Category Archives: Book Reviews

Voyage au Centre de la Terre by Jules Verne (and Crossing Something Off My Bucket List)

Posted in 25 Things, Book Reviews, Classics, France, Novels by

julesverne

“As long as the heart beats, as long as body and soul keep together, I cannot admit that any creature endowed with a will has need to despair of life.”

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Published 1864 by Pierre Jules Hetzel
Classics/French/Adventure
Format: paperback; 338 pages
Also By This Author: Around the World in Eighty Days, From the Earth to the Moon, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

The intrepid Professor Liedenbrock embarks upon the strangest expedition of the nineteenth century: a journey down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the Earth’s very core. In his quest to penetrate the planet’s primordial secrets, the geologist–together with his quaking nephew Axel and their devoted guide, Hans–discovers an astonishing subterranean menagerie of prehistoric proportions. Verne’s imaginative tale is at once the ultimate science fiction adventure and a reflection on the perfectibility of human understanding and the psychology of the questor.

Thoughts:

You may be wondering why I used the original French title of Journey to the Center of the Earth in the blog title…that’s because I read this book in French! If you’ve been to my blog before, you may be familiar with my list of 25 things to do for my 25th year. #3 on that list was to “read an entire book in French.” So I can now cross that off!

It wasn’t easy–the French language has a special past tense that is only used in books or in storytelling, which makes it really hard to learn because you’ll hardly ever have the need to use it in a conversation. To be honest, I did not understand everything that goes on in this book, but I picked Jules Verne to read because 1) French Classics are easier to understand than English classics because the French language has barely changed over the centuries, 2) Classic novels have more grammatically correct dialogue between characters as opposed to modern novels, and 3) Jules Verne writes suspenseful and captivating adventure novels that are easy to follow and visualize.

On to the book! The only other Verne novel I’ve read before Journey to the Center of the Earth was Around the World in Eighty Days, which I really enjoyed. Verne’s characters are so particular and unique and the adventures they go on are always full of suspense and those “this is our last hope” type of scenes so that you’ll never be bored while reading one of his novels. Professor Lidenbrock is ever persistent and hopeful during this life-threatening journey while his nephew, Axel, often exclaims that all hope is lost and the group is sure to perish.

As always, true to Verne’s captivating writing style, there is a twist at the end of Journey to the Center of the Earth that anyone who has previously read Verne will be expecting to discover :)

Read This Book If…:

…you love an adventure!
…you’re into science fiction books, especially those written by the fathers of sci-fi.
…you crave a book that will make you both laugh out loud and turn the pages in suspense.
…you’re looking for a new unforgettable adventure to experience.

“Was I to believe him in earnest in his intention to penetrate to the center of this massive globe? Had I been listening to the mad speculations of a lunatic, or to the scientific conclusions of a lofty genius? Where did truth stop? Where did error begin?”

Final Musings:

If you’ve never read a novel by Jules Verne, I would suggest Journey to the Center of the Earth as a good starting point, although I preferred Around the World in Eighty Days (really though, any Verne book is a good book to read). Full of quirky characters, daring adventures, and spectacular imagery, Journey to the Center of the Earth is definitely a classic that deserves its masterpiece label.

The Messenger by Pamela DuMond

Posted in Book Reviews, Fantasy, Novels, Young Adult by

themessenger

“Madeline, I do not care where you are from–the future, the past, a star in the sky. I will love you here, now. I do not care what people think. I will love you in the past. I will love you in the future. I will love you, forever, Madeline.”

The Messenger by Pamela DuMond
Published April 20, 2012 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Young Adult/Fantasy/Historical Romance
Format: e-book; 257 pages
Also By This Author: The Story of You and Me, Annie Graceland Mystery series
Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Madeline’s meant to fall in love with Samuel in every lifetime. But she meets him for the first time when she accidentally time travels into the past—hundreds years before she’s even born!

Their relationship is forbidden—Samuel’s half Native, Madeline’s white. Every rendezvous they share must be secret. Each moment they spend together tempts the odds that they’ll be discovered and brutally punished. But their love is fated—they musk risk all.

