So, as promised, here is part one of the two part review on Gone with the Wind (GWTW)
Scarlett O'Hara is a gorgeous southern belle who has always gotten everything she's wanted. She has many admirers as evidenced by her interactions at the barbecue and ball of her good family friends, the Wilkes. She aims to get Ashley, the Wilkes' only son, away from Melanie Hamilton, his rumored betrothed. Scarlett confronts Ashley and fights with him over the direction of his life, eventually even slapping him. Unbeknownst to Scarlett, Rhett Butler has been eavesdropping on her conversation and, naturally, has a sarcastic remark to offer. Scarlett brushes him off in typical fashion and returns to the luxurious gardens to find Charles Hamilton, Melanie's brother, there waiting. He proposes marriage to her and she is quick to respond out of her previous rejection. They wed and Scarlett is soon pregnant. Charles enlists in the confederate army and dies shortly thereafter of pneumonia. Scarlett has the baby, a boy named Wade Hampton Hamilton after Charles' brave commander. Scarlett then travels, trying to appease the boredom of widowhood. She ends up in Atlanta, a bustling young city, living with her sister and aunt-in-law Melanie Hamilton Wilkes and Sarah "Pittypat" Hamilton. Scarlett volunteers in the hospital and then volunteers in a fundraiser where once again she comes into contact with Rhett Butler, who is eager to scandalize the entire city as he takes Scarlett out to dance with Charles barely a year in the ground. Scarlett sees Rhett on and off during the first years of the Civil War, and when General Sherman's army comes to burn Atlanta to the ground, it's Rhett she calls to come transport her, Melanie, Prissy, the house slave, and and Melanie's new baby, Beauregard to Tara, her family's plantation. However, halfway there, Rhett deserts them to go and fight in the Confederate army for the last campaign. When they arrive at Tara, they find Scarlett's sisters sick, her mother dead, and her father crazy with grief. Scarlett must fight against hunger, Yankee armies and sympathizers, and a lack of support to overcome her situation and return Tara to it's former glory. With the help of Will Benteen, an ex-Confederate that Scarlett and Melanie nurse back to health, Scarlett fights another day for Tara and "to never be hungry again".
While this is only the first half of GWTW, so much happens! It is a 1448 page book, after all. Anyway, Scarlett frustrates me a lot. The first half of the book is slow, and not much happens in the character development department, but she's just well...she's a "witch with a capital B." to quote the parent of a friend. I also admire her determination and gumption because it takes so much courage to face the situation that she faced, being ambushed on all sides. Margaret Mitchell does a phenomenal job of displaying the right amounts of fiction and history to make a vivid setting come to life and a rich culture display itself for every reader to come away with a deep knowledge of it. The fact that this is a book written in 1936 that actually holds some interest beyond it being "classic literature" is awesome. It's timeless and classic and elegant, as well as holding so much weight, both literally and figuratively, that you can't just speed through it. It takes time, but I'm sure if you pick it up, you'll not regret even trying to read it, because indeed, you will come away impacted, if not a little saddened that you're done.
Teaser Quote: "And you, my dear, are not a lady."-Rhett Butler
Stay tuned for Part 2 coming this week!!!!!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Coming Soon!
Because of a recent development involving my school's website and the quality of this particular blog, there will be a feature length review coming next weekend!! I'm very excited about doing this review, because I hope it will get readers into some older literature. Thank you for being faithful readers! Love you all!
Love,
AjB
Love,
AjB
Friday, August 3, 2012
The Story of Us by Deb Caletti
I'm once again impressed by this award winner and the way she uses plot details to ask serious questions and talk about other issues that aren't romance.
