Between Shades of Gray

From Goodreads:
Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

This book is beautiful and sad. I've always loved Holocaust/War books - not for their subject matter obviously, but because there are so many stories of people rising above their circumstances with bravery and hope. Reading books like this remind me that I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If Lina managed to stay positive, then I have no reason to ever be pessimistic. I loved Lina. Such courage and beauty. Ruta Sepetys does a beautiful job of describing her and really, all her writing was beautiful. It was the light moments interspersed throughout the book that made me especially love this novel. One moment towards the end involving a Dickens book made me bawl and laugh at the same time. I was really moved by this story and these characters. While this book's characters are fictional, the story is based on true stories of families that were deported from Baltic countries at the beginning of World War II. It's a little-known chapter of history, and while it's ugly, I feel like I'm a better person for knowing what these people went through. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and help them all, take some fruits and vegetables to the kids who were dying of malnutrition. It just breaks my heart to read about them and makes me so grateful for the plenty that my family enjoys. This is a powerful book, right up there with Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place and I plan to buy it so I can lend it out to everyone I know.

Mistborn

Blurb from goodreads:

Brandon Sanderson, fantasy's newest master tale spinner, author of the acclaimed debut Elantris, dares to turn a genre on its head by asking a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails? What kind of world results when the Dark Lord is in charge? The answer will be found in the Mistborn Trilogy, a saga of surprises and magical martial-arts action that begins in Mistborn.

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

 

Kelsier recruited the underworld's elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel's plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she's a half-Skaa orphan, but she's lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

Sorry. Long blurb.

First off, Mistborn was not what I was expecting. Granted, I didn't even read a blurb before requesting it from the library. All I knew was that I kept seeing it everywhere on people's lists of favorite Fantasy books. Well, this is not your typical fantasy. I don't know why I was expecting elves and dwarves or something like that, but Mistborn is completely original. Brandon Sanderson creates quite the clever mythology here and imagines up a fully-rounded world that is easy to get immersed in. And so you know, I recently took a grammar class and my professor told me it's ok to end a sentence with a preposition, so that last sentence is perfectly fine. ANYWAY, nerdy aside over, let's get back to the book.

Misborn was a fascinating read. It feels more like an Ocean's 11ish heist novel than what anyone would call a fantasy. I loved it, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel with high expectations. The characters were well-described and felt like real people. I especially liked Vin. The plot was intricate and there was some very interesting foreshadowing. I liked the depth of Brandon Sanderson's world and can't wait to get back into it with The Well of Ascension.

Crossed

I just finished Crossed earlier today (I know - shocker, right? me actually blogging about a book the same day I finish it?) and I loved it. I won't give you any blurbs because I don't want to spoil Matched for you if you haven't read it yet. But if you haven't, I recommend that you do. This is a fascinating series in a very compelling world.

Crossed is one of the better sequels I've read in a long time. I liked it better than I liked Matched, actually. Cassia is out in her world, she's seeing the truth and she's no longer sheltered and deluded by her "perfect" Society. Like Matched, Crossed doesn't have the break-neck pace that so many apocalyptic/dystopians have these days and it's much better for it. The characters definitely benefit from the story being more psychological because we really get to know them and what's important to them and why. We uncover their personalities and back stories in layers and the whole thing is so engrossing. Not that there isn't any action - the story definitely moves along and its setting is absolutely haunting and gorgeous at the same time. Ally Condie bases The Carving on her native Southern Utah - a fact that only makes me love this book even more.

Ally Condie is also awesome because of the way she uses art and poetry in her writing. She incorporates real poems, as well as poems written by the characters and the effect is beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book and have put this series on my to-buy list. I was going to wait until more came out to make sure they were worth owning and now I'm certain. Can't wait for book three.

The Death Cure

No blurb on this one, since it's the final book in the Maze Runner trilogy and I don't want to give anything away. But I do have lots to say anyway.

What rubbish.

Such a complete and utter disappointment!!!

I really liked The Maze Runner, thought it extremely clever and thought the series had such potential. I had a harder time with The Scorch Trials (it was much more violent and depressing), but I figured it would all be worth it if The Death Cure rocked.

It didn't.

