15. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

I orginally bought this book to read for the Twisted Fairy Tales challenge.  I don't even know if this challenge is still being held; but it's way past time for me to read it.  I think I put it off because the back cover describes Ella as having the unusaul gift of being obedient so she can never say no to any order given to her.  For some reason, that made me uncomfortable; and it certainly causes a lot of grief for Ella.  However, she is aspirited young woman who finds ways to rebel even though she has to follow the orders.  I have not yet seen the movie based on this book starring Anne Hathaway and wonder if anyone recommends it.  I like the actress and think she would make a great Ella.  Over all, I found this book to be a fun and light read.  Rating:  4

14. The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

From back cover:

"At first, Tally doesn't want to go to the boarding school called Delderton.  But soon she discovers that it's a wonderful place, where freedom and self-expression are valued.  Enamoured of Bergania, a serene and peaceful European country led by a noble king who refuses to bend to the Nazis, Tally organizes a ragtag school dance troupe to attend the international folkdancing festival of 1939 held in Begania.  There she meets Karil, the crown prince, who wants nothing more than ordinary friends.  But when Karil's' father is assassinated, it's up to Tally and her friends to help Karil escape the Nazis and the bleak future he's inherited."

This is a wonderful book for older children.  The illustrations are beautiful and the story is enchanting.  I found each of the characters to be interesting and unique.  Rating:  4.5

13. So Well Remembered by James Hilton

I absolutely loved Hilton's Random Harvest so I was excited when I found this book on my mom's shelves.  It's an old book, published in 1945; and in excellent condition.  However, the story is not nearly as wonderful as Harvest.  The story is about George Boswell, an amiable man who has a dream for his small manufacturing town and proceeds to chamr those around him into following his dreams.  He begins as the lowly son of a factory worker who educates himself and begins to serve on the town council.  He also meets Livia Channing, whose father was an owner of the largest factory in town and who put hundreds out of work  through embezzlement or mismanagement.  (Never really sure what he did)  George marries Livia and the marriage ends badly a few years later.  Then it's WWII and George meets a young man who is a patient in a local hospital after a horrible war injury.  He turns out to be Livia's son and George becomes involved with his life and trying to make things right for him as well.  It's just a slow tale of a good man who does his best for those around him.  Rating:  3.75

12. Maggie --Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell

When I was young, I read all of Taylor Caldwell's book and loved them.  Somehow I missed this one which is okay because I didn't love it.  There is not really a sympathetic character in the book with the possible exception of Maggie's husband, John.  He is the most powerful man in the county but falls in love with Maggie, the daughter of the blacksmith.  She is in love with her cousin who is a dreamer and weak.  After sending him away to find his fortune as a poet, she marries John and proceeds to alienate everyone around her with her airs and demands.  She eventually figures things out in the end, but by then I didn't care.  Rating:  2.5

11. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

This is the sad tale of the seige of Sarajevo which took place in the years 1992 through 1995.  As the inhabitants of the city are bombarded continuously from the surrounding hills, they learn to run across intersections and to hide in the shadows of crumbling buildings.  After a bomb hits a street where people are lined up for food, killing 21; a cellist carries his cello to the square and plays a beautiful piece of music for an hour at the same time for 21 days.  The author follows the lives of three strangers--a bakery worker, a young father, and a female sniper who is charged with protecting the cellist from the army on the hills.   The book follows each as they strive to carry on their lives in the most daunting of circumstances and how the music comes to affect them and other survivors in the ravaged city.  I found the story to be gripping and very well-written, but bleak, even though the cellist is a inspiring focal point.  Rating:  4

10. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

"It was as black in the closet as old blood.  They had shoved me in and locked the door.  I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to remain calm.  I tried counting to ten on every intake of breath, and to eight and I released each one slowly into the darkness.  Luckily for me, they had pulled the gag so tightly into my open mouth that my nostrils were left unobstructed, and I was able to draw in one slow lungful aftg another of the stale, musty air."

