The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom is this month's official book club selection.  I mentioned earlier today on this blog's Facebook page that my latest read just would not leave me alone even after I had put the book down each day.  The Kitchen House is that book.  Each night I would lie in bed to read a few chapters.  Of course that would turn into a few more chapters and before long it was far later than I intended.  The problem with this was that even though I would close the book, I couldn't stop the story from invading my dreams.  Two nights in a row I could barely sleep for worrying about these characters.  Finally, I decided the only way I was going to get any rest would be to just finish the book, even if it meant staying up late.  That is just what I did last night.

The Kitchen House follows the life of Lavinia, a young white girl, beginning in 1791.  Her parents both die on the journey from Ireland to America and in order to pay the debt for the trip, she becomes an indentured servant working in the kitchen house of the ship's captain.  Lavinia is raised by the slaves working on the plantation and she thinks of them as family.  I love historical fiction because it relies so heavily on fact and I learn so much through the lives of the characters.  Unfortunately, being based on true events, the reader can guess at the direction of the storyline.  In this case, for me it just added to the dread.

I found this book captivating and engrossing, but also extremely distressing.  A book about slaves is not likely to have much of a happy ending.  I know this, but what I didn't know was just how bad these characters might have it.  I've mentioned before that I am not a nail biter, but this week I did chew off a nail or two.  The overseer is horrible.  What will he do to the slaves?  The baby is sick.  Will he survive?  A slave is tied up and being sold to the slave trader.  Will we ever see him again?  It was horribly stressful for me.  This is precisely why I could not sleep.

I must admit that I became frustrated at times with some of the characters.  This was not a time of speaking one's mind openly for the characters in these positions, but if only a few more words had been said, things could have been so different.  Someone would begin to tell the truth, to explain a situation, but then he or she would stop and the reader was forced to watch another opportunity pass.  This novel is filled with action and the climax is heart-wrenching.  What I didn't care for was the way that the author seemed to wrap up and end the story rather quickly at the end.  There were loose ends that I didn't feel were addressed or if the were, it wasn't quite enough for me. 

All in all, I did enjoy this book, but I would certainly recommend reading it quickly.  Don't stretch it out because you won't want to put down the book and if you have to, it will make you crazy.  I did find the Author's Note at then end of the book interesting.  Grissom said that several times she attempted to change the direction of the storyline, but each time she did, the story would just stop.  It would only flow when she followed the way the story wanted to lead her.  I love hearing an author talk about a book having a mind of it's own.  It makes me think maybe there's far more to writing a book than a person sitting down at her laptop with an outline and a deadline.  Perhaps the stories are already there, just waiting for the right person to transcribe them.

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

 

 

 

Some books just have a great cover, don't you think?  I know, you can't tell a book by it's cover, but a cover can draw a reader in and make her want to bring that book home.  This cover was like that for me.  I read about Such a Rush  by Jennifer Echols on several book blogs that I follow.  One blog post in particular made this book sound irresistible.  As I was reading, I will admit that I was reluctant to put it down and found no difficulty getting through it quickly.  Sadly, this book was missing something for me. 

 

This is a Young Adult novel and while I have read several pieces of YA fiction that I have truly enjoyed, this one had the same disappointing feel that I have found in much of the YA genre that I have read.  I wish I knew how to describe that feeling.  Perhaps it is the lack of depth or of character development.   Leah is a 14-year-old girl who has had a tough life.  She gets a job at the small airport in town and soon becomes obsessed with learning to fly.  Three years later she has made that dream a reality, but something threatens to take it away. 

 

I will grant you that Leah is brave and driven, but I can't say I loved her character.  It makes me crazy to read about a character, especially a female character, that I just want to shake.  Leah is an underprivileged young girl who lives in a trailer park with her often absent mother.  She is treated like trailer trash by most of  the people she knows.  In most cases, this makes her want to do better, to be more, however she often lets other people's opinions of her get to her.  When she becomes frustrated, she often says something like "Oh, you think I'm a whore?  Well, then, I'll just dress and act like a whore."  Of course the reader can easily see the error of her judgement, but Leah can't and that started to annoy me by the end of the book. 

