Monthly Archives: May 2019

WATERSHIP DOWNBY RICHARD ADAMS

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WATERSHIP DOWNBY RICHARD ADAMS

Lynnette Jalufka

I have loved this novel ever since I was assigned to read it in high school. In all the times I’ve read it since then, it has not disappointed, the hallmark of a great book. Filled with action and adventure, it’s about a group of young male rabbits who, led by Hazel, leave their home and make a perilous journey to Watership Down to start their own warren. Their troubles don’t stop once they’ve arrived. The only way the new warren can grow is for them to find female rabbits. That results in a vicious battle with another warren on Watership Down.

Hazel is one of my favorite heroes. He’s courageous, compassionate, and smart. He uses the various talents of different rabbits to accomplish a goal. His leadership earns him the suffix “rah” added to his name, which denotes a chief rabbit. Nevertheless, Hazel-rah is not infallible. When he goes against the advice of his prophetic brother, his deed cripples him, just as the warren faces its greatest threat.

The book has some lengthy descriptions, but Adams does an amazing job of creating the rabbit world, including their own terminology and folk hero. The novel was so real that I was shocked to learn it was classified as a fantasy. After all, it is about rabbits. I highly recommend it.

Nora Roberts: Shelter In Place

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Outtakes 383

Nora Roberts

Shelter In Place

By Cait Collins

 

Every year I look forward to the release of Nora Roberts’ novels.  Last summer Shelter In Place hit the bookstores. I read until I fell asleep and was almost late for work a couple of mornings simply because I didn’t want to put the book down. This well-crafted novel keeps the reader on the edge and guessing until the end.

The initial setting came straight from the headlines. Shooters infiltrate a shopping mall in Rockpoint, Maine. An eight-minute rampage changes lives forever. But the story does not end with the shooting. Survivors had to go on living, but how do you live when those you love die? One took refuge in law enforcement. Another buried herself in her art.

As one year moves to the next, the survivors rebuild their lives, but one person is not content to let the horror end. As the clock races toward the 13thanniversary of the shooting spree, survivors begin to die. Reed Quartermaine, a police detective, feels there is something unfinished from that night. He’s restless and seeking. Artist Simone Knox plans a memorial for the victims. Will she live to finish it? The story keeps you hooked to the end.

The beauty of this Nora Roberts novel is in the setting. I could see some of those places as I had visited them. The names may have been changed, but I knew the settings. The architecture of the old village buildings brought back memories of living in Bangor. The scenery pulled me in to the story. The author allowed me to return to places I love and become an observer as Reed and Simone fight for their lives.

Nora Roberts is a favorite author. Whether it’s contemporary fiction, mystery, or fantasy, Ms. Roberts does not disappoint. I don’t recycle her books, I reread them.