Danger intensifies when Madeline learns she’s in the past not only to fall in love, but also to claim her birth right as a Messenger—a soul who can slip through time’s fabric at will.

Deadly Hunters, dark-souled time travelers, crave Madeline’s powers and seek to seduce or kill her. Can Madeline find her way back to the future in time to save herself and Samuel?

 Thoughts

I really enjoy time traveling books! I just wish I read more of them. The Messenger combines my interest in time-travel with historical fiction, and I really love that combination because there is always that major predicament: is the main character going to stay in the past or will he/she chose to return to their present day? I will not spoil Madeline’s decision, but I will tell you that the book had me in total suspense until the very last paragraph.

The majority of Madeline’s time travelling adventure revolves around Samuel, a Native American with a soft heart and healer’s hands. As Madeline discovers more about her inexplicable trip to the past, she begins to feel a pull towards Samuel that even three hundred years of history cannot deter.

But Madeline’s time-traveling abilities open up so many questions regarding her past and her family. And Madeline isn’t the only one with these fantastical abilities–the longer she stays in Colonial America, the more she realizes that her abilities are so much greater than herself.

Read This Book If…:

…you love time-traveling stories!
…you have a guilty pleasure for historical romances.
…diverse stories involving race and racism resonate with you.
…you enjoy books that leave you hanging in suspense until the very last page.

Final Musings:

I thoroughly enjoyed The Messenger! There were several times when I could not put this book down. I was worried when I couldn’t find any announcements on a sequel, but I just found out that book 2, The Assassin, will be published early next year! Can’t wait :)

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

Posted in Book Reviews, Classics, Novels, Young Adult by

aseparatepiece

“We reminded them of what peace was like, of lives which were not bound up with destruction.”

A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Published 1959 by Secker & Warburg
Classics/Young Adult
Format: paperback; 204 pages
Also By This Author: Peace Breaks Out, Phineas
Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 4/5 

Synopsis:

Set at a boys boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.

Thoughts:

I first read A Separate Peace nearly 14 years ago while I was in 7th grade. I’ve always felt like my assigned reading choices in school were generally interesting books that made a long-lasting impact on me; A Separate Peace is no exception. Do you ever reread books you haven’t read in ages and find yourself thinking, “I do not remember imagining it this way”? For me it was more about remembering the characters differently.

Gene and Phineas are two 16-year-old boys living at an all-boys prep school, where most of the students and staff are affected by the outbreak of WWII. Gene and Phineas, along with a few other students, create the “Super Suicide Society,” where the whole goal is to do daring and rule-breaking stunts. This club, and the leadership of Phineas, reflect the escape the boys try to make from the reality of war. The irony, however, is that the boys have brought the war into their club.

Before I reread this book, I had the mindset that Phineas was that one friend we all have who always tries to “one up” us in everything. You know who I’m talking about–you do well on a test, they do better; you feel like you’re really good in a sport or hobby, they show you how much more talented they are (and make it look effortless); you receive an awesome present from someone, they tell you that they got one once and it just wasn’t that great. Well, when I reread this novel, I realized that Phineas is not that “one-upper” friend at all. Which means that I obviously relate a lot to Gene, who creates this whole unspoken competition between himself and Phineas.

I think a lot of people can relate to the characters and circumstances in this novel, even though it takes place in the early 1940s. That’s why this book had so much impact on me when I was 12 and when I was 25; you can put those themes into any context and will still be able to empathize with the characters.

Read This Book If…:

…you enjoy short, powerful novels.
…you like reading historical, young adult books that deal with mature subject matter.
…you’re intrigued by themes of war, childhood innocence, jealousy, and forgiveness.

Final Musings:

One of the things I love most about these short & powerful novels is that they always have so many good quotes to reflect on!

“Because it seemed clear that wars were not made by generations and their special stupidities, but that wars were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.”

