Introverted Reader

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran: Book Review

When Cleopatra and Marc Antony are defeated by Octavian, their children are taken to Rome, where Octavian can make sure they don't become rallying points for those who might oppose his rule. Their daughter Selene is never happy in Rome and constantly looks for ways to win her family's way back home. This book jumps right into the action as Octavian conquers Alexandria and thus Egypt. It grabbed my attention right away and held it until I finished. I really enjoyed the way that Moran brought these historical figures from so long ago into such a vibrant reality for me. I even cared about (or hated, as the case may be) the minor people from history that I hadn't heard of before. Selene herself is just a great character. She's smart, strong, independent, loyal, free-thinking, and far from perfect. Who likes perfect characters anyway? She acts without thinking sometimes and gets herself in trouble. I did occasionally get confused by the names. There were Octavian/Octavia and Antonia/Tonia. In the author notes, Moran said she actually changed some of the names to make it less confusing. I guess Octavian and Octavia are so famous that she didn’t feel like she could change them, but I frequently had to stop and try to remember which one was the emperor and which one was his sister. I know people got married younger and didn’t live half as long as we do now, but these kids felt entirely too old. Selene and Alexander are supposed to be 11-15 years old when this takes place, but they honestly felt about a decade older to me. Moran addressed this in her Afterword, saying that they had been so highly educated and trained to rule practically from birth that they would feel precocious to us. I can…

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain: Book Review

Grace Divine, the local pastor's daughter, walks into art class one day to find Daniel Kalbi checking out her latest project. Not too remarkable, right? Well, Daniel disappeared from her life several years earlier on a violent night that her family never talks about, and she's had no idea what happened to him. He seems to have changed. He's angrier, darker, and seems to be hopeless. Grace decides to make his life better however she can, then realizes she's in way over her head. I can't give a reason for my rating. I just didn't love it, didn't hate it, so it landed in the forgettable middle. There's a twist, and I did like it, but that's about all I can say. I did like the message that forgiveness helps the person doing the forgiving as much as the person being forgiven. Maybe even more. I have a looooooooooong fuse, but once I get upset with you, I'm done. I don't really forgive. So that part did hit home as something I need to work on personally. I have realized that I really only read YA fantasy. I don't have a whole lot of patience for "real-life" high school drama. This felt a lot more like that kind of book than like a fantasy I would normally read. I know there are plenty of you who like those kinds of books, so you'll probably like this more than I did. One thing drove me crazy. It felt like every page or two there was a header proclaiming what time, day, or place the story had moved on to. This is not necessary. Write it in. And she does, so it looked like this: "MORNING [....:] I rolled over and and looked at the clock: 6:00 a.m." Or "INTO THE WOODS"…

Bookish Miscellany

What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. I missed posting last week, so I'm not sure where I left off. I think these are from the past week. Read: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain--Not my favorite. 3 Stars. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran--Really good! 4 Stars The Vision of Emma Blau by Ursula Hegi--Probably suffered from interruptions. 3 Stars Everlasting by Angie Frazier--Lots of fun! 4 Stars Currently Reading: Oral History by Lee Smith. I just started this one and I'm not sure that it's what I'm in the mood for. I may put it aside for now. I do love Smith's work though. Up Next: I definitely need to get to Thumbing Through Thoreau, a book of quotations compiled by Kenny Luck. What are you reading this week?

11 Comments

May 24, 2010

Book Review Lists

2010 Book Reviews by Rating

A list of my 2010 book reviews by rating.

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May 20, 2010

Introverted Reader Features

Tristan Farnon: Character Connection

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too! Most of you will probably post about how much you love each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write a love letter to Captain Wentworth. Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Draw a picture of yourself in Jamie's arms. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. My character this week isn't exactly a "character" in the sense readers usually mean the word. I'm choosing Tristan Farnon, one of James Herriot's friends in the non-fiction series of books beginning with All Creatures Great and Small. Tristan is based on the real-life British veterinarian, Brian Sinclair, who died in 1988 at the age of 73. Tristan is hilarious! His older brother, Siegfried, supports him as he goes through vet school, but his heart's really not in his studies. He just sort of comes home when he feels like it, goes back to school whenever he wants, and takes tests occasionally. His happy-go-lucky attitude grates on Siegfried's nerves and Tristan is on the receiving end of some epic rages on Siegfried's part. They always end with, "You're sacked!" and Tristan slinking out the door, only to reappear again a few days, weeks, or months later, depending on the severity of the crime. Tristan doesn't really like to work any harder…

