Troy

Adele Geras

B/B+

{Summary found on Wikipedia.com} :  The plot focuses on several women of Troy, and they range from powerful rich maidens to the servant girls who live in the town. The women all suffer in emotional ways with the decade long war at the center of their pain. Orphan sisters Xanthe and Marpessa live in Priam’s palace as maids and surrogate daughters to Andromache and Helen, respectively. Andromache is Hectors wife and mother to Astynax whom Xanthe cares for like her own child. Marpessa “sees” the gods meaning when they come to visit only she and a few select others can see them. Marpessa keeps to herself because she knows by telling people she sees the gods they will label her disturbed like Hector’s sister Cassandra.

The story picks up steam when Eros hits Xanthe with a silver-blue arrow, while she is working in the Blood room. The Blood Room is a place where the fallen soldiers are taken to be nursed back to health. Xanthe falls in love with Alastor, who then impregnates Marpessa all because of the desire of Aphrodite, who longs for any entertainment other than the war. Polyxena, a friend of the two sisters , is hopelessly in love with Iason who is hell bent on being with Xanthe. All of these love affairs have one thing in common. They are about to be thrown into a tail loop towards the end of the war.

In another subplots, Andromache rues the day her husband Hector is slain on the battlefield. She blames his younger brother Paris for the war because he is said to have stolen Helen from her husband the Greek king. She convinces herself that not only Helen is a trollop but that her ultimate goal is to bed Hector himself.

Intertwined in these complex love triangles are visits from the gods themselves. Artemis, Mars, Poseidon, Ares, and Pallas Athene appear in visions to reveal their plans to the characters- and to the reader-but each person they visit does not remember the conversation shortly after it happens.

Geras fills in the holes between each of the subplots with gossip from the servants of Priam’s palace. They serve as the Greek chorus and converse among themselves with how lazy Helen is or how estranged from her family Andromache is. Eventually the story winds down with the inevitable wooden horse and sack of Troy.

Geras shines as a storyteller and multi subplot manager. She carefully scripts each plot to tell the inner feelings of the Trojan woman. The reader knows how the story ends (the rape and pillage of Troy) but what keeps him reading is the interest in the characters dreams and ultimate futures. I continued reading because I wanted to see how Aphrodite excused her ill fated attempts at bringing passion to the servants lives. I read because I wanted to find out the how Andromache handles both tragedies that befall her. I kept reading because Geras has scripted a damn fine book.

Ideally everyone should read this book but advances YA readers and Adults themselves will have a better appreciation of the book. The book is told from the viewpoint of the people of Troy, which is something you don’t see very often. Several parts of the book are violent especially the details of the sack of Troy. There are no detailed sexual situations except of course for Paris leering at all of the servants and Marpessa meeting Alastor in the woods. However, there are some situations where its obvious the characters are about to have sex but Geras refrains from glorifying the actual act. Marpessa contemplates having an abortion when she discovers she is pregnant which is something parents may have to decide if that?s an issue they want their kid reading about.

The book is written with so much emotion that’s its easy to get lost in the feelings of the Trojan women and not notice the hours slipping away. Geras major strengths are her character development as several of the characters take a surprising turn at the end of the book. For example I thought I knew how the Helen character was going to be portrayed but Geras surprised me. The realism of the tale is enchanting and I marveled at the way Geras wove raw human emotions of lust, friendship, love, hopes, dreams, and utter despair.

Healer’s Keep

by Victoria Hanley

A big thank you to Reading Rocks for this book!!  You guys rock :)  You can read an interview with the author Victoria Hanley on their site here.

This book is excellent!  I haven’t read a fantasy this good for a long time.  Why, I believe that if parts of it were longer with more description and emotional depth it could brush the title of epic.  I would definitely recommend this book.

