Momo has a talent, she can listen. This book tells the story of a little girl, that all of a sudden appears in an old amphitheatre - nobody knows how she got there - but something bad happ[ens, the friends that had time for her now don't come to see her anymore, don't come to talk to her - she finds out why - this is the story about momo, her friends and the grey man that steal the time - and Momo's try to rescue them. This book should be read by all those that never take a minute for themself

An intricate story with a hidden satire on the birth of the fast-paced, all business society, told threw the eyes of orphan Momo, who loves her friends as her only family, she follows a turtle past the reaches of time to figure out why her friends do not come to talk to her anymore. This book is about time--stolen and hidden from people in constant motion, the dreams they had, and the gigantic love of one little girl. Micheal Ende magically weaved a subtle wit, humor, bravery, friendship, love and loss all together and created a story that I could not put down until I read it all the way through. Any generation can learn from this book--all you need is to take a bit of time!

Have you ever think of finding a book that capture you from the first page until the end. Beautiful story like fairy tale with supurb narrative style that you want to re-read it many times. Moreover, the book that contains a wonderful idea about life. If yes, try to read this book. Story of a little girl and her friends seemed to be a simple plot. But it isn't like that when it is in Michale Ende's hands. It's about people, friendship and time. Please read this book to your children and you will enjoy this beautiful story as well. If you still don't believe me, Let go through other's people comment for this book. The best way is to find out by yourself. In Thailand, this book is reprinted so many times and I am so glad that I can own this precious book. Another "Gem" from Michale Ende is "The Never Ending Story" both are equally supurb.. I guarantee.

Rae can't help it but sometimes she hears thoughts in her head. Thoughts that aren't her own. She dosen't understand why and she sometimes thinks she crazy. After having a mental breakdown in the middle of the cafeteria at the end of her sophmore year she spent her summer in hospitals and is still going to group therapy. SHe's nervous of what people will think about her when she comes back to school. She wonders if they'll be afraid of her. In her group therapy meetings she meets Anthony who's tough bravado seems to cover up deep problems. But when something terrible happens to Rea she's forced to face her secret and use her strange powers. But will that be enough to save Anthony?

I really enjoyed this book. The concept was orginal and the charecters were complex and different than others that you usually see in books. If you liked series like Fearless and the Sweep series this book is for you. I hope I get to read the second book in the Series. It's called Haunted.

Gifted Touch is about a girl named Rae Voight who starts hearing voices in her head. Her first impulse is that she's going crazy like her mother. Then Rae starts going to group therapy but all she wants to do is be a normal girl and go to school and parties. On her way to group therapy a bomb explodes in the girls bathroom that she is in and hears a voice in her head that sounds like she wants to kill Rae for something and wants to frame Anthony for it. Anthony is this boy in Rae's group therapy who is a slow reader and who helps Rae realize that she is gifted. Whenever she touches a fingerprint she can read your thoughts at the time you left the mark. Now Rae has to help prove that Anthony is innocent and find whoever wants her dead. This was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone.

I read Fingerprints 1: Gifted Touch by Melinda Metz. Gifted Touch is the first novel in a series of six. I really loved this book because she always kept making me want to read on. At the end of each chapter, it was almost always a cliff hanger, which kept me turning the pages.
One message Metz tried to deliver was finding yourself, she did this through the plot of the book. The main character Rae always get these thoughts which she calls "not me" thoughts. She thinks she is crazy and has a nervous break-down in the middle of school. This book is about her trying to find out why she is getting these thoughts, and where they are coming from. Rae is hoping that these thoughts are not connected to her mother, who died in a phsychiatrich hospital a few years before.
One character who really stood out to me was Rae, she had such a compassion for people and fighting for what she believed in. On one of her visits to Anthony, Rae says "I came here because I don't think you set off the bomb, and I dont want to be a part of putting you into Ashton". She tells him this because while Rae was in the bathroom at one of her group therapy sessions, a pipe bomb went off, someone had tried to murder Rae, and her friend Anthony was framed for it.
Metz created characters that were easy to relate to and were easy to root for and sympathize with. I could relate to Rae because I also went through a point in my life where I wasn't sure who I was, and didn't know what to do. I think it will be easy for a lot of people to relate too, because I'm sure everyone has been lost and confused at one point in their lives. I could also sympathise with her because she had to go through the realization that her mom did something terrible to be put into a hospital, but was too ashamed to say what. "But she was crazy. Remember that, Rae? She was crazy and not just crazy in a nice I-see-leprechauns-and-unicorns way. Crazy in a horrible, vicious way".
I would reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in a suspense story, filled with mystery and emotion. I rated this book a 5-star, not just because it was well written, but also because I felt like I was right next to Rae the whole time.

