off the shelf

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin (O.T. #7 of 10)

2009-09-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Angel Tungaraza and her husband moved from Tanzania to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, a few years after the end of the genocide. Angel has a talent for making cakes, and not just ordinary cakes either. Angel has to know enough about the person the cake is for to make it special whether that means making a cake in the shape of a cell phone or a 3-d airplane. And while each of these cakes celebrate something, each person who orders one has had incredible pain in his or her life. Angel's customers have lost family members to AIDS and the genocide. They are relief workers and prostitutes. But Angel's compassion and goodwill touches each of them as her life has also been filled with sorrow and with joy.

I loved this book. Loved it. Angel's voice is beautiful. She wants to be a good mother and grandmother and sometimes just doesn't know how. She loves her husband but sometimes doesn't know how to talk to him. She is so aware of those around her and always wants to give but sometimes struggles with the decisions she makes.

I have never read a book about Rwanda or the horrors that existed for so long in that country. This book touches on those difficult subjects in a way that allowed me to feel more than sorrow for such huge losses both from AIDS and all out slaughter - Baking Cakes is about people, about individuals and how they survived so much suffering. I will be coming back to this book again I think.

All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein (O. T. 2009 #6 of 10)

2009-08-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

Klein's memoir of her time as a Nazi prisoner/slave laborer in Poland in the three years before her liberation was at first difficult for me to delve into. I am not sure what it was...certainly there was tension and the author expressed herself well...I just wasn't there at first. But as the book progressed, I became amazed by her strength and her spirit. She truly never despaired. Even when things were horrific beyond my imagining, one day at a time she survived and lived the best way she could. I can't remember having read holocaust literature in which the main character was not in the concentration camps...but Gerda never was. She was at work camps and was marched all over Poland towards the end of the war.

There were times when I felt very connected to her...when I could see her fears being exactly as mine would be. I loved the love story of her and her husband. It truly is beautiful. A worthy read.

The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt

2009-08-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Wings of a Falcon is a novel of the Kingdom. Others include On Fortune's Wheel, Jackaroo, and Elske. This book definitely takes place after On Fortune's Wheel and I am not sure where Elske fits in on the timeline...

The main character does not have a name until about page 70 or so which was a bit disconcerting at first. But part of the fun of this book for me was seeing how it correlated to On Fortune's Wheel and that book has much to do with the name "he" takes for himself, Oriel. The story starts out so violent and sad that I almost stopped reading it. On and island of only boys and one man called the Damall, life is cruel and hard. The Damall takes special pleasure in whipping the boys, terrifying them, setting them against eachother, and selling them into slavery. Not a really fun first fifty pages. If I didn't like the Kingdom stories so much and had faith that it would get better I really would have put it down. But I was right and the story is good.

Oriel and his very loyal friend Grif escape their horrid life on the island going no where but away. Oriel is a tough nut to crack sometimes. He is a good man mostly but definitely has his moments, like we all do, of not being his best self. There was quite a bit of adventure and things certainly moved quickly. I like Voigt's writing, a decent read.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth-Grahame Smith

2009-08-10T18:19:00.001-07:00

I honestly can't think about this book without cracking up. Who is this guy?! Seriously. Seth Grahame-Smith who "once took a class in English literature" has given Jane Austen's classic romance a bit of a twist. Just a bit. You really have to have read the original to appreciate this enhanced version. For example, in the very beginning of the story as Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are talking about their daughters,

"Consider your daughters!"
"I am considering them you silly woman! I would much prefer their minds be engaged in the deadly arts than clouded with dreams of marriage and fortune as your own so clearly is! Go and see this Bingley if you must, though I warn you that none of our girls has much to reccommend them; they area all silly and ignorant like their mother, the exception being Lizzy who has something more of the killer instinct than her sisters."

It is the classic story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. And there are lots of zombies thrown in too - called by many awesome names, "unmentionables, the undead, and dreadfuls There are also and "the stricken, "humans who have caught a sickness that will make them zombies, before they actually die. Regular zombies apparently just crawl out of their graves. The Bennett girls were trained in China in the "deadly arts" and Lady Catherine de Burgh has vanquished more unmentionables than any other woman in England.

Much of the text is lifted right from Pride and Prejudice. There are some hideously gory descriptions, so much so that they aren't even gross! I'm sorry, I think this book is hilarious. A great laugh. I am absolutely sure this isn't for everyone, but I laughed out loud, a lot.

Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell

2009-08-10T18:08:00.001-07:00

Sahara is in fifth grade...again. Her mother insisted that Sahara be removed from the special education program and put in a regular classroom. Her mom sees Sahara reading and writing all the time at home, but at school she won't do her work. Sahara knows where her work goes - into her file in the counselor's office. The file that tells everyone who she is. But Sahara knows she is more.

Told in beautifully written first person, Sahara is painfully aware of why she does what she does. She wants to be a writer - knows she will be a writer. But she won't write. Not for school. But then Miss Pointy, her new teacher arrives. This woman is not the average teacher, and good thing. She gives Sahara and her classmates journals and asks them to write in them every day. This is the beginning of Sahara's journey.

I loved this story. Sahara shows that really can't know what is going on in someone's head. Her mother has no idea what is holding her child back and is constantly angry at her. Sahara isn't willing to let anyone into her secret life, her writer's life - it hurts too much. I appreciate stories about good teachers, about teachers who do things in new ways and truly care about their students. I will give this one to my niece some day. She'll like it.

O Pioneers

2009-08-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

I found out a few days ago that my new book club was reading this book and having a discussion on Thursday. I managed to wrangle a library card from my new library and found quite the oldish large printish copy they carried. But it worked. I sat down and read it in a few hours. I quite liked My Antonia so reading another by Willa Cather was a fine prospect.

Alexandra was a strong woman. She was a strong teenager. The story is set on the prairie, a hard Nebraska prairie that has not yet become profitable to many farmers. Alexandra's parents, Swedish immigrants, are barely scraping by, and that was before her father became ill. Being the most level-headed and business minded of her father's children (Alexandra had two older brothers and a younger brother) she was trusted with holding the homestead together after her father died.

It is the homestead, the land, that is Alexandra's constant focus. She is very capable and independant. She takes care of her younger brother Emil as well as others, including "crazy" Ivar, an old man also living out on the prairie. Also playing a role in Alexandra's life are her long time friend Carl, and Marie, a young Bohemian who is full of life and who is a huge part of Emil's life as well.

O Pioneers portrays the many faces of prairie life. Alexandra loves the land and sees the potential in it -she is she is such a great character. I have to say that I did not see the ending coming which was a nice surprise. Good book club choice.

Alas, Babylon (End of the World Challenge II #3 of 4)

2009-08-10T08:15:00.001-07:00

What would have happened to America if the Soviets had actually dropped atomic bombs all over the country? It is this question that Pat Frank explores in his apocalyptic novel Alas, Babylon. Reading this book here in 2009 is a little scary...the threats are a bit different but still read. But this book was written in 1959, during the arms race with Russia and only a few years after Sputnik was launched.
.
The story revolved around Randy Bragg, a bachelor living in a small Florida town. When his brother Mark sends his family to live with Randy, Randy know that Mark's warnings about an imminent nuclear attack were no overreaction. And it comes. And it is devastating.

It is not just the radiation that is terrifying, it is the loss of electricity, the onset of disease, the lack of food, the lawlessness. Randy and the people he cares about have to navigate a completely new society, hoping that eventually they can create one in which they are not fighting for survival every day.

I loved this book. I loved it and was frightened by it and appreciated it what it must have been like to read this book back in the 1950s/60s. It is an apocalyptic story that depicts a fairly plausible series of events - and that's why it is so alarming.

YA Challenge 2009 Wrap Up

2009-08-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wahoo! I did it. This was superfun. I could have put about 20 other books on this list but here are the twelve I chose and the links to my review.

1. Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
2. Raising the Griffin by Melissa Wyatt
3. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
4. The Warrior's Daughter by Holly Bennett
5. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
6. The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante
7. A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson by Barbara Dana
8. Whirligig by Paul Fleischman
9. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
10. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
11. The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
12. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America (End of the World II Challenge #2 of 4)

2009-08-06T17:19:00.001-07:00

My brother Chris told me I should read this book. It had been on my TBR shelf for a while but when the End of the World Challenge II came up it fit perfectly.

Brian Slattery has created a United States that has collapsed...a United States that has returned to slavery, that is no longer unified but partitioned into regions, none with a true rule of law. Marco, one of the members of the criminal gang known as the "Slick Six," breaks out of prison and attempts to reunite his group and fix (or begin to fix) the disaster the United States has become.

The alarming thing about this novel is its plausability. Not necessarily the characters, but the result of social and economic collapse doesn't seem that far fetched. It was difficult to read at first because the author switches the character being focused on without any sort of break...at all. Just a new paragraph and all of the sudden you're in a new place with a new person. It threw me for a while but I got used to it and it wasn't too bad after that. It was a heavy book...so many things happening, almost all of them horribly sad. People sell themselves into slavery so they won't starve, people live their lives completely high so they don't have to deal with the reality around them. Thrown in with all of this damage and chaos is a bit of the supernatural as well. It is a terrifying end of the world idea.

In the Land of Invisible Women (O. T. # 5 of 10)

2009-07-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how to review this book...I didn't really like it but I didn't really
dislike it. It took me a while to read...it is a pretty decent size. And the subject matter was interesting - it is a memoir written by Qanta A. Ahmed, a British Palestinian female doctor living and practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia. She had some amazing stories. Stories about her patients, about her experience when she undertook a Hajj to Mecca, her relationships with other doctors and patients, the terrifying power of the Muttawa (the religious police). All very cool.

I think what sort of took away from the power of the book for me were her super involved descriptions of the looks, clothing, and accessories of pretty much every person she met. Details down to the brand of wrist watch he or she was wearing. She spent much time extolling the beauty of different women she encountered. Not that this is a bad thing...but so much of what she did was important and powerful that these passages become rather boring to me. I wanted to know more about what she did than what people looked like.

It was interesting to read a book by a Muslim woman who is incredibly religious and yet incredibly tolerant. Her frustration with having to wear the full abbayah in public, her outrage at the treatment of Saudi women, and horrified reaction to the celebration of many of her colleuges during and after the 9/11 attacks seemed very real and personal. She obviously has a very deep faith and vehemently rejects the interpretation of the Quran that led to the oppression of women and men (this was an interesting discussion) in Saudi Arabia.

So again, it's a mixed review. I think she could have taken out about 100 pages of description and had a better book. Still, I'm not sorry I read it.

Saffy's Angel

2009-07-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have read lots of good reviews of Hilary McKay's books about the Casson family and this is the first in the series. Saffy's real name is Saffron and while she is named after a color like the rest of her siblings (Cadmium, Indigo, and Rose) it turns out that they are actually her cousins. After Saffy's mother dies, her grandfather becomes catatonic and when he passes away, leaves Saffy an angel in his will. Though her father (a rather absent father) shrugs off Saffy's inheritance, she is determined to find it.

The Casson family is great. The relationship between the four siblings and the odd quirks each one has are very endearing. There is that bit of British in the story which lends it something a little extra in my opinion. I would read more about them I think.

Wings

2009-07-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Laurel has always been a little strange...all she really likes to drink is Sprite, she is never hot or cold, and she can't ever remember bleeding. Her parents had always homeschooled her until, at fifteen, Laurel starts going to high school. Then things get really weird. She meets David, a sweet guy who she begins to be interested in but then she sprouts a flower from her back, meets handsome Tamani who tells her that she's actually a fairy, and finds out that her DNA shows that she's actually a plant.

