1)
John Grisham is one of a few authors that I'll buy their new books before having read it first. I think he is a master of plot and suspense, and he writes believable characters that feel very "real". I have spent many an engaged hour reading his books. One of my favorite books of all time is "Runaway Jury" but I like almost everything he has written, especially his early work.
I found this book in the Juvenile Fiction section of our library. I was not even aware that Grisham had entered the realm of writing for younger readers. My opinion is that this attempt did not come anywhere close to comparing to his previous books. The main character is Theodore, the thirteen year old son of lawyer parents. He grew up in and around courtrooms and is planning on having a future career in law. He is precocious and friendly and ambitious.... already building up a future clientele as he gives legal advice to his friends. He gets in over his head when a friend approaches him with the information that an illegal immigrant cousin of the friend has information about a murder trial currently happening in town.
It sounds like a great plot, but the whole time it felt like Grisham's intent was to educate younger readers about law including the different types of lawyers, juries, trials, evidence, courtrooms, and confidentiality. It was like a "how-to" book. It also felt like Grisham was talking down to the reader. There was not a lot of entertainment factor to the book. I was sure that a few suspenseful elements introduced mid-way through the book would come to fruition, but was disappointed there as well. I'm assuming there will be a sequel to this book but the story did have a very uneventful conclusion so I'm not even really sure on that. I would recommend this to a young teen who is interested in law but other than that I'd skip it.
2)
When I was a young teen I stumbled across the book "Nicholas and Alexandra" by Robert K. Massie. I had not yet learned in school the tragic story of Imperial Russia and the doomed lives of the final Tsar and his family. I remember absorbing the story of royal opulence and then the tragic demise of the princesses and the prince.
Every once in a while odd coincidences occur while reading a book that highlight why I love reading so much. Over the past few weeks I have been following the Diamond Jubilee in the media. I admit I'm a bit of a royal watcher, which began when I was a little girl and my mother woke me in the middle of the night to watch the wedding of Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Charles. Recently as part of the commemoration of the Queen's sixty years on the throne, ABC produced a wonderful show about the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Watching the show made me curious about the different crowns and tiaras worn by the queen. I spent several enjoyable hours learning a lot about different pieces owned by the royal family (here is a fun blog entry I stumbled across if you are interested: http://aestheticusrex.blogspot.com/2010/11/tale-of-tiaras-what-will-queen-bestow.html ). One of the tiaras I read about is The Queen Alexandra Russian Kokoshnik Tiara that has been worn by Queen Elizabeth II on several occasions. It has a very distinctive shape that is similar to a woman's Russian headdress (a kokoshnik). It was made for the then Princess Alexandra in 1888 as she wanted something similar to a crown owned by her sister, who happened to be Marie Feodorovna, the Empress of Russia. Another thing I read on wikipedia is that several of the current Queen's jewels were purchased by her Grandmother (Queen Mary) from members of the Russian royal family that had escaped capture in 1917 (i.e. The Vladimir Tiara).
So at the Library I pick up the book "Enchantments" off the "new books" shelf. It tells the story of Grigori Rasputin's two daughters, particularly that of his 18 year old daughter Masha. After Rasputin's death in 1917, the two girls are brought to live with the Tsar's family. It was hoped by the Tsarina Alexandra that Masha would have the same skill at healing that her father had. She is assigned to be a companion to the young tsarevich, Alexei. Not long after, the royal family is removed from the throne and placed under house arrest. The two Rasputin girls are also imprisoned.
The book indicates that Tsar Nicholas II (son of Maria Feodorovna) reached out to his cousin George V (who was now King of England and was the son of the Queen Alexandra that wanted a Russian-looking tiara like her sisters) for asylum for himself and his family. This asylum was granted and then later taken back by George V who feared revolution in his own country.
I guess with the fact that the tsarevich had hemophilia I should have realised that the two families were so closely intertwined, but I had not made the connections. Cousins were marrying each other all over the place.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book and thought it very interesting. It is obviously a work of fiction as it tells the story from the point of view of Masha, but it was well researched. I love learning history as I read a fascinating story set in a different time period. I enjoy that feeling of wanting to know more, and the resulting search for other information.
This story was called "Enchantments" not because Masha had any mystical healing powers, but because of the stories she invented and told to the young tsarevich. Her assistance to help him escape to other places and times WAS healing to the young prince.
3)
The book indicates that Tsar Nicholas II (son of Maria Feodorovna) reached out to his cousin George V (who was now King of England and was the son of the Queen Alexandra that wanted a Russian-looking tiara like her sisters) for asylum for himself and his family. This asylum was granted and then later taken back by George V who feared revolution in his own country.
I guess with the fact that the tsarevich had hemophilia I should have realised that the two families were so closely intertwined, but I had not made the connections. Cousins were marrying each other all over the place.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book and thought it very interesting. It is obviously a work of fiction as it tells the story from the point of view of Masha, but it was well researched. I love learning history as I read a fascinating story set in a different time period. I enjoy that feeling of wanting to know more, and the resulting search for other information.
This story was called "Enchantments" not because Masha had any mystical healing powers, but because of the stories she invented and told to the young tsarevich. Her assistance to help him escape to other places and times WAS healing to the young prince.
3)
I am a huge fan of Robin McKinley and will always appreciate that she gave me wonderful stories such as "The Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword". That being said, if this had been the first book of hers I'd ever read, I would never have picked up another of her novels again. I sometimes wonder if the editors/publishers of previously successful authors do not have the courage to tell their client that their new piece of work needs some serious work. Goodreads gave this novel FOUR STARS which literally SHOCKED ME. This book literally took me nearly a week to read as I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time without wandering off mentally. The background of the story was lovingly created. I know more about the history of the kingdom of whatever-it's-called than I do about my own country. The problem is that I found I didn't CARE. And the Pegasi in this story don't just have wings and mental telepathy skills... they have tiny little hands at their first wing joint. And to be honest.... the mental picture of this just really creeped me out.
4)
N read this book as part of a scout elective. It told the story of immigrants to America from the point of view of children. It told about how they came to America, their experience at Ellis Island, and their life as new Americans including life in the tenements, their education, and their need to work. The book had great pictures and was very interesting and informative. N enjoyed it as well.
5)
Patricia Reilly Giff wrote the book "Pictures of Hollis Woods" which is an all time favorite. This book shares the story of another girl finding her way in a changing world. After the death of her mother, she is left behind in Brazil with family while her father and brother migrate to America until enough money can be earned from their work as horse-trainers for her to join them. The story begins with Lidie leaving Brazil. A concurrent story is told of a young colt that is removed from it's mother and makes a journey to the farm where Lidie lives. I liked the story in that it showed the family's readjustment to each other in addition to Lidie's acclimating to a new life. However, I found the story itself a little formulaic and pat.
6)
As a fan of dystopian literature, I am seriously shocked I had not even HEARD of this book until my dear friend Ker-Bear told me about it. She knows how much I like the world-ended-but-dang-I-am-still-here type of book (side point... having friends to talk books with is THE.BEST.). Just like the success of "Twilight" brought on a slew of vampire/occult type books, the popularity of "Hunger Games" seems to have encouraged publishers to print more dystopian types of literature. These books seem to have a similar theme of, "The government is secretly out to get you and must be over-thrown" (i.e. James Dashner's "The Maze Runner" series, Ally Condies', "Matched" series, Scott Westerfield's "Uglies" series). I wonder if we are unwittingly raising an entire generation of anarchists.
I did enjoy the story. I didn't LOVE it, but I did like it enough that I would like to read the sequel. To me it almost wasn't even dystopian... it was more of an action-adventure set in the future with some science fiction twists. The main character chooses to leave the peaceful life of her previous "faction" to join the thrill-seeker crowd. This faction are the "brave" ones that are charged with the security of the city due to their courage, but the chosen way of exhibiting this trait in the book is to instead to engage in stunt after dangerous stunt. If the story was based in our time it would be the story of an Amish girl joining a gang in New York and instantly getting pierced, tattooed, and starting to dress immodestly as she falls in love with the gang leader who seems tough but really has a soft center like her (of course).
The book was not intense enough for me and did not have the trade-mark hysteria-inducing qualities of my favorite dystopian books (such as Neil Shusterman's "Unwind", Nancy Fisher's "The House of the Scorpion", etc). The scariest part of this book was realizing that unbeknownst to me, my nine year old son was also reading this book. This is NOT a book for a nine year old. Sigh.....
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