Comments on The 3 R's Blog // Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness: Book talk: "Goldengrove," by Francine Prose - TLC ...

Wendy (Literary Feline) - I get that. She's writte...

2009-10-18T20:06:15.625-07:00

Wendy (Literary Feline) - I get that. She's written a lot of nonfiction in addition to her novels, and I think I was a bit intimidated by her myself until I read A Changed Man. She's one of those authors who doesn't seem to have a fixed niche, which I like.

Thank you for the great review, Florinda. I have ...

2009-10-18T17:25:29.180-07:00

Thank you for the great review, Florinda. I have been hearing good things about this one. Francine Prose is one of those authors that I haven't tried because she intimidates me a bit. I'm not sure why and have no reason for feeling that way.

Jennifer (Literate Housewife) - I agree with you a...

2009-10-18T16:57:12.035-07:00

Jennifer (Literate Housewife) - I agree with you about Nico's mother; her dad didn't quite react the same way, but I really got a sense that both of them were very much filtered through a 13-year-old's perspective...and it was totally appropriate to the story.

It's interesting what you say about Nico's parents...

2009-10-18T07:09:02.578-07:00

It's interesting what you say about Nico's parents. I agree with you on that. I think it's especially true of Nico's mother. How much of that can be tied back to Nico? I wonder how my daughters would view me at 13? What an interesting topic. Great review!

Jeanne - I remember that both you and Beth Kephart...

2009-10-16T08:56:03.613-07:00

Jeanne - I remember that both you and Beth Kephart alluded to that, so I'll admit my guard was up a bit while I was reading the novel :-). Still, I think that I was convinced enough by the adolescent narrative voice that I didn't feel manipulated.

I'm not familiar with After - I'll have to look out for that one!

Prose is a gifted author; you were more patient wi...

2009-10-16T08:46:06.784-07:00

Prose is a gifted author; you were more patient with what I reacted to as her tearjerker attempts with this novel than I was. My favorite of hers IS marketed for young adults, the novel After.

TexasRed - It turned out to be not quite what I ex...

2009-10-15T19:15:35.017-07:00

TexasRed - It turned out to be not quite what I expected, but it was well done.

Amy - I think it could be cross-marketed as YA if the publisher and author wanted to go that route, but for an older teen audience.

Ti - Yeah, I got that vibe too, but I don't think we really did get what was behind the whole "he has a screw loose" thing.

Kathy (Bermudaonion) - I've only read one of her other books so far, the novel A Changed Man. I thought it was good, but very different from Goldengrove.

Trish - Thanks! I read most of the other reviews on the tour, and I think I did find a different angle on the book. And I always try to be spoiler-free :-).

Florinda, I loved how you really delved into Nico ...

2009-10-15T19:06:00.534-07:00

Florinda, I loved how you really delved into Nico in this review! I feel like I understand more of the book, but you didn't give away any spoilers. I love that!

Thanks for being on this tour!

This sounds really good. I've heard Prose is a gi...

2009-10-15T14:48:44.660-07:00

This sounds really good. I've heard Prose is a gifted author but I have yet to try her work.

The only issue I had with this one is that I kept ...

2009-10-15T13:59:32.406-07:00

The only issue I had with this one is that I kept waiting for some dark secret to be revealed about Aaron. The author touched on something and then sort of dropped it.

Great review! I'm really looking forward to readi...

2009-10-15T10:06:47.549-07:00

Great review! I'm really looking forward to reading this. I like your analysis of the narrator. . .sounds like it would make a good book for teens as well.

Sounds like a very interesting way to handle some ...

2009-10-15T09:17:54.266-07:00

Sounds like a very interesting way to handle some really difficult topics. Thanks for introducing me to this book!