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Posted in Book Reviews, Classics, Novels, The Classics Club by

NorthandSouth

“Looking back upon the year’s accumulated heap of troubles, Margaret wondered how they had been borne. If she could have anticipated them, how she would have shrunk away and hid herself from the coming time! And yet day by day had, of itself, and by itself, been very endurable–small, keen, bright little spots of positive enjoyment having come sparkling into the very middle of sorrows.”

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Published in 1858 by Chapman & Hall
Classics/Drama/Romance
Format: paperback; 424 pages
Also From This Author: Cranford, Wives and Daughters
  Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

Thoughts:

So, I adored this novel. It was such a wonderful surprise, because I had read the first third of it for a Victorian Lit & Technology seminar I took in college, but for various reasons I never finished it (the curse of assigned reading). This year, I decided to read it as part of my Classics Club and Back to the Classics lists, and now I keep thinking, “Why did I never read this book sooner?!”

North and South is a coming of age tale of sorts that follows Margaret Hale and her family as they move from their beloved country home of Helstone in the south of England to the industrial manufacturing city of Milton in the north. I identified with this novel in some particular ways, namely the fact that I have uprooted my life before and moved from what is known and comfortable to what is foreign and seemingly harsh. I’m sure most expats feel the same way: when you move to a new country and are unfamiliar with the language and culture, it can be very stressful and depressing for a while. But, if you try to assimilate and learn the ways of your new home, chances are you’ll absorb parts of the new culture and learn to embrace its differences from your mother culture. This is something I loved most about Margaret. She could have boxed herself up and refused to reach out to her new neighbors, but instead she intermingles with Milton inhabitants of all class ranks, and she grows to love them. And her eagerness to do so has a positive effect on her acquaintances as well.

Which brings me to Mr. John Thornton. Even though Margaret despises him from the start, I always had a soft regard for him (probably because of Gaskell’s descriptions of him, and because I already knew how this story would end from watching the miniseries). Thornton is viewed as a cruel and unkind master who has no compassion for his mill workers, which isn’t true, but this is attributed to Margaret’s misunderstanding of Thornton and Milton ways. By the end of the novel, Thornton learns as much from Margaret and his workers as Margaret learns from all of them in return. I loved that they all had faults and they all struggled to overcome them.

“I wanted to see the place where Margaret grew to what she is, even at the worst time of all, when I had no hope of ever calling her mine…”

Oh yeah, and I loved the romance :) It was one of the “bright spots” that relieved the moments of grief and suffering that take up most of this novel.

Read This Book If…:

• You love reading Victorian Lit that focuses on social injustices and “new” technology.
• You enjoyed Jane Eyre (there lies the same themes of human conscience, right vs. wrong, and compassion).
• You’re intrigued by Byronic heroes (Mr. Thornton has, in my opinion, qualities of both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester).
• You like endings that make you laugh, cry, and feel inspired <3

Final Musings:

North and South is not your typical period romance. It deals with some serious grief and suffering; but as Margaret Hale discovers, there is always some “bright spot” to make life enjoyable. Plus, there’s a Byronic romance that will make you swoon (and it even made me cry, happily and sadly). And if romance isn’t your thing, this novel still talks about social injustices that remain relevant today. Unlike some other similar novels, North and South will make you think and feel but it won’t leave you depressed (I’m looking at you, Wuthering Heights).

Stop by later this week to see my post on the BBC miniseries of North and South!

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Posted in Book Reviews, Classics, Novels, The Classics Club by

waroftheworlds

“For a time I believed that mankind had been swept out of existence, and that I stood there alone, the last man left alive.”

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Published in 1898 by William Heinemann
Classics/Science Fiction
Format: paperback; 248 pages
Also From This Author: The Time Machine, The Invisible Man
  Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Man had not yet learned to fly when H.G. Wells conceived this story of a Martian attack on England. Giant cylinders crash to Earth, disgorging huge, unearthly creatures armed with heat-rays and fighting machines. Amid the boundless destruction they cause, it looks as if the end of the world has come.

Thoughts

As an amateur fan of early science fiction, I am just amazed at H.G. Wells’s creativity and imagination. He wrote this book before the Wright brothers had even developed a way for man to fly, and yet he was able to effortlessly describe flying capsules crashing to Earth in the dawn of an alien invasion. I have always been so amazed at people who are able to imagine the idea of something before it is even tangible. I don’t have that type of intuition or innovation, so I really admire people who do.

