Susie's Review: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneger

The synopsis: When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister.

The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders the historic Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming man suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including - perhaps - their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.


I was very excited to pick up this book, as I'd thoroughly enjoyed Niffeneger's The Time Traveler's Wife. However, I was sadly disappointed. It kept me interested through the first half, and then I found myself having to try hard to ignore the glaring holes in logic. I have no problem with a ghost story; but it has to be well-crafted, and the ghost can't wander around magically wearing fancy clothes, when in fact the ghost is invisible and can't even lift a pencil on her own - much less change wardrobes. Yes, that really bothered me. The ghost can be invisible yes, but where is she getting these invisible ghost-clothes? Doesn't make sense! This, along with the fact that Elsbeth is a despicable character and the decisions made by the characters were completely absurd made this a book I didn't really enjoy; particularly after thinking about it months later.


What Niffeneger did do very well is provide one thoroughly realized, lovable character. The agoraphobic Martin was my favorite; an obsessive-compulsive hermit on a quest to win back the affections of his wife. That was the real love story to me in this novel. Sadly, his character plays a relatively minor role in the story and he isn't all that relevant to the main plot.

I give this a 2 out of 5 stars. I know Audrey Niffeneger can do way better, so I'm hoping her next book is more like her first!

Christina's Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

From Amazon: Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's been struck mute...

I've heard great things about this 10 year old book by Laurie Halse Anderson and finally Susie sent me a copy to read for myself. Seems like books without chapters in them (divided rather by day/content/event) are coming into style, and I'm follow suit with my upcoming book, Imaginary Lives. As for Speak, I enjoyed the lead character's style: very blunt and honest. The mood was portrayed perfectly, allowing us to only know the other people according to Melinda's view of them. Her teachers were referred to by nicknames rather than real names half the time. Her days were recorded only as important in her eyes and in the way people treated her due to the "incident" the previous summer.

The one thing I disliked about the book was Melinda's extreme negativity about the "incident" when i felt that she should have talked to people rather than keeping it a secret. I suppose this is an example of a typical teenager, who feels so strongly that no one will listen or understand that they decide its better to simply keep it quiet. However, this only pushed her further away from those around her, leaving Melinda hurt and disconnected all the time. I wish she'd learned faster how to cope. But I suppose that was the point of the book!

I know this is a brief description, but overall, I enjoyed the simple writing style and the mood setting. I loved the art teacher, although he was still a little one-dimensional. I did take the style of the book and apply it to my own story, so it wasn't all bad. I do, however, wish that Melinda and some of the other characters had a little more depth.

Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Christina