Product Description
Unfortunately, Roy’s first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn’t been sinking his thumbs into Roy’s temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and–here’s the odd part–wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy’s trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen’s Florida.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Product Description
Fifteen-year-old Brett Gerson is the kind of kid you love to hate.He's smug, arrogant, rude, and filthy rich.When his dad is jailed for insider trading, his family loses everything and Brett has to face life without the mansion, the Mercedes, and his beloved $5,000 stereo.But his attitude begins to change when he's forced to take a summer job assisting Alfie Moore, the seventy-year old guy who used to clean his swimming pool . . . Told in the first person and set in a fictional California town, POOL BOY marks the debut of a gifted young writer, Michael Simmons, and of one of the most engaging and infuriating anti-heroes since Holden Caulfield. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

The Nuke of All Books
Brett Gerson, an irresponsible rich kid from California, has just lost everything.The house, the pool, the cars, and his five thousand dollar stereo.All this happened because his rich stockbroker dad has just gotten busted by the cops.Ten cops showed up at their door one day and arrested his father after tackling him to the kitchen floor.The next thing Brett knows, he is working at a burger joint and living at his aunt's house with his mom, sister, and aunt.After Brett gets a job offer cleaning pools from his old bus driver, Alfie, Brett quits his lame job at the burger joint.Brett is in for a big surprise because his relationship with Alfie becomes more than something Brett could have imagined.I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was compelling to see how Brett changes throughout the book.At first, Brett had a really bad attitude towards his mother and did not care how she felt.As Brett moves on with his job as a pool cleaner with Alfie, he starts to realize that his mother has not done him any wrong.After a fatal disaster occurs, Brett's attitude changes toward his mother and he transforms into a responsible young man.There are no negatives that I can give as to why I disliked this book.I give this book 9.5 on a scale of 10.The title relates to the book because although Brett starts out as just an ordinary "pool boy."By the end of the book, Brett has become something much greater than just a "pool boy."

Great for school or leisure
One of the books my students read is Pool Boy.This cassette is new for our school this year, and it's a great addition.The students enjoy reading along to the tape.Chad Lowe has a good voice, almost soothing.He also reads different expressions and dialogue well.Highly recommended, especially for students who have difficulty reading.

Obnoxious Main Character
Brett has always had exactly what he wants.He lived in a nice area with his parents and sister, a great house with expensive cars and a pool.He had a great stereo system and almost never thought about money, except when he wanted something and needed money to buy it.Then everything changes.His father, a stockbroker, is accused and convicted of doing some bad things, including not paying taxes.He is put in jail and the family has to sell everything in order to start paying off his debts.Even after they have sold everything, they still have no money.Brett and his mother and his sister go to live with his eccentric aunt on the bad side of town and they start to learn how it is not to be rich.

One of the first things that happens is Brett needs to get a job.He starts off working at a fast food place, but his bad attitude clashes with a boss he thinks is totally unfair and unreasonable.He doesn't last long in that job.Then he goes to work for Alfie, a pool cleaner.It's not the ideal job, but Brett grows to like Alfie a lot and sticks with him, even through such humiliations as having to clean the pools of his friends and even the pool at the house where he used to live.

Throughout the story, Brett insists he hates his father.But does he really hate him, or can he forgive his father for getting him into this mess?

I liked how nice Brett's family was, especially his sister, who should have been just as bitter as he was.Alfie was a great character, too.He was nice to Brett when Brett didn't deserve it, and he gave Brett lots of things to think about in his relationship with his father.

Brett's character was awful, though, right from beginning to end.He was self-centered, and the way he spoke about himself was obnoxious.