I listened to this on my Ipod (by Aprilynne Pike) and I liked it well enough. A different fairy mythology than any I have read about before. The typical but sweet love triangle between Laurel and her two suitors was satisfying. Sort of very tame urban fantasy. I think it was just good. Not fabulous, but enough to keep me occupied when driving between Maryland and New York.

Love, Stargirl

2009-07-08T20:33:00.001-07:00

I really liked Stargirl and this sequel was really fun too. The book is written as a letter from Stargirl to Leo...her ex-boyfriend from Arizona who she still loves but is mad at too. It is important to have read Stargirl first...the book isn't really standalone I don't think. But it was fun to see inside Stargirl's mind. She really is a unique character with the dramas and traumas of teenage years in her brain but with a real sense of caring about people too. It was a quick and easy read - fun.

Life as We Knew It (End of the World Challenge II #1 of 4)

2009-07-08T20:32:00.003-07:00

Susan Beth Pfeffer scared the daylights out of me. This book was not gory, not ax murder terrifying, I don't know what words to use exactly. The book is Miranda's journal. She is a sophmore in high school being a typical self-absorbed teenager. However, things change a bit when a meteor hits the moon and knocks it out of its orbit, closer to earth.

Then come the disasters. Floods, volcanos, a long winter caused by ash in the sky. Miranda, her two brothers, and her parents must try to figure out how to survive on what they managed to get before the stores ran out of food, the gas stations ran out of gas, and the hospital ran out of medicine.

My reaction to this book is different than it would be if I was a teenager. In this book, I was Miranda's mother - I was the one trying to hold my family together and make us survive. I wanted to slap Miranda sometimes for being a teenager, but that's what made the book real. She didn't turn into a superhero, she grew and changed in a way that made sense, that was honest. It made me want to get my emergency supplies ready just in case. I am reviewing this book nearly a month after I read it and I still think about it. How would I live, how would I help my children live through this kind of disaster? I just don't know.

Garden Spells

2009-07-08T20:31:00.003-07:00

Garden Spells was another Itunes purchase that I listened to as I drove around New York. It was an interesting story by Sarah Addison Allen...real and difficult situations with a funny sort of magical twist thrown in. It is the story of the Waverley sisters - Claire who cooks with edible flowers that affect the moods and thoughts of those who eat them, and Sydney's manifests itself in her gift with hairstyles. Seriously. But Sydney actually hates being a Waverley - she doesn't want to be strange. She hated it enough to run away from home and when she returned it was only because she feared for her life and the life of her daughter - her daughter's father being an angry and abusive man.

As Claire and Sydney reconnect, they both figure out how to be "Waverley's" and still be open to other people and each other. Bay, Sydney's daughter, was a cute character. Another interesting character in the story was the apple tree. The apple tree whose apples let a person see the most important event in his or her life. The Waverley's try to keep anyone from eating them because the consequences are almost never good. But the tree wants its apples to be eaten and takes to throwing them at people. It's kind of fun.

A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson (YA Challenge 2009 #12 of 12)

2009-07-08T20:30:00.001-07:00

Barbara Dana's idea to write a novel in which Emily Dickinson tells about her teenager years is fabulous. My sister picked this up randomly at the library for me and I am so glad she did. I have only read a few of Dickinson's poems and knew nothing about her life except that she never married. And while it seems Dana did her research well, it isn't exactly a biography. It's just a good read.

There isn't really a plot per say...no truly climatic event. It's just seeing the world through Emily's eyes - her repeated illnesses (which apparently were occurrences of TB), her panic attacks, her strange relationship with her parents and siblings, her discovery of words and of her overwhelming desire to be a poet during a time when women weren't poets. Not only did I like the book for what it was, I am now going to go check out a book of her poetry. The author actually created some poems in what she refers to as the style of Dickinson but they are not actually Emily's poems. I am excited to read the poems Dickinson created, she's a pretty remarkable woman.

Mystic and Rider

2009-06-05T20:06:00.001-07:00

I think this was a good start to Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses series. I love many of her books and thought I am not a huge fan the mass market paperback format I read it in, I couldn't put it down.

In the land of Gillengaria, some people are born with special powers. Senneth is the embodiment of fire, Donnal and Kirra can shape-shift, and Cammon is a "sensitive" and can read people and their feelings. There are, however, many who think these mystics, as they are called, are evil and should be destroyed. Seriously. Senneth and her mystic companions, along with Tayse and Justin (who are King's Riders, fanatically loyal and fierce soldiers) are on a quest for the king to find out what is causing the unrest between the twelve fiefdoms of Gillengaria.

I do think I will pick up the next in the series...especially because the romance was just getting started! It didn't bother me as much at it might have otherwise because it was a sequel. But there was fast action, a really interesting plot with some good twists, and just darn good writing.

It's the End of the World II Challenge

2009-06-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Ah, another fun one. Here are the rules:

Read at least four books about "the end of the world." This includes both apocalyptic fiction and post-apocalyptic fiction. There is quite a bit of overlap with dystopic fiction as well. The point being something--be it coming from within or without, natural or unnatural--has changed civilization, society, humanity to such a degree that it radically differs from "life as we now know it." (Aliens, evil governments, war, plague, natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, depletion of resources, genetic manipulation, etc.) Here is a wikipedia article on the subject. Also see here. These changes can be small-but-still-significant or huge-and-life-threatening.

The Road by Cormack McCarthy
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Liberation by Brian Francis Slattery
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2009-06-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. Wow wow. I am completely thrilled with this book. Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows are awesome. This book was a gift given to me by a dear friend and I had been saving it for the right time. Stuck in a hotel and needing something fabulous to read was for sure the right time and I blew threw it, stopping only when necessary because I just was so interested. It is told in a series of letters between Juliet Ashton and a number of different people in her life.

It is January 1946 in England and Juliet is an author without a subject for a book. As she casts about for an idea, she receives a letter from a man named Dawsey Adams who lives in Guernsey, one of the British Channel islands that was occupied by the Germans during World War II. Adams has found a copy of a book by Charles Lamb and Juliet's name and address were on the front cover. He is interested in reading more by Lamb and, as there are no bookstores in Guernsey, he asks Juliet for help in finding another b.ook. She quickly replies and thus begins a correspondence with not only Dawsey, but many of his friends in Guernsey, many of whom will profoundly affect Juliet's life.

I thought Juliet was a great character. She was intelligent, witty, and determined but certainly flawed. She always tried to do the right thing and had a really good heart without being self-righteous. The letter format made things interesting - I have read actually quite a few books like this lately and like it. It is another book about World War II which brings a whole different aspect into the public eye - I knew nothing about the Channel Islands or their occupation. This book was a hit for me.

Tell Me if the Lovers Are Losers

2009-06-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

In general, I love Cynthia Voigt. On Fortune's Wheel and Elkse are two of my favorite books and I remember reading Dicey's Song and the Homecoming when I was younger. I wasn't super impressed with this one though. It is the story of three girls who are beginning college - Ann, Niki, and Hildy. The three are roommates and all have quite different backgrounds and personalities. The one thing (besides their room) that throws them together is playing volleyball. There was an interesting ethical situation in concerning plagerism but I just didn't fall in love with any of the charcacters. Ann was kind of a wus, Niki was a brat, and Hildy was better but I couldn't get a good feel for her. Anyway, I picked up for the "V" author on my A-Z challenge but I wouldn't pick it up again.

We Are On Our Own (O. T. #4 of 10)

2009-06-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is the second graphic novel I've used for the Orbis Terrarum 2009 challenge and it was so good. Miriam Katin is from Hungary and this book is about her experiences as a Jew living in Hungary during the Nazi regime. In the story, Katin is only a child and her father is away fighting in the army. Her mother fakes her own death and that of her child to escape Budapest when the German army invades. What follows is a story of survival - of incredible hardship, of both cruelty and kindness. Some of the illustrations flash forward to a grown up Katin trying to reconcile her faith with her experiences. It is a powerful World War II memoir and the illustrations were amazing.

84 Charing Cross Road

2009-06-02T10:22:00.001-07:00

This is another book written in letters (this is the second of three I've read in less than a month) and it was wonderful. Helene Hanff is a New York screen play writer who contacts a London-based bookseller to find her some rare books. From 1949-1969 Helene and the employees of Marks & Co Booksellers correspond about books and eventually their lives. Helene sends food and other items currently being rationed and they in turn offer to host her on a trip to England.

It is quite a touching story really. That people so far apart could have so much in common and care about each other deeply. It is also an testament to the bygone art of letter writing. It is a very very fast read but well worth it.

Regarding the Fountain

2009-06-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

What a clever book! Kate Klise created a mystery that will appeal to kids and grownups alike. The subtitle is "A Tale, in Letters, of Liars and Leaks." Truly, the whole book is told in letters between fountain designer Florence Waters, the children of Mr. Sam N.'s fifth grade class, Sam N. himself, and the principal and secretary of the middle school. It is so fun...each name is a play on some kind of water/fish theme (i.e. Wally Russ, Goldie Fisch, Tad Poll, etc.) and the different handwritings and typefaces make it visually very interesting. I would want to give this to my eight year old niece if she didn't already own it.

Harrowing the Dragon (Once Upon a Time III #5 of 5)

2009-06-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

This book looked intriguing to me because I loved Patricia McKillip's The Riddlemaster. Harrowing the Dragon is a collection of fifteen of McKillip's short stories. Fourteen of them follow a fantasy/fairy tale/magical type theme but one of them, about what happens after Romeo and Juliet die (entitled Star-Crossed) seemed a bit out of place. My favorites were "The Fellowship of the Dragon" and "The Lion and the Lark." I am always impressed by those who can tell a good short story. Somehow the author must find a way to make you care about the character in just a few pages and certainly the plot must unfold quickly. It was interesting reading this after having only read The RiddleMaster which was a HUGE book. McKillip is a talented storyteller.

Speak (YA Challenge 2009 #11 of 12)

2009-05-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

Wow. I can see now why this book by Laurie Halse Anderson won awards. This was a one day read for me and I am sitting here trying to sort it out. Melinda is a high school freshman and is already an outcast at her school. She called the cops during a party right before school started and lots of people got in trouble. People throw food at her, call her names, ignore her, bump into her, and all the while Melinda stays silent. As the school year progresses Melinda falls into deeper and deeper depression as she tells her story...as the bits of horror she has stored up within herself are revealed.

Reading this story hurt. I hurt for Melinda as she hurts herself. This book was written nearly twenty years ago and its frank tackling of the issues of rape and depression and the cruelty of high school is something that is sadly but incredibly necessary today. Speak has been repeatedly challenged in both public and school libraries though it is one of the least graphic books discussing these topics that I've read. It is an important book. There is an interesting interview with Anderson at the end where she says "Censoring books that deal with difficult adolescent issues does not protect anybody. Quite the oppositve. It leaves kids in darkness and makes them vulnerable." I liked Speak because it was a good story. A real story that was well told.

Cybele's Secret (YA Romance Challenge #6 of 6, Once Upon a Time III #4 of 5)

2009-05-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

I listened to Juliet Marillier's sequel to Wildwood Dancing and really quite liked it. Cybele's Secret features Paula (pronounced paola), the third of the five Transylvanian sisters featured in Wildwood Dancing, who is the scholar of the family. She accompanies her merchant father to Istanbul to do business there, particularly to acquire an ancient artifact known as Cybele's Gift. No one is sure exactly what it is, but there are several buyers including Duarte, the quite intersting Portugese ex-pirate. One of Paula's father's first tasks was to provide Paula with a bodyguard as the stakes of his interest in Cybele's Gift rise. Paula choses Stoyan, an apparently quite fine looking Bulgarian whose interest in protecting Paula quickly changes from duty to something more.