6 Comments

May 20, 2010

The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell: Book Review

Damien Locke is the son of the Mistress of Mayhem, a mad scientist supervillain living in Golden City. On his sixteenth birthday, he has a huge party to celebrate his thumbprint becoming a "V," meaning that he's a born supervillain. Except that it doesn't. It becomes a mythical "X," which can only mean one thing: his dad must be a superhero. Where does that leave Damien? I had a lot of fun reading this! Damien might not be the most scientific supervillain, or the strongest, but he is definitely clever and creative, a combination that leads to some ingenious plans. But he also felt like a normal teen. He freaks out when his whole life plan and everything he knows about himself is thrown into question. He hides them well, but he has some insecurities. He's sarcastic but tries his best to be a good boyfriend and friend. Girls baffle him but he keeps trying. If he makes up his mind that he's got a reason to get revenge on someone, he takes it in ways that are totally unpredictable and frequently hilarious. He just can't help caring about the people around him in spite of himself. I liked the way that this adventurous superhero story can also be read as a story about choices. Just because your parents are good or bad doesn't mean that you have to follow in their footsteps. Just because you think that you were born to be one thing doesn't mean that you can't at least try doing something else. The other characters were great too. Kat was so totally random and fun and well-developed. She messes up before the story even begins and she feels awful about it. Sarah is just a geek to the rest of her school, but Damien finds out…

Bookish Miscellany

Prince Edward Island: Locus Focus

I love L. M. Montgomery's books. I think I've read all of her fiction, and she was pretty prolific. She lived on Prince Edward Island, Canada and set almost all of her fiction there. Needless to say, I'm dying to do a pilgrimage! Of course, at this time, most of the islanders were farmers or fishermen. I grew up in a rural area [...]

9 Comments

May 15, 2010

Introverted Reader Features

Character Connection: Rilla Blythe

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too! Most of you will probably post about how much you love each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write a love letter to Captain Wentworth. Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Draw a picture of yourself in Jamie's arms. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. Anne is by far my favorite of L.M. Montgomery's characters, but there's just something special about Rilla, her daughter, too. Luckily, Rilla gets her own book, Rilla of Ingleside, the last book in Anne's series. Rilla was the "baby" of the Blythe family and was in a chronic state of secret indignation because nobody believed she was grown up. She was so nearly fifteen that she called herself that, and she was quite as tall as Di and Nan; also, she was nearly as pretty as Susan believed her to be. She had great, dreamy, hazel eyes, a milky skin dappled with little golden freckles, and delicately arched eyebrows, giving her a demure, questioning look which made people, especially lads in their teens, want to answer it. Her hair was ripely, ruddily brown and a little dent in her upper lip looked as if some good fairy had pressed it in with her finger at Rilla's christening. Rilla, whose best friends…

9 Comments

May 13, 2010

Muse and Reverie by Charles de Lint: Book Review

In the author's note at the beginning of this volume of short stories, Charles de Lint says that he's taking a break from Newford for a while but that he still has enough short stories lying around to publish one more collection. I read that and my heart stopped for a second. I love Newford and all the characters in it! They have become my fictional friends over the years! The logical part of my brain can understand though. He's written 20+ novels and short story collections set in Newford, and if I were de Lint, I would probably have gotten tired of it and moved on long ago. My attention span just isn't that long. Maybe for that reason, this collection felt a bit like goodbye. There were so many stories that paid visits to old friends from other stories and novels. It almost felt like I was being allowed one last peek into their world to show me that they're doing just fine and that they'll continue to be just fine in that world where unwritten stories live. They'll live on as long as loyal fans like me continue re-reading and new fans fall in love with the characters in their turn. I might not be happy about a break from Newford, but I'm happy with where everyone is.

Bite Me by Christopher Moore: Book Review

I don't think I can even begin to explain the appeal of these books. A synopsis is going to make it sound ridiculous. A giant shaved vampire cat named Chet is stalking the San Francisco night? Puh-leeze. Except that leaves out Abby Normal, Emergency Backup Mistress of the Greater Bay Area Night. I. ♥ This. Chick. Abby is hilarious! I loved her in You Suck: A Love Story and I was thrilled when I found out that she tells most of this newest story. She makes grown men cry. She intimidates the hell out of Foo-Dog, her manga-haired love monkey. I mean, she wears Skankenstein boots. What more do you need to know? There are vampire cats, rats, and birds; a Samurai-sword-wielding old guy; UV-light jackets and dusters; UV, um, bazookas? that rack up serious points in the vampire elimination game; vampires climbing face first down walls a la Dracula; a fortune-teller who actually gets it right but doesn't understand any of it; a sea captain named Kona who speaks like a Rasta; truly crazy vampires; and overseeing it all is The Emperor of San Francisco, protector of Alcatraz, Sausalito, and Treasure Island and his two loyal men, Bummer and Lazarus. Sound over the top? It is. But it's so much fun. So take note beyotches. There will be a test. Yes, that's pretty much a quote. If it offended you, steer clear because this won't be the book for you. The f-bomb abounds.