 

Also, Leah and her best friend Molly do a lot of that thing that some girls do that really irritates me: referring to one another in a derogatory manner.  "Hey, Bitch!" is a common greeting.  Why?  I don't understand using such ugly terms with a friend.  Then again, they two girls don't always act like friends. 

 

And my final complaint is that this isn't a book I would want my teenage daughter to read.  I have read many debates on book blogs about whether or not sex should be a part of stories about teenagers.  Many people will say, "They are doing it so you might as well face it."  Others will say, "Just because some teens are doing it doesn't mean we should glorify it in fiction."  I say, if a writer feels it is important to the story (and sometimes it actually is), then she should feel free to include it.  That being said, I also feel that might disqualify it as a book I can freely recommend.  Unfortunately, when teenagers have sex, they aren't always making smart decisions.  Personally, I don't think a teenager understands enough about the world to make those decisions and I fear they often result in regret, but like I said, that is my personal belief. 

 

This book was entertaining and a quick read.  It contained some interesting themes and I loved that Leah was able to see that her mother's life was not a path she wanted to follow.  I just wish there had been something more to it. 

 

 

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

I was finally able to finish The Amber Spyglass  by Philip Pullman.  With school beginning for the children and having to take a break to read my bookclub book, it took longer to get through than I had hoped it would.  This was at times painful because I couldn't wait to get back to it, but we've just been so busy.  Everyone has times like that and mine just happened to be right in the middle of a most fascinating novel. 

Let me begin by saying that I absolutely adored The Amber Spyglass and all of His Dark Materials.  The writing is rich and multifaceted.  The characters are fully three dimensional (some perhaps having more than the standard three dimensions).  The settings, so many worlds, inspire the imagination.  I was fully engrossed in this epic tale of a young girl and her quest for truth. 

Reading The Amber Spyglass I was finally able to see the issue that caused some of the controversy associated with the release of the film version of The Golden Compass in 2007.  I could see the issue, but that does not mean that it was an issue for me.  Lyra and Will are searching for the source of Dust.  Some people believe Dust is evil and must be destroyed.  Other people believe that The Authority or God is not actually God, but an angel that seized his position and must be destroyed.  Again, as I have said in reviews of the other two books in this trilogy, it is fiction.  When I read I am able to detach from reality (in most cases) and take the story for what it is worth.  My faith is mine and this book had no affect on it.  I can, however, understand where a parent might feel that his or her faith was being attacked and not what his or her child reading it for fear it would cause confusion.  I am always in favor of a parent being aware of what his or her child is reading and using it as an opportunity for discussion. 

  

In an interview here, Pullman describes his books this way:  "They'll find a story that attacks such things as cruelty, oppression, intolerance, unkindness, narrow-mindedness, and celebrates love, kindness, open-mindedness, tolerance, curiosity, human intelligence."  This is part of what I loved about these books.  There are several characters who possess such a strong love for one another that it is almost tangible.  There are characters who seem purely evil and yet redeem themselves.  Something so interesting about it is that the line between good and evil is not always obvious.  Each character is fighting for what he or she believes is right.  They hold to their convictions even unto death.  One character, the reader is sure is good and then no, that character must be evil and again, perhaps the reader was correct in the beginning?  Keeping a reader unsure is the mark of a talented author.  Redemption is a prevalent theme throughout the trilogy and I think that is something most readers can appreciate. 

I have to admit, however, that I was a little disappointed with the ending of the book.  I was sad it was finished and that it was time to let the characters go for a while, but also I felt it was unfinished.  There were a few plot points that I didn't feel were quite resolved.  The ending felt rushed.  My edition of the book was nearly 400 pages long, so it was a lengthy novel, but it almost felt as though the author wanted to just wrap it up and be finished, yet perhaps he forgot to tuck in all the edges.  I wish I could share with you all the wonderful little bits that I marked because they were so wonderful and that I could discuss the few elements that left me unsatisfied, but if I did, it would surely ruin the reading experience for you.