Paula was an interesting character. She repeatedly referred to herself as a scholar, and at seventeen this is a great aspiration. She also wanted to be a business woman and had to cope with being a woman in Istanbul which is truly a man's world. She is befriended by Irene who seems to have carved a niche for herself as a semi-independant (though married) woman who has a library and a life of her own. Paula was good mix of determination, resourcefulness, and bravery while at the same time being a bit too prudish for my liking. Along with the quest to find Cybele's gift, the supernatural came into play (continued from Wildwood Dancing) which spiced things up a bit. I have to say though, I had hoped the romance would heat up faster than it did. I mean, there was some good stuff in there and Paula having both the intellectual and wealthy Duarte and the protective Stoyan compete for her attention was fun. Still, I remember looking at my Ipod and thinking, if these two (I won't tell you which two!) don't get together in the next five minutes I'm gonna be irritated. And it turns out I was. Still, it was a fun listen.

Nick and Norah's Infinate Playlist

2009-05-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to love this book. I really liked the premise and I like some of Rachel Cohn's other books but I could not stand reading the F bomb over and over and over. It was used as a noun, and adjective, and a verb. Sometimes both in the same sentence. Lots of time emphasized by bold and italics. I know it was to catch that true teen vibe and that's fine. But to me it just felt like bad writing. I mean, if a different non-cuss word was used that often on every page I would be irritated by that too. I made it through the first three chapters and just got too bugged to continue. Which is a bummer because I was totally excited to read it. So, this will remain an unfinished book unless by a miracle some day someone wants to send a censored copy my way. :)

Persepolis (O. T. #3 of 10)

2009-05-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel. Satrapi's story spans her life as a girl living in Tehran, Iran between age six and age fourteen - 1975-1984. The novel's art is stark black and white, simple illustrations. Satrapi was an incredibly intelligent girl who lived in a time where things didn't make sense. She remembers being forced to wear a veil at school, her parents demonstrating against the Shah, the friends of her parents being jailed, tortured, even executed. Satrapi grew up both relieved by and a bit ashamed of her parents' wealth and status. She heard and witnessed terrifying things for anyone let alone a child. But her story is so important and so well told. I plan on looking for Persepolis 2 when I have a chance.

Galway Bay

2009-05-25T19:11:00.000-07:00

Mary Pat Kelly's novel about an Irish family that immigrates to Chicago seemed to be a great fit for my interests...my grandfather's family were Irish immigrants that settled in Chicago. The story of Honora Kelly begins when she was Honora Keeley...a young girl about to enter a convent. But then she meets Michael Kelly and her whole world shifts. Honora's story is one of love, family, and survival. The novel is set beginning in 1839, several years before the Great Famine and ends in 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago. Honora is a strong woman who loves her husband and children. She survived the "Hard Times" where her family literally almost starved to death. As a parent, reading about the years of the blight ripped my heart out. But still, the Kelly's never gave up. I loved the story telling though I have to admit there were so many children between Honora and her sister Maire that I got a bit confused between them. I really enjoyed it though.

Abhorsen

2009-05-23T19:09:00.001-07:00

Tim Curry, thank you for reading these books! I listened to the third and final of the Abhorsen trilogy and he carried me through. This installment of the story of the necromancer/free magic workers in the Kingdom finished with a bang. Lirael and Prince Sameth, Sabriel and Touchstone, and Moggett and the Disreputable Dog fight to destroy Orranis before he destroys the world. There is no point really listening to or reading this without the first two, it won't make any sense. But I will just say that I was a bit sad when it ended...I wanted a more of the story than Nix gave. Sort of that last chapter of Harry Potter where you find out where everyone ends up. But alas, nothing like that happened. Still, it was full of action, horrible and disgusting and wonderful descriptions of what half-decayed flesh sounds like when it is blown apart by machine guns or sliced through with a sword. Ew. But so good when it comes out of Tim Curry's mouth! Good times.

A Company of Swans

2009-05-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Harriet Morton was quite an ordinary person...at least it seemed so. Raised by her crabby father, a professor of the classics at Cambridge, the one joy she has in her life is dancing. Harriet loves the ballet and is quite talented though her father is convinced that it is not truly a ladylike pursuit. Set in 1912, there are lots of issues of propriety and proper behavior and Harriet is a good girl. But one day a Russian ballet master comes to her class and invites her to join his troupe on a trip to Brazil to dance in the corps for wealthy Europeans living along the Amazon river. For some reason, this sparks Harriet's imagination and in a mad moment of true individualism she tricks her father and heads off to South America. She's only eighteen so this is quite a big deal because legally her father could have her returned to him and really do whatever he wanted to punish her. In the Amazon she meets Rom, a wealthy Englishman who is quite different from her father's preferred suitor, Edward.

I listened to this on my Ipod and liked it. The romance was very sweet. The only thing that I wasn't sure about was Harriet herself. I liked how she came out of her shell and was able to be her own girl, but sometimes I couldn't reconcile how "good" her character was with some of the things she did. Like she was made out by the author to really be above fault which she wasn't. I liked her, but wanted her little bit darker side to be acknowleged for what it was.

Fire (YA Romance Challenge 2009 #5 of 6)

2009-05-23T18:24:00.001-07:00

Oh Kristin Cashore...how you write a lovely book. I LOVED Graceling and I think Fire might be even better. Fire is a prequel to Graceling and the two books are connected by one character...Leck. Leck is incredibly creepy and though he is not the main character in the book, he sort of lurks around for most of it and I could never forget that he was out there.

The heroine of this novel is actually named Fire. She is a "monster," a creature, in this case a human, with incredible beauty and the ability to know and control the minds of other people. Her hair is brilliant red, hence her name. Fire's father was a monster in the truest sense of the world. Though unbelievably handsome, he was bloodthirsty and cruel - the only thing he ever loved was his daughter and she wanted to be nothing like him. Fire lives in a land called the Dells and is drawn into the polticis and intrigues of government and war. Her father was an advisor to King Nax who eventually overdosed on drugs (really because of Fire's father). Nax's two sons, Nash (the new king) and Brigan (the military genius) are trying to hold the kingdom against those to the north and the south. Fire is drawn to these two men and is determined to save the kingdom that her father practically destroyed.

The storytelling in Fire was tight and the characters incredibly well drawn. Fire's relationship with Brigan is incredibly romantic and I like how she honestly tries to do what is right. She screws up and tries to fix it. Reading this as a prequel was intersting because really the only connection with Graceling is Leck - it's a completely different world with a different set of characters and a different culture. So much fun.

Snow White and Rose Red (Once Upon a Time III #3 of 5)

2009-05-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

I originally had this book as my last YA Romance books but before I could write my review I read a way better romance so I'll do that one instead. I like Patricia Wrede...I liked the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and the Sorcery and Cecelia books. This one was well written too...but the story didn't really capture me as other retold fairy tales have. It was a fairy tale I hadn't actually heard before, about two half mortal half faerie brothers who get into trouble (one of them is actually turned into a bear) and are helped out by two sisters. The tale is supposed to be set in a "magical Elizabethan England" but I didn't know enough about that time period for that historical setting to matter much. There was an interesting interplay of Christianity with Faerie and I did like that part. I wanted there to be more romance in the story than there was...my guess it that the lack of it was due to the historical setting. It wasn't a bad story certainly, but not one of my favorites.

Dune (Book Awards Challenge II #10 of 10)

2009-05-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

I can see why this is a science fiction classic. This Hugo Award winning novel by Frank Herbert is possibly the best-selling science fiction book in history. Paul, the son of Duke Leto Atreides and his concubine Jessica is at the heart of this story set thousands of years in the future. The Atreides family has moved to a desert planet called Arrakis at the request of Emperor Shaddam IV. Arrakis had been ruled by the Harkonnen family which oppressed and enslaved the native population, the Freman, in order to extract "spice" from the desert. Spice is an addictive drug created by the life cycle of the gigantic and deadly sandworms that live in the desert and is incredibly valuable off planet. Through both the subtle and the violent interplay between religion, politics, and family, Paul rises from the Duke's heir to a prophet and powerful leader.

Dune is a heavy book and it took me a bit to really get into the characters. And I am not sure I would continue to read other books in the series. However, the plot moved along well and the desert world of Arrakis was fascinating with its massive worms and native people who have figured out how to conserve every drop of moisture. I appreciated the glossaries at the end which explained the nuances of the language and culture.

Skin Hunger (2009 YA Challenge #10 of 12)

2009-04-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

Here's the thing. I should know better by now than to start a trilogy in which all of the books have not yet been written. Seriously. How many times must I do this to myself? Katahleen Duey's first novel in her A Resurrection of Magic series was quite wonderful. And now I have to wait until August for the second book to come out and then who knows how long for the end. Something to look forward to I guess.

Skin Hunger is told from two perspectives: the third person narrated story of Sadima, a teenage girl who can communicate with animals and whose life was difficult from birth as her mother was left to die by a "magician" who told her father she could help the laboring woman. With her protective brother and emotionally absent father as her only companions, lonely Sadima is thrilled when Franklin, a young man who understands her magic finds her and asks her to come to the city when she is ready to embrace her talent.

The other thread takes place centuries later. It is Haph's first person account of his time at the academy of magic - a truly horrible place where ten boys are brought and told that only one will emerge from the academy a wizard - and the rest may not survive at all. Haph is angry at his father, terrified of the wizards, and has to endure incredible, abusive trials to what end he has no idea.

Intertwining the lives of these two teenagers is Somiss - a nobleman obsessed with magic and deciphering its origin. He is Franklin's master and Franklin's kind spirit is a dramatic foil to Somiss's maniacal obsession and cruelty.

Ooooh this was a good one. Darn trilogies.

Aurelie - A Faerie Tale (Once Upon a Time III #2 of 5)

2009-04-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

When Loic the river drac rubbed his magic ointment into the eyes of his three human friends, Netta, Aurelie, and Garin, they were able to see the Fae - the dangerous creatures of the world ususally invisible. But the Fae do not want to be seen - and though the three promised to never tell, one of them broke that promise to save another and the consequence of that action changed all three of them.

Fast forward two years. Aurelie is the main focus of the story. She is the heir to the throne of Jocondagne, a country on the brink of war with Skoe, Garin's native country and current home. With Aurelie's mother dead, she must play a part in diplomatic negotiations with Skoe and the high ranking female officer named Jacinthe Inglis who has her sights on obtaining Jacondagne's throne through her son's marriage to Aurelie. Aurelie is not thrilled with this, her heart still belongs to Garin.

The story is told through three first person narrators (Garin, Loic, and Netta) and through a 3rd person narrator telling Aurelie's story. I read this in just a couple of hours and quite liked it. The characters were spunky and the plot moved quickly. A fun romance and a good original faerie tale.

Old Men at Midnight (Jewish Literature Challenge #4 of 4)

2009-04-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

Chaim Potok is one of my favorite authors. He wrote The Chosen, The Promise, the Asher Lev books, and Davita's Harp. I actually wrote a paper about The Chosen when I was in high school and I liked doing it. Old Men at Midnight is a book of three short stories connected to Ilana Davita Dinn from Davita's Harp. The stories are not about Davita, but rather about some of the people she comes in contact with through her life. In "The Ark Builder," seventeen year old Ilana meets Noah Stremin, the only survivor of the Nazi destruction of his village in Poland.

