Loved this series. Knowing a Stephen R. Donaldson book is next in my pile I pick it up with some dread, because it is onerous. For the size of the book, the size of the print, the difficulty of the language, and often the complication of the plot. This is the fifth and last book in The Gap series. There are certain things Donaldson can be counted on: complicated, interesting, flawed characters that you can wind up caring about even if they have done terrible, hurtful, evil things; wonderful settings; great plot;, and a satisfying ending. You cannot count on his keeping all of his wonderful sympathetic character alive or being easy reading. That said, all of his books that I have read have been engrossing, beautiful, and exciting.
I have now started re-reading Killing Mr. Griffin which I read with my seventh or eighth graders every year for at least twenty years, so I pretty much have it memorized. But it has been twelve years since I retired and it is the third book I'll be reading with my now seventh grade tutee this summer, Gabriel. It is an excellent book for teaching drawing conclusions and the story elements. You can often hear the students draw conclusions throughout the books with their gasps, "uh-oh"s, as well as see it in their expressions. So much fun.
I started reading The Little Prince with Gabriel and his mom today. I found it rather boring when I read it to myself, but it was fun with Gabe. We giggled through the first several chapters.
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