Are you as excited as me that the 48 Hour Book Challenge is coming up again this weekend? It’s hard to believe that it’s only a few days away.
For all the details click here. I’d really encourage you to participate if you’re even thinking about it. It’s a great way to get some blogging and reading done (I find it really motivating to know that others are doing the exact same thing), plus you get to meet a bunch of bloggers at the same time. It’s a lot of fun.
Published By: Harper Teen
Date of Publication: February 8, 2011
Categories: Historical Fiction, Mental Illness, YA
Pages: 256
Summary (from goodreads.com):
Truth or Lies?
Lidda knew, with a clarity that was like a candle in a dark room, that all had changed; something was loosed in the village—Devil or not—and they would pay for it, every last man, woman, and child.
Fourteen-year-old Lidda has always known she was different. She longs to escape Salem Village and its stifling rules—to be free to dance, to sing, to live as she chooses. But when a plague of accusations descends on the village and witch fever erupts, Lidda begins to realize that she feels and sees things that others can’t, or won’t. But how will she expose the truth without being hung as a witch herself?
Gripping and emotional, Ann Turner’s retelling of the Salem witch trials captures one girl’s brave soul-searching amidst a backdrop of fear and blame.
Review: I reading about two things – the Salem Witch Trials and mental illness. Father of Lies combines them both, so I was bound to enjoy this book as much as I did.
Lidda was a great main character. I found her different than most of the female characters I’ve read about during time period. Lidda loves to do all the things that are looked down on in Salem. How dare a young woman want to dance! Absolutely shocking! Lidda definitely felt the confines of the expectations that were placed on her by her community.
All of the characters felt very real. Ann Turner did a great job of creating a cast that felt believable. I felt like I knew everyone, from Lidda’s family, to her friends. Lucien was a very creepy character. You were never really sure when he would pop up, but when he did, you knew there would be trouble coming.
I thought it was interesting that members of Lidda’s family had different reactions to the Witch Trials. It was great to hear differing point of view that I hadn’t heard before. I somehow sort of thought that everyone had been taken in, and no one could see what was actually going in.
It was a relatively quick read, which I think worked for this book. By the time I was finished reading it, I felt like all the answers were given, I didn’t feel like things were rushed or that I missed out on anything.
If you’re a fan of historical fiction or mental illness, I would definitely recommend this book.
Image: goodreads.com
Disclosure: I got this book from the library.
Every Sunday I highlight an older book review that I’ve written. I figure this will give more exposure to books that I enjoyed reading, as well remind people about books that haven’t been in the spotlight lately.
This weeks Second Time Sunday post is:
I Am Hutterite by Mary-Ann Kirkby
I love learning about different cultures, so when I saw this book I knew I had to read it. Hutterite culture is so different from mine, but it’s kind of ironic that there’s actually quite a number of colonies within a few hours’ drive of the city that I live in. They’re not very far away, yet reading about them made it feel like they were on the other side of the world cause it’s so different from what I’m used to. It’s definitely a really interesting read.
Image: Goodreads
Thanks to Kristi at The Story Siren and Alea at Pop Culture Junkie for In My Mailbox. All links go to goodreads.com. Summaries are also from goodreads.com.
I only got one book this week, which is probably a good thing, cause my TBR pile is slightly out of control.
In the self-contained world of young Gilded Age Manhattan socialites, Elizabeth and Diana Holland reign supreme. Or so it seems. Scratch the surface, though, and you can detect festering jealousies that threaten to topple them. Elizabeth suffers a more literal fall when her carriage overturns and she is carried away by the swift East River current. That’s only the beginning of the action and suspense in The Luxe, the launch volume in a teen series by Anne Godbersen’s.
I’ve heard really good things about this series, so I couldn’t pass this book up when I saw it at the store. I can’t wait to start reading it.
Images: Goodreads
The Book Blogger Hop is hosted every week by Jennifer at Crazy For Books. Thanks Jennifer!
Here’s this week’s question:
“What book-to-movie adaption have you most liked? Which have you disliked?”
What great timing! This past weekend I watched two versions of Little Women.
The first one was from the 1994, with Susan Sarandon as Marmee, Winona Ryder as Jo, Kirsten Dunst as a young Amy, Claire Danes as Beth, and Christian Bale as Laurie. I loved everything about this movie. And as with every good movie version of this book, it made me cry. A lot.
The second one I watched was from 1949, with Elizabeth Taylor as Amy and Janet Leigh as Meg. I didn’t think this one stayed as true to the book, which I didn’t like. But I think Elizabeth Taylor did a fabulous job as Amy. I thought the casting was a little off, cause one or two of the younger sisters looked older than the older sisters. That’s not to say though that I didn’t like it so much as to not cry, cause there was definitely tears, once again. Though maybe not as many.
So I’d definitely have to go with the 1994 version of Little Women as my favorite. Plus you can’t go wrong with Christian Bale.
Image: Crazy-for-books.com
I’m always adding books to my TBR list. Here are the books that I added this week, along with where I saw them, and a summary.
Book: Past Perfect by Leila Sales
From: This post by Sara at The Hiding Spot.
Summary (Goodreads): A summer job is exactly the distraction that Chelsea needs in order to finally get over Ezra, the boy who dumped her on her a** and broke her heart to pieces just a few weeks before. So when Chelsea’s best friend, Fiona, signs them up for roles at Essex Historical Colonial Village, Chelsea doesn’t protest too hard, even though it means spending the summer surrounded by drama geeks and history nerds. Chelsea will do anything to forget Ezra. But when Chelsea and Fiona show up for their new jobs, they find out Ezra’s working there too. Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. …or will this turn out to be exactly the summer that Chelsea needed, after all?
Images: Goodreads
Today for Armchair BEA I’ll be sharing some of my favorite bloggers. This will be hard, cause there’s so many amazing people out there in the blogsphere, but I’m going to limit myself to three (in no particular order).
First off, there’s Lori from Pure Imagination. She’s awesome, with her accent (I love watching her In My Mailbox videos because of it), her many cats, and awesome book choices.Plus, she’s amazingly creative. I think it was last week that a zombie made a guest appearance in her IMM. It was great.
Second, there’s Geek Girl from Geek Girl’s Book Blog. And no, I don’t just like her because we’re practically twins (although it is pretty awesome). I only discovered her blog a few months ago, but it’s already one of my favorites. I love her passion for anything book related, and it really shines through on her blog.
And last but not least, there’s Cat from Beyond Books. She’s a refreshingly unique voice in the midst of all the book bloggers out here. I know as soon as I start reading a post of her’s that it’s Cat. She’s not afraid to be herself, and I love it.
So there you have it, my three favorite bloggers. I’d love to hear about your favorites, leave me a comment!
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme started by Jill at Breaking The Spine highlighting books that are going to be published soon. Here’s what I’m looking forward to.
Erin Blackwell is headed to college in New York City to study creative writing and earn a living as a romance novelist. Her grandmother has other plans: she approves of the college, but she wants Erin to major in business and then come back home to Kentucky to run the family’s famous racehorse farm. There is no way Erin will agree. Studying in New York and writing her way into a career is her escape from the farm and the family tragedy that happened there. So Erin’s grandmother decides Erin really will live life as a starving artist. She takes Erin’s future job running the farm, her inheritance, even her college tuition, and gives them all to Hunter Allen.
Hunter has lived on the farm for years. He’s Erin’s age, he’s the stable boy, and he’s the romantic dream of every girl in her high school. But he was involved in the family tragedy. Erin has always given him a wide berth. And he’s a slick opportunist. She’s furious that he fooled her grandmother into giving him Erin’s birthright and sending him to Erin’s college.
At least she’s free of him in her creative writing class. So she pens a story that has haunted her lately, in which the horse farm heiress at the very first Kentucky Derby starts a forbidden affair with the lowly stable boy. Unfortunately for her, the day she’s sharing this story with her New York classmates, Hunter walks in. He’s switching to her class. And after reading about himself in Erin’s story, he writes his own sexy assignments that lure Erin into dangerous fantasies about what could have been between them, and what might be.
Image: goodreads.com
So for today’s post we’re supposed to share our best reads so far for 2011. This will be hard. I’ve only read 29 books so far this year, but they’re all been pretty good (lucky me). So, here are my picks, as hard as it is to make a list.They’re in no particular order.
Read my review here.
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Read my review here.
Read my review here.
The Secret Garden by Fances Hodgson Burnett
Read my review here.
My review for this book is still in the works!
Published By: Macmillan Children’s Books
Year of Publication: February 6, 2009
Categories:Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Pages: 359
Summary (from goodreads.com): Seventeen-year-old Louisa Cosgrove longs to break free from her respectable life as a Victorian doctor’s daughter. But her dreams become a nightmare when Louisa is sent to Wildthorn Hall: labeled a lunatic, deprived of her liberty and even her real name. As she unravels the betrayals that led to her incarceration, she realizes there are many kinds of prison. She must be honest with herself – and others – in order to be set free. And love may be the key…
Review: To be honest, the first thing that drew me in with this book was the cover. I love it! Once I read the summary, I knew that I had to read it. And I’m very happy that I did.
Louisa was a great character. Although she was living during the Victorian era, when women were only allowed to do certain things, that didn’t stop her from wanting to become a doctor like her dad. Her struggle to want to live out her dream is what made me want to read about her.
This book really made me think that I was in the 19th century in Britain. It was probably my favorite thing about it. I absolutely love when a book transports me away like that. If you’re looking for a book to make you forget about real life for awhile, this is definitely the one for you.
I really enjoyed the writing. The story lines flowed well, and I didn’t want to put it down. She manages to alternate between Louisa’s present in the asylum, and her past back at home with her family without being confusing. It was great to be able to learn more about Louisa and her family in the flashbacks, which explain how she ended up in the asylum. There was enough detail to help me imagine exactly what things looked like, without there being too many details and being overwhelming. I know it’s a fine line, but Jane Eagland managed to walk it perfectly.
I will definitely be reading more by Jane Eagland.
Image: goodreads.com
Disclosure: I got this book from the library.
Geeky Reads Blog 