About 7 months ago, I discovered this prequel to my all-time favorite book, SHARDIK. Since then, I've read this 1200-page masterpiece twice.

MAIA takes place 8 years prior to SHARDIK, and is set in the same, richly-developed Beklan Empire. Read the other reveiws for a plot synopsis; let me just say that this is a book you won't regret picking up, if for no other reason than Richard Adams' incredible storytelling. The language he uses in his novels is just amazing; his descriptions of characters and places and his use of simile and metaphor are unlike any other author I've read. His writing talents have quite literally spoiled me. :)

My recommendation would be to first read SHARDIK, and then read MAIA. And then read them both again. Having just finished SHARDIK for the first time since reading MAIA, I was amazed by how many times I stopped in the middle of a passage and said "Ah, yes! I remember that from MAIA!"

If you can't find a copy of SHARDIK, read MAIA anyway. It's an incredible book by itself, and more likely than not, I think you'll agree.

I first read this book in 1987, and although I have read hundreds of fantasy novels since, it is and probably always shall remain my absolute favorite. Over the past twelve years I have worn out two paperback versions and recently broke the binding on a hardcover copy. It's good enough to read over and over again, and you always find something new and fresh with every read.

Adams' characterizations are amazing and skillful; no one who has ever encountered the characters of Maia, Occula, or Elvair-ka-Virron will ever forget them. Adams uses subtle tricks in his writing that elude your notice through several readings; I only recently noticed that one trick he employs to give the reader psychic distance from the character of Sencho is that in all the chapters where Sencho appears, Sencho only speaks about four words directly. In all other encounters, Sencho's words are muffled -- such as "he indicated he wanted to see the woman" rather than any direct words on his part. Adams' work is not only a good read, it's a wonderful lesson in the craft of writing. A supposed sequel to SHARDIK, MAIA is a more developed and mature work; it's hard to believe that she and her world are fictional, rather than part of our own history.

Adams's Maia rivals the "greats" in its ability to create an entire world of believable characters, religions, and politics. The complex world in which the novel's action takes place is breath-taking. The novel actually serves as a prequel to Adams' previous endeavor, Shardik (itself an underrated and beautiful work), but Adams takes his Beklan Empire to new levels of epic sophistication with the introduction of the naive and good-hearted Maia; the grotesque and unforgettable Sencho; the wise and gutsy Occula; and the erotic, ambitious, and evil Fornis. Perhaps the only works of fiction more encompassing and completely original in their creation of an entirely new reality are Frank Herbert's Dune novels; however, Adams work maintains a beauty and sensitivity that is lacking in those science fiction giants. Overall I have to rank Maia as one of my all-time favorite works of fiction. I have read it three times and have to stop myself from picking it up again too soon in order to preserve the rewarding pleasure I receive from reentering Adams amazing world.

Bryce Courtenay is one of the best authors Ive read in sometime. Unfortunately it is often difficult to find most of his books in the States as some are out of print. Nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed everything he's written but April Fools Day tops them all! This touching story makes you laugh and cry. A wonderful personal account of his sons fight for life. I doubt if there are many of us who have the courage and passion for life that Damon had. It is a tragedy that he died but more importantly a blessing that he was able to touch so many in the short time he was alive. An incredible read! It should be required reading for all.

April Fool's Day is the most moving book I've read this year. I find it really important that Courtenay decided to share such a personal thing to share with us. Although Damon died when he was only 24, I believe he was very lucky to have known really love (I wish every man had a loyal and wonderful girlfriend like Celeste) and have had constant support from his parents and brothers. Despite the acute and neverending pain he was in all the time, I believe, Damon was very strong, stronger than most of the people I've met or heard of, because he didn't want anyone to pity him for his illness. He tried everything he could to lead a normal life and has made me aware that nothing in this world is more important than health. Thus we should treasure every single minute in our lives. Bryce Courtenay is one of the best authors, and if there are better authors than him I'm afraid I haven't read them yet. Thank you.

