Ann Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho" is as much a transitionary work between the enlightenment and romanticism, as it is a traditional horror story. In it, we follow Emily St. Aubert as she tries to reconcile her father's teachings of reserve and moderation with the reckless passions of love and fear.

Between her father's dying requests that initiate the action of the novel, and the mysterious secret chambers of Chateau le Blanc and the ominous Castle Udolpho, Emily attempts to control her overflows of emotion in order to resolve doubts about herself and the world around her.

The first third of the novel will appeal to art-lovers, who will revel in Radcliffe's florid, epic landscapes from the Italian sea-coast to the wine country of southern France. The remainder of the novel shows Radcliffe's manipulation of what have become standards of the gothic-terror genres, foremost being building and maintaining suspense. The ways in which Radcliffe poses questions, answers them, and then retracts the answers keep even the most astute reader in the dark straight through to the end.

While Radcliffe is quick to indulge flights of emotional and poetic fancy, she carefully balances this with the notion that the well-adjusted person can balance these impulses with self-governing rationality. The fact that the story's protagonist is a young woman bears further implications for Radcliffe's vision in terms of female empowerment and ability to cope with the terrors of the 'real world'.

A dense, convoluted plot, still-relevant themes, and charming minor characters keep "The Mysteries of Udolpho" worth reading over 200 years after it was first published.

this is a very long novel. the story doesnt pick up speed or literary brilliance until 200+ pages in when the heroine Emily finally comes to the mouldering castle of Udolpho for 200+ pages. Here and in herlast gothic novel, "The Italian" Radcliffe achieves the most staggering and successful use of literal "darkness, or night" effect to create suspense, suspicion, and fear among her heroes and heroines, primarily. It is slightly dull at times early on until the action begins on arrival at Udolpho but then it is a very strong novel worthy of its praise as Mother Radcliffe's gothic masterpiece and the pinnacle of first wave Gothic fiction.

I love novels, especially gothic novels, but I dreaded reading this book for my senior seminar on the gothic novel. The sheer size of it was so imposing to me. Aside from that, I had never even heard of it, nor had I heard the name Ann Radcliffe. I began to believe that my fears were justified after the first few totally over-descriptive chapters, but I persisted and was rewarded for my patience! Once the "mysteries" of Udolpho began to appear, I couldn't put the book down, so anxious was I to know their outcomes. Like most gothic novels, it is a bit farfetched and melodramatic (especially the love angle), but that's not the point here. The story is just jam-packed with gothic sexual thrills, lust, rotting corpses, spooky sounds, unexplainable "creeping flesh" sensations... read it and appreciate a virtually unknown gem!

Readers will feel the heat, taste the dust, and experince the fear and confusion in this first novel by Frederick Chiaventone. This novel places you on the plains and on the battlefield as primary and secondary characters come alive and stuggle with varing degrees of human fobles. George Custer and Marcus Reno come alive as never before and have never been treated as fairly. Neither whites or Indians are made the villains but instead are humans struggling with the changing times of history. When Custer first sees the immensity of the Indian village before him and gasps ' Good God' you will know that this novel has surpassed the ordinary and has joined such novels as " The Killer Angels" in bring history alive.Having been raised in the Midwest it is a pleasure to read a novel in which the Indians are not made out as villains and the whites are not considered doomed heros. This nicely balanced novel brings the reality of the tragedy home to the reader. We all know the story, we've all studied the battle, now is our chance to experince it as it might have been. It's to bad this is not ' must reading' in high school history classes.

There are really two kinds of historical fiction:
a) those based on History and as much as posible try to recreate Real Life people and events.
b) those who use history as a background to develop a fictional plot or fictional event.
For me this book fits easyly on the first one. Utterly believable account, dialogues and sequence of events. (Hard to belive it's a first novel!) On the same level of "Gates of Fire" and "The Killer Angels".
There are also two kinds of books for me, the one's I read one time and the one's I enjoy reading more then once, this one I enjoy rereading.
A must have/read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the footnotes to be very helpful. There were so very many more people involved besides Custer, Sitting Bull, etc. The Native Americans were families doing what families do - enjoying their day, grinding corn, cooking. They became "real," not just Lakota people. The "ordinary" soldiers also became real. I compare this book to "The Killer Angels" for "fleshing out" the participants. Again, these were real people. I believe that Mr. Chiaventone did an excellent job of creating dialog that is believable based on the situation and the times. I have recommended this book to many people and it is one that I intend to read again.