When Ilana is is working on her doctorate in "The War Doctor", she convinces a former KGB interrogation officer to write the story of his life - the horror of war, the anti-semitism in Russia, and the terror of Stalin's reign.

The final story is a bit more psychological than the other two. It is about Benjamin Walter, who Ilana moves in next door to when she is a woman in her sixties writing fiction for a living. Benjamin sees her as something she is not - a well maintained, beautiful middle-aged woman. But Ilana is really overweight and dowdy. But Benjamin's wife is ill and he has too suffered during World War II as a soldier in the British Army. "The Trope Teacher" was the man who had a lasting and painful effect on Benjamin.

Potok's writing is always impressive. He has a wonderful way with language and while it did not strike me in the same way The Chosen and Davita's Harp did, it was a great book.

The Innkeeper's Song (Jewish Literature Challenge # 3 of 4, Once Upon a Time III #1 of 5)

2009-04-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Last Unicorn is one of the most beautiful and poetic books I've read. I LOVED it. Loved it. So I was thrilled when I found out that Peter Beagle has written other books. This fantasy seemed like it would be right up my alley and it was at first. Told through the eyes of several narrators (in the end I think it was too many narrators), three women: Lal, Nyateneri, and Lukassa to an inn run by an old crab named Karsh. Other important characters who also narrate include Marinesha and Rosseth (two teenage orphans who work at Karsh's inn), Tikat (who is following Lukassa), and the Fox who is a shape-shifter. That's the point of view of eight characters which I'm not saying inherently is a bad thing but I wasn't able to stay with it all the way through. Here is the Innkeeper's Song upon which the story is based:

There came three ladies at sundown:
One was brown as bread is brown,
One was black, with a sailor's sway,
And one was pale as the moon by day.

The white one wore an emerald ring,
The brown led a fox on a silver string,
And the black one carried a rosewood cane
With a sword inside, for I saw it plain.

They took my own room, they barred the door,
They sang songs I never had heard before.
My cheese and mutton they did destroy,
And they called for wine, and the stable boy.

And once they quarried and twice they cried —
Their laughter blazed through the countryside,
The ceiling shook and the plaster flew,
And the fox ate my pigeons, all but two.

They rode away with the morning sun,
The white like a queen, the black like a nun,
And the brown one singing with scarlet joy,
And I'll have to get a new stable boy.

I didn't quite love this book but I didn't dislike it. There was a very alarming sexual scene in the middle that seemed out of place in the book to me...something important was discovered becasue of it but it just seemed a bit gratuitious and it caught me completely off guard. But it was just that one random scene and that was it. There was some nice romance too though.

Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet (Orbis Terrarum 2009 #2 of 10)

2009-04-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Jeeta has two older sisters which means she has to survive their husband hunts before its her turn, and she's in no hurry to have her parents arrange her marriage. Jeeta's mother tells her that her skin is too dark to make it easy to find her a man. Koyal dark (the koyal is a dark feathered bird) is no good.

Mubai, India is the setting of Kashmira Sheth's story about family and love and courage. It's about tradition and coming of age and making your own way. It read very quickly and I was dissapointed when it ended because I wanted to know more of Jeeta's story. The use of Hindi phrases was interesting but I couldn't always pull out of context what they meant. There is a glossary at the end but I hate breaking up my reading so I didn't look at it until the end. I would read another book by this author.

Bog Child

2009-04-15T06:30:00.001-07:00

The first book I read by Siobhan Dowd was A Swift Pure Cry and I thought it was pretty good. I think though, I like Bog Child better. Fergus lives in Northern Ireland in 1980, the year of the hunger strike in Long Kesh prison. In this particular prison, Fergus' brother is interred with other Irish nationalists who refuse to wear the prison garb saying that they committed no crime - they are prisoners of war. The Hunger Strike was to convince the prison grant them this different political status. Set against this backdrop, Fergus and his uncle discover a body in the bog where they were cutting peat out of the ground.

But this isn't a case of murder...of recent murder anyway. The body is old, very old. Felicity and her daughter Cora come to determine the method and time of the child's death. Fergus' parents own a bed and breakfast and Cora and Felicity stay there while they work. Fergus and Cora are drawn together by the Bog Child, who they have named Mel and Fergus must sort out his feelings for her at the same time he is terrified that his brother will die.

I love Irish history so I was drawn to this book from the start. The brief flashbacks to the Iron Age add to the story quite a bit. Fergus must make some hard decisions and he deals with them in a way that seems real. I learned after reading the book that the author passed away in August 2007 and this book was published after her death.

Lady Knight

2009-04-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

So at last Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small quartet has come to an end. And the sad thing is, I liked the third book much better. Kel is now a knight and a battle with Scanra is imminent. While she has her assignments from the king, in the third book she was shown a vision in the Chamber of the Ordeal (the final test before knighthood) of a man who was creating killing machines by using the lives of children. She is trying to be a loyal knight while at the same time fulfills what she sees to be her destiny.

I am not sure exactly why this book fell flat. In the third book Kel was having some interesting relationships with other squires and in this book nothing. Not a hint of romance. She kind of swears off men. Lame. There was much more fighting and I found myself kind of flipping pages to get to the conclusions which was very good by the way. But definitely not my favorite Tamora Pierce book.

Graceling (YA Romance 2009 #4 of 6)

2009-04-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

Katsa is a Graceling, a dangerous one. In the Seven Kingdoms, sometimes children are born with mismatched eyes, a sign that they have been blessed (or cursed) with an extreme skill in some area...climbing trees, baking, juggling, mind reading, killing. This last one is Katsa's Grace and she has been manipulated into using it to carry out her uncle's (the king of one of the Seven Kingdoms) orders, mainly killing and torture.

But then during a mission she encouters a man, Po, who is obviously Graced in combat skills and it was a tough fight for her to win. Though she should have killed him she let him live. This decision would alter the course of Katsa's life permanently...and she's not at all sure it's for the best.

Okay, I LOVED this book. Loved it. I loved Katsa and Po and how their relationship develops. I love how Katsa herself changed and things she learned about herself on her journeys. The only thing I didn't love is that it seemed that Katsa was so completely anti-marriage that it almost felt like the author was trying to tell me what she thought about marriage and it probably only caught my attention because I am all about marriage. :) Still, that's one minor thing compared to the whole wonderfulness of the story. Kristin Cashore has apparently two more books planned that are set in this world. I can't wait.

Freefall (Jewish Literature Challenge #2 of 4)

2009-04-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

I read a review of Anna Levine's YA novel about an Israeli girl and knew I had to give it a try. Aggie, who lives in Jerusalem, will soon be drafted into the Israeli Army (all Israeli citizens serve their country for two or three years after high school). While she isn't sure exactly what she wants to do, she's pretty sure she doesn't want to push paper in an office for two years. She also isn't exactly sure that she isn't attracted to her best friend's older brother Noah who is already in the middle of his military service. Though her parents completely oppose it, Aggie decides she wants to try out to be part of an elite squad and is determined to prove herself.

I liked Aggie. She seemed like a good girl with a reasonably frustrating home life. She was tough and yet had enough indecision in her to make her be a real teenager. I loved the descriptions of Israel and the information about the Israeli Army was interesting. Also the romance was fantastic.

Tamar (Book Awards Challenge II #9 of 10)

2009-04-11T21:47:00.001-07:00

The subtitle of Mal Peet's Carnegie Medal winning novel is: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal. And it sure does contain all three of these. Tamar switches between 1995 and 1944. The modern scenes centered on a fifteen year old girl named Tamr and the World War II scenes, Tamar is also a major figure...only this Tamar is a spy for the Allied Forces who is living in Holland. When Tamar's grandfather (this would be the female Tamar) dies, he gives her a box containing several items which make very little sense to her. As she deciphers the meaning of the puzzle left by her grandpa, his story is also told.

I did enjoy this book but I didn't tear through it like I do with most of my books. It seems as if the World War II books I've been reading lately are from so many different angles and I love that. It is certainly the first story I've read about an Allied spy in an occupied country. There is a lovely romance and both the courage and brutality of war are shown in equal measure.

Orbis Terarrum 2009 Challenge

2009-04-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Bethany is hosting this very cool challenge.

Challenge Rules:
*The Orbis Terrarum Challenge begins March 1 2009(you are welcome to join later) Through the end of 2009.
*For the challenge each reader is to choose 10 books (for the 10 months).
*Each book must from a different country, I have decided to go by the country of origin of the author, or the country he/she lives in is fine as well.
*You don't have to have a list, that means you can change your mind at any time. As long as there are 10 from 10 different countries, written by 10 different authors: Anything goes.

The bottom line: choose 10 different books, written by 10 different authors, from 10 different countries.

I love making lists so here is my preliminary one:

India - Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet by Kashmira Sheth
Egypt - A Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif
Iran - Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Cuba - Where the Flame Trees Bloom by Alma Flor Ada
France/Israel - A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti
Japan - Silence by Shasaku Endo
England - The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Hungary - We Are On Our Own by Miriam Katin
Poland - All But M y Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein

Once Upon a Time III

2009-04-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Oh fun! The Once Upon a Time Challenge II was the first book challenge I ever did so this new one looks massively fun. I am going to do Quest the First which is: Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time III criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres. I am reading my first one now which is The Innkeeper's Song by Peter Beagle. I have so many other ideas. Here are just a few:

Aurelie by Heather Tomlinson
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey
Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George
Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia McKillip
Abhorsen by Garth Nix
One of a number of books by Sherwood Smith
The Last Dragon by Silvana de Meri
Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede

People of the Book (Jewish Literature Challenge #1 of 4)

2009-04-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Geraldine Brooks based this amazing novel on the story of an actual book called the Sarajevo Haggadah (a book which describes how the Passover Seder is to be performed). Hanna Heath is an expert in old books - a serious expert. She is invited to Bosnia to analyze a rare volume and try to determine its authenticity and its origin. Using tiny artifacts found in the book (a hair, a piece of an insect wing, salt, and a wine stain) to trace its history.

The story is told backwards with Hanna's experiences interspersed with glimpses into the book's past, the most recent events explored first. The Haggadah survived some of the world's most tragic moments and been protected by some very brave individuals, several of them not Jewish. Hanna's family life has been less than ideal and as she studies the Haggadah she is forced to confront some of her most difficult relationships.

People of the Book was an intriguing and painful book to read. Some of the scenes I couldn't even get through because they were so disturbing. The interweaving of Hanna's life and the backwards progression of the book worked very well. I have enjoyed all of Geraldine Brooks' other books and this was no exception.

Jewish Literature Challenge

2009-04-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules for the Jewish Literature Challenge:

What: Reading at least 4 books by Jewish Authors or about Judaism
When: December 21, 2008 (Beginning of Hanukkah) to April 27, 2009 (End of Passover)
Who: Anyone who wants to participate! Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike
Where: Right here of course! You can also post your picks and reviews to your own blog if you have one of course.
How: Sign the comments on THIS post to join the challenge. Tell me if you want to be added to the blog. If so, include your email address. (put it like this to prevent spam: yourname AT yourdomain DOT com) Once I've added you, you can post your picks here and when the time comes, post your reviews here too.

