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Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon
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Fullmetal Alchemist 24 by Hiromu Arakawa
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Jane Vows Vengeance by Michael Thomas Ford
The Lies That Bind by Kate Carlisle
The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
The Magic Paintbrush by Laurence Yep
The Magician's Bird by Emily Fairlie
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
1985 by Anthony Burgess
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Ostrich and Lark by Marilyn Nelson
The Radleys by Matt Haig
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
Shatterproof by Roland Smith
1607: A New Look at Jamestown by Karen E. Lange
Trash by Andy Mulligan
$20 Per Gallon by Christopher Steiner

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Comments for The Radleys

The Radleys: 06/11/14

cover art

The Radleys by Matt Haig was the 2011 ALA Alex winner. It features at first glance, a seemingly normal, middle class British family. The passion has pretty much fizzled from Peter and Helen's marriage. Their teenage children: Clara and Rowan are sullen, anemic, and targets of bullies.

All of that changes, though, when Clara has to defend herself from being raped by a neighbor. She discovers the hard way that she is, in fact, a vampire. Her revelation also uncovers some family secrets her parents would have preferred to keep hidden.

It took me a little while to settle into this rather short book. I found the writing dryer than The Dead Father's Club (2006). But the consequences of Clara's discovery were fascinating.

Four stars

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1997-2024 Sarah Sammis