Elin Klefbom Klefbom itibaren Bình Tân, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
This could have been titled "Bratty Kids and Their Even Brattier Parents." It is a very well-written easy read and, in some parts, laugh-out-loud funny. However, it's a little hard to empathize with or relate to anyone in the book. Ben, the protagonist, is likable and sympathetic at times but usually only when he's trying to figure out his relationship to his recently-deceased father, "Coach." Otherwise, he, like most of the other adult characters in this book, appears to have way too much time on his hands.
I wouldn't be at all suprised if I read this book 25 or 30 times in middle school. I was sure I wanted to be an anthropologist or geologist.
this book is incredible
This is one of those classics I somehow missed reading in school. 'Holland, 1945' means so much more to me now. The only girl I've ever loved Was born with roses in her eyes But then they buried her alive One evening 1945 With just her sister at her side And only weeks before the guns All came and rained on everyone - Neutral Milk Hotel
I have to say, it was tiring to constantly read about how Dewey went to sit on patrons' laps to nobly comfort them in their time of woe, when most likely the cat was just looking for a warm and cozy place to nap at. There are way too many human characteristics assigned to his actions. Every time the author begins to push credulity, she acknowledges she may just be reading too much into it... but then continues to do it again a few chapters down anyway. I also wonder whether Dewey really "inspired millions" as the tagline says. Most likely he inspired the townfolk and those who visited to see him, and served as a fluff piece for anyone reading anything about him on the newspaper. I did not mind the focus on the author's life or on the town too much, because the setting is a large part of the effect that Dewey had on the library patrons. It does get a little ridiculous when two-thirds of the book focuses on this, though. Overall, I have to say that the videos and photos on the official Dewey site evoked more emotion from me than the narrative. Finishing the book, annoyed with its tedium, I went to the site and instantly understood why the book was written in the first place.