01.06.09
Bookish Stuff
First of all, Laura’s Review Bookshelf is hosting a contest for the ARC of Prada and Prejudice (which sounds like an awesome book)! All you have to do is tell her about the most expensive thing that you purchased that you didn’t have to purchase, and upload this widget that I’m supposed to have on my sidebar. Except it’s not showing up. I don’t know why. Does anyone have any help?
The most expensive thing I ever bought was probably this old manual typewriter I have. I don’t ever use it, because it is so loud and cannot even compare to a laptop, where it SAVES your work. I don’t remember what I spent on it, but I got it at a yard sale and so it is not even new.
The second thing I am not really telling you. I am asking you. What does it mean when, if you teacher asks if anyone got any good books over break, everyone laughs as a response?
Don’t worry. I don’t really want you to answer that (although if you do, I hope you answer that it is not a good thing). But I am hoping that perhaps there were some people who did (not including me), and they simply did not speak up, perhaps too engrossed in that new book(s). You can always hope.
You know what? I think 2009 will be a bloggy year for me. I am posting even more than I expected.
Merissa
01.03.09
Parade of Shadows – Gloria Whelan
by Gloria Whelan
Summary: It’s 1907, and sixteen-year-old Julia Hamilton is excited when she learns of her father going to the middle east. As she has lived her entire life in England, she wishes for adventure and convinces her father to take her with him, although he is reluctant at first.
Julia expects adventure. She gets much, much more. She meets Edith, a woman who frequently travels in these parts and collects plants; Grahm Geddes, an English student, passionately (and dangerously) mixed in politics; and Paul Louvois, a French antiques collector who might be smuggling valubles out of the country. Julia must decide who she will trust and what she is willing to do.
I think: I liked this book very much. The writing was detailed but easy to follow, and the plot was intriguing. I had some suspicious about the result by the middle of the book, which turned out to be correct, but that didn’t really ruin the book.
I do love Historical Fiction. I find textbook history tiresome at times (who can stand all those confusing scenes of war?) but historical fiction can bring me into the story. So I was a little disappointed when there was no “Author’s note” explaining the history or similar thing at the end of the story. That was probably one of my only complaints about the book.
The other ones contain spoilers, so I won’t mention them, except to say that the so-called villain was probably one of my favorite characters of the book (and I didn’t think that person was that bad). Although that is normal, because I seem to have a liking for villains.
01.01.09
Happy New Year’s Eve!
It’s very strange. After midnight tonight, it will be 2009. And then after that, it will never be 2008 again. What do you suppose happens to 2008?
Personally, I think this year was a fantastic year for books. And that is why I would suggest that people read book blogs (not necessarily this one), because it opens you up and introduces you to books you otherwise wouldn’t have read.
This year had such gems as The True Adoration as Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, and Chalice by Robin McKinley, and Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (illustrated by Nate Hale, no relation). It was also the year I discovered books not published this year but great nevertheless – like Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and Undercover by Beth Kephart.
So I enjoyed you very much, 2008. And I cannot wait to see what 2009 will offer!
Merissa
12.23.08
Trouble – Gary D. Schmidt
by Gary Schmidt
Henry Smith’s father says, If you build your house away from Trouble, Trouble will never find you.
But Trouble comes careening down the road one night in the form of a pickup truck that strikes Henry’s older brother, Franklin. In the truck is Chay Chouan, a young Cambodian from Franklin’s preparatory school. THe tragedy sparks racial tensions in the school – and in the town where Henry’s family has lived for generations
Caught between anger and grief, Henry does the only thing he feels he can: he sets off for Mt. Katahdin, which he and Franklin had planned to climb together. One July morning, he leaves for Maine with his best friend and the lovable stray, Black Dog, in tow. But when they encounter Chay Chouan on the road, fleeing demons of his own, Henry learns that turning a blind eye to Trouble only brings Trouble closer
- from the front flap
That is a very good summary. I tried to think up my own, but I couldn’t think of anything better than that one.
Pages: 297
My Review: This book was really, really, really good. All the characters were well developed, and the plot was brilliant. Really brilliant. My only complaint was that it went rather slowly. It took me a week to pick up the book after I’d read the first chapter, and I didn’t get hooked until the fourth. And even then, I could easily put it down.
There’s a lot of description and telling in this book. But it evens out, and I can’t help liking the tone very much. It’s hard to describe, but it lets Henry tell almost, with more revelation than if Henry had been narrating (first person should only tells you what the person narrating is aware of) and more feeling than many first person books.
