Sula

Sula follows the friendship of two girls, Nel and Sula, growing up in an African-American community called the Bottom. Sula and Nel were both raised by single mothers but in completely clashing environments. As their lives progress we explore how the events of their friendship and being raised in the Bottom effect them in conflicting ways. Although the girls seem to think of themselves as the same person as kids they both grow in different directions as their lives progress, each to follow in their mother’s footsteps, when they reunite as adults they realize that they can no longer relate how they could as kids as their friendship falls apart. Sula is told from the point of view of many different characters in the Bottom, giving us a broad view of the community which Sula and Nel were surrounded by..

Sula was raised in chaos. Her mother, like her grandmother, was a wildly promiscuous woman but at the same time was so undisruptive in her ways that she was accepted into the community fairly without contest. Through this Sula grew up thinking that sex was simple, casual and consistent. Her mother slept with the husbands of her friends and neighbors without consequence, never holding any importance to her friendships with women and never being effected by any man.

Nel was raised in a pristine house watched by her rigid mother who had a high head, honey skin and a dazzling smile. Nel’s mother was the daughter of a prostitute and is constantly trying to live as far away as that lifestyle as possible. Nel’s mother, Helene, made up for her mulatto skin with her attitude and selectiveness. Helene looked down on Sula and her family, not allowing Nel to go to their house.

Despite their differing lives, Sula and Nel shared two things; their enthusiastic comfort in the other’s life and their infatuation with men. Nel loved the turmoil in Sula’s life. She was comforted by Sula’s loud and crowded house just as much as Sula was comforted by the order in Nel’s. Sula could sit for hours in the silence of Nel’s neat living room, completely satisfied. Their content in each other’s lives makes it interesting that they chose to stay on the path of their own, with that, unsurprising that both grew up to be greatly unsatisfied. One thing they had in common in their lives was the emptiness of men. Nel’s father left and Sula’s died, so they grew up with their mothers. Men were unreliable and lacking any imperativeness to their lives. Although men play a huge role in their stories, they are at the same times insignificant and impermanent. The only men who are consistent in the novel are either insane or unrealistic.

Sula lived her life in a desperate but at the same careless search to cure her dissatisfaction. Sula moved to the city where she used men and threw them away, looking for something which, when she realized she couldn’t find it, brought her back to the Bottom. When she came back she found that Nel had grown up to get married, have children, live the common life. Sula came back to disrupt the community, but mostly the life of Nel Her curiosity mixed with her lack of a sense of consequence allowed Sula to sleep with Nel’s husband, inevitably tearing her life apart. After this they realize that they are not only not the same person, but not even two people who understand each other anymore.

Sula is beautifully written and full of unusual and captivating characters. Toni Morrison brings us through an intriguing exploration of the development of these two girls. Along the way she writes stimulating investigations on human behavior when affected by anything from affairs to war. How people deal with the crazy, what pulls something over the line from acceptable to not, no matter how small the difference. What ignites fear and how a common hatred can bring an entire community together. If not for the story, this book can be read simply for the way Toni Morrison can put words on a page. She has a very specific style, which is at the same time smooth and provoking.

In Time of the Book Report

In Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, is a sensitive novel a dominican family struggling under the dictatorship of Trujuillo. Based off of true events, the story takes you inside the minds of the four Mirabal sisters, Minerca, Patria, Maria teresa, and the only surviving sister, Dede.
Maria Teresa, the youngest daughter writes in a journal that foreshadow later events:
"Dear Little book,
What does it mean that I now really have a soul? that is a soul when it commits moral sins. Venial sins are lighter, like a rash instead of measles. A rash that goes away even without confession if you say an Act of Contrition. Minerva says a soul is like a deep longing in you that you can never fill up, but try to. that is why there are stirring poems and brave heros who die for what is right. (page 31)"
Most of these kinds of stories are long and boring with facts leaking out every page. This book is different. Julia really makes the story more personal by truly putting you in the mind and emotions of all four sisters. When reading the book, I could really feel the emotions in the air. I felt sadness when the eldest gave birth to a still born, I felt anger when loved ones died because of Trujillo's selfish temper, I felt scared when one of the sisters was trapped in the center of the battle watching a man get shot.
This story how it its told helps you understand the predicament the Dominican Republic was in in Trujillo's power. Any one, and i do mean anyone, who disliked, protested, or displeased Trujillo magically died. Truth is people were murdered, but were covered by stories to make it seem like they died on their own or by accident.
It is a magnificent book, and let me tell you, if you saw the movie... buy the book and read it. Not only is it WAY better, but it gives you more than one main character and more plots and rebellion.

