Tattoo Girl

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Review: A thriller about a girl, a woman and to a lesser extent a dwarf trying to reconcile themselves with their pasts. The writing is simple, deceptively plain almost, but somehow it has a dream-like quality that makes what's happening in the book feel like it's happening to you-it's extremely believable, though the story is highly imaginative and ultimately powerful. I haven't come across a more captivating novel in many years. I read a review of it that said that it is as much about being sad as it is about being frightened, that's a very good description. Having just started the author's first book, I'm finding it similar in many ways. I believe this writer is a master of suspense, but he's doing more than just making you turn the pages. The novel was passed along to me at my office. I'm glad it was.

Rating:
Summary: PAGE TURNER GOES STRAIGHT TO THE HEART: BRILLIANT
Review: I bought this book on a whim based on the title and back cover description. The writing was so poor that it distracted me from the story and in the end I couldn't decide whether or not I liked it. The author repeatedly talks about the characters being captivated by each other, but he didn't manage to captivate me. The story was somewhat predictable, somewhat improbable, and didn't get me invested enough in the characters that I was willing to suspend my disbelief.

I wouldn't recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING
Review: I loved this book. It was a touching and vivid story of two lives crossed by fate. Lucy, a former circus freak, and Emma, a girl who shows up in a mall covered with scale tattoos, who come together. It has love, mystery, suspence, and a group of "bad guys" to bring it all together. A must read for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: ZERO STARS
Review: I read alot of books and I make it a point to finish them. This is the first book I have not finished since I learned how to read. I stopped more than halfway through (I tried to give it a fair chance).

The story is completely unrealistic. This woman sort of stakes her claim on this young girl she finds covered with tattoos. This would never happen. There is no depth to the story or the characters and I didn't see anything inspiriational or moving in the first half of the novel.

Tattoo Girl came recommended to me by a friend. I went to 6 different bookstores searching for it and none of them had it. I WONDER WHY!?!?! Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Rating:
Summary: An unexpected pleasure
Review: I was anxious to read "Tattoo Girl" and I was not disappointed. I found the book unique... a mixture of fantasy and reality. What an interesting story. Emma, the young girl who is brutally attacked and covered with tattoos is taken in by a kind hearted ex-circus ... lady and her past is slowly uncovered. These two women are so unique and fated to be together. The story was very touching...about two ... with hearts of gold. I read the book in only a few days...a very fast read. I highly recommend "Tattoo Girl."

Rating:
Summary: an astoundingly philosophical message from a touching story
Review: I was reading Nietzsche's "the Antichrist" at this time and read this on a whim. The story is heart-wrenching and touching in all the awful things that happen. It's completely unpredictable and exceptionally well written. To think such a great work of non-fiction can have such philsophical significance.

Rating:
Summary: 2 thumbs up
Review: This is a truely inspirational novel of courage and compassion.It's a story of a woman with a horrifying past who conquers it by helping a child named Emma.Lucy finds herself soon in the same postion facing the same deliema form her childhood while trying to save Emma froms hers.Both woman and child have an amazing connection which they depend of each others lives.I thought this to be a deeply spiritual book that teaches you can find love in even the darkest situations.I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Detroit Readers Group, 8 Thumbs Up
Review: This saying definitely applies to this book. I was intrigued by the cover and title of the book and couldn't wait to start reading. Let me tell you, it was a struggle from the first paragraph. However, I dutifully kept reading expecting the story to pick up but it never did. The characters were so boring that I started to root the bad guys on and there was very little plot to get immersed in. Stevens' writing was poor as well. I am sure she could do better. Maybe she had a great initial idea gone wrong.

In short, if you really want to read this book, get it out of the library if possible.

Rating:
Summary: A Freak Show Draw
Review: What a grotesquely facinating book. One is reeled in beginning with the title. The characters are straight from the Circus freak show, on their surface. Like the plot and unfolding story, however, they are rich and multi=layered. The reader is both repelled and drawn to these characters. Beneath the scales and surface of this story are streams of commentary on the human condition, religion and the bounds and depths of love.

Rating:
Summary: the last half
Review: While I found this book to be plot driven and a "page turner" at the beginning, the last 50 pages or so were incredibly lax. The writing took a turn for the worse towards the end. It's almost as if the writer spent a really long time writing the beginning part and totally slacked near the end. I was very disappointed that the resolution was so unrealistic and uninteresting. I had to force myself to read the ending because I stopped caring what happened to Emma (who just "happened" to stumble upon answers and clues to her past). So, this book might be worth reading if you're in it for the plot and story line and don't care so much about the writing style or quality of writing (which was below avergage).