Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling
Author: Kristin Cashore
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Yes. Prequel Fire, and sequel Bitterblue.
Copyright: 2008
Publisher:Harcourt, Inc.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
His eyes, Katsa had never seen such eyes. One was silver, and the other, gold. They glowed in his sun-darkened face, uneven, and strange. She was surprised that they hadn't shone in the darkness of their first meeting. They didn't seem human....

Then he raised his eyebrows a hair, and his mouth shifted into the hint of a smirk. He nodded at her, just barely, and it released her from her spell.

Cocky, she thought. Cocky and arrogant, this one, and that was all there was to make of him. Whatever game he was playing, if he expected her to join him he would be disappointed. (p. 56-57)


In a world where people born with an extreme skill - called a Grace - are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed reading his book. I started the series by reading Fire which happens to chronologically be the first book but most people place it after Graceling. That being said the three books Graceling, Fire, and Bitterblue can be read in any order. Bitterblue (I have not had the chance to read it yet) takes place after Graceling but I don't think the story is such that you need to read the others to understand it.

I appreciated the story and the fact that Katsa was a strong female character. Independent and able to make make decisions for herself it is no surprise that she feels as though she is trapped in a mans world. Her desire to be free and to do only as she wants leads her to make decisions that can be viewed as feminist, and they are by many that read the book. Yes, Katsa is a strong woman and she stands up for herself but she has to learn to stand up for herself. She is Graced, with killing, and that does seem to help her along the way but it is also something she must control. In little ways Katsa is strong from the beginning.

"Hmm," Randa said, smirking at her silence. "Your sword is the only bright thing about you. Pay attention, girl. I'm sending you after this traitor. You're to kill him, in public, using your bare hands, no weapons. Just him, no one else. I'm sure we all hope you've learned to control your bloodlust by now." ... When the soldiers caught the underlord, they dragged him to the square of the nearest village, where a scattering of startled people watched, slack jawed. Katsa instructed the soldiers to make the man kneel. In one motion she snapped his neck. There was no blood; there was no more than an instant's pain. Most in the crowd didn't even realize what had happened. ... After that his commands included specifics: blood and pain, for this or that length of time. (p. 28-29)

She is only 10 when that happened and in small ways she continues to disobey her uncle the king.

She makes who she feels about marriage very clear from the start of the book, and this is where the feminism comes in. Because she does not want to marry and be held by anyone she is considered a feminist. I'm not sure I agree with this I think she is just struggling to maintain her own freedom and doing it in the only way she sees. Yes she does turn down marriage she does choice sexual freedom but I don't think this is something new in Young Adult fiction. Maybe it isn't what popular fiction such as Twilight would promote but I think there are plenty of better books out there with strong female characters who are sexually free. (So maybe this is just a comment on other people's view of the book but I think it is worth knowing).

The characters are strong and enjoyable and the book is a fast read. I liked spending time with a confident female character and men who were willing to let her take the lead.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Title: Fire
Author: Kristen Cashore
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Yes
Copyright: 2009
Publisher: Dial
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.

This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.

Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.

If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was.

Feelings: 
So I admit that the cover with the girl standing on the rock back lit could not be Fire because she would not put herself in a place like that because of the danger. However, I really liked this cover and I don't think I would have bought this book if it wasn't for the cover. I like it, but have included the other cover here for those that like something a little more realistic.

Archer knelt beside her and took hold of her shoulders. His face was wooden but his voice shook with emotion. "Forgive me, Fire." To the healer: "We're mad to be doing this outside. They smell the blood." And then sudden pain, blinding and brilliant. Fire wrenched her head and fought against the healer, against Archer's heavy strength. Her scarf slipped off and released the prism of her hair: sunrise, poppy, copper, fuchsia, flame. Red, brighter than the blood soaking the pathway. (p.24).

This was the first of Kristin Cashore's books that I read. At the time I didn't even realize it wasn't a stand alone book nor did I realize it was considered to be the second book. I personally would consider this to be the first in the series but it really is a companion and rather than a sequel or prequel.

I liked the story and that Fire was a strong character. The story drew me in and held my interest. The idea of monster being something very beautiful and with the power to control as well as being a different color than would be normal was an interesting change from it being something horrible. Yes, the monster's in the story can be horrible but they do not have to be horrible, they can be just different than the rest of their kind. Fire is the only human monster left after her father's death, and as such she is something of an oddity that others want to see. There is only one character, Leek, who has a grace, two different colored eyes a a power which lets him excel beyond what would be possible otherwise, as the Dell's do not have gracelings as to the seven kingdoms in which Graceling and Bitterblue are set.

Prince Brigan who is sent to travels with Fire to King City is the only one not taken by her beauty or sustainable to her mind control. So it seems rather obvious that they will have some kind of connection with each other. Most men have a strong reaction to seeing Fire so when Prince Brigan doesn't act how Fire would expect she has to get to know him without her powers.