I do hope you will read His Dark Materials .  It was lovely and full of wonder.  I have heard from a very reliable source that the audiobooks are fabulous so I think I will have to find them at my local library and give them a listen.  I'll let you know how it goes.  And please let me know what you think.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Recently while discussing books someone mentioned to me that she likes to read, but she prefers books without too many characters and plot that isn't too complicated.  I nodded and smiled politely while thinking books like those would never keep my attention.  Now for the life of me, I cannot remember with whom I was having this conversation, so I certainly hope it wasn't you, but the point is that this book would not have been for her.

I know that I have been talking lately as if every book that I read is the best book I've ever read.  I am loving His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman and The Night Circus is so wonderful, but I've also read a few lately that I haven't loved, Amy & Roger's Epic Detour for instance.  However, this month's book club book, The Shadow of the Wind  by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, is absolutely amazing.  As a matter of fact, when this book was mentioned in a previous book club meeting, one club member enthusiastically labeled it "F'ing Amazing."  And I can't help but agree. 

A gothic novel set in Barcelona, Spain in the 1950's, The Shadow of the Wind  revolves around Daniel Sempere.  At the beginning of the novel, Daniel is a ten-year-old boy who is missing his mother.  To distract him, Daniel's father takes him to a secret place, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.  Daniel's father instructs him to pick any book and then to become that book's caretaker.  Daniel takes his book home and reads straight through the night.  He is mesmerized by the book and resolves to find out everything he can about the author.  That is easier said than done and so begins a great mystery that will follow him for years.  I won't say more because it would just be wrong to ruin such an excellent story.

Ruiz Zafon is a brilliant story teller.  I am amazed at such talent.  The language is sensational, allowing the reader to fully immerse herself in Daniel's world.  Just the first example of many that I marked:  "Six years later my mother's absence remained in the air around us, a deafening silence that I had not yet learned to stifle with words."  I marked so many passages that stood out like poetry to me that if I listed them all, you would have read half the book already. 

I adore the focus on the allure and importance of books.  Obviously I am rather fond of books and Ruiz Zafon seems to understand how I feel.  After reading his book for the first time, an exhausted Daniel says, "My eyes began to close, but I resisted.  I did not want to lose the story's spell or bid farewell to it's characters yet."  When I finished reading this book well after midnight, it took me a good hour to finally fall asleep and then my dreams were filled with what I had read.  In another section, Daniel says, "I leafed through the pages, inhaling the enchanted scent of promise that comes with all new books..."  The scent of promise.  Isn't that how any true book lover feels when she picks up a new book?  Isn't that exactly why so many of us have bookshelves that are full to bursting?  We know that an entire world exists within those pages and we can't wait to discover each one. 

Each character is so richly developed that it is difficult to believe they do not actually exist.  This book is brimming with characters and in a lesser book it might be difficult to keep them all straight, but not in this one.  Ruiz Zafon does such an exceptional job describing each character and then assigning them each their own voice that even without the name present it would not be difficult to guess who was speaking. 

This book touches on war, politics, corruption, poverty, forgiveness and redemption, education and the lack thereof, good and evil, mystery, and romance.  There is nothing one could want from a book that she could not find here.  I, like Daniel, stayed awake far too late reading because I just could not stop. 

One of the characters in this book claims that "we only exist as long as somebody remembers us."  I will remember and cherish these characters.  This is a book I would love to reread and relive.  I am certain that I will.  Won't you read it?  I guarantee you will be happy you did.

Top Ten Characters I Would Switch Places with for 24 Hours

So I missed last week's Top Ten Tuesday, but I really liked the topic so I thought I would just use it today.  Because that's how I roll.

