Saturday, September 17, 2011

Review & Giveaway: Signs of Martha by Sarah Raymond


Title: Signs of Martha
Series: No
Author: Sarah Raymond
Available: Now
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Source: Author












Description from Goodreads:


Martha, 16, longs to escape pressures to conform to her community and quirky family, and dreams of big-city fame as an artist. Velvet, a local signpainter for agri-business, gives Martha a chance. With an agenda of her own, Velvet urges Martha to create honest messages that will win her an acceptance into art college. To Velvet’s delight, Martha builds a collection of hand-painted, slanderous road signs that badmouth their community. But as soon as the exhibit is mounted, Velvet is gone, the neighbours are outraged, and Martha is forced to make difficult decisions about friends, family and about making art. 


My thoughts:



Signs of Martha is a fast paced read featuring a large cast of quirky characters. Main character, Martha, is struggling between leading the life she wants and the life her parents, sister, boyfriend, and friends seem to expect from her. Spending most of her time doodling, picking cucumbers, and fantasizing about art school. When she meets an eccentric sign painter named Velvet, her dreams of becoming an artist actually seem within reach. Unfortunately, Velvet might be the worst thing to ever happen to unsuspecting Martha.


I adored the characters I met in Signs of Martha. They were all so unique. There were so many moments that had me actually laughing out loud. It wasn’t all fun and games though. Martha finds herself in a tough spot on a few occasions. Especially as a result of the signs she makes. It was very easy to connect and sympathize with Martha throughout the book. So many people who only want the best for her surround her, but they don’t seem to see what Martha wants. This does lead her to make some not so great choices that give readers the chance to see Martha grow so much over this short, but sweet story.

The writing in Signs of Martha is really stellar. Sarah Raymond created such a great cast and paired them with dialogue that suits them perfectly. The pace movies very quickly and at less than 200 pages this would be a great book to spend a rainy afternoon with. If you enjoy a contemporary tales with characters unlike any you’ll meet in other novels, give Signs of Martha a chance!



My Rating:



Find Sarah Raymond on the web:


Add Signs of Martha on Goodreads

Giveaway:

I’m giving away my read once copy of Signs of Martha
Open to the U.S & Canada
Leave a comment with a way to contact you to enter
(Twitter, email, etc.)
Tweet about the giveaway for one extra entry - leave a comment with the link :)
Ends 9/25

7 comments:

  1. It sounds like a great read!

    Vivien
    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh wow. Unique.

    I dig that.

    Great choice and review.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am a follower and email subscriber. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like a really good read. The review definitely has me excited to read Signs of Martha.
    jennifer(@)fictitiousmusings(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love quirky characters so I know I would love this book.

    I am a follower and an e-mail subscriber.

    Thank you for this giveaway.

    CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This sounds like a good story. I like quirky characters too.

    Thanks!

    lacavanaugh(AT)appleblossom(DOT)net

    ReplyDelete
  7. Would love to read this.
    rsgrandinetti@yahoo(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete