"The World is founded on a pillar, which is founded on the Deep".

The Deep is my favourite book. Is has a strange, ethereal quality and a satisfying completeness that matches the encapsulation of the world described. I've read it at least 5 times, probably 10, limited only by having to leave a gap of a year or two between re-readings to forget the details. Fortunately I have a poor memory.

Engine Summer is also excellent, though pipped by The Deep.

Beasts I've read only once, many years ago, but remember it fondly.

If you've been put off Crowley by the unfortunate Little, Big then please try this instead.

How many books in the Amazon database have been called the best novel ever written (or the best novel in its genre) by *half* of all the reviewers? ENGINE SUMMER was actually the first novel John Crowley ever completed; the ms. then sat in a draw for years while he honed his craft with THE DEEP and BEASTS. The original draft was then rewritten. You thus have a unique combination of an author's most central concerns, his fundamental, primal Tale (always in the first novel), with the skills and knowledge of a mature artist.

Civilization has fallen apart and humanity has returned to a primitive way of life. It's one of the oldest ideas in science fiction, but ENGINE SUMMER is unlike any other post-holocaust novel ever written. Rather than a harsh existence and a struggle to return to former glories, Crowley has imagined a veritable utopian existence -- in a world which knows there can be no going back. This is the long "Engine Summer" ("Indian Summer" misremembered) of the world, and winter is coming. It's a setting of unbelievable poignance.

Rush That Speaks, an adolescent boy, finds himself in a strange place. An unfamiliar woman asks him to tell his story. Since Rush's ambition has always been to become a "saint" -- someone who tells the story of their life in a special way -- he is happy to comply. Where is Rush? Who is the woman? As Rush tells his remarkable tale, the special (and unbearably poignant) circumstance of that telling gradually becomes clear to the reader. ENGINE SUMMER is ultimately a story *about* Story, about the human ability to be moved by tales like this and about our desire to know what happens next. I would say more, but I don't want to even hint at what is going on here.

THE DEEP retells the story of the English Civil War in a unique setting which seems to be genre fantasy but turns out to be something very different. At the time it was published, I thought it was flawed but showed extraordinary promise. That promise was fulfilled in BEASTS, a novel I thought was the best sf novel of its year and one (I'm very proud to say!) I cited, in print, as evidence of Crowley's greatness before ENGINE SUMMER and LITTLE, BIG were ever published. You'll notice I made no attempt to summarize its plot. It's like that.

Unfortunately, while I have Engine Summer (and Little, Big) I haven't read either yet and I've never even seen The Beasts (though I'd snap it up if I found it, probably), this is the only place on Amazon where I can write about The Deep, Crowley's famous first novel. This is one weird book, let me put it that way and not weird like mindblowingly weird but just . . . weird. I don't know, I can't explain it but the book feels like it takes place in a fever dream, there's this unreal quality about everything. The plot then. Someone has apparently constructed a giant disk in space and attached a long cord to it (so they say) and there are people on the top of the disc and they endlessly fight in this war of succession. To this mess comes a Visitor who doesn't remember why he came here or even who made him and for most of the story he serves as an observer to the events going on. The only problem I had with this was some of the characters are hard to keep straight because they aren't given proper names, you've got "Red Senlen" and "Red Senlen's Son" and Redhand and Old Redhand and Younger Redhand and Learned Redhand and King Little Black and Black Harrah and Young Harrah . . . you can see the problem. That's a fairly minor quibble though, this is a book that deserves to be tracked down and read. Crowley's writing is amazing, especially since this was his first novel, it's entirely poetic without getting long winded, with a few words he paints brilliant pictures. The premise is utterly unique in its presentation (for the record, I believe that the folks on the disc are reenacting the War of the Roses) and the plot winds along nicely, there aren't many "explosions" but you just snake along, caught up in the dream. The ending is also totally unexpected and completely fits in with the tone of the novel. This is one of the few totally satisifying books I had read, I had expected a lot out of this guy because of the reputation I had heard and he blew away everything I expected. And he only got better. My advice then, get everything you can by this guy, it might take some effort but I have a feeling it'll be worth it. Again, the fact that this brilliant author is out of print and many many many lesser lights are kept in print is beyond me. Get the word out and keep his name alive!

Normally I don't care for poetry...however, this book of poetry told a story. The story of a woman after God's own heart. The story of someone who has been broken but leaning on God's shoulders. The story of someone who mourned the lost of a loved one and wanted to began to rejoice. The story of someone who is genuinely concerned with racial reconciliation. This book is a love story with the Lord as the main character.

