Looking for Alaska by John Green

Genre: Young adult, contemp fiction
Publisher, Year: Dutton Books, 2005
Other Works: An Abundance of Kathrines
Flags: Strong language, Adult themes, Explicit references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown
Premise: A boy starts new at a boarding school. He makes new friends, all of whom love to work and play hard. A tragic event changes everything.

I've been meaning to post this review for awhile. I think I read this book almost two years ago and loved it immediately, along with it's quirky author, John Green. This book definitely made a lasting impression on me.

Miles Halter, nicknamed "Pudge," arrives at a new boarding school, full of expectation. He's looking for something, something big, and finds it in the embodiment of a girl, Alaska, and a group of friends who, like him, are just trying to get things figured out, and have a little fun besides. The whole story pivots around one event: one painful and troubled realization, one hasty decision that leaves lasting scars. Before this event, there is adventure, discovery, and the same mistakes teens have been making and learning from for centuries. After—nothing is the same, regrets abound, and, felt most deeply, nothing can be done to change it.

Miles meets with a group of intelligent, misfit teens who like to do those things that all kids that age do—drink life to the lees and damn the consequences. Up to this point, Miles has had little opportunity to be reckless, and with his new life, he’s also ready for new experiences, led by a high-spirited, slightly damaged, beautiful girl. Alaska represents to him every excitement that the world has to offer, and he can’t help himself around her. He’s entranced, with the innocence that envelops every first love.

Amidst all of these physical and emotional discoveries, Miles is also looking for something more, something intangible, what he call the Great Perhaps. Although it may seem like a lot of fun and games—kids being kids, goofing off, and all that—Miles and his ramshackle group are each finding their own paths, grasping for answers to life’s biggest mysteries, the unfairness of it all and what it all means. I can understand why some don’t like this book. I suppose on the surface it could seem like the chronicles of a bunch of over-enthusiastic, irreverent, and under-supervised kids wreaking havoc, but it really is so much more than that. It’s a heart-breaking tale of a heart-breaking time in life. For me, it put into words so much that makes sense about being a teenager, about big choices and even bigger questions, about accepting adulthood. About the frustration of realizing that some questions just don’t have good, solid, scientific method answers. About making sense of the senseless.

This is one I’m definitely putting on my list of what to read with my daughter when she reaches teenagehood. Not only was it brimming with meaning, but was also a joy (and a sorrow) to read. Green is an excellent writer, and the story was well-paced, creative, and compelling. I’m looking forward to reading his other books.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Genre: General Fiction
Publisher, Year: Little Brown, 2002
Other Works: Lucky
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: A young girl is murdered. She narrates the story, looking down from heaven on her family and friends as they cope with her loss.

I’ve been meaning to read this book for some time now, but I’ve been almost scared to pick it up, given the premise. I was afraid it would disturb me, in a Law and Order SVU–sort of way. Really, you can’t broach the subjects of rape and murder without disturbance, but I was impressed with Sebold’s take. She definitely pushed the envelope, but in a way that made life just that much more meaningful and precious. I still can’t stop thinking about it.

The book starts out with an introduction: “My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” A sinking feeling of dread follows this proclamation, as we know when Mr. Harvey approaches Susie and asks her to follow him that she won’t be coming back. But, she knows it, too. As she relates the story, she tells us, in hindsight, what she should of done and how she should have acted, if only she’d known. It’s heartrending, it really is. And there’s nothing to be done to change it. Unfortunately, it won’t be the last time, as the reader, that you’ll feel the burn of regret. +/-

Susie finds herself in heaven after the tragic assault. She can’t help but look down on her family almost every moment, to see how they are coping and living their lives after her demise. They try to move on, to get past it, without forgetting Susie. But, Susie never gets any older, never says or does anything new--she’s simply a presence and lurks in the dark corners of their minds. It’s hard for Susie to watch and be able to do nothing--all while her killer runs free.

It’s a heart-pounding tale; one you will find yourself unable to put down or stop thinking about. Although this book centers around a terrible death, the story is really about life and family and loved ones. It’s about making connections with others. It’s about how sadness can break us, and then faith puts us back together. Those relationships are never quite the same, but they are significant because they were not easily formed--that’s what makes them lovely.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Publisher, Year: Scholastic, 2008
Other Works: Catching Fire
Flags: Teen angst, adult themes
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Library, Countdown
Premise: A new government controls what used to be North America and holds the Hunger Games, a gladiator-style, to the death fight between competitors, as punishments for the districts' rebellion. Each year, families are forced to send one teenage boy and girl to the games and watch them die on television.

