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This book was a quick read. It held my interest, and I enjoyed the quirky characters, such as Auntie Umbrella. It had an air of surrealism, as the protagonist, a teenager with a comic book obsession, is plunged into a strange world he doesn't understand, and he applies his knowledge of comic book worlds in his effort to understand and fit in. At times, that made it difficult for me to grasp what was happening, so I found it an enjoyable read but not a great one.

In Rush Home Road Lansens once again demonstrates her talent for creating fully developed characters that seem like old friends by the end of the book. Addy Shadd is a woman whose misfortunes are not of her own doing, and she comports herself with dignity, grace, and empathy. Little Sharla Cody is a most unloveable little stray at first, but with Addy's guidance, she grows into a delightful child. I loved reading about Addy's history and the developing relationship between her and Sharla. I would have given this book five stars except for one glaring flaw. There is a very big coincidence at the end, and I dislike coincidences in fiction. They are too deus ex machina for my liking. Still, Lansens has proven herself once again to be a powerhouse writer, and I will continue to enjoy her work.

I read Home a couple of weeks after reading Binti. I enjoyed this book, also, and am looking forward to the next installment.

Okorafor takes more time to develop the story in this book, which is good, and I feel that her characters and their circumstances have greater verisimilitude as a result. I do fear that the protagonist, Binti, may come to suffer from Aylaism (my own word for a character who becomes too much of an archetype or symbol, being the first to do this and the first to do that, ad nauseum, losing their humanity and believably in the process, like Ayla in the Clan of the Cave Bear series).

This book was recommended to me by a librarian friend when I asked friends for suggestions of something light to read on the plane during my trip to Namibia. Since there are Himba people in Namibia, the Binti books were the perfect suggestion.

I really enjoyed this story. It was fresh and original, and I enjoyed the elements of Himba culture that were woven into the story.

My only criticism is that Okorafor rushes the story in spots. She does too much telling, and not enough showing. I needed more time to see Binti adjust to being on the ship and away from home and to develop relationships with others on the ship. Similarly, I needed more time to understand her ultimate transition from fear to acceptance. The bones were there, but Okorafor could have fleshed this out more.

Still, the book held my interest and I looked forward to reading the next book.

This book was a page turner. The protagonist, Mary, was in such a predicament that kept getting worse, so, of course, I kept reading to see what would happen. Lansens also made her such a believable character, I couldn't help but empathize and care about her.

It's not often anymore that a book keeps me up late reading, but this one did. After reading The Girls and then this book, Lansens has become one of my favourite authors.

Waterlily is a bit of a slow read at times, but it is an important and interesting story, since it documents the traditional lifestyles, customs, and social/kinship bonds of the Dakota people, via the vehicle of the tale of Waterlily. It also details some of the effects of contact, since Waterlily grows up in a community that has no contact with white settlers but lives for a time in a community that does.

This is a story I wish everyone on Turtle Island could read to counteract the false ideas spread by Hollywood and history books.

This was another disappointment for me. I really liked Lamb's older works but haven't enjoyed his more recent ones.

I found this book disjointed. The plot holding together Lamb's pronouncements about the plight of women and the need for feminism was very thin, and I found his use of ghosts to discuss historical examples of women's inequality silly and contrived. As a result, much of the story was almost straight exposition (telling vs showing), and so it was eminently put-down-able.

This is unfortunate. I know Lamb has talent and skill, but I think lately he has allowed the story to be overshadowed by the message.

This is one of the better books I've read in some time. The characters are compelling, the storyline well-developed and suspenseful, and the message still relevant.

Some people take issue with the book, and I have to agree that their concerns have merit. The people of colour are somewhat stereotyped. So are many of the white people, such as Hilly, if it comes down to it, but it's more problematic when victims of racism are stereotyped.

Also, some people raise concerns with what they see as racist attitudes and statements on the part of the author. This may be true, but it's important to remember that one can't always attribute the attitudes of the narrators to those of the author. Narrative voice does not equal author's voice.

For example, when Skeeter calls both black girls she plays with, "Mary," because she can't tell them apart--does this mean that the author has racist attitudes, or that she has drawn Skeeter in a believable and realistic way for someone who grew up in Mississippi in the 1940s and 50s? Yes, Skeeter becomes a champion of the maids, but would it really be likely that she would spring, fully formed in enlightenment, from her father's head and never reflect the racism she is taught, when she is a child--and even, to some degree, as an adult, even if she's better than the others to start with and learns more as the novel progresses? I doubt it.

