion. In order for the book to work as well as it did, Brooks really had to have a good understanding of how different cultures, religions and governments work. He needed to be able to capture how a Chinese peasant would react differently to an Israeli general or a South African politician. Without that understanding, the book would not have the power that it did.

I thought that Brooks really captured how different people would react, which made the book believable (an odd choice for a book about zombies, but there you are). I was immediately drawn into the story, and what I loved was that it seemed to be less about zombies than about how humans react in the face of disaster. This book could have been written about any world wide disaster. I really enjoyed how Brooks looked at the reactions of both the higher ups and the ordinary people. He allows the reader to really see how this disaster would affect EVERYONE. To me, that's important. If I'm going to see myself in a book (which is important to me), the characters need to be people I can relate to. This even goes for books as far out there as novels about zombies.

I really recommend this book, even for those who roll their eyes at the thought of a zombie book.

The Land that Anne Built

This past August, I had the opportunity to make my first pilgrimage to the Land that Anne Built, AKA Prince Edward Island. I had wanted to visit PEI for years, but I had never managed the trip. In planning this vacation, my DH and I had many discussions about where to go. He was pushing for a quick trip to Nova Scotia, but I held out for PEI. I think he was afraid that I would spend three days dragging him around to every single nook and cranny of PEI that had something to do with L.M. Montgomery or Anne Shirley. It may have been tempting, but I restrained myself and we only spent a day on Anne related sight-seeing. I have to save something for my next visit. ;)

Was the visit worth it? ABSOLUTELY! Not only did I fall in love with PEI, but I loved seeing everything Anne related. Has the province gone overboard? Yes. You can't go into a shop without finding Anne memorabilia. The Anne books are sold everywhere and you can't turn around without hitting an Anne doll. Somehow, though, it works. The whole island is based on tourism and Anne is the tourist lynch pin. The do kitch right in PEI. I was actually very impressed with myself. I did not go crazy with buying souvenirs. I bought a set of the Anne books and not much else. I should have bought the Anne hat (braids included!) but I didn't. Oh, yes, raspberry cordial. I bought four bottles of cordial. Now, to make it perfectly clear, this cordial is NOT the same as the cordial which made Diana Berry sick. This is non-alcoholic cordial; it is basically raspberry pop.

On this trip we went to 1. The Anne of Green Gables Museum 2. L.M. Montgomery's birthplace 3. Green Gables and 4. The Village of Avonlea. As we toured around, I have to admit, it became difficult to tell fact from fiction in the area around Cavendish. The Anne of Green Gables Museaum is the home of L.M. Montgomery's Campbell relatives. It is still owned by the Campbells, but they have opened it up to the public. That is all straight fact. Montgomery spent her summers here as a child and she was married here. When you tour the museum there are lots of photos of Montgomery and you can see her bedroom upstairs. It is when you leave the museum that the fact/fiction line begins to blur.

When my DH and I finished in the museum we went outside and went on "Matthew's Carriage Ride" to see The Lake of Shining Waters. Now, a lake was there, but there isn't really a Lake of Shining Waters. That lake was a literary creation of L.M. Montgomery. Matthew was also a literary creation. There never was a real Matthew Cuthbert. He never took Anne on a carriage ride from the train station to Green Gables. It's hard to remember that, though, when you are in a carriage being pulled by a horse. I was beginning to feel that the fictional characters were real.

This disconnect from reality becomes even more pronounced when we actually reached Green Gables. There is a real house, but the true occupants were not the fictional Cuthberts. The house had belonged to a cousin of L.M. Montgomery's, but you won't find any evidence of them at Green Gables. Green Gables as an attraction (and National Historic Site!?) is all about Anne Shirley. This makes it hard to remember that we are talking about fictional characters. As you tour the house, one of the first rooms you see is Matthew's bedroom. Well, it couldn't REALLY be Matthew's bedroom because he never existed! That doesn't matter at Green Gables, though. The fiction continues when you go upstairs and look at Anne's room. The house is set up like a museum with plexi-glass partitions keeping you from entering the rooms. This adds to the realism of the place.

Realism is completely thrown out the window when you get to the Village of Avonlea. Since Avonlea is not a real place, some enterprising person has created it. For a fee, you can enter through the gates and be transported to Turn of the Century, small-town Canada. There are dirt roads and wooden sidewalks and various buildings to explore. Throughout the day, costumed actors replay scenes from the books. When we were there, Anne was busy hitting Gilbert over the head with a slate. We decided not to stay at the school to participate in Miss Stacey's math class, but that was another option. The village is small, and there are definite anachronisms (Cow's Ice Cream, anyone?) but none of that matters. My DH and I sat in the church for awhile to listen to some gospel music and then explored the barn area. We did not, however, get a chance to milk a cow. It was another way to experience Anne.

