(no subject)
So I've decided to abandon the idea of a separate book journal. I don't like logging in and out of a separate account or keeping track of two friends lists. So my book reviews are coming back here. I'm going to make four posts of the books I've read lately. Sorry for the FL hit!
Hey everyone! Hope you've all found this journal. =)
Book #2
Title: Flora's Lot
Author: Katie Fforde
Pages: 453
Grade: B+
Reason: Pleasure
Summary: From Audible.com
Flora Stanza has sub-let her London life in a bid to join the family antiques business. Her knowledge of antiques extends only to the relics of information she has crammed from frantic daytime TV watching, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in blind enthusiasm. So she is more than a little put off when she doesn't receive the warm country welcome she expected. Her curt, conservative cousin Charles and his fiancee Annabelle are determined to send Flora packing, and their offer to buy out her recently inherited majority-share of the business is tempting, until a strange warning makes her think twice.
Stuck with a cat about to burst with kittens, Flora has little choice but to accept the offer to stay in an abandoned holiday cottage miles from any neighbours, let alone a trendy winebar. And between fighting off dinner invitations from the devastatingly handsome Henry, and hiding her secret eco-friendly lodger, William, Flora soon discovers country life is far from dull as she sets about rebuilding the crumbling business.
Review: As always, Fforde has written a delightfully light yet enjoyable novel. Flora may be one of my favorites of her characters, and Charles was really entertaining to get to know throughout the story. I really enjoyed all of the aspects of the novel. I particularly liked that Flora joins a choir, since I was in choir for about seven years. I would recommend this to anyone in search of a light read, but it can be somewhat difficult to find in the US. It's also published under the title Bidding for Romance.
#3
Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 198
Grade: A
Reason: School
Summary: From Publishers Weekly
In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice. Through the first-person narration, the author makes Melinda's pain palpable: "I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special." Though the symbolism is sometimes heavy-handed, it is effective. The ending, in which her attacker comes after her once more, is the only part of the plot that feels forced. But the book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.
Review: I read this book two years ago for pleasure, and this time I read it because it was assigned for my Young Adult Literature class. I really enjoyed the book the second time around, and was able to appreciate the humor in Melinda's narration more, as well as recognize her pain. Anderson writes with such a sarcastic, dry tone in this novel, making it enjoyable to read even in the sections where Melinda is experiencing deep emotional pain. I am interested to see how the prof discusses this book in class tomorrow night.
Hey everyone! Hope you've all found this journal. =)
Book #2
Title: Flora's Lot
Author: Katie Fforde
Pages: 453
Grade: B+
Reason: Pleasure
Summary: From Audible.com
Flora Stanza has sub-let her London life in a bid to join the family antiques business. Her knowledge of antiques extends only to the relics of information she has crammed from frantic daytime TV watching, but what she lacks in experience she makes up for in blind enthusiasm. So she is more than a little put off when she doesn't receive the warm country welcome she expected. Her curt, conservative cousin Charles and his fiancee Annabelle are determined to send Flora packing, and their offer to buy out her recently inherited majority-share of the business is tempting, until a strange warning makes her think twice.
Stuck with a cat about to burst with kittens, Flora has little choice but to accept the offer to stay in an abandoned holiday cottage miles from any neighbours, let alone a trendy winebar. And between fighting off dinner invitations from the devastatingly handsome Henry, and hiding her secret eco-friendly lodger, William, Flora soon discovers country life is far from dull as she sets about rebuilding the crumbling business.
Review: As always, Fforde has written a delightfully light yet enjoyable novel. Flora may be one of my favorites of her characters, and Charles was really entertaining to get to know throughout the story. I really enjoyed all of the aspects of the novel. I particularly liked that Flora joins a choir, since I was in choir for about seven years. I would recommend this to anyone in search of a light read, but it can be somewhat difficult to find in the US. It's also published under the title Bidding for Romance.
#3
Title: Speak
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Pages: 198
Grade: A
Reason: School
Summary: From Publishers Weekly
In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager. Divided into the four marking periods of an academic year, the novel, narrated by Melinda Sordino, begins on her first day as a high school freshman. No one will sit with Melinda on the bus. At school, students call her names and harass her; her best friends from junior high scatter to different cliques and abandon her. Yet Anderson infuses the narrative with a wit that sustains the heroine through her pain and holds readers' empathy. A girl at a school pep rally offers an explanation of the heroine's pariah status when she confronts Melinda about calling the police at a summer party, resulting in several arrests. But readers do not learn why Melinda made the call until much later: a popular senior raped her that night and, because of her trauma, she barely speaks at all. Only through her work in art class, and with the support of a compassionate teacher there, does she begin to reach out to others and eventually find her voice. Through the first-person narration, the author makes Melinda's pain palpable: "I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special." Though the symbolism is sometimes heavy-handed, it is effective. The ending, in which her attacker comes after her once more, is the only part of the plot that feels forced. But the book's overall gritty realism and Melinda's hard-won metamorphosis will leave readers touched and inspired.
Review: I read this book two years ago for pleasure, and this time I read it because it was assigned for my Young Adult Literature class. I really enjoyed the book the second time around, and was able to appreciate the humor in Melinda's narration more, as well as recognize her pain. Anderson writes with such a sarcastic, dry tone in this novel, making it enjoyable to read even in the sections where Melinda is experiencing deep emotional pain. I am interested to see how the prof discusses this book in class tomorrow night.