Real Flaws in Real Characters
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I haven't read a book like it since "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". I found it completely refreshing to read about a heroine so flawed and yet so easy to understand and appreciate. There are moments of intense exasperation for the reader, yes, but ultimately worth it. Many of the characters, not just the main one, and especially her students, stand out as believable and honest. It's a little book that you can read in a few days. Enjoy!
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Quirky, Original, Read it!
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Aimee Bender has written such an original tale. I became utterly involved in her world and shared every emotion... You can't help but love her and her crazy life. It is written with grace and daring. What an engaging read!
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Sweet but Deep
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This book has a happy ending - fortunately otherwise it would be too sad. It's the story of how the young Mona for years has been obsessed with numbers trying in vain to escape reality, a reality in which her father is slowly fading into death. Then she becomes a maths teacher in the local primary school and meets the down to earth science teacher. Upon meeting him, and Lisa whose mother is dying from cancer, her life begins to change. Flashbacks slowly unveil Monas life from the age of 10 to 20, and gradually helps the reader to understand her world - to a point where I almost started to believe in it. I liked the book because Aimee Bender tells Monas story in a way that can best be described as mix of humour, sincerity and a fairytale. Read it, it's worth it.
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Incredible mixture of emotion leaves you wanting more
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Superb. Characters that stay with you for weeks after finishing and emotional twists that I am still beginning to understand. Quirky and bizzare in parts this is an incredibly crafted novel on the emotional pain of life, death, illness and family ties. With two "fairy" tales at either end to sum up the characters changing view during the book, this is a tale of a 20 something girl who grows by interacting with the children she teaches her strange form of maths at her school. Growing and dealing with the possibilities of death close to and far from her, and building a relationship she can deal with, Mona spirals and twists through this novel interwoven with the neighbours, parents, brief lovers and children all strong characters of their own. Buy it, read it. Then read it again.
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