The Chocolate War by: Robert Cormier

Challenges: My Year of Reading Dangerously

Published: 1974

# of pages: 263


My Children's Lit professor once discussed this book in the course I took a couple of years ago. So I knew the basic outline, but I was still surprised while reading the book. I have wanted to read it all of these years, but I find myself feeling really let down. I think this book is a little bit too realistic. Or is it?

Jerry Renault doesn't want to sell chocolates for the school fund raiser. You wouldn't think that would be such a big deal, but it turns the whole school upside down. I admired Jerry for sticking up for himself and wanting to be different than everyone else. He has a poster in his locker that says "Do I dare disturb the universe?" from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." And Jerry does dare to disturb the universe and I think everyone who reads this has to admire that.

**Possible Spoiler**



I was disappointed because this doesn't have a typical happy ending. Normally I also admire books that don't follow the rules, but after reading through all of the evil people and things going on in Jerry's school, I was tired of it and wanted something good to happen. I almost felt like it was unrealistic how evil the school was. Like Goober says, "There's something rotten in that school. More than rotten . . . Evil (159)."

I still find it hard to believe that there could be a whole school filled with boys who acted like that. Even then ones who weren't mean were still disgusting. I guess teenage boys have sexual thoughts and feelings that they have to express somehow, but seeing it written out made it seem really crude. I read a webpage about school systems who have challenged this book for various reasons. Most of them included sexual content, torture, bad language, and denigration of women.

I found the fact that there are no women in this book except a few seen from the viewpoint of the boys interesting. That viewpoint is demeaning, but I suppose it is also accurate. I think that if there had been some girls in the book they would have helped uplift it. I guess I was just left with the feeling that all boys are pigs. Violent and disgusting and only seeing girls as sexual objects.

And how could that many parents allow their boys to turn out so badly right under their noses? The parents aren't disciplining the children, the teachers aren't disciplining the children. It's like Lord of the Flies in a private school! They run everything themselves and things get out of control. However, it would be interesting if this book was set in an all girls school. Girls can be just as mean as boys, just in a less physical way. I think the book would have been a little less crude and would have had a less violent ending, but it still could have changed into a "Mean Girls" type of situation.

It is a unique view of anarchy and what happens when an attempt to manipulate a volatile situation is made. And it does leave the reader asking, should you dare disturb the universe? Can you form your own belief and stick up for it? Jerry thought he failed when he becomes just like the other boys, "not disturbing the universe, but damaging it (254)." I think he could have continued to stay separate from the other boys and not join in their violent ways, but he would have remained an outcast. Maybe sometimes you have to join in to survive.

Thankfully, I've never been faced with such an extreme situation. I've always been able to walk away and resist joining in things that I knew would hurt me or other people if I wanted to. But this book does make you wonder what you would do in this situation. And if it was even right of Jerry to refuse to sell the chocolates...or if it was admirable. All in all, a depressing but thought provoking book. I recommend this to readers who enjoy realistic stories, stories that involve pyschological dilemmas and touchy situations, and those who want to know what the big deal about this book is. If you are considering letting your child read it, know that it does contain sexual content, violence, and bad language.

Book of a Thousand Days by: Shannon Hale

Published: 2007

# of pages: 306

Quote: "A cat can make you feel well rested when you're tired or turn a rage into a calm just by sitting on your lap. His very nearness is a healing song." -Dashti p. 206


I'm sad that I'm already finished with Book of a Thousand Days, but I'm ready to read some more of Hale's novels! I read Goose Girl a long time ago and plan on reading it again as well as the other books in the Bayern series.

Book of a Thousand Days is a novel written from the point of view of Dashti, a girl who grew up as a nomad on the steppes and ended up being a lady's maid for Saren. They are shut up in a tower for seven years. Dashti struggles to discover more about the timid Saren and wonders if seven years will ever be long enough to understand the young lady she serves.

I loved the character of Dashti. She felt very natural. I especially enjoyed her feelings for the animals she comes into contact with. She has such a loving nature, but still gets annoyed and frustrated with people so she doesn't seem too loving. And of course I loved the world that Hale created for the novel. She has such a great imagination to be able to think of an entire world and that world's customs, religion, and history.

The book was loosely based on the fairy tale "Maid Maleen" which was recorded by the Grimm brothers. I've never read that tale, but I also think it's neat that Hale picked a lesser known fairy tale to base her story on. She also included some settings and customs from medieval Mongolia. All in all, I think this is a great book for young adults and adults alike, especially lovers of fantasy and fairy tales.

