Holding my opinion until

The most bizarre thing happened to me. I was reading Cicada Summer by Andrea Beaty and hit page 138--which could've been the ending--or not. I don't know because the book REPEATED itself. It jumped from page 138 back to page 110 again. It was so bizarre! I even skim read those pages just to make sure it wasn't a postmodern ending or something like that. Nope. The printers had simply screwed up majorly and repeated a few chapters.

How sad for me! Now I have to request it from another library to see how it actually ends. (On a side note, sometimes books on Amazon have a "Look Inside" feature, which I have discovered how to manipulate. I've read whole chapters with that feature...but sadly, Cicada Summer did not have that feature available.) Until then, I'll hold my opinion of the book....other than this: isn't that a GORGEOUS cover?? It's simply beautiful and old-fashioned and a work of art.

Spies = Fun

My friend Julie recommended Ally Carter's I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You as a really fun read. She was so right!


Sixteen-year-old Cameron "Cammie" Morgan is a spy-in-training. She, along with about 100 other girls, attend the Gallagher Academy, a special preparatory school that teaches the girls all they'll ever need to know about being spy. (The descriptions about their classes are farfetched and yet so fun. Carter does a good job of making everything believeable--you can almost swallow the whole story without any hiccup. Since I love spy stories, I happily accepted everything she said.)

When Cammie meets an ordinary guy while out on a mission, she falls for him. But is he a good guy? Cammie and her friends do a bit of recon work on him (which, again, is really funny and entertaining) to make sure he's alright. He appears to really like Cammie--but can the super spy and the ordinary boy actually date?

I really like this book. It's fun, full of hilarious asides about spy escapades and even my brother admitted it looked good. It's an easy read that's thoroughly entertaining.

Rating: 9/10

The worst spy ever

I liked M. L. Tyndall's pirate series. Sadly her latest work does not involve pirates, but rather the world's worst spy.

Okay, seriously, to read and enjoy this book, give up any expectation for realism. The characters, action, etc. do not fit the early 1800s. And while it is a Christian romance, it's probably one of the "edgier" ones.

Here's the plot: Dominique is being forced to spy for France in order to save her brother's life. She unwillingly does so, agreeing to become a governess for an English admiral's son. Surprise, surprise: the governess and admiral fall in love/lust. There's emotional turmoil because the (young) admiral has been widowed; he doesn't belive in God anymore; and dang, that governess is hottttt. Dominique, on the other hand, is the world's worst spy; it is simply amazing that the admiral was too blind to see her actions.

Anyway, there's a happy ending and all that, including the admiral turning back to God. That was probably my biggest issue of the book. I firmly, firmly believe that you need to marry someone on your spiritual level--and someone who believes the same as you. Otherwise, you're heading for a load of trouble. Dominique is a Christian and the admiral has turned his back on God. He starts to pray at the end and everyone seems to think that everything is all right again. There wasn't true repentance and salvation; it was a "ok, let's make everyone okay with God so they can get married" ending.

I think the best example of that sort of ending is the Cheney Duvall series--Shiloh actually leaves her and goes away for awhile to fully develop a true relationship with God, without any distractions. That spoke true sincerity to me and a putting of God first above everything else. I didn't see that in this book.

Rating: 6/10

Why I like YA lit...and an example

I thoroughly enjoy young adult fiction, partly because I skipped over that genre when I was young. Throughout school, I always read several levels ahead of my age, so when I approached junior high and was starting to choose adult books that were not-quite-appropriate, my mom nudged me toward the classics, where I'd be sure to find a challenge. She was right--and that's how I met Austen, Dickens, Bronte, Fitzgerald and more. But nowadays, I'm savouring the fun reads that YA fiction offers, perhaps in an effort to make up for some lost reads...and lost time (I want a book I know I can finish in a day or two, as opposed to the two weeks that The Mysteries of Udolpho took me.

The latest YA offering I've read is E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Let's be honest; that is a FABULOUS title.

And a fabulous cover! I love it--and it's one of those rare books that has a cover that actually relates to the book. In the case of this one, that letter (and the seal) pushes the main action of the book forward.