Since purchasing this book when it was first released I have read and reread it yet it still has not lost the power that gripped me originally nor the need for tissues. Bryce Courtenay tells a personal, emotive story with a great deal of feeling. His descriptions of the life of a person with aids are thought provoking and compassionate. I feel as if I know Damon and Celeste just through what is written. April Fools Day is a must read for all people. It will keep your attention right through to the end.

Harold Coyle's first novel tells of a tank platoon commander involved in campaigns against a Soviet invasion of West Germany. And, man,it is certainly realistic! The battle scenes on the ground are well told, and easy to follow, complete with battle maps and an explanation of all the symbols and terms used. The descriptions of soldiers in combat are also very realistic; once again Coyle shows his knowledge of ground warfare has been well researched. And it also shows that war can screw people up, especially the families of those who are in combat. Although the threat of a Russian invasion of Germany is now not with us, this book is still a superb read and I would recommend this to anyone!

Harold Coyles first book based on events from the book "The Third World War" By Sir John Hacket. This book does not deal with the politics of the war, it is just the combat thrill ride that you are looking for in a book of this type.

Looking back now, some of the technical ifo may be a bit dated, but it does not take away from the book in any way.

It is a nonstop combat action thriller, that is easily read, and not too technical for the novice, but still interesting for the more advanced reader.

After reading this book, I bought the rest of Harold Coyles' books at a yard sale just based on the quality of this one book.

They just don't write then like this any more.

There are a number of reviews here that mention the lack of 'the big picture' and 'political depth'. True. That depth was offered up in 'Third World War : August 1985' by Sir John Hackett, a senior NATO general. Hackett's tale, written in 1977, was at the other extreme; too dry and impersonal. This is the book 'A reader from Alexandria, VA' refered to when he said the missile strikes were straight out of another WWIII novel. Coyle used Hackett's WWIII as the framework upon which to hang the story of a small combat unit, fleshing out the General's big picture with a view from gunsights. Read both books for the total story and a more complete understanding of Cold War military thinking.

I have read this book many times, it is both humerous and touching. I enjoyed reading about Norton and his adventures. Gethers has the ability to make even mundane events sound very interesting, and he has the gift of being an entertaining writer. Any cat lover will just adore this book.

One of my best friends, and as it just so happens, one of my cats, Adam, "bought" me this book for Christmas, 2001.

I think he's trying to tell me something...

I didn't have a clue what this book was about, and almost didn't read it. I'm glad I did, because once I started, I didn't stop. The Cat Who Went to Paris is now one of my favorite books.

The star of the book is Norton (sorry, Peter -- but you're a close second!), a Scottish Fold who, as his human Peter Gethers (who also happens to be the author) describes him, is "an extraordinary cat."

Cat-hater Peter receives Norton as a gift when he's still a kitten. Seeing this cute little kitten, it's ears folded over, and he's suddenly converted to cat-addict. They develope a close bond -- maybe too close. Peter takes Norton everywhere, carrying him around the streets of New York in his jacket pocket as a kitten (as Norton gets older, he gets a shoulder bag to sit in). They fly across the US to California, go on dates together, and eventually, to Paris, where he meets Roman Polanski and Harrison Ford.

The Cat Who Went to Paris is as much about Norton as it is about Peter, and we, the reader, become so close to them, we're left feeling like old friends. Over the course of the book, Peter brings us into his personal life, and most significantly, the death of his father -- something I had to read through watering eyes. It's this closeness which makes this book so incredibly powerful and enjoyable and personal.

This is a novel of life (with a cat), and all the laughter, pain and love that goes along with it. If you own a cat, snuggle up with him or her and give this a read. Trust me, you'll want your little purring friend close while reading The Cat Who Went to Paris.

