Tried it and Tossed It

The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
published 7/23/13
304 pages

Synopsis from publisher -
Anais Hendricks, fifteen, is in the back of a police car. She is headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders. She can't remember what’s happened, but across town a policewoman lies in a coma and Anais’s school uniform is covered in blood.

Raised in foster care from birth and moved through twenty-three placements before she even turned seven, Anais has been let down by just about every adult she has ever met. Now a counter-culture outlaw, she knows that she can only rely on herself. And yet despite the parade of horrors visited upon her early life, she greets the world with the witty, fierce insight of a survivor.

Anais finds a sense of belonging among the residents of the Panopticon — they form intense bonds, and she soon becomes part of an ad hoc family. Together, they struggle against the adults that keep them confined. When she looks up at the watchtower that looms over the residents though, Anais knows her fate: she is an anonymous part of an experiment, and she always was. Now it seems that the experiment is closing in.

My thoughts -

I think this is actually quite an interesting novel - I just couldn't get past the language and drug use. Normally those things don't bother me, but this particular heroine uses a LOT of language and a LOT of drugs, and it was too much for me to keep wading through. There is praise galore for this one on the internets though, so if it sounds like an interesting premise I would say give it a shot - the author shows immense talent, and I will definitely give her another try in the future.

Mayor of the Universe by Lorna Landvik
published 7/31/12
312 pages

Synopsis from publisher -

The world sees Fletcher Weschel as a mild-mannered actuary, but it could be the world has vision problems. Still, Fletcher wonders what the point is of having a wild heart if it’s ultimately harnessed by a timid soul. In his fantasies, he returns the call of adventure with a bellowing, “here I come!” In reality, no one hears his whispered, “me too!” ... except for an unlikely group that descends upon him one cold November night. With the help of these visitors, Fletcher’s life will never be the same, and the adventures he’s about to undertake are truly out-of-this world.

My thoughts -

This was.....a departure from the norm for this author, and while it wasn't bad, I was really just hoping for a feel-good, tear-jerking turn in Landvik's world. Unfortunately, this novel is a LOT different than her usual fare, and it just didn't work for me. I think if I had not expected it to be SO much different than it was, I wouldn't have been as disappointed.

Witch World by Christopher Pike
published 11/31/12
528 pages

Synopsis from publisher -

Heading off for a weekend in Las Vegas with her friends, Jessie Ralle has only one worry: how to make it through the road trip in the same car as her ex, Jimmy Kelter. The guy she hasn’t come close to getting over since he broke up with her five months ago. The guy who’s finally ready to tell her why he did it, because now he wants her back.
     Only, sometimes knowing why doesn’t actually make things better. Sometimes it leads to bigger, more terrifying questions.

     Jessie discovers that she’s stumbled into a world where some people can do the impossible and others may not even be human. Are there really witches? Is she one of them? Armed with new abilities and shocked to discover an entire parallel world in which she and her loved ones co-exist, Jessie’s desperate to learn whom she can trust and whom she can’t - before it’s too late.

My thoughts -

HOO boy, I just did not have the patience for this. I checked this out of the library as a possibility for the Dog Days of Summer read-a-thon, but when I tried to sit down with it I just couldn't do it. The plot was incredibly unnecessarily complex, and Jessie mostly just drove me nuts. This is kinda what I expected all the YA novels I read during that read-a-thon to be like, and why I generally avoided them when I was of the age to read them.

Tried It and Tossed It

Not every book works for every reader - and I tend to be a particularly impatient reader. Here are a few books I tried that just didn't work for me.

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank
published 6/31/13
368 pages

Synopsis from publisher -

Leslie Anne Greene Carter is The Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley’s wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children they promised to love and cherish—’til death did them part—for tanned and toned young Barbie brides.

If losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn’t painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les’s world and push her to the edge. She’s had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he’s doing her a favor by keeping her around. She’s not going to waste another minute on people she doesn’t care to know. Now, she’s going to take some time for herself—in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother’s stately historic home, she’s going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivans Island. Along Charleston’s live oak- and palmetto-lined cobblestone streets, under the Lowcountry’s dazzling blue sky, Les will indulge herself with icy cocktails, warm laughter, divine temptation and bittersweet memories. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants . . . and find the life of which she’s always dreamed.