The book is pitched as a story of Frances "Frankie" Landau-Banks' boarding school pranks. Sounds like fun, right? Well, it is, but don't go into this book thinking it's a tale of pranks. It's much more.

Here's the crux of the story: Frankie is being denied entry into a secret club of future history-makers merely because she's a female. She knows she's smarter than the male members and just as worthy of entry into the club, so she proves it.

There was a strong dose of feminism in the writing...I thought it felt a bit preachy at times. Which reminds me of another aspect that I found interesting in the book: Lockhart, through Frankie, explores some random aspects of modern history, including urban explorers, architecture as repression and a few other random topics. It was interesting but, maybe just to my eyes, a bit obvious. Perhaps that's just because I'm not 15, but it was something I noticed.

Overall I'm just a bit wobbly on whether I liked this book or not. I was expecting it to be a funny story but it was more of a "girl learns that females are not given as many opportunities as men, tries to right that wrong, and instead learns that it's impossible--oh, and you should fall in love with someone who values your mind, not your looks." Maybe this is E. Lockhart's story and she wanted to impart her wisdom? Anyway, I still love the cover and title.

Rating: 7/10

March is such a long time away

I devoured Colleen Gleason's When Twilight Burns and now have to wait until March until the last book of the series comes out. March is also when Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn comes out.

I want to read these books now. March is SUCH a long time away!

Utter classic

I adore Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. I first read it years ago in high school and fell in love immediately with the story.

The tale is set during the French Revolution. A band of Englishmen, led by the mysterious and unidentified Scarlet Pimpernel, defy the French revolutionaries to save the aristocrats who are being slaughtered. With disguises and sheer cunning, these men save the lives of many.

But who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? And when beautiful and clever Lady Marguerite Blakeney--and her dim-witted husband Sir Percy Blakeney--are forced into the affairs of the Scarlet Pimpernel by an evil Frenchman, will the Scarlet Pimpernel's identity be discovered?

I don't want to give away too much about the plot, but it's such a fun, fabulous read. There's disguises, an intense (that's not the best word, but I can't think of a better one...the story isn't exactly all sugar and spice, but you become so involved and root for the couple...) love story and a happy ending. There's suspense and humor and disguises...just go read it!

And when you've read it, then read another favorite series of mine by Lauren Willig, which also features flowered-named spies during the French Revolution.

Rating: 10/10

I like her books

Let me just say I have been thoroughly enjoying Colleen Gleason's books. Her books are just pure pleasure reading.

Another first

This must be my week of first reads of authors I've heard so much about, because I finished Tamora Pierce's Trickster's Choice this morning.

The story is a fantasy. Aly, the daughter of a spy and a warrior (both of whom are nobles), is kidnapped and sold as a slave to another noble family in a different land. Aly plots her escape but before she can enact her plans, fate intervenes in the form of a god. The trickster god (his name is very Greek-ish and I can't remember how to spell it right) makes a wager with her that will last just one summer; being a bold, smart girl, she accepts. Aly puts to use all she's learned from her warrior mother and spy father to keep the wager...and to keep alive.

The book is related to Pierce's earlier works, The Song of the Lioness quartet, which actually follows Aly's mother. So...there was a fair amount that zipped over my head, simply because I didn't know the backplot. I hate when that happens, but I admit, it's my own fault for not looking into the series more before I dived in.

Still, the story was well-written, interesting, fleshed-out characters and all in all a great YA read.

Rating: 7.5/10

Layered with fairy dust

First of all, can I just say it's snowing here again? My word, it's only the second week in November and already it's snowed numerous times. Thank you lake effect snow.

One of my favorite Disney movies is Sleeping Beauty, which I'm shocked to learn was released in the 1950s. (I was completely positive it was released in the 1930s.) Anyway, Robin McKinley's Spindle's End takes the classic fairy tale and twists it up.

All the creatures on the front cover slightly creeped me out but they ended up being very appropriate for the story. Still, this book has earned the tag "creepy eyes."

The story follows the basic plot of Sleeping Beauty: a princess is cursed by an evil fairy--she will die by pricking her finger on a spindle. However, a good fairy (actually fairies) step in and raise the princess as their own, hiding her from the evil fairy and all prickly spindles.