It told me that the time for lies would be over, but it lied about that too. Thomas was a major disappointment in this book. Instead of being brave and accepting the truth (being vague here because I am trying to avoid spoilers), he wimps out. He has truth in his grasp and he avoids it. He doesn't want to know, so we never get to know. It felt like a major cop-out on James Dashner's part. If there was a rich, complex, subtle answer to all his tricky plot elements, why couldn't he have given it to his readers? Makes me feel like he didn't have an answer. Anyway, I haven't been this mad at a series' ending since The Series of Unfortunate Events, which warned me over and over again that I wouldn't like the ending. I had no warning that The Death Cure would be so unsatisfying.

AND, it felt like the entire book was driven by action, which was non-stop and at breathtaking speeds. Where was the plot? Where were the characters? I was SOOOO angry that a major character had almost no part in this book. Can't say anymore. On the verge of spilling it all out because I'm mad. :D

Anybody else read this book? I'd dearly love to vent.

Ranger's Apprentice: Book 8 - The Kings of Clonmel

Another installment in the Ranger's Apprentice series. I must say, it's taken me a while to get to it. I really lost steam on these becaues book 7 takes place between books 4 and 5. Doing that really made the series lose momentum. I've had this book from the library for ages and I finally just decided to get it over with and read it. Book seven was just a little disappointing for me, but I'm happy to say that book eight makes up for that. It was fun and action-packed. There were some very exciting revelations made about the past of a certain major character *cough*Halt*cough* - and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. I'm always so frustrated with this series, though, because some of the books go together and I never manage to get the right ones from the library at the right time. Book eight leaves you on a cliffhanger for book nine, which - naturally - I didn't manage to get from the library as well. So, once again I have to wait. Frustrating. :D But I can still vouch for this series. It's tremendously entertaining.

Ranger's Apprentice (book 7)

Ok. Maybe you can have too much of a good thing. First of all, this book is a bit weird, because it goes back in time and fills in the major gap in time between books 4 and 5. So, those of you interested in reading this series, I will recommend you read book 7 before reading 5 and 6. It fixed an important continuity gap. That said, I feel like the more interesting and compelling parts of the story lie in the first six books of this series and that John Flanagan was capitalizing on his success by publishing this. Reading it reminded me of a deleted scene in a movie. Ok. Interesting. Fills some holes. But feels like it was cut for a reason. It's unnecessary. I'd consider this a 'bonus feature' because it's not anywhere near as good as the rest of this series, even though it is kind of fun at times. Oh - and the romantic in me seriously protested because just when we finally got somewhere with Will and his romantic interest at the end of book six, I had to go back to a time when it was all uncertain and messed up again. Lame.

So, to sum up - this was a disappointing book for this series. I'm hoping that books 8, 9, and 10 can make up for that.

The Killer Angels

From the back cover:

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life.

Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Shattered futures, forgotten innocence, and crippled beauty were also the casualties of war.

The Killer Angels is unique, sweeping, unforgettable--a dramatic re-creation of the battleground for America's destiny.

Wow. You know, I'm not much for war, but this was a brilliant book. I thought it would be boring; instead, it was the most engrossing thing I've read all year. Jon's been telling me to read it for ages - I should have listened to him a long time ago!

I hate war and I find the civil war so frustrating. Why? Why did so many people have to die? Why was the south so stubborn - claiming that their cause was so noble? They said it was their rights they were fighting for, but in hindsight, it was obviously just one right that caused the war: the right to own slaves. I don't consider myself an extreme feminist, but sometimes when I look at wars like this I think, honestly... put men in charge of the world and how do they solve their differences? swords, guns, cannons, and mass slaughter... someone doesn't agree with you? the solution is to go on a killing rampage until the only people left standing are the ones on your side.

Rant over.

Anyway, this book helped me understand not only the Battle of Gettysburg (which I now consider myself an expert on - the important generals, the landscape, the turning points, the big battles and charges - I know them all) but the entire war. I was there. Michael Shaara's writing is so present, so alive and descriptive that I understand the emotions, the politics, the sights and sounds and smells, and most importantly, the people. And the writing is clever, witty, and funny at times. Some of the conversations the men have are riotously funny. And some of the events brought me to tears. I was completely caught up in the drama of this important battle. I feel like I have a better understanding of why the war happened and the mentalities behind both sides. And I'll concede that it's not totally fair to generalize that it only happened because the people in charge were men. :D

This is a compelling novel. I especially loved the very personal stories of men from both sides. There were many who fought against each other who were friends or even brothers before the war. The civil war is a complex and tragic thing and I feel like studying it has been a fascinating study in human nature. One thing's for sure; this book is anything BUT boring.

