The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

I quite enjoyed this book.

This story's hero travels back and forth in time, while the heroine, travels time in a straight line.
The logistics of this story can be mind-boggling, but Niffegger does it with style. This story is touching and sweet, with out going over the top.

The Girls - Lori Laansens

A beautiful, touching story.

Lansens portrayal of craniopagic congjoined twins is simply superb. Witty at times and touching at others, and always with an element of real life. I cannot imagine that truly conjoined twins would find her descriptions of their lives and challenges anything other than believable. Though you realize very early on how the book will end, you find yourself interested in the journey to that end.

Simply put, a brilliant piece of work.

Atonement - Ian McEwan

I have to say, I struggled with the overpowering temptation to put this book down and never pick it up again. I found it monotonous and pointless and did not feel at all entertained by this book...until the second half.

Should one gather enough patience to finish this book, it is rather rewarding. When taken as a whole, it is a very worthwhile read; and in finishing it, my overall opinion of the book is positive.

This book has been adapted to film, and was recently in theaters.

A Complicated Kindness - Miriam Toews

I was a little disappointed with this book.

That is not to say that the book was bad, only that it did not live up to my expectations of it. This book won the 2004 Governor General's Award for literary fiction, and was a finalist for the Giller.

I found it incredibly difficult to connect with the lead character, or perhaps it was more a matter of not being particularly sympathetic to her, as I did not find her to be extraordinary in any way. All adolescents have difficulty fitting in and feeling like they belong. I did not feel her to be much different than any other person her age; drinking, smoking, staying out late, and other forms of challenging authority are normal - and her family’s religious affiliation just did not make it enough of a stretch for me. Only as I came to the end, did things seem to stray from the normal, and then the pendulum had swung too far, and it just seemed bizarre , but without substance.