Criss Cross by Lynne Raye Perkins

So I found this book in a pile of Becky's books and thought it looked cute, and maybe a little familiar. I also thought it was odd that I hadn't read it as I read all the Newberry award winners. And three pages in I realized I had read it, but had absolutely no idea about what happened in it. Usually as you reread things you remember the out comes of the plot or major twists in the story- but my mind was a complete blank other than a general feeling of pleasantness.

And when I finished it I realized why. The book is utterly charming, well written, and sweet. BUT lacks in any way a plot, dramatic climax, or really story at all. It is more like a snapshot of several teens summer (I think in the 70s). And like most summers it starts out with all sorts of promise of romance and adventure and slowly peters out in the reality of chores, lazy summer afternoons and missed opportunities. There are many different potential plots started but true to life things just never quite gel together and slowly the bright beginnings fade away.

This review I realize sounds negative- but it really isn't. This book is a wonderfully written description about a regular summer- just your average regular summer with your average regular kids. Nor plot twists, no dramatic climaxes. The romance is just in your head, things don't turn out quite as you hoped, and sometimes the lights at the used car lot are the most picturesque thing you've seen that week. So over all I recommend the book- but ask me what it was about next week and I may not be able to answer that question.

1984 by George Orwell

Well I have decided to read along with Marika's Sr. English class. This was the first book of there year. I don't think that I have read it since high school. It is just as depressing as I remembered it. I think that the doublespeak is so disturbing- and yet how many things are like it in our world today. I have always felt that the book looses some of its power in the last 50 pages- disturbing scenes of torture and capitulation- yet for me the neighbor and the doublespeak excerpt are so much more frightening in their own ways. The neighbor with his blind zeal and the linguist with his intellectual devotion to the party. I was also intrigued by how important it was to the party to destroy families. Only with families torn apart could the party truly control. Well I think that it is a book worth rereading- but I probably won't reread it for another decade.

A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd

Normally I feel like series start to suffer- especially mysteries. But Charles Todd's character Ian Rutlage continues to grow in complexity. I really felt like he is starting to move out of the inner world he has been living in and moving forward with his life (yet with set backs as well). Again the mystery was good- an interesting pain filled story- just what Charles Todd does best. If you aren't a mystery fan- this is worth reading for the wonderful character development.

Breaking Dawn Stephanie Myer (I hope this is how she spells her name, because I am to lazy to check)

Well, after the first 200 pages the book did improve greatly (see previous post). It lacked the creativity and originality of the first two books. I liked Bella much more after she became a protective mother type- but still only a little bit more. I do like Jacob and this book found him some happiness- so I liked that. But it still fell flat. I still wouldn't recommend it just based on the first section of the book.

Andrea's Book and a little not about Breaking Dawn

I LOVE this book (and not just because it was written by my kindred spirit dearest friend). I love YA fantasy. I think it is one of the areas with the best writting right now. With living writers like Gail Carson Levine and Shanon Hale- there is a lot of talent in this area. I felt this book would hold its own in this competitive area. Andrea and Kayli are equal or greater than these authors. The characters are so charming and likable- I like the format of letting the reader slowly discover the altered reality. The plot was strong and moved along at the right pace- which is rare in books by joint authors and books written in a letter format.

I think that the editors of the world should get off their heinies and publish this bestseller.

A little note about Breaking Dawn- I just really hate it so far. I admit I have had a problem with the marketing of this series from the begining- I think it is a fantasy romance, NOT a YA fantasy. This book is even more so this way- (I admit this is only a partial review since I am only 200 pages in). So far there is a lot of SEX- which is fine- but not in a YA book. Also- am I the only person in America who dosen't like Bella?

Mary Seacole The Most Famous Black Woman of the Victorian Age

This is a very interesting book about one of the early nurses. Actually she calls herself a doctress and the author describes her as an early nurse practitioner. A remarkable woman from Jamaica- who of her own resources went to serve the men of the Crimean war. For those who need a history brush up this was the conflict for which Florence Nightengale earned her fame. Mary was a likable and remarkable women who was extraordinary for her time. Mary had a strong sense of self- I found her internal drive and unshakable sense of self worth refreshing and inspiring.



The book is well written and an interesting read. The author has a voice that I appreciate- one that doesn't try and deny that her opinion colors the biography. She acknowledges the areas where there has to be some inferences about the actual facts. I appreciate this as so many authors fail in this area and just write as if their interpretations and guesses were actual fact.



After reading this book I looked at Gillian Gill's book NIGHTENGALES The Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightengale again. Mary's autobiography is referenced to describe the war but nothing is mentioned of the two women's relationship. Not that there was much of one as Nightengale believed in a rigid social order. There must have been some strong feelings though as Florence wrote a scathing letter about Mary- inferring that she ran a home of ill repute, drunkenness always surrounded her and even hinting that she had an illegitimate child- all to keep her from going to the front of the Franco-Prussian war. There is no mention of thin in Gill's book. By the way I love Gill's book. It is one of my favorite autobiographies. It looks closely at the life of a complex and fascinating woman. I love it just from the nursing perspective, but it is also interesting on a human psychological level. A very interesting look at an accomplished woman who was mostly crippled through out much of her life by her enmeshed family and her own personal phobias and pride. Yet all she accomplished would probably not be possible with out these same issues. This book is much richer than Mary's biography. This is mostly because of the tremendous correspondence Florence left behind. There is a much deeper area of research to flesh out Nightengales. I recommend both books. But if you can only read one read Gill's. If you are a light reader than the book on Mary Seacole is for you.

Roanoke the Abandoned Colony by Karen Ordahl Kupperman

Well I had high hopes for the non-fiction looking at the early Roanoke colony in Virginia (some several decades before Jamestown). But like too many books by historians the writer took a super fascinating subject and made it boring and dull. The book is difficult to read due to the writing. I also felt the author failed to really look at some interesting facets of the story. Like how could a father just give up and accept that he had left his daughter and newborn grandchild for good in the wilds of the Americas? Over all disappointing. It did make me want to find a good book on this subject and also to find a biography on Thomas Harriet- an English scientist who made many amazing discoveries but has remained mostly unknown as he never published.

Legacy of the Dead; The Murder Stone; and Watchers of Time by Charles Todd

Well Laura introduced me to this mystery writer and gave me his first three books earlier this year. I am generally not a mystery fan, but I really liked these. The detective is a inspector returned from WWI with some severe PTSD. He struggles with and at times accepts his demon while he solves cases in his own curious manner. Wracked with self doubt and hatred he makes for a fascinating character. The mysteries are good as well, but I am not a mystery reader generally. Currently my two favorites are Legacy of the Dead in which he tries to save Hamish's fiance and Murder Stone which isn't really part of the series and stars a female sleuth. Very fun reads, fast, not to demanding. I have 5 more by my bed waiting to be read.

***Interestingly some of my very favorite books recently have been another series of mysteries set in post WWI England. Masie Dobbs in a nurse/psychologist/private detective with her own demons as well. Of the two series I fell that this one is superior. In Masie's books I felt the sorrow and pain of a generation decimated by war more deeply. While she does not have a Scottish man living in her head I feel like her background and outlook are more fascinating and unique. Hopefully there will be another in this series as I am refusing to do reviews of books I have read in the past. This isn't a review merely commentary on the genre. Right?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society By????????

My mother-in-law loaned me this sweet book about a reading group during the German Occupation of Guernsey Island. I loved it! It will make you laugh and cry. The characters are a charming ensemble of wack-a-doodle characters (which appeals to this person who lives with a charming ensemble of wack-a-doodles as well). I highly recommend. I have been in a reading slump lately where it seems as if there are no enjoyable books in the world and all of a sudden the last couple of weeks I have broken through and have a pile by my bed I am anxiously waiting to read. This book helped me break through the block. I highly recommend it.

***The use of the word Wack-a-doodle is in honor of my little sisters TJ and ANNA and MARIKA, they know why.

Gifts Form the Sea by Anne Murrow Lindbergh and Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh

I read this before I had children and just reread it for our RS book club. It is so much better if you are a mother! What a glorious look at how to balance your personal creative self and your role as a mother. It looks at the work of motherhood and women. With out giving any silly simple answers to these life long debates AML explores these difficult issues with grace and simplicity. I read this in a couple of hours outside while Coen ran around like a maniac so busy moms you can tackle this book.

Under a Wing by Reeve Lindbergh

I decided to reread this memoir about Reeves childhood after finishing her mothers book. It was interesting to read about her daughter's perspective on her childhood. One of the interesting parts was Reeve talking about how fiercely her father protected her mother's study when she was writing. It was absolutely forbidden to interrupt her. Yet Reeve was convinced that this was made up by her Dad and her mom really wanted her with her. Her proof for this was whenever she slipped into the study her mom would turn and smile and hold her looking at whatever little thing Reeve had brought to show her. Her dad would then storm in and shoo Reeve out of the room. For a woman who agonized over how to be a writer and a mother it sounded to me that she did well at both.