I think I will read:
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle
Freefall by Anna Levine
Old Men at Midnight by Chaim Potok

Rapunzel's Revenge

2009-03-18T12:48:00.001-07:00

What a riot. This graphic novel by Shannon and Deal Hale (illustrated by another Hale, Nathan this time) was so fun. An absolutely new look at a long-haired heroine and the woman who kept her captive. Rapunzel lived in a villa with her mother, Gothel, her whole life, never seeing what was beyond the wall that surrounded it. But when she was twelve she chanced looking out and for that she was banished to a hole in the trunk of an incredibly tall tree. It is in there that Rapunzel's hair grows to rope lengthh and she uses it as a lasso/whip. She needs no prince to escape her tower but meets a boy named Jack who is on the run and the two of them link up by necessity at first rather than desire. But it is through their friendship and adventures together that Rapunzel learns what she needs to to take her revenge on Mother Gothel.

Seriously, if you have any desire to try graphic novels if you haven't, you should try this one. The art is awesome, the story is original and full of action. I hope they do another one!

Need (YA Romance 2009 #3 of 6)

2009-03-18T12:37:00.001-07:00

If it wasn't for the pixies in this book it would almost be too Twilight for me. A girl moves to a freezing town in the north (Maine in this case) to live with a person she hardly ever sees (her grandmother in this case) and catches the eye of a boy who doesn't give other girls much attention. Zara moves to Maine after her dad's death and becomes so depressed that her mom sends her away for a change of scenery. However, there is serious weirdness happening in Zara's new town. She feels like someone is following her and some of the kids at school detest each other more than normal. Zara also has a few issues, she's obsessed with phobias and also saving the world. That all said, the ending was pretty original and I did like it. Need (by Carrie Jones) isn't on my favorites list in the YA romance/urban fantasy genre though.

Squire

2009-03-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

The third book of the Protector of the Small quartet by Tamora Pierce ran right along like the first two did only it was even more fun because there was some good romance in this one. Kel, is now a squire to Lord Raoul who rides with the King's Own. Lord Raoul is determined to help Kel become a knight and teaches her all he can. At the end of her year being a squire Kel must enter the Chamber of the Ordeal, a magical room which has killed several squires and driven others mad but as always, Kel is fully determined to get the job done. She experiences war and love as never before and by the end of the novel she has a clear job to do.

As with the previous two books, sometimes I feel like time, which has been moving slowly, suddenly flies by in a sort of jerky way. It isn't enough to make me not like the story but it was enough that I noticed it again. Still, I am looking forward to reading the next and final book in the series.

Princess of the Midnight Ball (YA Romance 2009 #2 of 6)

2009-03-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Will I ever get tired of retold fairy tales? Probably not. Especially not if they are as fun as this version of the Twelve Dancing Princesses by Jessica Day George. Rose is the oldest of the dozen princesses and Galen is the young soldier just back from war. Unlike some of the other stories involving late night dancing royalty, the inhabitants of underground kingdom are frightening and sinister and the girls are not there by choice. Jessica Day George includes some sinister elements in the real world as well in the form of powerful religious figures and accusations of witchcraft. The romance that develops between Galen and Rose is very sweet and innocent and I liked the development of their characters. A good quick read.

The Swan Kingdom

2009-03-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Zoe Marriott has created a lovely version of the Wild Swans fairy tale. Alexandra's mother was killed by a beast in the forest on Alexandra's fifteenth birthday and Alexandra was unable to save her. The king goes out hunting the beast and returns with a woman who has him completely spellbound. This is the witch that turns her three beloved brothers into swans.

There isn't anything exceptionally original about The Swan Kingdom...until you get to the end. It's familiar and all the standard elements are included but I love the resolution which of course I will not give away. But it's one of my favorite stories and Alexandra is a great heroine. The Wild Swans is one of my favorite fairy tales and I love this version of it.

Well-Seasoned Reader Wrap Up

2009-03-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

This was a really fun challenge hosted by Melissa. Three books about other countries or food (both things I love). I read:

1. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson

2. Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

3. Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

Hhhmm...I am not sure which of these was my favorite. I was most inspired by Three Cups of Tea, most disturbed by but proud of reading Wild Swans, and Garlic and Sapphires was the easiest read. So I don't know what that gets me but I am glad I picked up all three of these. Thanks Melissa for your seasoning encouragement!

North of Beautiful (YA Romance 2009 #1 of 6)

2009-03-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

Terra Cooper. A tall blonde with a great body and a port-wine stain that covers her right cheek. She hides it as best she can with makeup but it's hard for people not to notice. Unfortunately one of the people who continues to notice is her father - a verbally abusive and hateful person who I had an almost physical reaction to when I was reading his cutting remarks to his daughter and wife. Terra's boyfriend Erik is a good guy who cares about Terra but doesn't seem to really know her. Enter Jacob, an adopted boy from China who dresses like a goth and sees right through Terra's skin.

Oh did I LOVE this book. There is fabulous chemistry between Jacob and Terra. Terra is such a complex and interesting girl. There are some really fantastic cartographic themes and references in Justina Chen Headley's novel, a different approach that seemed to fit Terra just right. It is an exploration of beauty and confidence and the limits we put on ourselves. Did I mention that I loved it?

The Other Side of the Island (YA Challenge 2009 #9 of 12)

2009-03-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Allegra Goodman captures a truly frightening picture of the future in this post-apocalyptic YA novel. After a massive flood, the people left alive in North America are living on islands and are governed by "Mother Earth." Mother Earth controls the weather and also people's minds. She does all these things in the name of peace and safety but there is definitely a malevolent feel to the whole society. But Honor's parents don't buy into Mother Earth's rules and regulations. They have a second child when it's just not done, they study the stars away from where the false skies cover the community, and they believe that Mother Earth must be overthrown. And Honor, a young girl who desperately wants to fit in but loves her parents is caught between safety and freedom.

I couldn't put this one down. It's a wonderfully creative dystopian novel with lots of possibilities for further books. The third-person narrator brought Honor's strengths and flaws out in such a way that I felt like I knew her when the book was over.

A Laodicean

2009-03-15T13:41:00.000-07:00

This was last month's bookclub book. And we had quite a wonderful discussion about it. I haven't read much Thomas Hardy. In fact, I don't think I've read anything else of his. And apparently this is not one of his best novels. But it did give us lots to talk about. A Laodicean is a love story. It is about George Somerset the architect and Paula Power, a young woman who has come into ownership of the de Stancy castle. Don't worry, Captain de Stancy's is in here too.

A "laodicean" is someone who is lukewarm about something...someone who is kind of wishy-washy. This would be Paula. She can't really seem to go wholeheartedly into anything. She is a modern sort of woman but can't quite figure out what that is. She likes George but likes even more the idea of him being in love with her. In her words speaking to George, "I love you to love me."

There is much going on in this book - illegitimate sons coming around, deceptions, misunderstandings, lost telegrams. But at times I truly wanted to smack the main characters around a bit. Interestingly, Hardy got very ill in the middle of writing this story and some attribute what is lacking in the novel to his illness which I understand. I do feel a bit smarter for having read Thomas Hardy now though.

Stargirl

2009-03-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Leo Borlock is a regular sort of guy. He hangs out with regular kids at a regular school (Mica High). Everything is just normal until Stargirl comes. She plays the ukulele, wears crazy clothes, sings happy birthday to people in the cafeteria and she totally snagged Leo's heart. Unfortunately he's having a hard time reconciling his feelings for her with his need to be accepted and popular and Stargirl cares about him enough to try to be ordinary. But the thing is, she really isn't ordinary.

I really liked Stargirl. And I liked Leo too. He is a good kid who is trying to figure himself out and having a tough time doing it. Jerry Spinelli's Stargirl is a spot on look at high school kids and what makes them tick. I am looking forward reading Love, Stargirl.

Dragon Slippers (2009 YA Challenge #8 of 12)

2009-03-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

I have been reading lots of books by Jessica Day George lately. And this was a fun one. Creel's parents are dead. Her aunt likes her well enough but thinks Creel's best hope of a bright future is to give her to a dragon and let a knight rescue her. A well-laid plan perhaps but Creel's a tough girl and isn't waiting around for a guy. She befriends the dragon and from him she receives a pair of blue shoes. Innocent enough it seems but it isn't long before Creel realizes that they really aren't just lovely slippers. Throw in some more dragons, an attractive and good-natured prince, some court intrigue and some friendly seamstresses and this book hands out some good fun. I have already ordered the sequel.

Silence

2009-03-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

Ow ow ow. This book, while amazingly well written, was incredibly painful to read. Shusaku Endo, a Japanese Christian, wrote a historical fiction (based very heavily in fact) about a Portuguese Catholic priest, Sebastian Rodrigues, who travels clandestinely into Japan to find his apostatized mentor, Christovao Ferreira. Things have not been going well for the Christians in Japan. They are cruelly tortured and murdered for not apostatizing and sometimes they are even if they do. And Father Rodrigues keeps wondering why God keeps His silence - why He does not deliver the faithful from their persecutions. It is a fascinating insight into faith and doubt and forgiveness. It made me think about what I would do to save myself from pain and what I would do to save others from pain. I am glad this was a bookclub choice because I am sure I never would have read it otherwise.

YA Romance 2009 Challenge

2009-03-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hurray hurray. With my Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge wrapped up I wanted to start another one. So on to YA Romance!

Here are the rules:

Read six YA romance novels between March 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009.
Romance should be a strong element with the story. But it doesn't have to be the only element.
All genres are allowed.
They can be part of a series, or stand-alones.
They can be long or short.
Audio books are allowed.
Some re-reads are allowed, but try to have at least two new-to-you books.

Here are my choices:
Fire by Kristin Cashore
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Need by Carrie Jones
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Cybele's Secret by Juliette Mariellier

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Book Awards II Challenge #8 of 10)

2009-03-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

Brian Selznick won the Quill Award and was a National Book Award Finalist for this novel in pictures and words. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, I haven't talked to anyone who didn't love it but I didn't understand how the pictures fit in. But now it is all clear to me. Obviously.

The story of Hugo Cabret is told with 284 pencil drawings, over half the book is taken up with them. But they are truly fantastic. Hugo lives in Paris in the walls of a train station where he takes care of the clocks. He steals his food and prizes a notebook above all else. But when he is caught stealing from a toy booth, the old gruff owner takes the notebook and tells Hugo to forget it. Unable to understand why his notebook has been taken, Hugo appeals to Isabelle, the owner's goddaughter to help him get it back. What unfolds next I will not say. But I will say I read through this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Shape of Mercy

2009-03-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is a book by Susan Meissner about how we see people and how we see ourselves. It is about the judgements we make and relationships we form. The lies we tell and the truths we try to find.

Lauren comes from a wealthy family. She tries not to take advantage of it, going to a state college instead of an expensive private one and working part time even though her parents give her whatever she needs. Lauren's part time job is translating a diary of a girl who lived in Salem during the witch trials. As she reads Mercy's story, Lauren begins to see the people in her life differently and consequently to see herself differently.

This really was a compelling read. Lauren is a good girl and tries to do the right thing but has a lot to learn about herself. Abigail, the owner of the diary, also has secrets and a past that she sometimes shares with Lauren and other times she completely closes herself off. The ending is unexpected and made me look at myself at how I view other people. And I think that is one of the marks of a good book.

The Possibilities of Sainthood

2009-03-04T12:43:00.001-08:00

Someone give Donna Freitas a prize for writing such a fabulous chick fluff book. Seriously, this was such a fun YA. Enough emotion to not be flat but without a surfeit of seriuos drama, fantastic romance, lovely protagonist. Just good times.

