The Book Addict Reviews: Tempest by Julie Cross

Genre:  Young Adult, Science-Fiction, Time Travel
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 2 stars   
Received this audiobook from my book blogging buddy, Jen Ryland from YA Romantics.  

In A Nutshell:  
Jackson Meyer has all the appearance of a "normal" guy.  He goes to school.  He has a girlfriend.  He is unsure how to handle his father.  He misses his sister desperately.  But he has recently learned that he has the ability to time travel.  However, time travel for Jackson is not like what you see in the movies.  His trips do not change the past--the people he meets do not even remember talking to him.  He cannot travel to the future.  But something has changed for Jackson--his normal life has been threatened by people he has never met...

Review:  
I was a little hesitant to jump into a time travel book after reading The Time Traveler's Wife.  Consequently this book sat on my shelf for a long time, but as part of my pledge to get the books I have at home read I decided to give it a try.  I am glad that I did.

In some ways, the characters seem a little stereotypical.  Jackson is the perfect rich kid who is also brilliant.  Holly is the perfect contrast as the good girl from the wrong side of the tracks who is beautiful enough and smart enough to attract Jackson.  Adam is the smart to the point of nerdy side-kick--he does not attract the girl but he is always there to save the day.  Initially, I was not impressed.  But as the story unfolded the characters gained depth that made them more interesting and took them away from these stereotypes.

Julie Cross' approach to time travel helped to draw out some of the complexities of these characters.  Jackson's time travel adventures only affect him--the people he interacts with and the changes he makes to events are only remembered by him.  But we can still learn a lot about him from the choices he makes even when he knows that it is fruitless.  We can also learn a lot about Holly and Adam from the interactions he has with them at different points in time.

Uncovering the complexities helped me to relate more to the characters--but I still felt the characters were a little too good to be true.  Adam seems to always have the answers and the skills needed in every situation.  Holly seems to have every attribute that Jackson wants and needs.  Jackson seems to be able to charm himself into or out of every situation.  Sometimes it feels a little too easy.

But I do not mean to give the impression that I thought Tempest was all bad.  Despite some of concerns about the characters, the story drew me in.  Jackson is a good narrator.  He has wit and a good eye for details.  His charm and charisma work as well on the reader as they do on the other characters.

The approach to time travel is unique.  Jackson's time travel adventures only affect him.  He is the only one that remembers the interactions he has with people during his time jumps.  The people he meets and talks to do not remember the encounter when he returns to the present.  The actions he takes do not change the results of the events in the present time.  But this approach also leaves me with my big question that I hope will be answered as the series continues: if time travel does not typically affect the present--what is the point? 

Recommendations:
I happened to pick this one up just before the release of the next book in the series--after the last couple of chapters I could not wait to read the next book to see where the story went from there:

The Book Addict Reviews: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Genre:  Young Adult, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Review for previous book in series: here
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
This book surprised me in so many ways--from a change in narrator to a change in the focus and feel of the story, but in the end I came to love it.  I do not know what more could be told of the story of Mia and Adam, but I really want to have them return because I am not ready to let them go.

Review:  
It took me longer than I initially anticipated to finish this series.  The first book had hit me so strongly that I just knew I was not emotionally prepared to finish Mia's story yet.  And in some ways, I am glad I waited.  But in some ways I felt this story lacked some of the power and emotional punch of the first.

A big part of the change was the complete change in narrator.  Instead of following Mia, we (the readers) are now following Adam.  This took me by surprise and took me a little bit to get used to--particularly since the title of the book was Where SHE Went. Eventually we learn where she went, but in reality this book seemed to focus a lot more on what happened with Adam after the end of If I Stay.

The change in narrator also affected the feel of the story.  Where Mia as narrator had a strong focus on her feelings and emotions--Adam as narrator had a stronger focus on actions.  He was so confused by emotions (both his and Mia's) that he kept his focus on the actions.  What Mia did.  What he did.  What his bandmates did.  This is not a bad thing--but it was unexpected after reading the first story where Mia was very focused on her own emotions and feelings about the accident.

But the end worked for me.  It made all of my confusion about the change in narrator and the change in focus work for me.  It made me glad I read this book and this series.  It made me hope that there was more to the story of Mia and Adam because I am just not ready to give them up.