Catherine "Cricket" has always been wary of words like "forever". They never seemed to work out as she watched her mom walk away from men time after time. Now that she's screwed up the only forever she's come close to, she begins to believe that it's not conceivable for either her or her mother, who's set to marry Dan Jax in only a week. As countless issues arise, from a pot-smoking inn owner to a future stepdaughter who goes to great lengths to make known how very not okay she is with everything her dad's new bride is doing, Cricket believes that her mom's definitely going to make a run for it. Enter Ash, who can put words to the insecurities Cricket is feeling about college and feels exactly how she feels about everything from her favorite weather (rainy) to summer flings (real relationships are a must). Now torn between what she could have with Ash and what she has possibly ended with Janssen, Cricket leans on her mother, her brother, Ben, and her lovable dog, Jupiter to get through the tough stuff. At every turn there is a choice between running away or facing the tough stuff. Will Cricket realize what she's giving up, or will reckless bravery push her into the arms of a new guy?
Caletti uses themes of family and commitment to ask two important questions: When families break, how are emotions affected? And how is sense of commitment affected? In Cricket's life, she sees her mom and brother being in her life forever, and also her dog, Jupiter, but it's hard for her to commit to anything further than that. College. Janssen. Cricket is scared of leaving her solid family behind because of the uncertainty she has faced in the past and definitely doesn't want to repeat in the future.
She struggles with emotional conflicts too. Cricket gets angry, hurt, frustrated, grumpy, and hateful towards here biological father in her flashbacks of the verbal and physical abuse that ultimately led to the demise of the marriage between him and her mother. This is where Cricket clings to Janssen, up until now, he's held all the pure and unadulterated hatred towards her father that she never could because he was just that: her father. Caletti has dealt with the issue of divorce in many of her previous novels, but never has she impressed me so wholeheartedly with her use of emotional confusion. The fact that Daisy, Cricket's mother, says in a conversation with Cricket, "I loved your dad. Sometimes it's not enough." holds significant weight. More and more nowadays, "love is not enough" is becoming cliche and overused as much as any other romantic, cheese-ball line. By adding it in when talking about a situation of abuse, it takes on a whole new meaning that emphasizes the person behind the abusive qualities. Ash is a child of divorce, dealing with some of the same questions that Cricket has, which is one of the things that draws her to him is their sheer similarity.
Needless to say, I liked it and really encourage you to pick it up!
Teaser Quote: “She would bring you some great book because she was a book matchmaker, because she loved books the way other girls loved clothes.” -Cricket describing her best friend, Natalie
Catherine "Cricket" has always been wary of words like "forever". They never seemed to work out as she watched her mom walk away from men time after time. Now that she's screwed up the only forever she's come close to, she begins to believe that it's not conceivable for either her or her mother, who's set to marry Dan Jax in only a week. As countless issues arise, from a pot-smoking inn owner to a future stepdaughter who goes to great lengths to make known how very not okay she is with everything her dad's new bride is doing, Cricket believes that her mom's definitely going to make a run for it. Enter Ash, who can put words to the insecurities Cricket is feeling about college and feels exactly how she feels about everything from her favorite weather (rainy) to summer flings (real relationships are a must). Now torn between what she could have with Ash and what she has possibly ended with Janssen, Cricket leans on her mother, her brother, Ben, and her lovable dog, Jupiter to get through the tough stuff. At every turn there is a choice between running away or facing the tough stuff. Will Cricket realize what she's giving up, or will reckless bravery push her into the arms of a new guy?
Caletti uses themes of family and commitment to ask two important questions: When families break, how are emotions affected? And how is sense of commitment affected? In Cricket's life, she sees her mom and brother being in her life forever, and also her dog, Jupiter, but it's hard for her to commit to anything further than that. College. Janssen. Cricket is scared of leaving her solid family behind because of the uncertainty she has faced in the past and definitely doesn't want to repeat in the future.
She struggles with emotional conflicts too. Cricket gets angry, hurt, frustrated, grumpy, and hateful towards here biological father in her flashbacks of the verbal and physical abuse that ultimately led to the demise of the marriage between him and her mother. This is where Cricket clings to Janssen, up until now, he's held all the pure and unadulterated hatred towards her father that she never could because he was just that: her father. Caletti has dealt with the issue of divorce in many of her previous novels, but never has she impressed me so wholeheartedly with her use of emotional confusion. The fact that Daisy, Cricket's mother, says in a conversation with Cricket, "I loved your dad. Sometimes it's not enough." holds significant weight. More and more nowadays, "love is not enough" is becoming cliche and overused as much as any other romantic, cheese-ball line. By adding it in when talking about a situation of abuse, it takes on a whole new meaning that emphasizes the person behind the abusive qualities. Ash is a child of divorce, dealing with some of the same questions that Cricket has, which is one of the things that draws her to him is their sheer similarity.