In my opinion, this book is worth all the hype and attention its received and then some. It’s an easy and fast read, but the topics and issues it discusses are deeply relevant and probing.

Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, a part of the new government of a war-torn North America Panem. Because of the districts’ failed rebellion, as a constant reminder of their weakness and total lack of control, the government invented the Hunger Games. A Roman gladiator–style, pseudo reality TV program, where “tributes” (two teenagers from each district selected at random) are forced into an “arena” (some destitute place, rigged with manipulatable traps and cameras) where they fight to the death until one person is left standing. When Katniss’s sister, Prim, is called to step forward and join the games, her protective nature forces Katniss to volunteer to take Prim’s place. She, along with Peeta, her companion male tribute, makes her way to the Capitol to fight for her life. +/-

Like everyone else on the planet, I instantly fell in love with this book. It’s a heart-pounding tale from beginning to end. Katniss is a strong and powerful heroine, flanked by a stellar cast of supporting characters, from her loyal co-tribute Peeta to her hunting companion Gale to her unlikely friend Rue. She is a woman who knows how to take care of herself, having grown into the leadership role of her family after her father’s sudden death, her mother completely incapacitated with grief and her little sister too young and frail to fight. She enters the arena with important skills: knowledge of edible plants, successful hunting techniques, and living on very little. These things make her strong, but the limits of that strength will be tested to a breaking point.

Throughout the story I just kept turning over in my head why the tributes couldn’t just refuse to participate. How come they couldn’t just ban together and find a way to keep alive until the audience would tire of the game? This book answers that question in lots of ways; it’s almost like an experiment of force and control. The whole point of the games is the psychologically manipulate an entire population of people by demonstrating their ability not only to kill them, but also to convince them to kill each other.

And the reality TV aspect cannot be overlooked. After putting this book down, it really made me rethink the reasons why I like the shows I do. I’ll never look at The Biggest Loser the same. In so many ways these shows are rigged for drama, because that’s what we love to see. We want to witness shouting and fighting and people losing control. Perhaps we haven’t gone so far as fighting to the death—but could we really rule that out as a possibility?

I quickly set out for the second book in the series, and it will be a trilogy when all is said and done. I also think this book has great potential for a prequel at some time. We know there’s been a war and that this civilization is the result of it, but we really are given very few details, especially about a mysterious District 13, which was completely eradicated during the rebellion by the Capitol. I would love to get more back history on this place. Hopefully, the author might consider it. =)

I think this book has been placed in the correct categorization, being young adult, but it’s a really great story for any age, and adults can learn just as much from it as teenagers. If you haven’t read it yet, amend your ways! A really great read.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Genre: Young adult (historical/fantasy)
Publisher, Year: Random House, 2003
Other Works: Rebel Angels, The Restless Dead
Flags: Teen angst, tenuous references
Rating: B+, or Mostly Good
Challenge: Library, Countdown
Premise: A teenage girl discovers she has magic powers. She and her friends find that although these powers are great and exciting, there is also an unfortunate side effect--a dangerous creature out to capture that power.

Another pick for the Countdown Challenge, I'd been meaning to pick up something by Libba Bray for awhile, having heard great things about her. I have to say that I enjoyed the read, but I was not blown away.

Gemma desperately wants to go to London. When her mother tragically dies, she gets her chance, and her life is suddenly and forever altered. Then, she notices an odd change taking place--as magic touches her life in the form of visions. Now she's on a hunt to get down to the bottom of these mysterious happenings, all while trying to fit in at her new rigidly Victorian private school. +/-

I enjoyed Bray's writing style. She weaves together a wonderful tapestry of color and sound. The ambiance in this book is very haunting--read with a flashlight under the covers. I also enjoyed the cast of characters for the most part: Kartik, the protective and darkly handsome foreigner; Gemma and her fiery red hair; Brigid, the quirky, loose-lipped maid. Bray also does an excellent job recreating a believable, yet mysterious, Victorian private school--complete with strict headmaster and corsets that pinch.

