The Kitchen Boy by: Robert Alexander

Challenges: The Eponymous Challenge

Published: 2003

# of pages: 229

Quote: "Given our common age we were able to see things others could not, however, and as such the route around the dining room table became a troika track, the large potted palm in the drawing room became an oasis in the Sahara, and later the dogs, Jimmy and Joy, chasing and barking after us, were transformed into rabid wolves. Truth be told, we occupied ourselves for hours with a talent I have long since lost." -Misha p. 124


This is a fascinating version of the events of the last Tsar's final days before his death in 1918. Although I knew the basics about this historical event, this book was an easy way to learn so much more. Alexander includes many real documents and closely follows true events through his fictionalized account of this period of history, so it really is a learning experience as well as a story.

The story is told by Misha, an old man living in America who witnessed the final days of the last Tsar and the Tsar's family. He is recording his account of what really happened, especially on the fateful night of July 16-17, 1918. The reader experiences shock and surprise as they journey with Misha and his granddaughter, Kate, on the re-discovery of the truth.

I've been inspired to do my own research on the deaths of the last Tsar and his family. I want to see how Alexander's account lines up with what is known of the truth and see how likely his version of the story is. Alexander has a webpage, http://www.thekitchenboy.com/ that I'm planning on visiting one of these days to begin. I recommend this book to everyone, especially if you enjoy history or are already studying this event for a class or on your own.

The Glass Castle by: Jeannette Walls

Published: 2005

# of pages: 288

Quote: There are way too many to pick from!!


Walls did an excellent job writing a memoir that flows and feels like a story. Walls' description of her life from age 3 through her adult years was just as action packed and gripping as a novel and is perfect for fans of memoirs and fiction alike.

A friend of my mom's said she read this book with her jaw gaping open in amazement the entire time. I reacted the same way, especially during the first half of the memoir. Unfortunately, I found the second half more believeable, although it is still amazing that Walls lived in such terrible conditions and has created such a well-written account of her experiences.

This is a story of success, of perseverance, of love, and encouragement. Walls is an ultimate role model, especially for other people who have grown up in similar environments. I was struck by her common sense and cheered for her as she made bold decisions to change her life. I also admired how close she was to her older sister and younger brother. The love between the 3 of them was beautiful and if there was only one good thing about the circumstances they survived, it was that they were brought closer together through everything.

I 100% recommend this memoir to everyone. It is entertaining, heartbreaking, encouraging, and an eye opener to how some people live, even in modern America. It is also a lesson that although stereotypes may try to condemn a person to a life of hardship, there's always a chance of breaking free and building a successful way of life.

Rises the Night by: Colleen Gleason

Series: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles (Book 2)


This book was pretty bad, so I wouldn't recommend it and don't want to waste too much time talking about it.

My main reason for disliking it was that the series went from being an original romance/adventure in the first book (The Rest Falls Away) to being a typical trashy romance. Victoria's character was disgusting and shallow. How convenient that she is only attracted to handsome men. She has no self control and throws herself at Sebastian the first time she sees him and every other time after that. It was so predictable.

On a positive note, the vampires make it a little more interesting and I still enjoyed the character of Max. Also, Gleason does a surprising plot twist at the end, just like her first book in The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, which was an improvement because it was the only surprise in the whole book.

Cat's Eye by: Margaret Atwood

Challenges: My Year of Reading Dangerously

Published: 1988

# of pages: 462

Quote: "Inside her half-open cloak there's a glimpse of red. It's her heart, I think. It must be her heart, on the outside of her body, glowing like neon, like a coal." -Elaine p.209


This is March's book for My Year of Reading Dangerously, but even though I didn't even start it until April, I still wanted to read it because I've read The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood and enjoyed it, so I wanted to see what Cat's Eye would be about.

I wasn't disappointed. Although this novel is dark and somewhat depressing, in a similar way to The Handmaid's Tale, it is also filled with truth and provides more of an understanding to situations that many women all over the world experience. There were times when this Elaine's story hit close to home and other times I was glad I didn't go through everything she went through in her childhood. Through it all, I appreciated Atwood's ability to write a story that explains the feelings of so many little girls and what they go through as they struggle to fit in at school and in their peer groups.

