Monniblog

I have a confession, I can’t finish these books! I am just not feeling into them. I normally don’t read more than one book at a time, but I couldn’t get into one, so I put it down and started another, and one thing led to another… and I have four novels on the go right now. I think it is easier to throw in the towel and say why I couldn’t finish these, than force myself to finish them just to post a review.

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What Z Sees by Karen Rivers

The past two books in this trilogy by Karen Rivers have ended abruptly and left the “why” unexplained. Why do these kids have special powers? Why can they do these things? And from the reviews on What Z Sees, apparently this third title is no different. I think this discouraged me right off the bat — I’m not going to get any answers by finishing this novel.

I stopped reading only a couple chapters in and don’t expect I’ll go back to it. However, I may give the books to my cousin (she’s 14) and see if she enjoys them. (Published by Raincoast Books)

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The Origin of Species by Nino Ricci

Nino Ricci is a great writer, and I look forward to reading more of his novels… however I had trouble getting into The Origin of Species. It could have been because I wasn’t quite sure where it was going, or it didn’t get there fast enough for me. The novel began with Alex, a character who I immediately wanted to know more about. But when I was introduced to Esther, I began to lose interest. I wanted to hear more about Alex’s past, and his encounter with Ingrid. My appetite was whet with their initial encounters and I wanted to continue down that story line. So when we came back to the present (with Esther) my interest began to waine again.

I want to give this book another shot, so I think I will put it aside for when I am in a more reflective mood. Perhaps I will lend it to my sister first who is studying Psychology. (Published by Doubleday Canada)

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The Man Game by Lee Henderson

The beginning of the book was in present day, and began with a peculiar scene in the first eight pages. Then it jumped back in time to 1886, just after the fire in Vancouver. While I realize the beginning was meant to entice the reader into “this undiscovered sport”, I personally found it confusing and off-putting. I almost wish I hadn’t been introduced to those two characters in the beginning and then forced to forget about them for pretty much the rest of the book (according to my skimming). I know, bad Monica! I shouldn’t skim… but I got frustrated.

This book has been getting a lot of good press and reviews, and I want to go back to it and read it. I love learning more history (or historical facts within fiction) about the city that I live in. I just couldn’t get into it. (Published by Penguin Group Canada)

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Upon further examination of these titles, it appears that when a novel lacks direction, I get bored. Now, this is not to say that you may not enjoy the book(s), because everyone is different. So please give it a whirl and let me know if you enjoy(ed) them!