{From Victoria Hanley’s website: Two new students arrive at the Keep. One is Dorjan, a mysterious young man and heir to the family of Dreamwens-people who can walk in dreams. The is the Princess Saravelda, daughter of King Landen and Queen Torina. Both Dorjan and Saravelda are hiding secrets of the past, but they must trust each other before they can act to overcome the darkness threatening the Healer’s Keep.

Across the ocean in Sliviia a talented slave girl named Maeve is running from Lord Morlen, a man who inspires terror in all who meet him.  Maeve learns that she, too, is part of the Dreamwen line.  She meets Jasper, a freeman of Sliviia who has survived on his wits and courage, who must decide how much he will risk for love.  The destiny of these four people are intertwined.  Together they must confront the powers that prey upon their world. }

This is a companion book to The Seer and the Sword, which I would advise reading first because it takes place a generation before this one.  But it works well on its own too.

“The Healer’s Keep is an exceptional novel full of fast paced, exciting action. While the plot line is complex, Victoria Hanley expertly weaves all the different stories together and brings them to a smashing conclusion.”(Brigham Young U)  ”Thrillingly exciting and frighteningly dark, the story is filled with hope and love as well as blood and fear and magic. The characters are honestly and sympathetically written and the plot never loses its grip for the reader. “(Aberystwyth) “… a sense of plausibility without being predictable. (The Coloradoan)”

Queen of Babble

by Meg Cabot

From Booklist: “Lizzie Nichols, a fashion-history major, wants nothing more than to graduate college and then fly off to London to be with her boyfriend, Andy. But at her graduation party, Lizzie finds out that she can’t graduate until she writes a senior thesis. And when she lands in London, Andy turns out to be a liar, gambler, and a fashion disaster. Lizzie, stuck in London with a nonchangeable ticket home, escapes Andy via the Chunnel in hopes that her friend Shari, who is catering weddings for the summer at a French chateau, can help. On the train, Lizzie meets a stranger, Jean-Luc, and spills everything that has happened, only to find out that he is the son of the chateau’s owner. At the chateau, Lizzie continues to babble when she shouldn’t, ticking off Jean-Luc, shocking his mother, and upsetting a bride. Will she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?”

Warning, this book lives up to its name.  At times Lizzie’s internal babbling was so distracting I would lose the real conversation.  But I’m sure this was intended, just like in real life when we talk to ourselves and get lost in our own thoughts sometimes we look up and the scenery has changed.  One place though that irked me was when she was illusioning that Luke was a kidnapper/murder preying on innocent travelers.  It’s like, come on, even YOU should be able to see that you will end up together!

But, Lizzie does have a very big heart, and her mouth runs amuck with only the best intentions.  It ends splendidly and there are sequels to be had!

This novel is aimed at an older reader base then Cabot’s Princess Diaries.  Character development was so-so, originality was pretty good, overall enjoyment was good, there were plenty of laugh out loud moments, the ending is awesome.  Voice is better than some of Cabot’s novels I’ve read, not spectacular.  Pacing is slow at some points and fast at others, and the setting was great (a beautiful château in the french countryside with a pool, vineyards, and a trove of vintage dresses in the attic?  where’s my plane ticket!)  So I would recommend this book for a light read.

Red Glass

by Laura Resau

I really, really liked this book.  Reading this book is biting into a big, juicy guava.  It tastes amazing and is the most wonderful thing ever, the sticky juice starts trickling down your chin,  and you realize that it’s better that way.

The characters are wonderful in their flaws, their acceptance, their bravery, their open-hearts, and their laughter.  The quotes from The Little Prince were so poignant to me because I just finished reading that novelette en français.

Red Glass is a multi-faceted view of Mexico and the lives that people lead around the world.  It shows how a little bit of discomfort won’t kill you.

{From Minnie at Athena’s YA Book Reviews: “It is a beautiful book about a girl whose life is changed on a journey through Mexico…there’s beautiful imagery, great love stories, and lots of familiar places, food, and music styles that anybody living in a border town or who has knowledge of Mexican culture will easily recognize. I loved it! I’ll be posting a full review soon!” click here to see info from a chat with the author!}

Thanks for that interview, Minnie.  Resau is an amazing person and a talented author.  I hope to read more books by her in the future, especially The Indigo Notebook.