So begins my first venture into the Flavia de Luce mystery series.  I pictured a tall, blond twenty-something woman who was in deep peril because of her nosing into some dark secret.  I was so wrong.  Flavia is ten or eleven and a budding chemist with a passion for poisons.  She's hilarious in her oddities.  She is thrilled when a dead body turns up in the garden of her family's dilapidated mansion and annoys the police with her observations and sleuthing.  Naturally, she is right more than not.  A wonderful mystery with Flavia as a truly delightful character.  Rating:  4.75

9. Into the Green by Charles de Lint

I have enjoyed the de Lint books I've read in his Nowford series and always look forward to reading his stories.  His books deal with fairies and magical creatures but are not all sweetness and light.  There is a darkness and menace tha make the books more interesting.  Into the Green is not a Newford story and takes places in a fictional set of islands where houseyfolk dwell uneasily with witches.  Angharad is the heroine of the book.  She is a witch, a tinker, and a harpist which makes her a triple threat against an evil lurking in the land that threatens the life of all witches and magical people.  She has to outwit witch hunters and an assassin who is using her to attain his goals.  Rating:  4.25

8. No Longer Strangers by Rachel Ann Nunes

Zoologist Mitch Huntington is shocked to learn that his closest friends have died in a boating accident leaving him the guardian of their daughter, Emily Jane.  It's kind of cute reading about how the young bachelor learns to care for the young toddler and leanrs to love her.  Of course, there is a twist when the deceased wife's estranged sister shows up from a photography gig in the Amazon and wants to take custody of her niece.  There are all kinds of difficulties as the two spar over the baby and Mitch's religion, LDS, which he shared with Emily Jane's parents and vows to raise her in.  It's a very predictable Mormon romance and I found it just okay.  Rating:  3

7. What Remains by Carole Radziwill

Carole Radziwill is a woman who grew up in a small town north of New York City who grew up and married a prince.  The prince is Anthony Radziwill, first cousin and best friend to John F Kennedy, Jr.   This memoir tells about Carole's younger years, how she met and fell in love with Anthony and became close friend to Carolyn Bessett, the woman who captured John's heart.  Right from the beginning, you know that Anothy dies of cancer three weeks after the plane crash that took the lives of John, Carolyn and Carolyn's sister.  What I really liked about this book is that is not overly sentimental and doesn't focus on the star power of the Kennedys.  She is matter-of-fact in covering the tragic time in her live and tells some great stories of her years as a journalist before she met Anthony.  I found the book to be interesting, informative and a good read.  Rating:  4

6. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Levine takes the traditional fairy tale about Snow White and gives it a serious twist.  It is almost unrecognizable as the original, but very entertaining and inaginative.  Aza is a homely girl, but one of the best singers in a country filled with singers.  She has an unusual talent of throwing her voice.  The king's new young wife learns of this talent and forces Aza to throw her voice to the queen to cover her feeble vocal abilities.  The king's nephew befriends Aza even though she is not a beauty and he learns to love her until the throwing voice deception is discovered.  The character that most closely resembles the original fairy tale is the mirror whihc houses an evil spirit trying to escape his prison.  All in all, it is a fun story with a happy ending.  Rating:  4

3, 4, & 5. Indigo's Star, Permanent Rose and Caddy Ever After by Hilary McKay

I read the first book in this teen series, Saffy's Angel, a couple of years ago and finally got around to the remaining three.  Indigo is fourteen and the only boy in his unconventional family.  He goes to school and gets beat up almost every day.  Then an under-sized American boy joins the school and stands up to the bullies along with older sisgter Saffy.  The bullies turn their attention to Tom but he never loses his spirit.  Rose is the youngest sister in the family and she becomes entranced by Tom.  The boys become close friends and find a way to triumph over the bullies.  In the next book, Tom has returned to America; and Rose is devastated.  She begins to shop lift because of the thrill but doesn't consider it stealing as she doesn't keep the items.  Mostly Rose's book follows her determination to find Tom.  The final book is about Caddy who has become engaged to a man that no one else cares for.  He is too normal.  As in all the books, the reader is kept up-to-date on all the members of the family, but Rose is truly the main character in the final three books.  I really enjoyed reading them and recommend them for young teens.  Rating:  4.5

