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Salvation in Death (In Death) (In Death)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: J.D. Robb

November 01, 2008
This book got off to a great start, but what a disappointment afterwards. I agree with the other reviewers who said this seemed phone in. I also have 2 other issues. The murdered priest started out as a "good" guy who was praised for his work with the children of the parish. ****Spoiler alert**** Then we find out that he was a former gang member who had orchestrated the bombing and killing of several people. It is interesting and telling that Robb has the priest reportedly arguing with another priest about redemption thru good works. The priest could have been a much more interesting character, but suddenly the priest becomes a con artist and a murderer with no redeeming qualities. It's almost like he's a different person in the second ... Read More:

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The Road

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Cormac McCarthy

September 26, 2006
This must have been a slow year for Pulitzer submissions if this book won the prize. The book is a slow moving rip-off of S.M. Stirling's "Dies The Fire" series (minus the plot, character development, dialog and punctuation).

The "story" (and I use the term loosley) follows an unnamed man and his son down a road. We know nothing about the man or the boy, not even their names. We know that the boy is hungry because he tells the man "I'm hungry" - - we know the man also knows because he tells the boy "I know". And there you have it, the book in a nutshell.

Don't be tempted by the reviews, this book is just bad. Post-Apocalypse books are not new, however since this particular book was marketed to the mainstream reader, ... Read More:

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A Most Wanted Man

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: John le Carre

October 07, 2008
John Le Carre's A Most Wanted Man begins strong by introducing us to a multi-faceted and realistic description of Melik and his mother's life as Turkish immigrants in a post 9/11 Europe. And complicating this precarious situation is Issa, a Chechen stowaway who forces himself into their lives, leading to unwanted complications. The novel then introduces us to the other main protagonists, Annabel Richter, a human rights lawyer for a non-governmental organization and Tommy Brue, an English private banker. They get involved with Issa, and eventually the heads of British, German and American intelligence services since their mutual client (Issa) is a suspected terrorist.

Essentially, the novel depicts the machinations of the different intelligence ... Read More:

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The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Rick Riordan

May 06, 2008
I read the book and it felt like a pretty good book for an elementary or maybe middle schooler.It's really casual and even more carefree than Goosebumps.

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Duma Key: A Novel

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Stephen King

October 21, 2008
Awesome, awesome book! Well done,Steve! One of his absolute best. Very cool characters and scary. I loved this book! Wireman was my favorite character. I could not put this down! I always had to know what was going to happen next. It was sad that Ilse got killed. I didn't like Wireman dying at the end, either. This book was well written. Extremely entertaining. Highly recommended. I got my sister to read this, and she enjoyed it. Her fave character was also Wireman.

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Ender in Exile (Ender)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Orson Scott Card

November 11, 2008
This book filled in all the cracks in the ender story, with all the good things that I have come to ezpect from Card.

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Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Quidditch Through The Ages and Fantastic Beasts & Wher

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Kennilworthy Whisp, and Newt Scamander J.K. Rowling

October 21, 2008
The Harry Potter School Book Set is a must for every Harry Potter fan. The books are great reads and of course, J.K. is a story teller extrodinaire.

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The Art of Racing in the Rain

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Garth Stein

May 13, 2008
Wow!

This is not the genre that I usually read. This book was very moving and I could not put it down. I really did laugh and cry. I have given my copy to 3 others who raved about it and bought 5 other copies as gifts.

I emailed Mr. Stein and he was very appreciative. He even mailed me a book plate to put in the front of the book.

It is nice to have such a talented author take the time to respond to his fans.

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The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Thomas L. Friedman

July 12, 2005
The world is flat? What do you meant the world is flat? I tried reading some of this book. All I could get out of it is that genius no longer excels, while dufuses abound all over cyberspace. Crap. I have seen the dufuses, the spammers, the porn sites, the trashy material. But I've also seen top notch intellectual material, and know that it is to be found if you know where to look.

And the book was boring. It soon dawned on me that the author is not talking about "flat earth" theories, such as what Mark Levin aka "the Great One" calls "flat earth, no growth, enviro-Marxism", or the ruling theory of biological evolution which dismisses intelligent design, or any other refuted tradition that dies hard. No, Thomas L Friedman (and he's no Milton) has in mind ... Read More:

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Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 2)

Childrens Toy Shop > Books > Literature and Fiction
by: Charlaine Harris

January 06, 2009
I agree with some of the previous reviewers ~ I don't think this one was nearly as good as the first, but it's still pretty darn good. It had me staying up later than I needed to just so I could read a little bit more. And when I was finished, I couldn't download #3 fast enough. I'm a big fan of the series, and if you've read the first book, you should definitely read this one.