Book Review -- The Yellow House

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey
My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars
Source:  Personal copy
Genre: Historical fiction
Objectionable material:  one use of the F-bomb; sexual innuendo
Read for Ladies of Literature book club

Set in Northern Ireland in the early 1900s, the story of The Yellow House centers around Eileen O'Neill as she grows up during a turbulent time in Ireland's history. Spanning 20 years, the story picks up during her childhood, as the family falls into poverty and tragedy sets the tone for Eileen's struggles. Working in a mill, in dangerous conditions, she saves her money and dreams of reuniting her family in the home of her childhood, hoping to bring back happier times.

Along the way, she finds herself torn between two men, and torn by her own will and the will of others. Her family history and the current political landscape shape Eileen's journey, and secrets and betrayals leave their mark.

I wanted to love this book: historical fiction, turn of the century Ireland, independent female protagonist – it had all the markings of a novel I would normally swoon over.

I did not.

The author did provide a rich and luscious narrative about turn of the century, politically unbalanced Ireland. If nothing else….I came away from this book with a much better understanding of the Anglo/Gaelic discord over the past 100 years and the Irish civil war.

However, the story was all rather predictable: struggling family trying to make ends meet; marital friction; Romeo/Juliet-type romantic tension between two characters; conflicted story lines that seamlessly worked themselves out to make a very happy ending. All too neat and tidy for such a turbulent time period.

This novel certainly aims to be an epic, Irish novel – but ultimately it was slow, plodding and quite often, repetitive.

My blogging friend Corinne loved this book – for a difference of opinion, please consider her lovely thoughts.

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February Book Club -- Wyrd Sisters

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  Science Fiction; Fantasy

Objectionable material:  Not a single thing.

Double, double toil and trouble

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1

When Duke Felmet kills King Verence and names himself the new King of Lancre, Verence's ghost haunts the castle and his young son is smuggled out of the kingdom and taken to a coven of three witches for protection. These witches bestow three gifts upon the baby and place him with the owner of an acting troupe. The new king is an evil one, and the entire kingdom (animal, vegetable, and mineral) expresses its displeasure. How could the witches possibly refrain from using their magic skills to meddle in royal politics, place the rightful heir on the throne, and set things right?

This was my first foray into Discworld and the writings of Terry Pratchett. All I can say is – what took me so long!

Every character is uniquely hilarious:

• The three witches – Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick – can ride circles around the kingdom and lead wayward kings back home to their kingdom.

• Fool – aide to the current King – but not as foolish as the royal couple might think.

• Tomjon – an actor by trade, but a noble by birth, he’d much rather be on stage than on a throne.

• Hwel (Will?) – playwright extraordinaire, with a passing familiarity to the Bard.

• Death – he’s always there, waiting.

The story is a clever lampoon of Shakespeare from the opening scene onwards. It's a fast-paced romp through a parody of scenes, themes, and lines from Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III and many more. Pratchett also throws in references to Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty (not to mention others I have probably missed). Not only is it a spoof of Shakespeare – but also a mash up of Shakespeare in Love, The Princess Bride and Monty Python.

I haven’t howled reading a book in a very long time. Dare I say, I was bewitched?

It was wickedly funny.

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Mother Daughter Book Club -- Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
February Mother Daughter Book Club choice

Source:  Personal Copy

Genre:  YA; Dystopian (12 and up)

Objectionable material:  mild violence; use of guns

Remember Jaime Sommers? The Bionic Woman? One day, happily dating Steve Austin, on the way to being married, when she is tragically hurled to earth in a catastrophic sky diving accident. When she awakens from her injuries and surgery – she has been repaired: new ears, new arm, new legs – bigger, better, stronger.

That’s how I envisioned Cinder, Marissa Meyer’s spunky heroine, in her dystopian mashup of the fairy tale Cinderella: Cinder, hurled to earth to be saved from the Lunar people, rebuilt with mechanical parts that make her a Cyborg (was Jaime really a cyborg afterall?), trying to save her planet and her Emperor (who also happens to be super cute).

Surprisingly – I liked this.

Cinder was an easy character to embrace: she was dogged by her stepmother and step sister, bullied by the mainstream humans – but yet, she was able to rebuild robots, droids and cars, flirt with the hottie Prince, had an awesome sidekick, Iko, and was able to withstand the evil Queen Levana. She was one tough cookie.

I knew going into this that it was a series (Scarlet #2 in the Lunar Chronicles) – so the ending wasn’t really and ending. Which rots. I’m not sure I’m that invested in Cinder to read the remaining to see what happens…but I would like to know how it ends. Oh well.

This was our Mother/Daughter book club choice for February.