This was a spectacular book
Brett Gerson, a fifteen year old kid who's disrespectful and extremely wealthy. All of this wealth ends when Brett's father is arrested for insider trading. He loses everything from his house all the way down to his five thousand dollar stereo. Now he has to live with his Aunt Mary who loves kissing him on the forehead. He gets a job at a place called Fast Burger, where the boss is what he thinks a big jerk. He then quits and begins to clean pools with Alfie, the seventy year old guy who use to clean his old pool. You will not want to put this book down, especially at the sad yet joyous ending. Read POOLBOY, it's a great book to make you laugh, be mad, and even emotional.

Pool Boy
Pool Boy by Michael Simmons is way on top. This book really kept me going. This is about a boy who goes through alot and then realizes that what he lost wasn't important but his family and friends. His father pulled a stupid move and his 74 year-old friend,Alfie, went on.
I thought this book was going to end with Brett getting everything he had, back, but it was a whole other twist. On a scale from 1 to 10, i rated a 9 because it was one of the best books I ever read and it just had me telling everyone about it. If you like books about someone loosing soemtheing but instead on gaining it back, they gained something that was imporant in life back, then you well like Pool Boy by Michael Simmons.
WHAT A GREAT BOOK!!! ... Read more

Product Description

Matt Donaghy has always been a Big Mouth. But it's never gotten him in trouble -- until the day Matt is accused of threatening to blow up Rocky River High School.

Ursula Riggs has always been an Ugly Girl. A loner with fierce, staring eyes, Ursula has no time for petty high school stuff like friends and dating -- or at least that's what she tells herself Ursula is content with minding her own business. And she doesn't even really know Matt Donaghy.

But Ursula is the only person who knows what Matt really said that day ... and she is the only one who can help him.

In her first novel for young adults, acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates has created a provocative and unflinching story of friendship and family, and of loyalty and betrayal.

Customer Reviews (75)

Angieville: BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL
The first time I ever heard about BIG MOUTH & UGLY GIRL was on the lovely Shannon Hale's website a few years ago. I was browsing around and ran across a list of her book recommendations. This one was on the YA non-fantasy list and the title caught my eye. So I hunted down a copy at my local bookstore and went home with it. Something about her description of why she liked it made me certain it was worth buying sight unseen. I must have felt strongly because, let's be honest, I would never otherwise have purchased a book with this cover. I'm sorry, but it's horrendous. Sort of the definition of unappealing. Nothing that calls out to me in any way. And, as with so many other of my favorites, this story deserves a cover worthy of it. Not the drab, awkward ones it's gotten thus far. So I hope this review will appeal to some of you enough that you'll look past the puzzling, slightly garish cover and see the gold inside. Because it is most certainly gold and instantly went on my Beloved Bookshelf because of its honest and heartfelt approach to being a teen outsider and the often unfair and complicated ways in which others view you when you don't conform to their model of expectations.

***

It was an ordinary January afternoon, a Thursday, when they came for Matt Donaghy. They came for him during fifth period, which was Matt's study period, in room 220 of Rocky River High School, Westchester County.

***

These are the opening lines of the story of Matt Donaghy and Ursula Riggs. On that ordinary day in January the police come to arrest Matt Donaghy. To escort him from school and down to the station on charges that he was planning to blow up the school. Matt is speechless with confusion and fear. He had no such plans. He said no such thing. Or did he? It's impossible to remember. He might have joked about it. Not necessarily in so many words, but he might have. Matt is always joking. You might say he has a big mouth. Big enough, hopefully, to cover up for his shyness, his inability to blend in perfectly with his peers. Then there is Ursula Riggs. Tall, sturdy, with fierce eyes and an unyielding presence, she's on the edges of Rocky River High as well. Everybody knows of her but nobody really knows her. And in her head she is Ugly Girl. Too large and broad and forceful to be accepted, but sure of herself and determined not to be run over by anyone. But Ursula heard what Matt said that day in passing. And she decides she won't let him go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. But will the two outcasts together be able to stand against the fear and the mob mentality that arises in the wake of rumors of a crazy boy and a bomb?

