Columbine by Dave Cullen

Let me start of this review with a confession: I have a weird, extreme intrigue in school shootings. Now, before you say to yourself, ‘holy crap is this chick going to shoot up my school?!’, let me tell you that this intrigue in school shootings is because I’ve always been terrified it will happen to me. I’ve had nightmares about it happening to me in high school (even though I’ve graduated), or at work, or any crowded dwellings. Is this irrational? Yes. Does this have anything to do with this review? Again, yes. Because of my, uh, interest in shootings, I’ve read a few books on them (you may refer back to the Jodi Picoult post for an example). However, none of the books I’ve read can even compare to David Cullen’s ‘Columbine’.

            Let’s start with the obvious: this book is about the shootings of Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado. Cullen not only gives you the second by second path of destruction made by Eric Harris and Dylan Kebold, but he goes deeper into the psychosis of the situation. If ever in the future you have any questions about what happened that day, the days leading up to it, or what became of the families, David Cullen is your man. He was not only at Columbine that awful day, but he has spent the last decade researching every last spec of information that has been somewhat related to Columbine. He’s poured over the boy’s journals (which he shares copies of some of the pages), spoken with families, victims, townspeople, psychologists, FBI agents… the list goes on.

            What I really like about Cullen’s book is that he lets you know from the beginning that there are several complete distinctions between the two boys. You cannot look at them as one entity but rather as two separate boys who did it for different reasons. And he has the facts to back it up. I also liked that he gives you different perspectives: how it felt for the victims, the law enforcement working on the case, the boy’s families, the media (and therefore the nation)…etc. He also discusses how the events at Columbine had single-handedly changed: school policies across the country, security protocols, and police tactics, and more. Although it’s known famously, Cullen shines a whole new light on Columbine.

            Being a reporter, Cullen can tell a story with ease and great composure. I’ll be the first to admit that this book is lengthy, but I didn’t want to put it down once. This is definitely not a light read, so keep that in mind if you ever pick it up. If you’re looking for something serious and in-depth then this is the book for you! 91%

The Pact and Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult

Before I was introduced to Jodi Picoult, courtroom drama was not something I was ever interested in. I always cruised right over Law & Order when channel surfing or closed my ear whenever someone brought up any legal issues they were having. I considered it a complete bore, which was probably because I didn’t know a darn thing about lawyers (besides the regular stereotypes) and court cases. It was a friend that recommended I pick up ‘The Pact’, one of Jodi Picoult’s first novels. I decided to read it just to be polite. I ended up being completely enthralled by not only the novel itself, but by Jodi Picoult, also. I’ve since read most of her novels (it’s a new years resolution of mine for 2 years running to read every one – I really don’t know why I haven’t yet) and while I’d love to review each and every one of them, I’m afraid I’d bore you. But you’re not getting off that easy. Since I can’t just leave you with one review, I’m going to do two. I hope you end up appreciating Picoult’s talent as much as I do by the time I am through. It’s only fitting I start with the first novel of her’s that I read:

            Chris and Emily literally knew each other from birth. Their mothers, Gus and Melanie were best friends and neighbors who could not be separated. Raised together and sharing every childhood memory meant that Chris and Emily were, too, inseparable. Their parents were more than ecstatic when Chris and Emily’s friendship turned into a romance when they became teenagers. So it was a complete shock when the two sets of parents learned Emily was dead as a result of a suicide pact that Chris and Emily had made. As always in Jodi Picoult novels, what you initially think you know turns out to be completely false. Little items that are revealed completely alter the entire storyline. By the time you finish reading ‘The Pact’, the entire world has changed.. If you enjoy fast-paced and intelligent characters and a story that will keep you guessing with a side of intense courtroom drama, this is a great book for you to read. Or really, any of books will be a good read. 98%

            Jodi Picoult doesn’t shy away from any what I like to call ‘Camden Conundrums” (think of any episode of 7^th Heaven you’ve ever watched. That’s a Camden Conundrum.) In ‘Salem Falls’ the characters face the issues of witchcraft, molestation, and death. Ordinarily those three words don’t fit together in our lives (well, er… hopefully not). However, within the town of Salem Falls and this story those words fit together like a puzzle. Jack St. Bride moved to Salem falls hoping he can create a new beginning for himself and Addie Peabody does what she can to help the stranger out. But Jack St. Bride’s past comes back to haunt him when four teenage trying to find themselves, accuse him of the unthinkable. And Addie, who was grown fond the of man she let into her life and has confided in, has to decide to stand by him or let the town’s gossips ruin the thing that has brought her back to life. Picoult managed once again to keep me guessing at the edge of my seat and being from a small town myself, I could on a certain level relate to how word easily gets around. 92%

            Smalls towns in New England are a definite in Picoult’s novels. What keeps her stories believable and fun is that she also includes a lot of reoccurring characters (over 5) and develops their stories as well. Picoult doesn’t just develop a character. She creates a person. Each character she writes about is a distinct person with multiple character flaws and quirks just as anyone you’d meet on the street. And she’s consistent, which is difficult to do as an author when you’ve not only written so many books, but have characters that appear in multiple. I’m going to link every Jodi Picoult book I’ve read (with my rating) as I can vouch that each one is awesome, so sorry there are a lot of links. Picoult is a definite read. Enjoy!
My Sister's Keeper: A Novel 96%
Harvesting the Heart: A Novel 92%
Perfect Match: A Novel 94%
Vanishing Acts: A Novel 95%
The Tenth Circle: A Novel 91%
Nineteen Minutes: A novel 98%
Change of Heart: A Novel 96%
Handle with Care: A Novel 90%

Earth's Children Series by Jean M. Auel

Ok, so I wanted to review these books first, as this is the best example of my reading habits.

I’m reviewing the series as a whole, as I find it unlikely that someone would only read one or two. If you read the first and like it, you’ll read all of them.

I first read this series in seventh grade, about 11 years ago give or take. Since then, I have re-read these books hundreds of times. This is not an exaggeration. Literally, at least a hundred. Conservatively. I read very very fast, and I re-read obsessively, at least books that I greatly enjoy. Obviously, the more I read a book, the faster I can read it, as I know exactly what paragraphs I can skip (boring, scene-setting prose mostly.) So these books, by now, I can easily read each in a few hours’ time, impressive considering the length of some.

Clearly, since I’ve read and continue to read these books so often, I would recommend them to nearly anyone. Actually, no, I wouldn’t, but I’ll get into that. The basic point of the series is the growth and journey of a human girl/woman, Ayla, as she grows up in Ice Age era Europe. The author extensively reasearched period flora and fauna, hunting, gathering, dwellings, everything. The descriptions are immersive, beautiful, and vivid. However, if you don’t care for authors spending pages describing temperate forests or glacial permafrost steppes and the animals thereon, you’re not going to like this book (or, you could do what I do at this point, and just skip the aforementioned scene-setting prose.) 

Also, I would not recommend this book for seventh graders. It contains EXPLICIT, DETAILED ADULT SCENES NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. When I was young, I skipped these scenes as clearly, boys are gross. Now that I find boys slightly less gross, they do add a raunchy and romantic element to the books. Still, not entirely appropriate for youngsters.

I love these books. I love the kick-ass heroine, I love that they are all independent and self-reliant. I love how the author creates a romantic world that I totally wish I could live in (even though I realistically know living as a hunter-gatherer would SUCK.) I also love pretending the latest book, Shelters of Stone, doesn’t exist because it was pretty lame and didn’t jive very well with the other books. This is not surprising, as it did come about 15 years after the one before it was published.

These books are not universal crowd pleasers. I feel like they are very niche-marketed. If you’re in the historical-romance-kickass-heroine-girl-power niche, I give the series a 95%. If you’re male or not in that niche, I’d give you about 20% chance you’ll love it.                                      P.S. I stink at formatting. I give up. 

     

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I’ll admit it. When I first picked up this book, I was convinced that it was going to be an easy and quite forgettable read. Here’s something else I’ll admit: I was wrong. There I was on a raft in my pool getting my worst sunburn of the summer season, all because I could not put this book down. I was sucked into Katniss Everdeen’s life. Katniss lives in a place that was once America, which she knows as Panem. Living in the Twelfth and poorest district of Panem, Katniss has led a difficult life. Her one hope is that her younger sister Prim will not have to struggle to survive as Katniss has. So when Prim’s name is called by lottery for the annual Hunger Games, a game in which a boy and girl from each of the twelve districts must compete to the death, Katniss immediately takes Prim’s place. Now Katniss must not only protect her family, but herself as she not only competes against other contestants, but the corrupt government that runs the games – the Capitol. Suzanne Collin’s does an excellent job of making Katniss Everdeen not only badass, but believable. She created an entire world that is well thought out and completely consistant. I could barely finish this book before I was scrambling the get the sequal: Catching Fire. 90%.

A Precursor to Jillian's Dream

Jillian had a dream. She dreamed of a website where her sisters could come together and review books we have read.


While this page will not likely be the end-product of her dream, I wanted to start the ball rolling at least.