Antonia Lucia Labella (can you tell she's Italian?) wants to be a saint - an official Catholic Saint. She believes that "Saints are simply the height of Cathlic sophistication." She has all kinds of great ideas as for which saint she could be: Patron Saint of Figs and Fig Trees, Patron Saint of People Who Make Pasta, and her favorite, Patron Saint of The First Kiss and Kissing. This last one is because Antonia hasn't had one yet. Antonia has a prayer to a saint for just about every occasion. They bring her comfort and a way to focus on what she needs and ask for help. And she needs help a lot. She's trying to get through Catholic High School, attract the attention of Andy Rotellini, and get rid of the attention of Michael McGinnis...who she has to admit is rather attractive. She has a demanding mother (who she loves and can't stand in equal measure) and her father passed away years ago. She also has evil cousins and a school with an irritating dress code. But Antonia will figure out a way, with or without sainthood.

Ironside

2009-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

I am on a sequel roll these days. Ironside is preceded by Holly Black's Tithe which I did like. I admit I get These Modern Faery's Tales confused sometimes with Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely books because they both have that same dark, two faery court thing happening. I like them both, but Black's novels are darker and a bit creepier.

At the end of Tithe, Robein is set up to be the new king of the Unseelie Court but his former lover and queen of the Seelie Court is not really happy with that whole scenario. Kaye, Robein's new girlfriend (who importantly knows Robein's true name which gives her complete control over him) is also a pixie and wants to be Robein's consort. To become so, she declares herself to him and he gives her an impossible task to complete to show her worthiness to be his consort...this is all according to the faery traditions. So Kaye is sent out to find a faery who can lie. And no faery can lie.

Page

2009-03-04T11:16:00.000-08:00

Tamora Pierce's sequel to First Test was fun. Kel is, as the title suggests, a page on her way to becoming a squire. She is only the second girl to try and the only girl who wasn't pretending to be a boy during her training. Kel has some fantastic friends including one, Neal, on whom she is developing a bit of a crush. But Joren and his friends are still not over Kel getting into what they believe is men's business and they are willing to put people in danger to make sure Kel does not pass her final examinations.

This book, like the first, isn't particuarly thought provoking or fantastically written, but I like Kel and I want to know how things are going to turn out for her. She has flaws that she is trying to overcome and a sense of justice that is admirable. My only problem is that in this book she is a young teen, only barely 12 at the beginning and maybe 14 at the end. But she doesn't seem that young. Her voice is much older I think. I like her voice, but usually I forget that she is supposed to be so young.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

2009-03-04T10:53:00.001-08:00

Frankie is sixteen now and no longer that semi-nerdy girl at a prestigious boarding school. She's smart and has recently acquired quite the figure as well as a senior boyfriend. But her boyfriend and his pals don't seem to realize how smart she is - smart enough to figure out their secrets and competely mess with their heads.

E. Lockhart's story about Frankie and her life as a criminal mastermind is hilarious. She loves being popular and having a good-looking boyfriend but she isn't willing to be left out just because she is a girl. The Disreputable History was fast, fun read. I would love to read more about Frankie.

The Off Season

2009-02-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

It seems to be a time of sequels for me. Catherine Gilbert's Dairy Queen sets the stage for The Off Season. D. J. Schwenk, is the first girl ever to play on the Red Bend football team. It's her junior year, she has patched up things with her best friend, and she and Brian-the-rival-quarterback are definitely into each other. So of course everything must go wrong. Just as in her previous story, D. J. is not a "typical" teenager, but the emotions and embarrassments and insecurities of those years are spot on.

D. J. is growing up. She is trying to figure out her loving but dysfunctional family and really having to take a lot of responsibility when thing after thing goes wrong. Her life is not easy. But the hard things she's had to do in the past have prepared her for the really hard thing that were to come. It is a lovely contrast to her boyfriend Brian who has had a rather easy life and who, in my opinion, just isn't good enough for D. J. I actually hope there is a third book about D. J. I would definitely read it.

Ink Exchange

2009-02-26T08:45:00.001-08:00

Ink Exchange, Melissa Marr's sequel to Wicked Lovely, was just as fun as the first one. Aislinn and Keenan are the queen and king of the Summer Court of the faeries but they play a very small role in this book. It is Leslie who is the next mortal to be drawn into the pretty dark faery world. Leslie has been neglected and abused by her parents and her brother but she is tough. Really tough. She feels like everything she has can be taken away from her. She decides to have one thing that is completely her own, a tattoo. But the tattoo she gets isn't in ordinary ink, it is the blood of the king of the Dark Court, Irial. Irial must bind himself to her in order for his subjects to survive. And they survive by feeding of the emotions of those around them - lust, greed, pain, and fear. Leslie becomes sort of a conduit for mortal feelings but she no longer can feel any of those negative things herself. Aislinn and Keenan tried to protect her but Irial is pretty poweful. Throw a dark faery named Niall into the mix who is in love with Leslie and it's a great story.

Three Cups of Tea

2009-02-25T14:09:00.001-08:00

I have been hearing so much hype about this book that I decided to read it for myself and see what it was all about. I had the general gist of the story before I picked it up. A man almost dies trying to climb K-2 and when a Pakistani man saves him he promises that he will return and build a school for the girls of the village. Well, that man was a 6' 4" mountaineer from Montana named Greg Mortenson who I have to say is a pretty amazing person. Three Cups of Tea was yet another foray into non-fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Greg's story is inspiring and terrifying. It gave me chills and made me angry. He received solid support and bitter opposition. Certainly he had his flaws, but his desire to help children is just so...pure is the only word I can use for it. The subtitle of the book is One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations...One School at at Time, but the terrorism part only became an issue after 9/11, Greg's quest to build schools in Pakistan began in 1993. It was when he saw what happens when the only choice for education was a maddrass (a school that teachs Islamic extremism and turns out terrorists) that he pointed out that providing children with non-extremist semi-secular education will create a population of young adults with futures and opporunities worth living for.

Greg did not work only in Pakistan, he worked in Afghanistan as well. This part of the story was especially interesting to me because while my husband was serving there after 9/11, he and his fellow soldiers helped furnish a girl's school in Jabar Serat. In fact, with the help of members of my church, we sent 25 enormous boxes of school supplies and chalkboards for those girls. My husband sent me home a video and some pictures of these girls he said they always wanted to see themselves in the LCDs of the digital cameras the soldiers had. These are some of those kids.

Perhaps I got a little off topic, but the idea that education of girls is the way to save the world is just fantastic. Honestly. Believe the hype, give this book a try.

Magic's Child

2009-02-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

Thus ends the Magic Or Madness trilogy by Justine Larbalestier. The concept of magic in this book is one of the most interesting I've come across. I reviewed the second book, Magic Lessons, here. In Reason Cansino's world, being magical leaves a person with two options - an early death or insanity. Magic used only a little at a time can result in a bit longer lifespan, but the only way to truly live long is to take magic from someone else.

Reason, her friends Jay-Tee and Tom, and Reason's grandmother are trying to destroy Reason's grandfather who in turn wants to steal their magic from them. Reason is pregnant by Jay-Tee's brother Danny and the child is imbued with "Cansino Magic" which is even more potent than regular magic because in the second book Reason's ancient grandfather changes Reason's DNA which is gradually making her less human and more of a magic being.

I liked the third book well enough, good closure, good drama, a fun sort of unexpected romance thrown in for good measure.

Double Helix

2009-02-23T19:35:00.000-08:00

I loved Nancy Werlin's Impossible so much that I wanted to give another one of her books a try. I don't think this one was as fantastic as the other one but it definitely brought up some serious and fascinating bio ethical issues.

Eli doesn't have the best relationship with his parents. His mother's is not the fault of either of them, she has Huntington's disease (which has no treatment or cure) and in a nursing home. Eli's and his dad have some pretty significant dysfunction going on. Eli knows his dad is keeping secrets from him about his mom and about Dr. Wyatt, the head of Wyatt Transgenics where Eli has recently landed a job. Consequently, he shuts his dad out of every part of his life he can - especially the part which contains his girlfriend Viv. But as Eli continues his work at Wyatt Transgenics, the silence from his dad the odd hints from Dr. Wyatt cause Eli to wonder about the circumstances surrounding his birth and what it all has to do with his mother's debilitating disease.

How I Live Now (Book Awards II Challenge #7 of 10)

2009-02-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

When Corinne saw this in my car on my way to the gym she said, "You'll read that in one day." She was right. Meg Rosoff's Printz Award winning novel was completely engaging. Daisy, a fifteen year old from New York, moves to England to live with her Aunt and cousins. They live on a farm in the country and things seem to be pretty idealic...but then a war begins. England is invaded by "The Enemy." There are no telling details about this particular enemy just that it has taken over. This is when things get scary for Daisy and her cousins. Daisy and her younger cousin Piper end up being sent away, seperated from Edmund (her cousin who oddly enough she has fallen in love with who she is having a serious relationship) and her other male cousins. As the war progresses, Daisy ends up having to do things she never thought she would have to do. I won't go into too many specifics but How I Live Now is a survival story and Daisy is absolutely determined to survive.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

2009-02-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I love the East of the Sun, West of the Moon story but this one by Jessica Day George fell a little flat for me. Perhaps it's because Edith Pattou's East is one of my favorite books ever.

Lass, the ninth child in the family, has never been given a name. Her mother didn't want her and refused to name her. But Lass has her brother's love and her father's and she seems to be mostly content with that. When she is twelve, she meets a magical white reindeer and she is given the ability to speak to animals. This comes in handy when the great white bear comes and asks him to go live with him in an ice palace.

I guess my real dissapointment was in the love that developed between Lass and the bear. It didn't feel real to me. It seemed that they didn't have enough going for them for her to risk her life for him. But again, that's just me. But one thing that I really did like about the story is how her brother is woven into it. That was a nice and unexpected twist. It was an okay book, but in my opinion, East far surpasses it.

The Name of the Wind (Book Awards II Challenge #6 of 10)

2009-02-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

I will admit, I was daunted when I checked out Patrick Rothfuss' Alex Award winning first book of the Kingkiller Chronicles. At 665 pages this book seemed like serious business. But then I started reading and was totally sucked in.

Kote is an innkeeper. A quiet man making a living in a way he seems to enjoy. He is new in town but the bargoers like him. Then Chronicler comes. He is traveling to find Kvothe, a near mythical magician. Some say he is an assasin, others say he is a hero, almost everyone believes he is dead. But Kote is Kvothe and the Chronicler convinces him to tell his story. Though very reluctant at first, Kvothe agrees. This book is subtitled Day 1 and is so because the story is from the first day of three in which Kvothe will let the Chronicler write his life. The condition Kvothe sets is "Do not presume to ch ange a word of what I say. If I seem to wander, if I seem to stray, remember that true stories seldom take the straightest way."

This first book covers Kvothe's childhood through his teenage years. His life is sad, dangerous, and unpredictable. But he is a fantastic character. He has amazing talents and obvious flaws. Through his interactions with the Chronicler and his student Bast he is portrayed as a wise but tired man running from his past but through his story he becomes an increasingly complex and fascinating. I have to say I am quite looking forward to the next book in the trilogy.

Impossible

2009-02-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

It would be difficult to try to categorize Nancy Werlin's National Book Award Finalist YA novel Impossible. It doesn't feel quite dark enough to be urban fantasy, not enough fantasy elements for standard YA fantasy, but not realistic enough to be realistic fiction. The romance is wonderful but not graphic or overdone. What it am going to call it is just a really good book. It is based on the song "Scarborough Fair" made famous by Simon and Garfunkle.

