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The Watcher by James Howe
Rating: 6/10
Synopsis: As she sits watching a seemingly perfect family and a handsome lifeguard on the beach, a lonely, troubled girl projects herself into the fantasy lives she has created for them. (from bn.com)
Prequels: None that I know of
Sequels: None that I know of
Review: Okay, so my first thoughts upon picking up this book were something along the lines of, 'James Howe? How can a guy who wrote about a bunny sucking the juice out of vegetables write about a real life situation? Not gonna happen.' However, I got over that, figuring he must be a pretty diverse writer if other people actually liked his other books too.
Was The Watcher different in writing style from Bunnicula? Of course. Wasit written well? Not so much.
Everything in the story is so unimportant to everything else. It's like Evan and his little sister's parents are fighting and he's worried they might get a divorce or something. Okay... There's his plot line. Chris is stuck thinking, but he doesn't know what he's thinking about, which to me is really freaking stupid. I don't think I've like ever had that where I have no idea what I'm thinking about. Who else? There's the little girl who sits on the steps watching people and writing a story.
The thing is, the stories don't really connect. It's just basically a look into four different people's lives. Then, Evan, Chris, and "the Watcher" come together in the end, but their storiess don't intertwine. It was so stupid.
I wouldn't recommend it, but if you wanna read it, knock yourself out.

My Brother's Keeper by Patricia McCormick
Rating: 5/10
Synopsis: Toby Malone adores his older brother, Jake. He's the cool one, the MVP of the baseball team, the one who can charm their mother into anything. Even Mrs. Furry, the dignified family cat, puts up with Jake, clowning around. Toby, Jake, and their little brother, Eli have always had an easy, joking relationship, where it's the three of them against the world.
But ever since Toby's father left, things are off balance. His mother seems deflated. Eli has gone back to sucking his thumb. And Jake is becoming distant and secretive. As Toby struggles to keep his family together, Jake drifts further and further away. Only Toby knows why: Jake's slipping into drug use, the way their father slipped into alcohol before he disappeared. To spare his mother yet another disappointment, Toby tries to cover up for Jake. But his efforts backfire, only adding to the growing tension between the two brothers -- until finally Jake goes too far. (from bn.com)
Prequels: None that I know of
Sequels: None that I know of
Review: This story just dragged and dragged and DRAGGED. I was on page fifty and it felt like I should've been on page 100 or something. It moved slowly through nothing happening.
I guess there was supposed to be some bonding thing in there or something, but man was it stupid. Toby's just like 'OMG! Jake's getting high. I better not let mom know so Jake can get addicted and OD.' Actually, he was "worried" about his mom, so he didn't tell her. MORON! He was such a freaking moron. And that was like the whole freaking book. All 175 pages or so. I wasted time reading that stupid book and it pisses me off.
If you feel like blowing some time on a bad book, check this one out. If you don't, try something better and more worthwhile.