However, I didn't feel like I could become completely invested in the story. I found the fantastical world a bit beyond my suspension of disbelief. I could not get carried away in it the way I would have wanted. I never did quite understand what it was exactly that was after the girls, although I knew the creature's name. And I could not get a handle on whether Gemma's family were for or against her. That brings me to the interesting little gaggle of girls who Gemma calls her "friends" in the book. Major flashbacks of Rachel McAdams's "Mean Girls" attitude in this book. Although Gemma's three friends--Felicity, Pippa, and Ann--are pitiable, I could not find it my heart to sympathize. Felicity most of all, with her strange outbursts and wild accusations. But I suppose it's really not far off from what teenage girls do in school to one another--the pecking order becoming apparent. All the same, I still found it tiresome.

Minus the faults, I do think Ms. Bray is quite a talent. I did enjoy her brand of language and style. It would be remiss not to seek out another of her novels and give her a second chance.

Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

Genre: Mystery, historical bent
Publisher, Year: Mira, 2007
Other Works: Silent in the Sanctuary
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: B, or Decent
Challenges: Countdown, Library
Premise: Lady Julia Grey employs the mysterious Brisbane to find her husband's murderer.

It wasn’t love at first sight with this book, for me. I was very intrigued by the opening chapters, and I was looking forward to a delicious mystery. Although I think Raybourn is a skilled writer, I’m not totally sure mystery is the right genre for her.

The novel opens with the death, in wonderful mystery fashion, of Lady Julia Grey’s husband Edward. A man of sickly constitution, no one is surprised that he’s met an early end—except for one man, Nicholas Brisbane, who claims to have been hired by Edward to investigate chilling death threats. Lady Grey finally comes to put stock in Brisbane’s story when she finds her own piece of evidence to confirm suspicions. And then, the race is on to find the killer! +/-

First of all, I loved her descriptions! Raybourn knows how to paint a picture with words. I could literally see the dresses and hats as she described them in my mind’s eye, which I think she quite a feat--taking into account that it’s hard to do anyway, but the complicated fashion of the period only made it that much more of a challenge. Julia has a wonderfully strange family who surround her. The bickering, the snobbery, the bizarre characters--I really thought it was a nice backdrop. I liked Brisbane, or maybe I wanted to like him--there was something wonderfully Healthcliff-esque about him. But at the same time, he was so brusque that those few tender moments didn’t seem to fit his character.

There was no lack of twists in this story, but I’m sorry to say that in this case I didn’t find it to be a good thing. I felt like these “shocking” moments started to become contrived and predictable . . . to the rolling of the eyes. But, there were redeeming qualities of that as well. Raybourn calls into question our assumptions about certain characters with these revelations. There’s nothing quite so unsettling as finding out that someone you thought you knew well is actually someone else altogether. I haven’t had this experience much, but enough to understand those feelings of betrayal and disloyalty, not to mention that it makes you question a lot of things about yourself and your life as well. We, as the readers, are forced to reconcile what we know of conflicting reports, and then try to figure out true identities. It gave a nice dimension to the story.

This book was slow moving for me. It was not hard at all for me to put this book down, not even when on the verge of another of Julia’s scandalous discoveries. This book did not have the heart-pounding twists that I’m used to and that I also adore. There were things I didn’t like about the book, but it wasn’t all bad. Anyone who enjoys Victorian-period lit I think would quite enjoy this book. For me, it just wasn’t a homerun.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Genre: Fiction, mixed with fantasy
Publisher, Year: Doubleday, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Flags: Moderate language, adult themes, explicit references
Rating: A-, or Good w/ Minor Problems
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: A young, handsome man drives off a cliff in a drug-induced hysteria. While in the hospital recovering from major burn wounds, he meets an charismatic and slightly off-kilter woman who claims she was his lover in another life.

I’m really at a loss as to what to say about this book. It’s vastly different from any other book I’ve read before. I picked it up on the recommendation of Ann of Books on the Nightstand, whose opinion I like to take when I’m in the mood for something different or edgy. This books satisfied both criteria.

