On the Pile

Finished: Behaving Like Adults. Loved it---until p. 235. The first half of the story was terrific: a smart, sympathetic heroine dealing with both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances in a very real, very honest way. The supporting characters were a bit one-dimensional and stereotypical (the shrill, pushy older sister; the flighty younger sister; the drama-queen metrosexual), yet they were still endearing. But then, p. 235 came and there was just one twist too many and the story went from honest drama to melodrama. The second half of the novel was too wordy, too crammed, too preachy, too . . . overwrought. The final 100 pages dragged on in an endless stream of psychobabble broken only by yet another twist in the plot, which then occassioned more analysis, only to end abruptly with a neat---but unearned---ending.

Now Reading: Affluenza. I started this several months ago and am finally getting around to reading the second half.

On Deck: Good Faith by Jane Smiley. HUGE thanks to Bearette24 for the sweet gift.

Added to the Pile:
* The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
* The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (recommended by Crystal)
* Bait and Switch by Barbara Ehrenreich