Entwined

I picked this book up years ago and after reading through the first couple of pages gave it back to my local library (go support your libraries, ladies and gents. It's worth it!). I knew I wanted to read it again or at least give it a try, but when my library was "weeding" the books they were going to get rid of this one. So for $0.50 I snagged it, hoping I'd get to it eventually. Well, I got to it eventually, lol.

This is a fairytale retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Azalea is the eldest of eleven princesses whom she loves and takes care of while their mother is deathly ill. Their mother is pregnant and sick and on the night the youngest is born she dies. The girls and the King grieve in different ways, but all are subjected to mourning for a year. Merry Christmas, everyone. The thing that the girls love most is dancing and because of mourning they are denied this. They get scolded and reprimanded for sneakily doing it in defiance of their father, knowing "Mother would have let us do it." The castle they live in is a magic one and they find an enchanted room in their fireplace where a man with magic has been imprisoned by the same magic he uses. He invites them all down every night to dance and enjoy themselves. They greedily take the opportunity. Between arguments with their father, grieving over their mother, being forced to be alone in mourning, and the occasional "political business" where gentlemen would strut around trying to entice the princess into political marriages, they dance.

I really enjoyed the ending of this book. The beginning was a bit cheesy, which is why I didn't get very far the first time, and the middle was a little elongated more than it really needed to be, but the ending was very well done. Highly intriguing and engaging where I finished the last 200 pages in a day--where as I somewhat struggled picking it up in the middle. It was worth it in the end. I'll definitely be keeping this book on my shelf and will probably read through it again later.

The driving force of this book was more to do with Father/Daughter relationships more than "I love this boy" which is different than most YA books out there. Yes, there is romance, but moral of the story is family. They learn to grieve together and it's not something that happens over night. That build up of Parent/Child relations is what took the middle of the book so long. It was needed and important for the end, so I'm glad it was there, but it might drag a bit for some. Family is first. Loving family first where boys and potatinal marriages are second. Different and good.

There is a struggle some authors have in keeping different character (especially lots of different characters) separate and distinct. Heather Dixon does a good job with this. All the girls are flower names, but they are all in alphabetical order so then we as the reader can at least guess as to where they land in age. Azalea is 17 or so all the way down to baby Lilly. We can keep them in order because of their names. There are also a lot of gentlemen who come and go throughout the story and, through their names as well, we are able to keep them separated as well as given a bit of their personalities. Lord Teddie is rambunctious, Lord Bradford is practical and a good political while still being kind, Lord Fairweather is constant and stiff. Names and personalities here were well straightened out for the most part, which is hard to do with so many people.

The setting was fun, and the magic in the world was simple, yet different. The large portion of magic at the end, the climax and resolution of it all, was set up well enough but there was one part I had a problem with due do lack of explanation--which gave its excuse of it possibly being "Old Magic" therefore mysterious. Slight cop out, but I guess it works.

The only thing that I can complain about is the slight cheesiness of the dancing toward the beginning. It got better as it went on and it might have to do with the fact that I'm not a dancer, really, and don't get the fascination so much. Good for them if they do, but it was kind of cheesy to me. The reader can get over it and it's not so bad, just push on and it gets to be better.

In the end, it's a really good book. Heather Dixon did a really good job at portraying this story which often gets over looked for other "princess classics." Read it and enjoy.

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train is a National Bestseller and supposedly pretty good. I somewhat disagree. I can see why people would like the book, I however don't care for it.

The book is about Rachel who's had a mental crisis and is trying, very poorly, to function. She rides the train to work every day and at a particular stop, she watches this couple whom she deems perfect. They must have the perfect life. She's fascinated by them because her life has gone down the drain since her divorce to her cheating husband. She does drink and often blacks out, not being able to recollect anything whiles she's drunk. Megan who is spotted having an affair. And lastly, Anna, who is the woman Rachel's husband had an affair with and is now currently married to. Megan is suddenly found dead and after a drunken blackout, Rachel is trying to find out what is happened on the night she can't remember. Did she do it? Did she see who did it?

This is the story with a very unreliable narrator. Rachel is on the verge of mental snappage which makes her testimony hard to find solid footing in, which is a way to make this fun. Unreliable narrators bring twists to the story that otherwise wouldn't be there or it wouldn't be nearly as fascinating. This was the point that drew me in and kept me wanting to listen.

However, I didn't finish the book. It had a few too many and strong swear words for my liking as well. It was also more dark than I really wanted to read. I don't get drunk, I don't drink at all. I don't find it as fascinating as others might. I don't have a point of reference for it, not that I really want one either. Then there is the concept of affair this and that and having it constantly swirling around the page. I don't read for that. Getting cheated on isn't something I like focusing on. To have it be so constant, has put me off.

I'm sure it's a good book, for other people. Not me.

If others don't mind the concepts that are very prominent here, then they would probably enjoy it very much. Have at it. It was written well with good characters and an interesting concept. It's just not more me.

Girl in the Blue Coat

World War II stories are hard to read at times. This one is no exception.

Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke (the audiobook had it sound like Hanika) works in her own little way to resist the Nazi occupation by being a black-marketeer in finding things that people need. But suddenly one of the ladies she normally finds things for has a missing girl that she wants found. Only this girl isn't supposed to be there. She is a Jew and has somehow vanished. She can't go to the guard, obviously, or other authorities, so how is she going to find this girl in a blue coat?

This was a very well done piece. It was written well and kept me very engaged the whole time. While Hanneke and the rest of the characters may be fictitious, the actions and events were very historically sound. The black market, the college resistance fighters, the theater and nursery across the street that helped save hundreds of people who would have died... These are all amazing things that Monica Hesse has portrayed beautifully, realistically, and powerfully. I very much enjoyed this and am even more interested in the other stories Monica Hesse has written.

I enjoyed the characters and how they felt lifelike. There situations and reactions to their circumstances were real and made me worry for them more than I worry for many of the other characters I read about.

I think Monica Hesse was a very brave woman to end the story the way she did. This is war and wars often down have happy endings for everyone involved. The ending was fulfilling and the focus of the story was different than most would suspect, which is also a very brave move for the author to do walking the fine line between what the plot needs and what the audience wants or expects. And I think she pulled it off well.

Good on you Monica Hesse. It was a very good book and one that I probably wouldn't mind reading or listening to again.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

I've had this book for years and only finally was able to read it. And I have mixed feelings about it.

in 1895,Gemma witnesses the murder of her mother, the murderer was some kind of shadow. How can she explain that to anyone? Months pass and she is sent to live in an all girls school and learn how to be a lady and curb her boisterous tendencies. Making friends is hard and making enemies is far too easy. To top it all off, shadows and ghost stories haunt her. She finds a diary of a girl who used to go to the same school and saw the same things she did; this girl had the same odd powers Gemma seems to be acquiring. What is is going on and who is the strange boy who followed her from India all the way to England?

I really liked the historical representation that was depicted her. A life of a lady was not an easy one and many felt silenced and purchased for potential wedding contracts. The idea of "lay back and think of England" instead of making love to a spouse is one of the many ways that this is shown here--nothing graphic though I guess there is some nudity which is probably unneeded. The idea of being a quiet, proper "lady" is very prominent and has many of the girls feeling stifled. So before all of their independence is snatched away they will occasionally do things that would get them in serious trouble if they are caught: necking is a gypsy boy, stealing the priest's wine/whiskey reserves, getting up at all hours of the night, going into the woods for meetings/gypsy fortune telling/whatever else. Then Gemma introduces her strange power to some of the girls and more craziness happens. But the idea of being stifled, silenced, and putting on a fake smile with even worse conversations only about "the weather and the queens health" was something that they had to deal with back then and now too in some instances though not as dramatically. It's sad and Libba Bray portrays that very well.

I think the characters were well developed and each was different and developed enough that I understood. I enjoyed learning about them and at times I felt very sorry for them. The characters were a very strong reason I finished the book.

That being said, I almost didn't finish. I am not an occult fan. This had a feel of the Salem Witch Trials to me, tarot cards, talking to the dead through medians, sacrifices to give black shadow/spirits power, and other witchy things was turning me off for a lot of it. I don't read it, because "bad ju ju feelings" are a thing and I don't need it around me. I did finish it though because the plot was very good. It was a very engaging read that had me turning pages quickly. I finished it in less than a week.

It is a good book and written very well. The reason I gave it a four instead of five stars would be because of the occult theme and the fact that it got a bit darker than I wanted. I can see this series being a good one that has many people very engaged, but as this moment I'm not going to be picked up the next one, sadly.

The Wrath & the Dawn

The Wrath & the Dawn is first in a series with the same name by Renee Ahdieh.

It is a retelling of the classic Arabian Nights story where the Caliph marries a new girl every day and every dawn has her killed. As to why is normally unknown. Shahrzad (Not spelled the traditional way), instead of running away, volunteers to become the Caliph's bride even in fear of the dawn in hopes that she can kill him for killing her cousin just a few mornings previously. She hates him with all her heart and wants to seem this boy-king dead. In order to do that she has to stay alive past the dawn, which she does by leaving the Caliph "hanging" with cliff hangers to the many stories she tells that last all night. He won't kill her, she thinks, if he's so intrigued by her stories and wants to know the end.

I listened to this as an audio book.  The reader, Ariana Delwari, did a spectacular job. She has a very nice voice and one that I wouldn't mind listening to again in future audio books.

I will say this, though, that my review may be a bit hindered by the fact that it took me a few months to complete the series. Not that it wasn't a good book, but time is an issue as well as the one big critique that I have to give... Shazi is so very annoying at the beginning. She irritated me badly with her mood, tone, and all out "Imma be ticked off and I have no redeeming qualities because REVENGE!!" It got very boring really fast and she has the same idea and stigma for a good third of the book (or so). I was more than happy to have her kiss the Caliph and actually start liking him.

The love triangle thing going on between her, the Caliph and her past love was kind of obnoxious. It took away from the traditional stories suspense of surviving to the dawn and the artful way of keeping the crazy king intrigued, and slid the in a rebellion, magic, and "I must save this girl who doesn't actually like me anymore because she likes the guy who killed her cousin." I didn't care for the past love interest. He was hot headed and seemed to only have a one track mind without thinking of repercussions. He didn't even think of Shazi's feelings on the subject, and every time she yelled at him to stop he wouldn't listen--killing some of her friends that she actually made in the palace. No points to you past love interest.

And one other thing, maybe because it was an audio book and not me reading it off the pages, but I had a hard time keeping some of the name in check. Shazi = main character, Khalid = Caliph, Jalal = kings cousin and captain of the guards?, T guy = past love interest, Despina = Shazi's maid servant and friend in palace, but pretty much everyone else's name got muffled in my brain and I had to rely heavily on context clues, which I didn't get all that often. With story names--which stories didn't last very long as plot points--as well as "irl" names, I got very confused.

The book did seem to flow well and the plot was constantly moving which was nice. Part of me though feels like it had major dollops of "Beauty and the Beast" put into it too. She goes from lots of hate and disdain to very much in love with him and tries to tell off the love from her past/Gaston-ish who would get slaughtered by the Caliph/Beast. While it flowed, I think there were many cliches for the YA market. There wasn't much that was "different" to really make it exciting and make me want to read it again. I might look at a Sparknotes for the second book, but I don't think I'll take the time to read or listen to the next one.

It was good for what it was, a retelling of an old classic put into YA form. It was written well with enough setting to keep us from the dark, though not much more than that. I liked Jalal, he was probably my favorite character and would have liked more of him, but he is obviously not the main character. Some of the others I didn't care for as much.

If you're wanting a simple, "traditional" YA read, feel free to pick it up.

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen's first published work Sense and Sensibility has been read over and over again for more than 200 years. It is a classic that has been loved and survived the years because it's a good book full of vibrant characters and an engaging story.  

After the death of their father, Elinor, Marianne, Margaret, and their mother are forced out of their home to live in a cottage in a different county while their half brother and his wife take over the family estate. Their time in this cottage, making new acquaintances and enjoying the countryside, is quickly changed to lovestruck conversations when Marianne is saved by a young gentleman and love blooms. For Elinor though love is a trying thing when she learns that the man whom she admired is in love with someone else whom she also is acquainted.

I think this book has stood the test of time, unlike many of the other romantic stories of the time, because it hits home more than some of the others. The things that Elinor and Marianne deal with, loss of father, home, loves, sickness, surviving monetarily as well as plain surviving your family relations and acquaintances. These are things that we all struggle with at one point. We read things that are often similar to our own lives via theme or circumstance. Sense and Sensibility does that, even to today, which is fascinating. There have been many critics, papers, articles, and readers of this book over the years and if you search them out can find a lot of enlightening information and opinions.

I like the play on opposites that is presented here. Elinor is the sensible one in the family (rather logic based) and Marianne is full of sensibilities (and can often let her emotions run rampant). Willowby vs Colonel Brandon, The Ferrar's brothers, John Dashwood vs Sir John Middleton, even the rolls that men play vs women and how they are portrayed (hunters vs mothers). The way Austen plays with opposites is engaging and can be thought provoking.

The characters, though, aren't only opposites of one another, but they are their own people. They aren't merely a stereotype but do have their own personalities and quirks that make them unique.

This, again, is an older book. Classic for a reason, but not everyone's cup of Sleepy Time tea. It's language is different and more wordy than what present novels give. There were times when I needed to put it down because my head was starting to ache or I couldn't pay attention because of how the language was constructed. It is what it is. I also have the Oxford World Classics edition which honestly read more like a textbook than a novel which might be published in a different format. But it did have a lot more insights, critiques, and definitions which were very much helpful and fun to look up without having to go very far. It also had a good introduction by Margaret Anne Doody who has done many other critiques and papers for the Oxford World Classics company. Again it was very enlightening to aspects that I didn't see my first "read through" during college. In the end, be forewarned that it is older, wordy, and "harder" to read for the "modern" reader.

Read it. Enjoy it. Take it slow if you need and please go and find articles about it. They can be very enjoyable.

Be Prepared

Be Prepared was a cute little story about the trials of a ten year old misfit.

Vera doesn't really fit in with all the rest of the girls in her neighborhood. They are more wealthy, they have both parents, and they don't come from Russia. She moved to the USA when she was five, but the rest of the kids don't get it. They invite her to things, but she still feels like the outcast. During the summer they all go off to their own camps and she stays at home, until she finds out that there is a Russian kids scout camp. After some begging, her mom lets her and her brother go the following summer. Only summer camp isn't what she expected it to be. She finds that it's more of the same. She's the youngest in her troupe, they are all already friends and have known each other for years, and she's very much alone. Invisible. This is where she was supposed to find friends, so where are they?

It was a well drawn true-mostly story of Vera Brosgol's time at camp. She even has some of her letters and pictures from her time at camp. Vera is also the author of Anya's Ghost, which I didn't realize until I read the author bio.

I think this is a very potent and prominent story for many people. Trouble with friends is always something hard and pretty much everyone goes through it at some point. So it touches many people right in the hearts.

I think many people would enjoy this simple, well depicted story. It might even be one that I'd put on my bookshelf. Eventually.