Kathryn's Inbox

Oh Karen Brewer, why are you being such a pain, P-A-I-N, pain? Karen's Prize, the tenth Baby-Sitter's Little Sister graphic novel takes us into the exciting world of competitive spelling. Well, at least Karen is excited about it. When her class has a spelling bee, she declared the winner (though her friend Nancy came close) and now she gets to compete with the winners in the other first, second and third grade classes. Karen senses victory in the air, especially when she discovers that the winner will get to compete in a district spelling bee. She practices and practices, and begins to annoy and alienate everyone around her with her constant spelling. Then she keeps on winning spelling bees. Everyone should be happy for her right? Well, not when Karen's ego keeps getting in the way of things. And now the state championship is coming up, it is being televised live and Karen is absolutely certain that she is going to win.  This was an entertaining read. It sticks very close t...

New York born and bred Sylvie Deveraux is having a bad day. First her high successful, wealthy and almost comically negligent parents cut her off. Then she discovers that her boyfriend is having an affair with her best friend. Then she gets a phone call that changes everything. Three months ago, Sylvie had broken in to the castle that belongs to Killian Barclay, a reclusive and incredibly fierce member of Scottish nobility. And now, in a surprise twist, Killian's family approaches Sylvie with an offer. Marry Killian, restore his public reputation and they will pay her ten million dollars. The whole thing seems ludicrous. But Sylvie is desperate for the money ... This novel doesn't have the most realistic premise, or execution, but it certainly is entertaining. I've never read a book where a Scottish nobleman spoke like a sassy teenage girl before, or based all of his important decision making entirely on emotional outbursts, but it certainly made for some fun escapism. Ther...

Booker Prize nominated author Patricia Lockwood had a very unusual childhood. So much so that she has written an impressive, darkly comic memoir about what it was really like to grow up in a household where her father was a gun-toting, guitar playing Roman Catholic priest. Children of Catholic priests are few and far between in the United States where Lockwood grew up--in fact her father who was already married with children when he converted to Catholicism due to a special, and still very new at the time, exception by the Catholic church that allowed Anglican priests or in Lockwood's case, Lutheran ministers, to become priests on conversion. Provided, of course, that the entire family passed a number of tests. Anyway, Lockwood was inspired to write the memoir when she and her husband returned to the family home after being away for twelve years. As is characteristic of Patricia Lockwood's writing style, Priestdaddy is written in short paragraphs and snippets that often feel d...

Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back in their fourth Sweet Valley Twins graphic novel. This time around the twins are divided when a mysterious new girl arrives at Sweet Valley Middle School. Nora Mercandy is quiet, slightly depressed and has a goth look about her. If that alone doesn't make her enough of a target in Sweet Valley, the world's capital of pointless and excessive schoolyard bullying, the fact that she is living in the old Mercandy house which is supposedly haunted and everyone thinks her grandparents are creepy certainly is.  This one was an interesting addition to the series. As is often the case in Sweet Valley, centres around Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, highlighting the differences between the twins. While Elizabeth takes the time to get to know Nora, and finds her to be a sweet kid who is grieving for her mother and has little support from her ailing grandparents, Jessica is more focused on outward appearances and the opinions of her snooty friends--...

Acclaimed comedian Bill Bailey takes us well behind the scenes and into his other life as an animal lover in his memoir My Animals and Other Animals. (The title, of course, being a play on My Family and Other Animals. ) The stories are many, and mostly self-contained, telling the stories of beloved family pets (or should that be family members,) and various amusing encounters with animals as he travels across the globe. This book is a lot of fun. It is also fairly short and given the size of the font and spacing I'm a little surprised that publisher Hachette decided to print it as a trade paperback. The other unfortunate part of the book is that it isn't terribly memorable. I remember many of the stories made me laugh, but I actually remember very little of them. Still, it was a great way to spend an afternoon and one that I would recommend as a fun book to read between more serious reads or if you are in need of cheering up. Recommended. 

What if, the most famous man on the planet and one of your heroes was also the worst kind of human being? That is the reality experienced by Rose, the twenty-something protagonist of Gold Rush by Olivia Petter. Chance and circumstance leads Rose to strike up a friendship with rock star Milo Jax, but things take a strange turn after he invites her to his home. Rose can remember a night of drinking and flirtation, but her body is telling her a very different story... Olivia Petter tells a convincing story of what happens when women and their bodies are treated as commodities. Rose's confusion over the events of that evening, denial and a search for evidence then answers, and questions of self-worth are entirely convincing. It is also a story of celebrity culture and how some celebrities are able to use their fame in the most vile way possible--and how that same fame allows them to get away with it. The story isn't easy reading, and nor is it meant to be. Olivia Petter creates a s...