Step on a crack play

A fragmentary unit set suggesting Ellie's room, a bowling alley, and the streets. Modern dress. Ellie Murphy lived happily with her widowed father, Max, bowling, eating T. But now, suddenly, life is different. Max has remarried, and Ellie has a stepmother. Ellie and her imaginary friends, Lana and Frizbee, launch into a fantasy world as Ellie seeks to escape real life problems.

They romp through "prison breaks," Cinderella, Snow White, and Ellie's own funeral where "Everyone is really sorry for all the mean things they did to you. More details. Suzan Zeder 11 books0. Search review text. Margaret aka serenityblue Jackson. I like James Patterson but I'm wondering why he is co-authoring lately. I watched Along came a spider with Antonio the other night and this prompted me to read this one.

I like this author. This book was chilling. It isn't the fact that his wife, Maeve, is dying of cancer, or even that they have ten adopted children. It's not Maeve's seemingly long-lost cousin, Mary Catherine, who shows up out of the blue to serve as the couple's au pair. It's not even Michael's grandfather, the crusty yet heart-of-gold Irish priest. No, the problem is that all of these characters, who could have made the story emotional and heartbreaking, seem to do nothing more than serve as filler.

The ten children are interchangeable. Mary Catherine could be nominated for the sainthood. And Seamus, the grandfather, could be any number of wise-cracking old codgers from one of today's sitcoms. I'll read the next Bennett book when it comes out, mostly out of the hope that the secondary storyline will be as compelling as the main plot.

We'll have to see. For fans of Patterson, this is one you'll want to read, but I'd advise checking it out from the library before plunking down the cold hard cash to purchase it in hardcover. Loved it! So glad to have started this series. The story was so intriguing.

I couldn't not have been more thrilled with the opening book to this series. I loved the characters, the plots were entertaining, and the emotional ramifications of Michael and Maeve were beautifully devastating.

My quick and simple overall: stayed up until after 3 am to finish it in one sitting because it was so good! This was a fast moving crime thriller with a tender backstory. A large group of VIP's are taken hostage during the funeral of an ex president's wife. Mike is a police negotiator who's wife is seriously ill and in the hospital with Cancer. When no one else is available he is ordered by his superior to hadle the kidnappers demands.

Each of the hostages are terrorized into revealing all of their financial information. Millions are to be transferred to an account that can't be followed, but Mike's big question is, why they think there is any possibility of escape. An interesting premiss with very relatable characters and solid, smart writing. John Slattery and Reg Rogers do an excellent job narrating. Both of their voices were perfect for the characters.

A great Daily Deal. Author 15 books followers. Mercedes do Stephen King. I'm famous for getting books out of order as my library rarely has them in order. This is a very touching book, and a tough one as the case he is working on is a very hard one, and his wife Maeve is dying of cancer.

So as Bennett is pursuing his most diabolical criminal ever to terrify New York City. Armed men disguised as monks seize the church and seal themselves inside, along with over one hundred of he most powerful people in America.

The captives include world leaders, actors, TV stars, athletes, and politicians. It deals with issues that kids understand. A range of emotions flows through this play from happy go lucky to scared and everything in between.

Ellie and her imaginary friends deal with her new stepmother in funny yet heartfelt ways. The cast was young and fairly inexperienced, but they were able to handle the characters quite handily since they were so well crafted by Zeder. This play resonated with children whose parents were divorced both those in the audience and on stage. I didn't expect folks to be crying at the tender moment at the end, but they were. My students enjoyed coming to rehearsals because they loved the story.

Do Not Go Gentle Competition. Do Not Go Gentle. The Death and Life of Sherlock Holmes. In a Room Somewhere. Mother Hicks. Ozma of Oz: A Tale of Time. The Play Called Noah's Flood. The Taste of Sunrise.