July Book Reviews

Hi All! Sorry I've been gone for a few weeks. I took a break from blogging and traveled home where I was very busy doing all sorts of things, none of which involved a computer. I'll post again soon with my recent activities, promise.


A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

I read this book because a fellow English teacher recommended it to me. I was telling him that I gravitate towards the classics because I feel I know it will be good and it became a "classic" for a reason, right? Sometimes I do like to branch out to other types of books, but I am not always sure how. There are so many books to choose from that I get overwhelmed. He suggested looking at the NY Times top 10 for the year. So anyway, back to the book.

This book is so intriguing to me because it spans many years and experiences of different narrators for each chapter. They are all somehow connected, and you continue to learn about their "story" through mentions in the other chapters. Through one woman's eyes, another character looks and sound like a total jerk, and he is in some regard. But, when you read the chapter narrated by him, you see the whole thing completely differently and feel for him. This would be a great way to help students understand the importance of point of view and how it affects the reader's understanding. Also, this is just a really interesting novel. Pick it up sometime and let me know what you think!

Sidenote: If you get confused by various narrators and shifts in time, think twice before reading this book. Although lovely, it will baffle you at times.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

So many things to say about this novel! It is some post-apocalyptic time where the world has burned and a man and son are traveling South, still unsure of what they will find when they get there. What instantly caught my attention was the lack of chapters and punctuation. McCarthy does a great job of making the reader feel just how long the son and father's journey is by using this writing technique. I don't like suspenseful situations, so several times during the book I had to put it down and just go do something else for awhile to forget the tension. I liked the ending but it was heart-wrenching really. This book leaves you with several questions like how did this happen to the earth, how did this man and son survive, how long has it been since things went bad and they were on the road? There are no answers. It is the story of the two people and how they survive and their relationship that is explained through short conversations between the two. Again, I'd recommend this book, but get ready! I didn't actually cry, but it hurt my insides to read the book.


This month I also read Cannery Row by John Steinbeck and 50 Shades of Grey.  I plan to write up a comparison between this book and Twilight.