Emily Perkins is supposedly one of the new and talented voices of todays New Zealand literature. By chance I read some of her articles in a magazine. It struck me that she seemed to be writing for young women, but still definitely had a talent. Just as much by chance I came into possession of her first novel, "Leave Before You Go", but here my curiosity turned into direct disappointment. The novel starts off with Daniel, a young Englishman, bored with his uneventful life in England, and so he decides to take the risk as a one-time drug courier. He ends up in New Zealand where he meets Kate and her friends who are equally dissatisfied with their lives. Again I get the impression that Emily Perkins is turning to other young women her age, who are in turn bored with their lives and maybe haven't anything better to do than reading this unfascinating and uneventful story. Nothing much happens, and the descriptions both of Auckland and a trip further south in the country are straight out dull. There are occasional moments better than others but all together the entertainment value hardly exists, neither in the storyline, the character portrayals or in the language itself. If I was an 18-year old girl, not having read any other books by my own free will, I might have given it three stars. I'm giving it two stars because of the moments where she does display her talent, but if Emily Perkins can't come up with anything better than this in more than 200 pages, she should probably concentrate her talent on the short stories and essays in women's magazines. Honestly!

For the most part, I strongly agree with the previous review. I originally discovered Perkins when I came across "Not Her Real Name", a collection of brilliantly written short stories about a somewhat lost generation. I was thoroughly impressed and couldn't wait to read the follw-up. However, after reading "Leave Before You Go", I must say, I AM a little disappointed. While I found myself able to connect with the unwittingly emotionally bankrupt characters that she portrays, and yes, both cheering and jeering at their decision-making skills -- I felt like I was being dragged in circles. In the end, I also felt disconnected and unsatisfied -- like there was not resolution or character DEVELOPMENT at all. However, I haven't lost my faith in Perkins yet. Her uniquely tangible descriptions always leave me wanting more.

I really enjoyed this book for what it was--a passage of time. I'll spare you the synopsis since 2 other reviewers have given you that already.

What I liked about this book was at times you can actually hear yourself groaning along with the characters bad decisions, and wanting to give them the high five when they make the good/best/or right decision. The ending left me feeling a bit disconnected, but I think that was the point.

It's a light easy read. No great mysteries of life solved here, you'll be disappointed if you're looking for that in this book.

This book is fiction and yet when I picked it up I thought I was getting the actual diary of Emily Dickinson! The writing is similar to what Emily might have written in her diary but she did not write any of this. The author takes way too many liberties with this title and deceives those of us who are true fans of the immortal Emily Dickinson. Read Emily's poetry instead and you will find a living diary directly from this beautiful woman's life.

Customer reviews prior to this one here, as well as the author and publisher's manner of presention of this book blatantly titled THE DIARY OF EMILY DICKINSON, present a kind of ethical dilemma to this reader and lover of Dickinson's poetry.

Unless literary history has changed mightily while I, like a modern Rip Van Winkle, slept right through it, the fact is that IF Emily Dickinson ever kept a diary or journal, it was either suppressed or destroyed. Probably the latter, by the same friends and family members who heavily edited (and had the audacity to change Emily's words in) the first printings of her poems.

You will note, if you read the reader reviews posted here before this one, that two out of three amazon.com readers believed they were reading a diary actually written by Emily Dickinson herself.

I am frankly distressed by the publication of a book that does not make its fictional nature more obvious and upfront.

I just bought this book to help me do some research on Emily Dickinson and did not realize the "diary" is actually fictional. The "novel" is so well done that you will believe that you are reading actual diary entries written by Emily Dickinson. There are even editorial notes throughout the diary to help clarify the entries. The prologue doesn't even clue you in to this "April Fool's". I was flabbergasted when I was halfway through the book and so happened to glance at the back cover and realized this diary was actually fictional! Very well done! Very well done! No matter, it has helped me understand Emily Dickinson's poetry a lot better . . . Jamie Fuller threads throughout the diary actual events with likely events . . . oh it's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! Bravo! I am laughing hard still from the shock of discovering my error.