This was not my first experience with The War of the Worlds. I remember seeing the 2005 film version with Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning and being absolutely absorbed in the story. I was terrified and wondrous at the same time. So when I finally started reading this book I was happy to find that The War of the Worlds was as suspenseful and thought-provoking on page as it was on-screen.

One of my favorite aspects of science fiction is the social commentary. I love that science fiction is more about analyzing the human condition than it is about the technology and the futuristic settings. H.G. Wells was a huge part of the social science fiction movement, and in The War of the Worlds this is seen in the relationship between the narrator and the Curate as the world they know is falling apart. This relationship was the most interesting part of the novel for me.

Read This Book If…:

…you enjoy Sci-Fi, especially early Sci-Fi
…you’re looking for a book that can speak to all generations
…you’re a lover of suspense!
…curiosity gets the better of you sometimes

Final Musings

I don’t know why I hesitated for so long before finishing an H.G. Wells novel! I love so many movie adaptations of his works, it’s no surprise really that I’d love his books too. Next H.G. Wells book I’ll read will be The Time Machine (which happens to be one of my favorite movies!).

Are you a fan of H.G. Wells? What are some of your favorite early science fiction works?

The Beautiful American by Jeanne Mackin – Blog Tour & GIVEAWAY!

Posted in Book Reviews, France, Historical Fiction, Novels by

thebeautifulamerican

“Some memories, the more you talk about them, the stronger they become.”

The Beautiful American by Jeanne Mackin
Published June 3, 2014 by New American Library/Penguin
Historical Fiction
Format: paperback; 352 pages
Cover Appeal: A
Also From This Author: The Sweet By and By, The Frenchwoman
Goodreads | Amazon | Website
My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

As recovery from World War II begins, expat American Nora Tours travels from her home in southern France to London in search of her missing daughter. There, she unexpectedly meets up with an old acquaintance, famous model-turned-photographer Lee Miller. Neither has emerged from the war unscathed. Nora is racked with the fear that her efforts to survive under the Vichy regime may have cost her daughter’s life. Lee suffers from what she witnessed as a war correspondent photographing the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps.

Nora and Lee knew each other in the heady days of late 1920’s Paris: when Nora was giddy with love for her childhood sweetheart, Lee became the celebrated mistress of the artist Man Ray, and Lee’s magnetic beauty drew them all into the glamorous lives of famous artists and their wealthy patrons. But Lee fails to realize that her friendship with Nora is even older, that it goes back to their days as children in Poughkeepsie, New York, when a devastating trauma marked Lee forever.

A novel of freedom and frailty, desire and daring, The Beautiful American portrays the extraordinary relationship between two passionate, unconventional women.

Thoughts

This novel brought on so many nostalgic feelings! One of my favorite things about reading novels set in France is all the cultural references I get to latch on to. I like reading about a city or cuisine or French habit and being able to say, “Yes! I know exactly what that is.” I’ve read some books set in France that had too many cultural and French language errors for me to be able to enjoy reading it. The Beautiful American is not one of those books. Jeanne Mackin depicts a vividly accurate and alive portrait of France, so that it is a character as much as it is a setting.

The book starts off to a slower tempo but that really adds to the whole suspense of the novel. We know right from the beginning that Nora, our main character and American expatriate, is searching for her missing daughter, and is also hiding a torturous and heartbreaking past. Then suddenly we are presented with detailed flashbacks of a promiscuous and carefree 1920s Paris. During these earlier flashbacks I kept comparing The Beautiful American to The Great Gatsby; they both play with themes of 1920s idealism, and the suspense I mentioned earlier is strengthened by the foreboding knowledge that everything is about to come crashing down. Once it finally does, you cannot put this book down until you know how it ends.

I was happy, and nothing in the world can make you oblivious to your surroundings like happiness.

