- 1984 by George Orwell (1949)
[8/10]
"Orwell's 1984 impressed me most, not for the quality of the story or characters, but rather, for the sheer number of literary and cultural references that have originated from this text. 'Big Brother' and 'doubleplusungood' only scratch the surface of this book's influence."
- Akira: Book 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2000)
[9/10]
"I often find the story so compelling that I'm turning pages faster than I can take in the artwork, and have to constantly remind myself to take the time to carefully look at every frame."
- Akira: Book 2 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[8/10]
"An excellent progression of the storyline and marvelous artwork."
- Akira: Book 3 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"Otomo continues with the same level of highly detailed artwork."
- Akira: Book 4 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"A lot happens in Book 4 to move the plot forward, but nothing really gets resolved."
- Akira: Book 5 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2001)
[7/10]
"In several places, Ôtomo describes the psychic abilities as a form of human evolution. It seems odd that human beings would evolve into a form that ultimately would eliminate human personality and place no value on human life."
- Akira: Book 6 by Katsuhiro Otomo (2002)
[8/10]
"Otomo has created an incredible, compelling story that to me defines great manga and provides the epitome of the art form so far."
- Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (1996)
[8/10]
"Frank McCourt tells his fascinating story of growing up in poverty-stricken Ireland."
- Bad Beginning, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (1999)
[6/10]
"The Baudelaire children -- Violet, Klaus, and Sunny -- certainly do get off to a bad beginning. Their home burns down, killing their parents. Fortunately, the children's parents left them an enormous fortune. Unfortunately, their next of kin, Count Olaf, wants to do away with the children to get the money for himself."
- Black Cauldron, The by Lloyd Alexander (1965)
[4/10]
"In The Black Cauldron, Alexander tries to show that real men don't seek honor in war; rather, they demonstrate their honor through their character and actions."
- Bridges of Madison County, The by Robert James Waller (1992)
[5/10]
"Waller creates some of the best romantic writing I have seen, unfortunately the story line of the book ends long before he ran out of words."
- Da Vinci Code, The by Dan Brown (2003)
[7/10]
"Dan Brown has created a fast-reading mystery story with some interesting speculation about the nature of the Holy Grail and the origins of the Catholic church."
- Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The by Chris Fuhrman (1994)
[7/10]
"Fuhrman does an excellent job at recalling the emotional states and physical feelings of first love. He also uses the racial tensions of the 1970s to good effect to show that racial politics affected even eight graders' relationships with their schoolmates."
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini (2003)
[6/10]
"Paolini's plot has good pacing, interesting highs and lows, and most importantly you like Eragon and care about what happens to him -- in spite of his stupid teenage blundering."
- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)
[4/10]
"The story in Fight Club drug on too long without continuing to develop the story beyond escalating the severity of the 'mayhem.'"
- General's Daughter, The by Nelson DeMille (1992)
[5/10]
"I found The General's Daughter an enjoyable, light read that lost its appeal 100 pages before the denouement."
- Ghost World by Daniel Clowes (1998)
[4/10]
"Clowes does an excellent job at capturing this feeling of inbetweenness some teens experience, but he has created a character sketch that doesn't do more than create a mood."
- Great Brain, The by John D. Fitzgerald (1967)
[8/10]
"I loved The Great Brain as a kid, and I still love its charm and wit. Fitzgerald places interesting characters in a fascinating old-West setting and puts them through fun adventures."
- Green Mile, The by Stephen King (1996)
[6/10]
"King tells an intriguing mystery story that pulls you along at a good pace and keeps you guessing right up to the end."
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1970)
[8/10]
"While the accepted Aristotelian idea of the 'tragic flaw' provides a convenient means to discuss the characters in Hamlet, none of the characters actually demonstrate the 'tragic flaw' as defined by Aristotle."
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2000)
[7/10]
"Goblet of Fire has a much more mature story, including direct confrontation of evil, on-stage death of students, and numerous injuries, that I wonder how Scholastic can continue to market these books to the 9-12 year old market."
