Silence by Becca FitzPatrick

This book was marginally less annoying than the other books in this series. Nora looses her memory and spends the first half of the book trying to get it back, and the second half trying to foil Hank Millar's nefarious plans. The story was less coherent (or it felt like Nora could spend more time running around doing what she wanted instead of being stuck doing things like school. It also set up at least a fourth book in the series. I think I'd like some more exploration of why Patch might not be a perfect match for Nora....

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

This novel is perhaps the worst of the His Dark Materials trilogy, though of course one couldn't appreciate the trilogy without reading this book. Pullman has constructed a church so evil, it's impossible not to hate organized religion, which is all well and good--except that it makes the moral decisions in the book too easy. Also, the book is filled with easy ways out--between the knife, the alethiometer, and the spyglass. While Will and Lyra make a hard decision at the end, by the time they get there, these other flaws in the books make that decision far less significant than it could have been.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The second installment in His Dark Materials clarifies the Miltonian and Biblical roots of the series. Lyra meets a boy, Will, who also functions as an orphan. At times, the use of both the alethiometer and the subtle knife seem a bit forced, and the power of the forces of the Authority seems a bit exaggerated as they respond so quickly to some things and completely miss other things. Overall, an enjoyable middle book that moves the trilogy along.

The Golden Compass (Northern Lights) by Philip Pullman

I found this book intriguing. Lyra lives in a world very much like our own, except that consciences take external, animal forms called daemons, and the roots for electricity and amber have been switched (though we don't find that out till The Subtle Knife). The book is frankly anti-authoritarian and anti-church, although one has to keep reading to get the full extent of Pullman's alternate theology. This book is carefully plotted and well written. It is much more subtle and sophisticated than the movie.

Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita

Although this novel seemed a bit too pat, too forced at times, I enjoyed reading it. Yamashita has arranged her story over the course of a week, from the perspective of seven characters, and each character has a chapter a day. Everything seems to converge, or almost to converge at the end, and while she doesn't tie everything entirely up, there were moments when I felt like the deck was stacked against the reader. Otherwise, I enjoyed following angels, oranges, and maps across the apocalyptic landscape of Los Angeles (almost a character in its own right).

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

These plays are powerful. In the two parts, Kushner creates a fractured, but resilient community among a variety of people uncomfortable in their own bodies living in New York City in the mid-1980s. Although these people are more and less self-absorbed, egotistical, and harmful to one another, Kushner has created a work that highlights dignity, decency, and respect by the end. While fully acknowledging the imperfections of this world, the plays ultimately joyously affirm life.