First published in 2002, this is Joyce Carol Oates' first young adult novel and I was impressed to say the least. It reminded me of a more "American," if you will, version of Just in Case by Meg Rosoff. No less angst, but a little more hope. The two main characters, Matt and Ursula, develop alter egos (see title) which in turn enable them to cope with the shocking events of their junior year. The thing is you will like these two. You will like them from page one. Though skinny and geeky, and prone to skimming along under the radar, Matt is incredibly likable and funny. And Ursula. Well, as Matt would say, Ursula is "1 individual in 1 million." Often brash and abrupt and unconcerned with other people's feelings, she is actually an unusually straight arrow. And her insistence on justice and the perseverance of truth is doggone admirable. What these two accomplish together is heroic. Here is their first conversation:

***

Twice Matt dialed the number Ursula had given him and twice he hung up quickly before the phone could ring. So damned shy. The third time he dialed, he let the phone ring and it was answered at once. "Hello?" The girl's voice was husky, guarded.

"Hi, this is . . . Matt. Is this Ursula?"

"Yes."

"I . . . got your message."

Matt was speaking in a lowered, shaky voice. He was feeling a leap of irrational hope.

Ursula said, still guardedly, "You know me, I guess? From school?"

"Ursula, sure. Sure I know you."

As if they hadn't been going to the same schools most of their lives.

Ursula said, "This hasn't been such a . . . great day for you, I guess."

"No, but--" Matt paused. He wanted to say, At least I'm home, not in jail. But that wasn't much of a reason to be grateful, considering he hadn't done anything wrong. "--I'm alive, anyway."

Was that meant to be funny? Matt laughed, but Ursula remained silent.

Matt had begun to sweat, this conversation was so pained. He hated calling girls on the phone if he didn't know them really well and if it hadn't been understood, more or less, that he was going to call, and was expected. He was even uneasy sometimes calling his friends. Which was why he liked e-mail. Maybe Ursula Riggs was the same way? Her telephone voice was unexpectedly hesitant, diffident.

Or maybe she just didn't like Matt Donaghy, personally. But had to talk to him for some mysterious reason.

Ursula began speaking rapidly, as if her words were prepared. "Look, Matt. I heard what you said in the cafeteria today. I was walking past your table, and I heard. I know you were joking, and there's no way any intelligent person could misconstrue your words or gestures. If it's taken out of context, maybe, but there was a context. And I can be a witness for you. I'll go to Mr. Parrish first thing tomorrow and talk to him. Or the police, if necessary."

By the end of this speech, Ursula was speaking vehemently. Matt wasn't sure he'd heard right. Witness? He felt like a drowning swimmer whose flailing hand has been grabbed by someone, a stranger, whose face he can't see.

He said, stammering, "You . . . heard me? You know I didn't . . . wasn't . . ."

"A friend of mine, Eveann McDowd, was with me. She heard you, too. I'll talk to her."

"You'd--be a witness for me, Ursula? Gosh."

Ursula said quickly, "You've been falsely accused. I'd do it for anybody." She added," I mean--even somebody I didn't like."

Matt was too confused to absorb what Ursula Riggs seemed to be saying. That she liked him? All he could say was to repeat, "Thanks, Ursula. I--really appreciate it."

"You're the only person who's contacted me, Ursula," Matt added impulsively. "I'm a pariah, I guess--is that the word? Like leper. Outcast." When Ursula didn't reply, Matt said, "I've been suspended for 'at least three day.' Till they can investigate me."

"Investigate you? They're the ones who should be investigated."

Ursula Riggs spoke so heatedly, it was as if, suddenly, she was in Matt's room with him and Pumpkin.

***

Don't you want to stick with them and find out if she's right? If together they can face down The Man and win? This is a particularly timely tale, I think, with two painfully real protagonists that dare you to drift away and forget them after the story itself is over. Recommended for fans of Courtney Summers and Meg Rosoff.