' Forgive me' pg. 17 ...Ms. Allen leads us into God's presence, where true forgiveness/atonement awaits...such a blessed place!

We live in a world where people are seeking realness and truth. Ms. Allen delivers just that!

Now here's the truth, finally! This book confirmed what I already knew in my heart but had been taught quite differently as a kid. Read with an open mind.

Words cannot describe how you will feel when you are "loosened" from the ever tightening bonds of man made religion and back into the hands of your Creator. No writer has ever touched me the way Mary Summer Rain has, right down to my soul. I struggle now to find her books that are out of print that I just must get my hands on! I feel any message of hers is humble and heartfelt and worth reading over and over again. Each time you re-read them, you will find something there that you did not recall. Bottom Line-she portrays a world we all want and yearn for and instills us with hope that we will, one day, reach just that.

This is one book by Mary Summer Rain that is quite unlike her previous books. In this book, she has a visitation by an archangel, who is concerned about the spiritual state of mankind. Coming to Mary, he feels that her words will be able to awaken mankind and to help them "turnaround" their negative behavior.

I do believe that Mary's words impact millions of people as she has always lovingly written of the truth and has helped us see the truth.

The book is a fast read and expounds upon the Ten Commandments. The archangel goes into the "simplicity" of each one and how mankind has chosen to disregard these rules from God and explains what can be done to turn things around.

I just finished reading In God's Truth by Nick Bunick and along with this book by Mary Summer Rain, I feel that man has turned around the words of God and man has used these words in ways that God did not intend to be used. The simple words of faith and love have become distorted and as mentioned in the book, we have become an "I" and and a "me" generation.

This is a book of hope, of looking at where one is and where one needs to go. It is a book of introspection and asking of yourself "what is really, really important in my life?" Am I living my life as God wants me to? Would I do the things right now if God were standing right next to me?

Some pretty heavy issues in this book, bring up some major questions. You *will* question yourself and some of the answers you come up with will hopefully have you changing around your life.

I recommend this book enthusiastically.

Joe and John Henry are best friends. They both enjoy playing together and share a common love of swimming. It seems as nothing can separate these two, except race. John Henry's skin is "the color of browned butter" while Joe's skin is "the color of the pale moths." Although the boys see nothing wrong with one another's skin color, the small, rural, Southern community in which they live, sees things differently. FREEDOM SUMMER shows the lengths that racist people went through to prevent integration under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and how the friendship of two young boys transcended across racial barriers. The story is written in a manner that young children will be able to understand and relate to while the bold, colorful illustrations complement the story. Deborah Wiles has done an excellent job tackling the serious and touchy topic of racism in way that young children will be able to comprehend.

Reviewed by Latoya Carter-Qawiyy
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Making this a compelling story for young people isn't easy, but Miz Deborah (as she would have been called then) and Mistah Jerome have done so very well. Just as the Germans must not forget Hitler, we cannot forget the institutionalized racism of our past (which, sadly, remains with us more than National Socialism does with Germany), and Freedom Summer tells that story in a way that is both powerful and positive. As someone who lived through those times and finds this tale haunting, I only wish that Freedom Summer had been written 15 years ago, when I could have read it with my children. This is what children's literature should do.

This extraordinary book was awarded the 2002 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Award because of its graceful portrayl of the deep pain caused by racism and bigotry in the lives of children of every color. Wiles and Lagarrigue together create a world of joy and turmoil through the succinct text and rich images of the two young boys (one white and one black) together at play and then in confusion over the depth of race hatred in their world. For those who have treasured the books of Keats, whose work also broke through the barriers of race and ethnicity for children, Freedom Summer will be a welcome addition to a home library.

"That summer the fence that stretched through our town seemed bigger. We lived in a yellow house on one side of it. White people lived on the other. And Mama said, "Don't climb over that fence when you play." She said it wasn't safe..." Soon our narrator, Clover, sees a little white girl, Annie, hanging on the fence and staring into their yard, day after day. She was always alone. Finally, one day Clover gets close enough to the fence to talk to the little girl. They exchange names, and smiles, and pretty soon the two are sitting together on top of the fence. "My mama says I shouldn't go on the other side," I said. "My mama says the same thing. But she never said nothing about sitting on it." "Neither did mine," I said. That summer me and Annie sat on that fence and watched the whole wide world around us..." Jacqueline Woodson's eloquent and understated prose captures the feel of the old South in the 1950's, before integration, and is both poignant and uplifting. E B Lewis's elegant watercolors complement the text with expressive heartwarming and lifelike illustrations in soft summer tones. Together, word and art paint an engaging portrait of times gone by with a gentle message that won't be lost on young readers. Perfect for youngsters 7-10, or as a read aloud for younger children, The Other Side is a sensitive and evocative story, told with great insight, wisdom, and truth. "Someday somebody's going to come along and knock this old fence down," Annie said. And I nodded. "Yeah," I said. "Someday."