Okay so the topic that I loved so much I felt compelled to break the rules is this:

Name ten characters with whom you would like to trade places for twenty-four hours.  This is a pretty easy one for me since I pretty much trade places with each of the characters with every book I read.  Some of those switches would be more fun than others, so without further ado:

1. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss.  First of all, she gets to spend her senior year of high school living in Paris.  How amazing would that be?!  And, oh, St. Clair.  He sounds just lovely.  I think 24 hours in Anna's shoes would not be terrible.
2. Azalea from Entwined.  So things aren't perfect for Azalea.  That's the whole reason for limiting the switch to 24 hours.  She has eleven sisters to care for, her mother has died and her father is distant.  The 24 hours I would take are right there at the end, but I won't say why in case you haven't read it yet which you really should do, by the way.
3. Hermione from Harry Potter.  That is an easy one for a book worm.  Hermione is smart and bookish and level headed.  And in the end she falls in love and has a great best friend.  Plus, magic powers would be so much fun!
4. Wanderer from The Host.  So, things are a little complicated, but she has wandered through seven worlds.  She has lived among the singing seaweeds and the ice bears.  She knows so much about the universe.  I would love just 24 hours of absorbing that knowledge.
5. Lyra Silvertongue from The Golden Compass.  Lyra never sits still and at first has no idea what an insane turn her life is about to take, but she has great friends who are willing to give their lives to protect her.  Also, the golden compass, which only she can read, tells her the truth about anything she asks.  How amazing would it be to know exactly what to do, which direction to take, and whom to trust? 
6. Charlotte from Midnight in Austenland.  Living in the world of Jane Austen sounds like a wonderful way to spend a holiday.  Charlotte is intelligent and wealthy (doesn't sound bad, does it?) and immerses herself in Austen.  I think just to be able to wear the clothing and use that language of that era would be delightful.
7. Celia from The Night Circus.  She is beautiful, refined, and she can keep an entire magic circus running mostly with her own powers of illusion.  She builds amazing tents that mystify the circus patrons and she is a wonderful character.  Everyone loves Celia.
8. Sarah from These is My Words.  I am still convinced that Sarah has a giant S printed on her underclothes and not for Sarah, for Superwoman!  Any woman who can kill a rattlesnake with a shotgun without harming the child that is only inches away and can fight off all the terrible men she encounters is a hero in my book!
9. Elinore from Sense and Sensibility.  This is my favorite Austen novel and I love how smart and proper Elinore is, even if it does make things difficult for her at times.  She is conscious of the importance of propriety in her world and does everything she can put her family's needs above her own.  And of course falling in love with Edward and having her affections returned makes one sigh with a dreamy look on one's face.
10. Bella from Twilight.  Wait!  Before you groan, I ask you to be honest.  Anyone who has actually read these books (not just seen the movies with the less than stellar acting) must admit to envying Bella a little.  According to the books, Edward is the perfect man except for that whole blood-sucking vampire thing.  He loves her more than anything else, he protects her and he sees in her what she cannot see in herself.  Plus, she gets to be best friends with Alice.  "Oh, Alice.  You want to buy me expensive designer clothes and put it all together for me?  Why, certainly!"

So there it is: ten characters with whom I could stand to trade places.  What about you?  Do you share any of my wishes on this list?  Who else would be on the list for you?  My favorite thing about reading is that just for a little while I can become the characters in a book.  I live their lives, I imagine what it would be like, and I wonder if I would have done anything differently.  Sometimes I even rewrite the novel in my head to go the way I wish it had gone (I'm looking at you These is My Words).  This is exactly why I love books.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, The Subtle Knife is even more exciting and suspenseful than the first.  In this installment, Lyra has gone into another world and is determined to find the source of Dust.  She is convinced that when she does, she will know what it is she is meant to do.  Shortly after she arrives, she meets Will, a boy about her age who is from still another world.  He is running from something and desperate for a place to hide. 

An important moment occurs just as Will is introducing himself and Lyra has to explain about daemons.  Will has no idea what Lyra is talking about and says, "I don't know what you mean about demons.  In my world demon means...it means devil, something evil."  I feel this is important because it demonstrates that what we understand may be entirely different from the "reality" in another world.  I raise this point because so many people were bent out of shape about the concept of these books.  The most important thing to remember is that these are works of fiction.  When a reader begins a novel, it is my philosophy that she should suspend all disbelief and be prepared to adopt an entirely new vernacular.  I imagine there were many people who picked up The Golden Compass, read the very first four words, "Lyra and her daemon...", and immediately pictured something evil.  Reading further, we discover that Lyra's daemon is the physical manifestation of her soul, her spirit.  This is nothing evil, but it is a concept that we simply have to accept.  Surely something like this should be no more difficult to believe than Frodo's journey to Mordor or that wardrobes can lead to Narnia. 

