Rating: 
Summary: silly yet sad, entertaining and wacky. my kinda book.
Review: the main characters life is one of compulsions, strange family members, and people in her life that all somehow connect and make life a little bit stranger. (i felt "at home" in such a book!) it has very funny little moments that made me snicker, and i grew compassion for the characters of the book. i read it in two days so that means it was a good one!
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Novel
Review: The world of Mona Gray, the protagonist of An Invisible Sign of My Own, is full of eccentricities. Living in a small town of modern-day America, Mona interacts with many peculiar residents. There's Mr. Jones, the hardware store owner who wears a different number each day and even her own father, a dermatologist, whose suffering from some unnamed and perhaps nonexistent disease causes him to search out inventive cures. However, Mona herself probably possesses more idiosyncrasies than anyone.From the first sentence of the first chapter, one will quickly discover that there is just something different about Mona. "On my twentieth birthday, I bought myself an ax," she declares. For me, characteristics like her crazy ideas, active imagination, and obsession with numbers make Mona all the more likable. The author, Aimee Bender, has accomplished much by telling the story of Mona in prose that captivates and draws the reader away from normalcy. It is interesting to be able to visit the mind of Mona as she deals with the struggles of daily life, such as teaching her second-grade math class. How could she have known that bringing an ax (in the shape of a 7, as she pointed out) into the classroom would result in injury? When not attempting teaching her adoring students, Mona fights the hardships of love. A self-proclaimed "quitter" since the age of 10, Mona has a difficult time keeping her new love, the science teacher. These subplots weave together to create the beautiful story of Mona Gray, seemingly a story of self-discovery. Much insight to life can be gained through Mona's view of the world. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a refreshingly charming and funny story. Thankfully, An Invisible Sign of My Own is definitely not your average novel.
Rating:
Summary: magical prose
Review: This is such a great book. Aimee Bender is an amazing author. Her short stories are magically delicious too. *smile* But seriously, her words roll around delightfully on the tongue and in the mind. This novel seems otherwordly at times, but I was always connected and enthralled, and I laughed often as well. Enjoy. Bender presents characters with thoroughly unique world views. (I have a good friend with a few mental disorders who loved this book because Bender's characters were WAY crazier than my friend is. *smile*)
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