Rough Chick

Rating:
Summary: Got heartstrings?
Review: I finished reading this book last week. It's kind of like a fable more than just a basic story. I usually just pass a book on or put it up on my shelf and move to the next one, but this one has stayed with me. This is for anyone looking for something outside the typical beginning-middle-end plot points.

Rating:
Summary: worth recommending
Review: I like many of the supporting characters very much, especially Alice, Adan, Frankie, and the witches. Adan in particular is a real achievement‹a believably smart, troubled kid who isn't written as a smart, troubled adult in a child's body, which is a frequent pitfall in writing child characters. His exchanges with the main character, Larkin, are often superb, and the dialogue in general is often crisp, funny, and flawlessly arranged and punctuated. I love the name "Larkin Fisher." It's mildly androgynous, with a hard, sharp sound‹and Alice's shortening to "Lark" is amusingly incongruous. The story is well designed and comprehensive and worth recommending.

Rating:
Summary: worth recommending
Review: I like many of the supporting characters very much, especially Alice, Adan, Frankie, and the witches. Adan in particular is a real achievement‹a believably smart, troubled kid who isn't written as a smart, troubled adult in a child's body, which is a frequent pitfall in writing child characters. His exchanges with the main character, Larkin, are often superb, and the dialogue in general is often crisp, funny, and flawlessly arranged and punctuated. I love the name "Larkin Fisher." It's mildly androgynous, with a hard, sharp sound‹and Alice's shortening to "Lark" is amusingly incongruous. The story is well designed and comprehensive and worth recommending.

Rating:
Summary: fun and fast
Review: I really liked this book. There are plenty of characters rounding out the cast. If you're looking for a story that doesn't have a need for genre, I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: rabbits and chickens and collars, oh my
Review: It's a little strange, a lot crazy, and very entertaining. It made me laugh. It made me cry. 'Nuff said.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely
Review: Just lovely. The spiritual vs. cynical aspect was often funny as well as disturbing. Sometimes the story was a bit far-fetched for me, but the quick-witted writing kept me interested.

Rating:
Summary: a review
Review: One might think the book was a bit too much. But the story stays within the realm of the possible and even includes the probable. I enjoyed the pace of the book, with its quick-witted exchanges and refusal to dwell on insightful moments.

Rating:
Summary: Put on your thinking cap
Review: This book has plenty of subtext for the active mind. There are themes under themes in this story, but they don't compete with each other and end up in a convoluted mess. The story follows a clear, linear path and is often quite funny too. I won't give away the ending, but I didn't know how well the plot was put together until I understood about the elemental pentacle. The author seems to be knowledgeable on a few varying topics. There are philosophical and historical references along with some occult jargon. I liked Larkin, the conflicted anti-heroine (and not just because she's a Virgo), but I LOVED her lover, Alice. Their conversations are a great dance of half-intimacy. I wished there were more exchanges between them. This book was a very entertaining read and if you want to get everything out of it, you might want to read it more than once.

Rating:
Summary: a review
Review: This book was...intriguing. Poignant in parts. Funny in a dark humor sort of way. If you want to know what you're getting story-wise, here's the scoop. The main chick, Larkin, doesn't really like people. Not many, anyway. One day she's sitting in a coffee shop, minding her own business, when another woman walks in and starts talking to her (uninvited). She rattles off this whole woe is me (woe is I) speech about how she's a battered woman and Larkin starts feeling less annoyed and more like she should help her. This is where the strange parts come in. I don't want to give away too much because I enjoyed being surprised. I'll just say that Larkin, referred to as Rough-and-Tumble by her girlfriend for her "contentious and uncommitted nature", tries to do what she thinks is the humanitarian thing. Along her journey, you get to meet some offbeat personalities and the disturbingly honest Adan, a seven-year-old boy who has accepted the fact that all adults are insane. In addition to a clever story and interesting imagery, this book also leaves you feeling that we are all (in a true Earth-based religion sort of way) connected to each other.

Rating:
Summary: worth your time
Review: This book was...intriguing. Poignant in parts. Funny in a dark humor sort of way. If you want to know what you're getting story-wise, here's the scoop. The main chick, Larkin, doesn't really like people. Not many, anyway. One day she's sitting in a coffee shop, minding her own business, when another woman walks in and starts talking to her (uninvited). She rattles off this whole woe is me (woe is I) speech about how she's a battered woman and Larkin starts feeling less annoyed and more like she should help her. This is where the strange parts come in. I don't want to give away too much because I enjoyed being surprised. I'll just say that Larkin, referred to as Rough-and-Tumble by her girlfriend for her "contentious and uncommitted nature", tries to do what she thinks is the humanitarian thing. Along her journey, you get to meet some offbeat personalities and the disturbingly honest Adan, a seven-year-old boy who has accepted the fact that all adults are insane. In addition to a clever story and interesting imagery, this book also leaves you feeling that we are all (in a true Earth-based religion sort of way) connected to each other.