Caleb's Crossing

By: Geraldine Brooks

Published: 2011

# of pages: 320

Official description:

Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure.

The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures.

Like Brooks's beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

My opinion: Excellent read! I'm a fan of Brooks, she writes great historical fiction. So I was excited about this book and it didn't disappoint me. I was impressed with the details that went into the setting, dialogue, and the historical facts. She writes an afterward that includes the research she did and what is fact and what is fiction in the book. It's neat that she used real characters, but changed some of their names. Historical fiction is my favorite genre (okay, so it's tied with fantasy!) and I recommend this to other fans of historical fiction.

All that said, this isn't making it to my favorites list. In order to be on my list, this book has to consume my every waking moment. I have to have a really hard time putting it down and after I do, I have to keep daydreaming about it, imagining myself in it, thinking about it, wanting to talk about it. This book wasn't like that for me. It's hard to completely relate to the characters, but it's supposed to be that way.

Why I gave this book 5/5 stars: Well written, interesting characters, emotionally swaying, unique & original story.

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Portobello

By: Ruth Rendell

Published: 2010

# of pages: 290

Official description:

Ruth Rendell is widely considered to be crime fiction’s reigning queen, with a remarkable career spanning more than forty years. Now, in Portobello,she delivers a captivating and intricate tale that weaves together the troubled lives of several people in the gentrified neighborhood of London’s Notting Hill.Walking to the shops one day, fifty-year-old Eugene Wren discovers an envelope on the street bulging with cash. A man plagued by a shameful addiction—and his own good intentions—Wren hatches a plan to find the money’s rightful owner. Instead of going to the police, or taking the cash for himself, he prints a notice and posts it around Portobello Road. This ill-conceived act creates a chain of events that links Wren to other Londoners—people afflicted with their own obsessions and despairs. As these volatile characters come into Wren’s life—and the life of his trusting fiancée—the consequences will change them all.

Portobello is a wonderfully complex tour de force featuring a dazzling depiction of one of London’s most intriguing neighborhoods—and the dangers beneath its newly posh veneer.

My opinion: I found this book on the crime/suspense display at the library and decided to give it a try. I usually don't pick up random books. Since I don't have much time to read, each book is carefully picked and usually recommended by someone before I dive in. So this is the first time I've just randomly picked up a book in a long time. And I'm glad I did, it was something new for me that I wouldn't have experienced otherwise.

Maybe it's because I saw Stephen King's recommendation on the cover, but I could not get it out of my head that this was similar to the 2 King novels I've read in the past. Just the description of the characters and how many of them are slightly exaggerated stereotypes. Or almost comically contradictory. Portobello's cast of characters includes a man who is a slave to his addiction (the object of his addiction is funny, but obviously addiction is never really funny), a crazy schizo, a "low life" who works hard to not work, another "low life" who ends up having the best values out of anyone in the book, and a religious man who thinks of himself as the most upright person in the book although he's actually the worst.

Portobello is by no means my favorite, but it was entertaining and even a little creepy at times. I recommend to fans of Rendell and psychological plots.

Why I gave this book 3/5 stars: Interesting characters, neat plot that all ties together in the end, a little disturbing, hard to really sympathize with the characters

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The Oracle of Stamboul

By: Michael David Lukas

Published: 2011

# of pages: 320

Official description:

Ushered into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives late in the summer of 1877 in the town of Constanta on the Black Sea, Eleonora Cohen proves herself an extraordinarily gifted child—a prodigy—at a very young age. When she is eight years old, she stows away aboard a ship, following her carpet merchant father, Yakob, to the teeming and colorful imperial capital of Stamboul where a new life awaits her.

In the narrow streets of this city at the crossroads of the world, intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. But it is only when she charms the eccentric Sultan Abdulhamid II—beleaguered by friend and foe as his unwieldy realm crumbles—that Eleonora will change the course of an empire.

My opinion: This is a very well written novel as far as the descriptions and settings go, but I'm not quite sure what to make of it. The whole thing seemed pointless. The characters were hard to relate to, which makes it difficult to become immersed in the book. I kept thinking there would be more, but there wasn't. What was the climax? I don't know. The ending was disappointing. Not the actions of the characters, just that there wasn't more before the ending to satisfy me.