A Clockwork Orange-Anthony Burgess (Davis Beveridge)

A Clockwork Orange: A Book Review

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, is a fictional tale that I seemed to enjoy more than any other fiction I have ever read. There is a certain diction and dialect that truly pulled me in, as if I were walking the terror stricken streets of the night alongside Alex, Pete, Georgie, and Dim. I feel that I can really enjoy a book if I am a part of it, and Anthony Burgess does a great job of giving the reader an active role in the development of the book. Burgess’s “nadsat” language comes quite quickly with just a little dedication to learning as the reader. With the slang of nadsat being so heavily embedded in every page, the reader is forced to interpret every word as if they were living amongst Alex’s gang in England. This gives the reader the job of being a language interpreter or almost a translator, in your own mind.

My choice with A Clockwork Orange has given me a chance to add another book to my recommendations list. A fiction set in a futuristic, violence-oppressed city is bound to catch the eye of a guy like myself, interested in suspense, as well as the inside look of a gang of teenagers who run the streets of England at night. This book is a by far one of the best suspenseful fictions I have ever read, comprised of the night-after-night violence impended upon the streets of dark England, the government’s attempt to “kill the criminal reflex” in the State Jail (Staja) filled with “concentrated criminality” (p.92). The government’s need to release “common criminals” from Staja introduces their “Ludovico’s Technique”, a plan to brainwash inmates who previously “[had] the desire to commit acts of violence or to offend in any way whatsoever against the State’s Peace” (p.95). The government in doing this is taking away the human choice of morality, which in the end, is seen to dehumanize Alex and take away his title of being “A clockwork-orange”.

Although with much interpretation, the theme of morality can be found to be the most significant footing behind the book’s fictional story, I enjoyed the book also for just its plain simple characteristics, such as the characters, the plot/story, the setting, and of course the unique dialect of the main characters that brings the whole story to life. These entire literary tools tie together to create a suspense that lingers among the streets of corrupted England at night. This was a feeling that triggered Goosebumps on my skin, a feeling that grew from being almost a fear of Alex’s gang, to a comfort with being around Alex as an individual. I felt this comfort grow along with Alex’s confidence voice, which seemed to have not even a slight bit of fear as he troubles the streets of the night.

As a whole, A Clockwork Orange is a great fictional novel that I would highly recommend to high school students, not only because of its deep theme of morality, but also because of the small literary techniques that Anthony Burgess defines so exceptionally, that truly make the reader feel that they are a part of the book.

Olivia Coflin

AP Literature

White Oleander

In 1999, White Oleander was written by author Janet Fitch and immediately became a national bestseller. By reading the first page alone, anyone can see why. Fitch’s words soothe the mind and her imagery and her ability to convey the changes in characters emotions is exceptional.

This novel tells the twisted tale of an atypical mother-daughter relationship. Ingrid Magnussen is a famous poet who lives by her own set of rules. She has many lovers and lives freely all over the world with her daughter Astrid tagging along and learning the secrets to her trade. Astrid knows her mother by heart and soul; they are one in many ways. Their relationship changes when Ingrid starts dating a man named Barry Kolker who is less than appealing at first, but soon wins Ingrid’s heart and is everything Astrid has always wanted in a father. One day Barry ends things with Ingrid, and it destroys her mentally and physically. She starts dragging Astrid along while she stalks and plots Barry’s murder. She succeeds in poisoning him with the lethal sap of the white oleander flower. She is arrested and put in a high security prison for life.

Astrid, being only 13 at the time and having her mother as the only person in the world that she’s ever known, is terrified of anything different and being away from her mother. The story truly takes off when Astrid is taken to her first of many foster homes. Throughout the story, Astrid encounters a slew of different people all from different places with a distinctive story. She is always afraid to become too attached to any one place or person because she believes nothing will ever last long enough to be worth holding on to. She goes through amazing struggles with herself while keeping contact with her mother who wants to keep Astrid all to herself. After growing up too fast and learning what she can with her amazing artistic talents, Astrid emerges as the strongest character in the book. Her relationship with her mother is so moving and is constantly challenged while Janet Fitch keeps the thoughts of Astrid and Ingrid both so separate.