Frederick Douglass, known to many as an escaped slave that spoke on the injustice of slavery and worked with abolitionists to stop slavery, is PORTRAYED as a self-centered man - remember this is fiction. For Douglass, the women in his life are good for sex, bearing children to proudly carry the Douglass name, working on his cause, and taking care of the house. His egocentricity grows as he becomes more popular around the world; building a man who loves nothing more than the cause for which he's fighting.

Douglass' Women is a novel about the love between Frederick Douglass and his free, uneducated Black wife, Anna and the love between him and his educated, well-to-do, German mistress, Ottilie Assing. Though the novel is fiction, it uses actual letters from Douglass, Ottilie, and Rosetta (Douglass' daughter) as preludes to each section in the book.

The author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, makes great use of the letters that serve as a foundation for the book. The reader's journey begins with the slave, Frederick Bailey, meeting Anna Murray then moves on to the escaped slave activist renamed as, Frederick Douglass, meeting Ottilie Assing and ends with the death of each woman. The book alternates between Anna and Ottilie giving her perception of Douglass' interaction with her, the other woman, and his work.

Throughout the book each woman states their belief of love, for Anna "love be true", for Ottilie "love be free". Ironic for both women Frederick Douglass denied true love to Anna by committing adultery with Ottilie and denied free love to Ottilie by sharing himself with her only when appropriate for him.

Douglass' Women is an intriguing work of fiction, based on real people that shaped African American history. The key word is fiction, so of course there are drawbacks that I found in the story that I was able to overcome as I read more. First, I was a bit annoyed by Anna's grammar and her understanding about the world, but I quickly realize that Anna just enjoyed the simple things in life. For her to meet and become Mrs. Frederick Douglass was far larger than she anticipated when she first met the slave. Also, I thought Ottilie's forwardness and seduction of Douglass, along with their sexual escapades, was a bit stereotypical. Despite that, Rhodes did a remarkable job at showing how two distinct women in love can have the same outcome.

Along with Douglass, the main characters include:
Anna Murray Douglass - Douglass' wife who he refers to as "a black log"; though born free, she's illiterate with no desire to learn to read; she's easily fulfilled by a life where she can care for her man, bear healthy children, and maintain a clean and happy home; understanding of love = love be true
Ottilie Assing - Douglass' mistress with European features (blond hair and blue eyes) which she uses to her advantage as necessary; determined and knows what she wants; well-educated artist and editor, but naïve to think education and intelligence makes everyone equal and the world will accept it; understanding of love = love is free

Other important characters:
Mam - Anna's mother; teaches Anna that love is shown in the "little things" that people do, say, and give
Oluwand - slave girl that "escapes" as Ottilie watches on; despite the women being opposites during this era, they choose the same means of escape to leave a man that will never show love in return
Rosetta Douglass - Anna and Freddy's oldest daughter; taught by her father that "she is Frederick Douglass' daughter and she should not embarrass him"; represents the balance between her parents, she has her mother's features (which she considers ugly) and is well-educated as her father desired
Annie - Anna's youngest daughter; like her sister, she represents a balance between her parents, she has her father's features and her mother's domestic skills

In her latest novel, Jewell Parker Rhodes gives a voice to the woman who was Frederick Douglass' first wife, Anna--- the wife he referred to as "an old black log." She wanted to know who was this woman and what role she played in his life. Anna is enamored of Freddy as she calls him. He is a slave working on the Baltimore docks when she meets him. A captured man in the body of a proud, fiery man struggling to break the restraints society and life has placed on him. Self-taught, intelligent, well read, he and Anna, an illiterate domestic servant conspire for his freedom.

Freddy is everything to Anna and she risks all to be with this handsome man. She comes to the marriage giving everything she possesses both financially and emotionally, older than he, and a little overweight. She realizes that his abolitionist friends and others think she is not fitting as his wife and then there is Otillie. Otillie is a German Jewess from Europe who is well traveled and educated, blonde, beautiful, slim, and white and she wants Anna's husband. She too risks everything, including her reputation to be with the man she loves------ despite the fact he is married.

