Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Synopsis: This story tells of the real Oz, the one that wasn't shown in the movie. It centers around Elphaba, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba is born with green skin, a keen intellect, and vicious teeth. She lives in a somewhat magical, albeit turbulent, world filled with Munchkins, animals who talk, sorcery, and a tyrannical wizard in charge. Elphaba grows into a young woman and travels to Shiz to attend school. There she meets Galinda, an upper-class girl who is more concerned with her face than her brain. Over the years, however, they become close friends. As an adult, Elphaba begins to take on more identies: hesitant matchmaker, Animal rights activist, terrorist, mother, and more.

The Good: The author has created a very real world for his characters. There were different cultures, each with their own language, appearance, and set of rites. The book as a whole had a language of its own. While I didn't particularly care for Elphaba (or most of the characters, actually), I can appreciate that she was whole. She had believable motives and inconsistencies. And well, I gather that she wasn't supposed to be likeable. So in that respect, the author succeeded. I liked to hear the author's spin on a character that is so well-known but still so mysterious.

The Bad: I'm not quite sure why, but this book left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't sympathize with any of the characters. I didn't care for the plight of Oz or worry about their government. I just couldn't get into the story of Elphaba's travels. Even when it is revealed that some major characters were killed or died, I just thought, "Huh." Nothing else, which is a bad sign. Finally, the ending was just so bland. The climax was bland. I guess I didn't like the book because the whole thing was just bland to me. I will say, however, that having never seen The Wizard of Oz might be affecting my opinion. Maybe if I had seen the movie, my feelings would change. I don't think so, though.

Anna Karenina (part one) by Leo Tolstoy

Synopsis: This is a story with several individual story lines that occasional blend into one complicated. Stepan (I'll only use first names in this description, as the full names are quite long and complicated to keep repeating) is a vibrant man and unfaithful husband to Darya (Dolly). As his infidelities are revealed, his sister comes into town to help patch up the relationship between the husband and wife. The sister, Anna, is married to a boring politician, Karenin. Meanwhile, Dolly's sister, Ekaterina (Kitty), is hopelessly in love with Vronsky--an up-and-comer in politics. Because she is expecting a marriage proposal from Vronsky, Kitty turns down a proposal from Levin--a farmer she has known since they were children. The plot thickens when Anna and Vronsky become enchanted with each other and everything is thrown into chaos.

The Good: I can easily see why this book has become a classic in literature. The scenery, characters, and plot are all very absorbing to read. Even the secondary characters are well-rounded. Maybe it's because I'm fascinated with Russian culture, but I loved learning about their traditions, issues, and relationships.

The Bad: I'll be the first to admit that I don't particularly understand or care for politics and agriculture. This has turned against me as a good portion of this book is about these subjects. Characters discussing or debating it, politicians creating policies about it, etc. If anything could put me to sleep after drinking Starbucks, it would be this. I think if Tolstoy had taken these portions out, the book would have been at least half its current length.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Synopsis: Andie is a fresh college grad and aspiring writer. Looking to jump past all the menial jobs on the way up the corporate ladder, she takes a job as the assistant to one of the most important women in publishing, Miranda Priestly. This position, if she can stay with it for a year, is sure to win her a spot at the New Yorker...her dream job. However, Miranda turns out to be insanely demanding and not a little sadistic.

The Good: This was a really fun, light-hearted story. I felt fairly sympathetic towards Andie and her situation. The tone of the story was casual, easy to read. The story and characters were well-formed. Even small aspects, such as the security guard who makes Andie sing each morning, were rounded out well enough to make this book a world in itself.

The Bad: While I enjoyed reading about Andie's work life, her personal life left something to be desired. Her best friend/roommate storyline was overly dramatic and unsympathetic. Her boyfriend was boring and predictable. Her parents were stereotypical. It almost felt like the life outside the office was thrown together as filler...not really applicable to the story. However, I understand that that had to be there if only to present Andie's struggle between work and home. Aside from that, the only other issue I really had was with the ending...a little too perfect, in my opinion. Just not realistic enough to be believable.

Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Synopsis: While visiting a monastery, Agent Pendergast (cue hero music) is enlisted to help retrieve the stolen Agozyen--a dangerous and unknown artifact. He is only told that it could bring about the end of the world. Pendergast, along with his ward, Constance, tracks the package to a ship. The Britannia makes its maiden voyage with the dangerous Agozyen, a deranged murderer, the agent, and 3,000 passengers. Meanwhile, there is tension and upheaval among the staff and captains.

The Good: The authors have a knack for creating interesting and three-dimensional characters, as well as writing with such force as to keep the reader glued to the book. Pendergast is such a great character and has even become one of my favorite literary characters. There are humorous incidences throughout the book, although they are rarer than in previous Preston/Child novels. For instance, when Pendergast manages to ruin the grand exit of a huge ship by demanding they allow him to board; when Pendergast plays a drunken gambler in order to help the security chief in the casino; when Constance is let loose to mingle among a crowd of people.