Elaine spent the first 8 years of her life traveling with her entomologist father, her outdoorsy and adventurous mother, and her genius and very boyish brother. As a result, she has learned to be a tomboy, concerned more with playing make believe games of war and catching bugs to look at under a microscope than with playing dolls and dress up. Suddenly her parents move to Toronto and buy a permanent home. Elaine finds herself in the midst of other girls her age, girls that she knows nothing about.

The story is told from Elaine's point of view after she is grown up, with 2 grown daughters and a successful career as a painter. Her return to Toronto has her reflecting on her life, from childhood to being a young mother who finally leaves Toronto to make her own life in Vancouver. This would be a great book club book. There's a lot of symbolism such as the blue cat's eye marble, the bridge, and Elaine's paintings and painting techniques. It's also interesting to see how Elaine's past has affected her present life as a painter. In the end, the question is whether Elaine can accept her past and be content with her life.

I was impressed that although this book is about women, it really isn't a feminist book. I liked Elaine because she was so much of a tomboy and didn't even enjoy being around girls. Elaine is perceived as a feminist painter, but she doesn't understand why people think this about her because women are the ones she can't get along with and doesn't understand. Her paintings are just paintings in her own eyes, but other women see symbols and rally around her. At the end of the book, I think Elaine finds that she has to accept herself as a woman.

I recommend this book to others who enjoy Atwood's novels or who are looking for an in depth book. It doesn't even require you to pull apart the writing and decide what the symbols mean, that is just something that can be done if you want to put the time into it. The novel will provoke natural thought, which is always a bonus in my opinion.

Dracula by: Bram Stoker

Challenges: TBR 2008, Eponymous Challenge

Published: 1897 (Bantam Classic 1981)

# of pages: 413

Quote: ". . . you have given me hope - hope, not in what I am seeking of, but that there are good women still left to make life happy - good women , whose lives and whose truths may make good lesson for the children that are to be." -Van Helsing p. 198


Ladies and gentlemen!! Here it is, the long awaited Dracula post! It's been several weeks, but things have been crazy in my life so I just now finished the book. Stoker's novel can be summed up as: There's a reason it's a classic.

I was fascinated about how this was the first big vampire book. Stoker created something that everyone still knows today, over 100 years later. I was also impressed about how many of the traditional vampire myths are found in this book. I expected the book to be quite a bit different, but vampires are still unable to endure garlic, crucifixes, holy water, and the sound of prayers, just like they are in most other books and movies.

The thing that impressed me the most, however, was the fact that this book is not nearly as hokey as I expected from all of the movies and the modern image of Count Dracula. I expected the book to be fake or at least silly, but I found that it was much more believable than I every thought it would be and even scary in some parts. I actually had a nightmare one night that featured vampires! It wasn't too scary to read, but there were parts where I almost dreaded what would happen next.

One thing that confused me in the book - I was so surprised that the wolves and vampires are friends. I've always seen movies and books where vampires and werewolves are enemies and thought that has always been the way they were portrayed. But in Dracula the wolves work with and seem to be controlled by the vampires. If anyone knows more about this topic please let me know!

I loved the 2 women characters, Lucy and Mina. In some ways they were your typical damsel in distress, but Mina at least had a key part in the outcome of the book. Her male companions may very well have been unable to accomplish their goal without her. Van Helsing says she has a "man's brains" at one point. Of course this is ridiculous, she has a woman's brains, but it is most likely how the average man in the late 1800s would think of a woman like Mina. Lucy was passive, but she still endured bravely and I feared for her life at times and was pulling for her to make it through. The men are also interesting characters and although they step up and become tough men, there are many times that they almost seem silly and clueless. There's a good balance between the men's and women's roles in the book.

The forward in the Bantam Classic edition (don't read the forward before you read the novel, it's a spoiler!) discussed sexuality found throughout the novel. I can very much imagine writing a paper on this! The movie Dracula that stars Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, and Keanu Reeves, definitely elaborates this. However, the book is very subtle on this topic, just as it is in most of the classics, and it can be argued how sexual Stoker intended some of the scenes to be.