I ordered this book having at least three months to study. I must say the book reviews a lot but it does fall short in some areas. It would of been a whole lot better if they would of explained the answers to the Practice Test at the end. They did provide explanations to the practice problems but not to the Big Practice Exam they have at the end, though they did provide the answers. The positives about the book is that its exactly like the exam. You get familiar with the way the questions are asked and that was a real plus when i took the test. It was as if i knew where the questions were heading.Best one out there though.

This book is an identical copy of: Allied Health Professions Admission Test (Ahpat) : The Betz Guide (Serial)

I bought both books and am returning the more expensive one, the Betz Guide.

I'm more intrested in Full House: Stephanie books than horse stories. This is one of my least favorite Stephanie books. If you like horse stories, you'll like this book, but if you like Stephanie books, you won't like this.

The middle Tanner sister's trouble on the show often stemmed from jumping into something she thought looked so cool without thinking. The book series has done a great job of showing this, and Blue Ribbon Christmas is no exception. Stephanie really wants to learn to jump, now that she got but she finds out there's a lot that has to come before. The author does a great job of getting us into Stephanie's thoughts, and showing how she feels.

The book was little more than a list. The hand drawn maps were amaturish in this day and age. It was lacking in information. Maybe I was spoiled by the "100 Best And All The Rest" book I had just purchased on Colorado campgrounds. Camping Wyoming was a waste of money.

I was searching for a book that would tell me the information that would be most useful in searching for just the right camp site... This book has it... very informative and easy to understand without a lot of useless drivel... I wish it were available for Idaho!

It was a wonderful idea, but I was disappointed by the book. In my view the illustrations are stylized, sterile, and off-putting - you can see if you agree with me by enlarging the cover and taking a look at it - , the graphic design and color patterns produced visual clutter, and the poems are in not-easy-to-read stylized italics. But what prompted me to comment was the alteration of language of at least one, and I suspect more than one, of the poems. The eight-line poem I checked begins: "I'm nobody. Who are you?" In Ms. Winter's book line four of this poem substitutes "advertise" for "banish us," line six substitutes "frog" for "fog," and line seven substitutes "June" for "day." As you can see for yourself, these changes degrade the poem. I suppose this is considered legitimate bowdlerization, given the audience. I don't agree. In any event the author and editors were remiss in failing to include a notice that at least one of the poems was altered.

While it is a nice premise - Emily's sister Lavinia discovers her sister's poems - the book falls a bit flat. The tone feels a bit condescending and dramatic in its attempt to engage young readers, and the narrative stops abruptly, launching into the poems with no commentary. The letters to the world theme is hammered into the reader's head, mentioned no less than five times if one includes the subtitle.
The poems are printed in a spidery script to distinguish them from the narrative. The font may be difficult for the beginning readers the book seems to be intended for. The selections are a diverse mix of her familiar and lessen known poems, including "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" and "There is no frigate like a book."
The illustrations are lovely, with a smooth solid folk art look to them. Emily appears in each drawing, making it clear that we are seeing the world through her eyes. Although each poem (and therefore illustration) is quite different, a common motif of scattered flowers, leaves and stars and graceful undulating arcs repeat in the forms of branches, waves and earth, tying the volume together. A short note at the end divulges additional biographical information. Sources are cited.
The small size, simple language and bright pictures make this a nice choice for young readers, but it is not as well done as The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires (Francis Foster, 1999) or Emily Dickinson: Poetry for Young People by Emily Dickinson (Sterling, 1994).