And to top it all off, after reading it, I watched Gettysburg with Jon, the movie based on this book. It's incredible. The emotions from the book are all captured on film, which was done entirely on location with authentic re-enactment groups from all over the country as the hundreds of extras. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it. And the music is incredible!!!

One other civil war related thing I watched after reading this book was an episode of American Experience (Jon's favorite tv show - shows what a cool history nerd I married :D) about General Robert E. Lee (which you can watch online here). Proof that General Lee maybe wasn't the perfectly pious grandfatherly figure he's portrayed as in the book. The Killer Angels, however well researched, is still a work of historical fiction after all. The facts and events are all correct, and many letters and journals were used to find specific dialogue, but most of the character's personalities were fictionalized.

So, I've been long-winded on this subject, haven't I? To sum up, this is a compelling book which helped me understand Gettysburg, the Civil War, and human nature better. I believe it fully deserved the Nobel Prize it won. If you haven't read it, put it on your to-read list.

Ranger's Apprentice (books 4 &5)

I've so been enjoying this series! I can't wait to share them with my kids (especially my boys). Ben especially liked the cover for The Battle for Skandia because he loves vikings (a product of his love for How to Train Your Dragon). :D My problem with these books is that I can never get them from the library fast enough and I always seem to end up stranded on a cliffhanger. I'm eagerly awaiting book six which I plan to pick up tomorrow from the library.

John Flanagan writes fantasy with so much originality and detail that it's incredibly easy to read and enjoy. His plots are interesting and engrossing and his characters keep developing as they age. I feel like now, five books into the series, I'm old friends with Will and Horace and Halt and Evanlyn and Alyss and co. I can't wait to finish up the next five books in this series and I highly recommend them to everyone.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

I know I've reviewed and/or talked about Harry Potter multiple times on this blog, but after I finished reading this today, I just felt the need to write about it. I love this series so much and I think this final book is one of the finest pieces of literature to ever grace the planet. It's the culmination of 7 books worth of plot layers and character development and emotion and fighting against evil and I just don't know how any other book will ever top it. I know I will be rereading this book (and the entire series) many times over the rest of my life. Each time I've read it I've spotted something new or found a particular spot that I especially enjoyed. I find the whole experience cathartic. I can't wait to see the final movie (which was my whole purpose in rereading this anyway)!!!!!!!

I've come to connect Harry Potter with my birthday - being in the middle of July - because I've seen so many of the movies or read so many of the books right after they've come out either on or directly around my birthday. This will never happen again and it makes me a little sad. Will there ever be anything else like this again? Another series that spans all ages of readers and makes us all appreciate the beauty of a well-told story? Will there be any other book series worth going to a midnight release party for? I just don't know. I hope so, but it's hard to imagine loving anything as much as I love this series. It feels like it's been a bit part of my life for so many years. And now I think I've waxed nostalgic long enough, don't you?

Blood Red Road

Summary: Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Wohoo! Move over all my recent favorite books. This one has just taken the top spot. And if it's not blasphemous to say it, I think I might just add that I liked it even more than I liked The Hunger Games.

Seriously.

It's that good.

One of the first things you'll notice when you read any review of this book is that either people hated the fact that the entire book is written in Saba's uneducated dialect (horrible spelling/grammar, no quotation marks) or they loved it. I loved it. This may come as a shock to those of you who know what a grammar stickler I am. It took me a couple pages to get into it, but after that, I don't think I even noticed it any more. If anything, it sucked me into the book more fully than it would have without the dialect. It felt very realistic to me too. How would language on our planet change if the events in Saba's world actually took place? I can see how it would become like this, and that idea fascinates me.

I loved the characters. I loved Saba. Loved Jack. Loved that the story was about more than just a love story, but was so much about family ties and trust and friends and so many other good things. The action was amazingly well-written and I loved that this book ended without a cliffhanger so I don't feel like I'm being manipulated into the reading the second book. Which I will be reading as soon as it comes out because I can't wait to see what more Moira Young has in store for me.

