Manon Lescaut

Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was all right. I found it a little difficult to sustain my disbelief that the narrator of the story, Chevalier, would stand by such a flighty, inconstant, gold-digger. She must've been really something, I guess - some kind of Helen of Troy. Anyway, though she never speaks for herself (her words always come through the filter of her lover, the narrator), she dies at the end while the narrator survives to become an upstanding guy again after having lived in sin so long. While I can appreciate the author not wanting to seem too scandalous in his day, the double standard of behavior is annoying. Unless you like reading classics/romances from the 18th century, this will probably only irritate you. :D

I like this kind of book and it irritated me. (Whiny main characters - especially male ones - irritate me). This would be a good book to explore in a course about transgressive women in the novel over the course of time. Otherwise, if you aren't a fan of 18th century (1700s) literature, I'd skip it and read something different.

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Mind's Eye

Mind's Eye by Paul Fleischman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quick read as it's in a play format - without most of the set descriptions & stage directions. The main character, Courtney is not very likable, but neither was Pollyanna right after her accident, so I can cut her some slack. Overall, it was a good book about imagination & the value that literature can have for an inner, mental life that other forms of entertainment don't always provide enough substance for.

I would definitely recommend this book to teens who need to do a book report in a hurry. I'd also recommend it to young people who like the sort of tearjerker where the main character (probably) dies in the end because she had sex once & got HIV or fell in love with a boy who dies at the end, etc... because this book is sort of like the book that comes after that. There's a terrible accident & the girl gets paralyzed, but that's not what this book is about. This is about her first few months in the hospital doing physical therapy & slowly recovering a will to live. It's not a tearjerker, but it deals with a terrible calamity that's befallen a beautiful girl.


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Three Bears' Halloween

The Three Bears' Halloween by Kathy Duval
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oldest son (age 4) thought this was a little scary, but was relieved that it wasn't a real witch, just Goldilocks in disguise. :) A cute story and take on the traditional Three Bears story.

Recommended for kids who like fairy tales, older preschool to 2nd grade will probably enjoy it the most. :D

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