Archive for December, 2009

Book review: The Island of the Colorblind

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

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Author:Oliver Sacks
Reading Level (Conceptual):Sophisticated readers
Reading Level (Vocabulary):Sophisticated readers
Genre:Non-fiction: Science
Year of publication:1998

My daughter and I listened to Dr. Sacks' narration of this book on audio tape. Listening to his quirky voice and sophisticated vocabulary requires intense concentration, but is well worth it.

My daughter was engrossed by the topics discussed, and inspired by the author himself. At one point, Sacks riffs on the wonders of the Paleozoic cycad forests, and my daughter, with love and admiration, exclaimed, "My but aren't WE a nerd?" (Acknowledging in the intonation of that sentence that she is one too.)

Here is her rather informally written review:

The title of this book is a little misleading, because it doesn't only discuss colorblindness. The book is really a collection of three adventures that Oliver Sacks has had.

It is pretty cool, to me at least, because he discusses different islands that have not yet been modernized and upon which plants have been allowed to keep evolving at their own pace.

Sacks uses many science-y words, and I think I would have been a little bit overwhelmed by them all if I hadn't been listening to his stories as an audiobook, but the big words aren't really the point...

Anyways, super cool, with descriptions of really enchanting, science-y, yet mysterious places.


If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Island of the Colorblind, The

Book review: My Sister’s Keeper

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

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Author:Jodi Picoult
Reading Level (Conceptual):Sophisticated readers
Reading Level (Vocabulary):Children 12 and up
Genre:fiction
Year of publication:2004

I am not very satisfied with the ending to this book. The whole thing is very sad, and Picoult just HAD to add one more horrible twist... ANYway, this book is good, but as I said, horribly depressing, as you may expect from a book about cancer. The idea is that 13-year-old Anna has always been just a vessel of bodyparts to contribute to her leukemic sister for various surgeries, and she decides to sue her parents so she doesn't have to donate a kidney.

The book is narrated by different people, including Anna and her parents, so it gives the reader a nice mix of perspectives. It gets a little bit mushy at times, and is full of tears and yelling and stress, but I really couldn't put it down to finish my math homework til I was done.

Note: Definitely a "mature" book, couple brief sex scenes, swearing...



-- Fizzy

If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: My Sister's Keeper