As far as historical fiction novels go, this one is captivating and inspiring. Nora and her celebutante childhood friend are bold and courageous characters who witness some true horrors from the WWII era. As a warning to anyone interested in reading this book, there is some mild sex and violence that is unsettling but not explicit.

If you are a fan of historical fiction that feels real and intense, The Beautiful American will no doubt be an enjoyable novel for you! You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to WWII era France even if you’ve never been to France before in your life :)

Read This Book If…:

…you love France!
…you enjoy reading historical fiction that takes place in Europe during WWII
…you like The Great Gatsby (it has that same 1920s idealism that you just know is about to collapse)
…you’re longing for a book that will captivate you even after you’ve turned the last page

Final Musings

FranceBookTours I’m reviewing The Beautiful American as part of a blog tour hosted by France Book Tours. Please click on the banner to see a list of other bloggers participating in the tour!

Praise for The Beautiful American

“Readers will rank [it] right up there with The Paris Wife…. A brilliant, beautifully written literary masterpiece…”–New York Times bestselling author Sandra Dallas

“Will transport you to expat Paris… and from there take you on a journey through the complexities of a friendship…breathes new life into such luminaries as Man Ray, Picasso, and, of course, the titular character, Lee Miller, while at the same time offering up a wonderfully human and sympathetic protagonist in Nora Tours.”–Suzanne Rindell, author of The Other Typist

“Achingly beautiful and utterly mesmerizing… Sure to appeal to fans of Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife and Erika Robuck’s Call Me Zelda, or indeed to anyone with a taste for impeccably researched and beautifully written historical fiction.”– Jennifer Robson, author of Somewhere in France

“Beautiful…A fascinating account of a little-known woman who was determined to play by her own rules.”–Historical Novel Society

unnamedABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeanne Mackin is the author of several historical novels set in France, and has earned awards for her journalism
as well as a creative writing fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, cats and herd of deer, and is still trying to master the French subjunctive.

Visit her website.
Follow Jeanne Mackin on Twitter  | Facebook

Buy the book on Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books a Million | Google Play | iBookstore | Indiebound | Powells

GIVEAWAY

Click here to enter a giveaway for Jeanne Mackin’s The Beautiful American. Five copies will be given away to US/Canada residents only.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Posted in Book Reviews, Classics, Novels by

RobinHood

You who so plod amid serious things that you feel it shame to give yourself up even for a few short moments to mirth and joyousness in the land of Fancy; you who think that life hath not to do with innocent laughter that can harm no one; these pages are not for you.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Published 1883 by Scribner’s
Classic/Adventure
Format: print; 376 pages
Also From This Author: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Men of Iron, Otto of the Silver Hand
Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and in so doing became an undying symbol of virtue. But most important, Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men offer young readers more than enough adventure and thrills to keep them turning the pages. Who could resist the arrows flying, danger lurking, and medieval intrigue?

Thoughts

Quoth Robin Hood, snuffing the air, “Here is a fair day, Little John, and one that we can ill waste in idleness.”

If you know me well you know that I am in love with Robin Hood (like, if he showed up on my doorstep I would run away to Sherwood Forest with him in a heartbeat). I’ve been intrigued by the legend of Robin Hood since I first saw Disney’s animated Robin Hood (1973), which is also why the fox is my favorite animal (though I have a fondness for roosters, too).

So why is it that I have waited so long to read Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood?! It’s probably for the best though, since I don’t think I would have understood much of the Old English language if I read this as a kid.

My favorite part of Pyle’s classic is of course the characters. Besides Robin, I also really loved the stories of Will Scarlet and Sir Richard of the Lea. Little John is as lovable as ever. Pyle perfectly describes him as a “great, faithful dog,” when it comes to his relationship with Robin. I found myself smiling at how effortless it was for other characters to pledge their honor to Robin. Each adventure followed a similar pattern: Robin would encounter someone who was on a quest or who needed help, he’d lend them a hand (or money, or his men), and at the end of the day all would be set right and Robin would have a new friend.