Wicked Lovely

by Melissa Marr

Aislinn is a junior  in Huntsdale, south of Pittsburgh.  She is friends with Seth, an independent guy who lives in a train car made of steel.  That fact is important because the fey don’t like iron or steel.  Aislinn is extremely rare in that she can see the faeries that are used to being invisible to mortals.  Problems arise when the Summer King, Keenan, inadvertently picks Aislinn to be the next Summer Queen, a choice that cannot be escaped and equals immortality or living death.  The story unravels and Aislinn learns the depth of her love and that she can make better options for herself.

I really like Seth.  He is almost an Edward Cullen type–perfect lover, always loyal.  He now has the sight, but the issue of his immortality remains.  Perhaps it will be answered in the next two books, Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity.  I’m glad Donia didn’t die either.  I liked her and felt really bad about her circumstances.

Worthwhile read.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Excellent!  I first heard of this book from The Bookshelf Collection, and knew I had to get my hands on this book.

{From Scholastic, where you can hear an excerpt read by Suzanne Collins herself!:  In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.}

“… a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance.” (Booklist)  ”… brilliantly plotted and perfectly paced… a futuristic novel every bit as good and as allegorically rich as Scott Westerfeld’s ‘Uglies’ books.” (The New York Times, John Green)

It was definitely a page turner and leaves you desperately grasping for the next book.  Happily the sequel, Catching Fire, comes out September 1, 2009.  I would recommend this book to all readers, it is great.

Just Ella

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pretty good, but not my favorite.  Enjoyable, but not satisfying.

A good plot summary and character write-ups from Wikipedia:  ”This story is a retelling of Cinderella with a feminist twist and is a different version of happily-ever-after.”

Haddix has a lot of good ideas and topics in the story, like her new conjectures about the myth, Ella’s time in the dungeon, and statements about happiness:  ”Happiness was like beauty–in the eye of the beholder.”  I also liked how Ella had a can-do attitude and did not limit herself in her options.  When she was still at her stepmother’s house she planned to run away and become a tutor, a smart solution.

But I found some parts of the book underdeveloped, such as the relationships between the characters, the conflicts in and outside of the castle, and the day to day actions of life for Ella.  It didn’t seem like a true portrayal of castle life.  Maybe I’m being too harsh, it is after all a fairy tale and thus the details are up to interpretation.

The love between Jed and Ella is temperate at best.  The reader can tell from the start that they will end up together, but we miss the important details of how their love becomes a reality.  One good romantic line uttered by Jed, ‘A moment passed before he admitted softly, “I couldn’t stand to call you ‘Princess’ or hear anyone else refer to you as ‘Princess,’ because that reminded me you would never be mine.  So in my mind you were always just Ella.”‘

I have read other books by Haddix (the Among the Hidden series) and had the same feeling.  With some juvenile fiction books it’s almost as if the author is dumbing down the story to appeal to juveniles.  I believe that anyone can understand good writing.

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

It was lovely, I really enjoyed it.  One thing though, reading this book was like living in a haze.  Maybe Fitzgerald was trying to capture the ambience of the flapper 20’s, or maybe that was how these silly characters’ minds worked.

“They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness…” These people live the decadent life of the roaring twenties that many of the writers of this era were criticizing. The mindless, indulgent, irresponsible life style where consequence is just an afterthought, homework-online.com

I encountered this story first when I saw the movie last year.  Looking back I would say that the film starring Robert Redford was a wonderful rendition of this book.  And I think seeing the movie first made the book better; it was easier to visualize the period clothing, parties, and attitudes.

> You can read the whole book online thanks to eBooks@Adelaide.