I used this book last semester for both my seventh grade students, and my team of teachers. The teachers loved the story as well as the delicate illustrations. My seventh grade students listened patiently, seeming to wait for every breath of the story. We analyzed the story and the historical period. I love using picture books for middle school students, and I think this book makes an excellent addition to any bookshelf, old or young!

When reading through this book I was throughly impressed with the authour's talented description of the events that were taking place. The pictures protrayed a great image of actions of the girls. This book is for children who are just learning about how segragation used to be. Parents, this is a amazing book to read to your children, when teaaching them about old times. This book clearly gets the point across in an entertaining manner. I definately reccommend this to younger kids.

... WOW! ... If, after having read this book, you do NOT seriously reconsider WHERE you are living in relation to the surrounding circumstances of your immediate environment, if you do NOT reconsider the WAY you have been relating to that environment as well as to your fellow human beings and all of the other creatures who share that environment with you, and if you do NOT reconsider your goals and means to those goals as far as whether they are in HARMONY with both Nature as well as Spiritual Laws, then - if what this book prophesizes is true - you may be in BIG TROUBLE in the coming years ahead. ... This is no joke!

... This book picks up where SPIRIT SONG left off. It fills in more detail into the teleological understanding of End-Times prophecies from the Native American perspective of No-Eyes - the wise, old, blind teacher of Mary Summer Rain. If you liked SPIRIT SONG, you are going to LOVE this second book in the series, Phoenix Rising. It leaves no stone uncovered.

... Mary Summer Rain writes, on page 48: "As we listened to the nonstop chatter of the scampering squirrels, each of us was lost in our private musings. I wondered at the great number of unaware people I saw around me every day. Didn't they realize that there were great things in the offing? I saw no physical evidence of preparation, physical or spiritual. Oh, I knew of separate groups of mountain folks who believed and were taking every opportunity to physically prepare for the bleak future, but, on the whole, everyone appeared to be obsessed with worry over the most trivial matters. I found this incredibly difficult to accept. The general unawareness of the masses made them look like mindless robots living out their individual lives with blinders on. I thought about the times when I'd overheard people idly comment on the strange occurrences of this or that, yet nobody was ever aware enough to connect the strange occurrences together. Nobody bothered to fit the puzzle pieces of the signs together. Nobody was aware enough to see the entire picture for what it represented."

... Funny, how blind prophets - Native American or otherwise - seem to have more insightful vision than people with normal sight do! We can thank No-Eyes for sharing her visions and wisdom with Mary Summer Rain, and we can thank Mary Summer Rain for sharing them all with us. She has presented us with all of the connected pieces of the entire picture of the prophetic puzzle! Whether your eschatological beliefs are pre-Millennial or post-Millennial, embrace the faith in a Rapture, or even simply cling to the stand that you will one day die, be judged, and hopefully go to a place called Heaven, it doesn't matter - ALL of these prophecies may take place and come true BEFORE any of those final, Biblical, tribulation time events of the Apocalypse ever take place. If this is, indeed, the truth, then Mary Summer Rain has done us all a great service - and we are very grateful to her, and thank her with all our hearts. ... YOWZA! - The Aeolian Kid

This book foretold of all the changes that are now happening. The Phoenix is preparing to rip forth from Mother Earth and bring with it a new time, new hope, new life when all the races will unite. In scary times this book brought about a new sense of peace and hope within me, as well as signs to watch for. Some of the things foretold that one can consider that happened: Chernobyl, and the events of 9-11-01. BUY THIS BOOK, Check it out from you library. This is a must have. I am buying it for all of my friends.

This book will have you quivering at the thought of destruction of life as we know it. Every religion believes that changes are to come, and No-Eyes' visions piece everything together. Read it and cry at the joyous life on earth that is to come.