Be yourself in High School
This book really explains a lot.You can relate it to some schools because there's always a girl who people believe is big and bad, but once you get to know her, she's very humane.
And then there's another kind of person you might find.A guy who's really smart, and never has been cruel to anybody, but gets misinterpreted at the wrong moment when he's just joking around with his friends.
The girl that takes this place is sort of a big jock.She's very bulky and plays sports, but doesn't bully anybody.But because of her size, people are so afraid of her.
The guy that takes the other place is just a regular, pretty slim student who loves writing his own plays.When he knows what's going on, he can comprehend that he was caught in the act of doing something that wasn't meant to be what came out of his mouth and actions.
As you read more and more into the book, you can glimpse on this friendship that has developed between this two different people and how they work together to make things the way they were before.But knowing all these teen stories, it never ends that way.No happily ever after.In this story though, I can tell you that this ending is one you will never forget.
If you read this book, you will find all of these people.I would say that you should be around 13-15 years old, or about to go into high school.It teaches you how high school can be sometimes, and it's okay to be yourself and stand up for other people and YOURSELF!

Pleasantly surprised
This was my first Oates book so I had no idea what to expect. What I got was a book with very well written characters and a good premise. Both main characters are completely believable and their friendship is described i a very good way. The parts focusing on "Ugly girl" are written in first person and Oates really manages to get the right voice for a teenage girl. Or at least it felt authentic to me, but I'm admittedly not a teenage girl.

The book also has its satirical moments and overall a good understanding of human nature. "Big Mouth and Ugly Girl" is a great read for kids and adults alike.

B MUG
Big Mouth and Ugly Girl is a book about a boy who is allegedly accused of stating that he is going to blow up the school. A girl named Ursula comes to his rescue when she testifies on the behalf that he didn't do it. This boy, Matt, and Ursula develop a special relationship that has its ups and downs throughout this book.
My favorite part of this book is when Ursula and Matt go to a kid's house to see if he took Matt's dog. I think this is a funny part. It shows a whole different side of the characters. I also liked it because the kid that they were "persecuting" had such a smart attitude towards them that it made it funny.
I would recommend this book to a few people. I would recommend it to people who are interested in teen life and drama and maybe people who like relationship stories. Other than that I wouldn't really recommend it. The book was a little slow moving, but once I got to a good part it was hard to put down. Also this book was kind of following the people involved in the plot but not enough about the plot.

big mouth and ugly girl
This book is about finding out what rumors could lead to. You always have to be careful with what you say, you might endup in a tight squeez like matt donaghy.
What you will find inside this book:
- respect
- support
- rumors
- truth
- friendship
- depression
- and a change of heart in the characters.
Have fun reading this book :D ... Read more

Product Description
Unfortunately, Roy's first acquaintance in Florida is Dana Matherson, a well-known bully. Then again, if Dana hadn't been sinking his thumbs into Roy's temples and mashing his face against the school-bus window, Roy might never have spotted the running boy. And the running boy is intriguing: he was running away from the school bus, carried no books, and-here's the odd part-wore no shoes. Sensing a mystery, Roy sets himself on the boy's trail. The chase introduces him to potty-trained alligators, a fake-fart champion, some burrowing owls, a renegade eco-avenger, and several extremely poisonous snakes with unnaturally sparkling tails.
Roy has most definitely arrived in Carl Hiaasen's Florida.


From the Hardcover edition.Amazon.com Review
Roy Eberhardt is the new kid--again. This time around it's Trace Middle School in humid Coconut Grove, Florida. But it's still the same old routine: table by himself at lunch, no real friends, and thick-headed bullies like Dana Matherson pushing him around. But if it wasn't for Dana Matherson mashing his face against the school bus window that one day, he might never have seen the tow-headed running boy. And if he had never seen the running boy, he might never have met tall, tough, bully-beating Beatrice. And if he had never met Beatrice, he might never have discovered the burrowing owls living in the lot on the corner of East Oriole Avenue. And if he had never discovered the owls, he probably would have missed out on the adventure of a lifetime. Apparently, bullies do serve a greater purpose in the scope of the universe. Because if it wasn't for Dana Matherson...

