Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughter House Five

One Word Summary: Edgar Derby and the teapot

Synopsis: Billy Pilgrim is an unremarkable youth. He goes to war. He's still alive after the Dresden Bombings. He comes home from war and life goes on. Except he has a nervous breakdown. His life is remarkable only for its blandness-wife, children, big house. His fantasy life is pretty fantastic (he's on display at a Tralfmadorian zoo with his mate Montana Wildhack, an earthling porn star) but it also what you'd imagine a boring man would dream up. In the end he dies. And even though Billy is emotionally detached (among other things) from his life you kind of feel sad for him and wish it could have been different.

Recommendation: I liked this book. It has style. I didn't like this book. It is depressing.

Rate: 4.5 dimensions

Kristin Harmel: After

One Word Summary: Kate's Club

Synopsis: Lacey's father is dead. He was a great dad. One year later she's relishes the opportunity to help other kids who've lost a parent too soon. Turns out there's a lot of kids grieving.

Review: Is is heinous to criticize a story about a girl who's father/mother/sibling dies? In short this novel was okay, but not particularly memorable. I liked that Kristin Harmel included other ways a child can loose a parent. I liked the shifting dynamics of a family coping with loss, and the depiction of the other two families as well.

Rate: 2 rainbows

Other Books:

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessin
That one with the girl who gives a boy a leprechaun hat. She dies tragically and he leaves it in her coffin. She's the friend of the girl who's mother dies.
The one with the girl who learns to surf. She's from New Jersey.

Delacort Press 2010