McKinley really fleshes out the story, adding in characters and extra plot lines. There's also much detail about fairies, magic and talking with animals. This book is definitely a fantasy. I want to re-read the fairy tale itself to compare with this story--because we all know Disney makes very-happy-versions of fairy tales. (In the actual Little Mermaid story, Ariel turns into foam. No Prince Eric, etc. Just foam.)

One last note: Princess Briar Rose is blessed with all sorts of silly things--long, golden hair, a sweet singing voice, graceful feet, etc. I was prepared to hate this perfect girl, but McKinley doesn't make her beautiful or perfect! Instead, Rosie was an accessible character, one that was utterly ordinary. I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed that.

This book was well-written and while targeted to a YA audience, it's absolutely great for adults, too. This was my first McKinley book; I think I'll be picking her up again.

Rating: 8/10

Not so much

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you may have picked up that I like Elizabeth Peters. When I heard that she was writing another Vicky Bliss book, obviously I had to read it.

The Laughter of Dead Kings is the final book for the series--and written only 14 YEARS AFTER the last book in the series, which to my mind, felt like a series finale.

What can I say about Laughter? It was okay--by far not my favorite of Peters' work--and just didn't capture my fancy. The series has spanned years and years; the first book technically in the series was written in the '60s. But this newest book just felt too rooted in the modern era. Cell phones, texts and email abounded. While that's obviously accurate, it's just not what I want from a book by Peters. She does note this incongruity in the introduction but whatever, I still didn't like it.

The plot is similar to any other Vicky Bliss plot; however, characters from all the books are brought back. And at the end, Peters inserts herself, which was mildly amusing.

Basically, I have to admit I skim read it. Oh well, c'est la vie. On a positive note, I made absolutely delicious scones tonight, which is going to brighten up my morning.

Rating: 5.5/10

Book vs. Movie

If you're a woman, you've probably seen the movie Chocolat. Well, the book version of Chocolat (by Joanne Harris) is, um, VASTLY different than the movie version (and it was the original).



Here's my version of the movie: Magical chocolate lady with daughter moves to French city. She makes magical chocolate, everybody eats it, they're happy, fall in love, etc. She falls in love with a gypsy. Everybody's happy, yay, yay, yay. There may have been a conflict but I don't really remember it.


Here's my version of the book: Witch lady with daughter moves to French city. She makes chocolate but it doesn't make everybody happy or really have that magical of powers. She clashes with the town priest, helps people defy him, etc. After pages of subtle digs and not-so-subtle digs at the Catholic church, the priest (and Easter) is defeated by chocolate and pagan happiness. Oh, and yeah, there's a gypsy man but he ends up with somebody else.

Can you see why I'm having trouble digesting the book version? Obviously I have to view them as two separate creations because their stories are so different. The book gave the movie its very basic outlines but wow, the screenplay writers added so much more--and made it a happy, much lighter story, too.

I really didn't enjoy Harris' continual slamming of Catholicism and Christianity. I'm a Christian--not Catholic--but I hate how she portrayed the Christian faith. Honestly, I barely finished the book. She's welcome to her opinion but I don't agree with it. So keep that in mind for my rating.

Rating: 5/10

In which Jane develops a romance novel heroine complex

In a nod to my fondness for pioneer novels, I reviewed Jennifer L. Holm's Boston Jane: An Adventure back in September. My new library in my new town has book two in the series, Boston Jane: Wilderness Days, so of course I had to immediately check it out.

Book two didn't spark my fancy quite as much--mostly because Jane developed several romance novel heroine complexes. She and the male lead had a Big Misunderstanding, which seriously, if they just communicated a teeny, tiny bit, would be resolved within seconds. This book alone shows the importance of good communication to create a healthy relationship. (True, this book is geared to the YA audience, but still, Jane and Jehu, the male lead, had the dumbest misunderstandings. Just freakin' TALK to each, Jane and Jehu!) As it is a middle school YA novel, there isn't much romantic action at all. There's just more talk and no action.

The plot was a bit scattered and a large part of it was based on Jane's feelings--more character than plot driven. Still, there was plenty of pioneer grit and gristle in the book, with the promise of more to come in the third one.