In his first novel for a younger audience, Carl Hiaasen (Basket Case, etc.) plunges readers right into the middle of an ecological mystery, made up of endangered miniature owls, the Mother Paula's All-American Pancake House scheduled to be built over their burrows, and the owls' unlikely allies--three middle school kids determined to beat the screwed-up adult system. Hiaasen's tongue is firmly in cheek as he successfully cuts his slapstick sense of humor down to kid-size. Sure to be a hoot, er, hit with middle school mystery fans. (Ages 10 to 15)--Jennifer Hubert ... Read more

Customer Reviews (515)

Hoot by Jayson Daniels
My opinion on Hoot
By Jayson Daniels
I read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and this review will be about my opinion of the book. Hoot is not part of a series. I found Hoot a great book and after this I hope you will agree. Hoot is about a boy Named Roy Eberhardtwho moves to Coconut Cove , Florida, and a construction site is going to ruin an owl home and Roy and his friends have to find a way to stop them and save the owls.
The part I liked the most was when Roy meets "mullet fingers" since that is a good part in the book since "mullet fingers" is a main character and he is a big influence. He helps Roy a lot.
In hoot Roy gets help from friends to help try to stop the destroying of the owl home and to stop the construction site and he does that by delaying the building by doing things to it. He was very determined but he is not a trouble maker and he is shy.
The author is trying to tell us that we should use all of our ability to help the world and nature. He also wants to show us what it can do if you help the world so I think it is a good lesson. I am not going to tell you the outcome but I recommend this book to you.
I think this book was outstanding and it was very unpredictable for me. I also thought it had great detail and action. I really liked what they are trying to do and I agree with it. I would do the same thing if I was Roy. He is helping the world.

Please read hoot and it is great. Thanks for reading

My Opinion on Hoot by Jason Daniels (d15)
By Jayson Daniels
I read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and this review will be about my opinion of the book. Hoot is not part of a series. I found Hoot a great book and after this I hope you will agree. Hoot is about a boy Named Roy Eberhardtwho moves to Coconut Cove , Florida, and a construction site is going to ruin an owl home and Roy and his friends have to find a way to stop them and save the owls.
The part I liked the most was when Roy meets "mullet fingers" since that is a good part in the book since "mullet fingers" is a main character and he is a big influence. He helps Roy a lot.
In hoot Roy gets help from friends to help try to stop the destroying of the owl home and to stop the construction site and he does that by delaying the building by doing things to it. He was very determined but he is not a trouble maker and he is shy.
The author is trying to tell us that we should use all of our ability to help the world and nature. He also wants to show us what it can do if you help the world so I think it is a good lesson. I am not going to tell you the outcome but I recommend this book to you.
I think this book was outstanding and it was very unpredictable for me. I also thought it had great detail and action. I really liked what they are trying to do and I agree with it. I would do the same thing if I was Roy. He is helping the world.

Please read hoot and it is great. Thanks for reading

Book Review of Hoot
Book Review of Hoot
I think other kids would enjoy this book.It is about a boy named Roy that moved from Montana to Florida.There was a bully named Dana who beat him up on the bus.One day on the bus, Roy was smashed against the window by Dana, he saw a boy running. That boy was trouble from the start.That is how it all begins...
Characters: Roy, Dana, Beatrice, the running boy, Kimberly Lou Dixon, Curly, Chuckle Muckle, Officer Delinko, and Garrett.
I thought the characters were believable.That is a good thing because that made it easier to compare to my normal life.I liked the way the author changed who and where the people were talking.For example, in one text it would end with Roy talking at his house and then begin a new paragraph with Officer Delinko talking at the police department.I also liked the way the story ended. It was an ending but really a new beginning.I loved Hoot a lot and I think that you would too.There is another fantastic book that Carl Hiaasen wrote called Flush.This is a great author that you would probably love just like I do.Don't miss another adventure with Roy and Beatrice!Hope you read the book!GO READING!
By,
Eve (age 10)

Getting Kids to Give a Hoot About Nature!
Hoot is about Roy, a boy who is new in a small town in Florida and the adventure he discovers by simply chasing after a strange barefooted boy he sees running past the school bus one morning. There are the new-kid-in-school scenarios, the bully, a mystery about the strange barefooted boy, and eventually it all leads to Roy discovering a coverup involving a construction zone for a new pancake house and some endangered owls.

