Mito Chikhladze Chikhladze itibaren Harîka, Irak itibaren Harîka, Irak

Definitely more graphic (sex and violence) than what I'm used to but the plotting and writing makes it worthwhile. Falls in the cyber-punk genre.

I've been fascinated with Amelia Earhart since I was a kid, so I already knew a lot of her story. The book barely touched upon her disappearance, as the subtitle might suggest, but instead focused on her life and accomplishments. Illustrations, consisting of paintings and photos, allowed me to see the increasing sophistication of the airplanes she flew. I appreciated the bibliography and list of web sites in the back of the book (must check those out!). This book won the Orbis Pictis Award for 2009 for outstanding nonfiction for children, and I think it's well deserved. The author obviously did her homework, bringing out key events and interesting anecdotes in Earhart's life. Recommended for any child interested in flying and what women are capable of doing.

In all technical aspects, this was a great book. And yet. (Ugh, all of the "And yet." sentences drove me insane) I think I just didn't really feel that much of a connection to Leo, whose story is center stage despite the rotating cast of narrators. While I felt bad for him, I just inherently disliked him, and though his whole life was a tragedy, I didn't feel his hurts nearly as deeply as I felt Alma's. I suspect that has more to do with the fact that I'm a young woman and can relate to the pangs of adolescence much more than I can to spending an entire lifetime of lovelorn emptiness after escaping the Holocaust, so take that as you will. The stories within the novel were gorgeous and heartbreaking, and I think I enjoyed the excerpts from "The History of Love" and Isaac's books more than anything else. Everything ties up very neatly at the end, and the convergence of the multiple storylines was truly awesome. I can say I definitely preferred the latter half of the book to the beginning, and have a feeling that if I didn't have to read this for a class, I probably wouldn't have finished it, though I'm extremely glad I did. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, but I can't say that I *really* liked the book, although I found it affecting. If you're in the mood for a little heartbreak and some more experimental writing, this very well could be up your alley.

An anwesome book. I couldn't put it down!

A wonderful book that gently reminds what is really important in life, and where happiness can be most easily found.

Light romantic comedy with a political setting.