Needless to say, I liked it and really encourage you to pick it up!
Teaser Quote: “She would bring you some great book because she was a book matchmaker, because she loved books the way other girls loved clothes.” -Cricket describing her best friend, Natalie
Thursday, August 2, 2012
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
*Pittacus Lore is a pen name for authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes*
I also finished this book in a day, and it was also fantastic. So without further ado, I Am Number Four.
Number Four has moved 21 times all over to escape the Mogadorians who are hunting him and the other Lorien children who escaped their planet when the Mogadorians attacked. Before they left, a special charm was placed on these 9 children so that they could only be killed in order. When they are killed, a scar is burned on the right ankle of the others so that they know. One by one, the scars appeared on Four's ankle until there were three. Number Three is dead. The Mogadorians are now on the hunt for Four.
Four and his guardian move to Paradise, OH and changes his name to John Smith. On his first day of school, he gets into a disagreement with Mark James, a tough football player with an obsession over his ex, a girl named Sarah that John almost instantly falls in love with. Mark and John war over Sarah's affections, while John develops his "legacies", special abilities he has such as being heat and flame resistant and telekinesis. John fits in at school, having Sarah as a girlfriend, and Sam Goode as a best friend. The three embark on a journey to keep John and his protector Henri alive and safe from the Mogadorian's imminent attack.
I loved this book! I know I say that about all of them, but I really don't read books that I don't like...unless they're for a class. This book is sooooo much better than the movie that was made about it. It had equal parts action and adventure as well as romance and discussed some really important human issues by playing on the fact that Loriens can't play the field when it comes to romance. When they fall in love, it's forever, no questions asked. By highlighting Sarah and John's romance as an important part of John's life, Lore illustrates how hard it is to love when you are different and the strain of mobility on a teenager's emotions.
I loved this book and definitely encourage you to read it! Especially if you've seen the movie, because the book makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE. It's amazing.
Teaser Quote: “And even if we were hunting vampires, what the hell is the Silly Putty for?”-John Smith (Number Four)
I also finished this book in a day, and it was also fantastic. So without further ado, I Am Number Four.
Number Four has moved 21 times all over to escape the Mogadorians who are hunting him and the other Lorien children who escaped their planet when the Mogadorians attacked. Before they left, a special charm was placed on these 9 children so that they could only be killed in order. When they are killed, a scar is burned on the right ankle of the others so that they know. One by one, the scars appeared on Four's ankle until there were three. Number Three is dead. The Mogadorians are now on the hunt for Four.
Four and his guardian move to Paradise, OH and changes his name to John Smith. On his first day of school, he gets into a disagreement with Mark James, a tough football player with an obsession over his ex, a girl named Sarah that John almost instantly falls in love with. Mark and John war over Sarah's affections, while John develops his "legacies", special abilities he has such as being heat and flame resistant and telekinesis. John fits in at school, having Sarah as a girlfriend, and Sam Goode as a best friend. The three embark on a journey to keep John and his protector Henri alive and safe from the Mogadorian's imminent attack.
I loved this book! I know I say that about all of them, but I really don't read books that I don't like...unless they're for a class. This book is sooooo much better than the movie that was made about it. It had equal parts action and adventure as well as romance and discussed some really important human issues by playing on the fact that Loriens can't play the field when it comes to romance. When they fall in love, it's forever, no questions asked. By highlighting Sarah and John's romance as an important part of John's life, Lore illustrates how hard it is to love when you are different and the strain of mobility on a teenager's emotions.
I loved this book and definitely encourage you to read it! Especially if you've seen the movie, because the book makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE. It's amazing.
