A verbose discourse for readers whose political views are in alignment with those of the author.
Bass projects ideas for creating an eco-aware future—along with his political views—in his debut novel.
Tony, a former solar-panel salesman, discusses the benefits of solar energy—and the disadvantages of its alternative—with his boss and his clients, all of whom become immediately inspired to change their lifestyle and help the cause. At the same time, Gabby, a leader in environmental science, enlightens Mariposa, her young and naïve intern, while attributing the issues faced by the United States government to the Republican Party as a whole. The Pott family, who is “big into oil,” is cast in a negative light, as is Daniel DeLeno, a libertarian member of the Conservative Committee, until his solar panels begin to malfunction—that’s where Tony sheds light on the situation. Tony rattles off his knowledge of the solar-energy industry in true adman fashion, without being prompted. It’s clear that Bass has done his research on the topic of solar energy, and he provides extensive information about how to incorporate renewable energy into one’s life. It’s presented in a dry and didactic manner, however, with very little buildup or character development. Tony is quick to fall into his rehearsed rant to his boss, clients, friends; all of whom serve as unrealistically receptive audiences. In the first 20 pages, the novel tackles such issues as global warming, the weak economy and the Iraq War. While these issues are undoubtedly worth discussing, the resulting narrative reads like a cross between a solar-panel infomercial and a political diatribe. Though the political opinions begin as dialogue between characters, the author’s own opinions seem apparent as the novel continues and quotation marks begin to disappear.
A verbose discourse for readers whose political views are in alignment with those of the author.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-1479135257
Page Count: 280
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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