My thoughts -

I know I've read something by this author before and enjoyed it, but this was just unpleasant. The author tells the story alternating between the viewpoints of Les and Wes (and can I pause for a moment and say.....Les and Wes? Seriously?), and it was hard to tell who was the more bitter and spiteful. I just couldn't read any more of how these two people disliked each other. I think I made it to page 40.

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
first published 1851
752 pages

Synopsis from publisher -

On a previous voyage, Captain Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick, a monstrous white whale. Now, bent on vengeance against the whale, Ahab leads the crew of the Pequod on a pursuit that features constant adventure and horrendous mishaps. On its surface, Moby-Dick is a vivid documentary of life aboard a nineteenth-century whaler, a virtual encyclopedia of whales and whaling. But as the quest for the whale becomes increasingly perilous, the tale works on allegorical levels, likening the whale to human greed, moral consequence, good, evil, and life itself.

My thoughts -

Okay, I honestly gave this a fair try, but seriously? There was just NOTHING for me to grasp onto. I'm really giving this whole "reading the classics" thing a go, but this novel? Beat me. I'm not ashamed to say it. I have absolutely no desire to find out how this story ends. On to the next, friends. On to the next. Abandoned around page 123-ish.....

Tried It and Tossed It

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
published 3/13
352 pages

Synopsis from publisher -


When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

My thoughts -

I think perhaps I just OD'd a little bit on young adult novels, because I just COULD.NOT.CARE about this one. It just seemed too predictable too quickly - I've read a few good reviews of it, though, so I have a feeling it was just the wrong book at the wrong time.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini
published 1/15/13
320 pages

Synopsis from publisher -


In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted witness to many private moments between the President and his wife, two of the most compelling figures in American history.

 My thoughts -

For some reason it felt like I was thrown into the middle of a story when I picked up this book - it just seemed like something was missing from the beginning to orient me to the story. I couldn't settle in to the rhythm of the novel, and it just didn't hold my interest.

Tried it and Tossed it

Not every book works for every reader - and I tend to be a particularly impatient reader. Here are a few books I tried that just didn't work for me.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
published 5/12

Synopsis from publisher -

What if your life was upended in an instant? What if your spouse or your child disappeared right in front of your eyes? Was it the Rapture or something even more difficult to explain? How would you rebuild your life in the wake of such a devastating event? These are the questions confronting the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, a formerly comfortable suburban community that lost over a hundred people in the Sudden Departure. Kevin Garvey, the new mayor, wants to move forward, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized neighbors, even as his own family disintegrates. His wife, Laurie, has left him to enlist in the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence but haunt the towns streets as “living reminders” of Gods judgment. His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a crooked "prophet" who calls himself Holy Wayne. Only his teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and shes definitely not the sweet "A" student she used to be.

Through the prism of a single family, Perrotta illuminates a familiar America made strange by grief and apocalyptic anxiety. The Leftovers is a powerful and deeply moving book about regular people struggling to hold onto a belief in their futures.

My thoughts -

I can't remember if I liked the other Perrotta novel I read a while back - I have a feeling he might be one of those popular authors that just doesn't click with me. I was listening to this on audio, and when my mp3 player died I couldn't seem to find the motivation to return to this novel after my replacement arrived.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

published 2008

Synopsis from publisher -

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave — "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" — wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

My thoughts -

I generally don't read books like this, but one of my students REALLY wanted me to try it, so I reluctantly agreed. Really, nothing wrong with it, but I'd already seen a documentary about Mr. Pausch, so after 2 chapters I felt like I had already read the whole book.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
published 2012

Synopsis from publisher -


Oct. 11th, 1943 — A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.
When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

My thoughts -

I know, I know! This should have been everything I loved about reading, but I just could not get into the story. I am keeping this one on the back burner, though, and will try it again at a later date.




So there you have my true confessions - what have you read lately that just didn't work for you?

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