The trip offered a great opportunity to learn more about the life of one of my favourite authors as experience a slice of fictional life. I think that PEI, and the town of Cavendish in particular, have it right when it comes to capitalizing on a popular literary figure. I can't wait to go back.

Have any of you taken a literary pilgrimage? If so, where did you go? If not, where would you want to go?

Hungry for Hunger Games

While taking my Librarianship course this summer, I was introduced to the Suzanne Collins trilogy of The Hunger Games. I have now read the first book, Hunger Games and the second, Catching Fire. I cannot say enough about how much I love these books. The third book in the series, Mockingjay, comes out tomorrow, and I can't wait to read it. Although these books are written for a YA audience, every adult I know who has read them, loves them. I recommend them for anyone 13+.

Hunger Games is a dystopian novel about life in what used to be North America. The heroine of the story is 16 year old Katniss Everdeen; she and her family live in District 12, a coal mining district. The districts are under the strict control of The Capital, and every year, in order to demonstrate the subservience of the districts to The Capital, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts are selected to compete in the Hunger Games. These games are horrific, and the competitors are fighting to the death to be the victor. The twenty-four contestants fight each other until only one is left.

Katniss and her fellow District 12 contestant Peeta, are underdogs, and we read the story to see how and if Katniss manages to survive. This book works because the characters are so well drawn. I really cared about Katniss and Peeta. When Peeta declares his love for Katniss, it adds a new dimension to the story; if only one can survive, what happens to to the love story? This story is much, much more believable than that of say, Edward and Bella. These are characters that you really can relate to. Although the book is set sometime in the future, the reality of the poverty that Katniss lives with, her struggles to keep her family together, her struggle to survive in the horrific world of the Hunger Games, it is all very real.

Are there elements of fantasy? Of course there are; it is fiction, after all, but because of the strength of the characters, it blends really well. I think people looking for a gripping story with well-developed characters will love this story.

I will update you when I have finished the third book.

In Defense of Sookie

Well, I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to backtrack slightly. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about books as mind candy; my example was a series of books by Charlaine Harris - the True Blood series. I believe I argued in favour of reading books of substance, and I didn't feel that these books had that substance. Since then, I've been involved in a Facebook conversation with someone who has such a low opinion of the books that she won't even read them. I found myself defending them. Whoops. What happened? How could I go from suggesting that the True Blood series is mind candy to defending them publicly on Facebook?

I guess, when it comes down to it, a little candy isn't too bad. I would never suggest that the True Blood series is great literature, but I don't think there is anything really bad with it either. It's fluff, but so what? Is it expecting too much of myself to only read 'good' literature? Should I have these really high standards for myself? Does that lead to disappointing myself? Should I just accept the fact that I have low standards for reading, or try to 'improve' myself.

I'll have to come back to this, I think I have a lot to think about.

Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant!

Faerie

Time for yet another confession. I love faerie stories. Notice the spelling. I'm not talking about fairy tales, but rather, faerie tales. Celtic mythology, although I really know very little about it, really appeals to me. Stories of the ancient Celtic gods, of the Seelie and Unseelie courts, of kelpies and brownies, all these are really appealing to me. I've recently finished reading three YA books that tell stories of faerie, as well as reading a most definitely adult book of faerie. Wondrous Strange and Darklight are the first two books in a trilogy by Lesley Livingstone that revolve around Kelly, a young actress who discovers that she is the long lost daughter of Auberon, king of the faeries. I really liked Wondrous Strange, but was not as impressed with Darklight. The premise of these stories is linked to Shakespeare stories, and I found it worked really well with the first story, but was weaker in the second. The story just didn't stand up. That's when I was introduced to Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

One of the women in my course told me that Wicked Lovely was a much better book than Wondrous Strange, and boy, was she right. It tells the story of Aislinn, who attracts the attention of the Keenan, the Summer King. It is a much darker story, but in the end, it was much more satisfying. I can't wait to read the next book(s) in the series.

I think I'd like to read more stories about faerie in the past. The books I've been reading have all had faeries in the modern world; I want to know where the stories came from. I need to look up some Irish/Celtic mythology. I want to know where the stories came from. I know that Shakespeare is the one who changed our perceptions of fairies, but I'd like to know what they were like before.

Face, Meet Palm

Yes, I need a good face palm. I wrote a long, long entry about my favourite books, and I left out one of my all-time favourites. How could I have forgotten To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Somehow, I did. It wasn't even on my list of books to go through. I was horrified when I realized that it wasn't there, and I decided it wasn't enough to simply add on to my last entry, so I'm creating an entire entry about To Kill a Mockingbird.