Robin Hood himself is so charming and hopeful that even the most destitute characters he comes in contact with can’t help but be infected by his infectious personality:

The Knight shook his head with a faint smile, but for all that Robin’s words made him more blithe of heart, for in truth hope, be it ever so faint, bringeth a gleam into darkness, like a little rushlight that costeth but a groat.

Read This Book If…:

…there is at least one adventurous bone in your body
…you love reading about legendary characters
…you enjoy a book that can make you laugh, gasp, and cry
…you’re into historical fiction

Final Musings

This book is not a fast read, but it is an exciting one! Each of Robin Hood’s adventures left me surprised, and even though I knew he would find a way to escape unscathed, I still found myself caught up in the suspense and action. For someone who was already enamored by Robin Hood, finally getting to read about his adventures only made me love him more!

“So my aching heart seeks thine, love
There to find its rest and peace,
For, though loving, bliss is mine, love,
And my many troubles cease.”

BONUS! Check back tomorrow for my (very late) post about a Robin Hood musical I saw earlier this year!

The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan

Posted in Book Reviews, New Adult, Novels by

thetroublewithflirting

I had everything perfectly planned for my first year of university…That, apparently, was a mistake.

The Trouble With Flirting by Rachel Morgan
Published Sept 9, 2014
New Adult (clean) Romance
Format: e-book; 332 pages
Also By This Author: The Trouble With Flying, The Trouble With Faking, Trouble With Falling
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

Labelled a nerd for most of high school, Livi sees her first year of university as a chance to redefine herself. She can finally enter the popular crowd and maybe even land herself a super hot boyfriend. But Livi’s about to discover that the price of popularity may be more than she’s willing to pay, and that what—and who—she wants most has always been right in front of her.

Thoughts:

Doesn’t this (really pretty) cover match my blog colors perfectly? YES I’M OBSESSED WITH PRETTY COVERS! I have a problem.

The Trouble With Flirting was a really fun read! I just finished the book moments ago and I have those warm fuzzy feelings you get after reading something cute. Livi, the main character, is a college freshman in Cape Town, South Africa, and although she can be somewhat frustrating at times, she’s also easy to identify with. I loved that she was a nerd, because I feel that so many girls who read this (including myself) are nerds as well, and may also try to cover that up when making new friends.

The whole theme of owning yourself and not being ashamed to admit you’re into specific hobbies or interests just because you want to impress or fit in with a clique was really encouraging. I used to think that was only an issue you’d have in high school, but then I noticed it in college, and later with coworkers, and more and more this year I’ve found myself thinking, “Who CARES if I’m a nerd? If I listen to the same song on loop for an hour? If I watch A Walk To Remember and bawl my eyes out and STILL want to watch it again?” I shouldn’t be embarrassed about any of my interests, as long as they’re not unhealthy or harmful, and as Livi’s best friend Adam reminds us, I shouldn’t change who I am to make friends.

Wow, I was not expecting to say all of that in this review. But I really needed to, I guess! :)

If you’re looking for a book that’s light reading but not too light, this is a great one! Some scary things happen to Livi, but some great things happen as well, and the book focuses on those things.

Read This Book If…:

…you’ve ever wanted to redefine yourself
…you’ve ever felt unnecessarily embarrassed or ashamed because of a specific friend, hobby, or interest
…you’re a college freshman (or can identify with one)
…you enjoy reading books that touch on more serious subject matter yet are still comforting reads with “swoon-worthy” moments

“Because you know that place at the back of people’s minds where they keep their secret fantasies? That’s where I kept you, Livi. And if I finally get to make that a reality, I want it to last.”

Final Musings:

Rachel Morgan writes about conflicts that everyone will go through during life: peer-pressure, drug & alcohol abuse, self-love, self-confidence, and how to make worthy friends & love interests. The thing I really loved about The Trouble With Flirting is that it touches on all of these deep subjects while also bringing out the “silver-lining.” This book won’t make you cry, but it’ll make you self-reflect. And also, it’ll make you swoon because the main romance is filled with all sorts of geeky adorableness :)

A breathy laugh escapes me. “Don’t be nervous. It’s just me.”
“Exactly,” he says, and his face is flushed as he looks up and adds, “It’s you.”