I may be crazy, but I'm signing up for another challenge! However, I'm about to finish 2 of the challenges I'm signed up for, so I think it's ok to replace them with one.

The Rules:

• OPTION 1: Read FIVE classics.
• OPTION 2: Read FIVE classics from at least TWO different countries
• OPTION 3: Read FIVE classics with any combination of at least TWO different countries and TWO different genres (see above for genres).
  Cross-posting with other challenges is allowed (and encouraged!); Audiobooks are fine; books must be finished after July 1st to count for the challenge although re-reads are acceptable.
  
  Lists don't have to be set in stone; you can change your selections at any time.
  Have Fun. Oh ya...there will be a drawing for a prize or two. To be entered you must complete any one of the above options. You do NOT need a blog to participate.
  Am I going to define what a classic is? Nope! There are lots of definitions offered on the Internet, but essentially we all have different opinions so don't stress too much--and see the bonus below.
  
  BONUS!! (optional)
  As you can see, I'm requiring FIVE classics for six months. For the sixth book, I would like the participants to offer suggestions for books that may not be considered classics but that you think should be or books that you think will be a classic one day. Leave your suggestions in the comments below. I'll compile a list of the suggestions and you choose a book from the list and make that your sixth read. I realize this means you may have to wait to make your list if you choose to participate in the bonus round, but I'm hoping this is a modern twist on the old classics challenge.

The Idiot by: Fyodor Dostoyevsky (I own this and am in the process of reading it)
The Grapes of Wrath by: John Steinbeck (It's December's book for My Year of Reading Dangerously)
Madame Bovary by: Gustave Flaubert (I started reading this for a course I took in school and didn't finish it)
The Great Gatsby by: F. Scott Fitzgerald (I know several people who love it and have always been curious)
Emma by: Jane Austen (I read this when I was in high school and want to read it again)

Bonus:

The Poisonwood Bible by: Barbara Kingsolver (I chose this from the list because it's one I've been meaning to read for a long time)

Anna Karenina by: Leo Tolstoy

Challenges: My Year of Reading Dangerously, TBR Challenge, Eponymous Challenge

Published: 1873

# of pages: 853

Quote: "As the reading proceeded, especially at the frequent and rapid repetitions of the same words, 'Lord, have mercy upon us!' which sounded like 'Lordavmercpons!', Levin felt that his mind was closed and sealed . . . 'Well, it will soon be over now,' he thought. 'No, I believe he's going back to the beginning again,' he thought, listening to the prayers." -Levin pp. 464-465


I substituted Anna Karenina for Lolita in the Reading Dangerously's June challenge. I went to the library to get Lolita and couldn't find it so I grabbed this instead since I needed it for other challenges.

I was afraid of reading this book and was amazed that it was easier to read and I enjoyed it more than I had imagined. My only complaint is that the eighth and last section could have been reduced to a couple of pages! At that point I just wanted to know what happened to the remaining characters and while Tolstoy does give us that information, I felt like he was really cramming in a lot of other stuff that should have been dispersed throughout the book (of course, he is the worldwide famous author who has gone down in history and I couldn't write a book if I tried!).

Anna Karenina is, of course, about a woman named Anna. However, I was interested to discover that it also closely follows the Alexandrovna sisters and their familys. There's 3 sisters: Natalie, Dolly, and Kitty. Dolly and Kitty are main characters as well as Dolly's husband and Kitty's love interests. Anna gets mixed in as a result of falling in love with one of Kitty's favorite young men, Vronsky, and Levin is pulled in to the story because he falls in love with Kitty. Karenin is Anna's husband and so is featured in many chapters. Confused yet? The only other main characters are Koznyshev and Nikolai, Levin's brothers.

The novel has a timeline that spans over a couple of years. A lot of things happen in these years, people fall in love, marry, die, have babies, learn important life lessons. I was mainly interested in the stories, especially Kitty's. I liked her character. I didn't always like Levin, although I have heard that Tolstoy based this character off of himself. Levin is full of thoughts and loves to ponder these thoughts. He's always changing his views and learning new things. Some of it is interesting, but I couldn't force myself to care too much about the peasants and how they affected agriculture. I'm sure that at the time this novel was published that must have been an issue, but it tainted my pleasure of reading the parts that followed Levin. Also, he kind of annoyed me because of how moody he was. Everytime he was around people he was angry and frustrated. However, his love for Kitty was really sweet and I liked how he (mostly) was happy with her.