"My sister Emily was buried today..." So begins Jeanette Winter's very brief biography of poet, Emily Dickinson. Narrated by her sister, Lavinia, as she cleans out Emily's room, we learn just a few small facts about the elusive poet. She was a recluse who lived in the smallest upstairs room of the family's house. She loved words, studied the dictionary, and spent all her time writing on scraps of paper. She wore only white dresses, and most townfolk thought her strange. After her death, Lavinia finds drawers full of those scraps of paper, Emily's "letters to the world," and Ms Winter fills the rest of this small volume with a selection of 21 poems, some famous...There Is No Frigate Like A Book, I'm Nobody! Who Are You?, and If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking, and others less recognizable to complete her story. Her vibrant illustrations, done in an engaging folk art sytle, complement the text and enhances each poem beautifully. Though a bit light on biographical material, Emily Dickinson's Letters To The World is a simple and intriguing introduction to a remarkable poet that should open interesting discussions and whet the appetite of youngsters 7 and older, and send them out looking for more.

Mr. Mitchell's work is the kind of speculative fiction that passes as literary criticism today. This book is a tedious, pretentious piece of claptrap that won't even delight other Dickenson scholars.

Mr Mitchell has penned a book which will be seen as a watershed in literary criticism. "The Monarch of Perception" is a truly perceptive piece. It uncovers many a stone in the field of Emily Dickinson studies, and is not afraid to look at what lies beneath. For anyone who wishes to learn about not only Emily Dickinson, but also America, and even the world, this book is a must. Buy it!

Good readings, but the producer apparently felt the poetry can not stand on its own and added background music throughout. It distracts terribly from the music, and never has any relation in mood to the poetry. Avoid this tape.

If you like Emily Dickenson (and I do) you will love this audio cassette. The readers include Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and other great female talents. They read the poems with style and a subtility that matches the work of the poet. After hearing the presentations, I came away feeling that the poems were studied by the readers and for the most part understood and delivered accordingly. Thumbs up!

A Biography with Factual Errors

I had been warned that this book was poorly written and edited, that it had no documentation, and that
it did not succeed in proving the author's arguments. Nothing, however, could ever have prepared me for the inaccuracies and unwarranted assumptions of the book itself.

Ms. Farr's thesis itself contains a serious error in fact. She states, without qualification, that Emily Dickinson wore a nuns habit because she did not know who the master was.

The book goes downhill from here. Ms. Farr's evidence that no one is Master includes several loosely-crafted - one might rather say, accidental - stories about liaisons between Emily Dickinson and her women acquaintances.
Farr builds several arguments on speculation. Perhaps the most egregious example is the question
of Susan's house next door. After establishing the existence of the ivory gown, Farr asserts, in a short but vacuous epilogue that she really doesn't know who master was. Or maybe there wasn't a master. Or if there was, any body's guess is as good as hers.

For several pages Farr proceeds as if this connection were fact, making a few tenuous connections between Dickinson's poetry and women, and kisses behind closed doors. Then she admits it is all fiction. In addition, Farr tells us that when Emily died, the master was known but then she does not feel that s/he is known, as it might be a woman.

I have saved just enough space for the epilogue and the bulk of the book. The epilogue is not worth the meager price of this empty paperback.

English teacher in Texas

Farr's epistolary novel about the life and passions of Emily Dickinson is a mesmerizing, inspiring, zesty read. Based on facts gleaned through letters and Dickinson's poetry, the story elaborates on Dickinson's 10-month school career, on her passions for women and for men, and on her final, ailing years. Like Cunningham's "The Hours" and Zackheim's "Violette's Embrace", it's a wonderful tribute to a woman whose true life is obscured by history. Farr's rendering of Dickinson's school year brought to mind Rosemary Manning's "The Chinese Garden" and Dorothy Strachey Bussy's "Olivia".

Have you ever needed to look up a word for extra clarification, flipped back to the glossary and found what you were looking for? Can't do that with this book - no glossary. Have you ever read textbooks that had bolded words to make them easier to find? McKinney never did. They italisized their words making them HARDER to find. It's the wordiest book I've ever read and I have 3 degrees. It's overpriced and should be banned from college bookstores.

This is a reference book I come back to again and again. The text is written in a no-nonsense straight forward manner. The technical terms are all defined in an easy to use glossary at the beginning of each chapter. This book describes every treatment step in detail in easy to understand language. Its the first book I turn to when dealing with matern-child treatment.