Katherine

Summary: This classic romance novel tells the true story of the love affair that changed history-that of Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the ancestors of most of the British royal family. Set in the vibrant 14th century of Chaucer and the Black Death, the story features knights fighting in battle, serfs struggling in poverty, and the magnificent Plantagenets-Edward III, the Black Prince, and Richard II-who ruled despotically over a court rotten with intrigue. Within this era of danger and romance, John of Gaunt, the king's son, falls passionately in love with the already married Katherine. Their well-documented affair and love persist through decades of war, adultery, murder, loneliness, and redemption. This epic novel of conflict, cruelty, and untamable love has become a classic since its first publication in 1954.

I enjoyed this so much! It came recommended by a friend (thanks Cretia!) and was worth every word. This book took me a little longer to read, but it's fascinating. Aside from the brilliant and compelling love story, what really sucked me into this book is the history. This is technically historical fiction, but the setting and most of the characters are as accurately portrayed as research allows. I loved the politics and the social struggles going on. Characters like Chaucer and John Wyclif make big cameos and I thought all the info in the changing religious scene was incredibly well done. Also, I loved the details on pilgrimages and the effects of the plague. Wow! This book is just sooo interesting! Plus, it's emotional. The characters are so real and their suffering is so compelling. I totally teared up at the end (I won't tell you what happens, even though it's widely-known history - just in case you don't know). Boy, am I ever glad that I wasn't born in medieval times.


The only disclaimer I have to make about this book is that, being medieval, there were some rather bawdy and lewd bits of humor. Aside from that, the whole fact that Katherine was John deGaunt's mistress is actually treated very tastefully - if you can believe it. Anyway, I recommend Katherine to all fans of historical fiction.

1984

In a word - terrifying. Ok, two words: disturbing.

I've been on a dystopian kick lately, and I figured that I ought to at least read the original dystopian novel. I'm so glad I did, but I can't deny that it's given me nightmares. I think the thing that's most interesting about this novel is that, though it was written in 1948, it manages to still be relevant. And prophetic. The really disturbing part is how prophetic it is (scratch that - the most disturbing thing is the ending, but the prophetic stuff is pretty freaky too). It makes me want to question the world around me a bit more. Is history really as accurate as I think? What about current news media? How much information about me does the government know? I tell ya, this novel is enough to make a person permanently paranoid. I think it's good and important to question the world around us, though.

This novel will speak to different people in different ways and I'm curious: have you read it? What did you make of it? For me it felt like less of a novel and more of an essay sometimes (especially when part of the book was Winston reading pages and pages of a novel written by a rebel leader). That doesn't mean I don't think this is an incredible novel, but it certainly didn't read like I was expecting it to.

One warning - there is some sexual content in 1984. Nothing horribly explicit or drawn out, but in case you start reading it on my recommendation and find yourself shocked - you've been warned.

Oh, and I find myself just needing to say this because I can:

2 + 2 = 4.

Not 5.

Cleopatra's Daughter and Lily of the Nile

I'm reviewing these books together because, in essence, they tell the exact same story. I didn't exactly realize that when I got them both from the library, or I think I wouldn't have read them back-to-back. All the same, it was kind of interesting to read two different historical fiction accounts about the same person: Cleopatra's daughter Selene.

Here's a summary of Lily of the Nile:

"Heiress of one empire and prisoner of another, it is up to the daughter of Cleopatra to save her brothers and reclaim what is rightfully hers...

To Isis worshippers, Princess Selene and her twin brother Helios embody the divine celestial pair who will bring about a Golden Age. But when Selene's parents are vanquished by Rome, her auspicious birth becomes a curse. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, the young messianic princess struggles for survival in a Roman court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams. Can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win-or die?"

And for Cleopatra's Daughter:

"The death of Cleopatra was only the beginning...


Follows the incredible life of Cleopatra's surviving children with Marc Antony -- twins, named Alexander Helios and Cleopatra Selene, and a younger son named Ptolemy. All three were taken to Rome and paraded through the streets, then sent off to be raised by Octavia (the wife whom Marc Antony left for Cleopatra). Raised in one of the most fascinating courts of all time, Cleopatra's children would have met Ovid, Seneca, Vitruvius (who inspired the Vitruvian man), Agrippa (who built the Pantheon), Herod, his sister Salome, and the poets Virgil, Horace, and Maecenas."