While the story is unique and has very good intentions, I personally had trouble feeling invovled in it. I liked the main character, Roy, and pretty much all of his school-aged friends. What bothered me the most were the depictions of the adults in the story. From the extremely dim-witted, somewhat annoying policeman, Delinko, to the ill tempered, ignorant construction foreman, Curly, I struggled to read through sections in their (limited omnscient) point of view. Roy's parents were decent, but even they at times were hard to believe. Maybe kids wouldn't pick up on these things, but I do wonder about it. I personally wish the book had been solely from Roy's (limited omnsicient) perspective, or perhaps some of his peers, such as Beatrice and Mullet Fingers, rather than Officer Delinko and Curly. A good book for raising kids' awareness and ways to combat/protest illegal corporate environmental destruction and endangerment of native animal species, even if some of the story and characters are hard to believe.

I like this book
I like this book because it has a good link to nature and the Characters stand up for each other.I took away the 5th star because most books I read had battles. ... Read more

Product Description

Born with no air in his lungs, it was only when Reuben Land's father, Jeremiah, picked him up and commanded him to breathe that Reuben's lungs filled. Reuben struggles with debilitating asthma from then on, making him a boy who knows firsthand that life is a gift, and also one who suspects that his father is touched by God and can overturn the laws of nature.

The quiet 1960's midwestern life of the Lands is upended when Reuben's brother Davy kills to marauders who have come to harm the family. The morning of his sentencing, Davy -- a hero to some, a cold-blooded murderer to others -- escapes from his cell, and the Lands set out in search of him. Their journey is touched by serendipity and the kindness of strangers, and they cover territory far more extraordinary than even the Badlands where they search for Davy from their Airstream trailer.

Sprinkled with playful nods to Biblical tales, beloved classics such as Huckleberry Finn, the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the westerns of Zane Grey, Peace Like A River is at once a heroic quest, a tragedy, a love story, and a haunting meditation on the possibility of magic in the everyday world.

In the winter of his 11th year, two schoolyard bullies break into the Lands' house, and Rube's big brother Davy guns them down with a Winchester. Shortly after his arrest, Davy breaks out of jail and goes on the lam. Swede is Rube's younger sister, a precocious writer who crafts rhymed epics of romantic Western outlawry. Shortly after Davy's escape, Rube, Swede, and their father, a widowed school custodian, hit the road too, swerving this way and that across Minnesota and North Dakota, determined to find their lost outlaw Davy. In the end it's not Rube who haunts the reader's imagination, it's his father, torn between love for his outlaw son and the duty to do the right, honest thing. Enger finds something quietly heroic in the bred-in-the-bone Minnesota decency of America's heartland. Peace Like a River opens up a new chapter in Midwestern literature. --Claire Dederer ... Read more

Customer Reviews (448)

I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up the book and still was unsure about where the book was going until right up
I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up the book and still was unsure about where the book was going until right up to the last chapter. I usually manage to solve mysteries and figure out where a book is heading, but Peace Like a River kept me on my toes until the very end.Well written, interesting, and thought provoking. What is it about? One word: miracles.
After finishing the book, I insisted that both my parents read it just so I would have someone to talk to about it.It is the perfect book for a book club discussion.

Review of Peace Like a River
If anyone were to ask me what "faith" means; what it looks like, feels like and reads like, one of the first things I would do is recommend this book.