Yeah...so from reading this entry you may think I didn't like this book. I did like it; Jane just annoyed me with her HUGE assumptions and failure to listen/talk/be reasonable--which, hey, we've all encountered those heroines in various romance novels. I just hope the third book, Boston Jane: The Claim, has a more consistent and likeable Jane in it.

Rating: 6.5/10

Another plot line that I love

Confession: I love switched-identity plotlines. Maybe it's my desire to have a twin/doppelganger, but I just like twins-switching-identities plots. Is it any wonder that I like Georgette Heyer's False Colours? (And yes, you must use the British spelling because it's so much more awesome.)


This is a re-read for me. I wanted a comfort read and this is definitely one. It's a caper with a happy ending for everyone.

Here's the plot: Kit and Evelyn are (male) twins. Kit, who serves on diplomatic missions, comes home to England because he senses his twin is in trouble. He's right; Evelyn is missing--and moreover, Evelyn is supposed to meet his soon-to-be-fiancee's family. Kit's mother convinces Kit to fill in just for that one night--the marriage is a society marriage and the couple barely know each other.

Basically, Kit get thrown in a masquerade and must spend oodles of time with his twin's fiancee. And you can guess what happens then...

It's a classic Heyer novel; you won't be disappointed if you pick it up. It's funny, a delight to read and one of her lighter works.

Rating: 9/10

No New

I haven't posted anything this week because sadly, I haven't been able to get to a library. Also, I've just moved into a new apartment, so all my books were packed away. Needless to say, I was going a little crazy without something to read.

The good news is that I'm heading to my new town's library tomorrow to get a library card. Yay! My other card is 19 years old...and it still works, which is actually pretty freakin' amazing. I love that card. I still remember going to the library and carefully scratching out my name. I should've known then that books were going to be a bit part of my future.

Tonight's plan is to snuggle in bed with an old favorite and plan for tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Actually really fun

Every now and then I'm surprised by what I actually like. For instance, I've realized I don't mind sci-fi/fantasy--as long as there's romance and adventure. Grimspace by Ann Aguirre is the perfect example of this.

Note: I apologize for any bits of wrong info in my review...I don't have the book handy, so I'm working off of my faulty memory.

The plot is this: Sirantha Jax is a jumper (a certain type of pilot that can jump time/long distances/something in space... That's the thing about sci-fi; it doesn't have to totally be understandable or make sense and you don't really have to care). She's been blamed for a major crash that killed everyone onboard--including her co-pilot (who was also her lover). Jax can't remember the crash and the crazy control-freak government is blaming her for it. She's being tortured by the gov't in hopes that she'll remember and acknowledge her fault.

She's offered an escape from certain death by a mysterious man named March who breaks into her jail cell. His offer doesn't come without risk...but also possible reward. Jax accepts and adventure and romance follows.

The book was just fun--plenty of action and enough romance to keep it spicy. I like how fast-paced it was, which kept my interest. It was actually a book I thought about and wanted to get back to when I wasn't reading it. One negative note: there was a lot of swearing, which was distracting. Still, it was a fun read. I'd definitely pick up another Aguirre book.

Rating: 8/10

Heavy Historical

I started reading Diana Norman's A Catch of Consequence. And then I stopped...and I doubt I'll pick it back up again.

In the book's defense, it's actually well-written. It's set in time of the American Revolution and the style and tone of the book is historically accurate, which took more concentration to read, but again, is well-done. Although it did bother me when sentences weren't actually complete--you know, lacking verbs and such. I suppose it was a stylistic thing.

The plot: A female tavern keeper, sympathetic to the Sons of Liberty, saves a drowning man, who turns out to be British aristocracy. This action ends up putting her life at risk and the drowning man whisks her away to safety. They might also fall in love. And that's where I stopped.

The book isn't a romance--it's historical fiction. The time of the Revolution was seething with emotions and politics; Norman explores these. Honestly, I was in the mood for something lighter and this was just too much. After someone gets tarred and feathered--and you read about how painful that was (seriously, ouch!)--I had to pick up something else to read. (My motto: no pain = happy reading time)

I'm enjoying my current read, Grimspace, and will post on that once I'm finished.