I also had to dislike Anna's character at most times. At first I wanted to judge her and say that she shouldn't have been so selfish as to leave her husband (especially after he forgave her after she gave birth). But after that the reader learns a little about her background with her husband. We already know that she no longer loves Karenin, but it turns out he is 20 years older than she is and that her aunt tricked them into getting married. It must have been terrible to be forced into marriage with someone you don't love. However, I could never really get past the fact that she abandoned her son for a lover. I think she couldn't really get past that either though. She tried to forget it and it haunted her throughout the years she was separated from the boy.

I felt bad for Karenin at times, especially when he is looked down upon for forgiving his wife instead of dueling Vronsky. Society didn't respect forgiveness. They assumed he was a coward and didn't realize that sometimes it takes more strength to forgive and show love. However, after he becomes self righteous and meets Countess Lydia I thought he was less sincere than he was before he started outwardly proclaiming his Christian faith.

Dolly was an interesting character and I enjoyed her thoughts. At one point she is traveling to visit Anna and contemplates her life as a mother and a wife to a man who pays no attention to his family. She wants to be like Anna, but quickly realizes that she would be unhappy with that lifestyle and from then on appreciates her life and children more. I liked her honesty because I think that's how I would feel in her position, and I think I would arrive at the same conclusion she did. Dolly is the opposite of Anna. Sure, she doesn't love her husband and is even mistreated by him just like Anna was by Karenin, but instead of abandoning them she sees the good in her life and sticks with her children and her friends.

The end of the novel reminded me of Voltaire's Candide. At the end of Candide, Candide comes to the conclusion that the meaning of life and the way to be satisfied is to tend to his garden. A peasant farmer tells him that and he embraces that lifestyle. At the end of Anna Karenina, Levin is wondering the same thing, what is the meaning of life and how can he know that he is living the way he should? A peasant farmer tells him to live rightly in God's way. And Levin is struck by that and realizes that is the key to being fulfilled.

I recommend this book to lovers of Russian literature and lovers of classics. After reading it, I don't think I've ever read any references to it, but it was interesting to compare it to other novels such as Madame Bovary and Candide. It will be interesting to see if I start to discover more references now that I'm familiar with the storyline and characters. This was a good (but long) read that took me a week and a half to finish. I think others will also be pleasantly surprised that this is easier to read than it looks!

Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading? is giving away 14 books from Hachette Books. Check it out HERE.

EW's 100 New Classics

It's interesting how many of these have been made into movies. I wonder if that's the only reason they are on the list, or if the books themselves are worth being classics. Some of these I definitely agree with and some I wonder if it's just the fact that they have movie recognition. As far as the ones I've read, the only one I'm not sure about being a "classic" is The Ruins. It was a good book, but I wouldn't have thought about putting it on a New Classics list myself.

I've read 11 out of 100:

Harry Potter
The Handmaid's Tale
Love in the Time of Cholera
His Dark Materials
The Glass Castle
The Giver
The Kite Runner
The Remains of the Day
Holes
The Ruins
The Da Vinci Code

How many and which ones have you read?

Poison Study by: Maria V. Snyder

Published: 2005

# of pages: 361

Series: Book #1

Quote: "'What could you possibly offer me? I have a job, color-coordinated uniforms and a boss to die for. What more could I need?'" -Yelena p. 137


This is the second time I've read this book. The first time I read it I fell in love with it. Then I immediately read the second book in the series, Magic Study. While I didn't enjoy that book as much, Poison Study has remained one of my favorite books and was even included in my Favorite Books of 2007. The reason I read it again was because I just read Fire Study, the third and final book in the series. It pulled me back into Yelena's world and made me really want to read the first two books again.

The second time of reading this wasn't the same, but I still found myself staying up late to read and having a hard time putting the book down. This is still my favorite book in the series. It's unique and who could not love the characters Yelena, Valek, Ari, and Janco?

The story begins with Yelena being let out of the Commander's dungeons where she is being held until execution and given a second chance at life....as a food taster for the Commander of Ixia. If that isn't enough stress for a young woman whose life has been turned upside down, all kinds of other trouble follow her everywhere.

