Book Review

Author: Gantos, Jack.

Title: Love curse of the Rumbaughs

In ten words or less: Obsessive mother love meets taxidermy.

Review:

Is Ivy doomed to follow in the footsteps of the elderly twin pharmacists who live across the street? Is heredity or environment more powerful? As she grew up, she realized that Abner and Adolph were a little strange, but they were kind to her and her mother. It came as a shock to her, when on her 16th birthday, her mother revealed to her that one of the men (she did not know which one) was her father. And while Ivy loved her mother greatly, was she bound to follow in the footsteps of the twins, who kept their mother after her death, preserved by taxidermy? With its gothic overtones and very dark humor, this young adult novel is not for everyone.

Why bother? If Stephen King and V.C. Andrews met on the set of "Psycho," this might have been the result. It's funny, and a little wistful, but totally original.

BOOK REVIEW

Savage, Sam. Firmin: adventures of a metropolitan lowlife.

In ten words or less: Rat learns to read and contemplates the meaning of life.

Born in a run-down bookstore in Boston’s Scollay Square, Firmin the rat discovers a taste for literature. While competing with his many siblings for food, Firmin discovers that great books can be quite tasty. It’s while he’s munching on Shakespeare and Dickinson that his hidden talent for reading emerges.
After a life threatening encounter with the bookseller, Firmin is adopted by an eccentric science fiction author. Definitely not a book for children, Firmin’s black humor and literary commentary will appeal to readers who enjoy the, ahem, weird.

Why bother? A unique perspective on life and literature from a world weary rodent.