“Come Away, Come Away!”: J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan

Posted in Book Reviews, Classics, Fantasy, Novels, Young Adult by
Peter-Pan-To-Neverland1

Artwork by Nicholas Jackson

“You just think of lovely wonderful thoughts,” Peter explained, “and they lift you up in the air.”

“After the first production I had to add something to the play at the request of the parents…about no one being able to fly until the fairy dust had been blown on him; so many children having gone home and tried it from their beds and needed surgical attention.” – J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan (originally Peter and Wendy) by J.M. Barrie
Published Oct. 11, 1911 by Hodder & Stoughton
Children’s/Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Annotated hardcover; 182 pages
Also By This Author: The Little White Bird, Peter Pan (play), The Admirable Crichton
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

Peter Pan, the book based on J.M. Barrie’s famous play, is filled with unforgettable characters: Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up; the fairy, Tinker Bell; the evil pirate, Captain Hook; and the three children–Wendy, John, and Michael–who fly off with Peter Pan to Neverland, where they meet Indians and pirates and a crocodile that ticks. 

(This review is spoiler free)

Thoughts:

What is there left to be said about the story of Peter Pan, the Darling children, and Neverland? I feel as if this beautiful story about children who don’t want to grow up has been analyzed, digested, and adapted more times than anyone can count, but clearly there is a reason for that: Peter Pan is an enduring masterpiece. So instead of analyzing it, I just want to share a few of the things that struck me the most while reading this book.

Firstly, I checked out my library’s copy of The Annotated Peter Pan, and I’m really tempted to buy a copy for myself. It has so much information about J.M. Barrie, the early productions of the play, hundreds of footnotes (which is where I found that quote from Barrie about the fairy dust), and some chapters on Peter Pan adaptations, spin-offs, and productions.

The Introduction by Editor Maria Tatar included this similarity between Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which echoed my own feelings while reading the novel:

[Dorothy], Huck, and Peter have won us over with their love of adventure, their streaks of poetry, their wide-eyed and wise innocence, and their deep appreciation of what it means to be alive. They all refuse to grow up and tarnish their sense of wonder and openness to new experiences.

Reading this book as an adult, I noticed myself trying to rationalize things or figure out a logical solution to the characters’ conflicts, but when I tried to see Peter Pan and the world of Neverland through the eyes of the Darling children, I began to feel inspired and light-hearted again. This is the exact reason why I enjoy reading children’s and YA literature. Of course every genre deals with serious subject matter, I am not disputing that, but I particularly love reading tales from the POV of a child or adolescent; experiencing situations from the eyes of a younger person has always been eye-opening to me.

Another aspect of the novel that made a big impression on me was Barrie’s style of writing. His sense of humor is both subtle and cheeky, and it’s most concentrated in his descriptions of the characters. One of my favorite examples of this is from a passage about Peter Pan’s imagination:

The difference between him and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe, while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing. This sometimes troubled them, as when they had to make-believe that they had had their dinners.

And another one about Captain Hook being temporarily overcome by softness:

There was a break in his voice, as if for a moment he recalled innocent days when–but he brushed away his weakness with his hook.

Speaking of the characters, every film adaptation I have seen of Peter Pan has done an excellent job at keeping the characters pure to their original depictions. I grew up watching both Hook and Disney’s animated version of Peter Pan, and I was easily able to resonate each of the film characters with their print versions. Captain Hook seemed both hauntingly intimidating and ironically frightful while Tinkerbell was as mischievous as ever.

I loved how the last chapter concluded everything nicely for our characters, although in such a short and intense way that it definitely brought tears to my eyes. This is one of those books that stays with you a while after you finish the last page; you’ll reflect on things in a bittersweet or inspirational way.

