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

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)

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

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

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

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.

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

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.
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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.

Wings

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.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

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.

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

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.

Dragon Slippers (2009 YA Challenge #8 of 12)

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.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

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.

The Dark is Rising

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.

Quest for a Maid

In 13th century Scotland, practicing magic is dangerous and when Meg's beloved sister Inge uses it to interfere with royalty, she knows that no good will come of it. Frances Mary Hendry's historical fiction novel about a perilous time is one that I read years and years ago and am glad I revisted now. Meg is lovable for her flaws and determination and I am always in for a book about anything relating to the British Isles.

In the Coils of the Snake

Clare Dunkle's final book in the Hollow Kingdom trilogy answers all the reamining questions about elves and goblins as Miranda, Marak's ward, enters the goblin world to be wife to Marak and Kate's son Catspaw...but an elf lord appears with a proposition for Catspaw and pure elf bride for him. Miranda, horrified, leaves the goblin kingdom and finds herself the captive of Nir, the elf lord. As relations between the elves and goblins become more heated, Miranda emerges as the key to solving an ancient mystery.

Truly a wonderful fantasy trilogy.

Close Kin

The second book in the Hollow Kingdom trilogy follows Kate's sister Emily as she has reached marrigable age. Though she has always been the best of friends with the goblin/elf Seylin, she never thought about marrying him. When she blows off his proposal, Seylin leaves and Emily realizes that she must bring him back to the goblin kingdom. But Seylin has found pureblood elves, something thought nearly impossible and this is great news for the goblins who stole elf brides before they stole human brides. New elf wives would infuse new blood and magic into the goblin race but the races have a long history of prejudice and bloodshed and now Seylin is in the middle of what could be an incredibly ugly conflict.

Can't wait for book three!

The Hollow Kingdom (Y.A. Challenge #2 of 12)

Kate and Emily, now orphans after the death of their father, arrive at Hollow Hill ready to begin their life with their great-aunts as caretakers and Hugh Roberts as their legal guardian. But strange things happen on Hollow Hill. Young women have been known to dissapear there and never return. This is because goblins live there and goblins steal human brides. When the goblin king Marak decides Kate will be his bride, she has other ideas about her future and isn't going to go quietly.

I was thrilled by Clar Dunkle's Hollow Kingdom trilogy. I was given the books as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and read all 3 of them in 2 days because I HAD to know how the story ended. Great romance, great characters, great new fantasty world.

Protector of the Small - First Test

First Test, by Tamora Pierce, is set in the Kingdom of Tortall, the site of the Alanna the Lioness books and the Trickster books. It is a really interesting kingdom with immortals, both good and bad, living alongside humans some with and some without magical powers. Alanna the Lioness was the first woman knight, and she became so by hiding her sex until she had proven herself. With her success, a law was passed that allowed girls to train to become knights. No one had ever tried - until Keladry of Midenlan arrived. She has few friends when she arrives and many enemies. The Training Master wants nothing more than to get rid of her but Kel is determined to become a knight and to do so, she must first be get through page training.

I liked Kel - a tough girl. One with real emotions and doubts about herself but she possessed a stubbornness to prove herself and a noble spirit. She wants to protect others and she is willing to do so at the expense of her own physical safety. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Dracula - the graphic novel

I haven't read tons of graphic novels, but I wasn't a huge fan of this one. I haven't read the real dracula either (I am not so much into the horror and gory and scary scene) so I thought this would be a fun way to get the story. The art was alright, but I think the story was maybe a little too simplified and the font was a bit hard to read. It only took maybe 25 minutes to read it but I wasn't a huge fan. And I can't find the cover art anywhere! It was adapted by Michael Mugg, Ben Caldwell, and Bill Hallier.

Read Your Own Books (RYOB) 2009 Challenge

This one will be great because it will overlap with much of my A-Z list.

The rules for this challenge are very simple…
* set a goal for how many of your OWN books you’d like to read in 2009
* read from your own collection between January 1st and December 31st, 2009
And, that’s basically it! You don’t have to create a list beforehand (’cause we all know that our reading preferences change as the year progresses), and you can even read books that come into your possession (that will be yours to keep) during the year!
Some other helpful hints…
- you CAN overlap with other challenges
- eBooks and Audiobooks count AS LONG AS they are from your own collection

I have lots of unread books on my shelves. My goal will be to read 20 books that I already own this year. I will list them on this post.

1. Dracula - graphic novel written by Michael Mugg
2. First Test by Tamora Pierce
3. The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle
4. Close Kin by Clare Dunkle
5. In the Coils of the Snake by Clare Dunkle
6. Quest for a Maid by Frances Mary Hendry
7. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
8. Wild Swans by Jung Chang
9. A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy
10. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
11. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
12. Harrowing the Dragon by Patricia McKillip
13. Snow White and Rose Red by Patricia Wrede
14. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
15. Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn
16. Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
17. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahm-Smith
18. Sahara Special by Esme Raji Codell
19. The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt