Saturday, May 21, 2011

Beastly

Picture taken from Goodreads
Alex Flinn has written many YA novels though this is one of my favorites. And may I just say that I liked it and had heard of it YEARS before it became popular.

Think Beauty and the Beast in modern NYC.
Kyle Kingsbury had everything anyone could possibly want, money, looks and powerful connections through his father. He was the king of his class. Until a fateful night when after his Spring Formal he was met by a witch from his English class. 

The rest pretty much follows your basic Beauty and The Beast story line.

Let me reiterate, I discovered this years ago sitting on a shelf in the public library and I really liked the story. I reread it recently because of all the hype surrounding it due to the movie. 

The reasons I like it are because it was fresh take on the story for me. This has been a favorite fairly tale of mine and it was nice for it to be told from the Beast's point of view. Kyle was well developed and he didn't go from Beastly to Prince Charming in a single page. Flinn gave him a chance to develop at a believable pace without the story dragging. Another device I like is the structure of the narrative. The chat-rooms that the author has put in between sections of the story help to segue the different plot developments. Furthermore it has been divided into seven parts (six parts and an epilogue) which is a perfect, magical number.

I recommend this for YA readers who are looking for another more modern take on a classic fairy tale.

Daughters of Lancaster County

Image taken from Goodreads.com
Another set of Amish stories from Wanda E. Brunstetter, this series follows the Fisher and Weaver family in Lancaster County.

Starting with the story of Naomi Fisher who has taken over the care of her family after her mothers death, this series is centered on the tragedy that befalls her in a moment of distraction.

Continuing with the life of Abby Miller who seems to have the picture perfect life with her successful quilt shop and charming fiancé in Ohio. Everything is shattered when she leaves to help her pregnant mother. She must figure out how to continue on when everything she cares about seems to be taken from her.

Finishing off with Leona Weaver, a school teacher who has lost her fiancé in a horse accident. Life seems to become increasingly difficult with her father's accident and the growing attraction she is fighting to an Englishman.

Well, what to say...
Overall it was a sweet story, peppered with lots of Pennsylvanian Dutch and information about the Amish way of life. It is told from many different points of view which is something I generally like in a narrative if it is done well, and Brunstetter did a good job in the continuity and clarity of her narrative.

However, Christian Literature is something that is very difficult to write without coming across as preachy. And I felt while reading it that it crossed the line in a couple of points. Not only were there a lot of repetitive phrases but also the characters felt a little flat and too perfect in their dialogue - not real at all.

I would classify this as a fluff read. Fun to read once but I bet I will have forgotten it in a matter of weeks.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Northanger Abbey

The first of Austen's novels to be sold, though not published until 1817, after the death of the Authoress. It is a very witty satire on the Gothic novels which were so popular of her time.

It is the coming of age story of Catherine Morland who at the young age of 17 is given the chance to visit Bath with her family's friends the Allen's. Catherine has nothing of the heroine about her. She comes from an averages family, has average intelligence and is "nearly pretty." Little does she suspect the friends she will make in Bath, both charming and duplicitous. With her head filled with the stories of Mrs. Radcliffe she secures an invitation to visit Northanger Abbey with her friends the Tilney's. Her Gothic notions almost lead to her doom but she is saved by good sense of friends.

I read this book for a class I am taking and fell in love with the writing. As this is her first novel, Austen had not quite yet found her narrative style but it is still peppered with all of the wit and humor that can be found in her works. A thing that I did really like about the narrator was how she spoke directly to the audience at times and in turn became almost a character in and of itself.


Catherine, too, is a heroine I was deeply enchanted by. She is average and extremely naive. Her naiveté is nearly her undoing on several accounts and yet we see her grow and learn how to read people.


This is fairly short for an Austen novel and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in the genre and wanting to have a good laugh.

The Silent Governess

The Silent Governess
 Written by Julie Klassen The Silent Governess is one that I have thoroughly enjoyed in the past and have even come back to read again. I am still working on plot summary so until I can really get them concise, here is one from Goodreads:


"Believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene flees her home, eventually stumbling upon a grand estate where an elaborate celebration is in progress. But all is not as joyous as it seems…. Lord Bradley has just learned a terrible secret, which, if exposed, will change his life forever. When he glimpses a figure on the grounds, he fears a spy or thief has overheard his devastating news. He is stunned to discover the intruder is a scrap of a woman with her throat badly injured. Fearing she will spread his secret, he gives the girl a post and confines her to his estate. As Olivia and Lord Bradley's secrets catch up with them, will their hidden pasts ruin their hope of finding love?" 


What I really like is that it isn't strictly romance. Olivia has a sense of who she is and is content with herself. She has a sense of self-worth and refuses to take insults from anyone. Also matrimony isn't her main goal. She is intelligent and wants to keep her education going and continue on to teach at a girls school.



To me this book is a nice mesh of the mystery and romance. It will keep you going until the final pages yet leave you satisfied with an ending that isn't too perfectly wrapped up.

Welcome

To those of you who have stumbled upon this blog, thanks for taking a minute to read the words I'm writing.
I am new to the process of book reviews so I ask you to forgive me for any amateur mistakes and writing, especially when I am first starting off.  

A little bit about me, I am a junior attending a small liberal arts college on the East Coast. I am still debating about what I am majoring in. It will be either English or Liberal Arts. My favorite class I am taking right now is an in-depth study on the novels of Jane Austen. I am hoping to graduate in two years and well...we'll see where life will go from there.

What qualifies me to do book-reviews and pretend to be an arbiter of taste? Well, I have been reading everything and anything I can get my hands on since I was little. I have read just about every basic plot known to mankind and I have through my readings discovered what works and what doesn't. I also was a manager at an independent bookstore for 3 years. This let me get the inside view on the business side of books -  knowing which publishers specialize in which genres. My job also gave me a view on what a majority of the country's book-clubs were reading. I know what is popular and why.

Well thanks for reading my ramblings. If you have any for books to review just leave a comment and I will get to it as soon as I can.

I'm back? Maybe

 I honestly don't think people are reading this - and I'm really only wanting to do this to try and 1) add some order to my life and...