Read This Book If…:

…you have an active imagination
…you’re always up for an adventure!
…you’re not ready to grow up (or you have grown up, and you wish you hadn’t)
…you need to refresh your sense of wonder and embrace the unexpected

Final Musings:

I dearly loved this book, in a different way than I probably would have if I had read it as a child. The themes that resonated with me the most weren’t about the pirates or the fairies, but about living for the moment, staying curious and interested, and always being ready to face the unexpected (as impossible as that sounds). And this wonderful story reminded me that sometimes we have to pause and take a look at the things around us, to reflect on where we are and how we got there.

Odd things happen to all of us on our way through life without our noticing for a time that they have happened.

Grimm Memories by Janna Jennings

Posted in Book Reviews, Fantasy, Young Adult by

grimmmemories

The nightmares were getting worse, plaguing her more and more over the last six months. Images, sharp and vivid as a recent memory, invaded her dreams until the lines of reality melted together.

Grimm Memories by Janna Jennings
Published Oct 29, 2014 by Patchwork Press
Young Adult Fantasy
Format: e-book; 337 pages
Also By This Author: A Grimm Legacy
Goodreads | Amazon
Rating: 4/5

(spoilers below for A Grimm Legacy)

Synopsis:

It has been six months since Quinn and her friends returned home after barely escaping Elorium—but no one ever really leaves the world where fairy tales are born. Not a day has gone by where they haven’t thought about returning to save Jack. Even their dreams are urging them to return to the strange world.

Falling back into the fairy tale world, they find the situation more dire than the way they left it. Jack has disappeared, and he’s not the only one. Elorium’s citizens are near panic as characters are missing and rumors are spreading about massive creatures roaming the sky. A rising darkness is enslaving the dreamers, and in a land filled with water nymphs and malevolent mazes, it’s hard to find any allies.
Despite the risks of their rescue mission, Fredrick is determined to bring back his grandfather, no matter how personal the cost.

Thoughts:

“Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!”

If you’re a fan of Beauty and the Beast you’ll recognize that line from the opening song. It’s the line that kept playing in my head while reading The Grimm Tales series by Janna Jennings.

Grimm Memories, the sequel to A Grimm Legacy, picks up six months after Andi and her friends escape Elorium. The group devises a plan to return to the fairy-tale world after Andi and Dylan begin having strange nightmares. Frederick is determined to rescue his grandfather, Jack, who they were forced to leave behind during their escape. But when the teenagers return to Elorium, they find things a lot stranger than they had left them.

Our four heroes and heroines have changed a bit since we last saw them, although their distinct personalities remain intact. Frederick, Andi, and Quinn are still stubborn in their own ways, but they return to Elorium prepared to fight, both physically and mentally. Dylan, in an appropriate fashion, didn’t even bother to brush up on his knowledge of fairy-tales before deciding to come back to Elorium, something that Quinn hilariously calls him out on more than once.

While our group of fairy-tale descendants are back and better than ever, the world of Elorium has changed for the worse. Houses have been destroyed and left destitute and many Elorians have mysteriously disappeared. Grimm Memories is a lot darker than A Grimm Legacy. The nightmares that Dylan and Andi suffer through every night are haunting, and the new creatures and story book characters the group encounters during their second visit to Elorium are more dangerous and unfriendly than before. This added so much suspense which I thoroughly enjoyed. There are several scenes in this novel where Andi and her friends’ lives are in peril and often people were gravely injured. Suffice it to say that the suspense was killing me during several of the more intense chapters!

The novel’s resolution is sweet and well-done. Some of my lingering questions were answered (always a plus), and while I don’t think there are plans for a third book, there is an epilogue at the end that leaves us with a bit of a cliffhanger, so who knows? :)

Also…once again, I adored this book cover! So pretty!

Read This Book If…:

…you’ve already finished A Grimm Legacy (this is not a stand-alone novel)
…you’re intrigued by darker fairy-tale characters
…you’re in the mood for a good suspense novel
…you like happy endings :)

Final Musings

As much as I enjoyed the first Grimm Tales book, I liked the second one ever more! There was more action, more mystery & suspense, and more adventures with the characters I’ve come to love. Grimm Memories deals with sacrifice, love, and friendship, and it is full of surprises in every chapter! If you like reading stories that can make you laugh, swoon, and bite your nails, this book is for you!