Customer Reviews

Spinners: A Novel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wasn't prepared to be won over by a book from down under, but Spinners is a complete delight from beginning to end. An unpredictable plot, enticing characters, well-wrought language, steady pace, and a satisfying finish all add up to a whopping good read. I hope this talented New Zealander, who has distinguished himself with notable stage and screen scripts, will turn his pen to prose soon again.

What a joyride this book was! McCarten is brilliant at characterizations-I could easily "see" each and every person he introduced along the way. And the ending...left me wondering if the resolution was what I thought it was! Just wonderful...

First, let me say I am fourteen and had NO trouble reading and understanding this book. Okay, now, what made me get this book from the library was the cover. A nice bright green with a picture of a cow on the front. It stood out from all the other boring covered ones. From the cover alone you can tell this is going to be a good WITTY book. Witty is definitely the best word to describe it. I loved the plot: a 16 year old girl claims to see spacemen and claims to be having their baby. Theres some twists and turns, surprizes and things you can foretell, but one thing I must, not complain, but comment about, is the ending. I think the ending where everything comes into perspective was crammed into a certain amount of pages. Everything came together so quickly. It would have been better if everything had unravelled not slowly - but not as fast.

All in all this was a great book. A good way to spend a leisurely weekend. Definitely some good laughs and things to tell your friends about. x0x

The ending was a bit... hasty. That's where the last half star went. It all made sense and the loose ends were tied up, but it seems like McCarten only had a certain number of pages to work in and was starting to run out at the end so he hurried up and finished it off. But other than that, it was a great book. The writing was witty, something that I truly admire in a book. It's hard to be witty all the time, but it comes through in the whole book. The first paragraph sucked me in and I was committed to the last, and I laughed the whole way through. Well, that's not entirely true. I was sucked in before the first paragraph--the cover of this book alone was enough for me to buy it. It's a lime green book with a cow on the cover. And it's about a girl who saw aliens! Cool! And it was.

I really enjoyed the way McCarten captured the gossip mill of the small town atmosphere. It really complimented and fueled the story--it was really the aspect that made the whole thing work. It was a good book. I definitely recommend this book--especially to those who like sharp, witty writing.

A great read for a book club discussion! Our club read it and had a wonderful discussion. Extremely interesting, thought-provoking, funny, and very surprising. Leaves me smiling every time I think about the characters.

I found this an excellent book. It had captivating characters and a well-conceived plot, but the ending felt too abrupt and hurried. Otherwise, an engaging read. I'd recommend it!

This is one of those novels that keeps you scratching your head in wonder, and laughing at the droll humor at the same time. There are echos of William Burroughs (at his most readable) mixed with classic themes and pop-culture. A most heady brew, indeed! Bound to be one of the most notable books of the year. Highly Recommended.

Loved this book! I had read it many moons ago and then lent it to someone and not got it back. Glad I found it again. I guess it is true what they say about the politics of lending good books. only an idiot lends out a good book - and that it takes an even bigger idiot to return a good book.

Feisty, unapologetic 16 year old Delia from a small New Zealand town claims she was taken up briefly in a space ship after she is found wandering in a daze by the town's newly arrived librarian. The plot unfolds as the effects Delia's ensuing pregnancy and subsequent events have on unlayering facets of the different townspeople's characters. It's a whodunit device that masterfully engages the reader. At the end, though we do get to see some resolution in Delia's character, the last chapter smacks of dragging everyone back on stage one last time to make sure all the loose ends get tied up somehow, if not neatly. I disliked the ending pace in comparison to the rest of the tantalizing, almost meandering course of character and event development. Still, probably the most entertaining and plausible story of alien intervention written. Definitely worth reading!

I find books about aliens and people in small towns pretty interesting. This story was not that good though. The main character is supposed to be a sweet, innocent, small town girl who you just never fall in love with. Her character isn't developed in a realistic way. As a matter of fact most of the town folks aren't real. This wouldn't be such a problem had the novel not been rounded enough to even keep you interested. The only reason I finished the book was to find out if there were really aliens or not. The alien story line was the only part of the novel that kept me interested. A disappointing read.