I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Awesome Grammar
by
Becky Burckmyer
It is part of the Awesome English series and is a business in Paperback edition that was published by Career Press on October 1, 2008 and has 192 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Non-fiction text on English grammar.
My Take
This is a short and succinct take on English grammar. Burckmyer does have a few instances where she uses a different term than others use; this is not a fault as it’s simply true to what is out there. In some areas, she dives in deep and others are just a skim over the top. She does provide some excellent examples as well as tests at the back of each chapter so you can assess what you’ve learned.
This is not a thorough review of grammar. It couldn’t be with only 200 pages! I would guess that she’s based most of her information on the Chicago Manual of Style, although some of her “rules” veer away from its dictates. Some I simply disagree with.
On the whole, however, this was a very useful manual.
I’ve been working on a section of Author Tools in my website that serves as a refresher for myself and as a down-and-dirty, free research tool for authors who can’t afford a proofreader. And I’ve come across some terms I never heard of as well as a few anomalies when I’ve been editing people’s books and decided that I could do with some research to explore more about English grammar.
Overall, the rules for grammar are just as messy as the language — I do love English for that! However, it does make things difficult when one manual or website applies a particular term to a part of grammar of which one has never heard before. Then there are the various style manuals which have their particular quirks when it comes to formatting, and, well, it can be as confusing as heck.
The Cover and Title
The cover is quite eye-catching with its bright red background, the yellow Awesome and the rest of the text in white. I’m not quite sure what the blue paint splotch is about.
The title is truly an Awesome Grammar.
