Miriam

Too long. Lots of enjoyable bits but I wanted less.

Clear, useful review of current research on learning and how to apply it in the classroom. Nothing earth shattering here, but I will use material from it.

A compulsive read, which is rare. I enjoyed the narrative alternating between Ruby Lennox, who was a spectacular narrator (almost all the way) throughout, and the story of Ruby's family. Atkinson uses a technique where she flashes forward and sometimes backward as introduces characters into books that I've always enjoyed - perfect for a reader who hates foreshadowing. My only quibble was her wrapping everything up in the end and Ruby the adult wasn't as interesting a narrator as Ruby the child. On one hand it was nice to find out certain things, on the other hand I really didn't need to know. Still, one of my best reads of the year and I suspect it will keep that status.

Charlene Harris meets Regency Romance meets steam-punk, which sounds atrocious, but was quite nicely handled and simply loads of fun.

Freaking abysmal ending, and not just because of Easter. But really enjoyed listening to it (Hope Davis was a great narrator and Patchett knows how to create a compulsive narrative), so it gets an extra star.