- History of Violence, A by John Wagner (1997)
[6/10]
"A History of Violence doesn't ask any really deep questions, but it does neatly resolve the issues that the plot raises. "
- Hobbit, The: Or, There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien (1966)
[8/10]
"Classic fantasy by which most other fantasy must be measured."
- Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (1981)
[9/10]
"The movie adaptation of Jumanji creates a sloppy reflection of the artistic precision in Van Allsburg's illustrated story about two children who find a reality-altering game in the park."
- Left Behind by Tim F. LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins (1996)
[6/10]
"Lahaye and Jenkins do a good job turning a conversion story into a suspense novel. The novel does bog down in the middle as all the characters waiver in their faith and determination, but the last third rolls along at a fast pace. Although the authors freely admit they hope to get the reader to make a commitment to Jesus, the text of Left Behind doesn't come off very preachy."
- Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (1994)
[6/10]
"Esquivel uses cooking as an extended metaphor throughout her story. The recipes and their preparation fit in with the story and have some obvious (and many more understated) meanings."
- Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The by C. S. Lewis (1950)
[10/10]
"Through overuse and misapplication, the term classic has lost some of its depth, but The Chronicles of Narnia belong with Tolkien's works as classics of the fantasy genre."
- Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, The by Sherman Alexie (1993)
[6/10]
"Alexie uses graceful images and often poetic prose to describe reservation life."
- Matilda by Roald Dahl (1998)
[7/10]
"Unlike many stories that show that anyone can have karmic success, Dahl makes Matilda inordinately smart, thus she succeeds as a result of her natural gifts, not just as a result of persistence or good deeds."
- Red Dragon by Thomas Harris (1981)
[6/10]
"Harris writes excellent suspense scenes. You feel the emotional tension building in the characters as they go about their work -- either good or evil."
- Reptile Room, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (1999)
[6/10]
"A nice continuation of a series that could quickly spoil if the narrative style remains so fixedly consistent."
- Road to Wellville, The by T. Coraghessan Boyle (1993)
[7/10]
"Boyle presents the life of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg -- inventor of peanut butter and the corn flake -- at the height of his career and as the director of a famous sanitarium for biological living."
- Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (1985)
[10/10]
"Sara, Plain and Tall has a compact efficiency that creates a deceptive simplicity. As Nathaniel Hawthorne has said, 'Easy reading is damned hard writing,' and clearly MacLachlan worked hard to perfect her text."
- Stand, The by Stephen King (1991)
[4/10]
"Of course, one must wonder why The Stand needed additional length? Or even to be told at all?"
- Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)
[6/10]
"If you have seen Paul Verhoeven's movie Starship Troopers, you have seen merely Heinlein's story with almost all the philosophy carefully removed. But the combination of story and philosophy make Troopers a classics that will stay in print for years to come."
- Thin Man, The by Dashiell Hammett (1933)
[6/10]
"From a hardboiled detective story, I expected several shootouts and fist fights, but interestingly, Nick really only interviews numerous suspects and lets the police do most of the dirty work."
- Three Musketeers, The by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
[7/10]
"Dumas weaves action and intrigue (and almost no character development) into a classic story that still fascinates."
- Walk to Remember, A by Nicholas Sparks (1999)
[5/10]
"Some stories tug at your heartstrings. Others, like Nicholas Sparks's A Walk to Remember try so hard to tug at your heart that you can't help but grow annoyed at the attempt."
- Washington Square by Henry James (1880)
[6/10]
"James deals with a love affair in the wealthy class of late 19th-Century New York City."
- Wide Window, The by Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler (2000)
[5/10]
"Lemmony Snicket has followed his formula from the previous books exactly, and has not introduced anything new or interesting."
- Zathura: A Space Adventure by Chris Van Allsburg (2002)
[5/10]
"If you have read Jumanji, Zathura offers no real surprises. You already know that the game will alter reality, so we don't experience any shock when a meteor really does crash through the roof. But I find Van Allsburg's illustrations in Zathura inferior to his work in Jumanji."
Average score: 6.59