Every new destination that Astrid stumbles upon has its own tone and feel and the way the words are laid across the page vary so distinctively from Ingrid’s letters, to Astrid’s thoughts, to describing the backgrounds of every foster home. Fitch exemplifies many talents while writing this book and her whole heart was presented in creating the characters and relation of Ingrid and Astrid as well as every other character in this amazing novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially young women. It communicates the unbelievable strength that one girl can possess, which is the encouragement every young women is looking for. White Oleander is a fantastic read no matter how long you decide to make it, and it has become one of my all time favorite novels.

bel canto

Bel Canto
By: Iris Doyle

Based on a true event Bel Canto is an amazing book written by Ann Pattchet. Her words are like liquid feeling on the page. Her perspective grows inside of you to see the kindness of human nature.
In an unnamed country in South America a luxurious birthday party is being thrown for Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful electronics executive. Even though the reception was only a desperate grasp from the unstable country to get industrialists to invest in their struggling country, Katsumi Hosokawa cannot resist attending because of his obsession, Roxane Coss, a lovely lyric soprano opera singer who will be performing at the party. Mr. Hosokawa has already been to 18 of Roxane’s performances and he cant seem to get enough of her, especially up close in a personal setting like his own birthday party. The birthday is held in the vice president’s estate. Many people from around the world attend the party, all captivated by the amazing voice of Roxane Coss. At the end of the last note of Roxane’s performance the lights go out. The people at the party are bewildered until they discover when the lights come back on that the party has been hi-jacked by a group of terrorists. Wile the lights were out several people had snuck in through the air conditioning vents. The terrorists goal was to kidnap the president of the country, who was unable to attend because he could not bring him self to miss a crucial point in his favorite television soap opera. Shocked the terrorists don’t know what to do and they hold the people in the house hostage in an attempt to still get what they want. The government surrounds the building and tries to negotiate with the terrorists, sending in a red cross volunteer to observe the situation. They eventually set the women; the workers and the sick go. A few people that the terrorists hold hostage. The process is long and the days seem like forever. These people include Katsumi Hosokawa, his translator gen, the vice president Ruben Iglesias, and the magnificent Roxane Coss.
This novel is not so much a novel of suspense, but a novel of relationships. The characters in the book develop immensely and the relationships between he people bloom. With the tragic events happening all around you would imagine the mood and the plot to be very hectic. Quite the opposite happens, out of the chaos comes a beautiful look in to the relationships among humans. The characters are blocked out from the every day life and time. They have the chance to really know and learn about each other and to truly love another. Gen Watanabe is Mr. Hosokawa’s translator. All his life he has been translating other’s thoughts but the whole time he has never been able to speak for himself. In the midst of all the disaster Gen is able to connect everyone with his brilliant translating skills. He is the portal that connects everyone in the room. With doing this Gen is able to realize his own voice and emotions. Roxane, the only women left after some of the hostages are released is able to keep people’s spirits up with her beautiful song. She takes on ha huge role of leadership. Roxane has never been a leader in her life but now she is able to lead the people in the room upward. In one perspective Roxane may have saved some hostage’s life. The Vice President Ruben is able to become the housekeeper and the host of the event. In having everyone kidnapped in his home he wants people to feel upmost comfort despite his former view as being a good for nothing vice president. He takes great care of the hostages and he tries as hard as he can to make everyone comfortable.
Bel Canto is a beautiful book that captures the reader and carries them through the whole novel. You won’t want to put it down but you also don’t want it to ever end.

All the Pretty Horses- book reveiw

Cormac McCarthy has written many novels including; The Road, No Country for Old Men, Blood Meridian, and many more. All the Pretty Horses is the first book of his Border Trilogy. Following in the trilogy is The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. After writing All the pretty Horses McCarthy became more of a western author. All the Pretty Horses is McCarthy’s best novel that he has written and will stay an American classic forever.

All the Pretty Horses takes place in the spring of 1949 in southern Texas. The book opens at a funeral of John Grady Cole’s grandfather. John Grady is the last of a long line of ranchers, and has spent his whole life on his grandfather’s ranch. With the death of his grandfather and the split of his mother and father the ranch is left to his mother who has no interest in the ranch any longer. As a small time actress she will sell the ranch to make some money. John Grady can not believe it and will not accept it. So to get away he decides to runaway with his best friend Rawlins to northern Mexico.