Recommendations:
I was looking to see what else Gayle Forman had written, when I found a book I want to read because it reminds me a little of a book I had to read for school that really impacted the way I see globalization and its effect on the world:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Southern Fiction, Audiobook
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library.  

In A Nutshell:  
Kathryn Stockett did a wonderful job putting together a story filled with intriguing characters and unexpected surprises.  I am pretty sure I will never look at chocolate pie the same way again.  In fact, I am not sure I will look at many stories about the South, about Jim Crow laws, or about civil rights the same way again.  But I did have some issues with the story--in particular some questions come off as being one dimensional.  However, these issues did not take away from a story that left me laughing and crying over and over again. 

Review:  
After my last couple of experiences with audiobooks I was beginning to question my appreciation for audiobooks--until I found this book. The Help capitalized on the opportunity to utilize multiple narrators in order accentuate Kathryn Stockett's use of multiple narrators to tell her story.  It was very easy to keep the different narrators separate in my mind because they literally had different voices.  My one complaint was that the narrator chosen to read for Aibileen sounded younger than the narrator chosen to read for Minny so I kept forgetting that Aibileen was really the older of the two characters. 

The Help capitalized on the opportunity to tell the story that brought a time and a place I did not personally experience to life for me.  I do not think I will ever think of Jim Crow laws or the civil rights movement or Mississippi without thinking of Aibileen, Minny, and the other maids telling their stories or Hilly talking about her Home Help Sanitation Initiative or Elizabeth's approach and treatment of her children.

But in some respects I felt some of the characters were a little over simplified (or maybe one-dimensional is a better way to describe it).  They seemed to lack some balance of good and bad traits.  For instance, I know that Aibileen commented that Hilly was a good mother to her kids--but otherwise I do not think she had a single redeeming quality.  And if she is really that bad then how could Skeeter (who is very much portrayed as a good virtuous person) remain close friends for her so long.  In some respects, I could attribute it to Skeeter not wanting to incur Hilly's wrath--but their friendship seems to go beyond the bounds of friendship for politeness.  They were college roommates.  They were in bridge club together (at least for a while).  These were closer bonds than many people in the town could boast with Hilly.  So did Hilly have redeeming qualities that were not shown to the reader or did Skeeter make a mistake being such a close friend with Hilly for so many years?

Overall though, the book left a good impression on me.  It gave me insight into the way that people in the South related to each other.  For someone who grew up well after the civil rights movement, there were some aspects of that culture that I could not appreciate as much before reading this book.  The feelings that are described by the narrators who had to hide they were friends because a real threat of retaliation touched me in ways I had not expected when I started this story. 
 
Recommendations:
I have been putting off watching the movie until I had a chance to read the book--now I cannot wait to watch the movie!

The Book Addict Reviews: Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

Genre:  Non-Fiction, Women's Health, Health
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 2 stars   
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:  
Admittedly, my opinion of this book could be affected by the audiobook format.  However, while I was impressed with the science and research displayed in the book, I felt like I may be able to implement some of her recommendations but I am not sure I can do them all. 

Review:  
For years I have lived a very sedentary lifestyle.  I ate fairly well so I was not significantly overweight--but one day I decided I wanted to make change.  I started getting up early so I could workout before getting ready for work.  I started getting workout DVDs to focus my efforts.  And I decided that at least once a month I wanted to read at least one book to learn more about living a healthier lifestyle.

I decided to start with Master Your Metabolism because I had purchased Jillian Michaels: 6 Week Six-Pack and loved it. It totally killed my abs but was not so overwhelming (at least at level 1) for me.  However, this book left me a little underwhelmed or maybe it is better to say overwhelmed and under impressed.  The plan that she outlines seems very rooted in science but with as prevalent as the hormone inhibitors that she described are, I cannot see how I will be able to implement all of her ideas.

I am also not sure that this book works well as an audiobook--there was so much scientific data.  I could not always follow all of it well in audio format.  It may have been better if I could have referred to the PDF that came with the audiobook but I normally listen to audiobooks when I am in situations where I cannot hold a hardcopy book to read it.  In those situations, I cannot access a PDF either.  

