The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (Thorndike Large Print General Series)

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I put this book on my Christmas wish list because of all the reviews I had read about it in various media. However, once I read it, I was very disappointed in it. It is supposed to be a collection of short stories with a central charactoer, Jane. However, in the middle of the book the author swithes gears and writes a story about the family that lives below Jane's elderly aunt that has nothing to do with Jane at all. Then later on there is another story about a women with cancer that doesn't seem to have any connection with the rest of the book. I also felt no empathy for the herorine of the book at all. I think the author could do a better job at making the reader feel for Jane, but it just doesn't happen. Save your money, buy a better book!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I read this book quickly and couldn't put it down. I realized, part of Jane has been in almost every woman I've known at one time or another, including myself. I could relate completely to her throughout her life. Towards the end, I fell in love with Robert as she did, and felt every emotion she did. Melissa Bank did an excellent job with this book by letting me understand girls, men, and myself, just that much better.

Rating:
Summary: What looked like a promising book was a disapointment
Review: I read this book up until page 104. Then all of a sudden the story jumps to some inane story that has nothing to do with Jane. This book should have kept going with the Jane character and not jumped in the middle of the book to another unknown story. And if Jane was so practical, why did she knowingly get involoved with this older man? The author really never quite tells us what Jane sees in him,what the attraction is. Promising book, but needs a good rewriting.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. The reader can easily relate to the stages of life the main charater, Jane Rosenthal, experiences. It is through these life changes that she grows, learns and better understands herself. It was very hard to put down! Melissa Banks is truly a talented writer.

Rating:
Summary: Hunting with privledge
Review: While a very well written and amusing novel, I found it increasingly difficult to identify with the narrator's "plight," because of her economically privledged background. The last chapter, however, in which the narrator encounters a book akin to the infamous "The Rules" (a horrible anti-feminist guide to man catching & playing hard to get) was hilarious and could (& should!) stand on its own as a short story.

Rating:
Summary: Needs a good edit
Review: Such a promising beginning, as witty as a minuet for two chapters, and then it kind of bogs down and gets repetitive. A bit like Terry Pratchet - his first book amazes you and then by number 3 you realise it's the same old formula. But wait there's more. The ending kind of redeems the book. If she'd edited out about a third of the book it would have been a classic, but in the middle she pushes the recycle button for a while and you get deja 'vu 'hey hasn't she aleready said all this'. Good light witty reading but a little dissapointing because of what could have been.

Rating:
Summary: pretty good read
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and a good story. I like the style of writing here. I'm looking forward to the next book by Banks!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not that deep
Review: I thought this was a good book, but not that deep. The characters were not completely filled out, but I thought it was a fun read. The author does make you care about Jane, but it is not enough to raise the quality of the book above other books of the same type.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book For Teens!
Review: I thought it would be good to write a review since I am 15. I thought that this book was actually quite good and it told a story about myslef at this age. Melissa Bank understands what teenagers go through, which is very uncommon in adults. A very good read for Teenagers AND adults!

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as expected
Review: I wasn't actually expecting a book of short stories. Although they were connected to each other, I felt I missed a great part of the book. I didn't really get to know the main character, Jane, as much as I would have liked. But, the parts that I did get to learn were wise and funny, especially the last chapter. My only question is why the author threw in those two chapters that had nothing at all to do with the rest of the book. Didn't make any sense and did not add to the value of the story. My recommendation: wait for the paperback or see your library.