Another criticism leveled at this book is that Skeeter becomes a sort of white saviour. If this were a big part of the book, it would be a fault I'd have difficulty overlooking. I dislike when stories that are intended to be anti-racist put the white person at the centre, teaching the people of colour how to save themselves. (Think "Dances with Wolves" or "Avatar" as examples, albeit with Indigenous people.) I think "The Help" is somewhat less guilty of this, although I can understand why some people might see it as a problem in this book. However, it is a story with multiple narrators--two of them maids who are black, and one of them the white woman, Skeeter. And, throughout, Skeeter is shown to be the one taking the least risk, and this becomes increasingly clear to her as the novel progresses. Also, if I remember correctly, the editor says that the stories written by Aibileen need the least work to make them publishable. So, even there, Aibileen is shown to be more skilled than Skeeter. Thus, while there might be a bit of white saviour syndrome happening here, I think the author does attempt to portray the maids as the real heroes, with Skeeter being merely the vehicle for them to express themselves.

Anyway, I think this book is well worth a read, while bearing in mind the criticisms.

I think this is my favourite Eden Robinson book, so I'm glad it is the first in a trilogy. It's dark--as Ms. Robinson's books tend to be--but not so dark that it gave me nightmares. It's also funny and real and engaging, just like Ms. Robinson.

It reminded me somewhat of Aaron Paquette's Lightfinder. In fact, I wanted to introduce Jared to Aisling. I think they would have a lot in common. Both are young adult novels (sort of), and both incorporate spiritual, magical, and mystical elements from First Nations culture.

While both books have young adult protagonists, I think they have a lot of appeal for adults, too. Also, Robinson's book contains mature themes and coarse language that some parents might not want their kids reading, although I think that none of it is gratuitous, as it is important to both the characters and their circumstances.

I went to an event where Eden Robinson was promoting this book. It was the second event I've attended where she was speaking, and I love listening to her, because she has such a great sense of humour and mischief, and she has one of the best laughs I've ever heard. In this book, her sense of humour and mischief were more in evidence, to me, moreso than in her other books. I'm looking forward to the next.

This was a fun read. At first, the Singlish was a bit of a challenge, but I soon figured out the meanings from the context, and it added to my enjoyment of the book and, particularly, to Jazzy's character.

This isn't a weighty literary tome. It's a light read--sort of a Singaporean Bridget Jones, or Sex in the City set in Singapore. After reading a lot of more serious, darker books recently, I enjoyed the break.

This book explores the struggles of an overweight woman to be accepted in society and to accept and love herself. Unfortunately, she never really achieves this, so it sends a pretty depressing message. It does demonstrate that, even if the weight is gone, the damage done by society's attitudes towards weight lingers. This is an important insight that overrides some of the book's flaws.

The book is well-written and a fairly fast read, but I didn't care for the "collection-of-short-stories-but-not-really" format, which I found disjointed. And while there was much to empathize with, it was sometimes challenging to empathize with Lizzie/Beth/Elizabeth, because she did not like herself much and didn't give the reader many reasons to like her, either.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did.

I am Cree, and I have worked in the Aboriginal community, teaching Native Studies. My grandmother was a residential school survivor. I live with the intergenerational effects of that. My mother-in-law and her sisters and brothers are residential school survivors.

In addition, my mother died of cancer. She was only in her 50s.

So, there were many reasons for me to read this book and to feel connected to it.

Furthermore, I greatly admire Wab Kinew. He is highly intelligent, charming, and accomplished. I've attended presentations by him twice, and both times, I was impressed and moved. I think he is a strong role model for our youth, and I was very interested in reading his book.

However, I don't think Mr. Kinew's storytelling abilities translated fully to this book. Many times, it seemed he was simply cataloguing events instead of weaving a story about them. It was like reading lists or reports, and I frequently struggled to keep reading.

At other times, I found it difficult to understand whether the book was about Mr. Kinew's accomplishments or his father's experiences, struggles, and achievements. It often seemed it was more of the former. Of course, there is a connection, but I think it would have made more sense to focus more on the father, perhaps saving the autobiography for the future.

I think that Mr. Kinew had an important story to tell about his father and overcoming Residential School Syndrome. I think that Canadians and others can learn from reading this book. However, I think this book wasn't fully "cooked" yet, and I think it could have benefitted from more revising and editing.

That said, I would still recommend this book, but I would recommend even more that you go and hear Mr. Kinew speak, if you get the chance.