I began this blog in the fall of 2010, thinking I would read 100 books during the 2010-2011 school year and write about each one. I reached 100 books in May, but decided to just keep on reading. You can stop back any time to hear about the newest books on my list.
To read The Selection is to read the entire series, because once you finish the first book you will want to begin the second, and then the third. The series is a fun read, especially if you enjoy the crises of teenage girls and their relationships with each other (and the boy they all think they love).
I thought the series could've been shortened into two, or even one novel. The battle to become the next queen by marrying Prince Maxon just had too many similarities to the tv show The Bachelor. Watching America Singer waver between wanting Prince Maxon and wanting to run away with Aspen, her boyfriend from her former life, became a little tiresome. However, the story held my attention long enough to keep reading, and, like The Bachelor, I was hooked. I'm sure many teenage girls will feel the same way!
I read the novel Speak back in 1999 when it first was published, but decided to read it again since it is our book club selection for the beginning of the school year. Speak brings back all the rotten memories of junior high and high school. Although I didn't have any terribly scarring events, I know that friendships were hard and that there were many tears I cried over things that happened at school. I remember the day I was told not to sit with my best friend because she'd been asked to sit with the "cool kids" and I wasn't invited.
But Speak goes well beyond the typical events of a teenager, and ventures into dealing with rape and bullying. I know this tough book will be a wonderful discussion point for the students in book club.
We happen to be reading a recent reprinting of the novel. This is wonderful, because Anderson has added some great additions to the book. First, the story is proceeded by a poem including many lines students have written to her over the years. At the end of the book there is a nice section where the author explains more about why she wrote Speak. There is also a study guide and an author interview.
Here is a nice author interview with Anderson:
This video is the Laurie Halse Anderson reading the poem from the front of the book:
The haunting storyline of We Were Liars grabbed ahold of me from the first line and kept me intrigued until the very end of this awesome book. The story of Cadence, her cousins, and their friend Gat, and their summer visits to Cape Cod, is one that I will long remember and recommend to others.
First of all, the character of Cadence is mesmerizing. As we learn more and more about her relationship with her cousins and her family, the events of the summers of their childhood, and her confusion over the accident that occurred the summer she was 15, she only becomes more interesting. Intertwined with her memory loss is the separation of classes and races that exists.
Like a great scary story told around a campfire, We Were Liars gave me goosebumps! I loved the ending, although I have to say it came far too soon for me!
I've included a video of E. Lockhart reading from the beginning of We Were Liars.
As I big fan of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares I was looking forward to reading The Here and Now.
I have to say I enjoyed reading this book. I loved the story line, and the idea of time travelers has always been of interest to me. The first chapter sucked me in and the book held my attention until the very end.
Although I found the book enjoyable I did feel that it was a pretty simplistic storyline and that everything came together in the end awfully easily. Where I would've thought there would be questions and loose ends, Brashares pulled them all together and ended the novel with what seemed to me to be a very unrealistic ending.
That being said, I still think it's a fun read and one that many of you will enjoy. I'd encourage you to give it a try. I don't foresee incredible reviews, but it certainly is a nice way to spend a few hours.
The Red Tent follows the life of Dinah from the Old Testament. Through her story we are given a totally new look at the ancient people of the bible. I think this book made them become "real" for me.
Most of the stories in the bible are told from the male perspective. Few of them are told with this much detail and length. I was fascinated by the traditions already built up in the families, both sacred and nonreligious. This gave new light to many of the stories I'd heard in the bible throughout my life. As there were mentions to Abraham, to Isaac, I listened with new ears and found a fresh view of my favorite bible stories, told from a young woman surrounded by family.
I don't know where fact and fiction separate, but The Red Tent certainly has made me want to know more. I'd like to know what parts are substantiated by history and which ones were created by the author. However, either way I will always be grateful for this view into the early years into the bible and new perspective it has afforded me.
I found this interview with Anita Diamant and wanted to share it. However, this one is quite scholarly and not as much about the book as it is about the author.
So I will also share a book trailer that gives a few more hints at this remarkable story:
Ask me what my favorite book is, and although I say that often about many books, the one I will probably mention first is The Kite Runner. That is why I was looking forward to reading Khaled Hosseini's newest novel And the Mountains Echoed.
Hosseini's first two books were all about family relationships, and the same is true of this book. It focuses on the special love Abdullah has for his younger sister, Pari, and the changes that take place in their lives when they are separated. It is the loss of those we love that really stays with us throughout our entire lives.
Hosseini begins this story with a father telling a bedtime story to his children. This story has a lot of parallels in the book. It begins with the heartbreaking story of the father making a decision to give his daughter away to a wealthy man in Kabul. His decision alters the lives of many people in the family, and especially lays a heavy burden on his son Abdullah.
Through much of the story I felt that sadness, and I teared up many times. I thought the book was beautifully written and the story wonderfully told. I look forward to reading anything that Khaled Hosseini writes in the future!
This is a wonderful interview with author Khaled Hosseini:
Frozen, by Mary Casanova, contains everything I love in a novel. It was written by one of my favorite authors and set in one of the most beautiful places in the country, northern Minnesota. It carries all the truth of history, but tells a haunting tale that pulls the reader in from the very first page.
Several summers ago my husband and I joined two other couples and rented a houseboat on Rainy Lake. Everything about our trip was incredible! The weather that week was perfect: hot and still. We watched eagles steal our fish carcasses, heard loons calling late into the night, enjoyed sunsets that didn't seem real, ate fantastic fresh fish dinners, and swam in the clear lake water. While we were there we visited the historic Kettle Falls Hotel.
As I read Frozen I felt as if I were back on Rainy Lake once again. I could visualize it all so clearly, and this added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. Mary has a wonderful writing style. Her descriptions are beautiful and moving, and they are perfect for this type of tale.
I heard Mary Casanova telling the story of Frozen a few years ago at a conference. At the time I was struck by the story and wanted to read it immediately. It wasn't until just this past few weeks that I finally was reunited with the book and had the chance to read it. I'm so glad I did!