The irony is that when I first read Mockingbird, I really didn't like it at all. I can still remember it - I was in Grade 5 at Hawthorne Public School in Ladner, BC, and I was buying books from Scholastic. Does that still happen? We would get a brochure every month with the latest books from scholastic, I would select the ones I wanted, and my mother would write a cheque which I would bring into the school. My teacher would then send in the order, and a couple of weeks later, my books would arrive. One month, Mockingbird was among the books I order. I would have been 10 or 11 at the time, and although my reading level was exceptionally high, I don't know that my maturity level was developed enough to understand the book. When I read it then, I really hated it. I didn't pick it up again for another 14 years or so.

When I moved to Colombia to begin teaching English there, To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the books I was expected to teach. I re-read it, and fell instantly in love (14 years later). I loved the story, the characters, the lessons ... really, I loved everything about it. I really loved Atticus Finch. When he was named the number one hero from the AFI, I really understood it. I taught Mockingbird for three years in Colombia, and another couple of years when I returned to Canada. I haven't taught it as a class novel for a number of years now (mostly because I've been teaching history), but I would love to teach it again.

Although it was written in the 1960s, and set in the 1930s, I truly believe that it is not dated. The lessons it teaches are still as valid today as they were forty or seventy years ago. Racism still exists, an unjust justice system still exists, people fighting against prejudice still exist. In some ways, teaching this book may be more important than it was twenty or thirty years ago. Unfortunately, a number of people seem to believe that the issues brought out in Mockingbird are not issues any more. I wish I could agree.

My love for To Kill a Mockingbird reached a new level when I read the book Mockingbird by Charles J. Shields. I had never known how much of her own life Harper Lee had put into her novel. The fact that the character Dill was based on Truman Capote just blew me away. Sometimes, learning more about an author or their inspiration for their work can lessen my enjoyment of the novel itself, but that didn't happen for me in this case. This is also one of the rare instances where watching the movie didn't take away from my enjoyment of the novel. The movie version is amazing. The scene where Atticus has just lost the court case brings a lump to my throat every time.

I love, love, love, this book.

The Bard - At Last

I'm sitting in the computer lab during my class, and I'm finished all my work. I'm now two weeks ahead on my assignments, so I thought I'd finally write that post on Shakespeare in the real world.

I've recently read Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston, which is the story of a young actress in New York who discovers that Shakespeare's story Midsummer Night's Dream, is actually real! The actor playing Puck? He's actually the real Puck. Oberon? Yep, he's real too. I found this story to be absolutely enchanting. The idea of having an actress perform one of Shakespeare's plays and discover that it wasn't fiction, really worked well for me. There are two other books in the series - Darklight has the Kelly, the main character, preparing for a production of Romeo and Juliet. The Bard really does provide rich material for mining. I found this to be a great combination of Shakepeare and modern faerie literature.

The next book I read was Shakespeare: The World as a Stage by Bill Bryson. This was a more traditional biography of one of the English speaking world's most beloved authors. I found this book fascinationg because it really showed me how much we think we know about Shakespeare is actually guesswork. Shakespeare scholars have spent hundreds of years studying him, but they still know very little. I think my favourite part of this book was the section on the Shakespeare de-bunkers; you know, the ones who believe Shakespeare couldn't have written Shakespeare. Bryson does a very good job of showing that he most certainly could have written everything he wrote, and that all the contenders for the "real" Shakespeare couldn't have been Shakespeare. I'm sure I'll pull this book out again before I start my Shakespeare units with my classes; I wouldn't want to give them facts that aren't really facts.

The final book I read recently concerning Shakespeare was Fool by Christopher Moore. I've already spoken about one of Moore's other books (Lamb) and this one is no different. Moore takes a well-known story and makes it lewd and crude. I never really got into this story. It's basically the story of King Lear, not one of my favourite plays to begin with. Moore makes the fool the narrator, and also the protagonist. Edmund writing a letter to discredit his brother? The Fool's idea. Regan and Goneril's deaths? The Fool's idea. Yep, pretty much everything that happens is because of the Fool. Oh, the witches from Macbeth show up as well. I can't really say anything too negative about the book, but I just never bought into the story. It was all abit to obvious. You don't know where to go with the story? No problem! I'll have a ghost come in and direct things. It just didn't work for me.

What about you? Any adaptations of Shakespeare that you really liked or really didn't like?

A Few of my Favourite Things

This entry is going to be about a few of my favourite books of all time! These are books I can read over and over again and not get tired of. I know some people who never re-read books; their argument is that there is so much good literature out there (nevermind all the bad literature) that why on earth would they want to read something that they have already finished? I can understand this argument, but I don't agree. To me, books are old friends, and I like to visit my friends over and over again. The following list isn't in any particular order; it's basically as I thought of them. I'm sure I've forgotten some, but this should do for now. Without further ado - here are a few of my favourite things.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. The red-haired little orphan who captures hearts wherever she goes. I loved reading the books as a child, and I loved watching the made for tv movies when I was a little older. Anne was just so engaging. She was always getting into trouble, but it was never very serious trouble. Her on-going relationship with Gilbert I found very believable. Her life wasn't easy, but she was a survivor who ultimately triumphed. In the later books, she grows up and her life continues to have its ups and downs. I still love Anne.

The Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene. Like Anne, Nancy was a spunky girl who didn't let anything stop her. Maybe I'm drawn to these characters because it's who I wanted to be. I was able to live a far more exciting life through the pages of the Nancy Drew books than I ever did in my real life. Nancy was smart, and she was observant. She taught me the value of noticing the little things. She was also safe. She had a boyfriend, but it was a very innocent relationship. I saw the movie that came out recently and was terribly disappointed. The Nancy I knew and loved was not the character I saw on the screen. My imagination was much more vivid than the images I was being given. I can't wait to share Nancy with my nieces. They are a little young now, but in a couple of years I'll read the books to them. I really hope they enjoy them as much as I did. I still have all my old Nancy Drew books. Due to space limitations they are in a box in my storage area, but when I have more space, they will have a prized place on a book shelf.

The Belgariad series by David and Leigh Eddings. I first discovered this fantasy series when I was in high school, and I was hooked. I liked the characters and I believed the stories (yes, I know - they are fantasy books with magic and wizards and so on, but they are believable.) Eddings has a wonderful sense of humour, and reading some of the scenes in the book made me laugh out loud. The best part is, I laugh every time I read them. Unfortunately, as he got older, his books became more formulaic. I knew exactly what the general plot line would be, what the hero would be like, and what the enemy would be like. I still really enjoy the books. Every time I run out of new books to read, I head straight to an Eddings books.

Little House on the Prairies by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Ahh, the struggles of a family of pioneers struggling to make a living in the American west during the late 1800s. Ma and Pa; Mary, Laura, Carrie and Grace. These were characters I really liked. Laura was again (are we sensing a theme here) a spunky girl who didn't let things get her down. She struggled with bad teachers but then became a teacher herself. The family suffered greatly, but stuck together. I almost cried when Pa was lost in the blizzard. Losing a child, crop failures, and other tragedies seemed to stalk the Ingalls/Wilder families, but the message that by sticking together these things can be overcome is a really good message. This is one time where the television show was not a disappointment

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Ah, the struggles of impotent anger. Poor Max. No one will listen to him and when he acts out, he gets sent to his room. This is where the brilliance begins. Where the Wild Things Are is a children's book, but it is very powerful. I think everyone can empathize with Max; I know that I did. The pictures of the monsters on the island, and how Max deals with them were very engaging.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. This was my favourite novel when I was an angst ridden teenager. The tortured love story of Heathcliff and Catherine just spoke to my soul. Not that I had any idea what they were really going through. When I was reading Wuthering Heights I had never been in love, and I certainly had no idea what obsessive love was like, or how destructive love could be, but there was something in the book that just really spoke to me.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. This is a children's book that I didn't read as I child, and I think I'm glad that I was too old to read it (or have it read to me) when I was a child. As an adult, I love the idea of the never-ending circle of love, but as I child, I would have been traumatized by the thought of my parents growing old and me being responsible for them. Also, the idea of the mother sneaking into her son's apartment is just slightly creepy, but I understand what Munsch is trying to say. This is a book that makes me cry every time I read it.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I first came across the Outlander series when I was working at the CBC. The department I worked in received hundreds of books for their consideration, and once a year or so, they would have an auction of the books that they didn't want; any that didn't go at the auction would be put out for the taking. I picked up the third book in the series, and I was really intrigued. I sought out the first book of the series and I was hooked. The premise is that a World War Two nurse slips through a hole in the universe and ends up in 18th century Scotland. The idea of the modern, twentieth century woman living with the clans of Scotland leaves lots of room for interesting story lines. As a history buff, I love all the historical detail. The stories cover the Jacobite rebellion, the breaking of the clans, the exile to the New World and the American Revolution. It is just fascinating reading. I wish I could meet a Jamie (I love my husband with all my heart, but my literary crush would be Jamie Fraser).

I get the feeling I'm going on and on, so I'll stop here. What are some of your favourite novels?