Ahhh

I found an apartment! Actually, I shouldn't use the word "finally" because I literally visited my first apartment last Saturday and today I signed the lease for mine. Perhaps that sentence should read: "After visiting nine or so apartments in four days, I found one that I love--screw looking around for a better deal! I like it, I want it and I've given up any hope of finding an apartment with a dishwasher." Yay! Now comes moving time--so my reading time may be dampered for awhile.

Still, I managed to finish Elizabeth Peters' Legend in Green Velvet. I read somewhere it was first published as Ghost in Green Velvet, which actually is a better title.

Again, I hate this cover. There were NO dogs in the book--only cats--so why is there a dog on the cover? I suppose because it's a Scottie and the book is set in Scotland. I really don't like these modern covers of Peters' books.

Anyway, classic Peters' story: girl accidently falls in adventure/mystery (this time, in a foreign setting). Guy becomes involved in the story--they fall in love. Humor abounds. This may be bad, but I don't get stressed about really following the plotline--how the characters arrive at certain conclusions and figure out the bad guys is a bit farfetched and oddly complex, so I just let it roll over me. Her books are just pleasure reading for me.

There was quite a bit of Scottish history thrown about (think Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlies, etc.) and a bit of modern history. The main guy evidently looked like a certain royal figure--but Peters was being so coy about who it was that it completely went over my head. Sorry, but I have no idea who was hott young royalty back then!

All in all, another satisying work by Elizabeth Peters.

Rating: 7.5/10

Sweet

After reading only positive reviews about Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett, I had to check it out for myself. The conclusion? It was really cute and just plain nice.

I love this cover--and for once, this is sooo close to how I actually picture Scarlett in my head--right down to her awesome lipstick.

The story has a nice, old-fashioned feel to it. Scarlett Martin and her family live in a New York hotel. The hotel has slowly been going downhill, with just an occassional guest or two nowadays. Scarlett and her siblings--Spencer, Lola and Marlene--know that the hotel is in trouble. But when an eccentric guest, Mrs. Amy Amberson, checks in, the hotel just might have a future again. Mrs. A. becomes involved in Spencer's acting career, Scarlett's love life and yeah, even saving the hotel. It's just a nice, funny, good story.

Scarlett and Spencer's relationship is such a good example of how close siblings could be. (I'm jealous. And I always wanted an older brother so I could meet his friends. Sigh.) I also really liked how Scarlett's love interest, Eric, was approached. Scarlett describes him as "ordinary plus," meaning he's not gorgeous but for some reason, he just attracts her. Let's be real; most of us will end up with ordinary people--I love that Johnson embraces that in her concept of "ordinary plus."

Did I mention the book was funny, too? Maureen Johnson's style of writing is clever and witty. I even re-read certain lines--they were just that amusing.

All in all, I recommend it!

Rating: 9/10

A postponing

So I've been thinking about not doing a Hottie Monday anymore, mainly because it's so superficial. A guy may be hott but so what? If his character is ugly, then he's not even worth considering. (And sadly, doesn't there seem to be many good-looking guys that are so vain, shallow and just not quality? The same goes for girls, too.) Paul Newman's post kind of sparked this thought in me. So I'm taking a break for now. I may post random Hottie Mondays in the future but for now, I'm going to hold off.


On a side note, Angie over at Angieville gave me a shout out the other day. Thanks! As you can see from my blogroll, your blog is one of my faves.

Weekend did not equal reading

Sadly, my reading time this weekend was too short--I've been apartment searching. Someday, when I finally find a place I like, I'll be able to sit on my wonderfully-comfortable-sleep-inducing couch and read. I just hope it's sometime soon--I really don't enjoy the process of finding an apartment. The bargain hunter in me is determined to find the perfect place: utilities included, free parking and a dishwater. I just hope I can find that place at a reasonable rate...

In book talk, I'm re-reading Mary Stewart's The Gabriel Hounds.

It's a fun adventure set in the Middle East. Parts of it are a bit slow moving but the atmosphere is fabulous. It's one of those books where I can easily imagine whole scenes in my head, thanks to the descriptions.