I thought both books were very interesting historically. I loved reading about ancient Rome (horrifying though it may be). Selene starts both stories at age 10 and we see her grow from that point into a young adult, so there's some great character development. One of my biggest complaints about both of these books is that they seemed to have a modern agenda when it came to homosexuality. Yes, there were people who lived that way in ancient Rome, but (and I did a bit of outside research after reading these books) there's no evidence that any of the main characters were. Both books make main characters homosexual (which characters constantly complain about prejudices against and rights for homosexuals) and that pretty much ruined the reading experience for me. Lily of the Nile detours away from history by adding a fair dose of magic to the story, which I was never convinced by. It just didn't seem to fit or work for me. I liked it quite a bit less as a story. Cleopatra's Daughter flowed better as a novel and was more strictly historical. It was my favorite story of the two, but that problem that I mentioned earlier.... yeah. It was much worse in Cleopatra's Daughter. Without that element I'm sure I would have liked these books much better. Even so, I felt like I learned a ton from them and I enjoyed the history. It's just too bad.

Gone With the Wind

There is so much to say about Gone With the Wind that I'm not sure where to start. This book has it all: history, romance, family, compelling plot... It may be a long book, but I was completely engrossed the whole way through. There's no slow pacing or long, dull passages. I really should have read this years ago, because it is one of the best books I've ever read. Certainly in my top 10.

I've always been interested in the civil war, but I'm used to viewing the south as the bad guys. I think this book opened up my mind a bit. It was fascinating to put myself in the south and view the war and the changes they went through from their eyes. Now, I'm not saying that the south was purely the victim, that they didn't do anything wrong. I'm just saying that now I have a little better perspective on how the Civil War affected the whole country. I'm getting the bigger picture, which, surprisingly, even included a little better understanding of the Klu Klux Klan (which I don't approve of!!! I just think I have a better appreciation for why it existed). Anyway, if you'll forgive me for being an English nerd for two seconds, it reminds me of a literary theory I studied called New Historicism, which believes that it's important to try and understand history from all sides. The more stories you read about one event or time period, the closer you'll get to actually discovering the truth of what really happened. I think I might go on a Civil War kick and see what else I can find to read in this genre. Also, I plan to watch Gettysburg with Jon and a documentary PBS did on General Lee.

Moving on, the writing was gorgeous. I loved Margaret Mitchell's style and her dialogue. Rhett and Scarlett could be so funny at times, and at others so completely heart-wrenching. Mitchell paints a beautiful portrait of the South in this book (which may have been maybe a teensy bit romanticized, I thought). There are a lot of racist issues in here, but I thought Mitchell did a good job of trying to be fair-minded and see things from all sides. Mostly, I just enjoyed being there and experiencing everything, the good and the bad. The realities of war, soldiers, giving birth back then (oh horror), dealing with carpetbaggers and Republicans, adjusting to free blacks, all of these were portrayed with the good and the bad.

Now, Scarlett is a bit of a difficult character; she's kind of hard to like. She's such a mercenary, selfish creature for most of the book, and she's a horrible mother, which made it hard for me to empathize with her. I don't think the point is to like her, though. And I did find myself empathizing more and more with her as the book went on. Scarlett completely changes as the South changes, and I don't know that I can blame her for all her ruthlessness. What would I have done in that situation? If my loved ones were starving, wouldn't I bend a few rules of decency? I think the more I tried to understand her, the more I found her fascinatingly complex. She's shallow on the surface, but there are some surprises lurking under that shell.

And as for Rhett, well, I liked him. Tons. He's very much the classic Byronic hero: dark, troubled, a bit of a bad boy, no respect for authority, self-serving... but at the same time, loveable and honest and sympathetic. There's something irresistible about an unrequited love character. My heart went out to him. And you know, I thought one of the interesting ironies of the book comes from Rhett. At the beginning of the war and during the war, whenever Rhett would make remarks about how the South was going to lose and how the war was pointless everybody in the South would hate him. He was ostracized for being a Yankee sympathizer. Well, every time he'd talk, I'd think, "Ummm.... you guys better listen to him... He's right!" I think Rhett is a fantastic character. Fully-drawn and fully-enjoyable to read.