However, as I told my grandmother (who also just finished reading it), it was neat to see the references to other works of literature. I only wish that the main "novel" (The Hourglass) that is quoted in the book was real!

Why I gave this book 3/5 stars: Well written as far as wording and grammar, but not as far as the content and character development.

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Bossypants

By: Tina Fey

Published: 2011

# of pages: 288

Quote: "And should she be a mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.
'My mother did this for me once,' she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby's neck. 'My mother did this for me.' And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a mental note to call me. And she will forget. But I'll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes." - "A Mother's Prayer for her Child" - Tina Fey

Official description:

Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!)

My opinion: I really enjoyed Tina Fey's memoir and I'm glad I did because I was on the waiting list for it at the library for MONTHS. I was surprised to read that she was slashed by a knife-wielding stranger as a child and still has a scar from the attack. At first I thought she was joking when she mentions it early in the book, but she isn't. She talks about it a couple of other times, but I still looked it up just to make sure it was true. It's kind of hard to tell because the whole book is light-hearted, although not all the subjects are light.

A few of the serious topics she discusses include homosexuality, politics, working moms, women in the workplace, and marriage. Let me just say, I don't agree with her on some of these topics but that's okay. It didn't ruin the book for me because she isn't too pushy. Her viewpoint seems to be that everyone is different and what's right for her isn't necessarily right for others.

The only thing that bothered me was I felt she started to ramble while talking about her teen years. It wasn't as interesting and the whole teen life thing seemed immature to me.

I did enjoy hearing what she had to say about her appearances on SNL during the 2008 election. It was great to hear about it from her point of view after having seen the skits 3 years ago.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars: Humorous, interesting, a little controversial, some parts were rambling.

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I chose "Peril the First" - read 4 books, "Peril of the Short Story" - read a short story, and "Peril on the Screen" - watch a movie or TV show.

And yeah, I didn't finish Peril of the Short Story or Peril on the Screen. :-( In my defense, I would have completed Peril on the Screen but my bummer of a husband didn't want to stay up late to watch "The Haunting" on Halloween like I had planned. I still plan to watch it someday and also read "The Yellow Wallpaper."

For Peril the First I read:
The Moving Finger by: Agatha Christie
The Woman in Black by: Susan Hill
The Lantern by: Deborah Lawrenson
Handling the Undead by: John Ajvide Lindqvist

I'm proud to say that I finished them all in the required time limit! I actually finished Handling the Undead on Halloween.

Handling the Undead

By: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Published: 2010

# of pages: 384

Challenge: RIP VI

Official description:

Across Stockholm the power grid has gone crazy. In the morgue and in cemeteries, the recently deceased are waking up. One grandfather is alight with hope that his grandson will be returned, but one husband is aghast at what his adored wife has become.

A horror novel that transcends its genre by showing what the return of the dead might really mean to those who loved them.

My opinion: For awhile there I thought this novel may be added to my favorites list. However, it took a weird turn towards the end and so I can't say it's a favorite anymore. I feel funny about the book, I want to say that I enjoyed it, but it was really WEIRD. I feel like it was ruined. I typically have respect for the way an author ends the book. I often hear people complain that the ending wasn't happy enough, or that it was too perfect, or that it ended too suddenly, or that it dragged on. I rarely complain. BUT, I am afraid that I am going to complain about the ending of this book.

This is a book about zombies. Dead people come back to life. There are unexplained reasons behind this crazy phenomenon. And then at the end it was all pointless. I wondered at the reasoning behind developing so many characters to just have it.... be pointless. At first I was afraid the book would be scary or gory. Then I started thinking that it was more of a thought provoking novel. What would you do if the recently dead in your city came back to life? Would you want that to happen to one of your loved ones? Where would they all go, should the government be involved, how would it affect living people, etc.

And then it just got weird! I feel like the ending was rushed. I can't tell if that was on purpose or not. But like I said before, it just made me feel like it was pointless to read so many well thought out details only to have it end the way it did.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars: Well written, interesting concept, thought-provoking, very...unique.

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The Woman in Black

By: Susan Hill

Published: 1983

# of pages: 192

Challenge: RIP VI

Official description:

What real reader does not yearn, somewhere in the recesses of his or her heart, for a really literate, first-class thriller - one that chills the body with foreboding of dark deeds to come, but warms the soul with perceptions and language at once astute and vivid? In other words, a ghost story by Jane Austen.

