Plays, YAFic, and Science-y Nonfic

I shall forgo the introduction and launch right in, as I am about to run out the door.

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen was excellent. It was adapted by Arthur Miller, simply to make it more American, but it still had a distinctly Ibsen-voice (I love Ibsen and Miller, btw.) In the play, a prominent doctor discovers that the water of the town's famous springs is contaminated. However, his brother, the mayor, does not want the public to know because it will be too expensive to purify the springs. So, he essentially ruins his brother and encourages the public to deem the doctor crazy.
The play did an excellent job of portraying how sometimes, it is more comfortable to ignore the truth. It also revealed other things about human nature, such as how people will throw even their own kin under the bus in order to save themselves. I became emotionally involved in the book from the get-go. I was furiously angry at some points, and highly sympathetic at others. I read it easily in one sitting, thoroughly enjoying it. 8.5/10

One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clark was less of a pleasure to read. For the first hundred pages or so, I didn’t think that I would finish. All of the characters were vapid, shallow, or annoying, and I just couldn’t get into it. In order to like a book, I have to like the characters (or at least be interested in them). OWaPD was similar to some Jodi Piccoult books in that it switched point of view constantly. Clark did not execute this fabulously. The story mainly focuses around Lily, a mature 16-year-old girl and her immature college-aged brother, Lonnie. However, neither character is well developed, and neither one is likeable.
I was honestly disappointed. It won a Printz, and I had expected it to be good (as Printz’s usually are). I think the problem is I’m outgrowing YA Fiction. I’m sick of poor vocabulary, boring plots, and young/naïve characters. The second half was better than the first, but not by much. 5/10

The Secret Family by David Bodanis was very interesting. It was basically a composite of scientific facts related to the typical family (in this case, a mother, father, 14 year old girl, and a ten-year-old boy). The facts were interesting, although some seemed out of place. Overall however, I felt that I learned a lot of relevant things. The book also highlights some of the reasons why females are the genetically superior sex, which was fun to read J. I would definitely recommend it. Although I had expected it to be more about neurology that human biology, I enjoyed it anyway. 8/10

I'm now reading a signifigantly longer book, so I will probably not finish a book in a day for the first time so far this year. Oh darn it.

Total Books: 10
Total NonFiction: 4 (40%)