Lucy Scarborough is one of the women in a long line of women who have been cursed by the Elf Knight - they will go insane at the birth of their first child (always a daughter) unless they can complete three seemingly impossible tasks. Lucy is lucky enough to have fantastic foster parents (since her mom is crazy) and Zach who are willing to try to break the curse.

The Red Necklace

2009-02-11T05:04:00.001-08:00

Sido, the daughter of the Marquis de Villeduval has not had a happy life. After the death of her mother when Sido was only an infant, her father (an unbelievably pompous, naieve, and selfish French aristocrat) sends her to a convent and is happy to be rid of her. Yann Margoza, a Gypsy with magic abilities, has been working in the theater with a dwarf named Tetu who is the only family he's ever known.

As the French Revolution takes its bloody toll in Paris, Yann and Sido are thrown together, both haunted by the same enemy - Count Kalliovski who is a merciless financier, murderer, and supporter of the horrific deaths taking place in the name of the Revolution.

This one was a page turner. The French Revolution was so horrifying a backdrop that it made me squirm at times. The mob mentality and brutal executions. While the ending was fairly predictable, it seems as though there may be a sequel in the works.

The Patron Saint of Butterflies (YA Challenge 2009 #9 of 12)

2009-02-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

This was a one-day read for me. It's not a short book or a fluffy book by any stretch...the story was just so compelling and sad that I just have to see how it turned out. Cecilia Galante's first young adult novel alternates between the views of Agnes and Honey, two teenage girls living in a commune in Connecticut called Mount Blessing. Under their leader, Emmanuel, the people of Mount Blessing live their lives according to stringent rules, the disobedience of which produces harsh physical consequences inflicted by Emmanuel. Honey is disillusioned, scared, and wants out of Mount Blessing. Agnes wants to be a perfect believer and truly believes what Emmanuel has told her about being a Christian and what God expects of her.

The Patron Saint of Butterflies reminded me in an odd way of The Witch of Blackbird Pond - both of these books made me reel from what some people believe it means to be Christian. The way they treat each other is so repugnant to me. In both of these books, God is a vengeful taskmaster who is waiting to punish those who sin and people take it upon themselves to judge others by what they believe God would think about their behavior.

I truly could not stop reading this book, it was a 1A.M. finisher for me. Highly recommended.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

2009-02-07T16:25:00.001-08:00

In this heart-wrenching memoir written by Jung Chang, the true horrors of China under the Kuomintang and then under the Communists and Mao are detailed through the story of her life as well as the lives of her mother and grandmother. Though I have read about China in other stories, this particular account was just painful to read...mesmerizing and fascinating but the atrocities committed by the leaders and citizens of China are so far beyond my scope of understanding it was difficult for me to absorb it all. I feel inadquate to try to describe both what I read and my feelings about it.

The story begins with Jung Chang's grandmother who was a concubine to a chief of police in Peking and she gives birth to Chang's mother. After her first husband dies, she marries a doctor and they live through attacks from Japan and the Communists and the Kuomintang form an alliance to defeat them. Chang's mother joins the Communist underground and a civil war erupts between the former allies. Chang is born a few years after the Communists take over and over the course of twenty-six years she endures a stint in the Red Guard, the defamation and detention and torture of her parents, "reeducation" in the country and horrible illness. It is a life I cannot imagine.

The women in Wild Swans were trapped - truly trapped. Death was the only escape from the hardship, the fear, the pain. Certainly they had happy moments, but they were far outweighed by the horrible ones. The memoir contained vast amounts of historical information about China but it was so well written and integrated into the story that I didn't feel like I was reading a history book. A truly eye-opening book.

Brisingr

2009-02-07T16:03:00.001-08:00

Ah Mr. Paolini, why oh why does there have to be a fourth book. Don't get me wrong, I love the Inheritance Cycle, but I don't want to wait years to hear the end of the story. So I will have to content myself for now with what I've got.

**If you haven't read the first two just be warned that there are spoilers here...there is just no other way to review this book than to discuss things that have happened in previous books.

After the massive battle on the Burning Plains at the end of Book 2, Eragon promises Roran to rescue Katrina, his fiance from the Ra'zac. Not only that, but now that he knows that Murtagh has a dragon and is sworn to King Galbatorix, he wants to return to Ellsemere to talk to Oromis and he has to make sure that Orik manages to be crowned King of the Dwarves so that the Varden doesn't crumble. Yeah, lots happening. But some of the scenes truly drag on. The part where the Dwarves counsel meets to elect a king takes forever. But some good ends were tied up in book 3. Now the wait for book 4.

One of the things that doesn't quite fly with me in Paolini's books is the dialogue. I mean, it's very beautiful and sounds lovely but it is not the kind of language that anyone actually uses. Especially not a teenage farmboy with practically no education. I mean Eragon spends some time with the elves, but some of it was a bit over the top.

**Just so you know, I had to look up the spelling of all these crazy names because I listened to the audiobook. Sigh.**

The Bonemender Trilogy

2009-02-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if blogging these all at once is a cop-out or not, but I'm doing it anyway because I read them all three in a row and so they're all kind of meshed in my mind. And wow were they fun. Holly Bennett's trilogy about a girl who has the amazing talent of being able to heal people from the inside out has lots of those great fantasy elements - elves, war, strange creatures, and lots of action.

Gabrielle is in her late twenties, well past the time a royal girl is usually married with children - but she hasn't fallen in love and luckily her parents will not force her to wed. Her job as a healer (this is in addition to being a princess) brings her a great deal of satisfaction and happiness. But when an injured elf and his friend Feolan arrive at her house, Gabrielle is immediately drawn to Feolan. This is rather unfortunate because Feolan will live for hundreds of years...Gabrielle will not. When a war between the Gref Orise (the bad guys) and the people of Verdeau erupts, Gabrielle and Feolan will fight for their homes and her lives.

The second and third books, The Bonemender's Oath and The Bonemender's Choice, the stories are divided between Gabrielle and other charcters. In Oath, Gabrielle's brother Tristan has his own storyline as they continue to deal with the Gref Orise problem. In Choice, Gabrielle's niece and nephew are abducted by pirates and she, and other members of her family, set out on a rescue mission which is complicated by a horrendous plague that strikes the port of harbor the pirates have sailed into.

None of the three books is very long, the second is only 170ish pages. If you want to read the series, grab all three.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

2009-02-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

Contrary to what the cover suggests, Ginny is a quiet, shy sort of seventeen year old. When her Aunt Peg dies, she leaves Ginny 13 envelopes with specific instructions which, if she follows, will take her to Europe to discover herself and learn more about her aunt. As she travels from London to Rome to Paris and other foreign cities, she meets Keith who sparks her interest and in a way joins her on her journey.

This was a quick read, a sort of medium fluff if that makes sense. Very teenager-y but dealing with death and family and insecurity which are big topics, but it's not too heavy. Throw a little romance into the mystery of Aunt Peg and it's not a bad read.

Blaze of Silver

2009-02-02T19:05:00.000-08:00

The final book in the de Granville trilogy finished off the story wonderfully well. Betrayal and loyalty lie at the heart of the story, Kamil, Ellie, and William have difficulty knowing who to trust. They must deliver King Richard's ransom so he can return to England but on the way the three of them must face a man who is just as villainous as Constable de Scabious - the Old Man of the Mountain. Two fairly minor characters from the second book, Marie and Marissa, take a larger role in Blaze of Silver. I found this a most satisifying story and the conclusion gave just the right amount of closure.

Green Jasper

2009-02-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

William and Gavin are back from the Crusades but their lives are far from peaceful. King Richard hasn't returned from the Holy Land and the former Constable of the de Granville lands has kidnapped Ellie, Gavin's bride to be. The two brothers, changed from their experiences overseas, can't agree on the best way to save Ellie and keep their family together. And through it all, Hosanna continues to affect those around him.

As a middle book in a trilogy, I was pleasantly surprised with K. M. Grant's Green Jasper. Lots of action, good character development, and it wasn't predictable. I had to jump right into the third book.

Blood Red Horse

2009-01-28T10:35:00.001-08:00

William and Gavin are the sons of Sir Thomas de Granville and they live during the time of King Richard's Crusade to the Holy Land. Ellie is Sir Thomas' ward and promised to Gavin. Hosanna is a red colored courser horse, William's ultimate friend and joy. When William, Gavin, and Sir Thomas are called to the crusade, Ellie is left at home and Hosanna will change the lives of Christians and Saracen's alike.

I can't remember ever reading a YA book about the Crusades, but this first in a triology by K. M. Grant has me quite excited to go check out the other two. The characters are multi-dimiensional and well developed, the story moves quickly with lots of action, and there is some romantic tension weaved through out just to add a little something extra. Hosanna is almost magical but not so much that it is irritating or takes over the story. The Muslim and Christian characters are protrayed with sensitivity, each feeling they have an honorable cause and it isn't a "who's religion is right" story. It's a fascinating look at a historical period.

The Warrior's Daughter (Young Adult Challenge 2009 #7 of 12)

2009-01-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

I have read many books about the old Irish - Red Branch and Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn (along with many others of hers), a fun YA called Why I Let My Hair Grow Out, The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutheford, and some others. But one of my favorites so far is definitely The Warrior's Daughter by Holly Bennet. Luaine (pronounced Loo-in-ya) is the daughter of the Irish warrior hero Cuchulainn (pronounced Coo-khull-in) and the incredibly strong Irish maiden Emer. She has a relatively happy childhood in the shadow of her much larger-than-life father. She is given a raven named Fintan by a druid and has a bit of the second-sight through her connection with the bird. When her father returns from a battle barely hanging onto life Luaine is forced to see her life with the eyes of a young woman rather than those of a child - her life only gets more difficult from then on. Luiane is a fantastic character. Strong-willed, determined, frustrated by the life her parents have forced upon her and yet devoted to them, Luaine is able to truly find that inner strength she needs to survive a time of bloody war and treachery.

Alive and Well in Prauge, New York

2009-01-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

Matisse Osgood is not particularly thrilled about moving from downtown New York City to Prauge, New York. In fact, she's pretty bitter about it. Matisse's father, a well-known sculptor has Parkinson's Disease and its progressing much more rapidly than they thought it would. Matisse does not want anyone at her new school to know about her dad's illness and that, combined with a pretty snotty attitude towards everyone at her new school except Violet (who seems to be a sort of loner) keeps Matisse on the outside of her new school and home. She even consistently shoots down Hal, an aspiring organic farmer/Buddhist who is just trying to be her friend. Matisse's family is falling apart and she shuts out everyone who tries to help her. She must figure out a way to adapt to her new home and family situation or risk permanently alienating everyone who tries to care about her.

Matisse is not an atypical teenager...but she is so prickly it was hard for me to like her. Obviously she was dealing with her dad's Parkinson's disease as well as having to make a move she was seriously opposed to, but she was so rude to her family and people at school who were trying to be her friends that she was not in anyway a sympathetic protagonist. There is some fun romance towards the end of the story and it was well told, but it's hard for me to love a book in which the main character is so bratty. Not that she didn't have some redeeming qualities, they were just hard to see.

However, this would be a great book for teens dealing with the illness of a parent - I think the author Daphne Grab, really captured what I can imagine would be the emotions of someone watching their parent deteriorate in such a sad and horrible way.

Criss Cross (Young Adult Challenge 2009 #6 of 12)

2009-01-24T18:29:00.001-08:00

"The trouble with being too careful about your wishes, though, was that you could end up with a wish so shapeless that it could come true and you wouldn't even know it, or it wouldn't matter." So thinks Debbie as she is wishing that something good would happen. Something good...to her...soon. And thus begins Lynn Rae Perkin's Newbery Award winning novel about the interconnectedness of lives, opportunities grasped, and chances missed.

