Reading, Writing, and Me

Ten Miles One Way  by Patrick Downes (199 pages) Overview: Nest and Q set out on a walk as the night turns to morning. They both know it will be long an unusual, possibly painful, but both understand; they're prepared. Q is ready for the chance to be with his best friend, his crush, to understand how her tangled mind works. Nest wants to share things with him for the first time since they met four years ago. This ten mile walk unfolds Nest's story with Q as a silent observer. He uses this morning three years later when he's left alone to grapple with the "why" of tragedy. Overall: 5 Characters: 5  Nest and Q are extremely well developed for how short the novel is and for how the story is mainly a monologue by Nest. Q is the narrator and the way he frames Nest's words is more revealing of his character than any part of the dialogue he could have had. Nest, on the other hand, owns all the words, and her fragmented stories shape her personal narrative and s

I See London, I See France  by Sarah Mlynowski Overview: Sydney is going on the trip of a lifetime with her best friend Leela. They have plans to spend four and a half weeks making their way through Europe from London to Rome, but they get disrupted when Leela's ex-boyfriend and his best friend Jackson appear on their flight. The girls still try to make the best of the trip, and flings with both boys and adventures with people they meet along the way, set their trip on a very different course than either girl predicted. I See London  delivers a fun, sexy, and exciting vacation read. Overall: 4 Characters: 4 I enjoyed Mlynowski's cast of characters as a whole. Sydney makes for a great narrator, and her struggles with her mother's agoraphobia and her own anxiety add a compelling note to a book that is often campy and frivolous. I also enjoyed reading about her friend Kat and her fling Jackson. Unfortunately, Leela grated on my nerves with her jealous, whiny attitude tha