The Bad: Maybe because I had such high expectations of this book, I felt more than a little let down. Coming off of the Diogenese/Aloysius series that was just excellent, this book definitely fell flat. Constance and Pendergast came off as just plain snobby, rather than the cultured and intellectual characters they had been in the past. And although this was dubbed a Pendergast book, he seemed to only act as a secondary character. His contribution to the book was minimal, almost as if the authors threw him in to gain more readers. The primary characters were the ship's staff and guests. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as many of those characters were very interesting in themselves. The story line about a ship potentially sinking, along with a ghostly figure roaming the halls, seemed more fitting for a bad made-for-tv movie that would only air Halloween night. And while in the past, I've appreciated the authors' ability to go into great detail about various processes, I was pretty confused throughout much of the book because of this. How a casino can go broke, how a ship functions, etc. Overall, the book just wasn't...great. And oh, it makes me sad.

Physical: An American Checkup by Jim McManus

Synopsis: The author is given a writing assignment: to review the executive physical offered at Mayo Clinic. He undergoes rigorous tests and is given a run-down of all possible problems he faces. Afterward, he muses on problems that face Americans and the histories of those problems...as well as other issues in the world today.

The Good Half: I'm breaking the book down by halves. It seemed like half the book was about his physical, while the other half consisted of random musings. The good half was his trip to the Mayo Clinic. I appreciate the research he did (and wrote about) on the clinic's founder and the history of smoking. There are many parts that made me laugh out loud: his exclamations of "hallelujah!" when a doctor mentions how much wine he could theoretically drink; his meeting with the fitness technicians, which he likens to dominatrices; and more. His narrative comes across as honest, well thought out, and likeable. It was definitely interesting to read about life from the eyes of someone who is closer to death (so to speak) than myself.

The Bad Half: after finishing the book, I decided it should be renamed as Physical: An American Checkup...and other essays which may or may not be about physicals. He spouts off about stem cell research (which was highly informative), poker match disagreements, an emergency involving his daughter's stabbed eye (which was gruesome, but entertaining, to say the least), President Bush's faults, and many other seemingly unrelated topics. While I learned a lot from some of the essays, many more were clearly agenda-pushing or just plain useless.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Synopsis: Told through the mind of a middle-aged Native American, this is the story of an insane asylum ward and how a new patient shakes up the system. R.P. McMurphy (Mack) is a loud, charming, brash, natural-born leader. As a way to escape the rigorous life of a work prison, he feigns insanity (or does he?) and is transferred into the mental hospital. He instantly clashes with the controlling Nurse Ratched. Unable to follow the rigid rules of the hospital, Mack works to change policies, initiate a democratic setting, and just make life hell for the nurse and her aides.



The Good: This book is very interesting, bouncing between being funny and depressing. There were several laugh-out-loud parts, such as when a group is playing monopoly. The readers only get the dialogue of the scene, no visuals. But a visual picture isn't necessary to show how a game played by "lunatics" would turn out. "Where's your piece? Get it out of your mouth!" Also, I just adored McMurphy's character. He acts larger-than-life at times, but is weak at other times. He seems to know his weaknesses and embraces them. Also, the narrator is a great character, first admiring McMurphy at a distance and eventually warming up to him. At the end of the book, he is Mack's right-hand man.


The Bad: It was written around the 1960s and is full of racial slurs and stereotypes. This can be a little tough to read, when one isn't accustomed to it. The diction (which seems to be mostly southern/south-western) is hard on the eyes at first, but adds to the story. There are lots of characters to get to know, many with characteristics so similar, it takes a little longer to recognize them. Finally, the narrator (who is a little crazy himself) often uses technology-based metaphors to describe people and events. Instead of saying "the brain," he'll describe a series of electrical wires and cogs. This works well to familiarize the reader with his mental state, but also acts as a distraction. I wasn't too happy with the ending, but saw how it fit with the story.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

Synopsis: Harry, Hermione, and Ron begin a quest to search for and destroy all of the remaining Horcruxes that contain pieces of Voldemort's soul. In doing so, they learn of three powerful, magical objects called the Deathly Hallows. The person who gathers all three objects will become the Master of Death. In the meantime, the magical world has been taken over by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Hogwarts is under the control of Snape, and the future pretty much looks bleak.

The Good: I really enjoyed this book. It was my favorite of the series, by far. The best part was the maturation of all of the characters, seeing them grow. Ron and Hermione test out their relationship; Ron's jealousies of Harry are dealt with; even Harry's relationship with Kreacher grows. While there were many deaths, they were done in such a way as to further the book or the characters within it. I liked that Dumbledore proved to be human after all and Harry grew even more as a person than in any other book. Finally, I thought the deaths of Harry's parents and of Sirius were finally settled in a way that I'm not so upset anymore.

The Bad: I thought the story line about the Hallows was a little too lengthy and unnecessary. The book likely could have been carried by just the Horcruxes story. Also, I would have liked to see more of the series' characters...more about Snape, Ginny, the twins, the DA, etc. For the most part, it's just Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Finally, the epilogue was a little too neat and swift for me. I would have liked a winding-down, more of a resolution after the final battle. As it is, it jumps right into the somewhat stale epilogue.