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)
12.06.08
I love the new WordPress!
It’s just so cool. I had planned to post a book review here, but then I came, and the new dashboard was so awesome, I couldn’t do anything but post about it. (And I feel slightly sorry for anyone who doesn’t have a wordpress account, and can’t see the changes between the former version and the current 2.7 one. I suppose that means the former one was 2.6. Am I right?)
I would love to investigate more, but first I have to post this about how cool the new version is. Everything’s so connected. You can go anywhere from here (although I won’t just now, because then I’d lost this post, as I haven’t saved it yet.)
So now I shall publish this post on how I approve of WordPress 2.7, and go explore more stuff. How fun! I think that’s why my father says I’m still like a child sometimes, I love new things so much.
Merissa
11.26.08
What Genre Do You Like?
(That was fun, typing the title with capital letters at the beginning of the words, as I am supposed to. I am learning too much grammar in school. I think it’s more natural just to leave the rest lowercased. Also, it’s a bother to have to keep pressing down the shift key. Once per sentence is enough, thank you. And sometimes you even have to do it more than once a sentence, when there are names involved! So why must titles be so particular? I would prefer to write, “What genre do you like?”, instead of “What Genre Do You Like?” It’s not so alien that way, but I will not argue this time.)
To get to the point of this post, though, and to stop rambling about capital letters in sentences, um… oh, what’s your favorite type of book? And I know how hard this question can be (or at least for me). Because if it were me, I would want to choose all of them. Because I love all genres. But please just choose the one you think would be best for you. You may point out what other ones you like in the comment section.
So go on! Vote! 
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.
11.08.08
Palace of Mirrors- Margaret Peterson Haddix
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Cecelia is not a normal peasant girl. Actually, she’s the real princess, raised up in this remote village so as to keep her safe, while Princess Desmia is merely a fake used to trick the people who killed her father and mother, the King and Queen.
But when Cecelia goes to claim the throne, she meets with challenges she had never imagined.
I approached this book with caution. I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I’d read Just Ella, which took place in the same universe (and which focuses on Ella Brown, who reappears in this book), I found it boring. Even now I remember it as predictable and not very impressive.
But Palace of Mirrors surprised me. The plot was entertaining and diverting, and the characters intriguing. It’s the sort of book that has both nice parts and parts that don’t seem to fit. The ending seemed too happily-ever-after, and the explanation didn’t seem quite possible. Yet, I think the idea was a good one, and almost pulled off.
Cecelia’s a good narrator, and it was interesting to revisit Ella Brown. It’s not a must-read, but it would be a nice read all the same.
11.06.08
13 Little Blue Envelopes and Girl at Sea-COVERS
First of all: I apologize for not posting for a pretty long time. Shockingly, I haven’t read much in the past few days. That is changing: I assure you I have two wonderfully new books on my shelf asking for reading (they are totally tempting me; I can hear them-”But don’t you love us? Don’t you want to read us?”-soon I shall have to admit defeat).
But until I am able to post reviews on them, I have decided to have a little fun.
Take a look at the two book covers on either side of this. They are, respectively, 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Girl at Sea, both by Maureen Johnson.
Their covers are both designed by the same person: Amy Ryan.
And I was just wondering, does anyone else believe they look very similar? It’s not criticism, just something I found interesting. Anyhow, whatever you think, take a vote on the poll below. It’s the first poll I’ve made (and tried out) so I’m excited! 
10.23.08
Out of the Wild- Sarah Beth Durst
by Sarah Beth Durst
The Wild was conquered weeks ago by Julie. Or so she thought. But all of a sudden, the Wild swallows one of the three blind mice-only instead of growing, it spits out her father. Rapunzel’s prince.
But Julie’s father is terribly outdated. He doesn’t understand anything around him, and worse-he doesn’t understand how he is fueling the Wild, by doing everything he is supposed to do. So as Julie’s father sets out to rescue a captive Sleeping Beauty, leaving Rapunzel and Gothel as mere pumpkins, Julie has no choice but to follow, knowing that she must stop her father.
This was a wonderful book. I devoured it, and not just because of the newness of it, either (although I do love new books). Julie was an honest character, true to her age and insecurities. The plot was beautiful and sweet, and the other characters-some new, some old-were fantastic.
The plot did start really fast, which launched me straight into the story. It was a wonderful sequel, more satisfying and happily-ever-after than the first one. My only complaint? I wish it was real! I can just begin imagining what I would do, if this book was only non-fiction instead of fiction. 
