Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

"Who doesn't like a good ghost story, even a light-hearted one?," I asked myself as I picked this up on the book exchange shelf. Well, I guess I don't, because this missed the mark entirely with me. Screaming ghosts are fine in Harry Potter, but a shrieking one didn't cut it with me. I had no like for either of the two main characters, and found myself dreading picking up the book to read. Got to page 177 and called it quits on screaming Sadie, her lost necklace, and Lara, her grand-niece. The best thing I can say about the book? The previous reader apparently used a book of first class stamps as a bookmark, and left it in the book when she abandoned it, approximately the same place I did.

Can't rate, as I didn't finish.

Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

This book fell into my hands somehow, and intrigued me by the jacket blurb, though the cover made my eyes spin. Two threads of the same story, told from opposite directions. Excellent writing, intricate story lines, compelling character detail, enough so that by the end (which is the beginning of the story), I really did not like the central character. But I suppose the author knew that would be a reaction. It then made me wonder about the quality of forgiveness-- how much can one forgive about another's past to be actually able to like, trust, believe, or even love them in the present?

at-least-the-writing-was-good, awardwinner, currently-reading, made-me-sad, mixed-feelings, not-to-my-taste, thought-provoking