Christina Reviews *The Sweet Hereafter* by Russell Banks

          Mitchell:  “That’s my daughter.  Or it may be the police to tell me they’ve found her dead.  She’s a drug addict.”
         Billy: “Why are you telling me this?”
         Mitchell: “Why am I telling you this, Mr. Ansel?  Because we’ve all lost our children.  They’re dead to us.”
                         The Sweet Hereafter (quoted from the 1997 movie)


         The Sweet Hereafter is about a town that has been torn apart by tragedy.  On a winter morning, a school bus crashes through a guardrail.  Several children are killed.

         This is a novel told in four parts.  The first section is from the point of view of the bus driver on the day that her life changed forever.  The second section is told from the pov of a man named Billy.  His twin son and daughter were two of the victims who died in the bus crash.  The third section is told from the point of a view of a lawyer who has come to town to rile up the townspeople with talk of a possible lawsuit.  The fourth section is told from the point of view of Nichole Burnell.  Nichole is one of the survivors of the crash.  She was crippled by the accident and is now in a wheelchair.  Her section is about her involvement in the pending lawsuit and her anger toward her father with whom she has a complicated relationship.

        This is a well-written novel, but I have to say I liked the movie a little more.  Atom Egoyan is a genius.  The Canadian setting is beautiful.  The score is haunting.  And I loved how Egoyan drew a parallel between the story the movie is telling and the story of the pied piper. 

Christina Reviews *Sweet Dream Baby* by Sterling Watson

           Sterling Watson’s Sweet Dream Baby is a compelling coming of age story about one 12 year old boy’s descent into madness.  The story takes place in 1958, back when everyone was into that Devil's music.

         Travis spends a summer at his grandparents’ home in Florida because his mother is in a mental institution and his father is unable to take care of him on his own.  While in Florida, Travis befriends his 16 year old aunt Delia Hollister.  Things spiral downward from there.

        This book is full of murder, secrets, lies and incest.  It’s a haunting Southern Gothic that’s very well-written.  And the author is cool. 

       Four stars

Christina Reviews *Summer Sisters* by Judy Blume

          If you thought Judy Blume only wrote children’s books, then just wait till you read this.  If her children’s books were sex pamphlets for young girls, just imagine what her adult books must be like.

        Victoria and Caitlin are best friends.  They’ve known each other since they were 12.  They’ve spent summers at Caitin’s summer home which Caitlin not-so-affectionately calls “Psycho House.”  They’ve hung around with older boys with names like Von and Bru.  They’ve dry-humped each other because, let’s face it, this is a Judy Blume Book.  And according to Judy Blume, that’s what all best girl friends do in their spare time.  But I have to say that I respect the fact that Judy Blume writes about the kinds of things that the average commercial writer would be scared to write about.

       The novel follows Vic and Caitlin through their teens and into adulthood.  The book is narrated by several characters, though Victoria is the main point of view character.  It’s a decent book about two girls, their loss of innocence and how, for the most part, they have no regrets.

       The book’s ending is a little depressing.

Christina Reviews *Stephen King's The Shining*

          I didn't read this book until after I'd already passed "Sh" and it is very important to me that these reviews be in alphabetical order.  It was pure fate that I had just reached that spot between "Sl" and Su" around the same time that I finished this book.  But even if it hadn't magically worked out that way, I probably still would have referred to this novel as Stephen King's The Shining.  A book written by Stephen King has its own special reason for being.

          I'd had this book on the shelf for years, but it took me until now to read it.  And that's because I had so many other books to read.  And I was intimidated by the book's length.  Who can be bothered with a 683 page book?  That's way too long for me.  I can't be sitting around all day reading a horror story.  I've got to work 40 hours a week like anyone else!  Not all of us can get rich off of our hobbies.

         The Shining is about a family of three who go to stay in a hotel during the off season.  The father, Jack Torrance, is going to be the winter caretaker.  His five-year-old son Danny has psychic abilities and is haunted by the tragedies that occurred in the hotel over the years.  The wife is disturbed because her recovering alcoholic husband seems to always be on the verge of doing something awful.  And as the months go by, and the snow begins to fall, his temper overheats like the neglected boiler in the basement.

         It doesn't help that they also have to worry about the possessed hedge animals and the secret of Room 237.  The fact that Danny sees the word "murder" backwards in a mirror in one of his visions and can only make out that it spells "Redrum" was a stroke of pure genius in my opinion.  There is something genuinely creepy about this story.  I blew through the first four hundred pages during a four day weekend.  But as the pages went on, the story seemed to drag on.  At some point, I just wanted it to end already.  I'm trying to think of what could have been cut out.  Probably 90% of the Halloran chapters.  Halloran is a hotel employee who has the ability to "shine" just like Danny does.  He tells Danny to call to him in his mind if there's ever any trouble.  But I didn't need to read so many pages of his misadventures as he tries to make his way to the hotel so that he can save the day.  All I needed was just enough so that his appearance didn't come across as Deus Ex Machina.  But is it possible for Deus Ex Machina to exist in a book that's all about reading people's minds?

        I didn't much like the wife (Wendy).  Maybe it was due to a lingering distaste for Shelley Duvall's performance in the Kubrick version.   In the movie, Wendy was this sad sack woman who probably never passed a jumper in a department store without having to take it home.

         Stephen King is a great writer.  There's no doubt about that.  I really enjoyed this book.  It was a great horror story that also delved into the hidden horrors that can lurk deep within the human psyche.  But like I said before, it didn't have to be so long.