Recommendations:
While this book left me wanting more, I still love this workout and do it about twice a week!

The Book Addict Reviews: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Genre:  Fantasy, Metaphysical, Historical
Order Online: Amazon.com  
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 2 stars   
Borrowed this book from library.  

In A Nutshell:  
While I loved the world that Erin Morgenstern created, I am not sure that this book was the best to tackle as an audiobook.  While the audiobook easily conveyed the magic and artistry of the world, the multiple story lines spanning different periods of time were sometimes hard to follow.

Review:  
I love audiobooks.  I love Jim Dale narrating audiobooks.  So when I found out that this book was narrated by Jim Dale, I could not wait to get my hands on it.  Admittedly I may have had unreasonable expectations based on my love of Jim Dale's narrations, but I was not overwhelmingly impressed with this story.

I think part of my lackluster feelings come from the choppy way the story is brought together.  We are following multiple story lines across multiple points in time.  And all of these story lines were hard to follow--which may not have been as much trouble if I had had the hardcopy so I could refer back to it. 

I am also still not 100% sure I am satisfied with the ending--and I waited all day to write this to see if I could decide how I felt and I still cannot really decide how I feel.  I felt like there were stories that were not left without an explanation in the end which is a little frustrating to me.  And even some of the answers I got seemed to lack some of the pageantry and ingenuity that made the rest of the story so magical.  At the end I felt underwhelmed.

What I did love--what absolutely kept me coming back despite my frustration with the choppy narrative--was the descriptions.  Erin Morgenstern created a world that was full of magic and wonder.  I want the Night Circus to come to my town so I could spend time in the tents and experience the artistry and magic that she described.  I want to be dazzled by Celia or Poppet and Widget or Tsukiko or really there are too many performances to choose from.  So in that case, I want to travel with the Reveurs and have a shock of red against a nice black and white suit so I have an opportunity to see them all.  Erin Morgenstern's descriptions have been the first and only time I truly understood why someone would want to "run away and join the circus."

Recommendations:
I love Jim Dale, so I immediately starting looking for the next book I can get to listen to him and decided to add this one to my TBR:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Audiobook
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: The Tolkien Society |
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
In some ways all the great things I had heard left me with very high expectations of this book--which also scared me a little because I was sure it could not reach my high expectations and I would be disappointed.  But J.R.R. Tolkien surprised me--he exceeded my expectations.  The mythology he created through this world he created was amazing.  The characters he created were charming and enchanting.  I laughed, I cried, I hoped, I grieved, but must of all I loved this book!

Review:
Ever since I went to the theater to see the first movie--I have been wanting to read these books.  I have tried a couple of times but I always seemed to get distracted about the time the party got into the Old Forest and Tom Bombadil led the group.  I could not seem to get past that road block into the rest of the story.

This year I made a pledge to try again--and to not stop until I got past this point that had always been a stumbling block for me before.  I also decided to try the audiobook to see if I had better luck.  I do not know if it that I was more determined, I was older and more ready to focus, or I was utilizing the audiobook which made it easier for me to work through the parts that were blocks for me in the past, but whatever it was I finished it this time.  And I am so glad that I did.

I understand that some people see the time with Tom Bombadil as a very important part of the story--so I do not want to sound like I did not appreciate Tom or that part of the story.  However, I did find myself more drawn into the story as we reached the elves and then as the fellowship traveled together.  I really want to find some of the information written about this book--to see what people have said about this book and this world that J.R.R. Tolkien created

The version I listened to had a foreword (which they put at the end?) written by J.R.R. Tolkien where he talked when he wrote the book and addressed some of the claims that readers had about the message he was trying to deliver through his story.  The foreword convinced me that this book would definitely be one that will benefit from re-reading and benefit from reading companion books about J.R.R. Tolkien, his life, and his writings. 

In general, I admired how J.R.R Tolkien's words created very detailed pictures in my mind.  I cannot wait to revisit the movie and see how it looked to me now that I had finished the book.  I feel like this experience with the book will help me appreciate some of the details of the movie even more. 