There were lots of other great characters too: Mammy, Melanie, Gerald O'Hara, Ashley (even though I thought he was a bit insipid at times). Really, I just loved the whole book. The ending left me wishing for a sequel, which actually exists. It's called Scarlett, but I've read dozens of reviews saying it's one of the worst books ever written and doesn't live up to the original. It wasn't written by Margaret Mitchell, but was published after her death. So, I think I'll just imagine up my own ending, and let this classic live as it is.

I also had to get the movie from the library and may I just say, "Frankly, my friends, I don't give a ... well, you know." Ok, just kidding. I had to find some way to work the most famous movie quote of all time into this post. I actually really liked the movie. It's a testament to the quality of this film that even though Jon and I often snickered at the cinematography, we both enjoyed it. There were a few scenes that were supposed to be dramatic that made us laugh, but besides that, the acting was truly great. I was most impressed by the pacing. Sometimes old movies can be so slow, but not Gone With the Wind. It's really no wonder that this got 10 academy awards. It's an awesome movie. Now if only Clark Gable were just a bit more attractive. Oh well. He was funny and quotable and that made up for it. I thought Scarlett was much more likeable in the movie than in the book too. Anyway, I'd love to see a modern remake of this story. I can just imagine how awesome it would be with modern cinematography.

Have I said enough? Probably. You're probably thinking, "Sheesh. No need to write a novel about a novel, Emily." So I'll stop, but not before recommending that you read Gone With the Wind. It's completely worth your time.

Moon Over Manifest

In my opinion, it completely deserves that shiny sticker. This is the first book to make me full-out cry in months. Not that that's my only way to measure a book's worth. Here's a short summary from Amazon:

After a life of riding the rails with her father, 12-year-old Abilene can’t understand why he has sent her away to stay with Pastor Shady Howard in Manifest, Missouri, a town he left years earlier; but over the summer she pieces together his story. In 1936, Manifest is a town worn down by sadness, drought, and the Depression, but it is more welcoming to newcomers than it was in 1918, when it was a conglomeration of coal-mining immigrants who were kept apart by habit, company practice, and prejudice. Abilene quickly finds friends and uncovers a local mystery. Their summerlong “spy hunt” reveals deep-seated secrets and helps restore residents’ faith in the bright future once promised on the town’s sign. Abilene’s first-person narrative is intertwined with newspaper columns from 1917 to 1918 and stories told by a diviner, Miss Sadie, while letters home from a soldier fighting in WWI add yet another narrative layer. Vanderpool weaves humor and sorrow into a complex tale involving murders, orphans, bootlegging, and a mother in hiding. With believable dialogue, vocabulary and imagery appropriate to time and place, and well-developed characters, this rich and rewarding first novel is “like sucking on a butterscotch. Smooth and sweet.”

When I first read a description of this novel I thought, "Typical Newbery format - historical fiction - child sent off to live somewhere unknown - uncovers secrets from past about family and learns about self." I wondered if this formula was getting a bit overdone and whether or not this would be any good.

Turns out my Newbery rule still holds true. I have yet to read one I haven't loved. LOVED. I wanted to adopt Abilene. I wanted to pack up and move to Manifest (which is saying a lot because back when Kansas and I were neighbors I wasn't all that impressed with the state). This story is so sweet and so emotional. It really brought history to life and left me moved and uplifted. We're told to seek out the best books and I can guarantee you that this is one of them.

The Maze Runner and the Scorch Trials

I've been waiting forever to get The Scorch Trials from the library. I own The Maze Runner, but I just haven't had the money to buy the sequel. So, when my turn to read it finally came up, I eagerly picked it up and realized that I barely remembered The Maze Runner! So I read it again first. They are both very intense reads. I recommend them if you like The Hunger Games and Ender's Game. Very good and will definitely keep you on edge guessing what's going to happen. Scorch Trials was more violent and graphic than Maze Runner. I'd almost classify it as a zombie book, which I can't really explain without giving important plot elements away. All I have left to say is that I'm anxiously awaiting The Death Cure to find out how it all ends. Is there no end to how many loose plot holes and questions James Dashner can leave me hanging with??? He better wrap them all up, or I might combust.