She had a dagger scar on one forearm, another on her belly. An arrow gouge from years ago on her back. It was a thing that happened now and then. For every peaceful man, there was a man who wanted to hurt her, even kill her, because she was a gorgeous thing he could not have, or because he'd despised her father. And for every attack that had left a scar there were five or six other attacks she'd managed to stop. (p. 31)

There are many things which Fire has to come to terms with to become the person the kingdom needs, and the person she needs herself to be. Fear of what her father was makes her wary but she learns to depend on others and to have self reliance which lead her to grow.

This is a good second book by Cashore and it is an enjoyable read.

Hamlet's Father by Orsen Scott Card

Title: Hamlet's Father
Author: Orson Scott Card
Type: Audio Book (Unabridged)
Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki
Genre: Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2012(for audiobook recording only)
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary:
This is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. This varies from the play in that it focus more on Hamlet's feeling towards his father and his lack of knowledge about his father. As a child Hamlet always felt that his father picked his companions over him and that they were the ones he loved rather than him. After his father's death Hamlet us asked to avenge his father and Hamlet learns more and more about his father. The Hamlet we encounter in here is much different than Shakespeare's Hamlet, he is devious and skilled in the art of deception.While Hamlet is using deception to his advantage is he really as smart as he thinks he is?

Feelings:
I enjoyed this audiobook mostly because of the narrator, Stefan Rudnicki, who did an excellent job reading the book, but found that sometimes I drifted off to sleep because it wasn't all that interesting. I don't normally fall asleep while I'm listening to an audiobook. It is short which is nice about 2 1/2 hours. It does not stay true to the play itself which I found interesting. I did find it to be a bit homophobic which I guess is just the author's point-of-view being reflected in the writing. One could almost not think of it as homophobia and as pedophilia, if it were not for one pivotal scene that clearly makes it about homophobia. It gives a new insight into the King, who was previously a rather minor character but a very important one. There are some aspects that stay true to the Shakespeare play in that death is a theme, and yes pretty much everyone dies. But there is a twist that I did not see coming. For lovers of Hamlet I would not recommend this because it is a reinterpretation and does not stay true to the play itself. One good thing about this version is the language is clear and easy to understand. I can't say I really liked the message or that I would recommend this to many people just because it deals with a pedophile and homophobia.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
Type: Novel
Genre: Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2005
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Two girls are bound together with laotong "old same" which matches them emotionally at their foot bindings. Snow Flower sends Lily a fan with a message in the language of women that will bind them, "I understand there is a girl of good character and women's learning in your home. You and I are of the same year and the same day. Could we not be same together?" (p.5) With this message on a silk fan they become bound on the journey to adulthood. In 19th century China the road to becoming a woman is not an easy one.

"When I knew I couldn't suffer another moment of pain, and tears fell on my bloody bindings, my mother spoke softly into my ear, encouraging me to go one more hour, one more day, one more week, reminding me of the rewards I would have if I carried on a little longer. In this way, she taught me how to endure--not just the physical trials of footbinding and childbearing  but the more torturous pain of the heart, mind, and soul. She was also pointing out my defects and teaching me how to use them to my benefit. In our country, we call this type of mother love teng ai. My son has told me that in men's writing it is composed of two characters. The first means pain; the second means love. That is a mother's love." (p. 3-4)

One is headed up and one is headed down. Lily is from a poor family but she is married into the Lu family a wealthy family and Snow Flower from a well to do family, who ruins themselves is married below her birth status. They become great friends as children but one has a secret she is hiding from the other that will end up pulling them apart. Once Lily is married she is to return home until she is with child and she is surprised and upset by the way they treat her.

"My mother wanted to examine my private parts, but I denied her this, pleading embarrassment. My aunt inquired about bed business, but I turned away from her, pretending I was too shy. My father tried to hold my hand, but I implied that now I was a married woman this kind of affection was no longer appropriate. Elder Brother sought my company to laugh and share stories; I told him he should do these things with his wife. Second Brother saw my face and kept his distance; I did nothing to change that, suggesting modestly that when he had a wife of his own he would understand. Only Uncle--with his baffled look and nervous hopping--elicited an sympathy from me, but I confided nothing." (p. 135)

As the story progresses Lily distances her self from more and more people. She feels sorry for Snow Flower but does not understand her happiness. She is lost in her own world and even the secret bond between Snow Flower and Lily is stressed.