The plot is a bit light on the romance, heavy on drugs (personally I find it fascinating to read other era's views of drug use and abuse and how they've changed--for example, one novel I read from the 1950s featured a pregnant woman smoking) and overall an enjoyable read.

Rating: 7.5/10

Perhaps?

I re-read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight this week. I'm not going to rehash it; if you're curious about it, just google it. You will find more than you can handle. However, I did have a thought about why Twilight is so successful. (I may have also been inspired to write a piece for a literary journal on my idea, but that lasted for about five minutes. Literary criticism is a lot of work--especially when you're out of college.)

I think Twilight has been so successful because it's actually fairly simple and has classic archetypal story: Character moves to a new situation; character meets mysterious stranger. Character falls in love with mysterious stranger and adventure follows. In good archetypal storytelling, there is also magic.

Aren't some of the most successful stories retellings of a familiar plot? And this book surely has a familiar plot--but unlike others, I literally could not put this book down the first time I read it. It blew me away. That in itself makes the book a 10 for me--I couldn't get it out of my head for days. Plus, I really enjoyed the story. (Unlike The Lace Reader, which I still randomly think about--but mostly how I still can't believe the freakin' twist in that book. Has anyone else out there read it and can sympathize with me?)

So that's my literary thought for the day. Happy (almost) weekend!

A classic

Most likely you've heard that Paul Newman has died. When I was younger, I watched tons of old movies (yay AMC). One movie I always liked was A New Kind of Love, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Later when I learned they had married (and had stayed married!), it just made me happy.

Basically Paul was an ideal hottie: good-looking but with character (after all, looks fade). I admire his philanthropy and his commitment to his wife (that's her in the photo). He is definitely a classic in my book.

Restoration

Thank you Lynn Austin for restoring my belief that Christian fiction can be quality. Your book, A Proper Pursuit, was actually well-written, interesting and told a good story. How refreshing.

Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic but I haven't had much luck lately in finding a Christian novel that I like. Either the characters are all "oooh, God doesn't love me" (okay, yes, He does! Read the Bible--He loves you beyond fathoming.) or the book isn't well-written. So...I've been a bit discouraged of finding a Christian novel that wasn't pure cheese or just crap. This is why Lynn Austin has made me happy!

The story centers on the World Fair in Chicago in 1893. Violet Hayes, who has been sheltered and brought up a proper lady, finds her world rocked when her father announces his engagement to a stuffy older woman. Then Violet learns her mother isn't dead--her parents are just divorced.

Violet finagles her way to Chicago, where she learns her mother is living. She lives her grandmother and her great-aunts, all of whom have plans of their own for Violet's future. Each woman has a different man in mind for Violet, but Violet eventually learns what love really is and that true love is found in God.

The story was decently paced and interesting. Violet was a likeable, funny character. Nonchristians won't find this book overbearing in the least either, which is perhaps why I liked it. The book is Violet's story of a summer that changed her forever.

Rating: 9/10

Couldn't believe the looooove

In my quest to read Elizabeth Peters' backlist, I picked up Copenhagen Connection at the library this week. I must say this one isn't her best work.

First of all, I hate this book's cover. My own copy has an awesome early 1980s one, with fireworks and a couple running on it. While pigs do play a tiny role in the book, I just don't get this cover. Pigs--tulips--a statute?! Weird.

Anyway, here's the plot: American Elizabeth Jones is taking a vacation to Copenhagen. While on the airplane, she meets her hero: Noble-prize winning historian Margaret Rosenberg. A random accident leads to Elizabeth becoming Margaret's secretary. Oh, and by the way, Margaret's son is tagging along--he's handsome but a major stick-in-the-mud. Margaret gets kidnapped and the two are forced to work together to rescue her. They end up in love and experience danger, etc. It's a fairly typical Peters plot--fun, action-packed, plenty of humor.

Christian (the stick-in-the-mud guy) and Elizabeth supposedly fall in love. I just could not believe it. If it was reality, Christian would have thought Elizabeth was stupid and been terribly annoyed by her. As heroines go, Elizabeth isn't bad; Christian is just so serious. In fairness, he does loosen up as the book goes on, but there just isn't much romance and I can't belive they would actually fall in love.