When Samantha stays at Piney Point with her family, she never dreams what will happen. Her mother died many years ago, but she always loved to spend time at Piney Point with her friends just like Samantha. But when she finds her mother's old sketchbook, she becomes interested. Where did her mom draw all the pictures of Samantha and her father, who also died, when she was a baby? Trying to understand her past, Samantha and her two cousins go to Teardrop Island, the place where the mystery pictures were drawn. Their grandma forbids them to go, but they go anyway. But when they get stuck on the island, they get scared and realize they shouldn't have gone. I liked this book, but it was more of a little-kid book than I expected it to be!

This book is about Samantha going to Piney Point with her aunt,uncle,cousins,and Grandmary,and the admiral. On a rainy day Samantha and her cousins go up in the attic and discover her mother's sketch book. In it there's a map to Teardrop Island. One day Samantha and her cousins go to Teardrop Island. On their way there's a narrow passageway and there are rocks under the water they couldn't see. Once they got to the island, they went to go find the pretty waterfall and her mother's sketch book. They also had a picnic there. Then it starts to rain and they try to go find their canoe but they couldn't. They become stranded and the admiral sets out to find them but he hits his head and Samantha has to save the day.

it's about samantha going to a vacation with her two other friends, they go to where her parents died because it looked wonderful, when they tried to get home, they find out that the storm swept their canoe and now they here moans for help! the rest is up to you to read.

Handsome, priveleged, eighteen year old Fletcher Greel finally returns to his small Southern hometown to mourn the death of his mother. Fletcher hooks back up with his childhood friend Riley White. Riley is a good looking good-ole-boy in the making: stealing beer, spending his time drinkin' and fishin'. But Riley in is love with Crystal Nash, beautiful, sixteen year old Crystal, who is black and sings the blues like she's making love to the music. Through Riley and Crystal, Fletcher falls in love with motherless, wild, beautiful Haley Ellyson, who is obsessed by a unconsummated lust-filled affair with her father's best friend.

Why is it that Southern novels have to be filled with angst-ridden forbidden love, often between blacks and whites? This novel has it to overflowing. That being said, however, this novel has a lot of wonderful points. The aspect with the most promise (although unfulfilled) is Riley's character. It is interesting to watch him try to fit into both his white redneck world and the black music-filled world. The lush writing conjures up the image of a small town in the deep South, with aspects that still seem like it is the 40's there, not the 80's of the novel. Even the heat is depicted with clarity, down to every sheen of sweat. The story flows easily and pulls you into it's inevitable conclusion.

This was a book that was enjoyable to read but once finished, left me irritated by its cliches.

Kingsbury's writing has a ring of truth
to wake a town, the countryside and
her characters manage to carry the burden
as they come of age one summer.

While it might be accused of cliche and though, to coin a phrase, Kingsbury is no Harper Lee (as claimed on the cover), the thing that makes this book sizzle is its amazing description. You can actually feel the heat through the words. Kingsbury's description and language to describe each scene are outstanding. One such description is the bar where we first encounter crystal.
An outstanding debut.

No wonder Bob Greene's so much more well known as a columnist than a novelist. All Summer Long, while full of good writing and interesting situations, seems to me to be self-serving and melodramatic. If only this had been written as non-fiction, I would have not only believed it, but would have respected it. Instead, I could predict what would happen pages ahead of time and kept thinking that maybe I have can have career as a novelist after all. It's just not very interesting to anyone but the characters. If I ran into any of these guys in a airport or at a ballgame or in a hotel lobby, I'd not only think them quite unspectacular, but wouldn't dig too deeply into their lives, as I'm sure I'd be bored before they got around to reliving their first "adventure."

Oh, woe is the forty-three year old Midwestern male, who can't face the reality of everyday life. Sure, there isn't a person alive who wouldn't like to take the summer off and travel, but I don't know how many of us want to do it with a bunch of people that we were really only close to 25 years ago. Forget my friends from high school, I want to take off with the people who mean something to me today -- people with whom I have something in common besides having attended the same school two and a half decades ago. This is exactly why we have reunions every five years, not every day. For the most part, they have no relevance in our daily lives.

That said, I still enjoyed the escapism this book offers. Greene offers simple, but significant insights into human nature, especially those that I imagine for men in their mid forties. The trio's travels are both funny and sad, and Greene doesn't necessarily push the reader one way or another. Things just happen and the summer is over, just like it is for you and me. And just like yours and mine, no one can really say they're interested in these sad sacks.