Recommendations:
I have been in love with Orlando Bloom as Legelos since the first time I saw the movie--so it is not like I need an excuse to watch the movie--but I think finishing the book does warrant a celebration and I choose:

And I think I may enjoy this guide as I tackle The Two Towers:

The Book Addict Reviews: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Genre: Young Adult, Self-Esteem & Self Respect, Social Situations, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from Library.

In A Nutshell:
Sarah Dessen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and this book just proved to be another reason why. 

Review:
Perfection.  It usually is seen as something to aspire to.  But Macy is using her pursuit for perfection (at least her boyfriend Jason's and her mother's definition of perfection) as an excuse to not fully live.  She follows her boyfriend through all of his intellectual and humanitarian interests, changing her life to be what he wants her to be.  She comes home every night to have dinner with her mother and study for her SATs so that her mother does not have to worry about her the same way her mother worried about her sister.

But then, her boyfriend asks for a break after she tells him that she loves him, and she ends up doing one of the first impulsive things she has ever done--asking for a job with Wish Catering.  And through Wish Catering, Macy started to learn how much she did not like her former "perfection."  Macy started to learn how much she wanted to change her life--how does she convince her mother that her group of new friends have been a positive influence on her life?  And how is she going to convince her mother that this change is for the better? 

Overall, I loved the book but I really struggled with the Macy's mom's character.  She was so clueless about her daughter's true feelings.  She kept holding Jason up as a sort-of prize, and I guess in some ways he was.  He was dedicated and motivated.  He was safe since he did not seem to have any inkling of desire to want a more physical relationship with Macy.  But he also made Macy feel less than.  The excessive way she described his perfection and the negative way that she described herself in comparison to him bothered me.  So when Macy's mom seemed to feed into that by talking about what a prize he was--I got bothered even more.  Also, I get that studying and being responsible is important, but the way that Macy's mother had a complete meltdown when Macy had friends and started having a life really bothered me.  The way she refused to listen to Macy--or even give Macy the time to try to talk to her--annoyed me and gave me food for thought as a parent.  A long list of things that I do not want to do when my daughter gets to be older came from seeing Macy's mother as a parent.

And of course, no review of The Truth about Forever would be complete if it did not mention Wes.  Wes is a little bit of a bad boy (he did go to reform school afterall), a little bit of an artist (okay maybe more than a little bit), a teenager who has taken on the adult role after the death of his mother.  He is all of that and so handsome that all of the girls "swoo-oon" when he walks into the room.  He is also one of the first people in Macy's life (particularly since her dad's death) to really listen to her--to care what she really thinks and to push beyond the "fine" answer to everything.  It is hard not to love him and love the change he helps bring out in Macy.

(Spoiler Alert)

But he fell into a pattern that I have noticed in a lot of Sarah Dessen's writing (I do not mean that as criticism--just observation).  Rather than telling Macy that he was meeting with his girlfriend to break up with her, he tells Macy he cannot hang out because he has an appointment.  He is acting more awkward and secretive than he has with Macy ever.  So when Macy sees him with his girlfriend, she thinks he was awkward because he did not want to tell her that his girlfriend was back in the picture.  So their (Macy and Wes's) relationship must be over.  All of the drama that came after that could have been avoided with honesty, with a little Truth--which is ironic since their relationship developed through a game of Truth.  Thus I was left with the overwhelming desire to shake Wes and say "just tell her the Truth--like you have been doing the entire time until now!"  I was optimistic though because knowing Sarah Dessen's writings, I knew the truth would eventually come out so Wes and Macy could end up together. 

Recommendations:
I already have my next Sarah Dessen book from the library!

The Book Addict Reviews: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Genre: Young Adult, Middle School, Fantasy & Magic, Action & Adventure, Friendship
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads | Website
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed this book from the library.

In A Nutshell:
This book brought Greek Mythology to the 21st century and led me to better appreciate some of the classics I had read years ago.  I want to read more of these books--but also more of the classics that serve as the foundation for this book. 

Review:
I still remember study Greek Mythology in school.  I loved reading about the gods, goddesses, heros, and all of the stories that explained natural phenomenons.  Rick Riordan brought all of that to life for me again in The Lightning Thief, where Greek mythology comes to the 21st century.