2. The Body in the Gallery by Katherine Hall Page

Another in the Faith Fairchild mystery series, we find Faith involved in another murder when a young woman is found as part of an art exhibit that Fath catered.  This story also follows the mishaps of Faith's son, Ben, as he becomes an unruly teenager.  This problems with Ben lead to problems with husband, Tom, as he desires a more traditional wife.  I enjoyed the mystery as always with page's books, especially some of the small New Englad town's more eccentric characters.  Faith's family struggles were a bit distracting and I would have liked the book better without them.  Rating:  3.5

1. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This book covers two different stories that the author travels back and forth between.  The first is the story of Sarah, a ten-year-old Jewish girl living in Paris during the Jewish roundup by the Parisian police force.  To protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard and promises to come back for him.  The second story takes place sixty year later and involves Julia Jarmond, an American journalist investigating the roundup.  She learns about Sarah and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her and her family.

I found the story to be very intriguing and as sad as any Holocaust book I've read.  Both Sarah and Julia are compelling characters who draw you into their stories.  Rating:  4 

64. - 71. Eight Quick Reviews

64.  A Sense of the World by Jason Roberts.  A well-researched biography of a blind man who travels the world in the early 1800's.  James Holman was a remarkable man whose life makes for great reading.  I especially enjoyed learning about how the blind were treated in that era.  Rating:  4.25

65.  Dead Man's Bones by Susan Wittig Albert.  Two old women donate a large building and a good sum of money to the local theater group and proceed to make their life miserable as the first play is produced.  By the end of the book, two people are dead and China Bayles works hard to figure it out.  Rating:  3.75

66.  Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett.  Johnny Maxwell and his weird collection of friends find adventure as they travel in time with the help of a bag lady's junk-laden grocery cart.  As always, I enjoyed Pratchett's humor and storytelling abilities.  Rating:  4

67.  Dead on Arrival by Jeff Savage.  Shandra Covington is a SLC reporter who becomes involved with a series of explosions involing people who died fifty years ago.  This is a fun mystery with a heroine who is imperfect and easy to identify with.  Rating:  3.75

68.  The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  A greal novel dealing with the complex relationship between Southern women and their black servants.  It is a pretty accurate indictment of bias and prejudice in the 60's as well as a compelling story of the individual characters.  I can't wait to see the movie.  Rating:  4.75

69.  Royal Target by Traci Hunter Abramson.  A fluffy LDS romance with a very implausible storyline.  I'm not sure why I enjoy these but I do.  It's pretty escapist to travel to a fictional country that sounds a lot like Monaco.  But Prince "Garrett"??  Odd name choice.  Rating:  3

70.  When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber.  A Christmas tale involving a mother, her daughter, and a best friend.  Emily travels to Boston to surprise her daughter for Christmas.  The daughter has planned a trip to Florida with her icky boyfriend, and the friend travels to Mt. Vernon, WA to surprise Emily.  All ends well with romance abounding.  Pretty sappy love story with a dollop of Christmas cheer.  Rating:  2.75

71.  The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck.  A tragic Christmas story about a twelve-year-old boy who gets a sweater for Christmas instead of the bike he really wanted.  His mother dies and the next year follows his fight against God and those who love him.  There is a surprise ending and an interesting insight into Glenn Beck's spiritual conversion.  Rating:  3.5

63. Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline

Mary Dinunzio is an attornehy in South Philly where she brings in a lot of business and revenue for her firm from her Italian South Philly neighbors.  She is saving to buy a house and get over the death of her husband while fixing the myriad host of issues that come to her.  Then her nemesis from high school shows up and demands that Mary help her get away from her abusive boyfriend that she is afraid will kill her.  The whole situation blows up, involving Mary in a murder, a missing person case and a mob war.  There is some great humor in this book with the fantastic characters who populate Mary's life and she is a pretty fun character herself.  I found some of the story to be a bit far-fetched but I certainly would never have guessed who actually committed the murder.  I read a proff copy and found the spelling and grammatical errors a bit annoying, but overall, I liked the book and thought it was a fun mystery.  Rating:  3.75

62. The Pink Carnation by Laura Willig

The Pink Carnation is a fun tale that spins a sequele to the story of the Scarlett Pimpernel. Eloise is a college student who wants to discover the identity of another spy name the Pink Carnation.  She gains access to secret papers and this is the story she discovers: 

