Prep

by Curtis Sittenfield

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this book. While reading it, I went through it really quick, because I wanted to find out how the protagonist's life would inevitably spiral out of control in a public way (so said the jacket cover). When I was finished, though, all I could think was, "that's it? That was the big ending?"

The writing's just fine. It's written in the first person, as the main character (Lee Fiora) is looking back on her high school boarding experience from an adult's perspective. I really liked how well I could relate to Lee. I, too, attended public school my entire life up until college, when I opted for private, and the transition Lee felt going from public grade school to a private high school was very familiar to me. Even some of her personality traits were strikingly similar to my own, but I suspect most girls could relate to a teenage Lee just as well.

Thinking back on the plot, I'm surprised the book is as long as it is, since it doesn't seem like that much actually happened. And it wasn't like Curtis Sittenfield was overly descriptive either; I think a lot of pages went to Lee's obsessive analyzing over every situation, every person at Ault, her school. I started to get a little fed up with her attitude, actually, and wanted to just shake her out of her false impressions. But then, I guess that's the best part of this book: seeing Lee's mistakes showed me some similar ones I've made, and makes me want to never commit hers. So, in the end, you might get something out of this book too. I wouldn't really recommend it, though. There are many, many books out there, and unless you don't mind using some of your free time on an okay book, I'd opt for a better one.

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

One of my all-time favorites. It's a classic, so you really can't go wrong, although there are some parts where Charlotte Bronte gets a little verbiose in her description of scenery. That's really my only complaint though.

The story begins with Jane Eyre as a young orphan living in her aunt's house, and the emotional abuses she suffers there. After a truly dreadful episode, she is sent away to boarding school, where she grows into an intelligent, austere young woman. Jane decides she wants to see more of the world, and so becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. The girl Jane tutors is the ward of Mr. Edward Rochester, the owner of Thornfield, a man not handsome, but striking in his personality. Jane falls in love with him, and he with her, but he has a dark secret that stands in the way of their happiness.

There are elements of Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca in here - or maybe elements of Jane Eyre in those two books, I don't know when each came out - which are two of my other favorite books. Jane is a strong heroine, and I love her/Charlotte Bronte's voice (it's written in the first person). Mr. Rochester is also a wonderfully sketched character, and the repartee between them at times is really funny. Like I said, the only complaint I have is that descriptions can get a little wordy and slow down the pace of the book, but it's worth getting through those parts because the plot and characterization are so good.

About A Boy

by Nick Hornby

I got through this book in just a couple days by reading it on long bus rides. It's a perfect summer read - fun, hilarious, a happy ending - what more could you want while chilling at the poolside?

Will's a 36 year old man whose days are filled with hair appointments, shopping, TV watching, hanging out with friends...he's never had a job, since he lives off royalties of a song his father wrote years before. He realizes that if he can only meet hot, single moms, he'd be in heaven, since their children tend to keep other men at bay. Will invents a child and joins SPAT, a support and socializing group for single parents, to put his plan into action.

Marcus is a 12 year old boy who's new to town, is mercilessly picked on at school, and, to top it off, his mother tried to kill herself. He decides that a bigger family is better than just 2, so that he'll have someone to help if his mom tries to commit suicide again. Enter Will. Marcus soons give up notions of Will and his mom ever getting married, but starts a friendship with Will that's extremely funny for the reader to watch grow.

Like I said, this is a light read that made me laugh out loud on the bus more than once (which drew some stares from the other riders, haha). It was made into a movie about 5 years ago, with Hugh Grant, and though I have yet to see it, I think I'd like to, to see if it lives up to the fun I had reading the book.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

by Khaled Hosseini

In one word: FABULOUS.

If you haven't read The Kite Runner yet, I highly recommend that as well. A Thousand Splendid Suns is Hosseini's second novel, and examines the intertwining lives of two Afghan women from the 1970's through today. Hosseini makes the reader care about the characters, and sheds light on recent Afghanistan history, something Americans like myself should really know more about.

Mariam is the illegitimate child of a rich businessman and a servant. Her father provides for herself and her mother, but when her mother commits suicide, instead of welcoming Mariam into his family, she is sent far away to an abusive marriage. From her house, Mariam sees Laila grow from a baby to a beautiful young girl, always in the company of her best friend, Tarique. How the two women come to know each other, and the relationship that flowers between them, is a wonderful part of the novel.

A Thousand Splendid Suns has everything a reader could want: action, romance, history, redemption. It shows how strong the human body and human spirit can be, and is a book you won't want to put down until you've finished. I seriously cannot stress enough what a great book it is.