second sisterhood

3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Ann Brasheres

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, YA

Review: It's impossible to evaluate this book without reference to Brashere's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Not only is the "Sisterhood" referenced in the title, but the Sisterhood itself figures in the story. In some ways, that's a good thing, serving to establish a setting with which readers are already familiar. In other ways, it's a bad thing, setting up expectations that aren't really fulfilled.

The first book of the Sisterhood is the story of a group of girls who have been friends since babyhood, and must learn how to continue their friendship as they spend their first summer apart. In 3 Willows, by contrast, the friendship among the three girls has started to unravel. Knowing what we know about the Sisterhood, the theme and resolution of this book, that old friendships are important even as we grow up, is somewhat predictable. Still, it's a good book, with each of the three girls well-drawn, sympathetic, and realistically written.

very funny

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson
Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Genre: non-fiction
Review: Don't read this book while you're trying to eat. Or where people might look at you funny if you start to laugh out loud. Because this is a very funny book. Bryson has an understated humor that will only make you chuckle at first, and just when you think it's safe to take another bite, you'll read a bit more, and start laughing out loud! He has a keen eye for description of both his surroundings and his company and conveys both wonderfully well.

This book hits a bit of a sour note, though, the numerous times that Bryson castigates the National Park Service for general incompetence. I won't presume to say that he's entirely wrong in his criticisms, but I do think that he takes it a bit too far, and that an organization with tries to do so much good with so few resources deserves a bit more respect.