Peter Gethers book 'The cat who went to Paris' is a enchanting read about his beloved cat Nortan. I personally love this book as Gethers invites you to fall in love with Nortan. I highly recomend this book to anyone.i myself am not a cat lover and after reading this book wanted to go out and buy myself one.I have recommended this book to all my friends and they have all bought it and enjoyed it.

I have heard that Nortan unfortunatly passes away and i would like to offer my condolences to Peter Gethers.

Does anyone know if Peter Gethers is writing another book about Nortan? As i have hears rumours that he is, does anyone know when this book will be published?

Dead Souls is Gogol's first and only full length novel, ironically written in Rome rather than the Russian countryside it was set in. Tragically he destroyed most of the second volume shortly before his death leaving only bits and pieces of chapters leaving only volume I whole.

A story of a swindler and a social satire on life in early 19th century Russia, Dead Souls is also a comment on class and hypocricsy. Small town Russian officials and landowners strive to keep up appearances, valuing them more importantly than susbtance. Even Chichikov knows this, in fact as the main character (anti-hero) he thrives on this.

Gogol's story is comic on its surface but reading it you get a glimpse of life just twenty years before Alexander II freeded the serfs from their landowners. Dead Souls is both comedy and satire.

One note the Peaver-Volokhonsky translation while newer is a bit "choppy" and the translators make the most awkward word selections from Russian to English. It makes reading this version a bit off-putting at times (The Guerney translation was the favorite of many Russian expat's). Dead Souls is worth the read.

Dead Souls is the finest Russian novel I have read. Its characters are vividly detailed and intensely amusing, yet Gogol spends the novel tempting the reader to peer behind the slapstick humor of the story and see something far more significant and sinister. I've bought the book for several friends and am reading it for the second time myself. The Pevear-Volokhonsky translation is best - it contains helpful, well written notes and uses words like 'snookums' to bring home the endearing hilarity of the original.

Gogol's "Dead Souls" is an amazing, if incomplete, novel. I would say it is about a fellow named Chichikov, but that would not be true. The novel is about Russia. In "Dead Souls" we see that Gogol loved Russia so much, it drove him mad trying to find a way to save it. The novel is entrancing, moving seamlessly between minute particularity to epic scope, as it takes all of Russia under its gaze. At times, the tone is satirical, angry, comic, even desperate - but always with a wistful fondness that should be apparent to the observant reader.

Chichikov, the hero of Gogol's epic poem, shows the influence of Laurence Sterne's "Tristram Shandy," a novel with which Gogol was familiar. Like Shandy, we know little about Chichikov until well into the novel. This narrative indirection allows us more insight into the other characters and the conditions of Russia after the Napoleonic wars. Chichikov is a minor gentleman, who, having served in various government positions, decides to pursue the life of a land-owner. His scheme is to traverse Russia, gathering the legal rights to serfs who have died on estates since the last census. By turning an accumulated list of these 'dead souls' over to the government, he plans to make a small fortune, which he will use to buy an estate.

While Chichikov may appear to be a morally questionable swindler, like Herman Melville's "Confidence-Man," he does have noble motivations, despite his methods. Chichikov seeks what each person seeks, according to Gogol - to have a family, to do honor to one's country. Although his plan can seem to be a ludicrous, last-ditch sort of effort at establishing himself, Chichikov is, throughout, extremely level-headed about it. Chichikov knows how to speak and carry himself so that he will be accepted by everyone he meets. From the noble, efficient land-owner Kostanjoglo to the wild, hilarious liar Nozdryov - Chichikov mingles with and exposes us to "the whirligig of men."

Gogol points out throughout the novel that the written text is inadequate to convey the actual experience - the air, the sights, the smells, the people of Russia. He tries, then, to give us "a living book" - a testament to a way of life that was soon to change. Like Melville's "Confidence-Man," which was published shortly before the American Civil War, Gogol's "Dead Souls" came out only a few years before Marx's "Communist Manifesto" which would change and determine the fate of Russia in the first decades of the 20th century.

Read the lyrical "Dead Souls" - if you like his short stories, like "The Nose" or "The Overcoat," - you will find a wonderfully complex and sophisticated, and deeply involved intellect at his best.

I hate to be party pooper...

