Book Reviews Archive - Page 78 of 79

The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory: Book Review

The Boleyn Inheritance is the story of Anne of Cleves, Henry VIII's fourth wife; Jane Boleyn, her lady-in-waiting and Anne Boleyn's former sister-in-law; and Katherine Howard, a beautiful young maid-in-waiting. By now, Henry is a hugely fat, sick, stinking, paranoid tyrant. These three women try their best to keep him happy and stay safe. I went into this knowing only a tiny bit of these ladies' stories. Sovereign, by C.J. Sansom, is set around this time and the tempestuous life at court was discussed a little bit. Even knowing how this turned out generally, I found myself getting nervous along with the women as Henry's moods turned for the worse. I was sitting there thinking, "Okay, I know this happened. Right? So it's okay. But what if I'm wrong? I could be wrong. I'm so glad I didn't live in this time." And it was an emotional roller coaster all the way through. I was cautiously optimistic when Henry was happy. I got nervous when he got sick or grumpy. When he was bed-ridden or in a foul mood, I would have bitten my nails with anxiety if I were a nail biter. Aside from that, the women came to life for me in these pages. Little Kitty especially. She reminded me of Eartha Kitt singing "Santa Baby." "Slip a sable under the tree--for me. I've been an awful good girl." That was pretty little Kitty. Another character compared her to a magpie, collecting shiny things. That fit too. She was vain and couldn't think of anyone or anything outside herself and her wants, but I couldn't help but like her. There was no true malice in her. Every one of her chapters started off with, "Let me see, what do I have?" and then she enumerated her possessions. It…

Under the Dome by Stephen King: Book Review

A giant dome suddenly appears over the town of Chester's Mill, Maine one beautiful October day, and the townspeople are left to their own devices. That's a lame synopsis, but I don't want to give anything more away. What would you do if you were cut off from the rest of the world? Perhaps more importantly--what would your neighbors do? Would everyone pitch in together to get through the crisis the best way they could? Would everything dissolve into complete anarchy? What would you do? As I read this, I kept mentally comparing it to Lord of the Flies, which I hated. I hated almost everything I had to read for class though, so I don't know what that says. Anyway, as I recall, in Lord of the Flies, the boys run wild and only bad things happen and I'm supposed to buy that that's the way people in general would act if all authority and rules disappeared. I can't buy it. I just can't. Call me a deluded optimist if you want. Oh, I'll give you that some people will get up to nasty things. But there will always be people who do the best they can, for themselves and their neighbors. And that's what Stephen King got right here. Sure, it is what it is and a lot of terrible things happen. But there is also a core group of good people. I loved them and I loved King for creating them. There was Barbie (a man), who might have been a little too good to be believable, but I still liked him. There was Julia, who never backed down. There was Piper, struggling with her faith, but still trying to minister to people's emotional needs. There was Andrea. I respected the hell out of that woman. And…

Madapple by Christina Meldrum: Book Review

Aslaug has lived an isolated life with her mother in the woods of Maine. A disturbing story is revealed in alternating chapters. One set of chapters reveals the course of Aslaug's life in the summer of 2003. The other reveals Aslaug on trial in 2007, for a crime that isn't even revealed until very late in the book. These are some crazy *itches. I'm sorry, but that's the logical place to start this. Aslaug appears to be an innocent victim, living in a house with her mother where they don't have electricity and all the windows are boarded over. Is it to keep the world out or Aslaug in? When she finally starts to meet other people, she's woefully unprepared for what she finds. She doesn't understand a lot of modern technology, she's brilliant with languages but doesn't understand everyday slang, and she doesn't realize the evil that people can hold in their hearts. Well, evil probably isn't the right word. I'll try again. The evil that fanaticism can lead people to. Save us all from fanatics of any flavor. Is there anything scarier than someone who is doing crazy, hurtful things because they believe that God, Allah, the Easter Bunny, or anyone else has told them it's their sacred duty to do so? I can't say that I enjoyed this--I was too upset throughout most of it for that. But I'm still mulling over some of the religious history and characters' behavior that I read here. This is a book to get under your skin and unsettle you for a while. If you're in the mood for that, go for it. If not, steer clear.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George: Book Review

The lass is the last child in a family of nine and the fourth unwanted girl. She is so unwanted that her mother doesn’t even bother to name her. When a polar bear comes crashing through the door one night and asks her to live with him in his castle for a while, she agrees on the condition that her family will be provided for. And her adventures begin. I really don’t think I’ve ever read East of the Sun, West of the Moon (the fairy tale that this is based on), but I truly enjoyed the book. Retold fairy tales obviously come in many shapes and sizes, and this book stayed very true to the feel of the old fairy tales. The characters were developed a bit more, but I still wouldn't say that they're well-developed. The story was more about "what happened next," and I kept turning pages to find out exactly that. I liked that the lass could talk to animals. It added an extra element to the story when her pet Rollo could tell her what the castle walls smelled like. There were some lessons to be learned here, such as not giving up and avoiding trying to be something you're not. I was going to give this four stars, because I really did enjoy it while I was reading it, but now that I'm trying to write my review a week later, I find that the book has already faded in my memory, so I'm going to bump it down to three and a half stars. I'll still recommend it, but I'll probably find myself searching out a different re-telling of this fairy tale to see how they compare. I just found and read the original fairytale, and Jessica Day George did stay remarkably true to…

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King: Book Review

"I should have thought it obvious," I said impatiently, though even at that age I was aware that such things were not obvious to the majority of people. "I see paint on your pocket-handkerchief, and traces on your fingers where you wiped it away. The only reason to mark bees that I can think of is to enable one to follow them to their hive. You are either interested in gathering honey or in the bees themselves, and it is not the time of year to harvest honey. Three months ago we had an unusual cold spell that killed many hives. Therefore I assume that you are tracking these in order to replenish your own stock." Retired, fifty-four-year-old Sherlock Holmes is left speechless at this speech from fifteen-year-old Mary Russell. He realizes immediately that he has finally met a mind to match his own, and his retirement might not be quite as boring as he expected. I haven't read any of Conan Doyle's work recently enough to be able to comment meaningfully on how well the Sherlock in The Beekeeper's Apprentice matches up to the "real" Sherlock. All I can say is that I enjoyed the originals and I enjoyed this one. Mary is a rare heroine. She's ultra-intelligent, fiercely independent, funny, sharp-spoken, unafraid to get her hands dirty, and ultimately vulnerable. Sherlock finds himself losing interest in everything around him until Mary comes into his life to both test his wits and learn from him. The pair, who, from the outside would appear to be aloof from everyone else, ultimately save each other. There were several mysteries the two investigate throughout the book, from Mary's first attempt to solve a small local crime on her own, to the infinitely-bigger plot that almost proves to be the team's undoing. I…

The Bright Forever by Lee Martin: Book Review

On a beautiful July evening, nine-year-old Katie Mackey disappears on her way to the library. And our hearts break. I just don't know where to start. It's hard not to compare this to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, but there's a huge difference. As I remember it, The Lovely Bones dealt with the family's grieving process through the years following Susie's death. The Bright Forever follows the immediate aftermath of Katie's disappearance. All the rage, despair, hope, shame, suspicions, and "what if"s are examined in this book. And then it goes a step farther. At the very end is something of a call to action. The last narrator (there are several) says, "And what about the ones that evening who saw us come and go...and never for an instant thought there might be something wrong? The problem is this: how many of us were there who could have done something to stop what was going to happen? Where does responsibility start and end?" "We thought we were all free: free from work, from chores, from one another." "'He always looked like he was carrying the world on his back. I'd see him around town, and my heart would break.' 'Did you ever tell him that?' I asked her. 'Tell him that you saw him, that you felt something about what it was to have his kind of life?' 'I can't recall ever saying a word.' 'He might have liked to have heard it.'" What could be prevented if we just noticed each other? Not even just crimes. Maybe the neglected little boy wouldn't grow up to be the twisted man if someone had noticed his pain when he was younger. Just noticing. How hard is it, really? And yet we seldom do it. I can't say that the characters were…

Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews: Book Review

Weezie Foley is back and better than ever. She’s trying her best to win Savannah’s historic district decorating contest, but the couple across the street are throwing tons of money into their efforts. To add to her troubles, her boyfriend Daniel always becomes decidedly Grinch-like at Christmas, and she just can’t get him into the Christmas spirit. But nothing ever defeats Weezie for long, and there are plenty of laughs as we watch her determinedly spread Christmas cheer. I adore Mary Kay Andrews, and her Savannah books are my favorites. I wish I could be friends with Weezie and her best friend, BeBe. I would say that I have a crush on Daniel, but I have my own sexy husband who is also a fantastic cook. I’ll let Weezie keep Daniel. This was a short, easy, fun read that reminds us what is truly important about Christmas. I picked up a few other pointers along the way too. First of all, “Unless you scrub [your hands:] under hot water for at least three minutes with an antibacterial soap, you’re just inviting trouble.” And here the hospital I work for is teaching us to wash our hands for 15 seconds. Next, “Never, ever ask a former clergyman to say the blessing over a holiday dinner. Not if you like your dinner warm, anyway.” I kind of knew that one, but it never hurts to repeat the lesson. And finally, and most importantly, DO. NOT. EVER. interrupt a group of UGA football fans who are watching a replay of the 1980 Georgia-Florida championship game. Ever. Trust me. The results will not be pretty. But they will be hilarious. I was howling with laughter as I read about this extended family Christmas dinner! I recommend this for a fun little Christmas read. It…

Black Mountain Breakdown by Lee Smith: Book Review

We first meet Crystal Spangler when she’s a dreamy twelve-year-old Virginia mountain girl, in the summer before she begins high school. We follow her as her dreaminess leads her to look for meaning, or for herself, in all the wrong places. I adore Lee Smith’s work. She writes about the mountains of Virginia. I’m in North Carolina, but reading a book by Lee Smith feels like coming home. She captures the spirit of these mountains and these people perfectly. Just read this opening paragraph: ”Now the lightning bugs come up from the mossy ground along the river bank, first one, then two together, more, hesitant at first, from the darkness gathered there already in the brush beneath the trees. Crystal sits and watches, holds her breath, the Mason jar beside her knee; if she looks down, she can’t even see it now. She touches it with her finger and feels the glass with the letters raised and indecipherable in the dimness so that they could be anything, any words at all. They could be French. Suddenly out of the scrub grass at her knees comes rising a small pale flickering light, sickly unearthly yellowish green, fairy light. It is so close she can breathe on it and see the whirring, tiny wings. Crystal doesn’t move. She could catch it, but she doesn’t. Only her eyes move to follow the flight, erratic at first as if blown by wind although there is no wind in the hot still damp of early June on the river bank, then into the dark branches, away and gone. Crystal can barely see the river on down the bank, barely hear it. She looks across the river bed now to the railroad track cut into the mountain which goes straight up on the other side, almost…

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville: Book Review

Strange things start happening around best friends Zanna and Deeba. A fox appears on the edge of the playground, watching Zanna. They come across graffiti saying “Zanna For Ever!” A woman they don’t know approaches Zanna in a café and tells her what an honor it is to meet her. It all culminates one night when the girls are having a sleepover and notice a broken umbrella hanging off a window, spying on them. They follow the umbrella and eventually find themselves in a place…not London. UnLondon, in fact. I loved this! Loved it. The author acknowledgments should give you an idea as to what to expect. China Miéville writes, “As always, I’m indebted to too many writers to list, but particularly important to this book are Joan Aiken, Clive Barker, Lewis Carroll, Michael De Larrabeiti, Tanith Lee, Walter Moers, and Beatrix Potter. Particular thanks are due Neil Gaiman, for generous encouragement and for his indispensable contributions to London phantasmagoria, especially Neverwhere.” Miéville chose some big footsteps to follow and he absolutely pulled it off. This mostly reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, with a little side of Neverwhere. The sense of totally unpredictable fun that pervades Alice was alive and well in Un Lun Dun. There was crazy word play (Binjas! Gotta love ‘em!), fantastical creatures, and a world where the impossible has become the everyday. But underneath all the fun, there were subtle messages about loyalty, friendship, doing your best, having faith in yourself, standing up for what’s right, and even a little dash of environmentalism. None of this is at all heavy-handed though, so it really can be read as a fun adventure story. Miéville illustrated the book himself, and I loved the illustrations. They added a perfect note of whimsy to an already-whimsical book. My favorite…

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore: Book Review

I can't even really say what this is about without giving anything away. Let's just say that the stupidest angel's mission to create a Christmas miracle goes horribly, hilariously awry in ways that only Christopher Moore could write about. This wasn't quite as funny as I expected it to be, but I think since reading A Dirty Job as my first Moore novel, my expectations for the rest have been unrealistically high. I still laughed all through the book though, and drove my husband crazy reading him funny quotes from the book that probably in all honesty made no sense out of context. The hubby's a good sport though, and laughed along with me. Here's a sampling that will hopefully make sense without giving anything away. "Dressed in their red suits and fake beards, [the Salvation Army Santas] rang their bells like they were going for dog-spit gold at the Pavlov Olympics." "[A black lab] was crowding Gabe in the doorway, his beefy tail beating against the open door like a Snausage war drum." "'Merry Christmas, you doomed sons a' bitches!' said Santa." I wouldn't be surprised if Moore has spent his entire life waiting to write the book that goes with that last quote. It's just too funny! If you're feeling a little overly-sugar-and-spiced, pick this book up for a nice change of pace. Just don't buy it for your grandmother. Christopher Moore warns you against that himself. Have you read any of Moore's work? What did you think?