Also, Christian calls his mother "Margaret"--never Mom, etc. Elizabeth never seemed to think that was weird, either. I thought it was odd.

All in all, it wasn't her best but it's still a fun, no thinking required sort of read.

Rating: 6/10

A reviewer I like

Every now and then I stumble across a reviewer I really like. Sometimes it's a book blog; sometimes it's a random column. Today I happened to click on a library link's to Pearl's Picks (aired on NPR) aka book recommendations by Nancy Pearl. Evidently Pearl is a librarian and author.

Her fiction choices aren't necessarily new books--but the reviews are always thoughtful and compelling. It doesn't hurt that she's chosen quite a few books that I really like or that have been on my TBR list for awhile. She may have convinced me to go ahead and move a few of those choices up on my list.

Just the sort

Today I finished a YA novel, Boston Jane: An Adventure by Jennifer Holm. It's the sort of book my 11-year-old self would have eaten up (and ok, my 20-something-year-old self ate up, too).


Jane is a tomboy living in the 1840s in the New England area. (She's not actually from Boston, but her nickname is appropriate, as the book shows.) Her father surgeon takes on an apprentice that a young Jane falls in love with instantly. Jane ends up going to a young ladies school, inspired to be a lady worthy of the apprentice, William. However, William leaves to make his fortune in the Pacific Northwest. Jane eventually ends up sailing to the wilds of Washington, where William was supposed to be waiting for her--but isn't. She has all sorts adventures while waiting for William to show up. She is befriended by Native Americans, learns how to barter, collects oysters, makes pies, sews and fends off a few suitors. Jane is a fun heroine who learns throughout the book how to be true to herself and what's right.

I adore pioneer fiction and while this isn't exactly Out West Pioneer fiction, it's close--more like Pacific Northwest Pioneer fiction. It kind of reminded me of Little House on the Prairie, which was basically what I desired my life to be when I was 11.

There's a few more books in the series, so here's hoping for a little more romance and more adventure...

Rating: 8/10

In celebration

My Hottie Monday pick has been in two things that I love: Chuck and She's the Man. Admittedly, She's the Man is a dumb teen movie but it makes me laugh so hard that I've cried. I've seen the movie twice and have cried with laughter twice (and at the stupidest part...literally...it's the part when the sprinkler guy shows up...I could laugh right now if I think about it too much). Also, I have to celebrate that Chuck will be on next week. Yay!

Anyway, Jonathan Sadowski has had smallish roles in both but his face is so distinctive and chiseled. And I liked him in both shows. (He's the one on the right. I wasn't in the mood to crop the photo. Also, Amanda Bynes is a rather interesting looking guy, isn't she? Do yourself a favor and watch that movie.)

Happy Hottie Monday!

I guess you're off the hook, Sally

Thankfully, The Red Necklace did not end in everyone dying. So, thank you Sally Gardner for not ruining my Friday.

I'm torn about this cover. I like it but the hair is so fake blonde. It's even more platinum blonde in real life. It reminds me of a white trash girl--probably not the image the designers were hoping to invoke.

Here's a short summary: Teen boy is a magical gypsy. He meets a bourgeouis girl and they immediately fall in love (or at least know that they will fall in love). An evil villian tries to take the girl for his own--and her money. Boy goes off to France to save the girl and drama ensues. There may also be a dwarf involved.

The story is a great YA read. I liked the book but I have no desire to read it again. The ending set up a sequel nicely, which maybe I'll read--but probably not.

Rating: 7.5/10

Haikus everywhere

I randomly stumbled across two blogs today with haiku contests: Fyrefly's Book Blog and bookshelves of doom. How bizarre is that? Of course I entered both...if you're feeling creative, you should, too!

I will not be happy

I'm currently reading The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner and all I'm saying is that there better be a happy ending. (You hear me, Sally? Please don't make me sad and upset with a depressing ending.) The main character has already been warned of possible death and there seems to be a good chance the love story won't work out (aka somebody's going to die...and since it's set during the French Revolution, they'll probably be guillotined). If that's the ending, what a great start to the weekend. Here's hoping for survival and love....