Feelings:
I enjoyed this book. I didn't like how things progressed near the end. But it reflected reality and the changes an individuals goes through in their life. I really liked the characters and the story line. Reading about footbinding in China from the perspective of an old woman remembering how she felt when she was young and her mother was breaking her bones and creating a new character and personality from the experience. It illuminates the difference between the past and today in ways that one can only understand from connecting with a believable character. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is beautifully written and the fan which they pass back and forth is described in detail and the language of women flowers. The story is like a flower it blooms with beauty and wilts slowly with the end of the season. I would suggest this book to those interested in 19th century Chinese culture who do not want to read a history book but want to connect with a person. This is a book about women, and the women's world, the male world is foreign to the characters in here. I think this is better suited to the female reader. It is an easy read that is enjoyable to the end.

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

Title: Island Beneath the Sea
Author: Isabel Allende
Type: Audiobook (Unabridged)
Narrator: S. Epatha Merkerson  
Genre: Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Summary:
Toulouse Valmorain arrives in Saint-Domingue in 1770 to help his sick father and what he thinks will be a short trip turns into him staying. When he arrives at 20 he is an idealistic young man who doesn't think slavery is a good thing. The longer he stays on Saint-Domingue the more his opinion of slavery changes and he begins to think that blacks are not as human and as long as he is a just master it is alright. However, his overseer a mulatto thinks that slaves must be punished and he takes great joy in the punishments. Valmorain turns a blind eye to this because as long as he does not see it he can pretend that he is a good master.

Zarité, called Tété, is born on Saint-Domingue to a slave mother and a sailor who brought her mother from Africa. Tété's mother does not want her and thus she is sold. At the age of nine Tété is bought by Valmorain as a personal servant for his new bride. Tété is a strong young girl and she longs for her freedom. 

The story follows Tété over 40 years and as things change Valmorain and Tété become intertwined, as they travel from Saint-Domingue to Cuba and then on to New Orleans to escape the revolution that kills many plantation owners and their domestic slaves. 

Feelings:
The first thing I should say, for everyone who loves Isabel Allende, is that I have only read one other book by her, Zorro. I enjoyed it a lot but from others I heard that it was very different from her other books. That being said I really cannot compare this book with her other books.

The book starts out in first person from Tété's view but then there are things that happen and are told in detail in following chapters that are in third person from another character's perspective. I found this interesting and wondered at first if it would detract from the story but it did not. 
 
This books was very detailed and at times I felt like it was dragging, 16 hours. I did enjoy the story and all the little interior stories that were told from slaves and from the whites. Getting both sides of the story was at times very interesting but sometimes also helped to slow the story. If I had not had a long drive over which to listen to this I'm not sure I would have made it through the story. I'm pretty sure that I would not have read the print form of this book because of the slow pace it had. I do wonder however if some of the issues I had with the pace of the story were created by the narrator. She wasn't consistent and I didn't think she did a good job portraying the characters.

I liked all of the historical parts of the book as well as the religion of the slaves. It added nicely to the rigidity of the whites. The island beneath the sea is where the dead go and will be reunited with their families. This is something that I think I missed the first time or two that it was mentioned in the reading. It is little details like this that make the book different. The difference between white, mulatto, and black was striking and emphasized in the relationships between the characters.

I would recommend this to people who love Isabel Allende, or those who are interested in the history of slavery in the Caribbean and the Americas and want a fictional version. As with all historical fiction it isn't fact but it does give an interesting perspective.

Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Genre: Southern Fiction
Series: No
Copyright: 2011
Publisher:  Bantam Books
Buy: Amazon
Reviews of other books by Sarah Addison Allen: Garden Spells, First Frost, The Sugar Queen, Lost, Lake, and The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Summary:
Willa Jackson, Colin Osgood, Paxton Osgood, and Sebastian Rogers all went to high school together, in Walls of Water North Carolina and yet they can't seem to live down their past which is exactly what they would like to do. " The Joker, the Stick Man, the Princess, and the Freak" (p. 209). 

The Madam had been built in the 1800s by Willa's great-great-grandfather, the founder of the now defunct Jackson Logging Company. ... The irony was that the Jacksons, once the finest family in town, the reason for the town's existence in the first place, lost all their money when the logging stopped. ... [Willa] got out of her Wrangler and climbed onto the hood, leaning back against the windshield. ... The only thing left to the renovation was the landscaping, which apparently had gotten under way just that day. That excited Willa. ... Most of the activity, however, seemed centered on the area around the only tree on the flat top of the hill, where the house sat. (p. 11-12)

Willa's family has a history at the Madam but she is the only one who had not been inside the run down house as a teenager. She only views it from a distance. Thus when she is caught looking that it by Colin she is embarrassed and hurries off in the hope that he didn't recognize her. Colin is left with the invitation to the gala event being held at the Madam. He goes to return it to her and in a jet-legged state ends up falling asleep on her couch. In high school Willa was the school Joker and she had pinned her pranks on Colin not on purpose to start with but because everyone thought he had done them. Colin is drawn to Willa because of her wild side, but she is not the person she was in high school.