Yelena perseveres through her study of poisons, being exposed to political intrigues, and having to be constantly on guard as she expects soldiers, assassins, and magicians to kill her at any moment. She also struggles to accept her past and move on with life, as hard as that is. Yelena is a neat character, she's graceful, flexible, strong, can kick butt, and is smart to top it all off.

People of the Book by: Geraldine Brooks

Published: 2008

# of pages: 372

Quote: "'It was here to test us, to see if there were people who could see that what united us was more than what divided us. That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or Orthodox.'" -Ozren p. 361


This is Brooks' third novel, written after Year of Wonders and March. I liked People of the Book more than March, but not as much as Year of Wonders. Her latest novel is rich in history and culture. It's fascinating how much information Brooks was able to convey throughout the novel without overloading the reader.

The story is anchored by Hanna, a modern bookbinder/conservator. She is offered a job to work on an ancient Hebrew book, a job that changes her life when she accepts. Hanna finds several clues on the pages of the book which she then investigates to learn more about where and when the book has traveled. She unfolds many stories for the reader, although she is often left in the dark about the details. Stories are told about Jews, Christians, and Muslims who have all had an impact on the priceless book.

The Hebrew manuscript, the Sarajevo Haggadah, is a real book, but Brooks does an amazing job filling in the gaps with fictional details. I enjoyed learning about the true historical events that took place during the book's lifetime and the fictional characters and their lives kept me even more interested. The book was very fast paced, switching from Hanna's life to the lives of historical characters. In a way, this enabled me to stay interested, but it also prevented me from truly caring about the characters. I found that I wasn't hooked into any of the stories, but I still enjoyed reading them.

I found it very interesting that all of the characters had similar qualities through sins. Obviously everyone sins, but I wonder why Brooks concentrated so much on pointing that out when she only had a limited time to tell each character's story. It made me respect the characters even more, because even though they were hiding their sins, they still cared enough about a religious document to protect it. Also, perhaps hiding their sins allowed them to be able to hide the book. It did link all of the characters. No matter what religion each character was associated with, they were all the same underneath.

I recommend this book to all adults who enjoy history, a mystery, science investigations, or a good read. There were adult situations in this book so I don't recommend it to young adults.


Other Reviews:
BookBound
Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

Stardust by: Neil Gaiman

Published: 1999

# of pages: 248

Quote: "'There, now,' she said, and she passed him his snowdrop. He took it with hands that suddenly seemed to him to be huge and clumsy and not at all small and in every way perfect like the hands of the faerie girl." -Slave Girl & Dunstan pg. 22


This is the first book I've read by Gaiman and it won't be the last. Stardust was also made into a movie last year which I watched before reading the novel. The movie is very similar to the book except for some minor changes. If you enjoyed the movie you will definitely enjoy the book, it has even more details and background info.

The novel is about Tristran Thorn, a 17 year old young man who lives in the village of Wall. He's in love with Victoria and in order to win her love he promises to find and bring her a star they see falling...into the land of Faerie. His adventure begins as he crosses the wall bordering his village and Faerie. He encounters many strange people, witnesses many strange things, has many odd experiences, and has many death defying adventures. And interestingly enough, he feels right at home.

This is a beautiful love story with enough adventure and unique aspects to make it very much worth reading. I was surprised to find out that the book isn't appropriate for young readers. It gets a little too romantic in one part. However, it isn't crude and the book isn't filled with similar scenes. The movie is appropriate for children and adults alike. Overall, I recommend this to all adults, especially those who enjoy fantasy and liked the movie.

The Host by: Stephenie Meyer

# of pages: 619

Published: 2008

Quote: "I realized, with some surprise, that I was in a truly bad mood." -Wanderer pg. 349


Wanderer's parasite alien species come to Earth and use humans as their hosts, taking over the entire world. The aliens continue to function as humans, with a few differences. Wanderer is put into Melanie's body. Melanie is one of the few remaining "wild" humans, humans who aren't functioning as hosts for the aliens. Wanderer's and Melanie's lives are changed forever as they struggle to share the same body.

When I first read about the plot I expected this book to be pretty hokey. I thought that there was no way that Meyer could write another book as good as the Twilight books. I was wrong! This book was excellent. It's pretty amazing when an author can write an alien book that readers can really become involved in. I loved the characters and the original plot. Meyer is an amazing author with the ability to write such great books in such a short time.

It took me several chapters to get into this book, but after the first 8 or 9 chapters I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. The adventure, romance, and likeable characters really drew me in and I think everyone else who reads this will feel the same!