Gossip of the Starlings (Bookray)
2 journalers for this copy...
I won this book through the Early Reviewers program at LibraryThing. This is an Advance Reading Copy (ARC).
There was a congratulatory note in the book from Lindsey McGuirk, marketing and publicity coordinator for Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
I'm hoping that, in the spirit of the Early Reviewers program, all the participants in this bookray will post a review on LibraryThing (and cc it to Amazon, if desired) in addition to making a journal entry here after reading it.
Begin International Bookray - 2/10/08:
SqueakyChu (Maryland, USA) done
rachelsmdai (New York, USA) <--The book was here last.
End International Bookray - 11/30/08
This bookray was ended because the book stalled in New York for nine months. During its journey, it traveled to two states within the USA.
All of the participants that had signed up for this bookray were notified and their names deleted from the participant list.
To those participants: I'm sorry my book never made it to you. It's a very good book and worthwile looking for another copy so that you may eventually read it. Thanks for having signed up. I'll meet you all again on another (more successful) bookray!
There was a congratulatory note in the book from Lindsey McGuirk, marketing and publicity coordinator for Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
I'm hoping that, in the spirit of the Early Reviewers program, all the participants in this bookray will post a review on LibraryThing (and cc it to Amazon, if desired) in addition to making a journal entry here after reading it.
Begin International Bookray - 2/10/08:
SqueakyChu (Maryland, USA) done
rachelsmdai (New York, USA) <--The book was here last.
End International Bookray - 11/30/08
This bookray was ended because the book stalled in New York for nine months. During its journey, it traveled to two states within the USA.
All of the participants that had signed up for this bookray were notified and their names deleted from the participant list.
To those participants: I'm sorry my book never made it to you. It's a very good book and worthwile looking for another copy so that you may eventually read it. Thanks for having signed up. I'll meet you all again on another (more successful) bookray!
I really liked this book a lot. That was after intially thinking that I wouldn't like it at all.
Catherine Morrow, a student at Esther Percy School for Girls, a boarding school in Vermont, is befriended by Skye Butterfield, the beautiful daughter of a Massachusetts senator. Catherine’s closest friends, Suzannah and John Paul, feel crowded out by Skye’s presence. This situation is menacingly aggravated by this group of friends’ pranks and drug use.
At first, I felt that I couldn’t relate to the story. After all, it was a story about wealthy, risk-taking, drug-abusing high school students. The story from the outset seemed unsettling. It was the author’s beautiful and intelligent prose, however, which engaged me. I realized that there was more to this story than my first impression. Having been drawn in especially by its psychology, the story presented a picture of something ominous. Throughout reading the entire book, that feeling remained. Moving through the story, I began to see a deeper layer of narration. I was taken in by a story of teenagers’ travails – dealing with parents, accepting authority, setting priorities, learning about friendship, and developing one’s own moral place in the world. These are all universal themes to which anyone can relate.
As I allowed myself to accept the characters as they were, I was rewarded with the feeling that I really knew them despite their shortcomings. This made the story much richer for me and engaged me emotionally to the end.
I definitely like the author’s writing style and would recommend this book to others. I think this story would be especially interesting to people who’ve already enjoyed such books as John Green’s Looking for Alaska or Curtis Settenfield’s Prep.
The book is now in the mail to rachelsmdai in Mount Vernon, New York. Enjoy!
Catherine Morrow, a student at Esther Percy School for Girls, a boarding school in Vermont, is befriended by Skye Butterfield, the beautiful daughter of a Massachusetts senator. Catherine’s closest friends, Suzannah and John Paul, feel crowded out by Skye’s presence. This situation is menacingly aggravated by this group of friends’ pranks and drug use.
At first, I felt that I couldn’t relate to the story. After all, it was a story about wealthy, risk-taking, drug-abusing high school students. The story from the outset seemed unsettling. It was the author’s beautiful and intelligent prose, however, which engaged me. I realized that there was more to this story than my first impression. Having been drawn in especially by its psychology, the story presented a picture of something ominous. Throughout reading the entire book, that feeling remained. Moving through the story, I began to see a deeper layer of narration. I was taken in by a story of teenagers’ travails – dealing with parents, accepting authority, setting priorities, learning about friendship, and developing one’s own moral place in the world. These are all universal themes to which anyone can relate.
As I allowed myself to accept the characters as they were, I was rewarded with the feeling that I really knew them despite their shortcomings. This made the story much richer for me and engaged me emotionally to the end.
I definitely like the author’s writing style and would recommend this book to others. I think this story would be especially interesting to people who’ve already enjoyed such books as John Green’s Looking for Alaska or Curtis Settenfield’s Prep.
The book is now in the mail to rachelsmdai in Mount Vernon, New York. Enjoy!
This was a planned catch - it came from Maryland -->thanks to SqueakyChu. I've been eager to read this and will be getting started soon! And, to keep up my part of the bargain I will post a review on Library Thing and a journal entry here on Book Crossing. I'll comment further when I am finished. Rachel's M'dai
