The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Little Sister's review: Stephenie Meyer should stick to this short story format.  I found this book an engrossing fast and easy read, without the superfluous weird and annoying bits that Meyer injects into her longer novels.  She does a fair job of instilling the reader with the sense of fear and fast paced panic that exists in Bree's dangerous, constantly-awake, exposed world.  Meyer seems to like Bree a lot more than her other characters, and so do I.  Whether it was knowing what tragic ending awaits poor Bree Tanner that made me sympathize with her character, or the genuine likability of her intelligent, intuitive brain, the remnants of her human nature, the savagery of her new vampire nature, or the fact that she's so helpless and also so powerful without ever being weak and whiny and pathetic (like Bella)...or a combination of all that; I found myself wishing that Bree had not only survived, but that four long novels had been written about her instead.
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella

Older Sister: I didn't realize you read this! I haven't yet! How did you get it without me realizing?

Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Read Room. Five-year-old Jack tells readers about his world. It's small. He and his Ma are the only people in the world. Sometimes Old Nick visits at night. Jack isn't sure where he stays the rest of the time. Room is the universe, nothing exists outside it: this is the premise of the book.

Emma Donoghue unfolds Jack's world so that readers gradually understand the truth. We know there's a world outside the room where Ma is captive and where Jack was both conceived and born. How Jack comes to understand this is only a part of Room; there's so much more to the book and his story. Donoghue gets a five-year-old's voice perfect.

Another much heralded recent book had a similar premise: a woman is kidnapped and held captive. It's a thriller and horrible. The author may have just published her psychological files. Room is the opposite. It's not a thriller, it's an exploration of parenthood and child development.

Read Room now: you'll be proud to have discovered it before everyone else does.