I think this is a must read just because the character Dracula is so popular and misunderstood in today's world. It's also fascinating if you enjoy other vampire books which reference the many vampire myths and themes in this - the most ultimate vampire book of all time.

The Winter Rose by: Jennifer Donnelly

Published: 2008

# of pages: 707

Quote: "You do not choose love. Love chooses you." - Mrs. Moskowitz p. 250


I started reading this book 2 weeks ago and just now finished. It was a little too long for my taste, I feel like Donnelly should have made it into 2 separate books or left out some of the side stories (mainly the one about Seamie and Willa).

The Winter Rose is mainly a story about India Selwyn-Jones, who is one of the first female doctors in London in 1900. She forges ahead despite the odds against her, fighting criticism, ignorance, poverty, and her past. India is an excellent character, I just wish she had a different name. Her name doesn't match with the time the book is written or her social status (she's from an ancient and wealthy family). I know it's weird, but it really kept me from getting into the book. I felt like Donnelly just liked that name (it is a neat name for a modern time period) and so gave it to the main character instead of finding a name that matches the character. Plus there's the fact that it sounds very familiar to me..... Dr. Indiana Jones...Dr. India Jones.... hhmmm. All of the other characters have names that you would really find in England in the early 1900s, which makes India's name even more out of place.

Also, I didn't think it was necessary to completely recap Fiona's past story. I'm assuming The Tea Rose is mainly about her and Joe. Basically I know her complete story from The Winter Rose. I think it's ok to read some of her background, but not her entire story. Also, I have a feeling her next book will be The Mountain Rose and will concentrate on Willa and Seamie. There really wasn't a reason to go into Willa's story in this novel. I kept waiting for her to meet up with India and be the reason she goes back into medicine. Instead, Donnelly leaves the reader completely hanging on what happens to Willa and therefore makes Willa's story pointless in this book.

In spite of the misfits in the story, I still enjoyed India's adventures and reading about her medical career. I also liked the character Sid and his adventures in crime. There were several fairly graphic sex scenes and a lot of bad langauge (Sid is a crime lord, that's pretty accurate on how he and his cohorts would speak). It was good enough for me to read The Tea Rose someday and whatever other books Donnelly comes out with in the future because I do enjoy her writing style and thought this novel's storyline was original and full of surprises. Just when I thought I had something figured out, things would happen in a totally different way. That's exactly what I like in a book.

Back When We Were Grownups by: Anne Tyler

Published: 2001

# of pages: 328

Quote: "Her dream was the kind that lingered, coloring the whole morning. Bits of it rose like dust from her pillows when she plumped them -- a sense of travel, a sense of longing." -Rebecca p. 30


Back When We Were Grownups follows Rebecca as she embarks on a mental journey to discover who she really is -- at 53 years of age. She has her ups and downs as she moves from daydreaming about what could have been to actively searching for her past. The reader shares her ups and downs. Sometimes it's funny how light-headed she becomes while she daydreams or kids around in order to spread cheer to her mixed up family. Other times it's depressing to read how she struggles to find her identity and how she feels lost in her own family.

The character of Rebecca reminds me of myself at times. She over-analyzes more than she should, she pushes herself too hard and always tries to make others comfortable even when she's not. I feel like saying, "Take a break! You don't have to try so hard." But then I understand how she feels and know that if she didn't try to put on a happy face she would feel guilty. I enjoyed the honesty of the novel. Rebecca is having a sort of mid-life crisis, something that happens to a lot of middle aged people. However, sometimes the honesty was a little scary. I hope I don't feel that way about my life when I am 53, but I know that I might and hopefully I can make it ok.

There were times, especially towards the end, that this book really made me feel depressed. I was reading it after a long and stressful day, so maybe that was why I felt like I was constantly holding back tears while I was reading. It kind of ruined the end of the book for me, but I'm not sure everyone would be affected the same way. It was an easy read, a book that I could put down and pick up often without losing track of the storyline. It wasn't overly exciting, but it has a lot of depth and was well-written. It would be good to read for a book club and discuss the many themes that can be found throughout the story.