Teaser Quote: “And even if we were hunting vampires, what the hell is the Silly Putty for?”-John Smith (Number Four)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Oh guys. I'm so excited to share this with you! I finished it in 3.5 hours and I am soooooooo in love with this series. Officially.
*Across the Universe Spoiler Alert*
It's been 3 months since Amy was unplugged from the cryogenic machine that kept her frozen until the ship, Godspeed, was to land on Centauri-Earth. In these 3 months, she's battled the stares and whispers of "freak" from the monoethnic residents of Godspeed and her integration into their way of life. Now that Elder has become Eldest, although he refuses to take the title, he is busier than ever, and Amy finds herself missing him when he's not around. Now that the water on the ship does not include the neutralizing chemical Phydus, Elder is on the cusp of dealing with rebellion and mutiny while he and Amy struggle to piece together the clues that Orion left them before he was frozen. The clues lead them to a truth that Orion pleads with them to deny. To do anything but what Godspeed was intended to do: Get them to the new planet. Someone has been messing with the clues. Someone has been killing Godspeed residents. Someone is coming in between Amy and Elder, prying them apart with secrets that are too big. Amy and Elder fight their budding romance and a silent killer in the intense sequel to Across the Universe.
Oh my goodness. This book was so good! While it's prequel took a while to get going, A Million Suns took right off! The prose is fantastic, and Revis does a really good job of switching between Elder and Amy's points of view and still making it readable and ,more importantly, understandable. While the plot of A Million Suns is different, the two books intertwine so well and so intricately that you don't really have a choice but to read all of them, which is one of my favorite things about this particular series.
The obvious romance between Amy and Elder takes my breath away. It's so exciting, but it's different from other YA novels because they don't just fall into bed and never ask questions. Amy has this amazing quote at the end of one of the beginning chapters: “Just that I don’t want to be with you just because there’s no one else.” But, as Amy and Elder find out during their adventures aboard the ship, sometimes there is no choice at all...sometimes, one person is meant to be yours forever.
*Across the Universe Spoiler Alert*
It's been 3 months since Amy was unplugged from the cryogenic machine that kept her frozen until the ship, Godspeed, was to land on Centauri-Earth. In these 3 months, she's battled the stares and whispers of "freak" from the monoethnic residents of Godspeed and her integration into their way of life. Now that Elder has become Eldest, although he refuses to take the title, he is busier than ever, and Amy finds herself missing him when he's not around. Now that the water on the ship does not include the neutralizing chemical Phydus, Elder is on the cusp of dealing with rebellion and mutiny while he and Amy struggle to piece together the clues that Orion left them before he was frozen. The clues lead them to a truth that Orion pleads with them to deny. To do anything but what Godspeed was intended to do: Get them to the new planet. Someone has been messing with the clues. Someone has been killing Godspeed residents. Someone is coming in between Amy and Elder, prying them apart with secrets that are too big. Amy and Elder fight their budding romance and a silent killer in the intense sequel to Across the Universe.
Oh my goodness. This book was so good! While it's prequel took a while to get going, A Million Suns took right off! The prose is fantastic, and Revis does a really good job of switching between Elder and Amy's points of view and still making it readable and ,more importantly, understandable. While the plot of A Million Suns is different, the two books intertwine so well and so intricately that you don't really have a choice but to read all of them, which is one of my favorite things about this particular series.
The obvious romance between Amy and Elder takes my breath away. It's so exciting, but it's different from other YA novels because they don't just fall into bed and never ask questions. Amy has this amazing quote at the end of one of the beginning chapters: “Just that I don’t want to be with you just because there’s no one else.” But, as Amy and Elder find out during their adventures aboard the ship, sometimes there is no choice at all...sometimes, one person is meant to be yours forever.
This book kept me hanging on until 3:30 in the morning, and it never once let me go. I'm so excited that I get to broadcast just how much I loved this book and it's prequel, and I'm also so excited to complete this 3-fold review in January of 2013!
Teaser Quote: “...that was before I'd started thinking about how life stuck on a ship wouldn't be so bad if Elder walked around pantless more.” -Amy (This one is really, really funny. I loved this part!!!!)
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