Just average
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I was disappointed by this book. I bought it because of the reviews on the cover (the George Clooney remark!), expecting it to be really good, but I found it just average. It was an age-old storyline (should the main character marry someone she doesn't love, or follow her dreams?) and I didn't warm to the characters much or like the atmosphere. The only thing really that got my attention was the historical notes at the end which explained about the murder and the fate of the murderer.
Maybe I should read it again - it was a few years ago that I read it. But I just find it frustrating that some books, like this one, receive all the official rave reviews and awards (and maybe it does deserve some of them, maybe it's just difference of opinion) whilst so many others, especially those for young adults, don't get a look in just because people haven't heard of them. I got this book from the young adult section of the bookshop - I don't know if it is intended for young adults - but it seems that often the young adult books that (adult) reviewers praise are not the ones that are popular among young adults (and don't say that's just because we're too young to know what makes a good book!).
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MASTERPIECE
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This book is truly a masterpiece.
I found myself being dragged into the story with Mattie, feeling her hurt, experiencing her love, hope and disappointment. I wanted to reach out to help her and Grace Brown. I couldn't put the book down and was sorely disappointed when I reached the last page and it was all over.
If you haven't all ready read this book I would highly reccomend it to you!
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You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll change your life
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At least that was what happened to me when I read this wonderful book. I picked it up at a bookstore at a 3 for 2 sale, and it lingered on my bookshelf for quite some time before I actually picked it up. Once I started reading, I could not put the book down - and it did indeed make me both laugh and cry, and even occasionally exclaim out loud (even though I was in a public place at the time) and it changed my life to the better because I discovered Jennifer Donnelly as a writer, and I have yet to read a bad book by her. I greatly enjoyed The Tea Rose, and absolutely adored The Winter Rose, and would recommend her novels to anyone who enjoys a long and intricate read with many memorable characters.
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Powerful and evocative page turner
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Step back a hundred years to rural US and life as it was for those struggling to put food on their tables in the first decade of the twentieth century. Meet 16-year-old Mattie (Matilda), who loves books and learning and writing stories, but who is sidelining her dreams to look after her younger sisters and put food on the table for the family, following the death of their mum.
Mattie and her best friend Royal have dreams of going to college, but life is pretty tough for them both and money hard to come by. They both go to work at a big hotel nearby over the tourist season. One day one of the guests is found washed up, drowned, on the shore of the lake. Her companion is missing, presumed drowned. Mattie, however, comes to suspect foul play... can she resist the temptation of reading the letters that drowned girl gave her to burn, or will they hold the key?
This is a wonderfully sensitive novel, beautifully written with intricate detail of everyday tasks which help to bring the pages to life. A must read!!!
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Will linger in the mind for months after closing the final page
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This book is a little gem, thoroughly deserving the Carnegie Medal it won for its author, Jennifer Donnelly. At its simplest level it is a gently-unfolding mystery (based on real murder which took place at the beginning of the 20th century) but it is so much more. Mattie, a young girl growing up in grinding poverty, yearns to escape to the city and become a writer. In a powerful, touching, coming-of-age story, she struggles to balance her aspirations against her responsibilities and the excitement of a first romance. Murder, romance, and a profound understanding of the consequences of prejudice and intolerance, A Gathering Light has all the ingredients for a great read. Add to that Donnelly's lyrical prose and what you have is a rich, involving book that will linger in your memory long after you've read the final page.
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