I had the pleasure of hearing Parker Rhodes read from her book as she put me in the heads of both Anna and Otillie. I felt Anna's pain as she grappled with being married to a man larger than life, adored by many, both black and white, hunted by slave catchers, and knowing she could never make him completely happy. Though Otillie was an unlikable character--- she scoffed as Anna's plain looks and unsophisticated ways--- it was difficult to place her in the role of villain at times because she was also a pawn in Douglass game as Anna was. In this fictionalized account of the women who loved him, Douglass is seen as no more or no less than a man. Yes, he was a great orator, gifted writer, statesmen, and abolitionist but still, just a man, albeit a black man with all the foibles and warts of any other man. An entertaining story this book was one of my top ten favorite books of 2002 and will go on my list of all-time favorites.

THis is a compelling story of 2 women and 1 man. Frederick Douglass and his wife Anna and his mistress Ottillie. Anna born free, outside of slavery. A woman destined to live and love, but for her she chose a husband that could not give her all of himself. Ottillie a 1/2 Jewish & 1/2 Christian woman, not american is also free, well it depends how you describe freedom. These 2 women have some things in common and they don't realize it. Anna content on being a good wife, a good mother, provider is trapped by the vows of marriage and the vows of her heart. Anna is scholastically uneducated, but far more intelligent than she is recognized for. She is a strong independent, God fearing Black woman with morals. Ottillie is a scholastically very well educated and intelligent, White woman, she has found a desire love for a runaway slave. She believes she is so intelligent and his equal and she convinces him that she is more suitable for him than his own wife. The question here is does she trap this man, or is she the one that is caught? The author has shown 2 women involved with one high profiled man in society and who has an agenda to make a change in the world. Jewell Parker Rhodes takes you inside the house, the bedroom the minds of Anna Murray Douglass, Ottillie Assing, Frederick Bailey Douglass. You learn that even with no formal education, Anna Murray Douglass is very intelligent. Ottillie Assing with her formal education and ability to speak many languages and being a white woman, in all actuality is not very smart. Frederick Douglass has forgotten or never knew Anna Murray. Reading this novel, please have an open mind and read it by placing yourself in the time of this era. I give it 5 stars because it is well written.

Bobby Petrocelli is a great speaker and when he came to my school in Westchester NY, I was amazed at how he led a discussion that will definately stay w/ me forever. I havent actually read his story but I know what happens. His method of getting our attention by humor was amazing and i couldnt believe that I actually know who his uncle is (Rico Petrocelli- Boston Redsox 30 yrs ago) 10 seconds made a difference in his life while his 1 hour speech made a difference in mine.
thank you bobby!

the thoughts that entered my mind when Bobby Petrocelli stepped onto the stage at my high school in Massachusetts. At first I thought, "Oh great, just another speaker that has come to drill into our young minds how wrong it is to drink and drive...and what a coincidence, just before the prom!" But as quickly as that thought had entered my mind, it left just as fast when Petro told us his story. Perhaps the way he told it made it hit home even more. His constant use of humor made it impossible for us not to listen as intently as we possibly could. He was simply amazing, not only in person, but also in his book, Triumph Over Tragedy. This book should be read by every student, every parent, every person who is in one way or another involved with the realities of the everyday world. I am aware that Bobby travels around the nation telling his story to many young students just like me, and I am truly amazed that he can do this, as it must bring up many feelings of pain and anger. Now, I am also aware that this IS a book review, but really, in this case it is also an author review because of just how involved Bobby really is with his personal story of success. Please, if you haven't already, go out to your local bookstore and pick up a copy. I promise you, one way or another, it will change your perspective on life and make you realize that "in 10 seconds one bad choice can change a life!"