Percy Jackson has been in and out of many boarding schools for as long as he can remember.  Each time he has trouble with the course work (his dyslexia and ADHD making it hard for him to study the material) and trouble with his classmates (particularly the ones that try to bully him).  This time he is hoping he can stay home with his mom, even if staying home means living with smelly Gabe.

Fate however has other plans.  Instead of staying at home with his mother, he ends up at a summer camp with people he seems to have in common with than any other group he has ever been a part of.  But he is also drawn into a world he thought did not exist outside of Ancient Greece--a world where the Greek gods and goddess are using their children and other mortals to sort out their disputes.

In some ways I felt like Rick Riordan had taken parts of classics that I loved and even some that I did not quite "get" when I read them and made them easily accessible.  The strongest example for me was when Percy and his friends were drawn into the magical casino where they lost track of time.  When I read the Odyssey in high school, I did not feel for Odysseus when he ended up not returning home for many years.  I felt like he made poor choices--he could have come home on time if he had wanted to or if not on time at least much earlier than he did.  But in The Lightning Thief, I got how Percy and his friends got sucked in.  It made me want to re-read the Odyssey--maybe Odysseus deserves the benefit of the doubt?

Recommendations:
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!  And then in the following series!









I also want to read more of the classics in:

The Book Addict Reviews: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Social Issue, Music
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from library.

In A Nutshell:
So many of the books I have read recently have drawn on the importance of music to teens--how it is a way to express themselves, to cope with the events going on in their lives, a passion that brings them back from dark and depressing places.  In some ways, I worried that Just Listen would not have anything new to bring to my experience.  But Just Listen is not like any of the other books related to music that I have read.  My only regret is that I put it off so long.

Review:
Annabel's life looks perfect from the outside.  She models and has become an inspiration to younger girls.  She lives in a glass house where people passing by have the opportunity to see a picturesque view a modern family eating dinner or seating together in the living room.  With so much of her life open to the world, its easy to think that she does not have any secrets.  That her life is everything that can be seen from the outside.

But Annabel has secrets that she keeps in an effort to keep the peace in her house.  She cannot bear to tell her mother for fear that her mother will have another breakdown.  She cannot bear to tell her sisters because they are both dealing with their own serious problems.  She cannot tell her friends because many of them abandoned her after an episode at a party.

She is alone in her struggles until she meets Owen.  Owen is not the typical YA hero.  He is big and a little clumsy.  He has been arrested and had to undergo an anger management course.  At first Annabel is a little intimidated by Owen, then Annabel was awed by Owen's complete honesty, then Annabel was a little scared of Owen because he saw through her more than anyone.

As much as I loved the story and the characters, I was a little underwhelmed with the audiobook.  The narrator did try really hard to use different voices for different characters but some of the voices came out sounding slower and not at all the way I thought the characters would have sounded if I had been reading the book.  I do not recommend this narrator, but the story itself was wonderful.      

Recommendations:
Sarah Dessen is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, which you could probably tell from the reviews I have done already This Lullaby and What Happened to Goodbye.  I want to read all of her books and I think my next one will be:

The Book Addict Reviews: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Genre: Time Travel, Science Fiction, Historical
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed this book from the library.

In A Nutshell:
I was not sure what to expect when I started it.  The size of the book and the amount of CDs in the case worried me--would I be able to keep it all straight?  Yes because Diana Gabaldon does a masterful job of creating the story and keeping it compelling and easy to follow.  I loved this book! 

Review:
I admit it--I judged Outlander by the cover; or more accurately I judged it by the size of its cover.  The book looked so huge and unwielding that I was afraid to start it.  But so many people kept recommending the book to me that I gave in.  And I am so glad that I did.

Diana Gabaldon has mastered the details.  Outlander is packed full of details about what people in 1743 Scotland ate, wore, practiced religion, traveled, interacted within the clan organization, practiced religion and even decorated their homes.  At every turn of the story, I felt like I was there in the story.

Diana Gabaldon has mastered characters.  My friends are starting to make fun of me because I have been talking about Jamie Fraser incessantly.  He was the kind of character that stuck with me.  I wanted to meet him--and I most definitely wanted to see him in his kilt!

