Can I blame the author for my lack of sleep?

I reached the point of no return while reading The Dive from Clausen's Pier last night and decided to just stay up and read until I was finished. At 2:40 a.m. I closed the cover. Sigh. I've downgraded its score from four stars to three and a half, but it was still very good, especially for a first novel. As I was driving to work this morning I thought about some inconsistencies, things that in a "realistic" novel didn't quite add up, hence the downgrade to 3.5 stars. Spoiler start -- drag across to read (also a way of testing to see if any HTML code can be manually added within the posts): For example, I find it a little hard to believe that Carrie walked all over New York City, on her own and with others, for months and was never in any danger, never even indicated that a particular person or environment or situation frightened her. I'm not sure if that is believable in a young woman from Madison, Wisconsin who'd never previously left home. I found the character of her mother to be almost invisible. How many daughters who truly loved their mothers would just take off and not call for weeks, especially when said mother had been abandoned by her husband years before?
[9/19/03: My friend Karen has reviewed this book here.]

In a marvelous bit of timing, my Amazon.com order will arrive at my house today and in it is Pamela Ribon's novel, Why Girls Are Weird. I don't often read her blog, Pamie.com, but I read the occasional entry when another journaler/blogger links to it. The book looked interesting, though, so I'm looking forward to reading it.

Comments

[Daisy]

My first ever trackback! Thanks for reminding me about the Pamie Ribon book.

I'm just in the middle of The Dive from Clausen's Pier (she's just finished making the blue silk nightgown set and I'm wondering when she's going to leave that town) and I must admit I was wondering why her mother wasn't more involved. But I'm enjoying it and even more impressed now that I know it's a first novel.

[Laura]

Hi, Daisy! Doesn't The Dive from Clausen's Pier make you feel like sewing? (And that type of thing has never been my forte)