Bobby Petrocelli came to my school and shared his life story with our Junior and Senior class just before prom. He spoke about how great his life was, not thinking that it could change in a matter of "10 seconds". He grew up an Italian boy in New York, with dreams like every other boy to be a Major League Baseball player. As he grew up and went to college he married his "Texas Belle", Ava Dorsett. Bobby couldn't ask for more, a beautiful wife, a job coaching football and baseball at Santa Fe High School. His day started at 7 a.m and ended at 11 p.m. When he went home one night he found Ava and a big bowl of Rigatoni waiting for him. Now he was set. As they relaxed for a while, and then crawled in to bed as the normally did and said their prayers. One hour later Bobby woke up, only not in his bed. He woke up with a 3/4 ton pick up truck in his housen with Bobby in his dining room. The man driving the truck was drunk. The accident had taken Ava's life and left Bobby with burn marks that he will have to look at everyday to remind him of the accident. As time passed Bobby was strong enough to except the tragedy that changed his life forever. He found love again with a woman named Suzanne and had a son, Alec. He goes to other schools and tells his tragedy,this has touched many teens and changed their life for the better. This book put me into tears, but it changes how you make your decisions. It's an unfortunate true story that nobody should miss out on reading.

In each serious field of human endeavor there is one preeminent book--Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, McCormick on Evidence, Fowler's The King's English, etc. For card magic, this is the book. I bought my copy almost 20 years ago, and I still refer to it all the time. No, I'll never be able to do everything in this book--a 100% perfect second deal will forever elude me. But the wealth of material here is staggering. You get a chapter devoted to each sleight, such as false shuffles, palms, lifts, and passes. You also get chapters with amazing routines using the sleights. If you conscientiously study this book, there is very little in card magic that you will be unable to do. That said, the book has sparse diagrams and a writing style from almost 60 years ago, which means you really have to concentrate when reading it. I was disappointed to see that the beautifully bound Dover edition is out-of-print. If you see a copy, grab it. Don't hesitate; the world of advanced card magic awaits you.

This book is comprehensive in scope-it covers about all of the basic techniques the card worker needs to know. It goes far beyond this, however. All techniques taught are described in *excruciating* detail so as to leave nothing to the imagination. It also includes ongoing words of advice on and entire chapters devoted to the _real_ secrets of magic: misdirection and presentation. As if all this were not MORE than sufficient to recommend the book, it's written in a very witty, eloquent, and entertaining style that makes it a joy to simply read. But wait! There's more! Please find enclosed numerous card effects worthy of the most discriminating audiences at less than the cost of your favorite magic dealer's Trick O' the Day. With regard to my own experience I've read this book near to tatters and have annotated nearly every other page-I got my money's worth and so will you.

Having studied card magic for some time now I can't recommend Expert Cad Technique enough. It is without doubt the ultimate maunual for card technicians. I've had to search very hard to find books that contain sleights that aren't listed in this book and nine times out of ten they don't have the quality of Expert Card Technique's binding and printing. ALthough the notes on presentation and performance are a little out dated, you'd be mad to not include this book in yourr collection if you are serious about learning card magic.

Don't be put off by bulk: despite its 1,151 pages, "Cook and Peary" is a real page-turner. In elegant, concise language, it tells the compelling story of not one but two of the great hoaxes of all time. The story of the two men who falsely claimed to have reached the North Pole is one of mendacity and gullibility and of the victory of faith over knowledge. It highlights the shakiness of the foundations of what we think of as common knowledge. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the start of the great polar controversy, and it shows that the balance is tipping yet again. It began favoring Cook, then swung decisively to Peary, despite many initial doubters. The idea that both men were fakers dates from the 1970s, and it seems to be finally prevailing. Today, the New York Times, once a passionate defender of Peary, reported last November, "most historians believe both explorers lied." In the first part of the book, Robert Bryce, a meticulous researcher who has the wisdom to trust absolutely no one, tells thhis eye-opening story without making any judgments. He leaves you to make your own. In the second part, he examines the available evidence, some of which he was the first to examine, and tries to answer the two essential questions: Did either reach the pole? He concludes that Cook's own long-hidden journals prove he turned back after 100 miles or so on the floating Arctic Ocean ice pack, or less than a quarter of the way. On Peary, he shows convincing evidence that Peary stopped short of the pole, probably between 100 and 50 miles from the northern axis of the Earth. Bryce explains how Peary used his powerful friends to press his case, while Cook relied on his charm, saying over and over, in effect, "trust me." Bryce shows how either would have been believed, even without the proofs that are ordinarily required, if the other hadn't been there to challenge him. But most amazing, he shows the phenomenal chutzpah of both and the credibility of a world before which most of the damning facts were out in plain view. "Cook and Peary" details the slow collapse of the two claims despite a still-vigorous Peary defense by the National Geographic magazine and persistent lobbying work by the Cook Society. It is this collapse that led the Guinness Book of Records to get rid of Peary, replacing him in 1997 by a 1948 Soviet airplane expeditions. The World Almanac, which once tersely reported Peary's conquest of the pole, as had virtually all world reference books since the Encyclopaedia Britannica found for Peary in 1911, now mentions that there are serious challenges to his claim. But this debate is too old to ever die, and someone will no doubt eventually come out with new facts to illuminate a partisan point of view.

As a piece of scholarship, this is a definitive book. I am using it and related materials in a seminar about research methods. It is not an "easy read" and the numerous relevant illustrations are sometimes smaller than is comfortable to examine. However, it is one of the few sources where you can find reams of verifiable references to the lives of Cook and Peary. Those who believe that Cook and Peary told the truth about their polar "adventures" will probably find ways to discount the mountain of evidence that Bryce has made available. The density of detail takes patient reading, but leaves a reader free to compare interpretations with Bryce's clearly marked conclusions. The author has covered the controversy thoroughly, including taking the trouble to evaluate a copy of Cook's diary archived in Denmark. Those wishing to spend time with this book will be rewarded with credible information about one of the fascinating human stories of the last two centuries.

What can you say about a book that is over 1100 pages long yet I still didn't want it to end? This book is just awesome (and quite heavy too!) I am a bit of a polar exploration buff and found this to be the absolute best book out there on the rivalry between Cook and Peary. If you like adventure stories of any sort, I would highly recommend this book.

This children's book is about a field mouse named Frederick who discovers he is a poet. All the other field mice are working hard to prepare for winter; but, Frederick seems to daydream all the time. When winter comes we see the value of his daydreaming and the importance of poetry and the arts. The book was a 1968 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children. I recommend the book highly.

Simple, almost stark paper collage forms the pictures for this fable about cute little mousies laying in their supplies for the winter. Instead of gathering grains and seeds with the other mice, Frederick gathers colors, scents and other beautiful things that provide the mice with much sustenance during the cold, bleak winter.

This simple little book carries quite a big message about how important art and artists are.

I and my sister grew up with Frederick as one of the most sacred books in our childhood canon. Recently, while shuffling through boxes of ancient heirlooms, I came across the simple, unassuming cover of Frederick (in 1977 the cover showed only the back of Frederick in the lower right corner, gazing into the distance, and no title), and immediately a serene peace overcame me. I couldn't believe I had forgotten about this book. I sat down and read it again, and from a distance of twenty years it still resonated with me. This book brought calm and joy into my heart as a child, and did so again as I read it today. I can't think of any better recommendation for a book than that.

In terms of content, the story of Frederick is simple. In a community narrowly focused on efficiency, one mouse stands apart and concerns himself with art. Frederick notes the wonder of the world he lives in, and takes the time to assimilate it. While his cohorts may grumble at this behavior, when the dreariness of winter overtakes them they are grateful for Frederick's words. Frederick's poetry is seen as an essential supply for survival.

The illustrations are simple and yet extremely expressive -- witness my instant emotional reaction to a cover that was ninety-percent blank space -- and the wording is likewise concise. But the emotional impact of this book is what sets it apart. Out of sixty or seventy books I thumbed through today, I pulled out six that I felt defined my childhood. This book was at the top of the stack.

Victory is the story of a man named Heyst who leads an isolated life in the South Pacific. However, he is drawn out of his isolation when he brings a woman to his island home. A chance encounter between a dishonest German who dislikes Heyst and two criminals sets up the dramatic ending. Conrad's style is as fluid as in his better known books, such as Lord Jim, and it is amazing that someone could write English so well who did not learn it until later in life and who always spoke it with a heavy Polish accent. Victory is similar to Conrad's other works in that the plot flirts with melodrama, but always is rooted in realism. Those who read the book will find the title apt.

