Rather than attempting to review Fifty Shades of Grey, I present my live read of the book. Herein you’ll find lots of cussing, lots of shouting, and definitely not safe for work descriptions of plenty of things. And it’s very long, because it turns out I had a lot to say while I was reading. A drinking game evolved during the reading, and the whole thing has been compiled at the end, if that’s the sort of thing you’re interested in.
Peer Pressure and Cartoon Villainy
We get a prologue from a murderer again. And we get a prologue that takes place weeks after the story actually opens. My favorite. Yay. Johanna Wise is one of Shadyside’s poor kids. Her mom has been working two jobs ever since she and Johanna’s dad got divorced–with all of the single parent households in Shadyside, I have to assume the divorce happened while he was awaiting trial on federal charges. She’s envious of Dennis Arthur and his crowd–the wealthiest kids in Shadyside. With enough […]
Turns Out Life Is Cheap
In the first chapter of this book, we learn Deena Martinson broke up with Gary Brandt. So they’re both still in high school. I’m telling you: Shadyside time warp. No one escapes. Janie, Faith, and Eve are all best friends. They were the head of the committee for the school dance, and they have to meet up after school to count the take and turn it over to the principal. Before they can get started, however, the mysterious new boy at school appears while clutching […]
A Novel of Ridiculous Coincidences
Once more, we’ve got a Fear Street book that doesn’t even take place in Shadyside. The tenuous connection is a character who lives on Fear Street. I’m tempted to go back and count how many Shadyside High students live on Fear Street so far. Too many to make the street’s reputation plausible, I think. We open this time not with a murderer, but with a victim. Claudia Walker wakes up on the beach with her face severely burned, her eyes swollen shut, and her body […]









