Reviews
I don’t like doing book reviews all that much. If I love a book, that’s one thing. Often, though, I don’t like what I review. Then the book that someone took months, and possibly years, to write and sell, is read by me in a day, and torn up in a book review in an hour. It’s not something I enjoy.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
President Theodore Roosevelt
Of course there are those writers who have never broken a sweat, who have not striven valiantly or in any noticeable way, who are enthusiastic about their books but not so much about learning to write well, who are mostly devoted to cranking out formulaic stories in as few days as possible, who are neither devoted to, nor spent for, their writing, and who at best fail quietly, and at worst know financial success and think they’ve succeeded in doing something good…those writers…those writers deserve to get ripped in reviews. Unfortunately they are the very ones who don’t care, I’m guessing.
So, for good or ill, my reviews follow.
picture books
God’s Winter Wonderland
~written by Allia Zobel Nolan, illustrated by Melanie Mitchell
~written by Renee Riva, illustrated by Steve bjorkman
~by Jeannie St. John Taylor
~written by Renee Riva, illustrated by Steve bjorkman
~written and illustrated by The De Villiers Family
~written by Max Lucado, illustrated by George Angelini
~written by Karen Scalf Linamen, illustrated by Phyllis Hornung
~written and illustrated by Carlyn Beccia
~written and illustrated by The De Villiers Family
~written by Carmela LaVigna Coyle, illustrated by Bruce MacPherson
~written by Diane Z. Shore, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
manga
~Realbuzz Studios
middle grade
~Jonathan Rogers
~Katherine Paterson
~Jeanne DuPrau
~J. Scott Savage
~Mary Ann Rodman
~R.K. Mortenson
~R.K. Mortenson
~Andrew Peterson
~Shannon Hale
~written and illustrated by Carlyn Beccia
~Wayne Thomas Batson
~Jonathan Rogers
~Louis Sachar
~Jonathan Rogers
young adult
~Donita K. Paul
~Donita K. Paul
~Donita K. Paul
~Sarah Anne Sumpolec
~Lois Lowry
~Shelley Adina
~Kathryn Mackel
~Alan Gratz
~Barb Huff