12.18.08
Let it Snow – Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Let it Snow!
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Three related holiday stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle:
Beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you only see in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House throught four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks
-from the back
I adored this book. Yes, it was kind of predictable, but it was very sweet and romantic, and also, I am very excited for the holidays. (See the snow!) This was a lovely holiday book.
I felt like I could relate to all the characters – Jubilee, Tobin, Addie, and all their friends. All three stories are connected, and I thought that was so cool – the way they all had something to do with each other, but they had no idea that they did. And how everyone -yes, everyone – has their own stories. That was one of the coolest parts.
12.12.08
Recent Reads – December 2008
I’ve been reading a lot lately, and I just hate it when I read too much and cannot post on them. Therefore, today I shall post my recent reads with little reviews next to them.
by Jeanne Birdsall
A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
I loved reading this book. It was so fun! It’s one of those old-fashioned, squeaky clean books full of humor and adventure (and trouble!)
by Robin McKinley
She’s just a beekeeper with a woodright; she shouldn’t be Chalice, second in command. But she is, and she has to deal.
It’s been so long since I read a Robin McKinley book for the first time – and it’s so nice. Her writing is so detailed and enjoyable. It could have been a short story, but it was written into a novel and it’s probably better that way.
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Josie has celebral palsy, which makes her different from everyone else. But she wants to just forget her difference and live.
This book was written in verse. I’ve wanted to read this for so long, and I’m delighted that I finally have. The verses were compelling, and sweet, just like Josie herself.
by Irene Hunt
Julie’s mother has died, so she, with her brother Chris, leaves her father to live with her stern, spinster aunt. She cannot at all imagine what will happen to her.
This is a very old book (I think it was published sometime when my parents were born) but it was so good I decided to include it anyway. The book was detailed, the characters very lovable, and the story charming.
12.08.08
Suite Scarlett – Maureen Johnson
by Maureen Johnson
A formerly-grand-but-now-failing hotel, the Hopewell. Four siblings. A mysterious and demanding guest (who’s also an actress), Mrs. Anderson. And add Scarlett, who is having the most astonishing summer in her life.
This book had humor, a sweet heroine, and a nice plot. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a hotel, and the Hopewell – brilliant in its day, but now fading – was great fun.
(Visit Maureen Johnson’s awesome blog @: http://maureenjohnson.blogspot.com)
11.24.08
The Smile – Donna Jo Napoli
by Donna Jo Napoli
Who was the woman in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous portrait, Mona Lisa? In Napoli’s story, it’s a girl named Elisabetta. One day, she will marry a noble in Florence. With her father’s friend, Leonardo Da Vinci’s help, she meets Giuliano de’ Medici. But troubled times are approaching Florence, and a woman’s choices are limited…
This novel was sweet and emphatic. The time in the novel was slightly confusing, but it matched the chaotic time in history. Elisabetta was such a sweet narrator – it wasn’t hard to eventually invision her to be the model of the most famous picture in the world
11.20.08
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart
A pretty, intelligent girl. Her handsome senior boyfriend, who she is pretty sure is lying to her. His cocky friend. A boarding school. A secret society. A secret fight for power.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. This was an addicting read (especially toward the end). I loved the way Frankie fought for power, and the pranks she played, and the words she played with. The ending was bittersweet, but it fit, and it’s a pretty open ending, leaving you wondering what would happen next, as Frankie was apt to do.
visit E. Lockhart at http://e-lockhart.com
Books I found somewhat similar: the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer
11.17.08
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen – Syrie James
by Syrie James
Something that is often mentioned when people bring up the famous author of Pride and Prejudice (among others) is that Jane Austen, a writer of romance, died a spinster. All her books ended with a wedding (at least one wedding) but she herself never married.
Many people have imagined what might have happened if Jane Austen had had a romance, one that she kept secret for certain reasons.
What if someone found a sealed up chest in Jane Austen’s former house – and it was revealed to be full of Austen’s own experiences – and one of them told of a romance of her own?
The novel takes place while Jane is revising Sense and Sensibility. I really liked reading how her “real-life experiences” let themselves out in S&S. And because Austen is so famous a writer about courtships, I think people (in general, woman) would love to hear that she had her own romance.
I personally loved reading all Jane Austen’s books (yes, sadly I’ve already read all of them, so I can never read one of them anew again), and I found this view into her personal life was very fun. The language was good, in a way that echoed Austen’s, and Syrie James somehow managed to blend a bittersweet romance to perfectly correspond with other events that occurred in her life at that time. It was fantastic.