On the way they meet a boy, about thirteen, just outside the border of Mexico. His name is Jimmy Blevins. He rides an elegant horse and carries a Colt Bisley pistol. Rawlins is very skeptical of Blevins, but they carry on with his company. During a thunder and lightning storm Blevins looses everything including his horse, because of his superstition of getting stuck by lightning. So they decide travel to a near town where they spot Blevins horse and pistol. After stealing the horse back Blevins is still not satisfied because he did not get his pistol, so he decides to stay while John Grady and Rawlins continue south where they come upon a ranch.

At this ranch, Hacienda de Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Conception, the boys find good work and decide to stay. John Grady amazes everyone by breaking sixteen horses in a day. During their stay John Grady falls in love with the Don Hector’s daughter, Alejandra, the daughter of the rancher. This is the typical forbidden love that cannot be pursued. A few days later both John Grady and Rawlins are taken to jail. The only one that knows the whole truth about what is going on is Alejandra’s godmother, Duena Alfonsa. The book continues with john Grady’s quest to get Alejandra back and get back to Texas.

The book was written in the third person, meaning it is told through a narrator. One strange thing that I noticed when reading was that when the characters are talking and there is a conversation there are no quotation marks around the words. You can still read it clearly but at some points it may be hard to completely understand who is talking. But that does not affect the meaning of the story. Also at some points I had to reread because I thought I kept reading the same line over, but it is just how he writes. Otherwise the book is a fast and fun read.

After reading this book myself I would definitely recommend it to others. As long as you enjoy western cowboy stories you will love All the Pretty Horses and even if you just looking for an adventure story with kids in their teens. This book will keep you engaged throughout the entire story. Not only is this book great but it also was a National Book Award winner in 1992.

Snow Crash

Snow Crash is an intense cyborgesque thriller set in bizarre future America where the government has mostly crumbled and has been overshadowed Corporate giants and franchises. Companies reign over sovereignties of land that have since ceded from the United States, and inflation has driven the Trillion dollar bill to be worth almost nothing; the standard form of small tender is the Gipper (a Quadrillion dollar bill). The story mainly takes place in a Los Angeles no longer part of the United States, and a fully interactive, 3-Dimensional child of the Internet, dubbed the Metaverse.

The protagonist is the very appropriately named Hiro Protagonist, a pizza deliveryman for Uncle Ernzo's Pizza, a Mafia run Pizza franchise that takes it's delivery of delicious assorted cheese and meat pies very seriously. But this is hardly what defines Hiro, for when he is off-duty, he is the "Last of the freelance hackers and Greatest swordfighter in the world", or so his business card says. Hiro roams the Metaverse searching for data, anything and everything, and then sells said data to the CIC, the for-profit organization that spawned from the CIA. In one fateful incident, Hiro loses his job as a pizza deliveryman and meets Y.T., a Kourier that delivers her packages via skateboard. Y.T. and Hiro team up as hackers in the Metaverse and soon learn of the existence of a drug called Snow Crash in a club in the Metaverse. The drug is unique in that it not only affects the user in the Metaverse, but in reality as well. Hiro and Y.T. begin to investigate it and trace it back to a fiber-optics cable monopolist named L. Bob Rife, who distributes the drug through a network of Pentecostal churches. Rife lives on a fortress Raft populated by boat people that speak in tongues. Hiro also learns of connections to

Sumerian mythology and culture within the drug, and eventually an ancient Sumerian myth intertwined with the biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Sumerian is described in the novel as being to the human race as what binary is to computers; it affects the listener on a much deeper and more basic level than other languages. Sumerian is rooted in the brain stem and relates directly to "me", or the biological version of software, which holds the rules and procedures of tasks such as cooking or making pottery. These "me" were held by high religious figures known as en, and one of these en was a God named Enki that could write new "me", being the equivalent of a programmer. A Goddess named Asherah took it as her duty to create a linguistic "virus" that would corrupt the "me" and eventually effect the entirety of the human race. Enki programmed humanity to no longer be able to use or respond to the Sumerian language and create differing languages, thus creating the tie with the biblical story of the Tower of Babel where people who were trying to build a tower to God wee found as blasphemous and where cursed with speaking in different languages so they could never understand each other. Unfortunately, Asherah's virus was not completely destroyed, and is the Cult of Asherah spreads the virus using prostitution to transmit it sexually and feeding babies with infected breast milk. Snow Crash infects the user on the level that the Sumerian language does, and Rife is trying to use it potentially take over the world.

The novel is highly enriched with motorcycle chases, explosions, intrigue and suspense while holding a high literary merit. Snow Crash is certainly a very well spent investment of your time and while it certainly pushes certain themes more attractive to certain demographics, it is still a great read for almost anybody.

Pride and Prejudice Review

            Pride and Prejudice, often called one of the best love stories of all time, reaches for the readers heart and touches it in a way, so gently, yet powerfully.  This book’s worth blossoms from every page and the beginning, middle, and end function perfectly to let the reader explore the story in its ultimate depth.  For a reader like me, finding impressionable books rises as one of my ultimate challenges, and somehow Pride and Prejudice managed to stick in my mind as one of the, if not the, greatest book I have ever read.     

The beginning of Pride and Prejudice exemplifies what every book beginning should be, starting with a universal knowledge and then introducing the characters to whom this knowledge will later play upon, thus creating the plot line.  Jane Austen kicks off her book with the statement, “It is universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife (1).”  To this opening, the story later aligns. 

            After introducing the sentence which will be foreshadowing of where the story ends up, Austen gives us a kind jolt into the family with which the novel will revolve around.  The family, while containing an abrasive Mrs. Bennet and two foolish younger daughters who follow the likeable older sisters, Jane, Elizabeth, and Mary, greatly represents the ideals of an old English society and its varying personalities.  Jane Austen allows the family and their circumstances to perfectly function in the story’s plot and movie about with grace.  I have not known a better group of characters to which a conflict could have so well applied.  The conflict being Mrs. Bennet’s wants for her daughters to all get married off.  Thus leads to the characters of Mr. Bingley, and his seemingly proud, but exceedingly handsome friend, Mr. Darcy.  Mr. Bingley has bought a grand house in Netherfield with his riches, making him a perfect candidate for one of the Bennet girls, particularly, the most handsome, Jane.  But Jane’s and Mr. Bingley’s relationship only acts as a background story to the loathsome acquaintance of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.

            The progression of the story grows into the tension between Elizabeth and Darcy.  Darcy, whose “pride” effects Elizabeth’s ideas of him, and not in a good way, grows attached to Elizabeth with her subtle beauty and brains.  This happens all while Elizabeth’s “prejudice” and hate for Darcy increase exponentially by the day.  The mixture of the two assures an amazing story. 

            Austen’s actions portrayed by her characters keep the reader attached to the story so it smoothly glides along and transitions beautifully.  While her story contains some parts that seem a little boring, she gives hints at what will come enough to keep the reader hooked.  Above all, her dialogue and character interaction not only satisfy, but rather bewitch. 

            The use of the above writing techniques offered by Austen guide the reader on an enjoyable journey, until we learn that Elizabeth has established a love for Mr. Darcy.  From this point on, we no longer (as readers) need any help what so ever.  It remains an impossibility to not keep devouring the words on each page. 

            As an avid reader always in search of a good book, I found Pride and Prejudice near godliness.  Every character, every action, every emotions unfolds with the upmost perfection.  I do not have one bad thing to say about this book, and cannot say enough great things.  If one has patience to read a book written in old-English, there presents no reason to not read this book and utterly fall in love with its rich, heart-string pulling story, and well-crafted characters.  Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy act as the two most captivating characters I have yet to read about.  In ending my report, there continues one word I have yet to say about this novel: sublime.                          