I know that Danielle Steel is a fabulous author, and that her books are loved worldwide, and I do think she's an incredible person....

BUT

I just picked up this book, I am still in the middle of it, and I thought I would give my opinion already...

I think its an amazing story, great characters, and very emotional...

but something about the writing is not very intriguing or "different"...

Most of the sentences seem repetitive, like "he never loved her so much..."..."she never looked more beautiful"...."Jane loved him very much and he loved her too"...(I feel like these sentences are in each chapter). A lot of the writing is just predictable and boring; it almost seems like it was written for an elementary school reader...At times I have found myself re-reading sentences and saying "is she kidding ? "..

OK, here's one example

"Her mother looked wide-eyed and alert and beautiful, just like she had before, only thinner, and they were moving to Stinson Beach the next day"

...can someone please tell me how that sentence makes any sense ? ..

I found many of these, as a matter of fact they distracted me from reading all along my subway ride...I wish I had a highliter for each one I found...and for each "She loved him very much" or "She was never happier in her life"...

Another thing I'm not crazy about is how DS always uses the phrase, ".....and he told him just as much"....If you have read this book you might remember...

Another thing...

After Liz and Bernie were married they were trying SO HARD to have a baby. They wished for it when they tossed coins into the Fontana di Trevi on Via Veneto...then a month or 2 later, Liz begins to feel nauseous and exhausted, misses her period (and doesn't realize it), never remembers feeling that horrible....and doesn't think that maybe she's pregnant ! ...it's just too unrealistic at times...

Sure it's fiction, it's a novel, but it's easy to get absorbed into a good book..

This one is too surreal, and it's disappointing in a way...

Redundancy...

In each chapter, someone is going to or coming from an airport...A few times I thought I was re-reading a past chapter...Either Bernie is flying on a business trip, or his parents are coming to see him...

More repetitiveness...

Each time Grandma Ruth comes, she has bought tons and mountains and lots and lots and lots of toys for the kids from "Schwarz...and each time Bernie sees his mother he has a new bag for her or she is wearing a suit or hat that he bought her years before...

There is way too much mention of the department store Wolff's...That store seems to be the saving grace of everything...

Need food ? Wolff's has a gourmet department...

Need a lawyer ? Wolff's has that too !

Whatever Bernie or his family needed was provided by Wolff's. Seems like these 4 people are living in a glass bubble called Wolff's...

It is also annoying to have to hear about every piece of clothing worn by Grandma Ruth, Liz and every other woman in the book, where the oufit was made, what material it was, and how it looked on them....A run-on sentence just to describe an outfit...( I love clothing and shopping but this is a novel, not WOMENS WEAR DAILY)...

Also, I was told in English class in high school NEVER to start a sentence with the word AND, and sure enough DS seems to do that VERY VERY often...

I plan to finish this book, since it's a gripping story, but I am very bored with the writing style.......I will not give up on DS however, I do plan on reading more of her books, (not consecutively - i need a change of writing style)hopefully I don't come across these same bad habits......

I would love to hear if anyone agrees or disagrees with me...send me an email......no offense to anyone, just my honest-to-goodness opinion !

I never thought it was possible to like the story line of a book, but not like how it was written...

I guess it's kind of like what they say about jokes "it's all in the delivery"......

Fine Things is a wonderful story. I read the book in less than 3 days. I couldn't put it down. I fell in love with Bernie Fine and his wonderful character. Once you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down. This story demonstrated the courage to continue. It was such a vivid story. I rented the movie to compare the book and the movie and the people in the book were just like the people in the movie. This has got to be one of the most wonderful books I've ever read........ and I've read many. Kudos to Ms. Steel for such wonderful work.

Valerie Boone-Ogunleye

I love all of Danielle Steel's books and this is my all time favorite! I seen the movie also and I cried during both! Bernie Fine is positively a womans dream caring for his dying wife and then fighting to keep her daugther with him after she passes away. Truly heartwarming. A must read book and also a must see movie!!