Austen we cannot, alas, give you, but Susan Hill's remarkable Woman In Black comes as close as the late twentieth century is likely to provide. Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero one Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north to attend the funeral and settle the estate of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the nursery of the deserted Eel Marsh House, the eerie sound of pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and, most dreadfully, and for Kipps most tragically, the woman in black.

The Woman In Black is both a brilliant exercise in atmosphere and controlled horror and a delicious spine-tingler - proof positive that that neglected genre, the ghost story, isn't dead after all.

My opinion: This is the type of ghost story I enjoy! The Woman in Black is short, but is still a great example of the Gothic genre. The story has the feel of a novel written in the 1800s, so I was surprised that it was written in 1983. I feel like ghost stories nowadays have to be scarier and scarier, just like horror movies. People have become desensitized, which is reflected in literature and film.

Anyway, I was happy with the amount of supernatural suspense. There were times I was tensed up, just waiting...waiting... feeling so incredibly creeped out! But it isn't overwhelming, just the perfect amount. I highly recommend this well-written ghost story to lovers of Gothic tales, lovers of suspense, and anyone who wants to try reading a story from this genre. It's a good book to start with because it isn't going to be too much for someone who is sensitive.

Oh yeah, and can I just say that I liked the ending as weird as that may sound? It was unexpected and definitely rounded out the novel.

Look for the movie coming out in February 2012! Looks SO creepy, it gives me goosebumps to watch the trailer.

Why I gave this book 4/5 stars: It was very well-written and a great story. In order for me to give it 5 stars, however, I would want it to absorb me so much that I can't stop thinking about it and imagine myself in the novel alongside the main character. This didn't do that for me, so that's why I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5.

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The Lantern

By: Deborah Lawrenson

Published: 2011

# of pages: 383

Challenge: RIP VI

Official description:

When Eve falls for the secretive, charming Dom, their whirlwind relationship leads them to purchase Les Genevriers, an abandoned house in a rural hamlet in the south of France. As the beautiful Provence summer turns to autumn, Eve finds it impossible to ignore the mysteries that haunt both her lover and the run-down old house, in particular the mysterious disappearance of his beautiful first wife, Rachel. Whilst Eve tries to untangle the secrets surrounding Rachel's last recorded days, Les Genevriers itself seems to come alive. As strange events begin to occur with frightening regularity, Eve's voice becomes intertwined with that of Benedicte Lincel, a girl who lived in the house decades before. As the tangled skeins of the house's history begin to unravel, the tension grows between Dom and Eve. In a page-turning race, Eve must fight to discover the fates of both Benedicte and Rachel, before Les Genevriers' dark history has a chance to repeat itself.

My opinion: The Lantern is creepy and mysterious, but not gruesome, gory, overdone, or stupidly fake suspense novel. It fits in with the Gothic genre nicely. I was a little confused at first about the narrating style. There's 2 first-person narrators and then a few sections that are told in third-person, but just about one of the characters. It all makes sense at the end, but at the very beginning it's very confusing, especially the two separate first-person narratives. So I will just let you know, at the beginning there's 2 different women "speaking!"

I wish I could say that this book was awesome, a page turner that I couldn't stop thinking about. However, I felt like it was disjointed and that perhaps the author became sidetracked. For example, one of the narrators seems to hold back while telling her story. But suddenly discusses in detail the process of making lavender into scented oil. It didn't match with the narrator at all. I feel like the author was interested in that process, probably went to visit a factory and learn about the process, and wanted to use all of the information in the novel, even though it didn't fit in.

Also, I found it interesting that the title's object didn't play a large part in the book. I wish it had a different title actually, that way it wouldn't seem that the author meant for the lantern be such a core part of the story. Also, I didn't appreciate how Lawrenson explicitly mentions the connection of this novel to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. I think the similarities between the two novels are obvious and it was silly that the narrator Eve was telling the reader this.

Overall, even though some of the things about the story bothered me, I enjoyed the overall plot, the characters, and the amount of suspense and mystery. I recommend this to readers who want a modern day Gothic tale.

Why I gave this book 3/5 stars: Neat plot, unique story, not very well written, a little disjointed.

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