The Color Purple, an Inspiration to us All

Set in the early 1920’s, Alice Walker depicts the life of a female African American “survivor” in her second novel The Color Purple. As a young African American woman living in the south, Walker was an avid civil rights activist before becoming an editor at Ms. magazine. Her passion for writing led her acceptance to Spelman College in Atlanta before transferring to Saint Lawrence College in New York. Published in 1982, Walker’s most famous novel won the Pulitzer Prize, a reward regarding the encouragement of public morals, and wowed people across the nation as Steven Spielberg turned the enlightening novel into a phenomenon on the big screen. Born and raised in Georgia, Walker’s firsthand knowledge of survival in south and similar lifelong struggles molded the all-too-real characters of The Color Purple.
Growing up in the deep American South, main character Celie is compelled to deal with the reality of being at the bottom of the social chain. Not a day older than fourteen, Celie’s life is more complicated than most grown Americans’. Her mother lays immobile on her death bed while her father continues to brutally abuse and rape her. Celie’s two children, from which her father had impregnated her with, were stolen away before she had a chance to raise them. Nettie, Celie’s younger sister and the only person she loves, becomes separated from her as well. With no knowledge if Nettie is alive or dead, Celie, who served as her protector and best friend, finds her entire world falling apart.
With no one else to turn to, Celie develops a strong relationship with God. Walker styles the book in a letter format, where each page is a new entry dedicated to God. Celie’s faith in God is the current pushing her through constant “hard times,” and the hope that life will be better eventually. Told from Celie’s perspective, the reader is able to have insight towards this young black woman’s feelings in daily life. The vernacular can be challenging to understand at first, yet the lack of correct spelling and grammar only adds to the intricate character of Celie. Never having a formal education, Celie writes exactly how she would talk; her accent practically jumps off each page. The tone of the novel is crucial in providing a constant reminder that Celie is an uneducated black woman who struggles just to stay alive. While the language may not be strong, the messages Celie tries to pass on are even more impressive and meaningful. A strong sense of compassion is felt almost immediately towards Celie for her continuous optimism despite the rudeness and cruelty she is subjected to.
As a teenager, Celie is forced to marry a man who does not love nor care for her. Celie’s primary job is caring for his children, who treat her awful, as well as working for hours on end under the harsh sun in the field. On a regular basis, Celie gets beaten and whipped for no reason at all. The constant abuse, both physically and mentally, nearly tears down every last bit of self-love she has inside. Her new life is not much different than that of her destroyed childhood. Reminded daily of her pointless self and unworthy being, Celie is degraded to the point where she wishes for death. Celie’s internal and external beauty, along with her religious views and fantasy of seeing Nettie are the only reasons she does not collapse on the spot.
Celie persistently prays for the health of her sister, for something inside her makes her believe Nettie is alive and well, probably living better than she is herself. The thought of ultimately seeing Nettie keeps Celie motivated to endure the life she lives until she can escape. As a reader, we pity Celie because of her “quiet as a mouse” and overly obedient persona. Too intimidated to establish a name for herself, Celie lands in dangerous situations by doing nothing at all. With an insight into the past, the novel forces us to ponder the growth of our country and our own lives. Nothing we deal with even comes close to the complex issues Celie must face. The constant discrimination Celie faces because of her race and sex told firsthand in a matter-of-fact sort of way is disgusting but not unimaginable. It makes the readers, especially the females, greatly appreciate everything Celie has had to overcome.
The Color Purple describes the harsh reality of the Deep South through the eyes of a woman at the center of it. Although it was written decades after the end of slavery, the lives of Celie and her relatives are in no way equal to those of their white counterparts. Walker offers a great deal of American history from a side many people are not aware of. Because of its simple and straightforward dialect, the novel leaves room for the readers to develop their own feelings and intuitions throughout the story. While some feel sympathetic for Celie, others may grow to dislike her passive nature and acceptance of the lowest quality of life. No matter which view one possesses, The Color Purple pushes racism aside to inspire every last one of us in Celie’s never ending quest for survival.

Snow Angels review

Snow Angel Book Review

Josephine Bush

January 2011

Snow Angels is a literal merit novel which was written in 1994 and was the first of many novels to come from the world-renowned author Stewart O’nan. Stewart O’nan resides in Connecticut. He was born in Pittsburgh and grew up following a very normal childhood. Once he was 18 years old, he attended Boston University and a few decades later little did he know he would come out with his first novel, Snow Angels . The novel is written in one format, from two points of view. The entire book has you wondering why these stories are written side by side. Snow Angels, is written so any reader can relate to it and feel a connection. The problems that both significant roles suffer are day to day scenarios, where life throws you a fast pitch and you just weren’t ready. Stewart O’nan wrote a real novel in a non-fiction composition.

Snow Angels is a tale that shows two different families. You get to know each of them and their circumstances, good and bad and how they go about their day-to-day lives. Both families were affected by one tragedy that tore them even further apart.