Greene steals the title from the Beach Boys song, although a song more representative and equally sappy might have been Terry Jacks's Seasons In The Sun. They had joy, they had fun, they had a season in the sun. Big deal.

I stumbled upon Bob Greene's All Summer Long a couple of years ago when I read his "Hang Time" book about Michael Jordan. The subject matter of several friends putting everything aside for a Summer and roadtriping around the country has always been appealing to me and this story didn't disappoint. Although this is a fictional account, you really feel as if the author is recanting a journey that he actually took. I found myself really wanting to do something like this someday as well. I highly recommend this book.

This book will take the male reader - from 18 to 80 - on a fantasy ride that will hold his interest from page one to the end. This wasn't written to be considered "literature;" it simply entertains very well and gives the reader's his money's worth.

I'm now reading it for the second time. How many books get THAT award from readers?

Jackie Monterey had always thought of himself as a writer, and so he had vowed on the lives of his fish-Mark Twain, Dashiell Hammett, and Isaac Asimov-to finish a novel during his summer vacation. However, he never got past the opening line of his novel. In addition, he was convinced by his friends-Mallory, Nick, and Garus-to join the swim team. From there on, Jackie found everything going wrong; his coach¡¦s beautiful daughter seemed to like him, Garus began to disobey Nick, whom he had always admired, Nick started dating a dog-lover etc. Even his weird parents were making big money from their crazy, unfashionable health products. It wasn¡¦t until the last few days of his summer vacation that Jackie had found out what was wrong. He needed to have an open mind, a more accepting mind, and not see everything his way. With that in mind, Jackie wrote a winning essay about his summer that won five other people and him a trip to the Kingdom of Magic.
To me, this is just a typical contemporary fiction that talks about the problems of a teenager. It isn¡¦t really such an exciting story. The events that take place in this story rarely get my interests. Nevertheless, all these not exciting events accumulate to make a pretty good conflict. As a result, the climax turns out to be wonderful and the resolution was satisfying. It seems like the author suppressed all the good stuff throughout the book and released them on the last twenty pages.
My favorite part of this story is when Jackie is in the swim meet. The swim team from Frog Hollow has never beaten the swim team from Brewster before. But this year, the swim coach of Frog Hollow is confident in winning, in Jackie¡¦s talents. Jackie has never known of his swimming talents until he joined the swim team. He was trained for hours at a time by his coach and he was ready for the meet. When it was his turn to swim, Jackie just jumped into the swimming pool and swam naturally. He was calm and relaxed. When he finished his laps, he turned around and saw his opponent still struggling to finish his.

Jackie Monterey, and his struggle to write a novel over his summer vacation, but can't seem to get past the opening line. Jackie's friends are no help. Nick and Garus, are always trying to get Jackie to do stupid adventures with them. Nick, is always checking out the ladies. Garus, (Gary) is trying to copy Nicks slick moves to get the ladies, and trying to perfect his "English Accent." Mallory is a theme park fanatic. She is trying to write a essay to win five tickets to "Kingdom of Magic" ( a famous theme park). Jackie's parents are reporters and tell Jackie to write what he knows. Jackie's parents, are very weaird and cautious on what they eat. Jackie reminds me of a real life kid. He has trouble with girls, his parents are weaird, and he wants to write a novel. So, if you like a book where you can relate to the character's, "How I Survived My Summer Vacation and Lived To Write The Story" is the book for you.

How I Survived My Summer Vacation, and Lived to Write the Story, by Robin Friedman was one of the best books I have ever read. The plot revolved around a boy named Jackie Montery, who wanted to write a novel over his summer vacation. Each time he sat down to write, he was disrupted by his immature friends who wanted to fool around.
One immature thing they wanted to do was join the swim team. The main reason for this was to look at girls in bikinis. Another immature thing they did was crawl through a sewer and see where they would end up. Probably the most immature things they did were swear into a tape recorder and then replayed it and looked for a Playboy in the woods. The only one they found was one with its pictures cut out.
There were three main characters in this book, Jackie, Garus and Nick. Garus and Nick were Jackie's best friends who liked to do stupid things. Garus was always with Nick. He looked up to him also. He admired his way with the ladies. Nick was the brains behind all of the stupid ideas. Jackie always wanted to lock him self in his room and type.
The setting of the book took place in a town called Frog Hollow. It was a small town like Catskill, where everyone knew each other.
The mood of this book was kind of funny. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys humor, especially for teens ages 13-14. My favorite part of the book was when they tried to crawl through the sewer.