But even more than that, I wanted to meet Gellie.  Since we hear Claire's story, we know a lot about her 1945 life and her 1743 life.  But Gellie is an intriguing mystery to me.  What did she leave behind in 1967?  Why didn't she try to return?  I wholeheartedly wish that Claire had seen the small pox vaccination scar earlier; early enough to have some long conversations with her.

Recommendations:
I already have the next book in the series and I cannot wait to start it and find out what happens to Claire, Jamie, and all the other characters that Diana Gabaldon created that I love:

The Book Addict Reviews: This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Genre: Young Adult, Social Situations, Social Issues, Emotions & Feelings
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library.

In A Nutshell:
I loved this book.  I want to meet all of the people in the book, take a ride in the white van, and hear a live rendition of the Potato Song. 

Review:
Remy Starr has a song--a legacy left to her by her father whom she never met.  The father who left her mother and her brother to pursue his music career.  A father who did not come back once after she was born to meet her.  A father who promised in This Lullaby to let her down.

Understandably, Remy has some strong feelings about her father and her song.  These feelings, combined with the experience she has had with her mother's many marriages, have shaped her view of the world and her view of relationships.  Throughout the story, I found that I did not always agree with Remy and her view on situations but I respected her.  She was strong and determined.  She was not afraid to stand up for herself, her friends, her beliefs.  But I sometimes felt that she went out of her way to protect herself--to make sure that no one would have the opportunity to let her down again.

But as I think more about it--it is hard to say that definitively because of the masterful way Sarah Dessen handles character development.  As the story unfolds, we not only learn what is happening in the present but we also learn a lot about the character's past.  How did they get to be the person we meet in the book?  What events brought them to this place and to these relationships?  But the mastery comes from the fact that it never feels forced--the past intertwines naturally with the present, the characters develop right in front of readers.  They start to feel like they are our friends or our neighbors or at least I wanted Remy as a friend.

The only thing that I really could not buy into was the Potato Song--and that is part of why I put it down as something I really want to see live.  Could a band really write more than one song about potatoes?  Would a crowd really get excited about that?  I had a really hard time buying into that.

Recommendations:
I got myself another Sarah Dessen book for my birthday...and now I am sure it has moved to the top of my TBR pile:

The Book Addict Reviews: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Genre: Science Fiction
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Goodreads
Rating: 2 stars
Borrowed this book from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
This book is about reflection.  It is about transitions.  It is about changes.  But it is also about accepting those things in your life that you cannot change.  Accepting, but still striving to have the best life that you can.  Overall, I am glad that I read this book, but I am also very glad that I borrowed it from the library rather than buying it.

Review:
Imagine a world where people are created in order to provide organs for the organ donor program.  But in exchange, these people have no chance at a normal life.  No chance to have children.  No chance to experience love.  No chance to live a full life.  From the time they reach adulthood, they care for other donors until they become donors themselves.

The story is told from the prospective of Kathy, one of the people who was created to be a donor.  She is about to transition from being a Carer to being a Donor.  This transition leads her to reflect on her childhood at Hailsham, a boarding school she attended with other children like her; other children created for the organ donor program.

The details in this book come out slowly.  We get hints about the program, about the role the Hailsham students play in the program, what kind of life the students expect to have, but we do not get a lot of detail until we have finished about three-fourths of the book.  As one of the characters describe it, they are "told, but not told."  And since the reader gets the story through Kathy's experience, the reader is also "told, but not told."

In some ways, the story felt disjointed.  It is told from Kathy's memories and recollections.  She would tell the stories as they came to her.  As one story would remind her of another story, she would make a note in the book to tell us that story later.  Consequently, the book is not really in chronological order.  So it was sometimes hard to see how the stories are connected or how they flow across the course of Kathy's life.

I do appreciate books that are reflective--that make me think about my life, my choices, my freedoms, etc.  And I did find that and appreciate that in this book.  But I also found the book slow to develop.  The book lacked action.  Yes, the characters did things, but the reader was not really part of that action.  The reader is just told about the action.  

Recommendations:
After reading this book, I want to watch the movie and see how it compares: