Cold Sassy Tree

by Olive Ann Burns

This book was a lot like Charms for the Easy Life, in that it was a story about life. There was no great antagonist, no long quest. The synopsis says that it is the story of a boy becoming a man or some such thing, but that's not really what I got from it. Will Tweedy, at fourteen, was more man than many of the males I've met in their twenties.

The story was very interesting. There was a subtle romance hidden amongst the every day cow milkings and egg gatherings, but the real love story was that of a family. I enjoyed the "accent" of the book, set in Cold Sassy, Georgia. Eventually I could almost hear Grandpa's irreverent and raspy tone. Cold Sassy Tree was tender and sweet and I liked that it was told from Will Tweedy's young perspective. It gave a realistic glimpse into life at the turn of the century and I really enjoyed the depiction of the country's wonderment and excitement over "artermobiles", electricity and indoor plumbing.

Wonderful book, rare writing, and overall enjoyable.

The Devil and Miss Prym

by Paulo Coelho

The Devil and Miss Prym is the story of temptation and the rediscovery of faith. It was very well written and the conversations between characters had depth, but Coelho managed not to be patronizing.

This book approached very controversial ideals and yet the book was pretty simple and easily read in a few hours. It was a very interesting examination of humanity and it was startling to realize the justification a person can make in doing evil. The depiction of God was one I did not completely agree with as the religious tone and the beliefs held by the characters were, in many ways, different from my own, but even these thoughts incited new perspectives, which I appreciate.

Overall, I liked the book, but may not ever read it again.

A Song For Summer

by Eva Ibbotson

Oh, I loved this book. It was beautiful; the story, the characters, the writing. It had adventure, politics, war, humor, friendship, culture, art, music, and romance. No, not romance, that's much to soppy a word; love. True love, the kind that waits and suffers and still clings tightly and truly, enduring through joy at its peak and misery at its depth.

A Song for Summer was not what I expected it to be- a common occurrence among my recent literary adventures. I read A Countess Below Stairs not long ago and expected this to be similar, but the author seemed to deviate wildly from the somewhat amateur tone, even while keeping her style consistent. This was a book I would expect from someone like Gene Stratton-Porter, not a contemporary author. Ibbotson's transitions from one character's point of view to another's is rare and seamless. It was extremely impressive to find that, with upwards of ten streams of consciousness trading off, I never got lost within the transitions or wandered upon a loose trail of thought. She tied together so many elements and, even though Part II is less than one fourth of the book, there was no rush to the end and no unanswered questions. I laughed out loud at times, I brushed the dewy ghosts of tears from my lids, my heart ached for Marek and Ellen, leaped for Isaac and I could scarcely keep from smiling at the sheer loveliness of language and the stark, green imagery.

This book is one that has a few things that may be conceived as taboo, but it is in no way graphic or offensive.

Mr. Darcy's Diary

by Amanda Grange

Mr. Darcy's Diary is a depiction of what Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice may have been thinking during that time period. I really enjoy books like this that give the reader a peek into a vague perspective. It somehow makes the character more real and gives greater depth to the story.

This book was written as a literal diary, so it was an easy and entertaining read. The breaks between entries made the speech style less difficult to grasp than authentic Austen can be. I liked that it portrayed Darcy in the same light that we see him in P&P, showcasing his faults and illustrating the change that takes place in him as his love for Elizabeth grows. It also offers a peek into the Darcy's married life, which I always find interesting.

Appropriate for anyone and very entertaining.

Ink Exchange

by Melissa Marr

Ink Exchange is the sequel to Wicked Lovely, which I enjoyed. The second installment, not so much. The story was okay, but it moved a little too slowly to get to the point and then skipped over it to get to the end. It was a little dark for my taste as well. I think the author thinks very highly of her writing and skips a lot of details, or becomes vague when she should be explaining exactly where the story is going and how it is getting there. I do hope that there is a third book so that Marr can redeem herself and because I like the world that she has created.

This book has drug references and dark imagery.

Austenland

by Shannon Hale

~SPOILER ALERT~ Austenland is the story of a woman unconsciously obsessed with Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. She stays at a Regency themed vacation estate in which guests interact with actors to be completely enveloped in an experience from that time period. It's a story of self discovery and love. Or at least, it's supposed to be. It was an easy and light read, slightly above juvenile fiction, in my opinion, which is perhaps what Hale should stick to.

The one redeeming part of the book is the last three pages. When the Darcyesque actor shows up at the airport it is cliche and a little silly. However, as he follows Jane onto the airplane and asks for an opportunity to get to know her better, it is a sweet and uncontrived effort. The actor's previously revealed history and his realistic grasp of the situation makes it seem as though he may be an example of a less than perfect, but just less as to be enough to seem like an actual nice guy, literary character. Honestly, the sincerity of the ending made me sigh with longing.

Overall, not great,but pretty clean.

Extras

by Scott Westerfeld

I was intrigued by this book. The idea of having fame as a kind of currency was one that is prevalent in our society, although not acknowledged or perceived the same way. The author tends to take these real life situations and bend them to the extreme end of the spectrum to create new societies. I was expecting this story to be more like Uglies by introducing a new heroine and allowing her to have her own plot and adventure. Extras started out, seemingly, with this intention. There was character developement and complex situations. However, about three quarters of the way through, it almost felt as though the entire book had been meant to set up for the return of certain characters thought obsolete. It took a little of the focus off of the main characters and, just as suddenly, returned to them to tie things up.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and thought it was more on the level of Pretties, rather than Uglies or Specials. As with each of the previous, the book contained nothing crude or inappropriate and didn't even contain profanity.

Uglies, Pretties, Specials

by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies
I really liked this book. I thought that the concept was alarmingly plausible in our future. There is such a huge emphasis placed on outer beauty and I think that there is definitely an elitist attitude among many "beautiful" people. The fact that it seemed as though Tally was waiting until she was a New Pretty for her life to start made the plot parallel our own society as a prepubescent essentially waits for puberty to reach certain milestones and life experiences.

This book had a few well meaning life lessons thrown in about accepting yourself and others and looking past physical appearance. However, by the end of the book, and as the series continues, there is still that brain washing fascination with beauty, even by Tally who experiences majority of the change. The ideal of beauty may be changed, but the "Pretties" are still hypnotizing and important.

There are so many subtleties, so many ideals and story lines that I would love to expand upon, but overall, I will just say that this is a one that I will read again.

Pretties
I didn't like this book as well as the first in the series, but it was a good continuation of the story and allowed the characters to change and develop more. I liked that Tally had the strength to overcome her neural deficiencies without assistance, but it was a little predictable. I would have liked a break for the typical extraordinary heroine that overcomes all odds without any help from anyone, but I guess you can't really save the world and be a whiny little wuss.

Overall, good follow up and I liked the depth of the changes that Tally experiences. Don't need to buy this one, though.

Specials
Once again, Specials wasn't as good a read as the previous installment. By the end of this book, I really didn't like Tally anymore. I thought she was a little selfish and self indulgent and weak, despite her physical modifications. I expected the upheaval of the world to look a little different. Throughout all of this, I really wondered about the government of these cities and I think he could have expounded upon the actual hierarchy of the Wardens, the Specials, the Minders, etc.

This one was alright, but now that I know the ending, I don't mind forgetting the details.