After the Pimpernel's true identity is uncovered, rendering him useless as a spy, the void is filled by another called the Purple Gentian.  Amy Balcourt, who was sent to England from France as a child, dreams as joining the league of the Purple Gentian and restoring the monarchy to the throne of France.  At the age of twenty, she is allowed to return to France along with her cousin, Jane, and a very determined chaperone, Miss Gwen.  On the trip across the channel, the three women are forced to share a room with a scholar, Lord Richard Selwick, who is naturally very handsome but also doing research for Bonaparte.  Amy hates him for being in the employ of her enemy but also is very attracted to him.  The rest of the book follows a very predictable course, but is fun and lighthearted with the exception of some pretty explicit sex scenes and stilted dialog.  Rating:  3 

61. Einstein by Walter Isaacson

 

I really enjoyed the many things I learned about one of histories most iconic figures.  We all know about Einstein and his theory of relativity and how it  changed physics forever.  This book explores how the man's personality, the culture he lived in and the basic scientific tenets believed at the time led him to make his remarkable discoveries.  While I did not personally get a lot out of all the scientific discussion that Isaacson included to explain Einstein's theories, I did find the in-depth exploration into his life fascinating.  He was truly a genius and deserving of the adulation that he created but also a flawed and eccentric man which made the book so incredibly interesting.   I love the picture on the cover which shows such a twinkle in his eyes.  That sense of humor is portrayed very well in the book as well as his love of humanity but a inability to connect well with those close to him.  All in all, a great book to read to learn more about one of the great ones.  Rating:  4.25

60. When the Bough Breaks by Kay Lynn Mangum

Rachel Fletcher is fifteen, just entering high school and tired of being different.  Her father was killed four months earlier and her older brother comes home drunk every night.  And her mother is so depressed that she is unaware of the problems her children are facing.  Then the mother meets a man who lost his wife to breast cancer.  They get married and now Rachel has a stepfather and a stepbrother who also attends the same high school.  Rachel really struggles with all this complications and tragedies.  Things start to come together by the end of the book, but it is not a happily ever after type of story but an ongoing tale of facing life's challenges with courage and hope. 

I like this author.  She writes LDS fiction that is believable, deals with tough issues such as teen alcoholism, and presents a subdued picture of LDS faith that is refreshing.  Rating:  4.5

59. The Little Country by Charles de Lint

"When folk musician Janey Little finds a mysterious manuscript in an old trunk in her grandfather's cottage, she is swept into a dangerous realm both strange and familiar.  But true magic lurks within the pages of The Little Country, drawing genuine danger from across the oceans into Janey's life, impelling her --- armed only with her music --- towards a terrifying confrontation."  From back cover

I really like de Lint's books.  He writes dark, urban fantasies which are imaginative and clever.  The characters are complex and real.  This book differs from other de Lint books I 've read in that there is almost no reference to fairies and other magical creatures.  The story deal entirely with the use and misuse of magic.  There is a story within a story and the two intertwine in a creative way leading to a suspense-filled ending.  Just a tad-bit too much philosophizing for my taste, but overall a great read.  Rating:  4.25

58. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (Audio)

"Lara has always had an overactive imagination. Now she wonders if she is losing her mind. Normal twenty-something girls just don’t get visited by ghosts! But inexplicably, the spirit of Lara’s great aunt Sadie – in the form of a bold, demanding Charleston-dancing girl – has appeared to make one last request: Lara must track down a missing necklace Sadie simply can’t rest without.


Lara’s got enough problems of her own. Her start-up company is floundering, her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, and she’s just been dumped by the love of her life.

But as Lara spends time with Sadie, life becomes more glamorous and their treasure hunt turns into something intriguing and romantic. Could Sadie’s ghost be the answer to Lara’s problems and can two girls from different times end up learning something special from each other?"  Random House review

Like all Kinsella books that I have read, there are parts in this book that made me wince because I can just see disaster coming for the main character.  Of course, things always work out for the best giving you a very predictable ending.  Still, it was a fun book to listen too with the narrator's English accent and Kinsella's irreverent humor. 

Rating:  3.5