Review: What I'm beginning to expect from Moody
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 28, 2012
This is a continuation of the 'Teacup novellas'.  What I said in that review applies here.  It takes more skill and carftsmanship, in my opinion, to build a satisfying short story. This story is ok, but not particularly satisfying.  A novella gives a little more 'wiggle room' than short stories do, but it too often comes out as a long short story (and even too long). It's not easy to strike the proper balance. I've known many portrait and landscape painters and sculptors.  They all say the trick to art is knowing when you're finished with the work.  The same is true of stories.  Some stories have strong characters or fun characters or riveting plots which beg for a longer format.  Some get squashed into short stories or novellas, where there isn't enough canvas on  which to draw out the stories or characterizations.  It's the mark of a very good writer to know what kind of canvass to use, or to be able to fit their work to the format required.Moody's title for this work was  not quite a fit: It suggests  more action than actually takes place.  Her characters are pleasant, engaging, but not overly well developed.  Her female characters have more depth.  The males are paper standup figures, for the most part--at least in these novellas.  I have more Moody works in my Kindle.  I'll save them for a rainy day, or for a day when I need a light lift.