Paxton is having the Madam remolded for the big 75th anniversary gala for the Women's Society Club. Paxton is the president, and she feels that she must be in control. Colin is doing the landscaping for the Madam and when he finds a skeleton under a peach tree his sister feels as though everything is out of her control and she worries that she will not be able to have the gala there. The skeleton belongs to Tucker Devlin a traveling sales man who was in Walls of Water 75 years before. The mystery surrounding his death brings Paxton and Willa closer.

Paxton and Sebastian are very good friends and Paxton is under the impression from being in high school together that he is gay, yet she finds herself sexually attracted to him. She wants more from her relationship with him than just the friendship they have.

"He opened the car door for her and helped her out. 'It's too hot to be sitting in your car. Your hair is wet.' He put his cool hand to the base of her bare neck, which made her want to shiver. It was a base reaction from a place deep within her, a well full of sharp longings and pipe dreams." (p. 67) 

Even the way they interact shows how close they are physically even if it isn't sexual.

Colin and Paxton both need to come to terms with who they are now and what it means for them to be part of their family and an individual. All have to learn to be who they were in the past as well as who they are now to be comfortable, in coming to terms with this they are able to find happiness.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed the mountain setting for The Peach Keeper. The idea of a town of waterfalls seems magical, and the way the mist was described makes the setting magical. The idea of selling jars of fog, because of how think and magical it was seems an odd idea to me, but living in the mountains I understand the kind of fog that is being described. Unlike some of Sarah Addison Allen's other books this one combines a fictional location, Walls of Water, with a real location, Asheville, where the author is from. I liked that touch. Walls of Water is both a small town but also has the feel of a larger town. Through the setting and nature we learn about the characters which is important to the story.

Contrary to the title there were not many peaches in the story. I expected them to play a bigger part in the story but they didn't really. Personally, I had hoped that they would as they are my favorite fruit. Tucker Devlin has peach tree that is growing over were he was buried and there is the smell of peaches sometimes when people think of Tucker and what he did to the town. Mostly though peaches are part of the magical or unknown in this story.

I really enjoy reading Sarah Addison Allen's books but I have to admit that I am beginning to see a similar structure in them. This has not stopped me from enjoying the writing and the story. Almost all of her stories have a strong focus on the past and healing wounds. This story was no exception to this pattern. What makes her books really enjoyable to me are that the characters are strong and easy to like. The romance between characters helps, but I think I would like the story even if there wasn't romance and the characters were just friends.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good read over a weekend. It is easy to get into and the characters give in to the superstitions of the town. The town and the characters all have their own personalities that make this a book worth reading.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Title: What I Saw and How I Lied
Author: Judy Blundell

Type: Audio Book (Unabridged) Young Adult Novel
Narrator: Catalin Greer
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Series: No
Copyright: 2009 (2008 printed edition)

Publisher:  Scholastic Audio
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary:
It is right after World War II and Evie Spooner and her mother Beverly are waiting for Joe to come back from the war. They are living with his mother and feel the strain. When Joe returns he starts a business selling appliances. On what seems to be a whim Joe takes the family on a vacation to Palm Beach, Florida. At first they are very excited and the drive is fun but as the temperature rises so does the tension in the car. Bev and Evie do not ask or talk about the war with Joe and there is much they do not know about him. Staying at the only open hotel in Palm Beach they meet Arlene and Tom Grayson who they become friends with. Tom and Joe start to form a shady business deal for buying the hotel they are staying in and Arlene helps Evie start to grow up by buying her clothes that are for a young woman not a girl. Also, staying at the hotel is Peter Coleridge, someone who had served with Joe in the war. Joe has a clear dislike for Peter but it isn't clear why. Evie finds Peter kind, handsome and finds herself with a crush, which she calls love. What follows leads to betray and a taking of sides. Evie must choice what lies to tell and who to betray.

Feelings:
A National Book Award Winner in young adult this book is told in first person (Something I have been noticing, recently is first person narratives. I thought I read only third person. Turns out I was wrong.) from the point-of-view of a 15 year old girl. Evie wants so much to be an adult and everyone is trying to hold her back. This is a coming-of-age novel with a mystery twist. I'm not sure that the mystery is ever really solved at the end because Evie isn't sure what happened. She does grow up in the process and the change in the character is genuine and well worth reading the book to see. In the south after the war Evie does not see the change that she would have expected and racism is present. This bothers her and she doesn't see why there are these kind of rules. She is innocent in a way that draws the reader in and as she looses that innocence through life experiences and her observations of what is happening around her she begins to grow up. The only problem is that once you grow up you can't go back. The setting for the book was good and I enjoyed the post war atmosphere of plenty. While this is definitely a story told from the point-of-view of a teenager there isn't as much dwelling on girly things as one would expect. I would recommend this book to individuals who like a good coming-of-age novel and a bit of mystery mixed in.