The Gargoyle is narrated by a man who careens off the side of a cliff and finds himself in the middle of a horrendous car fire, which destroys much of his body. As he recovers, a mysterious young woman begins visiting him and telling him stories about 14th century Germany. The only catch is, she believes he is a character from her story, that they met and fell in love in a medieval monastery, and she’s been waiting for him to come back for seven hundred years. +/-

There is a stark contrast that comes to the forefront during the book, and I’m still contemplating its significance. Before the accident, the narrator was a pornographer, so his livelihood depended upon his sexuality. Not only as a profession, we learn, but for sport as well; meaning, his entire life revolved around sex—like someone with an all-consuming hobby, such as an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars or hobbits. Sex was his hobby, his profession, what he spent all his work and free time doing. However, after the accident, he is no longer capable of those things. Not only is his physical appearance considerably altered, but he has also suffered damage to essential organs for such a profession. Thus, his entire world has been taken away from him. Part of his discovery is thus tied up in how he is changed in the aftermath of the fire--how he is reborn. He has to find new things to live for, and it’s not an easy task. He feels the burning of intense desire without the physical ability to act on that feeling. In his struggle, he also feels a little seed of love take root in his heart.

The mysterious woman, Marianne Engel, becomes his self-appointed teacher. She reveals to him, in parts, a history he can’t remember. He finds out that his latest accident is not the first time he’s been burned, that his heart is ready to remember things he’s felt in past years, a past life. She teaches him through short parable-type stories: a girl in Japan, a Viking in Iceland, an Italian couple, and a husband lost at sea. Each of these stories are wildly creative and tragic, too. Marianne also has a close relationship with religion and God. She believes she has a calling from God to carve gargoyles--to release ugly monster from stone and give them a heart from her own chest. She takes it upon herself to rehabilitate the narrator from the prison he’s created of his heart. Marianne reads to him from Dante’s Inferno, which takes on special significance. The narrator believes his burns present a punishment for his way of life, but it seems also to take on the form of a type of cleansing, a healing power to the pain he ran away from.

I found the writing style to be rather scattered, and it was a slow read for me, not because it didn’t hold my interest, but because of the density of the plot and helter-skelter timeline. For me, it was a necessity to read the book in chunks, so I could toss each episode around in my brain and digest it fully before moving on. By the end, I couldn’t go back and pick out certain parts that made more sense because of the final revelations, but rather, it was like all the events felt like memories, and they converged to create an entirely unique experience. That’s not something you find often, and what was really brilliant about it was that it wasn’t hard. The text was nice and smoothly pressed. It rolled right off the tongue (in my mind’s inner “reading voice”).

Although it’s not one I would have ever picked up on my own, I really liked this book. And it can creep up on you the way some books do--a few chapters in, I wasn’t blown away. But somehow I found myself very involved without realizing it. It’s not for the faint of heart, I will say that. Our nameless narrator had a difficult and painful childhood. He’s also an ex-porn star and is hopped up on drugs when he takes that fateful tumble--not to mention the excruciating descriptions of his accident, injuries, and recovery. And the subject matter can be sometimes disturbing and graphic. Normally some of these things would have turned me off the book, but this time was different, and I can’t exactly put my finger on why. I don’t think this book is for everyone, but I’m glad it was for me.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Genre: Memoir
Publisher, Year: Scribner, 2005
Other Works: Half Broke Horses
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A-, or Good w/ Minor Problems
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: The story of a girl growing up with a nomadic family in poverty--and how she overcame it.

As I was reading through this memoir, I could hear my mother’s voice in my mind, with her nose scrunched in disgust, saying, “I don’t like movies where the child is the mother and the mother is a child.” (We were watching Anywhere But Here at the time.) That line pretty much sums up this book for me. But, I did in fact like the book, it was just frustrating as all get out to watch this little family go down the drain because of two incompetent, selfish people.

Jeannette Walls, at the age of three, cooks hotdogs when she gets hungry. Her mother thinks children should be independent. So, she gets out a big pot, fills it with water, and boils her own hotdogs. One time, she makes the mistake of cooking her hotdogs in a fluffy pink tutu over a gas stove. Delicate tulle plus open flame--I think you can guess what happened next. This is the first occurrence in a long line of neglect, inflicted on four siblings who find solace only in sticking together. By the end of the long and arduous journey out of childhood, I was so anxious for the Walls’ kids to get out from under their family oppression and be a success in life, I couldn’t stop reading until I knew they would be alright. Although I suppose “alright” is a relative term. +/-

Although Walls’s parents have many faults, they weren’t sinister. They suffered from other debilitations. Namely, it seems they were the type of people who just weren’t meant to be adults, not to mention parents. They are so burdened by their lives (raising children, earning a living, managing a household--down to the most basic, like eating, taking a bath, cleaning their clothes, etc.), that they just run from responsibility at every turn. But what really got to me was the ways in which their selfish needs manifested, such as Dad quitting his job to work on a “machine” to mine gold (the supposed “answer to their poverty”) and Mom spending what little money they had on chocolate bars while her kids ate from the cafeteria trash at school, not to mention hiding the chocolate so only she could indulge herself. It seemed everything they did just shouted, “We’re the ones who need a mom and dad! We can’t take care of ourselves—it’s too hard!”

As I was reading through these dreadful tales, only becoming more and more desperate by every turn of the page, I began to wonder why the author would want to air this story in front of the world. What compelled her to share this story? I’m sure writing the novel must have been cathartic in that no one could really escape such a past unscathed, but maybe it also had something to do with her love for her parents. Even though they can be pretty despicable, the author doesn’t pass judgment. In some moments, she writes about them as tenderly and caring as any loving daughter, especially her father, who gave her intangible gifts of knowledge and self esteem—and a star in the sky at Christmas. His love was clouded by alcoholism, but that didn’t make it less real to Walls. They are certainly not ideal, but they are her parents. She knows for better or worse, she’s influenced by them, and not all the things they did or taught her were bad.

The Glass Castle is a house that Walls’s father always wanted to build. He spent painstaking hours perfecting the designs. He wanted to take care of his family and be a good parent, he just could not get the motivation to really do it. He dreamt big, but he lived small—very small. I think Walls took a lesson from that. That you can’t just dream big, you have to live big, too. And she did. She worked hard and never let her desire for more get in the way of her responsibilities or her success. And maybe she has her parents to thank for that.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it’s not one I’d ever want to read again. The author is a compelling storyteller, which makes the novel hard to put down. And although frustrating, once you can accept the inanity of her parents, the book can be quite an inspiring story of overcoming all odds.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Genre: General fiction (historical slant)
Publisher, Year: Riverhead, 2007
Other Works: The Kite Runner
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: Two Afghan women a generation apart find their paths converge in war-torn Kabul. Together they find strength to face the cruelty of unjust government.

I loved The Kite Runner when I read it a few years ago, although I regret to say for which I have never written a review. I would have thought it difficult to follow up such a book with another of equal significanc--but it seems an easy task for Hosseini. This book usurped my attention for about a day and half. Yes, folks, that’s how long it took me to read A Thousand Splendid Suns simply because I could not, I did in fact lose my ability to, put this book down. Besides eating and sleeping, I could think of nothing else. Don’t start reading this beauty until you’ve got the time to devote your full attention, well, unless you are a masochist, because I promise you, once you start, it will take an enormous amount of self restraint to stop. (Indeed, I found it impossible.)

Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man. Because of the shame of her birth, she is hidden away with her mother, who had been a maid in his house, in a small shack in the hills. She dreams of living with a big family and of going to school with her brothers and sisters who she will never get to know. +/-

One day, she gets the nerve to visit her father at his rich estate. Mariam could not imagine how one simple act would change the course of her life forever. Laila is an unique girl, marked for beauty by her unusually light hair and her quick and clever intelligence. She has a bright future and people who love her, although her life is not without its sorrows. But, when war comes and the turbulence of a country in chaos takes its toll, Laila will find herself in an impossible situation, with only one choice ahea--one that will take everything she has to give, and more.

This story is one about courage. The courage of women at a desperate and hopeless time. This book has enlightened me with an entirely new understanding of the word oppression. Ruled over by tyrannical husbands and then by an even more strict Taliban, the courage and endurance of the women of Afghanistan are portrayed through Mariam and Laila, two of the strongest characters I believe I have ever read.

War--it seems there are so many books written based on that topic. It is infuriating to read how the power of a few can wreak the utter destruction of so many. It seems so petty, so juvenile--like a few kindergarteners fighting over the blue crayon or who gets to be first in line at the drinking fountain. But, I have to say, whatever gross crimes were inflicted--and they were just that, not to be marginalized--they paled in comparison with what the Taliban can do. The Taliban took that Little Rascals saying, “Boys rule and girls drool,” to whole new heights. Heights I didn’t even deem possible--that such things could happen, it’s just beyond me.

Incredible, incredible book and not one to be missed. What a beautiful tribute Hosseini has paid with this work. Every paragraph testifies of the author’s respect and devotion toward his chosen subject. In such a time, in the face of all that they were made to bear, these women survived. They found a way to weather the endless night, until the sunrise--until a thousand splendid suns could warm them and bring light to their lives again.

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare Dunkle

Genre: Young adult fantasy
Publisher, Year: Henry Holt, 2003
Other Works: Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, The Sky Inside
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: B or Decent
Challenge: Reliquiae, Countdown, Library
Premise: A beautiful young girl finds herself the object of desire of a grotesque underworld goblin.


I think this is the first book that I’ve read that I could call a true fantasy. (Well, besides the Star Wars book I read.) And I have to say that I quite liked it--although I’ve come to realize that this sort of fantasy may just not be my thing. In other words, I’m not moving on with the rest of the trilogy; however, I think it’s completely conceivable for those whose boats were floated with this tale would be itching for the next installment.

Kate and her little sister Emily, both their parents having passed away, move to the estate that was left in their mother’s name. Their cousin lives there and two of their great aunts nearby. Unfortunately, the cousin is not all too taken with the girls, so they live happily in a small house with their elderly, but feisty, aunts. Kate loves the fresh air, the rolling hills, and the open sky of her new home, and she and her sister spend many hours outdoors, even until nightfall. +/-

One evening, they get lost walking home, and end up running into an unlikely band of people, a gypsy woman and some hooded figures, to ask for help. One of the hooded men, Marak, kindly offers to take the girls home, and although Emily is taken with him right away even without seeing his face, Kate is mistrusting. As they arrive, Kate is finally allowed to see the stranger’s hidden visage, which will set in motion a series of events that she cannot escape.

I really enjoyed the setting Dunkle created of underworld creatures, magical powers, and the mixing of reality and superstition. Although I found a few of the themes unsettling for young women, complete with kidnappings. I guess I would hope for a stronger female heroine, although I think Dunkle did try to alleviate these problems with something different in Kate. She is definitely a live wire, but I suppose I was hoping for a little bit more. I enjoyed the first two sections (Starlight and Lamplight, particularly the latter) much more than the last (Darkness). That last section I felt deviated from the main focus and rhythm of the story, to sort of make it more adventurous and introduce more problems to be solved. I think I would have been satisfied with the first two sections on their own.

Overall, I have to say, even though I’m not terribly interested to move on to the next book in the series, that it definitely had a "can't put down" quality, and it seemed that I couldn't read the book fast enough. I'd say if your tastes run toward fantasy, this one will be a slam dunk for you.

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce

Genre: Young adult/fantasy (fairy tale)
Publisher, Year: Arthur A. Levine, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Reliquiae, Count, Tales, Library
Premise: The miller's daugther finds herself in a pickle, based on the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin.

I am finding that I’m a real sucker for fairy tale retellings. There is just something about them! I haven’t met a bad one yet. I hope I never do. Elizabeth Bunce’s debut novel was no exception, based off of the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin. Beautifully written, excellent story, creatively crafted. Loved it.

Charlotte is the miller’s daughter. Stirwaters mill has been in Charlotte’s family for generations—although never passed from father to son. There’s a dark cloud that hangs over the business, which only thickens as Charlotte’s father dies and she and her sister, Rosie, are left to try to run the mill alone. Problems keep cropping up: between bad weather and family obligation to machinery repairs and debt collection, Charlotte finds herself hard pressed for solutions. In the superstitious 18th century country town, the sisters happen upon a mysterious and unlikely answer to their problems, and they have to decide what they are willing to pay to save their livelihood. +/-

I was drawn into this story from the first page. Stirwaters is a spooky, yet comfortable place, and I came to love it as much as the Millers. The whole town of Shearing, where Charlotte and Rosie live, comes alive with skillfully written, colorful characters. Uncle Wheeler, Mr. Woodstone, Biddy Tom, and the most unforgettable character of Jack Spinner, round out the cast. You’d think in a novel like this one where you know the main storyline from beginning to end, that it would be hard for an author to bring such a fresh and interesting look to it! But, the book was still somehow full of moments of mystery, intrigue, and surprise.

The author very deftly described the “mill” life, acquiring wool, spinning it into thread, weaving it into cloth, and dying it to make valuable fabric. The whole process really captivated my interest. She breathed new life into this topic, making me wish I could take another trip to Lowell, Massachusetts, where they have textile museums as the trade spread to the United States. There’s nothing that can make a time period come alive like a well-written and -researched historical novel--this one happens to be both.

This book is part historical fiction, part fairy tale retelling, part fantasy. It’ll capture your attention and imagination. I’m definitely looking forward to what else Ms. Bunce may have up her sleeve.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Genre: General fiction, classical twist
Publisher, Year: Bloomsbury, 2007
Other Works: The Goose Girl, Princess Academy
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown
Premise: Unlucky in love, Jane Hayes is looking for a modern Mr. Darcy to jump from the BBC into her life. To get over her unhealthy obsession with one last hurrah, Jane spends three weeks in Regency England. Will she find her own Regency gentleman, or will she finally wake up and smell the stark scent of reality?

I was skeptical going into this book because I’ve been burned by other “modern-day” Austenesque books in the past. But, I still had some confidence because I’ve been wowed by Shannon Hale before. I thought, if anyone can pull this off, it would be her. I’m so happy to report that I was right! If you’re a Jane Austen fan and you haven’t picked this book up yet, don’t delay! Or even if you’ve only seen Austen movies or just heard of Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy, you will be able to love this book. It was a dream from page one! This book is screaming to be made into a screenplay—any takers? +/-

Jane is your typical disillusioned thirty-something, tired of love and tired of men. However, there’s something a little different about her: she’s head over heels for a fictional character of the Austen conjuring, an obsession that’s bordering on neurosis. In other words, Mr. Darcy is taking over her life. If she doesn’t act fast, she’s going to turn into a puddle of longing remorse. Luckily, Jane’s got an observant great aunt who just happens to leave her the chance of a lifetime in her will—a chance to step into a real-life Regency existence.

Pure gold. Seriously. I loved every minute. Somehow Hale is able to take those contrived moments, those catch phrases, and turn them into something new and fun. It was like being swept away in the “Regency” experience without being completely immersed—something that can never happen when “playing” at something. And yet, the experience beings out real parts of Jane and changes her in real ways. The reality versus the illusion: that classic battle.

Nearing the end, I was so hoping for a twist, but I was totally unable to see where one could possibly come from. And then BAM! it shows up—Emeril style. And I had the urge to immediately start reading from the beginning all over again! It was absolute perfection. Perfection, I tell you! This is a must read. It will not disappoint! I polished it off in two sittings. A great read for a day off!

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Genre: General fiction
Publisher, Year: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2004
Other Works: Housekeeping
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Book Awards III, Countdown
Premise: A loyal preacher comes to the end of his life and writes a journal for his young son to have as a legacy after he's gone.

I’d heard about Marilynne Robinson’s first book Housekeeping from the Books on the Nightstand podcast and became interested in her. So, when I signed up for the Book Awards Challenge, I decided to make Gilead one of my picks. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish on time, but better late than never! I find it fitting that the last book was the one I enjoyed the most.

Gilead is written as a journal from the perspective of Reverend John Ames. John has a heart condition and know he won’t live long. He married late in life, and so has a young son, about six or seven. And so, he wants to leave his son something of himself behind. Throughout the book, John chronicles the lives of his grandfather and father (who were also preachers), a difficult relationship with his best friend’s son (who was named after him), and his own sad first marriage, where his wife and daughter both passed away in childbirth. Set in Iowa, Robinson takes the reader through several generations of small town life in a turbulent world. +/-

I loved this book down to the final words. What’s so wonderful about this book is that it’s simplicity itself. It’s about a simple man who lived a common life and strived for a peaceful and meaningful existence. In that, there is great beauty and wisdom.

Through each generation, Robinson explores the friction that evolves between father and son. Although times change, relationships do not. As long as the world turns, conflicts will arise. And as long as conflicts arise, fathers and sons will have differing opinions and will hurt and disappoint each other. For example, at one point John reminisces about traveling with his father to find his grandfathers grave in another state. The journey was hard and long and they didn’t have enough food. But, the lessons he learned on the trip were what he remembered: that his father loved him and sacrificed for him. Even though he has many disappointments in his life, I think the uplifting moments are more sacred to him than any disappointments can dispel.

Ultimately, I think Gilead is a book about forgiveness—about acceptance. About leaving history in the past and looking forward to a brighter future. About letting our circumstances be what they are and accepting them with quiet and confident resolve. John’s voice is one that resonates in my head, though I’ve turned the last page—a true American treasure.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham

Genre: General fiction
Publisher, Year: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2002
Other Works: A Home at the End of the World
Flags: Moderate language, Adult themes
Rating: A or Great Read
Challenge: Book Awards III, Countdown
Premise: Three women go through the events of their day--strangers, yet inexpicably connected.

I think if I’d read Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, it would have enhanced my experience with The Hours, but having that background was not essential in falling in love with this carefully crafted novel. I love how the title is so fitting and significant. Everything about this book was just right for me.

The book focuses on the stories of three women, all which are told chronologically, although each woman lives in a different time: Clarissa, a forty-something woman looking after a dying friend; Laura, a young mother in the 50s; and Virginia herself, writer and tortured soul. Through the events of a single day, each woman goes about her duties—seemingly insignificant acts, daily events, nothing special. Cunningham very adeptly shows us that those menial moments that we plow through everyday reveal something within us, an inner commentary, a million daily decisions that shape and change who we are, how we live—and how we die. +/-

The book begins with Virginia Woolf’s suicide. (And, I have to say, if death is not an interesting literary topic for you, this book may not be your cup of tea.) The thing I really admired about Cunningham’s take is how his exploration of the meaning of death also accentuated, by showing it in relief, an exploration of the meaning of life. And without the push and pull of trying too hard. Our lives are composed merely and simply of hour after hour after hour. Some of those hours are filled with a rapturous joy, more are filled with sadness. How does that rapture measure up in conjunction with our miseries? How do we move from the sad hours to the happy hours, and what happens to us during those hours in between the tug-of-war?

Needless to say, Michael Cunningham is indeed a talented writer of prose. The language in this book took me to another place. I didn’t find it a page-turner, per se, but I was surprised when I turned the final page. That is to say—the story ran and I hardly noticed the speed. It is a somber work, but a delight just the same. A contemplative work of art.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Genre: Young adult
Publisher, Year: Puffin Books, 2004
Other Works: The Bride's Farewell, What I Was
Flags: Teen angst, Tenuous references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenges: Book Awards, Dystopya, Countdown
Premise: A teenage girl, Daisy, leaves her parents to live with her cousins in England. Soon after she arrives, a war breaks out. Left to their own devices, Daisy and her cousins fend for themselves before they get shipped out in different directions. Daisy and her little cousin Piper fight to survive, hoping to find a way to the ones they care about.

I had heard so many good things about this book, I was excited when it fit right in with a couple of challenges I wanted to do. When I picked it up from the library, I was surprised to see how short it is. But, don’t let that fool you—literary gems come in all shapes in sizes.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, but I have to say that I was very pleased with it in the end. I think Rosoff created a very fair and interesting depiction of the delicate and frank, not to mention hormonal, teenage look at the instability of our world. Daisy is a complex character and her voice is strong and resonating. Although she is a flawed character, there’s something pure about her as well, which I found refreshing and puzzling at the same time. +/-

I also enjoyed the author’s writing style, with misplaced capitalization and sans quote marks. Usually things like that add a level of difficulty and confusion (Who’s talking? Where did that that thought end and this one begin? I’m lost!). But I really felt these grammatical liberties enhanced the flow of conversation, provided a bit of levity for such a serious topic, and made the plot altogether easier to follow—which seemed a considerable feat.

I think this is a book every teenager should read. Having said that, there are scenes that my disturb you or offend your moral code. However, I believe Rosoff has approached these subjects in a way that not only faces hard fact but also increases understanding, in a world where very little makes sense. I came away from this book with a new perspective on life, or perhaps an old perspective (my own teenage one) being asked to think about subjects I rarely pondered on at that age—instability and war and pain. And that is the reality for far too many young people today. Rosoff’s book is truly a thing of beauty—highly recommended.