11 year old Reuben Land was saved from a 12 minute death by what can only be described as Gods Hand. He goes on to narrate a story that is so heart-breakingly beautiful that I had to pause several times to catch my breath before diving back in.

There is a section toward the beginning of this book where Rube talks about miracles; about how we are so quick to label every day delights under the label of "miracle" when a miracle is something that should make us sit up and be disturbed, because a miracle disrupts the normal, every day things we are accustomed to.

So what is Rube's purpose as a narrator? It's to be an 11 year old brother bearing witness to one of the most miraculous things that could happen. It's to take us by the hand and lead us through a journey that's filled with tragedy, loyalty, love and the immeasurable faith of a father who loves his Father.

There are characters in this book that I adored - Swede, the 8 year old sister with a knack for poetry that sent shivers down my arms. Roxanne, the miracle sent to Rube and his family in a time of desperate need. And Rube's father, a man who turns to God for the answers to every problem, be it big or small.

I'm so jaded when it comes to Christian literature; most of what I've been exposed to in the last several months has been filled with cliches and happily ever after endings. This book is a portrait of what life in faith is like; filled with all of the doubts and human responses and the ultimate redeeming sacrifice a father has for his child in what can only be described as a miracle.

Interesting book
I usually have trouble finding good books to read, but this was actually pretty good. I usually don't like westerns or country type of stuff, but the book was interesting and exciting. After starting the book, I found myself wanting to keep on reading and know what happens in the end rather than dropping it. Which is pretty rare. I bought this because I needed it for school, but I'm glad the school made me read a good book rather than a boring one I'd have to keep forcing myself awake to read. I stayed up till five am reading this book because I couldn't put it down at one point. Anyways, the characters are unique and interesting, and the story has a twist later on that keeps things suspenseful. I kinda wish I could find another book like it.

READIT!!!!!!!!
I found the recommendation to read this book in an article called "Why Should Christ-Followers Read Fiction?" by Mary E. DeMuth in BreakPoint WorldView Magazine.What a find!

Leif Enger is one of the best writers I've ever encountered.Almost every sentence is a beautifully crafted picture.I wanted to write down some of the imagery, but couldn't bring myself to stop reading long enough to get a piece of paper!

His characters are endearing and just lovely.I hope that this book will be top on the list of both high school and college must-reads.Enger's style and talent are top notch.I do hope that this novel becomes a classic.The children reminded me of those in "To Kill a Mockingbird", but the story is original and it stands alone.It is delicious and very satisfying.

I borrowed the book from the library, but after reading it, I realize that I need to own this one, re-read, and underline the delightful use of words.Bible knowledge will enhance your understanding of much of the imagery, too.So if you haven't read the WORD, do so!

For anyone who aspires to writing, please read this one!Enger definately raises the bar.You just have to read it.

It's Good.
I felt like I was traveling through time reading this book...and I suspect it didn't have as much to do with the setting as much as with the writing itself. It has a classical, ageless feel to it and I imagine I might escape to it a few times more in my lifetime. I kept thinking of the word "rich" for this book and it really is like a great piece cheesecake. Once you take a first bite, you think you may just gobble the whole thing up, but the second bite reveals you should really take your time and enjoy it. Grab a glass of milk. Peace Like a River is like a great, rich piece of cheesecake you should take your time with. Let it sink in. Take a break. Enjoy it while it lasts. ... Read more

Product Description
Topps Dodgers 2007 Team Set: 2007 Baseball Cards: 14 Cards Per Pack: Major League Baseball: Los Angeles Dodgers: Licensed By Mlbp & Mlbpa 2007: MLB Players' Choice (Rafael Fucal, Jonathan Broxton, Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Andre Ethier, Juan Pierre, Jeff Kent, Randy Wolf, Chad Billingsley, Jason Schmidt, Russell Martin, Wilson Betemit, Luis Gonzalez, 723450714111). Limited Collector's Edition. ... Read more