I agree with other reviewers that this is an excellent book and well worth reading. The author certainly expresses a life-long appreciation of all things American. I understand the comments of others who are relieved that someone has more clearly demonstrated that all Germans were not Nazis. However, I suggest that this story also illustrates how many of the same non-Nazi Germans had little tolerance for immigrants, even those from their own country. When I lived in Germany, I witnessed continuing discrimination against non-German immigrants. While reading the references to horrific acts committed by German and Russian armies, I also could not help but recall the total destruction from allied incendiary bomb firestorms in Dresden, a city that at the time included a mass of refugees. There is a brief reference to this in the book. War is indeed hell. The author has done a very good job of telling his story through the eyes of a young boy. I was particularly taken by his ability to illustrate emotions resulting from the scarcity of basic necessities and the resulting hunger - for nourishment, shelter, warmth, and love.

Colonel Samuel,USAF ret., was born in Nazi Germany to a woman raised in a small town to the north of Berlin and to an officer in the Luftwaffe. German Boy: A Child in War is an account of his life from the age of 10, when he, his mother, and sister became refugees fleeing the advance of Soviet forces in January 1945, to the age of 15, when he emigrated to the United States with his mother and step-father. In between, he lived in both the Soviet and British zones of occupation. This book sets forth Colonel Samuel's vivid, honest, and unsentimental recollection of the devastation, privation, degradation, brutality, and starvation that he and his family witnessed and experienced during those years. It is well written and it takes hold of the reader from the first paragaph and stays with one long after the last sentence has been read.

"German Boy" is an important work. As a history, it relates something about a period of history that is not commonly known -- the horrors of World War II in Europe continued long after the fighting ended in May of 1945. As a personal account, it offers hope. Wolfgang Samuel, like millions of children before, during, and since World War II, directly experienced events through which no child should ever have to suffer. His story highlights the resilience of the individual and illustrates that with the will, the perseverance, optimism, and some luck, one can survive disaster and live a better life. This volume would make excellent supplemenary reading for high school and college history courses.

Those who find "German Boy" to be of interest may also consider reading another excellent book, which is titled, "A Woman in Berlin." The author is anonymous. As the title suggests, the book is a published journal written by a young woman while she was living in Berlin during the weeks before the fall of the city to the Soviets and through the first weeks of the Soviet occupation. It was published during the 1950s and is now out of print. However, it is not too difficult to find and it is well worth the effort.

This book was a present to me because my youngest brother saw much of Samuel's character in me. Some of the experiences Samuel had between 1945 and 1950, seem to universal to all German refugee children. However, some things he relates must have been researched. An example is that when his mother went back to East Germany, she came back hidden in a railroad car laden with coal. I heard that particular story before I was 5 years old. Despite the memories of his experiences (many which I seem to share), this is an excellent look into the life of German refugee families and is well worth reading. I would recommend that the reader reread it to get the full impact of life for MOST Germans during and immediately after WWII.

Kristen, a norsewoman of Viking heritage finds herself a captive slave in England, after stowing away on her brother's boat which set sail intending to raid a wealthy monastery in England. Her captor is Royce, a saxon knight under the reign of Alfred the Great. Both Royce and Kristen have a mutual attraction. But will love overcome his prejudice and hate for the Vikings?

Another captivating JL book. The attraction between Royce and Kristen is sizzling.Kristen is neither afraid of Royce nor her feelings for him. She's trained in the arts of fighting and will not let any man take her if she is not willing. Royce carries a pain from his past and will not trust anyone but he will protect all those he loves.

The prequel to this book is Fires of Winter, Garrick and Brenna's story. The Sequel is Surrender My Love, Selig's story. It's a fun series to read but repetitive as the same story is rehashed three times.

Lealing

Hearts Aflame impressed me as one of the most honest presentations of the agony and ecstacy of love ever. Kristen is so refreshing as someone who can be very capable, strong and independent without being bossy, bitchy or manly! She's able to keep her femininity and still be stong and honorable. And Royce - what can I say - he was my first crush! This book is excellent. I've loaned it to all my friends and still read it every year!

I loved the connection between the characters. The story keeps you there and doesn't stray from its objective. I love the way Royce could not stay away from Kristen. Not only did I read it, I re-read it as soon as I was finished the first time and I have never done this with any other book except with "You Belong to Me" by Johanna. I just ordered Hearts Aflame and Surrender my Love. I just love Royce's barbaric attitude.