Axel Heyst, the protagonist in Conrad's novel, Victory, makes a final statement to Davidson, a fellow seaman, just before he dies: "...woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love--and to put its trust in life!" This statement coming from a man whose whole life has been lived in isolation is remarkable. His father taught him that life was a Great Joke, that it was an illusion; that the best way to survive was to drift oneself into oblivion. But he found love in the person of Lena and it changed his perspective on living and was responsible for his change of heart as represented in the above-quoted statement. It's too bad that the novel could not have had a happy ending, but Conrad's view of the world probably would not permit it. I found the novel engrossing, somewhat melodramatic, yet vintage Conrad in its depiction of good and evil battling each other on the island of Samburan.

Victory is the best of the handful of Conrad novels I have read (for reference sake, the others are Lord Jim, The Secret Agent, Heart of Darkness, and Nostromo). For one thing, the other novels were much heavier in their narrative and descriptive content. As a result, I often suffered from mental imagery overload when plodding through a page-long paragraph. Victory has more dialogue, making it an easier read. Conrad's characters are always great, and the ones in this book are no exception. I also really liked the correlation between these characters and their environment. Heyst living in a serene yet isolated island matched his aloofness perfectly. As the book reaches its climax and tensions reach a boiling point, Conrad adds to this tension in godlike fashion, as the storm evinces the internal and external struggles occurring in Heyst. Of course, Conrad don't write no happy tales (sic), but in the end, I think that the title Victory was still very appropriate. This was an excellent read and one of the best novels I have read in a long time.

I'd suggest to anyone reading this "because its a masterpiece", to get over it. That's no reason to read, or worse, recommend a book. Read it because you want to try out Gaddis' style which is quite a change from the norm.

The reviewer who equated it to listening to the radio is pretty close, in my opinion, although I feel its more like listening to other people talking on the train (or perhaps watching a Robert Altman movie with a blindfold on) in that conversations can be broken off just when you think they are getting interesting.

Reading Gaddis can be like watching television, with someone else holding the remote. If you can't watch movies that way, you'll hate this book.

If you haven't read any Gaddis, read "A Frolic of His Own" first - I was astonished at the way he managed to manipulate my impressions of people solely on the way he let me hear them talk, and then as time went on, I discovered that I actually quite liked those despicable characters after all - and the beating the legal profession gets is far easier to understand (and sympathise with) than the capitalists in JR.

If you find Frolic heavy going, you probably won't like JR. If you find JR heavy going, don't touch The Recognitions. The only reason I bothered with JR, after reading Recognitions, was because I had read Frolic first.

Don't read JR because you're expecting a savage attack on capitalism, although it is that. Don't read it because you want to see how schools are becoming profit-centers first, and educators second, although it shows that. Don't read it because someone said its a picture of an America that was (is?), although perhaps it is.

Read it because its a good book. Difficult to read, sure, especially for the TV Guide generation, but worth it in the end, and very funny especially to those of us with a cynical bent.

"... because even if we can't um, if we can't rise to his level, no at least we can, we can drag him down to ours ..."

-- Bast, on humanizing Mozart (I think it was, anyway ;-)

Gaddis' 'JR' has my nomination for the best American novel of the last half of the 20th century. It is also one of the two or three funniest American novels I can remember reading, right up there with 'Lolita'. It is composed entirely in dialogue, without any breaks at all, and it is sometimes difficult to tell who is talking, but once into the rhythm of the talk, it becomes clearer. It also helps to have an MBA or some business background, as the business deals it describes, to hilarious effect, are sometimes very intricate. It is the story of an 11-year old school kid wheeler-dealer who builds a gigantic paper empire 'bubble' from some army surplus items ordered from a comic book. He manages to involve various adults, including his teacher, in his capitalist schemes. It is a savage and entirely prescient view of America, foreseeing much of the present stock market madness (and it fact its comic hyperbole does not seem so wild now in light of our own real world stock market 'irrational exuberence'). It is unequalled as a depiction of the warping influences in people's lives caused by the capitalist ethic, where serious artists are devalued by the dictates of the market. If you enjoy Pynchon, Barth, or Joseph McElroy (another undeservedly unknown American writer) you will like Gaddis. This is a book to come back to again---read it now before our stock market bubble bursts!