One of the main characters, Lord Asriel, is searching for Dust as well.  He is planning to use it in his great rebellion against the Church and perhaps even a war with the "Authority", their God.  It is again important to remember that this is fiction set in another world.  While I can understand how some people might be offended by such a concept, I try to remember that this is fantasy.  Lord Asriel believes that this Authority must be bad because he sees so many of the bad things for which the Church is responsible.  In his world, the Church doesn't do good and serve men, it controls and oppresses them and punishes anyone who dares to question their power, even to the point of death. 

I am loving these books.  It is clear to me that this is a tale of good versus evil, but currently I'm not sure which side is good and which is evil.  I'm not sure the characters themselves know which is which just yet.  This story is so full of suspense that I hated to put it down.  I was constantly on the edge of my seat and rushing to find out what would happen.  I kept telling myself it would be okay, that the main characters would somehow make it out alive and yet I was at times forced to accept that not every main character survives. 

What will happen in the third book?  I cannot wait to read it, but I will have to wait just a bit longer.  It is time for me to begin my book club book or I won't have it finished in time for our meeting.  I do not want to be that girl- we are relentless when someone fails to finish the book.  Our family is headed on a little staycation next week, so I am hoping to get in a lot of good reading time.  I will be back to Mr. Pullmans lovely characters before long.

As always, I welcome your comments!

Top Ten Most Striking Book Settings

Hi, Smart Girls!  I wanted to try something a little different today.  I've mentioned before that I follow several other book blogs and The Broke and the Bookish is one of these.  They run a weekly feature known as Top Ten Tuesday.  They pose a topic and we list our top ten books in that category.  I haven't done it before, but I thought I would take a swing at it this week. 

Today's topic is top ten settings in books.  You know how it is, some books just sweep you off to another world and some even make it difficult to return to reality.  Here is a list of ten of my favorites:

1. The world of Harry Potter.  I suspect that JK Rowling has actually been to Hogwarts because I just can't imagine being able to dream up such detail.  It is a true talent.  Of course now you can visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, an entire theme park developed from the details that Rowling created.  Someday I would love to make that trip.
2. Philip Pullman's world in His Dark Materials.  I am halfway through the second book, but I am astonished at all the worlds he has created, complete with barely visible windows hanging mid-air that lead to still other worlds.
3. Camp Green Lake in Holes may be a small world, but the dust, the dirt and the heat seemed to radiate from the pages of this wonderful little book. 
4. In The Night Circus, I was fascinated by the magic, but also by the descriptions of each of the tents at the circus.  A scent memory tent where you open a small bottle and are transported to someone else's memory of a day at the beach?  A tent full of creatures made of paper that move and fly on their own?  Such vivid imagination!
5. Scott Westerfeld's world in Uglies extends far beyond the Jetsons version of the future.  Hover boards and communicators that are embedded in one's body and surgery to make your body nearly invincible.  So interesting and at the same time frightening.
6. The first half of Room: A Novel is set in just one small room, but the reader feels as though she is actually confined to that tiny cell.  It is so believable that the reader can forget this is fiction, especially considering the news stories of Jaycee Dugard. 
7. I can't even walk by the cover of Winter Garden without feeling the cold and the desperation of this novel set in World War II era Russia. 
8. Philippa Gregory is a fabulous writer of historical fiction.  You may have read The Other Boleyn Girl around the time the film was released (the film was a ginormous disappointment and I know people were put off from reading the book if they saw it).  The way she describes the goings on in the King's Court makes it so tangible.
9. I am a huge fan of Amy Tan and reading The Joy Luck Club planted in me a real desire to visit China.  I feel like I've been there in my mind and now I want to see it and touch it.
10. While I didn't actually enjoy reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire, the world was richly described.  He may have gotten his jumping off point from L. Frank Baum, but Maguire added to it in a way that was unexpected and vibrant.

So that's my first Top Ten Tuesday.  In what worlds have you lost yourself?