During the mid 1970s, peace and love, was in the air but the Pennsylvania setting was cold and quiet. In a small town, Stewart O’nan tells the main characters’ stories from their point of views. Arthur Parkinson is a teenager who is similar to every other teenage boy. He is curious about girls, has issues with his parents, plays around with cigarettes and marijuana. Arthur has an older sister who has taken her life into her own hands. Astrid is abroad and serving the country. She worries greatly about her family, but always tries to scold her younger brother to cooperate with their parents. At the same time, the reader follows the life of Annie Marchand. She used to be Arthur’s babysitter, his first young crush, but now she is a young adult, who is tackling marriage and a lifestyle that she may not have been ready for.

After Arthur’s and his sister Astrid’s parents split, he begins to live a very different life. Together the family got by and made a good amount of income to put an adequate amount of food on the table, but now they have moved to a worse part of town, where Arthur is often embarrassed to tell people of his situation nowadays. His dad has no real place of residence and goes in and out of hardships with another woman. Everything seems to be hard. Arthur has a crush on a girl and does not know how to handle the circumstance, as well as treat his parents, school seems to become less of his priorities and so does band. He began to start skipping practices which lead to the worse thing of both his and his previous babysitter’s life. Every point brings the reader to have some sympathy for the characters. He has seen something that would frighten anyone alive and would break Annie’s heart apart.

Both of the main characters are growing up. Arthur in his adolescent stage and Annie in her young adulthood. She grows up to marry, who she thought she was in love with Glen Marchand. After despair, lack of loyalty, distrust and other common marriage problems, they also decide to end there marriage even though they have conceived a young daughter together. Glen still loves her, but she goes as far as to sleep with one of her best friend’s boyfriends. Then from time-to-time, she simply leaves her daughter, neglecting her duties as a mother. She has truly sinned and makes a hazard through out the entire book. But when her daughter turns up missing and later is found dead. Who is to blame? Could it be her ex-husband, someone she knew or even someone who just happened to sweep her daughter away? She would never find out herself.

Sleep Towards Heaven

In the novel Sleep Towards Heaven by Amanda Eyre Ward, the pages tell a story of relationships combined with constant suspense and foreshadowing. The entire book was written in the third person, following the lives of three very diverse women. There is the serial killer, the doctor, and the librarian. Throughout the book, the three separate lives alter to eventually join each other in the end, in a dry Texas town on a boiling day, to create a bond the unexpected bond.

The book begins with the story of Karen Lowens, also known as the Highway Honey, a name given to her by the media. She is located in Gatesville, Texas at an all women’s prison. She has been on death row for five years, and finally received the date for her to be executed in August. At this certain point in time, no woman in Texas has been executed, so Karen is in denial. It is not until Jackie gets executed, one of her friends from death row, that Karen realizes her time is coming. Franny Wren is the next character introduced in the book. She began living in New York City with her fiancé Nat. At her job she took care of a young girl who had cancer, and she died from it. She blamed herself for the death, and never forgave herself or returned to her normal self. After certain relationships ended, and a family tragedy occurred, Franny moved to Gatestown to fill a job at the all women’s prison as a doctor. Her primary patient happened to be Karen Lowens. Celia Mills is the third and final main character in the book. She recently lost her husband Henry, the absolute love of her life, in a quick, unfair, tragedy. Throughout the book she lives by herself in Austin, Texas. Near the end of the novel, all three women gather in one place, for one event. After knowing each other for less than forty-eight hours, they create an unimaginable bond.

The style the book was written in, made the story more intriguing to read. Each chapter is told from a different woman’s life. So every ten pages or so you read, you are switching from Karen to Franny to Celia. This makes the reader able to understand each character and their life. It also makes each chapter have a new setting, so you don’t get bored with the same plot the whole book. For instance, Karen is a female serial killer, so the public stereotypes her as a terrible person with no soul. But when Ward puts you in Karen’s life you learn about her past relationships and her disease, and you look more at Karen as a person, rather than a worthless criminal. Karen also made an intense impact on Franny and Celia, both for the good and the bad, which changes their lives forever.

I would highly recommend people to read this book. The main reason is because the story is moving, entertaining, and a quick read, even though there are complex concepts presented. The story goes through deaths, crimes, relationships, and life changing decisions, which can create some controversial opinions between readers. With each chapter, the reader gets a new perspective from the different character. The way the author tied all three stories and perspectives together to form one conclusion, is great. She really did a well job forming relationships between her three characters, especially because each woman was so different, and typically would not be united. Also, the reader can connect and relate with each character on some level through their pasts, relationships, jobs, or certain situations. Overall, the book gives a solid story about the strength and capability women can have.