A masterful foray into what makes American great (and grate), by a novelist who has amply earned his stripes as an underappreciated, even obscure presence in American literature. People often give up on "JR"--both letters capital--because this horrifyingly funny book requires that you spend time learning how to read it, all in the name of intensifying your reading experience. Most of "JR" is dialogue; there are no chapter or section breaks to speak of; speakers are only rarely identified. Still, the book sings, and the overall power of its chorus obscures the fact that you don't always know who the soloists are. In simple terms, it is a book about counterfeiting that pretends to be a host of other things--as of course it should. And Enormous and complex pleasures await readers new to Gaddis. Readers wanting more information about this wonderful novelist would be well-advised to investigate Steven Moore's book on Gaddis for Twayne Publishers, entitled simply "William Gaddis." Moore makes Gaddis's plenty seem manageable, and he writes extraordinarily beautiful criticism. While I cannot speak to this novel's greatness, and wouldn't want to, I can say that of the hundreds of novels I have read down the years, this is my favorite, as well as the second-funniest book to which I have been privy.

The True Meaning of Cleavage (a title the book never really answers, or even tries to get into - a big disappointment, because I thought it showed promise) starts with 2 best friends, Sari and Jess, wondering how they'll survive high school. It proceeds into their freshman year, where Sari falls in love with a popular senior who already has a girlfriend, and has an affair with him. This leads to angsty complications where Jess feels jealous, angry and hurt because Sari is always depressed or ignoring her.

I don't like Mariah Fredericks' writing style (although I think having imaginary quotes from Jess' favourite book that tied in with the chapter's content were an interesting idea) and I found all of the characters in this book to be annoying and stupid. Sari's actions defy all logic and intelligence, and Jess stands at the sidelines watching and moping around constantly. And a supporting cast of ... high schoolers surround them - from ditzy Erica Trager to geeky Danny.

During this book, I constantly wanted to grab the characters and knock some sense into them.

Despite its simplicity, boring style of writing, a character trying to be like feisty heroines from other (better) YA books like The Princess Diaries (whose author Meg Cabot gave a glowing recommendation of this book on the back, I have no idea what she was paid for it, but it must have been a lot) and dissing everything in her school, I actually wanted to find out what happened in this book. The ending was pretty good compared to the rest of the book, but I still wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Basic summary? A pair of melodramatic, stupid girls who need a slap upside the head star in a book sadly lacking in plot, originality or much of anything.

When I first saw the spine of this book, the title struck me as a little shocking. I was struck again upon looking at the cover and seeing the photographed girl wearing a necklace which was the twin of my own. The combined shocks made me immediately read the summary, which sounded like a typical coming-of-age story: Sari and Jess have been best friends for years, but upon entering ninth grade, Jess (the self-proclaimed sci-fi geek) feels like she is losing Sari (the prettier one).

However, this book is anything but typical. It is phenomonal. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. The work is much deeper than the title implies.

Jess is an artist and prefers sketching characters from her favorite comic book; Sari is far more into the high school scene, with status and popularity, and she falls very hard for a senior boy who is already in a committed relationship. This is no crush - this is an obsession, and the reader will truly worry about Sari as she lowers her standards and does things for a boy who is using her. Being a person who loves books set in the voice of the 'third wheel,' the person observing from afar, I found this book more powerful coming from Jess' point of view and applaud the author for chosing that writing style.

The book takes place over an entire school year, September through June, yet it moves along quickly and quite well. After reading the book, I realized that the title was chosen not only to make people pick up the book, but to signify the space between - in this case, the space between the girls.

Highly recommended, especially for fans of Laurie Halse Anderson, Sarah Dessen and Carol Plum-Ucci.

I didn't know what to expect from this book at first, because I didn't know what the title referred to. I mean, I thought it referred only to sex, but then I read the book and discovered that the title is about how people become separated from one another, especially girls. High school is such a difficult time in a girl's life, and this book told how two girls deal with it in a really fabulous way, one I could really relate to. I loved the characters. They were so unique and, yet, so much like people I know must really exist. The book also had a lot to say about sex, without really ever talking about sex directly. It was GREAT the way the book gave the message that girls should focus on being true to themselves and that having sex just to be popular or to 'get' a boyfriend will only make a girl feel bad about herself in the long run. I read this book all the way through after school one day. Couldn't tear myself away from it!