We haven’t met yet – and normally I wait and post my thoughts until I get feedback from the girls. But, there is a significant chance we won’t be there on Tuesday.

Daisy daughter still hasn’t finished this. It’s totally NOT in her literary comfort zone (not a single cupcake was baked). We shall see.

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Book Review -- The Secret Keeper

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Source:  Copy provided by publisher (I was not compensated in any way for my review)

Genre:  Literary Fiction; Historical Fiction

Objectionable material:  None! (So refreshing!)

What do your children know about your past?

Your work experience? Your pastimes? Who you dated?

Your secrets before you were their mom?

In Kate Morton’s, The Secret Keeper, we delve intimately into those questions and the mysteries that surround Dorothy Smithson Nicolson, who on a beautiful summer’s day murdered a stranger who visited at her English countryside home. What Dorothy doesn't realize was that her teenage daughter, Laurel, was the only witness to Dorothy’s actions. Now 50 years later, as Dorothy’s health declines and her memories become random comments voiced to her children, Laurel is determined to find out more about her mother’s past, her family, and ultimately, why she made such a fateful decision that day.

No mincing words – I loved this book!

In vintage Kate Morton fashion, she weaves a story using mothers and daughters, past and present, mystery and secrets, to create an epic WWII historical drama that kept me reading every waking moment.

It’s impossible to even try to talk about the story line, without the risk of unveiling any of Ms. Morton’s literary twists – but for a week, I was oblivious to anything 21st century.

Truth be told…I loved this MORE than The Forgotten Garden.

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Book Review -- A Violet Season

A Violet Season: A Novel by Kathy Leonard Czepiel

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Source:  Copy provided by the author (I was not compensated in any other way for my review)

Genre:  Historical fiction

Sensitive reader:  detailed descriptions of breastfeeding; prostitution; women's private parts

Steeped in the rich history of pre-turn of the century violet farming, A Violet Season, explores the conflicts and pressures imposed on the Fletcher family, Hudson Valley violet farmers, who are trying to survive on a meager agrarian income.

Patriarch Frank Fletcher has been relegated to a farm manager by his property owning brothers, and is bitter and angry at his demotion. His wife, Ida, in addition to working the farm and greenhouses, also works as a “wet nurse” – nursing other women’s babies in an attempt to earn additional income to keep their family solvent. Their children, Alice, Reuben and Oliver, all teenagers, are doing their part to help their family.

But Frank isn’t satisfied with their efforts or their monetary return – so to maximize the earning power of his family, Frank expels Alice from their home and forces her to work in a brothel on the Lower East side of Manhattan.

What proceeds from Frank’s decision is a family wrecked by lies, abuse, and exploitation.

What initially was a novel about the discord between the Fletcher family, really evolved into a novel about the inequality and subjugation of women.

Author, Kathy Leonard Czepiel, does a heroic job in casting the plight of the Fletcher women. It is crystal clear that in 1898, neither Ida nor Alice had many options outside of their current roles as mother and marriageable-aged daughter.

But the evil by which Frank treats his daughter, all in the name of money, was horrific. I haven’t hated a character in a book this much since the dad in The Poisonwood Bible.

This was a tough book for me – the author’s prose, story thread, and characters were credible and authentic. But when you spend so much of your reading time cursing a particular character and wanting to wring his neck, it’s hard to see the overall scope of the story.

Fortunately, the author’s ending helped soothe the volatile feelings I was experiencing, and gave me hope for both Ida and Alice and their future.

A richly narrated book – but not one that leaves a pleasant feeling afterward.

Thank you to Ms. Czepiel (see-peel) for allowing me to read her novel.

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Award Winners!

I can't believe it -- I have actually read TWO of the Youth Media Award Winners!

Shocking is more like it.  I'm so far behind, I'm still reading award winners from 3 years ago!

But I was thrilled when The One and Only Ivan was announced as the 2013 Newbery Award winner for juvenile fiction.  In my 2012 year end "likes and dislikes" I named it my favorite juvenile fiction book of the year.  And Code Name Verity, which was a Printz award honoree for YA literature, was my overall favorite of 2012.

Here is a partial list of the winners:

2013 NEWBERY AWARDThe One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (HarperCollins)
Newbery Honors:

• Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)
• Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin (Flash Point)
• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (Dial)

2013 CALDECOTT AWARDThis Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen (Candlewick)
Caldecott Honors:

• Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown (Simon & Schuster)
• Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Balzer + Bray)
• Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Roaring Brook Press)
• One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small (Dial)
• Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Houghton Mifflin Books)

2013 PRINTZ AWARDIn Darkness by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury)

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (Simon & Shuster)
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion)
• Dodger by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins)
• The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna (Red Deer Press)

Book Review -- Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

My enjoyment rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Personal copy

Genre:  General fiction; dystopian; zombie-lit

Objectionable material:  significant language, including F-bomb; gruesome descriptions of attacks; mild sexual innuendo

Ladies of Literature book club -- January selection

Fleshies! Boneys! Living! Dead!

Warm Bodies was my first venture into the zombie-lit genre, and I must say, although I was grossed out at times, I survived the experience.

 

R is a Zombie. Living in the ruins of a former airport, and feasting on the brains of Living, he is trying to make sense of his existence, since he has no memory of his past.

On a hunt to feed his insatiable hunger, R eats the brains Perry Kelvin, a Living teenager who has barricade himself and his girlfriend, Julie, against the onslaught of a zombie attack. But instead of turning his vengeance against Julie as well, R, who is now experiencing Perry’s memories, life and feelings intimately, saves Julie from certain death.

What proceeds from their first encounter, results in the possibility of R and Julie saving what is left of civilization and the planet.

Isaac Marion has created a brilliant story around a bleak existence. R becomes sympathetic and soulful; Julie indestructible and compassionate. In the hands of the author, their entire relationship and existence rings of authenticity.

And the ending gave hope to the notion that we must do better to love our neighbors and learn to accept those who may differ from us.

Apart from the excessive language and the gruesomeness, I enjoyed this novel. Surprisingly enough!

The movie, Warm Bodies, opens in theatres on Friday. I’m going with my Ladies of Literature book club – can’t wait to see it!

 

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Mother Daughter Book Club -- Tuesdays at the Castle

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Source:  Personal copy

Genre:  Juvenile Fiction

Objectionable material: None

Princess Celie is in a quandary: her parents have disappeared under questionable circumstances, her brother (and heir apparent in his father’s absence) has been forced from authority at the hands of his advisors and an evil prince, and her beloved castle – that transforms to suit her needs and her family’s – has been spellbound and has become dormant.

What is a princess to do? In Celie’s case – she vanquishes the evil overtakers, she sends rescue teams out to find her parents, she organizes the family staff to help in the revolt – and she’s only 11.

This was our mother/daughter book club for January – and the girls (and moms) thought it was delightful!

Celie is spunky, creative and tough; she has an assortment of interesting characters that surround her – but the true gem is the magical Castle, which transforms itself to accommodate the family, guests, and most importantly, Celie.

It wasn’t a perfect book (story lines that didn’t connect or make sense) – but it was fun.

 

No decision yet on our February book!

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January 2013 Book Club -- Cross Roads

Cross Roads by Wm. Paul Young
 
Did Not Finish (barely started)
 
January Book Club choice
 

I didn’t read this.

I managed 15 pages and gave up.  It was horribly written.  And from what I gather from those who did finish it, it didn’t get any better.

The entire group thought it was bad – but surprisingly, like a Phoenix, a remarkably good discussion emerged from an unpleasant reading experience. My book clubbers know how to create a discussion out of most anything!

So, 2013 didn’t start off so well – our books can only get better – because they can’t get any worse!

Our February selection -- Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

 

Book Review -- The Rent Collector

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Source:  Received copy from author (I was not compensated in any other way for review).

Genre:  General fiction

Objectionable material:  None

When my house, my closets, my kitchen, becomes cluttered and dirty – I often refer to it as a dump.

Nothing compares to the life of Sang Ly and Ki Lim, for they quite literally live in Stung Meanchey, the largest city garbage dump in Cambodia. Living in homes (shacks? cardboard boxes? sheds?) built from rescued salvage, thousands of families subsist and survive off the trash from the capital Phnom Penh.

Camron Wright has written a remarkable, fictional account of the life of Sang Li, her husband Ki and their son, Nisay. Inspired by his own son’s film work in Cambodia, Mr. Wright envisioned how the lives of this particular family would be, if they had nothing more than one basic need: literacy.

Within that framework, Mr. Wright has crafted a truly wonderful story about the influence one particular neighbor and their “rent collector,” Sopeap Sin, has on their future. A former teacher and educator, Sopeap’s life as a scavenger in Stung Meanchey is far different than what she had as a professor teaching the classics to her students. But due to the political and military evil of the Khmer Rouge, she too has been discarded like the refuse she sorts.

This was a robust novel full of unique and memorable characters. I loved following the arch of how lives were transformed through friends, family, stories, and education, even in the midst of such disgusting conditions.

I was skeptical of this book – the novels I’ve read from this particular publisher have, in my experience, been flimsy, manipulative and, well, poor reading material.

The Rent Collector is none of the above – it was a gem.

Highly recommended for book clubs.

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