{From Amazon Review:  In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write “something new–something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned.” That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald’s finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author’s generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald’s–and his country’s–most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning–” Gatsby’s rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It’s also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby’s quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means–and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. “Her voice is full of money,” Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel’s more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy’s patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.}

The Time Traveler’s Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

I love this book.  Clare and Henry’s love is so awesome, it helps them surmount the meaninglessness and cynicism that could take over their lives.  The settings, beautiful Michigan and diverse Chicago, voice, originality, character development and pacing are excellent.  It does seem a little slow and meander-some at first with no clear problem/solution scheme, but you can look past that and enjoy the sights.

Yes I loved it, but I’d also caution that this book for more mature readers.  Clare and Henry are a very happy couple.  As characters, their emotional depth was magnificent.  I like how Henry grew up and became a much better person.

I hated it when Henry lost his feet.  That was devastating.  Did it have to happen?  I think not.  Neither did I like the inevitability, such as when Henry is 15 and his dad walks in on him and himself, he says that he was powerless to do anything.  I prefer a view of time travel along the lines of Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter III.

Recently I heard that my cousin’s wife had a miscarriage.  Before reading this book I never grasped how devastating and actually dangerous a miscarriage can be, now I am equipped with a new sense of empathy for women who experience one.  Clare had six.

And bonus, after reading it and loving it, I went to a library book sale and got The Time Traveler’s Wife on cassette for 10¢.  Ten cents!!  My car doesn’t have a CD player so this will be perfect for long car trips across Iowa.

Some interesting facts: According to The Straits Times, Audrey Niffenegger dyed her hair red to say “goodbye” to the novel after she had finished writing it.  From The Independent, Niffenegger based Clare and Henry’s romance on the “cerebral coupling” of Dorothy Sayer’s characters Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.

She said about the prospect of her book becoming a film, “I’ve got my little movie that runs in my head. And I’m kind of afraid that will be changed or wiped out by what somebody else might do with it. And it is sort of thrilling and creepy, because now the characters have an existence apart from me.” (James Cowan, “Niffenegger’s first book, and it’s about time,” National Post)  Filming began in September 2007 and the movie is scheduled to be released by Warner Brothers on 14 August 2009.  Personally I hope to never see it because I feel exactly like Niffenegger about books turned into movies.

I can’t wait to read what comes next from the great Audrey Niffenegger!  Her second novel, the forthcoming Her Fearful Symmetry, has been called “one of the most eagerly sought-after works in recent publishing history”. (The New Zealand Herald)

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë

Another classic to cross-off of the NEA’s Big Read: Top 100 list!  I liked this book, especially when I got farther into the story.  The novel is framed by the premise of a new tenant learning the turbulent history of two families on the moors, the Earnshaws and Lintons.  It covers three generations, so it is helpful to have a family tree for reference.  Some books include a family tree or you can find one on the internet.  This timeline is also very helpful.

The love between Cathy and Hareton at the end was so wonderful.  When the love was realized, they were so happy together and made their surroundings blossom again.  And probably my favorite part was when Nelly confronted Heathcliff about his new mood, and he explained how he had the means right before him to completely destroy the two families forever, but couldn’t.  He looked into the young lovers’ faces and just let them be happy.  He still looked like a demon when he died but that choice to not wreck the two young people redeems him a lot in my eyes.

Critics of the time thought this to be a horrible book, and one even said, “We rise from the perusal of Wuthering Heights as if we had come fresh from a pest-house. Read Jane Eyre is our advice, but burn Wuthering Heights…”  (Reader’s Guide to WH)  I am inclined to believe quite the opposite; I’ve never read Jane Eyre but from movies and my sister’s interpretation I think Wuthering Heights is far more interesting, less depressing, and more thrilling.

This is my favorite book from AP Lit & Comp.  Some study questions that could be turned into essays:

• What role does Joseph play in the novel?
• Compare the marriages of Catherine (senior) and Isabella.
• How did Nelly alter the image of Heathcliff through her narration?