The Far Pavilions

It took me the better part of two (no, probably three) weeks to read this book. It's FAT. And epic. It scans such a huge period of time for one person. A lot of YA novels take place in a matter of days. This book covers decades. I really enjoyed it. I felt like I really got to know the main character, Ashton, and everything that made him who he was. I loved knowing his entire history and I liked the exotic setting. It made me curious and I ended up doing a little outside research on India and the British occupation. I think the Indian practice of suttee is absolutely dreadful. The stories from Ash's childhood were moving and intense, his adulthood, even more so. Loved the romance as well. Very slowly developed and very real. I had a little trouble about 200 pages before the end, because the last bit of the book is all a description of one battle. Oh and a nasty massacre it was. But it was moving and there are certain characters (won't reveal names because I'm anti-spoiler) that I wanted to cry over when it was all said and done. I saw it coming (seriously, anyone who ever quotes "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" in a book is just asking for it), but it didn't make it any easier. Overall, this is a heavy and intense book that is both rich and fulfilling. Absolutely worth a read.

Behemoth

Let me introduce you to a term you may not have heard before:

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history. (definition taken from Wikipedia)

Steampunk is the latest trend in YA lit. Some of my favorite authors are trying out steampunk and there are several steampunk releases set to come out this year. Behemoth is a steampunk book by Scott Westerfeld (author of the Uglies series); it's second in a series of three (Leviathan was the first). Personally, I love it. I love all the weird technologies in this book, set at the beginning of WWI (or an alternate world's WWI, I should say). Scott Westerfeld is a compelling author, too. I was dying all book to see what would happen next. The big question was, of course, will Prince Alek realize that Midshipman Dylan is actually Deryn Sharp (classic girl in disguise as a boy plot, but it feels so original)? I won't tell you, but be ready for a serious cliffhanger. I was also a big fan of the perspicacious loris. So, so funny, and I love it when Children's books teach me new vocab words.

So, if you're in the mood for something different and fun, check out Leviathan and Behemoth. The third book, Goliath, is coming out October 2011.

A Farewell to Arms

This book was easier to read than Faulkner, at least, but I can't say that I loved it. The ending is depressing. All the same, I feel like I'm pushing my personal limits by reading stuff like this. I may not love it, but I'm learning to appreciate it as great literature. I was impressed by Hemingway's writing, but I'm glad to put it behind me... No more depressing WWI stories for me for a while.

Mockingjay

*Spoiler free, so read on!*

You all know how long I've been anticipating this book. So... where to even start! Overall, my feelings are positive. I feel closure on the series. I feel acceptance. I feel like this book has changed the way that I think about war. Which, when it comes right down to it, is what this whole series is really about. The first couple of books may have made us think that this is a love story, but by the time we've all read Mockingjay we can see what it all comes down to: the horrors and emotional impact of war. This is not a fairy tale or a happily ever after type of story. Because of that, I have to say that I didn't love this like I wanted to.

I love the first two books and I really wanted Mockingjay to be a glorious ending, Harry Potter style, where all the bad guys get their trash kicked and hope and good reign in the end, despite the losses and pains of war. Instead, Suzanne Collins paints a non-fiction picture of the realities of war in a fictional world. I described some of the things that happen in this book to Jon (who has extensively studied politics and war), and he assured me that with a few technological differences, there's nothing in this book that hasn't occurred somewhere on this planet in the last 200 years. Real war, unlike fictional war, is extremely ugly. I've read some interviews with Suzanne Collins about Mockingjay, and she's said that her purpose in writing this is to teach kids and teens about the realities of war that adults won't tell them about. And maybe she has a good point. But here's controversial question: does educating people about war (horrendous as it may be) really help prevent war? Probably. But it's not fun.

I'll be honest, this book is emotional and brutal. People you love with die. People who you thought were good with do terrible, awful things. Emotional scars will never heal. After I finished reading it, Jon found me sobbing on the couch. I'm an easy crier, but still.

Despite all that, I do feel like this is a book worth reading. I've had to take a couple of days to mourn to come to this conclusion, but I have made it here. I've been going through the book and reading a few parts again, and that helped me see hope and love in the last few pages where I missed it the first time (blame it on shock from some of the horrific events of the climax). Suzanne Collins has created a detailed and multi-layered story here. This entire series is a journey that is not for the faint-hearted, but if you read it you will come out changed.