The story weaves in and out through the lives of Debbie and Hector and to a lesser extent Phil, Lenny, and Patty. All of them good, young teenage kids trying to figure themselves out. Debbie likes Dan the jock who is dating Meadow who Hector has developed a crush on. Hector is learning how to play the guitar but isn't able to get much past the chorus of the songs he's trying to write himself. Debbie befriends and old German lady and helps her remain independant for a little longer. Criss Cross is a realistic, optimistic look at the lives of teenagers and reminds all of us that things usually sort of work out in the end.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Young Adult Challenge 2009 #5 of 12)

2009-01-23T16:39:00.000-08:00

This book left me with an ache in my heart. I haven't seen the movie and don't know if I will, but John Boyne's story about the son of the Commandant at Auschwitz, which he calls a fable, is painful and powerful. Bruno and his sister Gretel move with their parents to a house which overlooks the concentration camp which Bruno called "Out-With." He is confused about what he is doing there and is oblivious to the horrors taking place on the other side of the fence, though it is obvious he has an intuitive feeling that something just isn't right. While exploring the line of the fence, he comes across a boy just his age named Shmuel, sitting on the other side of the fence in some striped pajamas. As the boys develop a friendship, Bruno's naievity is so pronounced as he complains about his house only having three stories instead of five and not having lots of kids his age around as Shmuel does on his side of the fence. But still, he truly cares for Shmuel and is clueless about the anti-Semitism he is supposed to harbor for his friend.

This is a unique book about the Holocaust. Bruno is such a believable nine-year old and while there are many Haoocaust books about children, some of which I've read and almost all of them were wonderful, this is the first one I've read from the perspective of an innocent German child. The end shocked me...I had no idea how it would turn out but I will say no more about that. I read it in one sitting and will be thinking about it for a while.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

2009-01-23T16:34:00.001-08:00

Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s when their father is forced to flee from its dictator. Julia Alvarez's novel about how the Garcia girls assimilated into American culture is told in an interesting way - from the point of view of each of the girls but also sort of backwards. It begins with one of the sisters visiting the Dominican Republic as an older lady and ends with that same sister as a child before the family emmigrated. It was an interesting read about the merging of cultures but also about family dynamics.

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam

2009-01-20T20:27:00.000-08:00

Ann Marie Flemming, the great-granddaughter of the magician/acrobat Long Tack Sam tells Sam's story in this "illustrated memoir." The book was first a film which was made into a graphic novel after its showing at Sundance. The story was definitely interesting. Sam was Chinese but lived much of his life in Europe, marrying a woman from Austria. During his life which spanned from 1882-1961, he experienced fame from his prowess at magic and acrobatics but also racism because of his Asian heritage. Fleming's memoir is full of old photographs, newspaper clippings, stick figures, comics, and a world timeline which places the events of Sam's life in a global context.

This book did not really hold my attention. Towards the end I was sort of skimming over the pictures. It started off interesting, the story got convoluted a bit. Also, my library copy of this book started falling apart, like actual pages coming out (and the book looks really new) and that really distracted me. I did like that much of the book was about Fleming finding her relatives from all over the world and the appreciation she gained from learning about her ancestors.

Seeker (Book Awards II Challenge #5 of 10)

2009-01-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Jack McDevitt's Nebula Award winning novel, the sequel to the also popular Polaris (which I have not read) is one of the first non-YA science fiction novels I've read in a long long time. And it was pretty fun. Chase (a female) and her partner Alex deal in antiques that they've basically looted from abandoned spaceships. When they find a 9000 year old cup which is linked to an almost mythological planet called Margolia, they embark on a mission to find it and the spaceship Seeker which brought colonists from earth thousands of years earlier. But not everyone is thrilled with the idea of making money off of antiquities...and some are willing to do more than just seethe at Alex and Chase's business ventures.

I have to say I was worried about getting into this book. It's just been a long time since I've done some real sci-fi but the characters were well drawn and the plot moved quickly. I hadn't read the first book but the story still made sense. I have a few more science fiction on my Awards Challenge list and I'm remembering that once upon a time I really did like this genre.

Raising the Griffin (Young Adult Challenge 2009 #4 of 12)

2009-01-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

Sixteen year old Alex Varenhoff's life is pretty good - new school, time to ride his horse Drummer. But it takes what for him is a horrible turn when he finds out that his father, an exile member of the Rovenian royal family (Rovenia is an former USSR type country that had been run for decades by the Communists), has been restored to his throne. Alex is told he is moving to Rovenia to take his place as Prince. He's not thrilled. In a typical teenage boy way, he sees everything only in the ways his life is effected by it. He fights with his parents, gets involved with the wrong kind of girl, and antagonizes the people who want to help him because he's irritated with his new, more responsible role. If this weren't enough, returning to a country in transition can be dangerous.

I wish there was a sequel out for this book. It feel like the end did not finish off the story well enough. The major plot twist was actually really unexpected and I will avoid a spoiler there by saying nothing else. A fun and fast read by Melissa Wyatt.

Garlic and Sapphires (Well-Seasoned Reader #1 of 3)

2009-01-18T17:25:00.001-08:00

Ruth Reichl was, for a time, the most influential food critic in the United States. She worked for the New York Times, visiting restaurants and starring them as she saw fit. However, part of being a food critic is being anonymous - the theory being that restaurants provide better food and service for food critics than for the average diner. Ruth, far from being unrecognizable, decides to visit restaurants in disguise at least once for each review. As she takes on different personas, she explores different parts of her own personality. A very interesting look at a person's life and career. Throughout the book, Ruth intersperses recipes and copies of the reviews she wrote.

I don't think there is a single item of food Ruth wrote about that I would be interested in eating. I am quite a coward when it comes to food. Her descriptions of tastes and textures were fabulous. It was a lovely little bit of irony reading about her six course meal costing hundreds of dollars and featuring things I have never even heard of while eating Mac and Cheese at the kitchen table with my kids. I read one of Reichl's previous books, Comfort Me With Apples which was more about her personal life than her career but it was quite good. A fun first book for my Well-Seasoned Reader Challenge.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Book Awards II Challenge #4 of 10)

2009-01-14T19:15:00.001-08:00

I wish I had lots of good things to say about Michael Chabon's novel about comic book creators Joe Kavalier and Sammy Clay. It's not that the book wasn't good...it just didn't interest me. It won all kinds of awards and receieved glowing reviews, but I wasn't taken with it at all. I think I read like 6 other books while I trudged my way through this one.

Joe Kavalier escaped from Nazi-occupied Czechsolvakia and made his way to America where he met up with his cousin Sammy Clay. The two of them together create a comic book character called The Escapist who is an outlet for Joe's hatred of Hitler and the Nazis. At once fiction and non-fiction, The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay describes a comic-book obsessed America during the 1940s and the lives of two young men who are trying to make their way in the world.

This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Hunger Games (Y.A. Challenge #3 of 12)

2009-01-14T18:58:00.001-08:00

I have to say, I always thought that whole "I couldn't put the book down" cliche was a bit overdone. That said, I literally could not put this book by Suzanne Collins down. I picked it up and ended up not getting up off my bed for the next however many hours. This is why.

Katniss lives in a dangerous time and place. Her home is in the Twelfth District of Panem, the country that is now where North America used to be. The dictatorial and brutal Capitol of Panem holds an annual "Hunger Games" to keep its outlying districts in check. The Hunger Games are a televised fight to the death consisting of 24 teenagers who are trapped in an arena filled with dangers other than the other contestants. The last man or woman standing is the victor.

Katniss is tough. She wants to live. She has a mother and sister and best friend and isn't going to go down easily. But she also wants to somehow maintain her humanity in an incredibly desperate and frightening situation. The other contestant from Twelfth District is Peeta, a boy who at one point saved Katniss and her family from starvation. How can she bring herself to kill him? How can she let herself be killed by him?

Wow this book had me absolutely hooked. I will say, and thank you Corinne for warning me about this fact, the end of Hunger Games is not the end of the story. There is definitely that to-be-continued ending. And I can't wait to read on.

The Professor's Daughter

2009-01-14T08:37:00.000-08:00

Lillian is the daughter of Professor Bowell, an Egyptologist in 19th-century London. He has in his possession the mummy of Imhotep IV, and that mummy is awake and in love with Lillian. This rather odd graphic novel by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert tells the love story of a young Victorian lady and her mummy. It's quite entertaining and the art is lovely. It contains mystical and magic elements along with quite the humorous portrayal of Queen Victoria. I read it in about an hour, well spent.

Born Confused

2009-01-11T16:42:00.001-08:00

I have to admit, I was disappointed by this book. I actually listened to it on CD. Mostly. After 8 of the 12 CDs I actually started skipping tracks, and then I actually skipped an entire CD. And the truth was, I hadn't really missed anything.

Tanuja Desai Hidier's novel began great. Dimple Lala, an Indian teenager living in New Jersey, is just about to turn 17 and has always been in the shadow of her beautiful, skinny blond best friend Gwyn. Not that Dimple usually seems to mind. She worships Gwyn and sees all of her wonderful characteristics. But then of course, boys get involved. Dimple's parents try to set her up with a "suitable Indian boy," Karsh, and in an act of teen rebellion against her parents, she tells Gwyn she would never date him. So when Gwyn meets him and thinks Dimple doesn't like him, she turns on her charm. When Dimple starts to see Karsh in a new light, it throws off her relationship with Gwyn and all sorts of drama ensues.

Here is my problem with this story. Dimple was not wholly real for me. She has some spot on reactions and emotions and mistakes and realizations. But she would go off on these crazy full-of-imagry tangents that were so not like a seventeen year old that I just couldn't believe her. She was a little too insightful...her search for identity seemed a little too focused. I related to Dimple so much during some scenes that I thought, "wow, the author could have taken her thoughts right out of my teenage brain." And other times I thought Dimple sounded like a 35 year old psychologist. I liked her, but I didn't believe her. She did have a love of photography which was fun to read about. I skipped most of the disks 10 and 11 of 12 but like how the story ended. Predictable but a good ending. Maybe it would have been better to read than listen to.

The Dark is Rising

2009-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

This Newbery Honor winner by Susan Cooper has been sitting on my shelf for nearly a year but it was quite a fun read. On the night before his eleventh birthday, Will's life takes a rather strange turn. He finds out that he is the center of an ages old fight between the Dark and the Light and he must go on a quest to keep the encroaching Dark from destroying everything he loves.

It took me a few chapters to sort of place this book into a category for me. Obviously it is part fantasy, but story is set in England. It's almost a historical urban fantasy. And also it turns out that this is the second book in a series...something I honestly didn't know until like 5 minutes ago. The story made perfect sense though and I didn't feel like I was missing any information. Cooper used some interesting devices to make Will's character grow during the book, ideas that I haven't seen in other books. I won't give too much away but it was good fun. I may check out the rest of the series.

Whirligig (YA Challenge #1 of 12)

2009-01-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize until I finished this book that the author, Paul Fleischman, also wrote Seedfolk which I just barely read. Similar in its short, multi-narrator form, Whirligig is the story of Brent Bishop, a teenager who attempts suicide and instead kills a teenage girl, Lea.. As a sort of penance requested of the Lea's mother, Brent travels to the four corners of the United States to build whirligigs, wind toys that made Lea happy as a child. This story describes in lovely prose the interconnectedness of people, about how the choices we make have a ripple effect, for good or bad, on others.